Toy Review: Transformers Generations Legacy Wreck 'N Rule Collection Masterdominus (Deluxe)

Review:  #828

Name:  Masterdominus

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Legacy

Year of Release:  2022

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  retool of Kingdom Ractonite

BEAST MODE:

Masterdominus transforms into a skeletal mastodon (similar to a woolly mammoth).

He has a weird black color scheme on the upper layer for some reason, with some gold highlights.  This does kind of detract against him.

As a skeletal figure, he can feel a bit unsubstantial.  Above is a comparison against other Deluxes.

As a retool of Ractonite, the main new thing is a new head sculpt, and this is the best thing about the figure as it looks awesome.  The mouth can open and close too.

There is articulation, but not too much of it is meaningful as it is hard to not make him look awkward when moving his limbs.

An awesome retool (and surprising at how much can change with just a swap of the head).

TRANSFORMATION:

There is little change in the transformation compared to Ractonite, but he transforms as a partsformer.  You pull him apart, do a little bit of fiddling around with some parts, and then put him together again.  Basically, the limbs become the limbs of the robot mode, but with the front and back piece of the skeleton forming the shoulder pads.  The torso of the beast mode is the torso of the robot mode.

ROBOT MODE:

Ractonite had a terrible robot mode, one that may eventually grow on you.  Masterdominus is the same, and he is very wide thanks to the shoulder pads.

He has a wide upper body with slim legs, and that is a big reason why he looks so weird.  Thanks to the long heel spurs though, he keeps his balance well.

The head sculpt is unchanged and has a knight theme to it.

He is about average height for a Deluxe, although quite a bit wider than normal.

Articulation is fine, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and minor ankle tilts.

The mastodon head defaults to a shoulder pad but you can take it off and attach it to his arm as a weapon.

The other nice change compared to Ractonite is that while Ractonite has 5mm posts as "hands", Masterdominus tries to improve it by having another set of 5mm posts, so that it looks like "claws" instead.  It's a slight improvement.

FOSSILIZER MODE:

As a carry over of the mold, Masterdominus is a fossilizer, which means he can split up into pieces to form as armor for other characters.

He predominantly splits into three pieces, two weapons and a backpack which acts as shoulder guns.  It doesn't look too bad, although the weapons are a little bit too big for a Deluxe so probably Voyager and Leader classed figures are where you would want to use them on.

OVERALL:

Masterdominus is a clever retool.  Who knew that changing only the skeletal face can make such a big impact on how the figure looks (yes, a lot of the figure has been retooled, but the most notable change was the beast mode head).  As part of an exclusive set, he can be a bit pricey, but if the alt mode interests you, then he is worth getting during a sale.

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My Friend Peppa Pig (PS5)

My Friend Peppa Pig is an adventure game that is predominantly for young kids. Yes, it has an easy trophy / achievements list and there’s that appeal, but it’s a short simple game that’s more like an entry for younger audiences starting out. It’s based upon the preschool cartoon Peppa Pig, and the premise is that you are a friend of Peppa’s who is visiting her.

The game starts off with a simple character editor so that you can design your character from a limited set of presets. Then there’s a quick tutorial where basically you just use the analogue stick to move around, and X to interact with objects and characters. You’re then let loose in the world, and you can explore it with Peppa. You start off with Peppa’s house and then moving around, you’ll be able to go to her school, the museum, the forest and several other locations.

It is designed to be a slow and relaxing game. It’s basically a sidescroller where the characters move from side to side. There are scripted events where you help someone find their glasses or sticks to build a campfire. It’s not riveting stuff, but it has a simple charm to it. The story revolves around interacting with Peppa’s friends and family, and then helping them out. There’s no meat to the gameplay as all you need to do is go around to where you need to go and press X. The graphics are a simple colorful affair that’s true to the cartoon.

As it is such a simple game, there aren’t many opportunities for issues or bugs to remain after all the patches. While the gameplay flow is fine for its target audience, as an adult gamer though, there may be some little things here and there that may annoy you. The biggest one is the unskippable cutscenes where it goes on for a little bit too long and are so repetitive. Every time you enter an area, Peppa will say the same thing.

The game is extremely short, which is disappointing. You can easily finish and see everything that the game offers in much less than two hours. You can then keep on going to the same places and doing the same things afterwards, but there’s too little content, especially for a full priced game. This lack of content is emphasized since the game feels decent for its intended purpose.

Overall, My Friend Peppa Pig is good for young ones, and for trophy hunters. To be fair, the game has nice graphics (for what it is going for) and charm to its simple gameplay. It can be grating with the constant commentary from the characters but when you put it into the context of its target audience, it’s fine.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Legacy Wreck 'N Rule Collection G2 Leadfoot (Deluxe)

Review:  #827

Name:  G2 Leadfoot

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Legacy

Year of Release:  2022

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  retool of Earthrise Mirage (itself a retool of Siege Mirage)

VEHICLE MODE:

Released in a 2-pack with Masterdominus in the Wreck 'N Rule Collection set of exclusives, G2 Leadfoot transforms into a yellow and blue Formula One race car.

This is a nice alternate mode, and the blue has an amazing shade of metallic blue that really makes the figure pop with the yellow.

Leadfoot is a good size for a Deluxe too.

Leadfoot is a retool of Earthrise Mirage, itself a retool of Siege Mirage.  Basically, it's the earth form of the Siege version and there is a significant amount of changes here, including a tiny bit of the transformation.  As a result, the spoiler looks much better than the original Siege figure.

Both guns peg onto either side of the vehicle.

