I think the biggest problem Bakugan had is defining an identity that works. Is it a card game, a figure line, a transforming toy, or a game-oriented franchise? No one can really answer it properly. They were on the right track with Battle Planet, but multiple mismanagement ruined the potential for the ip for finally establish an identity for itself. Instead they settled being a beyblade copycat, and we all knew what happened to all beyblade copycats. Anyone remember Nado?
Overall, the best way to play Bakugan was G1 Season 1. 9 components is what each brawler needs: 3 Bakugan, 3 Ability Cards, and 3 Gate Cards. BakuTech i agree was the sequel we needed from the first Season. Dan and Drago's Journies are completed. All the Bakugan are safe. And as Dan said as the last line "Everything's perfect". Best ending. Of course people still want to play Bakugan, but how? So of course in universe a toy line that's meant to mimic the mechanisms of Bakugan are developed, and that's how we get introduced to Bakutech! IT'S GENIUS!
I didn't realize this was a 250 sub channel till I finished the video. Great quality editing and a great video essay. I have never played Bakugan or watched the anime and I still enjoyed the video. Keep it up!
I super agree with all your points throughout the video. Oh man. The moment I saw the words "Fandom" appear, i got a bit scared (turns out i had nothing to worry about). To be very honest, for the past few months ive been writing out a bakugan "reboot" for Gen 1 based mostly off of the ps2 game's rules and point distribution system, so this video gave me a lot of food for thought! Thank you for this well thought out video
I was soooo hyped for the 2. Generation of Bakugan. The ProTCG is awesome! But seeing how they missed a great opportunity to establish themselves along Yu-Gi-Oh, OnePiece and MTG is frustrating. And then with Gen 3 which I really wanted to give it a chance, but it felt like a fever dream. Great research and very good video! Let's hope SpinMaster will learn from the mistakes and bring a better Bakugan in the future 🎑.
This subject is so frustrating because we know that there is potential and that Bakugan has reached great heights, but Spin Master has failed it time and time again. The gen 2 TCG is honestly probably my favorite table top game of all time because it is so unique: Almost no table top games have action elements so deeply integrated that it feels cohesive. What I mean is: the Bakugan Pro game didn't feel like a toy with a game, or a game with a toy; it was a complete package that rewarded skill with the toys while also leaving room for strategy in deckbuilding like any other TCG or table top game. Additionally, I know the toys can be seriously interesting! The designs from BakuTech are unmatched with even functional customization adding to the experience. The Gen 2 Ultras are also amazing designs, featuring the most intricate and engaging designs that truly look like the monsters they represent. There. Is. Potential. But Spin Master doesn't know what that looks like. Good vid! keep up the good work and good luck on your journeys!
Bakugan G1 had the formula for success, but progressively became too convoluted as they began arbitrarily adding new toys to the line and power cliffing previous year to hell. When games expand their rules they generally find a way to incorporate other elements of the previous rules, while Bakugan makes no such attempt. This is also relavant in the line's power cliff that happens between seasons of G1. Season one Bakugan generally started around 200g but then capped out at just under 700g, but then most Bakugan from following seasons would never dip lower than the stronger end of the previous year. This pattern ruined the chance to incorporate past toys or cards into the new game as. Sure, it forces consumers to buy new products, but if you really liked a Bakugan's shape you were sol. The Beyblade metal series did this well with all seasons having parts they were compatible with each other, with early parts being viable for the line's entire run. The best attack tip in the game is from the first season, while the best metal wheels were from later seasons so you had to collect all years to make the best combinations. Funnily enough the thing that killed metal fight beyblade was how drastically metal masters and shogun steel changed the system and that change was less of a change than what Bakugan does every year!
Two things need to be correct here is Bakugan was both co-developed by Spin Master and Sega Toys, and Bakutech is by Sega Toys alone, SM never put their hand in it, same with the exclusive New Vestroia Evolution gans, that's why they were never released outside to Western country.
The revisits to Bakugan after the OG just feel hollow to me. The just don't have the same vibe the og did. That feeling of adventure with large scale conflicts just doesn't exist. It just feels sterilized with no depth, grandeur or high stakes.
for anime gen 1 crew is very stacked up writers va with directors all known for working popular anime series from childhood and classics. time peroid of release and what had working on it was like lightning caught on bottle
@@TheMasterBlaze i feel like other gens anime had strength to be better. thematic and theme had could lead much more intresting plot. writer and spin master opted for saturday moring cartoon less stakes and less serialised
I don't think the blind bag trick would stop the most dedicated of fans, because each product has a different upc code that gets mandated by some regulation or manufacturer constraint that can be easily abused. This feature was present in the gundalian invaders blind bag sets, to the point where certain exclusives like the clear ventus linehalt set got scalped and upsold like crazy.
