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[0neAnd0nly]

Spoiler: Feel Like I Need to Say This, LOL

Ok, so FIRST OFF while yes, I am embracing my nerd side - I was also a former athlete who played competitive PG in Bball, and also played QB in FB competitively. All this while Aggressive Rollerblading.

I was at one point a recruiting reporter for a major D1 CFB program media outlet (and still have sources today), worked in the video game industry and journalism (ok that probably doesn't help my cause after some reflection), and also was in the journalism industry for Disney (mostly theme parks). I work in a completely unrelated field to any of that now, but I feel like I have to pre-face that because I am making a Beyblade post as an adult.

But yeah - Beyblade, specifically Beyblade X is pretty friggin fun, lol.

Some stuff I picked up recently:

----------

Beyblade BURST (the older generation, replaced in 2024 by the current Gen, X):

Beyblade X (the new, current series - heavier, more metal, more violent):

Ok, Ok, Ok - so you've made it this far and STILL don't understand...

Let me add some context.

I actually got this as a gift for someone in my family, and realized how much fun I had trying it with family members. Looked it up, and realized there is actually a tournament scene in the USA (and internationally). Adults actually play! Yay, I wasn't odd for finding it fun! Haha.

Now, much of the participants would remind you of something from a Pokemon TCG Tournament or E3 experience, but hey - I am not one to judge.

Let me ask you, what's not to love though?

Reasons they are cool:

• They are violent, fast spinning toys that beat each other up and occasionally blow apart from hits. Amazing.
• Apparently Hasbro (the USA maker) and Takara Tomy had began making the game a bit more appealing for adults and trying to make the tournament scene internationally a thing with X. Obviously in Asia is took off, Japan of course having a decent scene. The USA is headed that way too, with X. They are attempting to reinvigorate the scene as popularity of Beyblades has fallen in recent years.
• They look kind of cool
• They are fun to collect with exclusives in both the USA and Japan
• You can swap parts and make them customized to a degree
• There is actually some skill with drop techniques, builds and style (defense, stamina, attack, etc.), but also plenty of luck involved (like Poker, LOL)
• There is new stadiums coming out that have gimmicks (and there have been many in the states in the old generations too, like the one I showed above with the motorized spinning disc in the middle).
• The current gen, X, has an "Xtreme Rail" of teeth on the edge of the stadium, that the Beyblades can catch and will cause them to shoot super fast and violent, causing some fun mayhem.
• Simple enough for any age and anybody to enjoy

More cool stuff about Beyblades:

Beyblades are a modern version of a popular Japanese game called Beigoma, which was invented in the 17th century. Yes, the 1600s. Adults and kids have played it all throughout history.

There is a current Anime show, Beyblade X, that is actually quite good (at least by my standards - I don't watch Anime besides Dragonball, Initial D (because I drift for 20 years), Ghibli films on occasion, and... well, now Beyblade. Lol. Watched Pokemon as a kid to be transparent. Liked that a good bit.

Beyblade X Ep. 1 from the official Beyblade Channel on Youtube:



Still not convinced why it's cool?

Well, recently a clip went viral from some tournament recently that is kind of cool:



This XR stadium in Japan is like something out of the Anime:


Clip showing how the points are made with finishing off the opposing Beyblades:


So... uh... am I alone on GAF, or anybody else out there totally enjoy playing with these things?

 

[Coconutt]

Lover beyblade the toy and the anime as a kid, glad to see it's still going strong today. Would be on board to pick this up as a hobby again but I have enough of those as it is.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

we had pogs when I was a kid

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

You forgot to mention the 700+ dollars people spend on these things when playing in the top tournaments.

 

[0neAnd0nly]

You forgot to mention the 700+ dollars people spend on these things when playing in the top tournaments.

I think the current Gen is a bit more accessible on price. Stadium + 2 beys is $50 (when not on sale), Beys are around $8-10 each, and a lot of the meta parts are making it over to USA and no longer exclusive to TT in Japan (though, of course there are still some).