The only play value here is rolling him on a flat surface, but still, this is a fantastic vehicle mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

He transforms pretty much the same as the Siege Mirage with a minor tweak to his arms.  The front splits into half along with the sides to form the legs.  The arms, instead of completely folding into the spoiler, is a little bit more spread along lengthwise (the vehicle mode is actually slightly longer than the Siege version thanks to this), and splits for robot mode.  The head is revealed along with the fake torso from underneath the vehicle mode (rather than the back like the Siege mold).  It is a clever and more substantial retool than you'd expect.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode brings out a little bit more of the blue to the thighs, so he basically has a yellow upper body, and a blue lower half.

This is a pretty good looking robot, with little in the way of kibble.  The rear wheels nicely slots into his back, only the front wheels and fenders kind of stick out the back of his legs.

The head sculpt is new compared to the Earthrise Mirage, and it looks awesome here with the red eye visor.

Size-wise, he is about average for a Deluxe class figure.

A quick comparison with the original Siege Mirage, and Leadfoot still has the semi-awkward looking lower legs, but thanks to the darker color scheme, it isn't as bad here.

Articulation is fine with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and some ankle tilts.

He comes with a pair of guns, one slightly bigger and longer than the other (with a painted purple tip to boot).

He can hold both weapons in both hands and looks pretty good with them.

The guns can store on his back when not in use.

Unlike Mirage, the guns are not designed to sit on his shoulder as a shoulder cannon (although you can attempt to do it).

A fantastic little repaint, and the G2 colors are quite subdued for G2, making him much easier to accept and blend in with other figures.

OVERALL:

This is a really good looking repaint, even if you don't like the character.  Although for a more obscure character like this, it is the right decision to put him as an exclusive (rather than clogging up shelves by shelfwarming), but this also makes him more expensive than a normal Deluxe.  Thus, if you are interested, it is probably best to wait until a sale.

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Toy Review: Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative Dilophocon / JP12

Review:  #826

Name:  Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative

Brand:  Transformers

Line:  Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2023

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

The second set in the Jurassic Park x Transformers Collaborative line, it is based upon the scene where the character Dennis meets the Dilophosaurus.  It's another iconic scene in the show.

Unfortunately, unlike the first set, the packaging doesn't set the figures into a diorama, but we just get a piece of packaging art instead.

THE FIGURES:

The set is also not as value packed, coming with two Deluxe sized figures:  Dilophocon and JP12.

Dilophocon is a fantastic figure herself, while JP12 is quite flawed, good in vehicle mode, but not so great in robot mode.

Still, it's a nice set and they have a good thematic design.

And if you have the first set, they look great together.

OVERALL:

The second set has a super good figure, and one that's average.  So it's still worth getting overall if you can get it at a discount, given that the set only provides two Deluxes, at full price, it definitely isn't worth it.

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Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (2022)

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is the second season based on the manga series. It follows on from the first season, as well as after the third movie. It follows Riko, Reg and Nanachi as they delve deeper and deeper into the abyss, towards the point of no return. The draw here is the weird and wonderful (as well as horrifying and dangerous) things that they see and experience.

The season starts off with events that happened in the past, where explorers went into the abyss during its early stages in the hopes of finding the mythical Golden City. The abyss remains a key mystery, but it was an intriguing opening that nicely sets up the tone of the season. It quickly then returns to Riko, Reg and Nanachi as they head down into the sixth layer, and the things that lie in it.

To no one’s surprise, the sixth layer is dangerous, but there is a village of sorts. It’s filled with odd inhabitants, and it is complete with weird customs. Riko’s curiosity cannot be sated as she loves to eat everything and see everything. The mystery of Reg’s past is also touched upon here. The designs of the inhabitants border on nightmare stuff, as they’re like monsters, even though they might be friendly.

The season quickly lays down the tone it is going for. It has scenes that showcase the darker themes. It seems to prey on your fears and there are some uncomfortable scenes where characters get brutally hurt. The anime is also not afraid of using toilet humor, or even just mentioning the reality of the nature of a human body. Since it’s done so openly here, it feels kind of… like taboo.

The direction of the plot in this season can be confusing. At times, you are not sure where it is heading towards. It feels like it ping pongs around the place, with events that are seemingly disconnected from one another. Eventually, you can see the outline of how it is reconciling the stories of the past and the present, and to see how this city deep in the abyss came to be, and how it works. It’s not a pretty story, as it has several uncomfortable moments.

It takes a while and even when the full story is revealed on the secret of the village, it is a lot of process. It’s not told in the most straightforward manner, instead, it seems to revel in its unusual and frankly, twisted imagination that serves to try and shock the viewer as much as possible. It can be repulsive, and this causes the anime to constantly lose its intrigue and mystique.

However, towards the end of the season, it somehow manages to come together. It doesn’t come together in a massive revolutionary way, but just enough that the story threads are connected, and the plot arc of the season somewhat makes sense. The anime tends to attempt to create emotional moments where you feel sad for the characters, but it can come on too hard and fast, before you can fully bond to those characters, so can feel pretentious when that happens.

The season finale finishes off the arc, and it can be messy. There is the fate of the village to consider, along with it deals with its own curse. The Abyss is dangerous and so the characters must fend off against the monsters. Then there are the new characters that we’ve come to know, and their fates and futures. It’s not elegant storytelling but it gets its point across. Whether that was worth all the time and effort is up to you.

Overall, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun is an average season. The focus isn’t so much on adventuring with Riko, Reg and Nanachi but rather a bunch of new characters, and the history of the village and people that live there on the sixth floor. Unfortunately, the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired, as it can feel uninteresting and disjointed at times.

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