Bakugan 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid Review (Drago)

With the holiday season drawing close, kids and parents alike have caught Zhu Zhu fever. These cute, cuddly and often annoying hamsters are selling like crazy. Historically fuzzy animals don’t go over too well with the male species so young chaps have a more varied wish list. Since the golden era of Transformers in the 80s, robot warriors have continued to be popular up until today. The fearless leader of the good guys, Optimus Prime has made a comeback thanks to the new Transformers movie. Still, it seems the aging hero’s glory days may soon be numbered when we consider the force of the Bakugan craze. These robot toys are much more than poseable action figures. Bukugan robots are used in a fun, expandable strategy game that can be played with friends.

What on earth is Bakugan all about?

For unaware parents, Bakugan toys are based on the popular animated series, "Bakugan: Battle Brawlers." Each player is equipped with a variety of "Bakugan warriors" which are used to compete for points. The warriors are launched and quickly roll along thanks to magnetic, spring-loaded marbles. When brawlers touch metal “gate cards”, transformation occurs, revealing humanoid robot warriors.

The objective is to capture the opponent's metal gate cards by rolling warriors onto these cards, often by managing to barrel through enemy’s Bakugan and defenses. Various tactical cards and trap pieces are used strategically to aid in protecting brawlers from attack.

Maxus Dragonoid: the biggest and baddest Bakugan yet

This fearsome robot has a Power Rangers 2.0 thing going on. One warrior (called Neo Dragonoid ) and six animal-like Bakugan traps can be used separately to play the game or assembled to form the ultimate monster.

The low down

Firstly, it isn’t particularly easy to assemble the large robot. Even once you do its balance could be better as the beast will topple over relatively easily. To Bakugan fans this isn’t a big deal at all. The main game is played with the smaller pieces and Maxus Dragonoid disassembled. For kids that are getting most out of using the set, it will seldom be seen put together. The ability to construct a big robot is more like a bonus project.

Being new to Bakugan I was greatly impressed with the detail in each trap. They don’t look like much until they hit a metal card and snap into position. Each one transforms in its own unique way, some being more impressive than other. To make them look their best for display you can pull out various appendages and antennae. Having a small screwdriver around is handy for this purpose.

This isn’t a particularly inexpensive gift for parents. On average, you can expect to pay around $50 street price for the set. However, since the game requires a number of Bakugan to play, you are getting a decent value here when you consider the price of purchasing several Bakugan pieces a la carte. None of the items included is this set are available separately.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic toy for getting your kid to practice their math skills and develop a problem-solving, strategic mind. Surprisingly for a toy that often uses the term “warrior”, I didn’t find this toy to have very violent themes. Overall, this is a great toy set that will thrill young boys and provide many hours of safe fun.