As the Dad of 7 and 10 year old boys, I have been through all the battle and collect toys. For a while, you could hardly spit without hitting a Pokemon card or toy in my house. I’ve been through the Bakugan meltdown, where you son collapses to the floor in Target and throws a fit because you won’t buy him the “new, limited edition” Bakugan Brawler (parenting tip: just pretend the kid is not yours and look as annoyed as all the other people around you). I have battled Beyblades so many times that when I pull the rip cord I now start to spin.
All of the above may have just been a warm up for Monsuno toys. Toy Fair 2012 has not even officially begun and I just got to play with the new line of Monsuno toys from Jakks Pacific. Take Pokemon, Bakugan and Beyblades and roll them into one, add a hip looking animated series and you have Monsuno toys. Parents of 5-10 year old boys, prepare to be tripping over Monsuno toys soon.
What In The World is Monsuno?
In a couple of months you are not going to believe that today you did not know what Monsuno was! Here is the deal -
First you have a Monsuno animated series that will premier of February 23, 2012 on Nicktoons.
MONSUNO…They hurtled through space eons before man existed… They burned through the planet’s atmosphere and crashed into four corners of the world, bringing chaos, destruction and the extinction of the dinosaurs…And as suddenly as they arrived…they vanished. NOW THEY ARE BACK! The rise of MONSUNO will spell the ultimate destruction of our planet…or launch the courageous adventure of mankind’s newest hero, the unpredictable teenager, Chase Suno.
We did see a quick preview of the show at the Monsuno media event and it did look pretty cool. Kids, monsters, battles -- good guys and bad guys and even a government that may be good or bad. The battles look like they will actually be worked into the story line, which will be a nice shift from some of the Bakugan shows.
Enough of the Show, Let’s Talk Monsuno Toys
The amount of Monsuno toys is somewhat overwhelming. In general the idea is you have Monsuno cores and transforming action figures. With a flick of the finger you spin your core against an opponent with the goal of knocking his action figure out of the core. You have blue Monsuno who are good, red Monsuno who are evil and black Monsuno who are the government and not yet known to be good or evil?
Here is the brief rundown on the toy line -
The simplest and least expensive way to get into Monsuno is with the Monsuno Metal Die-Cast Core (SRP $2.99). These collectible die-cast metal Monsuno cores are based on battling monster creatures from the Monsuno animated TV series. Fun spinning action with just the flick of your finger.
Odds are, your kids are not going to let you off with just getting some die-cast cores. The real fun starts with the Monsuno Cores and Transforming Action Figures. Collect hundreds of favorite characters from the Monsuno Animated TV Series for amazing transformation reveal and controllable, fast-action battle play. Each 1-pack comes with 1 collectible Monsuno core, 1 transforming action figure and 3 collector game cards. (SRP $7.99)
Moms and Dads let just stop here and let the numbers sink in. Yes, we said hundreds of characters, $8 a pop…hope you weren’t dead set on sending the kids to college. But wait, there is more…
The Monsuno Core Combat 2-Packs (SRP $14.99) equip you with double the Monsuno action. Increase your collection or ‘Spin-Impact-Battle’ it out with friends! Each 2-pack comes with 2 collectible Monsuno cores, 2 transforming action figures and 6 collector game cards. Double down again and go with the Monsuno Core Combat 4-Packs (SRP $27.99) which feature exclusive (a word that makes parents cry) action figures & cores not available in the 1-Packs of 2-Packs.
The Monsuno Wild Core (SRP $14.99) brings motorized, electronic chaos to any battle. This was probably my favorite -- it will spin for about 20 minutes on its own! In a battle, be the first to spin your Monsuno Cores (sold separately) into impact with the Wild Core for a powerful payoff! Each Wild Core comes with an exclusive Topps collector game card.
Going to Grandma’s house? Take your Monsuno with you in the Monsuno Stock Clip (SRP $7.99). Fingers tired of launching Monsunos? Pick up the Monsuno Strike Launcher (SRP $11.99). Squeeze launcher to release the core (sold separately) with animation-inspired lights and increased spin, speed and accuracy! Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight -- reap ultimate spinning chaos on the battlefield with the Monsuno Auto Strike Multi-Launcher (SRP $24.99). The Multi-Launcher rapid fires up to 5 cores (sold separately) with launch activated lights.
We are going to stop here, not because that is all the Monsuno toys, but because the thought of buying all this has me hyperventilating. College? I hope you weren’t set on feeding or clothing your kids!
The Worst Part? Monsuno Toys Were Fun and Cool!
I really wish I could tell all our readers now that Monsuno is a boring game that kids will hate and there is no need to waste money on it. Unfortunately, from my time playing with Monsuno at the Toy Fair media event -- it is actually fun and cool!
Here is a quick video of our time with Monsuno at Toy Fair 2012 -
Monsuno is simple to play. You push down, they spin, knock into things and maybe an action figure comes popping out. No batteries, no computer, just two kids battling Monsuno monsters -- just like they see on the TV show. Is it the most original game? No. Monsuno very much takes from Pokemon, Bakugan and Beyblades to create a game that will feel very familiar to most kids.
The degree to which your kids will beg you for Monsuno toys probably depends on the success of the animated series. If the show is not a big hit, you will probably get away with just picking up a few Monsuno toys. If the show is a hit, the kids are going to want all the characters -- to afford this you might want to see what people are willing to pay for a kidney these days.
This Is Not a Monsuno Toy Review
As our regular readers know, we review toys by testing them out for a few weeks in a real world setting. At this point we played around with Monsuno toys for 15 minutes in a showroom -- clearly not the real world (apologies to our readers who live in showrooms). Once we have had a chance to fully test the Monsuno toys in a real world setting, we will provide a full review.
My guess is that Monsuno will become one of those toys that kids love and parents claim to hate. Dads publicly will complain about having to buy all these action figures and cores, but then when the kids are asleep we will sneak downstairs to perfect our technique for defeating the Wild Core!
More Information:
Watch our video review of the Monsuno Toys
Read More From Our Toy Fair 2012 Coverage
Have a Question/Comment? Let Us Know
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