Transformers War for Cybertron Earthrise WFC-E9 & E29 Starscream and Thundercracker/Skywarp Target exclusive review! Part I of II

Here they are, the hard to find seekers of Target; minus Starscream that is. This will be part I as I will make final judgments on part II. Let's take a look at them and let's get started.

Boxing:

 

 

 

 

I decided to shoot Starscream and his posse as soon as I got them. It took me a while to get them out of the box. But here they are none-the-less. I'm still not familiar with the locations they derive from  but I shot it for your viewing pleasure anyways.

Standing tall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The trio for you. No waist swivel as some fans pointed. Kinda of a bummer. I really dig Skywarp's paint scheme. Thundercracker looks the blandest in comparison but he still looks good here. I love Starscreams colors as well. The seekers look more like their cartoon counterparts overall. The trio performs decent poses as well. I do like their null-rays they got in this version, but I know some people would prefer a more slimmer version. Can't win em all. Oh, who can forget Skywarp's mouth.

Seekers to the skies

 

 

 

Titans Return Galvatron cannon.

Legends Caliburst

 

This mode was actually a little difficult for me to transform into at first. It took me a while to figure it out without looking at the manual. I finally got it transformed none-the-less. You get your raptor fighting jets. They look nice and they have 5 mm ports all over the figures. You can peg other weapons like I did just for fun providing they fit. I thought Galvatron's cannon would look great here. Thundercrackers pics showcase where you can plug your weapons. Use your imagination.

I dunno if it's just mines, but for me Skywarp's transformation was fine. Thundercracker's left wing though wouldn't stay pegged in. I know some people were complaining of TC's wing being floppy or something similar but the peg issue was that of a minor annoyance. Starscream's right wing for me kept popping off every time you try to put it in place. It pops back in like easy peasy but it's a little annoying when that happens still.

Conclusion for now... 

I will be back with the finale to sum up how I feel about these guys. I will do some comparison shots with the classic seekers. Until then...

                                                         

Happy Transformers the movie release day

Happy TF day. Today marks the 34th anniversary of Transformers the movie (8/8/1986). Here are toy pics from the toys I reviewed in 2020 to commemorate the release.

The search for Transformers War For Cybertron Earthrise Voyager WFC-E29 Seeker 2 pack SKywarp and Thundercracker

By far one of the most difficult to get Transformers due to what the community calls Scalpers! 

I was up 4AM that day and I decided to check the in stock status. It was in stock! Both the Kapolei and Kailua Target branch. Kailua was set to open up shop at 7AM. I left around 640AM only to discover that there was a elderly shopping period that I totally forgot about. So the younger people such as me had to wait until 8AM.

Chickens ran all over the parking lot. For the most part, they aren't afraid to get close to humans.

On the bottom two rows in the middle area.

8AM came and this was the holy grail for the TF collectors. Skywarp and Thundercracker (S and T) in the flesh. There was about 9 left after I took one. There was a big dude before me that took about 2-3. He seemed to be surveying the area after doing lord knows what. I was happy because every time it was in stock I would go to Target only to be disappointed it be out so soon. If you are new to this S and T are Target exclusives. On the first week of release date (early July), one of the Target employees even told me that a guy came and bought all 4 that time. Darn Scalpers. 

So it was worth the trip after trying to obtain one after a month of trying. I was curious afterwards and checked the inventory system the next day. *Gasp* Both Kailua and the Kapolei stores were out of stock. I mean, really? I don't doubt Hawaii has some TF collectors but definitely not the level where both stores of the S and T inventory went out like that. This kinda disappointed me. There is no law preventing anyone from scalping, but unless if I am super desperate for money, I won't lower myself to this level because I know how it feels like to try and get a figure only for some jerk/loser to buy all the stock so they can mark it up on Ebay. 

Oh well. I got one but I feel for those who are still struggling to find one. I asked God that day to help me get one. I got it. He allowed me to get it. Prayers work even when getting Transformers. 

War for Cybertron Earthrise Grapple vs RTS Grappel (Grapple)

I finally got around to doing this shot. Who looks better? You be the judge. If I have to say something, RTS Grapple is still impressive after all these years.

 

 

 

 

 

Transformers War for Cybertron Earthrise WFC-E10 Grapple review!

                                                      

After a long delay, I finally finished at least a small part of Grapple's review. Thanks to work and other activities, I was having trouble finishing up this shoot but it is done for the most part. Lets get started.

In the box

 

 

That is your standard WFC Siege or Earthrise packaging. I won't dwell much here. Nice artwork like usual.

Robot mode:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grapple looks fantastic. He has his G1 head guard. He has the right colors, vibrant orange to be exact. You can pretty much use his rifle, hose blaster, and hook and peg it anywhere that has the 5mm hole; including the bottom of his feet, I kid you not. His hand folds for those who are wondering. Use your imagination.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary collection Switch quickie.

Other besides the historical facts, artwork and other memorabilia the special features give you in the collection, this is just a quick take on all the games featured in the collection.


*Bonus* Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers:  A nice update of Super Street Fighter II turbo. You can either play HD or the classic gameplay with original or updated sounds. The gameplay is modified as well so if you are used to exploiting the CPU weakness in the original SSFIIT, think again because it no longer works here. However, the CPU is no where near as cheap as the original SSFIIT CPU.

The collection:

Street Fighter: The original. Moves are hard to pull off. Worth a play or two because you'll be focusing on SFII and beyond.

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior:   The game that revolutionized fighting games. Its a classic and that's all I have to say.

Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Dash in Japan): The updated SFII which allows you to play as the grandmasters (the 4 bosses). Lots of tweaks in character movesets. One of my favorites.

Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting: Another revision due to all the hacked SFII's around the world. More new moves were added to some existing characters though this version the CPU can be pretty cheap.

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers: Adds 4 new characters to the existing line-up plus new artwork, music and moves to previous characters as well.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo: (Grandmaster Challenge in Japan): This is the definitive SFII version that is still played in tournaments today. However,  this version retains the "I've never seen so much cheating before in my entire life" from the CPU. The cheating is so bad that you probably need to restrain yourself from breaking your controller or joystick in my case. Even on the lowest setting difficulty, the CPU cheats like crazy. This game introduced new super moves (one each) for every character. Only one new character is released in this version. He serves as the secret final boss and implementing a character select code enables you to play as him.

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams (Zero in Japan): This game serves as a gap between SFI and SF II. New artwork and chain combos are featured in this game. Not to mention, each character now has at least 2 or more super moves whose levels (up to 3) are determined by the amount of buttons pressed. Alpha counters are introduced and uses one level of super meter. Think of it as block and counter. Difficulty here feels the same regardless how low or how high you set it. The only difference is that on higher levels the CPU does insane amounts of damage.

Street Fighter Alpha 2: This game overrides the first Alpha's storyline. The game now features new backgrounds (some characters shared the same in the first Alpha game). 5 new characters are added and some tweaks are done to make the gameplay more balanced for all characters. You can also use your super meter system to perform custom combos. Still a fun game imo. Difficulty here feels the same regardless how low or how high you set it. The only difference is that on higher levels the CPU does insane amounts of damage.

Street Fighter Alpha 3: The finale of the Alpha series. This is an expanded storyline of the Alpha series where everything comes to full circle prior to the SFII tournament. New moves, sprites, and a super combo select system where you use X-ism (one super only and its the characters trademark super), A-Ism (the Alpha super system), V-ISM (Alpha II's custom combo system). Good luck as which ever one you choose may make your path easier. Difficulty here feels the same regardless how low or how high you set it. The only difference is that on higher levels the CPU does insane amounts of damage. The CPU in this one can be pretty cheap. You will see it when they do their "grab and bite/bash" moves. Ridiculous!

Street Fighter III: The New Generation: Finally the future and answer to SFII. 10 characters; 12 if you want to be technical which includes the boss Gill. Ryu and Ken are the only returning characters from the previous games. Supers make a return in the game though you can choose only one per character despite each character having 3. So choose wisely, it may make or break your character. Parry's are introduced which is an effective way of blocking and countering an opponents attack. And it does not need the use of any super meter. So train away.

Street Fighter III: Double Impact: An update of TNG. Also overrides TNG storyline. 3 new characters are introduced; one is a returning character from the previous games as well. New backgrounds and some revisions were done for every character. A fun game. I still love it till this very day. Difficulty here feels the same regardless how low or how high you set it. The only difference is that on higher levels the CPU does insane amounts of damage.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike: The final chapter and conclusion to the Street Fighter saga (yes SFIV and V takes place before III). More updates and changes were done for every character. 5 new characters though one of them returns from the previous games. Now there is a judgement system that grades you on how well you play. You get to choose which character you want to face now until the 9th character which serves as the characters sub-boss. The 10th and final boss is always Gill and he is now tougher than previous installments. Yep, I love third strike. This is the most played out SFIII in tournaments as well. If you play it you will see why. I'll admit that 3rd strike ended the series fairly well. Difficulty here feels the same regardless how low or how high you set it. The only difference is that on higher levels the CPU does insane amounts of damage. Yup. I bet you got sick and tired of reading that same line.

Update *8/20* I still play third strike from time to time. It does seem like on LVL 8 the computer does seem a bit more aggressive. The damage in this anniversary can be controlled. If you want both sides to be fair, I would recommend setting the damage to 2. If you set it to 3 or 4 (highest level), you do some pretty high damage but the cpu does even far worse. 2 seems really balanced for both sides though the cpu does seem do a bit more damage then you do still.

Have fun folks. That was my quick take on the comprehensive collection. Toodles.

*Forgot to add this in but they should have included Hyper Street Fighter II as a bonus. It saw an arcade release as well.*

HORI Nintendo Switch Fighting Stick Mini - Street Fighter II™ Edition (Ryu & Ken) Officially Licensed by Nintendo & Capcom look and quick review

My first official Hori product. 

 

 

Out of the box:

 

It was either this or the Chun-Li/Cammy combo. Of course we want Ryu and Ken. Designed for the Nintendo Switch though it will work on the PC since it is USB based.

As for the Joystick, it works really fine. It uses the square gate that is famous for fighting fanatics these days. The buttons are sturdy and 95% of the time the controls are very responsive though I have difficulty sometimes doing a super move from time to time.

However, the negative drawback is that it is a mini stick, so if you have big hands, then this joystick may not be for you. Also, I tend to place the joystick on my lap sometimes and due to its featherweight, it might find itself slipping off.

Overall, its a good joystick. Its easier to carry around then the bigger joysticks most pro gamers bring with them. I was amazed too by how great the controls turned out. This is worth a go getting if you want something lighter.

Games tested: Ultra Street Fighter II and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Note: I did find myself frustrated on the 30th anniversary collection because Capcom decided to add the very hard revisions of the arcade editions of all 12 games. The cpu is very cheap in all these revisions, but it has nothing to do with the joystick for the stick works really well. Look this up. Many folks complained of the same thing about the cheap cpu. This takes away the fun factor a little, but still you can't complain much since you got 12 games in one. Just a side note. Toodles.