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121 of 133 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Buy This Toy...It IS Your Destiny..., August 11, 2005
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
O.K., I'll admit George Lucas has pretty much been swayed by the power of the green to the point where he'll stamp the name "Star Wars" on anything that requires a check or money order or major credit card for the masses to sample. But still, every now and then, once in a great while, the licensing lackeys at Lucasfilm manage to greenlight something that IS not only unique, but genuinely fun and would make both an awesome plaything and a pretty cool display piece. In recent years, it's Hasbro that's been responsible for a few of the very best "Star Wars" toys ever made, due largely to the role-playing nature they provide - the Interactive R2-D2 and the Darth Vader Voice Changer.
Still, Artoo came with too hefty a price tag for everyone to get their hands on him, and for all its tricks the Voice Changer still requires one to throw some menace into their own pipes in order for the effect to really work. The third time, however, may at last be the charm.
The Ultimate Lightsaber, as it's dubbed, affords one the opportunity to live out something that only Jedi Knights can do in the fictional "Star Wars" universe: construct their own weapon as a final rite of passage into the Jedi Order. The price tag is more than substantiated by the number of parts available in this kit, few as they are when you consider how many prominent characters in the "Star Wars" saga wield lightsabers (and how many of those same lightsabers have already been produced as role-play toys by Hasbro). The lack of more parts seems to have limited the Hasbro designers to derive most of the components from the same five or six characters, to be sure, but with a little imagination the combinations can still be impressive in appearance.
Another tradeoff exists in the main 'core' component upon which the others are added; no doubt to keep the item affordable, the electronics are only geared for one end - meaning double-bladed lightsabers are out of the question - and the straight hilt is sure to disappoint those "Star Wars" enthusiasts who missed out on Count Dooku's lightsaber the first time around (the handle of Dooku's weapon is curved for tighter crossparry moves). In other words, the chance to craft two of the most unusual lightsabers to yet be seen in the "Star Wars" saga was dismissed.
But to your child (or the child in everyone likely to play with this thing - admit it), none of this is going to matter. Apart from the basic battery and light-bulb replacement procedures most parents should be able to handle, the assembly of the weapon can be relatively quick, easy, and make for a sweet finished product that can be enjoyed for hours and hours. And even then, if one should feel the need to upgrade the device, there's still a raft of components available. The color filters are expectedly not as potent as the regular colored blades of other toy lightsabers (the red blade, of course, renders them useless), but in the dark they can be "most impressive", to quote a certain Dark Lord of the Sith.
The 'crystals' - the little plastic chunky thingies - do offer a variety of sounds; one mechanized, one menacing, and one that sounds more like the classic lightsabers we all are familiar with. And just like Hasbro's other electronic lightsabers, the finished product makes crashing sounds on impact. The blade is about as rigid as those of the other lightsabers, and with a bit of a thrust to the wrist one can get the blade to stick firmly into position, thereby avoiding the constant collapse of the telescoping blade that can bring heartache to young ones and ear-splitting wailing to the ears of their parents. This is something that your child should probably practice, as the lightsabers are intended as much for adults (i.e. fans) as well as kids; ditto for pushing the blade back in - with a bit of extra effort these catalysts for tears and refunds can be averted.
The instructions for assembly may require a bit of going-over for parent and child, but it shouldn't require too many more readings beyond that (never hurts to save those instructions, though). Give'em a week or two, and at their leisure your child should be able to replace parts with the ease and speed of a Jedi Master.
All in all, like all great toys, the Ultimate Lightsaber requires some patience early on, but ultimately can provide hours of enjoyment as a result, and even give one a particular level of pride in building their own momento of endless adventure in that galaxy far, far away...
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Buy, July 29, 2005
A Kid's Review
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars
I bought this a few days after it was released online, here at Amazon, and I was quite pleased.
Pros:
Excellent custom capabilites. If you are a Star Wars encylopedia as I am, you will notice ways to construct sabers with similarites to famous ones, ie, Plo Koon, Luminara, and other more obscure jedi. The red blade is beyond awesome. This is by far the coolest looking saber blade I have seen. The interchangable sounds are great too (try the blue crystal!). And the ability with which to duel is great. I own several other lightsabers, and this one is the most dent and scratch resistant. And that dual-blade feature is nice, if a bit asymmetrical.
Cons:
The clear saber is not as illuminating as I would like. The green filter with mine did not create a green at all but a yellow, which actually is pretty cool if you like the Knights of the Old Republic Game, I actually had to use blue and green to get that richer, luke skywalker green. And it can only be used effectively in a darker room. in the light, it's nearly hopeless. The blue filter is weak, and I was disappointed that you couldn't make purple from red and blue, as the red filter is so dominating in the color department. So, I'd recommend either buying some filters from a print shop, getting a more poweful bulb to install, or just throwing your morals to the wind and becoming a sith.
...It's more fun anyway.
On the whole, this is a great buy for the money, as you will get a LOT of use out of this, especially just building and re building. (Think, "It can still be better") There are a few disappointments, but, for the cost of building a unique lightsaber, it is sufferable.
To sum up, buy it! Buy it now!
(It's great to duel your friends and pull out a custom saber on the fly. Very unnerving.)
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
man, this thing is cool., November 4, 2005
i'm a sixteen year old high school student, and i love star wars. i was darth vader for halloween, complete with thirty dollar voice changer helmet. i thought that thing was the epitemy of star wars merchandise cool. but, no. then i discovered this. wow.
this thing is awesome. i dunno about thousands of combinations, but there's enough in this kit to keep you happy for a while. as for the double-ended saber not lighting up on both ends, that's alright. only two sith have ever routinely wielded a double-ended blade, it's that difficlut to fight with. so, it wouldn't be very canon for you to have one, anyway. same with the purple blade. the crystals that emit a purple blade are super rare, it makes sense in a way for it not to be included.
anyway, i was pretty satisfied with this product. it's a little over-hyped, but worth the money, i think. oh, a tip? build it with a friend, it'll be more fun.
and i almost forgot. the thing i didn't like? cell batteries. what's that all about? cells are expensive, man. other sabers- scratch that, most all other electronic toys period- use AAs. but that's it's only downfall.
like i said, worth the money. and okay for kids, i fought pretty hard with mine, they're pretty hardy.
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