@Elfowlgirl fun fact: Gen 3 is officially called Bakugan Revolution. Unfortunately just like the early gen 3 gate cards it was changed to be more simple
*The following are the musings of a Salty SEAGULL named EARL who just shows up in my posts whenever he feels like it!* [EARL the Salty SEAGULL:] 0:43 - "While I never really got into the show, I can say one thing, the anime had one kick@$$ theme song!"
I loved bakugan as a child and still love the legacy toys to this day. However, I only really collected the toys from the first 2 seasons and now getting into bakutech. The toys from seasons 3 and 4 lost the charm that the classic season 1 bakugan had. They looked like marbles and the monster designs were simple, yet effective. In season 2 you can tell they really achieved a more complex monster design in a marble. From season 3, they started having judding parts and you can clearly tell they were running out of ideas for the monster designs, and they also look too "hollow" to accomodate the new gimmicks like the battle gear. The show was awesome until half way of season 2, in my opinion. The second they started adding battle gear and foreshadowing GI the show started being inconsistent and dan and drago's protagonism started getting boring really quickly. As for the reboot, I cant really tell because I didnt watch the show or own any of the toys.
22:30 yeah bakutech is peak bakugan also accept few exceptions all bakugans exist in 1 attribute also i think bind system is best gimmick ever made i have most of them
I love Bakugan it great on rewatch too 3rd season is a bit of bored but I'm glad I grew up with it has it on ds was a great ds game the first one not the second one
My main issue with gen 2 and 3 is that they somehow made designs too complex yet boring! Like i love when you could tell that a bakugan was a ball designed to make a figure and not a figure that becomes a ball, if that makes any sense. Like as time goes on i just feel like bakugan being marbles matters less and less.
Nah bro. Gen 1 will forever be what I grew up with but the designs were lame and didn't match the show at all. At best you got a face and maybe an arm or two. At least now they look like goddamn monsters. Gen 2 was just better game and toy wise. Gen 3 on the other hand.....
Gen 2 tried appeal to adults as tcg which was pet project. Spin master did understand how to sell tcg and leave to died. Gen 3 was attempted to rebrand trying more toyetic. gen 3 game just something made fill in checklist. Anime get increases decrease visual and little to evolution to story. Gen 3 failed and seen be cancelleded
For me it's kinda Hard to See gen 2 & 3. For me the bakugan Look plain and boring. And the anime style is nothing for my eyes. It's waay to childish. And the Story is plain boring as well😅
The desings of the bakugans is gen2 was good, but anime ruined it. I never saw an official series that bad, the animation garbage, the story don't exists and no pop-out animation, their little forms are the same as they in battle, not how the toys looks like. The third series just bad, it have good story ideas, poorly told in the anime, many plot hole and stupid mistakes. It's a 3 out of 10, but finally bakugans have pop-out animation, how the toys are actually looks like, but out of battle there's no ball form of them. The worst part of it the toys, how good was the toys for the second series, now there is an actually watchable, but bad anime with poorly designed toys. It just sad to see, how other toy franchises can make multiple good series and toys, while Bakugan even in the first series falled off, in Gundalian Invaders with the toys, in Mechtanium Surge with the anime.
i agree with this alot. gen 2 anime was just medicore kid anime for modern era at best. animation in gen 2 is better then gen 3 by while and gen 2 anime did have pop out animation or stand animations just in later season.
I think the biggest problem Bakugan had is defining an identity that works. Is it a card game, a figure line, a transforming toy, or a game-oriented franchise? No one can really answer it properly. They were on the right track with Battle Planet, but multiple mismanagement ruined the potential for the ip for finally establish an identity for itself. Instead they settled being a beyblade copycat, and we all knew what happened to all beyblade copycats. Anyone remember Nado?
Overall, the best way to play Bakugan was G1 Season 1. 9 components is what each brawler needs: 3 Bakugan, 3 Ability Cards, and 3 Gate Cards. BakuTech i agree was the sequel we needed from the first Season. Dan and Drago's Journies are completed. All the Bakugan are safe. And as Dan said as the last line "Everything's perfect". Best ending. Of course people still want to play Bakugan, but how? So of course in universe a toy line that's meant to mimic the mechanisms of Bakugan are developed, and that's how we get introduced to Bakutech! IT'S GENIUS!
