Thread 11588776

Now that the line is dead without any hopes of returning (for the 6th time) what does everyone think of it?
Do you still own any?
Would you like to see another reboot?

I personally still love them. I played the actual game (the very first one) as a kid and have fond memories. I still own some and even bought some of the most recent ones to keep on my desk as fidget toys. Something about seeing it open up tickles my brain the right way. My favourite designs are still Gen 1. They're simple, iconic and recognisable. With all the companies and toylines doing nostalgia reboots I wish Bakugan got one like that as well, but from what I understand those designs are stuck in copyright limbo because of Sega. The later reboots tried way too many different things that didn't fit, I'm not a fan of the more complicated designs.

>>11588776 (OP)
There's a live action movie in the works from the Rampage movie director

https://deadline.com/2025/02/bakugan-movie-brad-peyton-1236280508/

>>11588776 (OP)
I wish they did action figures again before they died again. I got Dragonoid Infinity at least

>>11588807
I doubt it will see the light of day. It's reminiscent of the thousands other projects like it that fell apart either because the funding was cut or the director/writer pulled out. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Who knows, maybe there's an actual market for people who grew up with Bakugan and would see this as adults.

52toys is making cube bakugan, itz over, bakuver.

>>11588776 (OP)
I never even looked at the rules for the game but they were neat fun to roll around and watch 'em spring up. sort of like an autistic fidget spinner kind of thing. I'd pick up a couple whenever they hit clearance prices.

there were some other similar pop-up rolling things, too

sorry I don't have any opinions on the story or lore or anything, but they were cool even without any of that.

>>11588894
>zoobles
Oh shit, I remember seeing the commercials thinking "bakugan but gay, lame". Now I really want one, they look cute.

>>11588902
Zoobles were so based, Bakugan copied THEM!

>>11588872
They're cashing in on nostalgia as a last ditch attempt to make money out of the Bakugan name. It will happen and it will be so shit it will kill the toy line for good.

>>11588776 (OP)
I wish they'd make a new video game in the line of the first one.

Champions of Vestroia was shovelware garbage. I am watching the Battle Planet continuity and I find it alright

>>11588902
>>11588915
Zoobles is pretty much "bakugan for girls" so theres no battling, I have no idea what you do with them, they more like dolls?

>>11597676
What do Bakugan even have that Zoobles can't substitute?

If Spinmaster wants the next version of Bakugan to succeed, they need to make more female characters for online artists to draw. It's one of the best way to get free advertisements

>>11588776 (OP)
Ooh, Bakugan thread - how rare!
>Do you still own any?
Actually, yes - not only do I still own all of mine, but I'm actually still collecting - mostly going after those rare contest prizes or giveaways. Guess this is a chance to show off some of my rarest ones - we'll start with these guys from Bakutech. From left to right: Blue Blaze Gus Burnan, Ventus Sechs Tavanel, Blue Blaze Nata Nagina, and the limited giveaway show-colors variant of Aquos Gif Jinryu.

>>11598169
Pyrus Masquerade pack, with single-headed Hydranoid, Dual-headed Hydranoid, and Alpha Hydranoid.

>>11598174
The Ultra Rare promotional 1/1000 Pyrus Viperagon and Aquos Stardox. The pics don't show it too well, but they're both glittery.

>>11598177
Origin Havok, Aurelus Leonidas (who was only available in one of those arena packs), 1/1500 Prisma Dragonoid, Darkus Viloch Ultra (only released in a few countries), and Origin Dragonoid. Both Origins still have functional LEDs.

>>11598178
Lastly, my "1/100" Infinity Ventri (there may actually be fewer of them than that, given the line was cancelled right in the middle of their production) and the promotional Limited Edition Ventri that was only given out to influencers and promoters.
>>11597671
>I am watching the Battle Planet continuity and I find it alright
Having watched the original and both reboots, I can say that the Battle Planet continuity wasn't bad - I liked their take on Bakugan and how battles worked, but the series kinda fell apart after Geogan Rising.
Gen3 was total garbage, though.

>>11597671
Toy companies in general need to give up on the show shit and put their focus into make good phone games if they want to appeal to kids
It's insane to me that even the biggest companies STILL focus so much on making movies or shows when only boomers care about that shit

>>11588776 (OP)
Oddly enough I still have mine in my closet, same with the cards too. I can still remember teachers confiscate them like the pokemon cards back then too.