I think you could easily compete in a tournament with a sub $30 entry of parts and do just fine.

That's my understanding, at least.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

They always remind me of Power Ranger morphers or morpher accessories...so yea..im down to "let 'em rip"

 

[Lambogenie]

Very casual. The Japanese stuff is world of quality different from my casual observation. Expensive though.

Really fun honestly. Simple but satisfying. Except when you flop your rip like a wet noodle.

The X stadium is so cool. Are these available commercially now?

 

[RagnarokIV]

More like gayblade LMAO!

But I did like the original stuff. I’ll have to try them now they’ve switched to heavier metal materials. The plastic ones were very disappointing especially when the chip piece would fly off after they made contact twice. I also remember one of them having a rubber base which wore down very fast but if you put the rubber base upside down the blade would essentially just spin on a spot while the enemy beyblade buzzed around and died off.

Also very embarrassing if you ever give it your all on the rip but something goes wrong and the blade drops off with barely any power.

 

[Rockondevil]

I enjoyed it a lot when it first came out.

I now have a son and maybe a year ago I got him an arena thing and a couple of beyblades. Turns out the beyblades on sale are made to fall apart with a slight breeze and are trash compared to what I remember.
I love the big hits and the beyblades flying apart, but not purposely designed to be weak and lame.

 

[0neAnd0nly]

They always remind me of Power Ranger morphers or morpher accessories...so yea..im down to "let 'em rip"

Haha I always think of this too!

Very casual. The Japanese stuff is world of quality different from my casual observation. Expensive though.

Really fun honestly. Simple but satisfying. Except when you flop your rip like a wet noodle.

The X stadium is so cool. Are these available commercially now?

The new X generation has actually garderned quite a bit of praise from the beyblade community on being much better made than older hasbro stuff. Hasbro referring to the American made ones, to be clear. Apparently not a problem now, or at least as much. I have some of each I should compare soon.

And yes, X has been out since last year. It's at Walmart, Amazon, wherever. Currently on wave 2, and 3 and 4 has leaked and shows some awesome innovation.

I enjoyed it a lot when it first came out.

I now have a son and maybe a year ago I got him an arena thing and a couple of beyblades. Turns out the beyblades on sale are made to fall apart with a slight breeze and are trash compared to what I remember.
I love the big hits and the beyblades flying apart, but not purposely designed to be weak and lame.

The X beyblades are tough, so I am guessing you may have gotten the Burst stuff, which at least in America has some inconsistent quality control in some sets.

The new X ones on sale at most stores now are definitely pretty tough, and a lot of the community has mentioned how they seem tougher than former Hasbro releases and much more comparable to the TT Japan quality.

 

[Lambogenie]

Haha I always think of this too!



The new X generation has actually garderned quite a bit of praise from the beyblade community on being much better made than older hasbro stuff. Hasbro referring to the American made ones, to be clear. Apparently not a problem now, or at least as much. I have some of each I should compare soon.

And yes, X has been out since last year. It's at Walmart, Amazon, wherever. Currently on wave 2, and 3 and 4 has leaked and shows some awesome innovation.





The X beyblades are tough, so I am guessing you may have gotten the Burst stuff, which at least in America has some inconsistent quality control in some sets.

The new X ones on sale at most stores now are definitely pretty tough, and a lot of the community has mentioned how they seem tougher than former Hasbro releases and much more comparable to the TT Japan quality.

The light up stadium also available? Been meaning to grab cool Beys but always find them a bit pricey.

 

[Jenov]

I have no interest in beyblade but I appreciated your very informative post and funny backstory spoiler

 

[DKehoe]

Anyone else remember that guy who kept making Beyblade threads? I found one of them here.

 

[IAmRei]

I never play BB, in my place Crush Gear and Tamiya mini4wd especially, more dominant.

And the prices are insane here : ))

 

[AJUMP23]

0neAnd0nly is the appropriate name for this topic by the op.

You are the only one into beyblades. But I am glad you have a cool hobby. I am going back to collecting my thing no one else could be interested in.

