Review: 2257 Spinjitzu Starter Set

[tin7_creations]

I just found this at my local TRU, and I bought it!

I will buy more ACTUAL sets tomorrow, stay tuned!

Name: Spinjitzu Starter Set

Set Number: 2257

Pieces: 57

Price: $24.99 CAD

Ages: 6-14

Minifigs: 2

Theme: Ninjago

Year of Release: 2011

The Package

Front

Back

Part storage; very similar to an action figure

Instruction Manual

I posted large scans for these so people can read them.

Front

Back

Contents

There are 5 separate bags: 2 bags of cards, 2 bags of minifigs, and 1 bag of 'Battlefield'

The 'Battlefield'

It's huge, as you can see, it doesn't even fit into my photo box.

Parts of Interest

Minifigs

Front

I love the new Ninja, especially in blue.

The Skellie (or Frakjaw as TLG calls him) is awesome too; he's got great new legs, and the armor is exquisite, as is the head print; however, the arms suck, as they are fixed at an angle...

However, the quality of plastic is the same as the collectible minifigs (i.e. Chinese plastic).

Back

Ninja

A picture of Jay the Blue Ninja without his hood; the hairpiece does not come with the set; he has this hair in the trailer for the theme, so I just added one on.

TLG has heard our cries!! The leg prints finally attach to the hip!

Skellie

New Skellie legs! That is one single piece, does not separate.

Accessories

The Top

Top

The ONE good thing about these tops: They're printed, not stickered.

Bottom

There's a round plate on the bottom to aid it's spin.

With fig attached

The point of the 'game' is to attach a weapon to the fig, and spin the tops against each other; as the tops are spinning; you HOPE for the weapons of the figs to hitch; and knock one of the figs off the top. The fig remaining on the top wins. It's like a cheap LEGO version of Beyblade.

The 'Spin' Mechanism (aka. Your Fingers)

The Cards

Ninja Cards

I posted large scans of these so people can read them.

Skellie Cards

I posted large scans of these so people can read them.

Card holder

Card holder with card

Simple; yet somehow... very effective...

Extras

Final Thoughts:

prateek asked me why I decided to spend $25 CAD on this... Let's just say, I was ill. However, as most people on this forum probably know, I'm minifig and accessories oriented when I choose what sets to buy; and the figs and accessories in this set are superb. Plus, I really wanted to know what all the hype LEGO was creating for about these sets. I saw the actual sets at my local TRU, and I believe those are more worthwhile to purchase; I will buy 2 tomorrow!!

The reason I got this set was to see how 'playable' it was, and what this game was all about; plus, I got a bad guy, and a good guy, plus 2 tops; although there's nothing I can do with them...

Also, I can't believe the tops are "hand-spun", I thought that TLG would at least create some sort of mechanism to spin them with.

Ratings:

Playability: 6/10 Playability is passable, the two tops spin to knock down the fig like they're suppose to; however, it gets mundane after a while.

Design: 7/10 The tops are a smart idea; however, the 'function' of the tops are stupid; you have to spin them by hand. As I mentioned before, I thought TLG had created some sort of mechanism to allow for spinning.

Price: 2/10 At $25 for 57 pieces... you do the math...

Minifigures: 9/10 The minifigures in this set are so awesome, a HUGE improvement on both the Ninjas and especially the Skellies. The only catch: Chinese plastic.

Parts: 8/10 Lots of new parts, especially on the Skellie.

Total: 6/10 This set is barely passable; it was definitely saved by the minifigs and accessories.

I will hopefully review some ACTUAL sets tomorrow, stay tuned!

~tin7_creations

Edited December 24, 2010 by Peppermint_M

[prateek]

Can't wait, but let me ask you this simple question:

Why did you waste $25 on this set when you could've got a real set!

[Lordofdragonss]

The artworks on cards are amazing! Thanks for showing them!

After reading the rules, and now seeing cards I must say the game can be fun!

Edited December 24, 2010 by Lordofdragonss

[LEGOMAN132]

Thanks for the review. I like the boots on the skeleton .

[Tony Almeida]

The packaging and premise of this set seems like some cheap, low quality knockoff... being sold at "premium" Lego prices. $25 really is a massive stretch for something like this.

I will add that the printed piece is a welcome step - maybe we'll be seeing more of it in the future?

Edited December 24, 2010 by Tony Almeida

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review

So that is how you play the game....better than expected...

Do you know if the cards are randomized?

[tin7_creations]

Thank you for the review

So that is how you play the game....better than expected...

Do you know if the cards are randomized?

I'm not sure if the cards are randomized; since I don't plan to find out by buying another of these sets.

