Found a Wal-Mart selling Battle Strikers today, initially I thought they only had the booster packs, but after some searching around the toy department we uncovered starter packs, and stadiums as well. I picked up a starter pack and a few tops. I spent more than I should have on them, but I made some money last week so a little splurging is probably okay.

The first thing I was shocked to discover was that the (for lack of a better term) attack rings are made out of a high density rubber, and not plastic like I had expected.

Also- when the launcher rev's up, it actually get's quite fast. When launching heavier tops like "Tank" there is little to no movement required on your part to shake the top off of the launcher like they have illustrated in the info pamphlet. You just push the trigger, rev it up, and it drops when it his a certain speed. The lighter tops do require a bump or shake though.

To test battle them, I'm using a low-slope knock-off bey stadium. Getting close enough with the finger magnet to control the tops is difficult as the tops behave somewhat unpredictably. I'll see if I can find a more suitable improve flat stadium.

By some mishap of un-intelligence, I only picked up tops with the skinny plastic tip, and the metal ball tip. If the mood so strikes me, I'll try getting one of the wide plastic tipped tops later on. The tips are free spinning and of little height variance. "DragonBlaze's" tip seems to sit much lower than any of the other tops I picked up. And the bearing in "Nautilus" is much looser than the bearing in "Tank". I don't know if this is intentional, or just a manufacturing thing. Also the tip on "Nautilus" appears to be slightly warped, looks unintentional.

The little face plates with the logo's on them are very difficult to remove.

interesting, I'm curious to see your later impressions after using them for a while.

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Thanks to Kai-V for the avatar and signature!

How long they spin on average?

This isn't really a review What are your feelings on them?

This isn't really a review What are your feelings on them?

Seriously? What exactly do you want to know about them? I've had all of 2 hours to play with them, I guess I should have waited longer to post about it, I was just excited to talk about a new toy. I'm like that, y'know.

They are everything you would expect from a chunkier, simplistic form of beyblade. The magnetic controls are interesting, yet somewhat impractical as your hands tend to get in the way, and can even cause your top to be picked up, thus loosing you the battle. In a beystadium, the tops often spin out, collide into walls, and KO themselves instantly. On a flat surface they are drawn to the walls unless you are using a ball bearing tip, in which case you can more easily control the top and keep it in play.

They are well built, but clearly targeted at a younger audience with minimal intent for customization strategy aside from aesthetics. A lot of the parts are identical (aside from colour) in the 5 tops that I got. I have yet to really get a feel for which parts (if any) will dominate in battle. Odds seem pretty well balanced though, as long as you can keep your top away from walls. I'd say your best strategy would be to corner your opponents into walls/other objects etc. I wish I had picked up a top with the wide plastic tip, the small plastic tip is unbalanced and makes the top more difficult to control.

On average I can only really get them to spin for 30 seconds to a minute and a half. Mind you a lot of spin is lost from hitting objects (other tops, walls, etc.) as well as from the magnets themselves. I've been trying to use the magnets to my advantage to keep the top steady when it starts to wobble, or even to nudge it into spinning more. I've encountered minimal success. If I can't find a reasonable substitute stadium, I might have to pick up an official one. In their ads, they seemed to be boasting that you could really play on anything though.

Edit: oh, and I noticed today that I didn't have the magnets on the launcher aligned quite properly, which is why the top would fall off without any movement. Because there are multiple magnets, you can get the top to stick to the launcher between the magnets, and it will hold, but in order to get the full potential spin going, make sure the magnets line up.

I meant to go to Wal*Mart last night to check for these, but I'd doubt my local one would have it anyways.

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Project Rising Beetle→
I Miss Bionix→

Hey Minion,

Thanks for posting your review!