>>11597720
Battles? Girls don't seem into battle games

>>11598184
yeah the 2nd reboot felt off, couldn't really make it past an episode especially with the artstyle. Though I did like possiblly Himbo drago, especially the fast food scene

>>11598270
Didn't bakugan hav a mobile game. I think beyblade does too. They any good?

>>11598184
how did it fall apart on Geogan? I've just been catching the show when I can on Pluto TV, which also has the original continuity's first season

>>11598653
The second half of Geogan was just very Deus Ex Machina-y.
>We've gotta win the Battle Judgement and stop Viloch from separating Earth and Vestroia - even though she's totally right and we're actually going to have to do exactly that in two seasons anyway!
>Luckily there are these magic artifacts scattered around that nobody's ever heard of until this point that only Drago can pick up that'll somehow help us!
>Running around picking up Macguffins while our buddies are fighting totally isn't just a way of padding out episodes!
>What's that? Drago's pulling a powerup out of his ass and mimicking Viloch by fusing with Geogan? But it's totally fine because he's a good guy!
>Huh, Drago lost? And now he's pulling ANOTHER random powerup out of his ass?
...just to name a few reasons. And then the following season just got dumber.
Also, Viloch totally wasn't evil (until she got power-drunk at the very end and got fed up with Drago breaking rules), but we're meant to hate her anyway, which was stupid. There was no reason she had to get killed off - not when both Tiko and Haavik did far worse and both got off scott free in the previous seasons.

>>11588776 (OP)
No! I prefer they bring back the old game and old designs, not create a facsimile of the old one with the new stuff. They have to make the old designs again complete with designs that were never made into toys.

Is there any market interest left or is Bakugan completely dead to SM now? What have they said about the series in investor reports? If there's still good will despite the most recent series I imagine now would have been a perfect time to get nostalgia money from the B1 generation. Those exact cards, arena and toys with better paint and maybe full diecast construction in a premium series would have killed.

>>11598641
Zoobles and Bakugan function the same though. Instead of playing Dragonoid, you can just swap it with any random Zooble

Speaking of Bakugan and Zoobles, do you have a moment for our Lord and Savior, Wontu? We're long overdue for an official toy - and no, I don't mean a repainted Zoobles Rabbit.

I have a lot of nostalgia for these, my younger brother collected them and I remember almost every time our family went out shopping my dad buying him more of these to add to his collection. seems like society peaked and collapsed around 2008 and never recovered. we used to get cool toy lines like this all the time. I remember him also being particularly obsessed with UB funkeys and CUBEWORLD at the time. McFarland was also pumping out all the great halo figures, and starwars toys by hasbro were arguably somewhere around their zenith if were talking about 3 3/4ths figs. good time for toys. I also don’t think they had cancelled bionicle yet either.

>>11598677
Oh yeah both worlds end up separating anyway because of the stress put upon them by the events of all 5 seasons

>>11588776 (OP)
I don't want balls and such. i want toys of the actual characters

>>11600080
I thought the Bakumorph toys were a decent middleground between the two ideas - they had the poseability of an action figure, looked like a mix between the show models and the original toys, and retained the franchise's primary gimmick of being able to transform into a ball.

Not getting a proper Leonidas toy is criminal (and no, the one from the recent series doesn't count, it's Leonidas in name only). Easily the coolest bakugan that they never bothered to profit from. I know people have been making customs but paying $150 for an imitation of an actual product doesn't feel worth it.

>>11600229
Leonidas is an odd one. He clearly was supposed to have a physical toy that was going to be packed in with the NDS game as a limited release, but something happened behind the scenes and he was swapped out for a white Naga repaint instead. Not long after, this guy popped up in the Bakutech line - "Infinity Dragonoid", which looked nothing like the one that appeared on the show (or even like a Dragonoid at all), and who was very clearly using Leonidas' body with a new head. Then it got brought over to the UK as part of the New Vestroia releases, using artwork that seemed to be Frankenstein'd together from several Dragonoid forms with a whole new head (and still didn't resemble the toy or the show).
And then a little later on Bakutech released Zeta Munikis, which was a demon up until its last form inexplicably turned into a dragon...that was using Leonidas' head and horn.
I would love to know what happened there, because it's clear an official toy actually DID get made, but was modified and turned into something else for reasons unknown.

