Battle Beasts were and are still a pretty big cult favorite of the 80s. I myself was always a big fan of 'em. In case you never had any or never took notice to them, they were small action figures around two inches high and made to look like humanoid animals clad in mechanical armor. Each came with a special weapon and a heat sensitive sticker somewhere on the front of their body which showed an elemental symbol used in a game similar to the classic "rock, paper, scissors" routine. They originally hailed from Japan as a spin-off of Transformers (called Beastformers), but never had their own TV show...not even around the rest of the world. They were released in America and other countries as kinda their
own thing and not really attached to Transformers. They were popular enough, and managed to build up a decent fan base, despite not having much media tie-in. I know they had Halloween costumes, school supplies, novelties and other merchandise. However, Battle Beasts' reign (eh, so to speak) ended in the 80s. I myself, played with them well into the 90s. As a matter of fact...they are one of the only toy lines I kept since I got them! When the great age of the internet began, one of the first things I did was check out classic toys (who needs porn, huh?) and Battle Beasts were one of the first old toy lines I looked up. I marveled at the unknown stuff I learned about 'em. I was even flabbergasted to learn of the Laser or Shadow Beasts which got limited release outside of Japan. I eventually started to collect and/or upgrade the rest of the beasts for my collection. Now, I had always fantasized about
what if scenarios regarding Battle Beasts. Such as...what if they ever got revived as a toy line. I had always wanted Battle Beasts to make a comeback. I finally got my wish when Minimates announced they were making Battle Beasts. My feelings were mixed, but I was positive. However, my enthusiasm cooled when no serious progress seemed to be made at the time. In the meantime, I also came to hate the idea of them using a Minimate body anyway (but that's another tale...I'm trying not to be a hater on them, by the by). At any rate, when news broke of Beast Fight or BEAST SAGA being made in Japan, I flipped! At last, a true spiritual successor to the 80s toy line I loved so much! I held off on getting any imports, assuming they'd get domestic releases in other countries...but...eh, I caved. Screw me. Had to!
Now, I had always thought that if Battle Beasts got remade in today's world, they'd need a stronger gaming aspect to survive. The old "rock, paper, scissors" (fire, wood, water) schtick had to have a major upgrade. Yep, it got one alright! Instead of heat sensitive rubsigns, we get dice launchers. Yeah, I know some fans hate 'em, but they are a necessary evil. Aside from that change, the figures got an upgrade in articulation. Now, instead of rotating arms at the shoulders only...we get articulated arms
and hips. The overall stature and proportion is upsized a bit...in other words, Beast Saga guys are bigger than Battle Beasts. We still get weapons, only now we also get a small shield in addition to the classic melee weapons like swords and staffs. Fire, wood, and water are now replaced by land, sea, and air.
Now...onto the toys!
Basically, so far they come in three packs, singles, and one six pack. There are also dice booster packs and battle areas to be had, but I didn't bother with those...I just care about the figures themselves!
The six packs are all themed on their respective terrains. They are also completely enclosed. The figures inside are inside bags attached to a cardboard insert. All the dice are also separate.
For those who care, the box has all kinds of info on it, but unless you read Japanese, it's just pretty jibberish.
Interesting note. Only the box set beasts have their own themed personal weapons. Many of the singles share semi-generic weaponry. Why? Who knows...a mild disappointment.
The six pack has an open window...and has two figures from each element. Oh, and a crap-load of dice. Some dice, I have no idea the meaning behind or how they are used in the game. I'm sure there is a translation out there.
ALL ABOUT SINGLES!!!
The single carded figures come on the classic cardboard backer with a form-fitting blister bubble. Oh, before I forget...each Beast Saga product (dice packs and such, too) comes with a number in the left corner based on order of release. Total "BS" if you ask me...tee hee hee hee (get it?).
You can see the accessories are beneath the blister base. Oh, and I know this just qualifies me as a sick-o, but don't you think Japanese toys have the most entertaining choke hazards ever? I know, right?!
Now the paperwork...let's get that crapola outta the way! Here's a few views of the instruction manual, which I cannot read.
You can get the basic gist of the gameplay from the colorful instructions. There may or may not be more complicated rules in addition to the idea of having the biggest score based on dice rolls. Seems the blue dice are magical attacks, and the elemental dice are standard attacks, I guess. The other black and red ones may be specialty attacks, I assume. The first step may or may not be a nod to the old Battle Beasts. Either you do "rock, paper, scissors" or "odds and evens" to decide who rolls first.
Each box set comes with one black and white, glossy battle mat/instruction sheet.
The six pack comes with two colored mats! As if I care...gaming sucks...I hate losing! Figures, baby!
That's enough o' that...onto the toys themselves!