I didn't realize this was a 250 sub channel till I finished the video. Great quality editing and a great video essay. I have never played Bakugan or watched the anime and I still enjoyed the video. Keep it up!
I super agree with all your points throughout the video. Oh man. The moment I saw the words "Fandom" appear, i got a bit scared (turns out i had nothing to worry about).
To be very honest, for the past few months ive been writing out a bakugan "reboot" for Gen 1 based mostly off of the ps2 game's rules and point distribution system, so this video gave me a lot of food for thought! Thank you for this well thought out video
I was soooo hyped for the 2. Generation of Bakugan. The ProTCG is awesome! But seeing how they missed a great opportunity to establish themselves along Yu-Gi-Oh, OnePiece and MTG is frustrating. And then with Gen 3 which I really wanted to give it a chance, but it felt like a fever dream. Great research and very good video! Let's hope SpinMaster will learn from the mistakes and bring a better Bakugan in the future 🎑.
It’s sad because Bakugans are really cool toys to just use on their own
I agree. I bought one of the bakutech Bakugan becuase the multiple monster modes are just cool.
This video is so good
This subject is so frustrating because we know that there is potential and that Bakugan has reached great heights, but Spin Master has failed it time and time again.
The gen 2 TCG is honestly probably my favorite table top game of all time because it is so unique: Almost no table top games have action elements so deeply integrated that it feels cohesive. What I mean is: the Bakugan Pro game didn't feel like a toy with a game, or a game with a toy; it was a complete package that rewarded skill with the toys while also leaving room for strategy in deckbuilding like any other TCG or table top game.
Additionally, I know the toys can be seriously interesting! The designs from BakuTech are unmatched with even functional customization adding to the experience. The Gen 2 Ultras are also amazing designs, featuring the most intricate and engaging designs that truly look like the monsters they represent.
There. Is. Potential.
But Spin Master doesn't know what that looks like.
Good vid! keep up the good work and good luck on your journeys!
@@edray_utopia thank you! And yeah, that exact feeling is what drove this video - Spin Master has gotten so close, only to fall short over and over
Bakugan G1 had the formula for success, but progressively became too convoluted as they began arbitrarily adding new toys to the line and power cliffing previous year to hell. When games expand their rules they generally find a way to incorporate other elements of the previous rules, while Bakugan makes no such attempt. This is also relavant in the line's power cliff that happens between seasons of G1. Season one Bakugan generally started around 200g but then capped out at just under 700g, but then most Bakugan from following seasons would never dip lower than the stronger end of the previous year. This pattern ruined the chance to incorporate past toys or cards into the new game as. Sure, it forces consumers to buy new products, but if you really liked a Bakugan's shape you were sol. The Beyblade metal series did this well with all seasons having parts they were compatible with each other, with early parts being viable for the line's entire run. The best attack tip in the game is from the first season, while the best metal wheels were from later seasons so you had to collect all years to make the best combinations. Funnily enough the thing that killed metal fight beyblade was how drastically metal masters and shogun steel changed the system and that change was less of a change than what Bakugan does every year!
Two things need to be correct here is Bakugan was both co-developed by Spin Master and Sega Toys, and Bakutech is by Sega Toys alone, SM never put their hand in it, same with the exclusive New Vestroia Evolution gans, that's why they were never released outside to Western country.
Should've had a sourcelist.
The revisits to Bakugan after the OG just feel hollow to me. The just don't have the same vibe the og did. That feeling of adventure with large scale conflicts just doesn't exist. It just feels sterilized with no depth, grandeur or high stakes.
for anime gen 1 crew is very stacked up writers va with directors all known for working popular anime series from childhood and classics. time peroid of release and what had working on it was like lightning caught on bottle
@@arcanehumanoidtyphoon Yeah. Pretty much. That first series was so good and it's a shame it wasn't allowed to stick by other forces.
@@TheMasterBlaze i feel like other gens anime had strength to be better. thematic and theme had could lead much more intresting plot. writer and spin master opted for saturday moring cartoon less stakes and less serialised
Your talk about bakugan videogames makes me wonder about your oppinon in the gen 1 fangame
@@ceresgc I haven’t played it yet!