 

[Queso de Grande]

I was into Spin Fighters as a kid, but it was more for Power Rangers.

 

[poppabk]

Anyone else remember that guy who kept making Beyblade threads? I found one of them here.

I actually thought this was gonna be a parody of one of those threads. Still not sure it isn't.

 

[jason10mm]

I enjoyed it a lot when it first came out.

I now have a son and maybe a year ago I got him an arena thing and a couple of beyblades. Turns out the beyblades on sale are made to fall apart with a slight breeze and are trash compared to what I remember.
I love the big hits and the beyblades flying apart, but not purposely designed to be weak and lame.

Kinda my experience as well. As cool as these things would have been when I was a kid, for the youth of today they are lame compared to the ipad

 

[0neAnd0nly]

Anyone else remember that guy who kept making Beyblade threads? I found one of them here.

I actually thought this was gonna be a parody of one of those threads. Still not sure it isn't.

 

[DKehoe]

No worries. It just popped into my head when I think of Beyblade being discussed on GAF.

That's cool seeing how they've evolved. I saw that viral clip you shared about a week ago and thought it was fun.

When you say about there being skill involved with drop techniques, builds and style how does that work? Like there's an ideal technique to launching the Beyblade? Do certain Beyblades match up well against others? How does the strategy to it work?

 

[0neAnd0nly]

No worries. It just popped into my head when I think of Beyblade being discussed on GAF.

That's cool seeing how they've evolved. I saw that viral clip you shared about a week ago and thought it was fun.

When you say about there being skill involved with drop techniques, builds and style how does that work? Like there's an ideal technique to launching the Beyblade? Do certain Beyblades match up well against others? How does the strategy to it work?

Haha, I found those threads to when I was searching. I have been around GAF a long time (well before I joined) and didn’t remember those - they are a hoot. But yeah, not me!

Yes, the current ones have types;
• Attack
• Defense
• Stamina
• Balance

It’s how they are made - as in the top (blade), ratchet, and bit.

So for attack, they are made with harder juts on the top - to increase impact zones, they use bits that are designed to be fast, but may lack stamina, etc.

Defense is typically more rounded edges, prone to ward off heavy hits neutralizing the power of attack types (hypothetically).

Balance uses a combo of all, jack of all trades with the blade, bit, ratchet - but focuses not on one exclusively.

Stamina are beyblades made to spin long - a lot of it has to do with the weight, bit and ratchet giving it more solid spin time and is made to outlast the other beyblades, but doesn’t really attack or defense as well either.

Some of these bits, ratchets make the beyblades taller or shorter too, which of course helps with power, speed, changes how they are affected at angle and their likelihood to “burst” when hit.

You can, of course, swap all 3 of these parts around to make your own beyblade as there are many different stock beys for each type - playing with combos to create one that is good for your style.

Launching on the X stadium there are definitely techniques. You may go in at an angle, drop on to the rail, on the center, etc.
I really just play casually with family members so I don’t focus a lot on that, but I have read about it plenty.

Yeah, definitely more fun than I thought it would be when I got it as a gift for someone else. Figured it was a kids toy that had excellent reviews and all, was on sale. Never expected it to actually be quite cool haha.

 

[DKehoe]

Haha, I found those threads to when I was searching. I have been around GAF a long time (well before I joined) and didn’t remember those - they are a hoot. But yeah, not me!

Yes, the current ones have types;
• Attack
• Defense
• Stamina
• Balance

It’s how they are made - as in the top (blade), ratchet, and bit.

So for attack, they are made with harder juts on the top - to increase impact zones, they use bits that are designed to be fast, but may lack stamina, etc.

Defense is typically more rounded edges, prone to ward off heavy hits neutralizing the power of attack types (hypothetically).

Balance uses a combo of all, jack of all trades with the blade, bit, ratchet - but focuses not on one exclusively.

Stamina are beyblades made to spin long - a lot of it has to do with the weight, bit and ratchet giving it more solid spin time and is made to outlast the other beyblades, but doesn’t really attack or defense as well either.

