While Bakugan has never quite become the phenomenon some other franchises have, it was notable enough to be parodied on The Simpsons as well as having brief appearance in the movie 21 Jump Street, and was even one of the best selling kids video games in the holiday season of 2009.
Despite its spin-offs during the time, the popularity of Bakugan had faded by 2012. Toy and entertainment company Spin Master relaunched Bakugan as Bakugan: Battle Planet in early 2019.
At Anime Expo 2019, we sat down with Lead Game Designer of Bakugan: Battle Planet and former Magic: The Gathering champion, Justin Gary, and asked him what it’s like to reboot a franchise, the decision making that comes with it, and developing an audience.
GameSkinny (GS): What is it like to reboot a franchise like this? Especially not that long after the original?
GS: How do you decide between creating a full reboot or, using Yu-Gi-Oh! for example, just making changes that essentially shift the way the game plays?
GS: How did your experience with Magic: The Gathering help influence Bakugan: Battle Planet?
While there were a lot of great things about the original game, it wasn’t a deep enough gameplay experience to last for 20 or 30 years, and the game we have now is. So we relaunched everything with keeping the best parts of original Bakugan alive, there’s still Dan and Drago, there’s still the fun of tossing the ball and watching it pop open into a monster, all that stuff is still there but now we have deep gameplay and strategy and amazing art and years and years worth of content that we can continue to release and grow on, and that’s why we decided to do a full relaunch.
GS: For the anime series, why use same characters rather than making new ones when the characters are essentially different in all but name?
We have fans that are coming here that are coming to hang out and play with us, we’re building local events at local stores, we’re making sure that there’s an online community and Youtubers/Streamers, and people that can all be together because it’s not just great gameplay that I’ve learned from my past as a Magic player but also the importance of community and building that tribe. We want to make Bakugan a welcoming place and an awesome place where everybody can get together and hang out and play.
GS: So there’s Bakugan: Fan Hub available on mobile devices, which has a game included with it, and in the past Bakugan has had a few console games. Can you tell us more about the app and if we can expect more games in the future?
GS: So you previously said you were open to everything, and I’m guessing it would be in the far future if possible, but since there are a handful of competitive toys somewhat similar to Bakugan. Would you ever consider a crossover?
GS: Earlier you mentioned appealing to a broader audience, is there a target audience or age for Bakugan?
GS: Is it true that if a Bakugan doesn’t pop out then that player loses, and what is the proper or best technique to ensure a lower chance of this?
Then we have the card game, which you can learn once you’re around eight or nine years old and learn how to play and that everybody can enjoy and play. We have tons of families, a father and a daughter came up to me at the last show and said it’s amazing because it’s a game they can play together and both have a good time and she can beat him and they can have fun. So it’s really trying to be something that again is going to last for decades, and it has got to be something that’s accessible, but still have enough depth and interest to keep you playing for many years to come and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do with Bakugan.
Bakugan: Battle Planet toys are available online or at your local retailer. You can catch Bakugan: Battle Planet on Cartoon Network or on YouTube. Bakugan: Fan Hub is available on the App Store and Google Play. You can also follow the official Bakugan social media pages on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The most important thing is to know where the magnet is on the toy. Each toy has a magnet listed and if you drop it anywhere else it’s not going to open but if you land it there then it pops right open, so know where the magnet is. There’s usually an arrow that points you on how you should roll, so you want to roll along the axes so that it will be more likely to hit and open. That’s the normal way to roll, and if you watch there are some really cool online videos to show you some more trick ways to roll and spin move and other cool things you can do, but that’s more advanced as you practice. How do you become a Bakugan master? Well, you got to practice.