When I saw the intro to the anime I was the world's biggest Bakugan hater but then I got a few and I can't get enough. I am literally heartbroken my country NEVER got any Gen 3 releases. I would have gotten a few. The only one I have came in a spanish magazine as a gift, the magazine never got a 2nd issue.

>>11588894
Zoobles are extremely cute too, I just don't like how they're essentially all the same "build". A big head, ears over their eyes, body underneath. The fun part about Bakugan for me is the engineering of them. I'm still flabbergasted at just how big some of them are when they open. Garganoid Ultra is an absolute unit. I'm so mad that Wave 2 simplified the Ultra designs because kids couldn't close them properly and because they needed those little tails to stick their weapon add-ons. That kind of decision making is the worst.

>>11602453
Oh yeah I was gonna post this too but I forgot, like last week I had a dream where I was at a store with a friend and found a box of "Bakugan Plamo", like, you would clip out the bakugan pieces and assemble it yourself, it was on sale and it had 6 whole bakugans in the box and my friend said "don't waste money with crap" then I woke up mad as hell because Bakugan plamo is one hell of an idea that no one made.

>>11602453
>I'm still flabbergasted at just how big some of them are when they open.
How familiar are you with Bakutech?

>>11588776 (OP)
My friend used to sell these to kids on the bus.

They died again? is there something to confirm this?

>>11602587
Not very. That guy looks pretty big but that snake bakugan from wave 1 is also absolutely huge. It's not just the size I like either, complex ones are really cool. The kraken one, the spider one, Lupitheon and Pegatrix Ultras, they're all wonderful.

So...best Bakugan combiner? I'm torn between Maxus Dragonoid and Ultimate Viloch. Don't think I ever saw what the Gen 3 combiner was supposed to look like, though I heard there were some leaked pics and it sucked.

>>11602729
>That guy looks pretty big but that snake bakugan from wave 1 is also absolutely huge.
This guy is just about the same height as G2 GR's Apophix Ultra, but predates it by several years.
As for complexity - definitely look into Bakutech. That was basically the middle point between G1's final few waves and G2's earlier ones. Some of my personal favorite designs are pretty much the entire Dragaon line, Zeta Munikis, Nata Nagina, both Tavanels, Gran Panzer, Dive Fujoe and Sanzu Hollowbos.

>>11602796
Forgot my pic.

>>11602796
I would have loved to. Sadly where I live soccer is king so any toyline that isn't Pokémon or the flavor of the month gets sidelined extremely quickly. Bakugan was on shelves for about six months back in 2008/9, at my local supermarket they only had blind bags with 6 different models and I got like 5 Preyas and 3 Tigrerras. I would find more here and there and get them if they were at a good price but my G1 collection is pathetic.
My G2 collection is much bigger though since those actually came in packs and tried to sell instead of just being there. I'm still missing a few early wave Bakugan I really wanted like the Hydra and Pandox, that eye with tentacles, lots of cool stuff I never found for sale because my local store got wave 1 and then only sporadic stuff like Bakuclips and Geogan. So yeah, Bakutech never even thought to release over here, it was a lost cause from day 1. The Jett Kuso videos about it were an insane revelation just showing off all that they could do.

>>11603003
>Bakutech never even thought to release over here
Same here - Bakutech was Japan-exclusive, so EVERYONE missed out. But you can still find a few on eBay, Aliexpress, Mandarake, or Mercari, if you're willing to pay aftermarket prices for them.

>>11602772
Both of those are good at what they set out to do - Maxus Dragonoid is a mech suit made from traps piloted by a normal-sized Dragonoid and pulls it off well enough, while Viloch is literally supposed to be her (yes, Viloch is female in the original Japanese) but bigger after having absorbed a bunch of Geogan, and the Ultimate Viloch combiner looks more convincing than the Geoforged Dragonoid that was released alongside her (that dude just looks horrible, especially when compared to Maxus).
I liked the combined form of Maxus Helios, too, though I didn't care for how the individual limbs looked when on their own.
As for that Gen3 combiner...this is what I could find. Looks like ass, honestly, but then i wasn't expecting much due to how bad the design philosophy was for Generation 3 overall.