Jakks Pacific BattleBots Grip N' Grapplers
Written: Feb 17 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great detail, durable and lots of fun :)
Cons: Some of the spinners, like Mauler, don't always work right.
The Bottom Line: These are lots of fun for friends and family. Good price and high quality. Very well detailed to look like the real BattleBots.
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| Furbster's Full Review: Jakks BattleBots Grip N Grapplers Frenzy Robot Fig... |
This review will cover not only frenZy but also all of the GNG's in general.
What is a Grip N' Grappler?:
The BattleBot toy is attached to a tethered cord inside a clear tube that leads back to a handgrip. The handgrip has a handle like trigger you pull back on to make the toys weapon move. Some of the toys use the knob on the handgrip to control another part of the bot or weapon.
Along with movement, the bots also have tabs or spots somewhere on the front of the bot where if pressed in this will cause the GNG to break apart. Most of these have two tabs or spots that cause damage. On Deadblow one of the tabs will cause the hammer arm to separate from the body thus disabling it. While the second tab will cause the two front wheels to pop up thus disabling the ability to move.
These are not battery operated and are controlled entirely by the user.
What do they come with?:
Each Grip N' Grappler comes with a "Practice Bot" - a small toy with a tab on the front that if you aim correctly and hit with your GNG's weapon, will cause the practice bot to "break". There are two types of these practice bots, but their function is the same. They are included so the user can practice their aim and skills with their GNG so when they meet up with their friends they are prepared to kick bot!
They also come with instructions on how to take the GNG apart and fix it when it breaks apart. Also in the instruction is how to play with and fix the practice bot.
If you get a GNG from series three you will also get a Winners Pog or a Giant Nut trophy. The winners Pog is metal and very similar in size to the pogs competitors get at the competition.
What bots are available?:
The first series was the regular set of bots. These are: Deadblow, frenZy, Mauler, Tazbot, Diesector, Toro, Grendel and Ziggo.
The second series came with the same bots as series one, except they were the damaged ones, with painted on damage.
The third series comes with all of the same bots in the first series, except Grendel, Killerhurtz replaced him. This is also the "Winner Pogs and Trophies Collection" series. Deadblow, Mauler and frenZy come with Winners Pogs and the other 5 come with Giant Nuts.
The fourth edition is mentioned on the box of the box of my third editions - "Look out for Fourth Edition Robo-Graphics!" - I am unsure of which bots come in this series yet.
Keep an eye out for at least Voltronic this summer who will be in one of the GNG series here soon.
I hope they come out with many more, as the series has many of the same bots. That is perhaps my only overall disappointment with the whole series - too many of them are the same fan favorites, not enough variety of bots.
How are these best enjoyed?:
I suggest finding a friend or someone who enjoys the show at least a bit and invite them to Battle :)
While it's great to have the BattleBox playset, it is not required! Any flat surface will work.
Turn on some favorite rock music. Have you and your friend sitting across from each other with less then a few feet of table between the two of you. Or have the BattleBox playset set up and have your bots start in your squares. If you tend to believe that a judge is needed in case you reach the time limit, I suggest having a neutral friend present for judging at the end of the match. Have a watch or clock near by and start your 3-minute match with a countdown.
Battle each other until 1) one of your bots is incapacitated so that it can no longer fight (broken apart by way of the tabs on the front of each bot) or 2) the 3-minute time limit runs out.
If you reach the time limit and neither bot is incapacitated, have your judge give you a score. The judge will score on 3 categories: Aggression, Damage, and Strategy. The judge awards 5 points per category, whichever bot has the highest score total wins the match :)
An even more wild way to play with the GNG's is having a Robot Rumble. Have you and as many of your friends join you with their own GNG's and start a 5-minute match. The last bot standing is the winner. That or you all vote on who should be the winner out of all the bots moving and not incapacitated in the end. Trust me, in big groups this can be quite fun :)
Of course, since you are fighting with very lightweight toy robots, you and your friends might want to agree on a few rules ahead of time - like no making your bot fly across the arena and smack other bots on the top with your bots underside... :)
Some problems with these are:
I have found that some of the spinner bots like Mauler and Ziggo have a tendency to break or not spin correctly. I am not exactly sure why this happens, but it only seems to be in those bots. It isn't too hard to open the bot up and try to fix it your self, but most people don't want to do that.
To get around this just make sure before you buy them to try pulling the hand grip a few times in the store and make sure they spin or use their weapon correctly, this way you are sure to get some that work right.
I haven't had this problem in any of the other types of bots though.
What I like best about these:
I enjoy the detail that Jakks Pacific put into these. All very nicely designed even with sponsor logos and other small details that makes a bot recognizable.
I like that you can not only play with them but damage can be shown by hitting the pressure sensitive spots on the bot, so at least you have to try and play some strategy while fighting your friend.
I think these are fun, especially in groups and can really work the imagination - at least in full grown adults because that's the only group of people I play with :D
If you tend to host your Battling get-togethers I suggest buying more then one of each type of bot. I have several of the same ones so that everyone gets to choose the one they want. Plus it's fun to switch off so you can learn the different advantages and disadvantages that each toy brings to the ring.
Overall:
These are lots of fun. It doesn't matter your age, if you are a kid at heart you will enjoy playing with these with friends or family.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 6.99-8.99 ea
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
Furbster
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Location: La Habra, CA
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
Web developer/programmer who lives in CA with two Aibo puppies, Spaz and Ziggy.
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