Just to confirm what you mentioned earlier- you can definitely use any flat surface (i.e. the floor, a table, etc..) when trying out the Battle Strikers but you get a better feel for the game when using the flat battle arena. I would recommend not using a curved battling surface though, as this affects your ability to control the strikers.

ok they sound good but i'll stick with beyblade but on the commercial they said during the battle you can make them sping longer is that true:\

ok they sound good but i'll stick with beyblade but on the commercial they said during the battle you can make them sping longer is that true:\

Spin longer than beyblades? Not by a long shot. Even with no interference I can't get a striker to spin very long at all.

Has anyone else experienced anything different? I'm interested to hear other peoples reviews on these tops. I'm also looking forward to an actual head to head battle, it's difficult to get a feel for things when you have to launch one top after the other. I can't afford to buy another starter pack myself though.

I'm personally worried that something aesthetically pleasing such as Battle Strikers could hurt MFB's North American release. Of course, the new Beyblades will also be supported by a show, which will no doubt make some people go out and buy the toys. I think Beyblades will attract people who are more into a hands on approach, with such customization and need for knowledge of the way each part works, and how they work together. Beyblade, to me, is more of a high class product.

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A good champion is someone who gets up when he can't.

Right now, I currently have the same problem that Minion does. I only have one launcher and I can't find any other starters. (where are they being sold in US? Walmart or no?)

I like how there are so many parts for customizing, but I feel that most do little or nothing for performance and the ones that do (barring the tips) don't vary enough. They all look about the same, and are the same general shape (MFB have a similar problem, many wheels are cirle shaped, it gets boring to look at after awhile), though ou guys have color to work with, too. I would suggest varying the attacking pieces more using slopes/ attack points, and whatever else you can think of. Also, I really like the material that the attack pieces (I'm sorry, I don't know the names of the pieces. I mean the attack ring type parts) are made of. It seems more durable than plastic (though, I haven't really used them yet) and if the game becomes more strategic, the material would be great for defensive battle strikers.

As for performance, I didn't test much, but I did use 10bBistool againt the Skull battle striker (the name escapes me) and the battle striker won (it was in the baldebreakers hasbro stadium, but I was still very suprised). I believe the weght has alot to do with it. The thing is very heavy. I bet the Tank battle striker would perform similarly.

Lastly, I really like design of the battle strikers (like how the parts go together). I can tell you guyts tried to make it as durable as possible and it seems to have really worked. That's more than what can be said about TT/Hasbro.

I congratulate you guys on the release of these. I can tell they will do great, especially with the younger audiences. I bet parents will be more open to them because they seem much less dangerous than beblades (rubber as opposed to plastic and the fact the there aren't any sharp points on the battle strikers, though if there ever is, I don't there would be much of a problem). I do think there will need to be a good amount of promotion needed to really get them popular, though, especially when you guys don't have a TV show to help promote them. I would recommend trying some sort of comic if you can to help promote as well as commercials and tournaments/promotional events. I wish you guys the best of luck and will review more whn I get more gear.


Also, I'm sure having a hard time controlling these with the magnet XD only one I can do much anything to is the metal-ball-tipped one (skull). The other two are flat-tipped, though. And, haha, my brother and I used them on our kitchen floor. It sure brought back some great memories.

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Thanks, Kai-V, for my banner

lol I used a Bistool with a balance WD and it bet all of my Strikers.

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Project Rising Beetle→
I Miss Bionix→

Different Striker? We used Skullor. It is pretty heavy.

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Thanks, Kai-V, for my banner

I think they're being sold @ TRU in the states, not wal-mart. Not sure how many stores have them yet.

Finally found a reasonable stadium substitute today, I'm using the top of a costco-sized candy box. It's made out of the right material, and has a low edge so the tops don't burn out at the edge of the stadium. (No walls, just a low ridge).

I'm having real difficulty determining which parts/tops actually have an advantage over other parts/tops, as a lot of the game outcome does seem controlled by which top was launched first and with the most RPM. The top being controlled with the magnet is consistently slowing down first, I'd almost be tempted not to control it at all. I've been spending a lot more time with the bearing combinations though, so I haven't got a lot of spin time to begin with...

