Transformers Superlink

I will reference Transformers Superlink by its English alternate of Transformers Energon. Energon was the second part to the Unicorn trilogy which we won't delve into because of how much stuff there is need ed to cover. It takes place 10 years after armada introducing new characters.
Story: 6/10
10 years after the events of Armada, the main cast of characters are pushed aside and we are given a new character by the name of Kicker. Autobots and Decepticons somehow made an alliance and are mining for energon, a type of energy in the series. Honestly, I was quite shocked and confused that they managed to have ... Autobots and Decepticons working alongside each other. But, a rogue entity teamed up with the husk of the planet-eating transformer, Unicron, started attacking different planets for Enron to fuel his schemes. Including Earth. Some of the deceptions see this as a chance to go after the autobots and team up with this entity called Alpha Q. But, one can't really have a good classic show without the main star of the show: Megatron. But, at this point, he is dead or at least, in a dormant state for 10 years but he is able to resurrect and is given a new design to lead the fight against the Autobots. You know, a typically Saturday cartoon: good vs evil. Blah blah Blah. And, because this is a show meant to sell new toys, new features are given to the transformers such as these energon pieces that become attached to the robots to give them weapons or the ability to have two transformers to link up with each other to form into a different robot. But really, its just one person is forced to become the legs and waist while the other gets to be the arms and head.
Art: 4/10
Probably the most shocking and eye-hurting thing about the show. The 2-D animation has some nostalgic feel for it because of it being that old anime art. But, troubles arise when viewing the Transformers themselves. Whenever humans or environments are shown, they are done as 2-D, however the Tranformers are entirely done in CGI. And knowing the early 2000's, that CGI was not the good kind. I feel like this was a venture into risky territory which did not pay off for this show. I give them credit for trying to produce the robots into this CGI but it did not work well. The special effects and cgI just look terrible back then and now.
Sound: 4/10:
The voice actors are very good, not going to lie. But the sound for never really stood out. We were only given a 30 some second intro with them repeating the same words over with a weird techno beat. And nobody cared for the ending because it was nothing really special about it.
Character 5/10:
The characters were very average to todays standards. The main human, Kicker, grew up with issues toward Transformers and his family but gradually gets over them throughout the show. Growing up with the Michael Bay version of Ironhide, I wasn't keen on having a version of Ironhide sounding and acting as a new recruit for the autobots and who would become the partner for the human, Kicker. Many transformers get added into the show mainly for the idea to sell more toys.
Enjoyment 6/10:
Personally, as a transformers fan: the show was cool at introducing more Transformers and going through the process of having them transform with each other. But, looking back at it now. Many people back then and now agree that the CGI really hurt the show. I binged watched the show in the early 2010's on youtube. Always wanting to watch more to see where the next part of the story would lead to. I have issues with the CGI but it is something I can deal with.
Overall 6/10:
This show never really came out great and is still not great. For people that can endure 2000's CG and enjoy transformers, I can recommend this show. But if you are not a fan of transformers or can't handle terrible CGI, you should avoid this at all cost

Review based on the English dub.

It's often considered the weak point of the Unicron Trilogy for a reason.

Story:
Very little of substance happens in the first season. Most episodes involve some formula of the Decepticons attacking Energon resources and planets. The Autobots strike back with the end result being the Decepticons either fleeing or having taken resources. Rinse and repeat until the rare new plot point pops up, or Alpha Q distresses about something-something-Unicron again.

Kicker is well... Kicker. You'll either tolerate and get to like him more in season two, or he's going to become a constantly annoying presence.

The show likes to take its time ... building up the story at a snail's pace. Story is sandwiched in between long segments of fight scenes that are easily forgettable. Get used to hearing the same blast effects and a bunch of cheesy one-liners. Plotline does not show promise until the butt end of the series where it's the good old "gather up the gang and go fight the big bad."

It's spared from some monotony when Demolishor and Cyclonus/Snow Cat get up to shenanigans. Biggest disappointment was the handling of Scorponok since he showed some promise. One shining example among the rubble turns out to be the progression of Kicker and Ironhide's friendship.

Voice Acting:
Voice acting is very hit or miss, and the overall direction is significantly worse than in Armada. Lines fall flat a lot or don't fit the mood. Garry Chalk, Scott McNeil, and David Kaye end up carrying most of the first season. The voice actors besides the aforementioned don't appear to find their footing until the second season, Rodimus' VA especially.

The return of Carlos' VA (Matt Hill) as Ironhide seemed like a strange choice, but the voice might grow onto you like it did with me. As for Kicker, again, you'll somewhat like him or hate him.

Visuals:
The weakest aspect right next to the story. The 3D animation has not aged well. Characters move and transform stiffly, perhaps a little too much like their toy counterparts. The Transformers' faces do not move save for their mouths. Everything looks as if it were rendered with a single directional light for 95% of scenes. Animation errors galore, oy vey.

The 2D animation is passable but nothing special except when the Transformer characters are rendered in 2D. Arcee doing a cool flip into her transformation: 10/10.

This is the one TF show where I wanted to skip the transformation sequences because they reuse long stock footage to pad episode runtimes. The only good transformation sequences were 2D ones for Combiners and one-offs for Optimus and Megatron in season two.

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Only watch it if you really feel like being completionist with the Unicron Trilogy, or at the least, skip to season two. You aren't missing out on much.