(Apr. 15, 2015 2:43 PM)The Supreme One Wrote: I'm a little disappointed that they didn't wait a bit longer and develop something more innovative. Tops that fall apart after every battle sound like a pain to constantly be putting together.
I agree with this 100%, except I feel much more strongly about it.
I had been thinking a lot about jumping back into the game once Takara-Tomy launched its next iteration. But this breaking-apart gimmick is a complete dealbreaker. It's just unconscionably bad. Did the designer of this series ever play Beyblade before? Did they use Phantom Fox MS? Is there anyone who wanted this gimmick to spread to the entire game?
I don't know how I feel about the rest of the system either — in particular, this is a complete regression to the plastics formula of design. Attack Ring, Weight Disk, Blade Base. It's functionally identical (minus splitting in half). I think there could've been potential for a new series with plastic-based contact combat — while metal is more viscerally enjoyable, the intensity of the hits removes a lot of gameplay strategies — but it's wasted on this gimmick.
This is the death knell for Beyblade. At the very least, it's a horrible stain on the legacy of one of the most thoughtfully-designed toys of all time. But hey, at least the stadium looks cool.