I've found with the right combination of attack rings you can create more of an attack or defense type

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I'm not too worried about these hurting the re-release of beyblade, strikers are clearly aimed at an even younger crowd, and there is no crazy anime to back them up. I do think they have a good chance to be popular though, they are very eye-catching, have a good gimmick, and their marketing seems pretty appealing to me. The website is really well done. The cross-country tournaments (which I hope have enough momentum to run next summer as well) are hopefully encountering some success in promoting the toy. It's almost back to school for the elementary school kids who will undoubtedly be looking for the hot new fads of the year. So everything looks pretty good for strikers this year.

Minion and Pichuscute have both expressed most of my thoughts well; I can see these becoming popular with a younger audience for a while, especially with school starting soon. My biggest complaint with them is the amount of control, or lack thereof that is possible. Battle Strikers slogan is "The power to command is in your hand!" and is touted as enabling players to do more than just shoot and watch the top, but it does little to live up to these promises.

The top being controlled with the magnet is consistently slowing down first, I'd almost be tempted not to control it at all.

...And if this is true, the addition of the magnets and finger controller really can't be justified, and becomes even more arbitrary. It just seems like a gimmick to me, which is disappointing.

That being said, the amount of customization is great, and while I can't speak for how each of these parts performs differently (aside from the bottoms, of course), having an abundance of customization possibilities is great as it lets kids personalize their own Battle Striker.

The motorized launcher works well, and as Minion said, gets them spinning quite fast. I like it.

Even by myself, Battle Strikers were fun to play around with, and I'm sure that fun only continues when battling other people, but I was disappointed with weak amount of control you do have over them which does kill my interest greatly. They should have some decent success for a little while though.

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I agree. I tried using these in my attack stadium without contolling them (I gave up) and they do fine. They actually perform pretty well. Also, controlling them in a regular byblade type stadium can work and is much harder but more rewarding (your able to knock them out of the stadium then). They should put exits in the next arenas released, imo.
I haven't found combos that look nearly as effectiveas th ones Minion is using, but I guess there are some decent combos (for attack and defese). I can't see attack doing too well though, unless a different material is used. The material used now isn't aggresive enough, it seems (is your's any better Minion?).

Also, unrelated, but I got my Skullor to spin over 2 minutes(possibly 2 and a half, I didn't check specifically, but it was atleast 2 minutes). I'm impressed.

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Thanks, Kai-V, for my banner

You guys are making me even more anxious for my trip than I already was

I think Gauntlet seems to have some defensive potential when fitted with a metal ball tip. (For some reason one of my packages included this, is it just an error?) And I like Eaglestrike for attack

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Thanks to Ellz for my Face :)

Made of rubber?

Not that I am concerned but doesn't that make them decrease a whole lot of RPM when they collide?

It should, yes. The rubber parts will really exhibit pretty immense friction between one another, so the Strikers will slow down faster.

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Alright, I feel I've had ample time with these Strikers, and have formed an opinion on them.

First off, I must thank Jess/Ambassador and the people of Mega Brands for sending the tops to me, I really appreciate this.

I guess I'll just write out my Pros vs. Cons for this 'review'.

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Pros.
Really interesting launcher -
When I first saw the 'Turbo Launcher' I was a tad skeptical. A launcher that just requires a button press to get the top spinning? Meh, I guess it's OK.
Well, i must say, after giving my Turbo Launcher a good use today, I find myself really liking it. It's got a really good grip on it, and the magnets really do a good job at snugly holding the top on.
and I must say, it's really neat to press the button and the top instantly starts spinning at a really fast rate, then to just thrust the launcher downward and have the top shoot off and start rippin' around is really enjoyable. It's just plain fun to launch these things!

