Am I correct in assuming that the largest issue here is that BB fans are somewhat disappointed that the new BB's won't be "takara/hasbro" styled beasts? Not so much that they despise the Mini-mate lines, but more that the new ones (regardless of who is making them or what style they will be) won't be like the old ones.
For a few, it seems the issue may be more the style that the beasts are set in (blocky vs. curvy, piece together vs. single piece, etc) than them needing to look exactly like the old beasts.
The Mini-mates have rather large shoes to fill with some collectors, and I think part of it is that the original sculpts were so impressive for their time period and had tons of character from beast to beast.
Even my Fiance, who isn't as crazy about Battle Beasts in general, admires the original beasts. Compared to the new ones his reply is 'something's off'. Granted, neither of us have had a chance to see/inspect the gator prototype in person, but from the images it's, 'yeah, it's neat.... but something is off'
For me, aside from my nit-pick about the gator sculpts waist, the toy was too blocky (yeah, I know. Sound like a broken record
)
I love Gundams, MegaMan X Mavericks (which could be looked at as android battle beasts in a way), Zoids, Bionicles, Transformers, and the old Macross bots, but even they had more curves than the proto gator (and proportioned a tad bit better). But the saving grace is, the gator
is a proto, and they have plenty of time to go 'Yeah, we like this direction. But how can we push this idea even further?' and make all sorts of modifications and adjustments to their design(s). It seems they're hinting at some interchangeability with the toys, which I'll admit I don't care all that much for (it seems like it would take away from individual designs, but for customization purposes it's a perfect idea) but hey... if you don't want to do such a thing, you wouldn't
have to.
The above are why I liked the other, multiple sculpts from early last year (2011). They had an idea that seemed more 'complete', especially since you had multiple beasts to get a better idea of where they were going with things. Plus, curves!
New things are great, but lets face it. The original beasts have a lot of charm, and merge the idea of organic beasts and armored/robotic warriors together almost perfectly.
DST is up against nostalgia, and an idea that doesn't
need to be changed, they just don't seem to have a choice if they want to revive the line. But they still have a chance, and they have to care.... otherwise, one of em wouldn't be here.
For me, I'mma just wait and see how things turn out before any congratulations/condemnations are solidified.
Anyway, just my two cents.
Edited by khaomera, 10 January 2012 - 01:37 PM.