Toy Review: Transformers Generations Legacy United Galvatron (Core)

Review:  #858

Name:  Galvatron

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticons

Line:  Generations - Legacy: United

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Core (Wave 3)

Mold Status:  redeco of Legacy United Megatron

JET MODE:

Based upon his appearance in the Energon cartoon, Galvatron is appropriately a repaint of Megatron, and transforms into a Cybertronian jet.

He is in the smaller Core size class this time, and so there are compromises when it comes to the figure.  Despite that, he does look pretty decent in jet mode.

Being a jet also has its benefits, as he can look and feel a bit bigger compared to other Core figures.

He comes with a hollow-ish piece that doubles up as the small tank in the original toy, as well as a blade for the robot mode.

It's a solid piece with no moving parts, and it is also casted in black plastic with no paint, so it can look like a blob with something sticking out of each side at first glance.

Nevertheless, it is nice that it is included, and the tank can peg onto the top of jet mode.

A nice jet mode and one that's fairly faithful to the original.

TRANSFORMATION:

A very simple transformation.  Fold the cockpit back, unfold the legs from the bottom / side, and the arms out.

ROBOT MODE:

The original had a simple transformation so it's a perfect translation into a smaller size class.  He looks just like the character and that is a complement.

There are some hollow parts, but they're hidden fairly well.  The cockpit forms most of the kibble on his back.

The unpainted grey is a shame, and some of the facial features are lost as a result.

He's about standard height for a Core figure.

Articulation is decent for this size, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees.

Unlike the original, his shoulder cannons cannot fold down.  However, they do detach and there are two posts, so that you can position them to look like that they do fold down.

Alternatively, he can hold them as handheld weapons.  It's added functionality but would have still preferred if they had a joint to allow it to fold down instead of being forced to detach and reattach them.

His final weapon is the tank weapon but flip him the other way around and it's a blade.

The weapon can peg onto his forearms and it's big, but not to the point of awkwardness.  Also, the jet wings is one solid piece, they may look like there is a joint to allow you to fold it in the middle, but that's not the case.

A great robot mode, and despite his small size, still exudes presence.

OVERALL:

It probably would have been better if this was Deluxe size at the least but it's still a fantastic update to the original.  It was simple enough to be translated to this smaller size, and he looks awesome, and to be honest, a little bit cute too.

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Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited (Vita)

Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited is an updated rerelease for the Vita. The graphics are nothing to be amazed at, given that it is sprite-based on an isometric map, which you can rotate using the shoulder buttons. As a result, given that there are different heights within the map itself, there can be times where objects on the map will block the view, no matter how much you rotate the camera. It’s not all bad, given that the sprites are nicely detailed and animated, and it carries with it a certain charm.

The game is a strategy RPG, where you play on a isometric map and move characters along the grid-like floor. There is a hub, and you can enter into the different maps via it. Each map is different in terms of design, plus there are varying effects. Characters are differentiated by their class and their stats. They have different ranges of movement and different attack abilities. Gameplay is turn-based, where you can queue actions and execute you at your own pace, and the turn only ending when you want it to end. For example, you can move a character within the range of a healer, heal them, and then move then back, and this won’t use up that character’s turn.

Your characters and parties are important though. You start with a limited amount of story characters, but you can create your own, which are equally viable (although they’re way more generic and aren’t in the story at all). Each character has their own level, and will level up as you defeat enemies. They have different classes which will have them excel in some areas while not so much in others. However, while levels are important, equipment is more so. Characters have abilities that you can unlock and equip, although they seem a bit generic and limited.

The game has multiple gameplay systems that can be overwhelming, since some of them don’t particularly intertwine too much. The game tries to introduce them to you slowly, to the point where it’s still introducing stuff in the fourth chapter. These things include a Cheat Shop, which you can use to fiddle around with the output of the experience points and money, which is helpful. Equipment also has weapons, which is tied to a randomly generated dungeon. The game encourages you to take your time to get the most out of everything.

The story itself follows Valvatorez, a Prinny Instruction in Hades. Prinnies are the souls of humans when they die and are required to atone for their sins. Val was a powerful vampire, before he was stuck in this role. He’s supported by Fenrich, who is the sane man of the duo. Val is content with his menial and takes it very seriously. So when the President of the Netherworld set out to kill all the Prinnies, Val is not going to let it slide. It quickly escalates until Val vows to take over the Netherworld. It isn’t a school setting anymore, and is slightly more political, but the story doesn’t take itself seriously and constantly breaks the fourth wall.

Story progress is made by complete each level, and the game is split into ten chapters. It takes around 30 hours to finish the story, which is a solid amount of time. Oddly though, not every level will contain story content. Sometimes they are just there for you to fight the enemies and move on. The story itself is more like a prelude to the postgame, and so generally it isn’t too difficult to finish. Granted, a lot of the difficulty later on relate to the gimmicks of those levels, such as playing restrictions on the player or buffing the enemies.