Some of these bits, ratchets make the beyblades taller or shorter too, which of course helps with power, speed, changes how they are affected at angle and their likelihood to “burst” when hit.

You can, of course, swap all 3 of these parts around to make your own beyblade as there are many different stock beys for each type - playing with combos to create one that is good for your style.

Launching on the X stadium there are definitely techniques. You may go in at an angle, drop on to the rail, on the center, etc.
I really just play casually with family members so I don’t focus a lot on that, but I have read about it plenty.

Yeah, definitely more fun than I thought it would be when I got it as a gift for someone else. Figured it was a kids toy that had excellent reviews and all, was on sale. Never expected it to actually be quite cool haha.

Thanks for the info! One of the things I like about GAF is reading about stuff I might not otherwise come across.

So when you compete against someone do you have a roster of Beyblades you use like a Pokemon battle? Or do you just have the one? Which type do you prefer to use for yours?

 

[Kenneth Haight]

I was a pog man myself

 

[badblue]

If I were younger when Beyblades first came out, I probably would have been into them.

I had Spinjas.

 

[Durien]

Stolen from another thread..

 

[Robot Carnival]

obligatory video when it comes to Beyblade.





on a serious note, you do you OP. it's something fun and it doesn't hurt anyone (other than the whole meme of "metal edge" and what not). there are plenty of "top" games in different cultures after all.

 

[Dacvak]

I had never beybladed in my life, but during a staff party at my last event, there were people beyblading, and I decided to give it a try. I picked a blade(?) and gave ‘er a rip. Won my first battle.

Ended up going 6 for 6, and decided to retire as a champion. That’s right, I’m a master bayblader, and I’ve never lost a single battle.

(I don’t actually know or understand anything about beyblading, but I had a lot of fun lol)

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

obligatory video when it comes to Beyblade.




I[/MEDIA]

this is amazing

 

[0neAnd0nly]

I had never beybladed in my life, but during a staff party at my last event, there were people beyblading, and I decided to give it a try. I picked a blade(?) and gave ‘er a rip. Won my first battle.

Ended up going 6 for 6, and decided to retire as a champion. That’s right, I’m a master bayblader, and I’ve never lost a single battle.

(I don’t actually know or understand anything about beyblading, but I had a lot of fun lol)

We call those "masterbladers".

Congrats on masterblading in front of your entire office!

 

[0neAnd0nly]

Thanks for the info! One of the things I like about GAF is reading about stuff I might not otherwise come across.

So when you compete against someone do you have a roster of Beyblades you use like a Pokemon battle? Or do you just have the one? Which type do you prefer to use for yours?

To be totally fair, I don't compete at all. I got these as a gift for a family member, and then had a lot of fun after Christmas, and dove in a bit with them (they are relatively cheap) to keep playing with my family and friends.

But there are well done tournaments with decent production value you can find and watch on YouTube. For example:



I will say, the new X is so much better than the older Burst. I bought both to try both, and I enjoy the X so much better. Better quality, easier to use and build, much more violent.

 

[0neAnd0nly]

Lover beyblade the toy and the anime as a kid, glad to see it's still going strong today. Would be on board to pick this up as a hobby again but I have enough of those as it is.

X is pretty friggin sweet.

I didn't have the privilege of playing Beyblades in the past, and started with X recently (story above), but I bought some of the Burst line too, and the difference in crazy. X is exciting and fun to collect, easy to put together and fast and violent. Hits sound hard, action heavy, etc.

Burst... not as much. But obviously I am going backwards, which makes it complicated. You should pick up the X stadium + 2 X Beys set (like $50 everywhere and goes on sale occasionally - at least in the states) and see what you think. Pretty sweet. Fun time killer at the very least, especially for someone who came from the originals like you said.

 

[Banjo64]

When I was a kid we had these in the playground but they got banned when someone got walloped in the eye with one.

My lad got in to the latest Netflix series recently so we’ve bought him some. Not as hefty or as sharp as I remember.

Where’s the fun when the danger is removed?