Unfortunately, there has been lesser and lesser sightings for the DX High Octane Megazord everywhere. So I became a little paranoid as the High Octane Megazord is essentially the central core for the Ultrazord formation. Again, I have been rather extravagant recently which led me to decide to get the High Octane Megazord first.
The moment that I decided to get the crappy piece of plastic, I had to search high and low for it which was pretty annoying. You cannot imagine that I actually went through a number of department stores just to find this...
These were the stores that I went to:
-Toys 'R' Us Tampines Mall
-Toys 'R' Us Paragon*
-Toys 'R' Us Forum The Shopping Mall*
-BHG Century Square
-Kiddy Palace Century Square
-Kiddy Palace North Point
-Takashimaya Shopping Centre*
-Isetan Shaw House*
Don't be mistaken, I did not went all over Singapore to find the toy. Hahah, it just so happened that I was in the vicinity for the most part except Orchard Road*. They were all sold out of the DX High Octane Megazord saved for 2 stores.
The reason I chose to go Orchard Road was because there were 2 TRUs in the area which I could earn Star Points if I get the DX High Octane Megazord from them. No luck at Paragon but there were 2 DX High Octane Megazords at the Forum branch. I refused to get it because those were in half-trashed conditions. Ended up at Isetan Shaw House with 2 good DX High Octane Megazord left to choose from. What a story!
As for the rest of the 3 Megazords, I did see plenty of stocks everywhere so I would wait for the massive clearance sales.
Brief Review:
First off, this one is the corrected version released by Bandai Asia with the actual Engine Cell #1 sticker, as well as the updated name from 'Eagle Racer' to 'Eagle Zord' referenced in the show.
Plastic Quality and Paint Applications
Compared to the flimsy Overdrive DX Megazords, the High Octane Megazord felt much more solid in terms of the plastic quality of the toy. There's noticeable improvement from Bandai America but still a huge gap difference to Bandai Japan. Again, this is an issue about costs, economics and the American market conditions.
While the Overdrive DX Megazords had rather crappy paint, the High Octane Megazord once again surprised with fine and neat paint applications. Of course, such impressions are relative to both the price point and expectations.
In my opinion, the RPM DX Megazords (price point of US$25) sure beat the crap out of the lame Overdrive DX Megazords (price point of US$40).
Design and Prototyping
It is important to note that the redesign of Megazords for the American version always seek to preserve the aesthetics of the robo mode first rather than the individual forms. This is almost the direct opposite of the Japanese version.
I like the Eagle Zord most out of the three Zords because the redesign made it look very chubby and lethargic, which I think looks rather cute. In contrast, Speedor is rather bright and shiny which is representative of its character. However, I am not trying to make comparisons here as I like them both in their own ways.
The Lion Hauler is a little hollow compared to Buson. In this case, Buson is more to my liking because his character is built upon his earnest and reliable traits. The redesigned Lion Hauler just showed annoyance in the eyes, plus its vehicle Zord proportion is slightly off.
Screen accuracy probably don't matter to kids and a lot of people but I place strong emphasis on such kind of things. Therefore, you might want to know that the two storage slots for the 'Super Saber' and 'Engine Cell #2' are switched. I don't know the actual reason for this mistake but perhaps the designer referenced mirror images.
In the Japanese version, the slots don't matter because the Go-On Sword folds to the same shape as an Engine Soul so they are interchangeable. The Super Saber (really dumb name) sacrificed the Engine Cell shape and focused more on the sword aspect which is more in line with the American priority of preserving the robo mode first.
There's no doubt that the Bear Crawler suffers the most as far as the redesign is concerned. The transition process resulted in a hollow shelf of a grumpy yellow potato. Functionality-wise, it loses the most from Bear-RV including the way how the shield works for the High Octane Megazord. In the end, it remains the most crappy looking RPM Attack Zord Vehicle out of all the 12.
In Megazord mode, the High Octane Megazord looks more streamlined than Engine-Oh because the Bear Crawler is already reduced to a small round potato in the torso. Also, the face looks less "tensed" compared to Engine-Oh which is a good redesign choice. However, I wanted to point out the most important aspect of the Megazord formation which is the locking mechanism.
Engine-Oh has a very sturdy safety mechanism in place to lock the three Engines together, but the High Octane Megazord relies on only the sliding mechanism and there is no locking at all. I dropped the Eagle Zord and Bear Crawler on the floor when I was just holding by the legs. Ouch! This is a major flaw of the whole redesign which is a huge NO-NO!
Bandai Japan VS Bandai America
Lastly, I want to touch on the issue of the Bandai Japan Strategy in contrast to the Bandai America approach.
It has probably been mentioned a million times that Go-Onger is the most successful Super Sentai toy line in recent years and the start of the crazy collecting gimmick that followed through in the subsequent series.
The Engine Soul concept proved to be a very popular and powerful marketing tool towards the Japanese kids as well as collectors alike. The idea itself is not even complicated but a rather simple yet creative method designed to capture attention. I think it is an ingenious way to attract the kids given the interactive nature and the interchangeability of the Engine Souls themselves, which is why Super Sentai was able to stay so relevant under Bandai Japan.
On the other hand, Power Rangers suffered several numerous changes to fit into the failing American economy. It is totally understandable that Bandai America would want to stay competitive yet profitable at the same time. Therefore, we saw all the stripping down of the Engine Soul concept into what we see as the flat useless plastic Engine Cell Keys. Unless you buy the RPM Morphers, they really don't do anything at all.
After so much blabbering, what I want to say is that while the High Octane Megazord is a decent representation of the show and kids who enjoy the show will love the transforming Megazord for all it's worth, it is rather short-term as far as Power Rangers is concerned. On the other hand, Engine-Oh has this playability and value that exceeds time because of the Engine Soul. In short, Engine-Oh is no longer just a transforming robo but three distinct characters which are able to appeal to kids in a long run, much like probably what Woody and Buzz Lightyear are to Andy in Toy Story.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the DX High Octane Megazord comes off as a rather remarkable piece of toy from Bandai America, considering how disastrous the Operation Overdrive toy line ever was and every time something is stripped down of functions. The High Octane Megazord retains most (if not all) of the important transformation features that the Japanese counterparts had and necessary for the RPM Ultrazord formation. This is something that all the remolded Megazords from other seasons by Bandai America has failed to do so, including the recent DX Samurai Megazord.
Also, the missing paint syndrome is quite minimal in the RPM department which is certainly a plus point for PR collectors. For collectors on a budget, the RPM DX Megazords are definitely good considerations (if the talking Engine Souls are not particularly important in this regard) as much of the transformation capabilities and playability are still present. This would only apply if you don't have to pay more than what it was originally sold at retail or only slightly more. If you have to fork out an arm and a leg, you are better off getting the Japanese release instead.
Sadly, Power Rangers RPM was pretty much obscured by Disney and many kids know nothing of the show's existence resulting in poor toy sales and receptivity.
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