Cool designs & Wicked colours -
I really like some of the designs on these tops. Ninjutsu IMO has an awesome design for it's attack ring (I have no idea what the official names of the parts are, sorry ) with the shuriken.
I also love the vivid colours. Supercharge is a very good example of this. From the top you can see yellow, red, blue and black all in one. It's just bright and eye catching. You can make really cool looking customs by picking certain colour parts to go with each other.

Magnetic Controller is definitely an interesting thing to play with
I definitely found myself enjoying the fact that I could use the mag-controller with Skullor to ride up the slopes in the MFB Attack beystadium, and then make it 'glide' along the tornado ridge. I really felt like I had control over the top as I made it go where I wanted to.
It's really fun to actually make your top go in the direction you want it to.

Easy to assemble and figure out -
This isn't a huge point to bring up, but these things are really easy to figure out. With no problem you can open the box, put together the top and start playing. I can see young children getting into this with zero problems.

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Cons
Turbo Launcher sometimes has difficulty launching tops
To be fair, this isn't a huge problem. It's just that some tops are really lightweight, and thus the magnets don't separate really easily. This can be a pro since it means your top won't just randomly fall off when you don't want it to.
Though it can be frustrating when you want to play, and your top isn't coming down. I never had this problem with Skullor though, and I imagine all the heavy tops completely ignore this, as there is enough weight pushing down that it requires little force to separate the magnets.

Low stamina
This is easily the biggest disappointment I have with these tops. They just don't spin very long at all. I'd love if you could have longer matches, as I just feel they're a tad too short due to the tops not having a very long spin time.

Not enough parts variety
I know this is still in the very early days of being out, so it's not fair to expect vast amounts of unique parts. But I'm a tad disappointed that both SuperCharge and Tsunami came with nearly identical parts, only varying in the colours used. From browsing the catalogue on the site,
I see that every top comes with a unique part for its 'attack ring', but the second part gets reused for several tops. Although this is really giving me Hybrid Wheel System vibes, where tops have unique clear wheels, but several use the same metal wheel. Battle Strikers is very much the same.

Another part that I hope (and am sure will) get changed later on in the series is the low amount of choice on the tip. To the best of my knowledge, there are only 3 tip types.
1)Small flat tip (no sure on specifics of this, I don't have one of these)
2) Wide flat tip with beveled edge (In beyblade terms, this is most definitely a Semi-flat tip)
3) Metal Ball
I really hope in later series, we get a wide range of tip types, such as a 'sharp' tip, a tip made out of rubber. etc.

Magnet Controller doesn't always work correctly.
Now, I didn't have this problem with Skullor, which uses a metal ball tip and doesn't move around much. But with the lighter tops like Tsunami and SuperCharge, which also use fast moving tips, it's REALLY hard to get the magnet controller to work on them. And when I do get a reaction, it's usually because I'm too close to the top and it just attaches to the controller.
I'm not sure how this would be fixed exactly, I just know that when it works it's really fun, and when it doesn't work, it's feels like a very worthless gimmick.
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I do believe that's all I really have to say at this point in time.
Overall I really have a very good opinion of these tops, I think Mega Brands has succeeded in making a toy that will gain the attention of young children looking for something to do with their friends.
When I see these in stores, I will most definitely buy some more. (Especially because I want to try the smaller tip to see how it does)

I hope everything works out with this, it's an enjoyable hobby, and as much as I love beyblade, this definitely gets my full support.

Overall feelings with 'Battle Strikers' tops - Very Satisfied!
I absolutely love Skullor, the metal ball tip gives it wicked defense, the thing just deflects hits like crazy.

(I used this product on both a flat Laptop 'lap-desk' which was mainly flat with a little lip at the edges, and the Metal Fight Beyblade attack type Beystadium)

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There is a fourth tip, it's the same as the small flat tip, but about half a cm shorter.