What I'm wondering about though is: will the figs in the actual sets be the same quality as those in the battle packs? The ones in this battle pack utilize the Chinese plastic; will the actual sets be the same? I'll find out tomorrow when I buy some.

[Big Cam]

Thanks for the review, this is awesome new info. I'm not crazy about the card game aspect, but I love that blue ninja'

[Brickviller]

Hmm..What to say about this one, well first excellent review, very clear and understandable. But it's just the theme that doesn't appeals me at all. I think that kids will love to play with these, so Lego does their job

[buddy]

Excellent review! I think that the best part about this set is the blue ninja.

Very well done on the review.

~buddy~

[Aethersprite]

Cool set, but so not worth the money.

Thanks for the review.

[charlieboy]

The figs looks great,chinese plastic issues aside,i'll grab them on Bricklink but $25 is way too steep to spend on this

Great review however!

[Peppermint_M]

Thanks for this review. The set looks a little pricey for me to purchase. The ninja and the skeleton are rather awesome.

Can't wait for the proper sets!

[Rumble Strike]

Thanks for the very clear pictures of the minifigures and especially the cards. Great stuff

I can see the market they are aiming for, but isn't the point of the Bakugan and similar stuff that it's pocket-money kind of cheap for the kids, so they can get loads of different ones? I think Lego have priced themselves out, to be honest.

[Lord Arjay]

The new minifigures look great but I'm not too intrested in the card game so the set seems overpriced for me.

Thanks for the review!

[Strand]

I knew these were coming out, but I had no idea they were released in blister packs.. This is weirding me out seeing Lego not in boxes.

EDIT: Also very surprised at the 'spin' mechanism. I know Lego was going for the Beyblade/Bakugan crowd, but trying to spin that huge top with your fingers is going to be pretty damn awkward.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Strand

[XimenaPaulina]

Thanks for sharing this review tin7! It's actually nice to see how this game works (as simple as it is) from this review. I do like some of the new minifig elements, like the spiked shoulder plate of the skeleton warrior and the new face print of the blue ninja, but I guess these could be easily acquired through the regular sets.

[KotZ]

Thanks for the review! I was immedietely thinking when I started reading the review about Beyblade. While I did use to have a thing for Beyblade, I don't think NinjaGo is my sorta thing. Maybe your next reviews can change my mind! But the card element seems like LEGO is trying to throw in some version of Pokemon or Yugioh or something in as well.

[Masked Builder]

Very nice review! That new bone looks great. As does the new skeleton. Can't wait to see what other sets you review!

[Enpaz]

Thanks for the great review!

First, let me say the theme looks completely awesome. The price, however, is insane. It would be a bit justified by good plastic but 57 cheap chinese parts for CAD 25? No thanks.

I just hope they will not be 25 euros where I live. I don't know yet whether I'll buy one of them, let's see how the sets are.

Cheers!

[LegoDad42]

Thanks for a thorough review. Definitely helping me decide on this set.

My kid has been askin' about this and I'm diggin' the new Ninja figs and love the armor on the skeleton but man that price. Ouchy.

I think even the single fig. set is roughly $9.99. I'm guessing they're upping the price for the cards and solid one piece spinner, but still.

If somehow LEGO did a ripcord-like thing that they do for Beyblade, then I can see kids wanting this alot, but I'm worried this might sit on the shelf due to price and no mechanism for the spinners.

When they do the 'Spinjitzu' training at the LEGO store, I can see how my kid and others like it. I'm skeptical on it. Might only be good for the figs.

EDIT....with all that said above, I do like the illustrations on the card. Very cool and love the characters.

Edited December 24, 2010 by LegoDad42

[Enpaz]

Oh, and what I forgot:

GREAT NEWS! By means of the nice big scans tin7 provided us with, it's for sure that we'll get a genuine Lego black army helmet!

Sorry if that has been said before.

[God Iron]

Does the game even actually work? How are kids going to spin these with their hands?

This is a big endeavour for TLG but sadly I think, from an objective point of view, they will fall flat on their face. I do wish this could be popular though as I quite like bigger 'normal' sets.

[prateek]

Thanks for the review. As you said the accessories are good, but they don't justify the $25, considering they are available in the other sets as well.

[Tohst]

Great Review.

I'm unhappy that the quality of the minifig is low. The prices of these are very high for what you get and as I've said before price them out of impulse range as well as putting them at a disadvantage when compared to some of the other 'game' action figures out there. With poor quality I think they're going to not just impact the sale of these sets but if Lego was thinking this was a gateway to get kids to buy bigger sets, the quality may turn some parents off.

I do have the ice dragon set and its a normal minifig in the set, so thats good.

-Tohst