I don't think the blind bag trick would stop the most dedicated of fans, because each product has a different upc code that gets mandated by some regulation or manufacturer constraint that can be easily abused. This feature was present in the gundalian invaders blind bag sets, to the point where certain exclusives like the clear ventus linehalt set got scalped and upsold like crazy.
@@vienlacrose It’s possible to give a blind bag wave the same upc code I believe, like how trading card packs work
@Elfowlgirl fun fact: Gen 3 is officially called Bakugan Revolution. Unfortunately just like the early gen 3 gate cards it was changed to be more simple
Really great video! Gen 2 toys for me were the peak of Bakugan toy design. Spin Master really just don't know what to do with this great franchise.
*The following are the musings of a Salty SEAGULL named EARL who just shows up in my posts whenever he feels like it!*
[EARL the Salty SEAGULL:] 0:43 - "While I never really got into the show, I can say one thing, the anime had one kick@$$ theme song!"
YAHOOO NICE JOB EM THIS IS REALLY GOOD!!!!
I loved bakugan as a child and still love the legacy toys to this day. However, I only really collected the toys from the first 2 seasons and now getting into bakutech. The toys from seasons 3 and 4 lost the charm that the classic season 1 bakugan had. They looked like marbles and the monster designs were simple, yet effective. In season 2 you can tell they really achieved a more complex monster design in a marble. From season 3, they started having judding parts and you can clearly tell they were running out of ideas for the monster designs, and they also look too "hollow" to accomodate the new gimmicks like the battle gear.
The show was awesome until half way of season 2, in my opinion. The second they started adding battle gear and foreshadowing GI the show started being inconsistent and dan and drago's protagonism started getting boring really quickly.
As for the reboot, I cant really tell because I didnt watch the show or own any of the toys.
22:30 yeah bakutech is peak bakugan also accept few exceptions all bakugans exist in 1 attribute also i think bind system is best gimmick ever made i have most of them
Nice one Elfy 🎉🔥
I love Bakugan it great on rewatch too 3rd season is a bit of bored but I'm glad I grew up with it has it on ds was a great ds game the first one not the second one
I knowist you didn't mention how gen 1 went from 6 iconic main Bakugan to just 1
My main issue with gen 2 and 3 is that they somehow made designs too complex yet boring! Like i love when you could tell that a bakugan was a ball designed to make a figure and not a figure that becomes a ball, if that makes any sense. Like as time goes on i just feel like bakugan being marbles matters less and less.
Nah bro. Gen 1 will forever be what I grew up with but the designs were lame and didn't match the show at all. At best you got a face and maybe an arm or two. At least now they look like goddamn monsters. Gen 2 was just better game and toy wise. Gen 3 on the other hand.....
Hmm very good point
Gen 2 tried appeal to adults as tcg which was pet project. Spin master did understand how to sell tcg and leave to died. Gen 3 was attempted to rebrand trying more toyetic. gen 3 game just something made fill in checklist. Anime get increases decrease visual and little to evolution to story. Gen 3 failed and seen be cancelleded
17:10 g1 did that with shity servers and ading dna code to all bakugans
Spin master has not been very transparent which causes alot problems.i general think this video well made for it topic
Sup, (bolcanoid from da server)
16:00 Wait, is Pokemon Ranger real now?
For me it's kinda Hard to See gen 2 & 3. For me the bakugan Look plain and boring. And the anime style is nothing for my eyes. It's waay to childish. And the Story is plain boring as well😅
Неплохо, нелохо.
The desings of the bakugans is gen2 was good, but anime ruined it. I never saw an official series that bad, the animation garbage, the story don't exists and no pop-out animation, their little forms are the same as they in battle, not how the toys looks like. The third series just bad, it have good story ideas, poorly told in the anime, many plot hole and stupid mistakes. It's a 3 out of 10, but finally bakugans have pop-out animation, how the toys are actually looks like, but out of battle there's no ball form of them. The worst part of it the toys, how good was the toys for the second series, now there is an actually watchable, but bad anime with poorly designed toys. It just sad to see, how other toy franchises can make multiple good series and toys, while Bakugan even in the first series falled off, in Gundalian Invaders with the toys, in Mechtanium Surge with the anime.
i agree with this alot. gen 2 anime was just medicore kid anime for modern era at best. animation in gen 2 is better then gen 3 by while and gen 2 anime did have pop out animation or stand animations just in later season.