Later story levels will raise the enemy levels faster than you can level up your own characters. If you have a bigger party, or even just a party with the main story characters, they will fall behind and you will need to grind for a bit. However, this is a Disgaea game, so there are various levels that are geared towards fast leveling, which can be satisfying and strangely cathartic.

Since the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, when it uses anime tropes, or have massive plot holes, they’re done for laughs and you can easily overlook them. The story is simple, since it’s basically just Val fighting his way up the Netherworld. He gains various allies, and the stakes escalate until he ends up fighting more and more supreme beings. It’s heartwarming at the end given how much camaraderie and loyalty that they characters have for each other. Everyone’s subplot is wrapped up by the finale. However, the final boss can feel somewhat short and unsatisfying.

After the story, there is the postgame and for many, this is where the game truly starts. There is a lot of things to do. In the base game, there is a series of postgame bosses, optional dungeons and of course, just maxing your characters’ levels and stats. Since this Vita version contains all the DLC, there is even more things to do, with all the DLC stories. Although you will be underleveled for most of them, and yes, as the general theme goes, you will need to grind to level up to clear that content.

Overall, Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited is a fun SRPG. Even if you’re no interested in the grinding part of the game, it has a solid story and likeable characters. The gameplay is complex but still simple to pick up. There are plenty of customization options and you can play the game however you want and still be able to progress. If you’re so inclined, there are hours and hours of content in the postgame.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Legacy United Origin Bumblebee (Deluxe)

Review:  #857

Name:  Origin Bumblebee

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Legacy: United

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 5)

Mold Status:  re-release of Buzzworthy Bumblebee Origin Bumblebee

VEHICLE MODE:

A re-release of the fast-selling Buzzworthy Bumblebee figure, Origin Bumblebee is based upon his very first appearance in the G1 cartoon, transforming into a flying saucer type Cybertronian vehicle.

At first glance it is a nice vehicle, although he's quite hollow and flat.  If you look at the back from a lower angle, you can see the gappiness.

The flatness and hollowness translates into a small and light toy, which feels like a bit of a rip-off that they're selling this as a full priced Deluxe (it's nowhere near Core class, but not up to Deluxe class either).

From the side you can see more clearly the flatness of it.  This vehicle, with the sides folded up, can fit into Origin Wheeljack as well.

The robot weapons can peg onto the top and the side.

Yes, there is some mismatch of the yellow paint against the yellow plastic, but that's always the case.  It's a unique vehicle mode so he gets a tick here, despite the small size.

TRANSFORMATION:

As you can expect, Origin Bumblebee is a shellformer, and the transformation relies a lot on the panels just folding up around the robot limbs.  The whole vehicle is a shell, none of the vehicle parts make it onto the robot mode.  This leads to some fairly complex engineering, which is where it justifies the Deluxe price point a bit more (although they still could have made the figure bigger, as can get fiddly with the small pieces).

ROBOT MODE:

Origin Bumblebee looks like Bumblebee.  He even has faux kibble such as the chest mimicking a car's roof, and the feet mimicking a car's hood.

As a result, he carries a lot of kibble in the form of the vehicle's panels.  It's not as bad as it could have been, the bulk of it is compacted surprisingly so around his legs.

The head sculpt is classic G1 bumblebee.  Despite having clear windows in vehicle mode, the chest windows are painted over.  Makes you wonder what the point of transparent windows were in the first place.

If you thought he was small in vehicle mode, he is absolutely tiny here.  It's quite disappointing just how small he is.  While he is more complex, the smaller size makes it more fiddly to pose him as well.

He has the standard articulation of joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

To help justify the price point, he comes with five energon rods, a gun, and a jetpack (which is hollow despite the large size).

The gun can be held in either hand.

The jetpack can also be held as an oversized gun, it does not look great there.

He can technically hold the energon rods by hugging them.  He cannot actually hold them properly though, either in his fists or pegged in somewhere.  So it's a bit awkward and kind of pointless after you use them once, since you're more than likely to store them away afterwards.

The jetpack can peg on his back, which looks much nicer there.  While the gun can peg on his shoulder for storage.

It's not a bad figure, in fact, he is quite impressive.  It's just the small size, and the pointless energon rods, that let him down.

A good robot mode that due to the transformation scheme, you won't be able to tell what he transforms into, which is neat in a way.

OVERALL:

Origin Bumblebee is a good choice for a re-release, given the original was an exclusive and sold out so fast (although being in the last wave of Legacy United, that also saw somewhat limited release wasn't super amazing either).  The engineering and design of the figure is good, just let down as per usual, but the cost cutting so he is absolutely tiny for the size.

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