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www.tinyminion.com

I received my strikers on Monday, have had some time to fiddle around with them. Here's my two cents;

I received a starter pack with Dragonblaze and the red Turbo Launcher. In my Reload packs, I got Skullor and Supercharge. Aesthetically, my favourite of these is Supercharge, while Skullor appeals most on a visceral level (this is probably due in large part to its considerably higher weight in comparison to the other two). It took me a couple tries to put them together, as I initially was trying to assemble them from the bottom up. Only after I'd assembled all three did I find the instructions on the back of the poster. I would suggest that a small card inserted in the packages with just the instructions on it would be a better course of action.

After placing the included (thanks!) batteries in the Turbo Launcher and firing it up, I was very surprised by the speed at which it got to (though on some level, it kind of felt like I was using a hand-mixer, hahaha). I attached my first Striker and was ready to give it a test spin. After getting it up to speed, my immediate thought was "how do I launch this thing?" The instinct to shake the launcher until the Striker fell off worked, and as it turns out, that's one of the recommended means of launching. I must say, this is a bit of a detriment to the product in my mind. It detracts from the feeling of control I have over where I launch my Striker. My father was messing around with them too, and he had the same complaint. "It doesn't land where I need it to land," was his response. After some experimentation, I settled on a sort of upward wrist motion, like flipping a pancake with a spatula, that tosses the Striker a few inches forward. It works most of the time, but it's immensely frustrating when the Striker doesn't release from the magnets. This could be easily rectified by a minor modification to the Turbo Launcher. If the static magnets in the base were changed to electromagnets, then a second button, a 'kill switch' could be added to the baton that halted induction. The Striker would be released at the push of a button. This would give players finer control over their Strikers at the onset of battle and, I believe, give a more satisfying feeling to the game.

Next, I experimented with the magnetic controller. It doesn't really fit my fingers terribly well, but I suspect that's because I'm 27 and this product is aimed at a younger audience. I found it worked most comfortably on my middle and ring fingers. It was much easier controlling the heavier Striker, with Dragonblaze being almost impossible to get a lock on. Actually, I'm going to bring up a question I have here. What exactly are the grounds for the "control" rating that the various Strikers have? Do some of the cores have stronger magnets than others? Or is it based on movement patterns and weight exclusively? Anyway, the biggest issue I had with the magnetic control... cuff? Would that be the appropriate term? The biggest issue I had with it was that I was continually picking the Strikers up with it. I feel that battles would be far more intense if the polarity of it was reversed and players "pushed" their Strikers instead of "pulling" them. Alternatively, offer both styles of cuff! Players could choose at the beginning of the battle whether they wanted to pull or push, or hell, wear both, one on the index and middle fingers, the other on the ring and pinkie. Maximum control!

Overall though, I have few complaints. Battle Strikers seems a quality product that only needs a little bit of revamping in my mind. I will, however, restate what others have mentioned. The product needs more variety of parts. I picked up my first Beyblade when I was 22 years old. What hooked me and kept me coming back was the immense amount of variety between parts, the depth of personalization one could put into making combos, and the amount of structural engineering that Beyblade R&D put into their design. If I had picked up a Battle Striker at the age of 22, I doubt I would have kept coming back. If I were 8 or 10 years old, though, I would have been all over these things.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the samples sent to me. Thanks again, ever so much, for including me in this, Jess. If you ever need playtesters for products again, I'm sure this whole community would be very much interested in helping you out. I know I especially would love to be a part of it.

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Flash Leopold, UK Superhero, you know where I'm going with this by now...

It seems like this product perhaps should've been playtested a bit more. Seems like a good idea that wasn't quite ready yet.

Getting anxious for my trip now

The heavier Strikers and ones with the metal ball are easier to control than the others. Only change that could be really, REALLY interesting is making some of the controllers (not the strikers) repel, not attract as they do. This would solve the issue of them grabbing the Striker mid-match.

Plus, they take a huge beating. The Strikers take almost no visible damage, whereas the MFB get obviously scratched after just a bit. I like the look of a well used blade, but I'm not worried about them breaking like the Blades have done, via rumor.