Basically, each figure comes with at least two die, a weapon, a shield, and a card. In general, they made the beasts more realistic this time around for Beast Saga. The sculpts are sharp and nicely painted. They have rotating hips and shoulders and are made out of a softer kinda plastic. The weapons are also soft...this is kind of unfortunate since many of the swords have the potential to get that horrible "banana effect" going on. In other words, they can get bent! Harder plastic would have been better. Some of the weapons are thicker, and not as prone to warping, thankfully. Many fans already hate the shields and have called 'em out as being a waste of plastic. I concur. They are kinda small and hold awkwardly in the beasts' hands. I'd have rather they'd at least given them handles so the shields could be held outwards...instead they just have a simple, straight peg that makes them look awkward unless the figures hold them with their arm down straight.
The dice gimmick is neat for the gaming aspect of Beast Saga. I don't mind it that much. True, I'd rather just have straight-up figures, but like I said before...the gaming aspect is a necessary evil. The characters each have their own insignia...I like that! Land dice are red, water are blue, and air are green. Around back you can see the stopper back for the dice launcher also has each beast's insignia. Sadly, I think they should have also put an insignia on the inner plunger so that the symbol can still be seen when a die is not inserted. I really hope some repro label company makes some up to fix that little bugaboo.
This is the stopper fully extended. No fancy spring-loaded thing...you just pull back the stopper, load a die, and push to launch (they go pretty far). One thing fellow fans have bemoaned is the ruination of the figure aesthetics because of the plunger being extended when a die is in place. I kinda agree. It cuts back on display space and even manual play a bit. If they could just whip up some stickers to put on the inner plunger tip, I'd be okay with that. Otherwise, their chest block is clear and bare.
Some more die:
Note some are translucent and others opaque. Why? No clue. Oh, and the tiger form the one set has a die you can alter by turning. Almost like a mini, one-way Rubiks cube! I don't care about the game, though.
A haphazard spread of the cards:
Used in the game, far as I can tell...still can't read Japanese yet...bummer. Artwork is decent, but nothing beats the old hand drawn artwork of yore!
Oh, and 'round back, near the bottom of each card, there's a gold circle with an outlined head shot of another beast character...some of which have yet to be released. Almost like a mini sneak preview. Looks like we're getting a baboon, cheetah, sea horse, flying fish, fox, pig, and others. There's already a stingray, dog, frog, duck, and others on the way I've seen pics of.
The figures are great...entertaining as all Hell. I just love 'em. They're not perfect, but what is? They capture the spirit of the old Battle Beasts oh so nicely...a real blast from the past.
Here's all seven air clan guys so far:
Basically, if you got wings, you belong to the air group. So, it's gonna be mostly birds unless they can get some insects in there real quick-like! That bat is just awesome, by the way.
Don't drink the water! There's blood in the water! Here's a really wet 'n' wild bunch:
Gotta love these guys...many just have that evil look to 'em. I'm not sure if there is any kinda faction thing going on in terms of story line for Beast Saga, but alotta these dudes are just plain evil in my book! Note that not just fish are water guys...pretty much any beast that spends a majority of it's life in the drink made the cut. I think there's a variation of the turtle with a black hat, too.
Annnnnd finally...the land lubbers:
The biggest spread of characters! Kind of unfair, really. At any rate, you'll notice the land crew has the only obvious female beast...the panther. Yeah, she also has all the stereotypical hallmarks that point out the fact she's a she: pink and purple colors, hearts all over, jewelry, high heels, bosoms...wha-?! BOSOMS?!?! Wait, shouldn't she have like six or eight of those things? Bah, at any rate, so nice how we live in a bigoted society, no? Remember gals, no one will know you're a girl unless you glob on lotsa makeup and wear purple heels with hearts all over 'em! Relax, I'm joking (or am I?). Also, you'll see that there is a second lion character with similar armor. Either this is a lioness or a cub for the main lion dude in red. Neat. Some figures even seem to have nods to classic battle beasts or even look similar to Laser Beasts (look it up!).
All in all, I love 'em. I actually find myself CRAVING more Beast Saga. Right now, no one knows if these things'll get released outside of Japan. Only Toy Fair can answer that, perhaps. There's already a comic and a show in Japan as far as I can tell. I just wonder if Hasbro (the American counterpart to Takara/Tomy) will change them at all for a potential domestic release. Depending on where you get 'em, these will run you around 7-8 bucks apiece...which ain't too bad considering what toys cost these days. I wouldn't be surprised if they did cost this much if they get a release outside Japan.
Oh, forgot to mention you can get booster sets which are blind boxed and done up in translucent plastic...if you go for that sorta thing. Me? No. You can also get vehicles with mini figures which just plain suck, on a visual level (in my opinion). I've also seen non-articulated capsule versions of these guys that still launch die.
My only real, major gripe? Get some freakin' arthropods in the mix, here! Where are the crustaceans? The arachnids? The insects? Good lord! Hurry! The old Battle Beasts had a freakishly low number of those. Oh, and it would be neat to see them do prehistoric beast and dinosaurs some time down the line.
I like the clear parts 
