Reviewing my purchases for 2022...
- Kingdom Pipes. I just like Pipes, and while the resulting shelf of back kibble isn't ideal if you want him to be more "proper" in his look, I like how it's still an option.
- Generation Selects Black Zarak. Earthrise Scorponok is one of the better realized Titans and citybots, and Black Zarak is more of the same but with that sharp deco the character is known for. The Zone tribute in the headmaster is a clever little surprise. And speaking of surprises, that they gave him a brand new Tyrant Spear even despite how Fasttrack was designed to "fill in" was the first sign that Hasbro would offer new accessories with retools that otherwise might not have them, a thing the Shattered Glass subline has since also done for its releases.
- Legacy Jhixaus. As many have said, it's mostly the robot mode that carries this one but what a robot mode. He looks like he stepped off the pages of the G2 comics (or perhaps one's memory of those pages), and he's armed with ridiculous guns that could only come from the '90s. He's an ugly brute of a bot, and it's all on purpose. He's let down by his vehicle mode more than a little, but as a long awaited toy of the character he shows how fully realized he could be.
- Velocitron Override. This figure fixes a lot of the proportion issues I always had with the original Nitro Convoy, though for some it does come at the cost of the vehicle mode. But as the rumors showed (and Hasbro further revealed), we could have had a figure of the character that was far worse. The transformation has some fun tricks to it, and the toy just feels like a great update to the character from the Speed Planet-- regardless of what name you want to call either of those things.
- Studio Series 86 Sludge. Sludge is very special to me, as a character so the toy simultaneously had a very high bar to clear and also would get all the points just by showing up. Those reasons for another day, Sludge on his own is a good strong figure overall. He's solid in both modes, avoids much of the hollow parts many of today's toys do, and overall is a fine purchase on his own... but a lot of his appeal for people is how he gives purpose to the prior two Dinobots. Grimlock was almost seen as redundant for people since he was so much like his MP figure, and Sl■g was weaker overall compared to him. But by getting Dinobot #3, his compatriots gain that much more value as a team. Having three looming Dinobots together is good enough for me, but Sludge, even with some dodgy hips, makes one excited for two more to go.
And the best figure of the year:
- Holiday Optimus Prime. I wasn't being silly when I made that comment in a prior thread: Holiday Optimus Prime is the best toy released this year. He takes an idea that I was lukewarm on when I heard it in the rumor phase ("Amazon Prime" collab) and makes it more fun and interesting. When I saw the Star Wars toy doing their own Holiday figures, I thought they were neat and was glad Hasbro found a way to get that sort of silliness in the Transformers line too. But even beyond his clever deco-ho-ho, Optimus's base mold is wonderful. The toy has a unique transformation that has parts constantly moving but in ways that feel deliberate and intuitive. His robot mode is sleek and well proportioned, and even things one would expect to be annoying kibble (like his kneepads and backpack) find ways to lock into place in robot mode and form a solid whole. Holiday Optimus is just a winner on every front for me.
