I think I taste something nasty in my mouth…
I just saw early-release photos of the upcoming Deluxe High Octane Megazord from the 2009 series, “Power Rangers R.P.M.“. (For those in the know, this is the English-equivalent of the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh from the 2008 Super Sentai series, “Engine Sentai Go-Onger“, which I covered for CDX.)
I’ll be short, and to the point:
God-dammit, Bandai America! You F’ing did it again!
And Bandai Creation? Don’t think that you’re any-less guilty- this is being shot your way as well. Did you guys learn nothing from your poor sales from all those toys still sitting on the shelves two years after they came out because no one would buy them!?
Ya see, you badly burned a lot of your best customers in 2007 when you crowned your little franchise’s 15-year anniversary with inconsistent toy lines. You failed to release the Dlx. Flashpoint Megazord (aka DX Siren Builder) because it would have meant making a brand new one to conform to the mess that you made earlier in the year- the rebuilt Deluxe Drive-Max Megazord. Then, you turned around and released the Dlx. Battlefleet Megazord (aka DX DaiVoyager) in the original scale, but it couldn’t interact with the ‘Gag-Max’ Megazord either!
To this day, I can go into a Toys-R-Us, and I still see Battlefleet Megazords and even a few Gag-Max Megazords still sitting in pristine condition on the shelves because you attempted to deceive the customer base in order to save a buck.
But this time, things are a little different…
Now I know ahead of time because I was one of those customers you burned, and I am one of those people who knows better than the average parents who just wanna get their kid the latest thing. So, do you know what I am going to do now?
Whenever I go into a Toys-R-Us or a Wal Mart or a Target or even The Disney Store, I’m gonna tell those ignorant parents that what they’re about to buy is not worth it in the slightest way.
I’ll tell ya- you guys are really pissing me off now.
I gave you full marks and high recommendations on your “Transforming…” line of Zords from “Power Rangers Jungle Fury” because they were scaled down and yet remained completely faithful in both appearance & function, and in quality. I even wrote your company to say as much. I hadn’t praised a PR toy like that in years- I was swayed and highly impressed with them at a mere glance!
And now, you turn around and do this!?
. . .
So, since I can’t provide any pictures at this time, what did they do…?
The High Octane Megazord stands about an inch shorter than the Engine-Oh. Like the Gag-Max Megazord before it, this one is also a completely new design. New molds, new materials, new coloring, different paint applications, the whole shebang. Also like the previous Gag-Max Megazord, the proportions have been radically altered. The eyes are all squinty (like the Zords are mad at the kids who play with them!), the yellow Bear vehicle has lost its ears but gained a great big connection pedestal, the coloring on the blue Lion vehicle are no longer golden, but rather yellow and red, and what used to be shiny plastic has been replaced with dull equivalents. (It’s probably that flexible-crap we saw on the Gag-Max too!) A simple shield now has enormous gaps in it because of the distortion. Ironically, you actually improved the sword by making it thinner while still being able to collapse it down… just like the Gag-Max’s.
The electronics, as I suspected, were all completely removed from the Engine Soul cartridges. While I can understand that as a cost-saving measure (that’s debateable either way), what I cannot understand is why it is that you then turn around and make them flat like pancakes when they are clearly not in the original footage?
Bandai America- you make me look like a fool now! I praised your work on the “Transforming…” line, and you turn around and do this! Wh- what the hell am I supposed to think now!?
…and you have the arrogance to wonder why I take my money overseas.
Attention all CollectionDX.com readers:
Do Not buy the Deluxe High Octane Megazord. I strongly recommend that you instead buy the original DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh.