BANDAI official Ultraman toy information site

Hello everyone. I'm Nono, in charge of planning and development Ultraman toys.

As previously announced, this time we will be sharing details about the "Earth Garon COMPLETE EDITION," which is currently being accepted for pre-order exclusively through PREMIUM BANDAI!



Product development is almost complete, so we are now in the stage where we can share the final specifications.
To make up for the wait in disclosing this information, we would like to provide a thorough explanation of the details that cannot be fully conveyed on the order page alone, in accordance with the final specifications!



In this article in particular, we will be reviewing the "sound gimmick" that is unique to toys.
I hope you will take the time to read through to the end.

[Basic concept of the sound gimmick - New design combines simple play with a wide variety of gimmicks!]
First, we will explain the basics of how to play with the sound gimmicks in the "COMPLETE EDITION."
This product is based on the DX Earth Garon,
There are absolutely no reused elements in the sound gimmick or the associated design aspects; it has been completely remade from scratch.

This is because, as the "DX version" was designed solely for children, it only had one button located on the lower abdomen where it was easy to press, and it only had the combination mechanism for the Mod2 unit.

On the other hand, for the "COMPLETE EDITION," in addition to adding a variety of dialogue and background music, we also wanted to realize the automatic switching between the basic form and Mod 2, 3, and 4 (= a way to play where the mode changes automatically just by combining), so the specifications of the original configuration could not keep up, and the design and mold itself had to be rebuilt from scratch.

On the other hand, by creating a new design specifically for adults,
Upgrades include the addition of high-performance (very expensive) speakers and moving the buttons to a more natural position.

For this reason, the audio buttons have been changed to two decorative buttons on either side of the chest.
By briefly pressing or holding the A and B buttons, or by pressing them simultaneously, you can organize and play a large number of audio files.



When you first look at the diagram above, you might think, "Huh? It looks complicated..."
By having two buttons, the functions and roles of each button can be unified in all modes,
When you see the actual product in your hands, you'll realize how simple it is to play with.

[How to play using two voice buttons - Equipped with more than 10 voice modes!]
Next, I would like to explain what kind of sound each button can produce and how loud it is.

As you read the article, referencing the diagram below will help you get a better idea of how to play the game.



First, let’s talk about the “B button” (③ and ④ in the above image), which can be completed with a very simple operation.
When you press it briefly, the "Earth Garon 's cry" will be played in all modes and conditions.
Earth Garon has three different cries, which it makes in sequence.

Also, the only irregularity is that in "Episode 6: Out-of-control State Reproduction Mode," the sound it makes properly changes to the "out-of-control state cry."
*Many people may not know this, but in the movie, when it goes berserk, the sound it makes actually changes to a noise similar to the sound of grinding metal...!

Press and hold the B button to "play/pause two BGM tracks."



You might not be able to guess the titles of the BGM songs, but in simple terms they are the memorable "Launch Sequence Song" used in Episode 3, and "Wandaba" which was played during the battle against Taganular.
(If you've seen even a few episodes of the series, you've definitely heard this song!)

By the way, this background music plays from "ch2" like a speaker, so it can be played in parallel with other sound effects and dialogue playing from "ch1".
This is another value point that comes from the fact that it has been remade for adults.

Next, we will explain how to operate the "A Button," which is the main part of the game.
I believe this is the point where you can most clearly feel the evolution of the "COMPLETE EDITION."

Simply put, the sound that is produced by briefly pressing the A button is like a greatly expanded version of the strategy sound play in "DX Earth Garon."
In "DX Earth Garon," there were about 16 different patterns of Gent's lines and Earth Garon 's attack sounds, but this "COMPLETE EDITION" includes not only Gent's lines, but also the lines of the other members of SKaRD and Ah-kun's voice, so the amount of sound is incomparable.
(If you count the amount of voice data stored inside, it actually comes to about 200 sounds!)

If I were to try to express this huge amount of audio with just short taps, my fingers would end up hurting...
The sequences are grouped together to a certain extent, and then sorted so that they can be played by switching modes.
The audio modes included in this product are as follows:



​"Deployment sequence reproduction mode" that reproduces the launch sequence when Earth Garon launches from the SKaRD base,
​The "Operation Command Mode" recreates the sequence in which the player arrives and engages with a monster, and the "Operation Command Mode" is a common way of playing all the mods.
As an irregular mode
"Recreating Emi's sortie in episode 16," "Recreating the rampage scene in episode 6," "Recreating the scene from the final episode," etc.
The idea is that they've added gameplay that is specialized for recreating specific episodes.

Switching between each Mod is done automatically by combining and separating units.
Additionally, by holding down the A button, you can choose to play an attack sound that corresponds to each Mod state.



To put it simply, it's a setting for when you want to play without dialogue and just hear attack sounds.


[Details of each mode - the complete Earth Garon sound guide]
Now that you understand the general flow of the game, we will explain the details of each mode.



Please also refer to the diagram above as you read.

1. "Deployment sequence reproduction mode"　
As mentioned above, this is a mode that recreates the sequence when taking off from the SKaRD base.
Although this mode is common to all Mods 1 to 4, the sound effects and flow used in the story are slightly different depending on the state of each Mod, so the audio content is changed for each state.
The true essence of this model lies in "Mod.1 (for convenience, let's call the basic version this)" and "Mod.4."

As you can see from the list below, it's not just the launch sequence sound effects that are played,
The full-length recording includes a recreation of the "Go, No Go" decisions made by Teruaki and Ghent, as well as audio of English announcements from maintenance engineers and the control tower.



Mod.1 is based on the audio flow of episode 3, so
By playing the background music "Hasshun" and timing the sound to match, you can perfectly recreate the scene in the movie.
When you do this by hand, it really gets your brain flowing.
Even though I'm the one who does a lot of debugging, I still get an adrenaline rush every time I do it.

Furthermore, in Mod. 4 mode, the desperate launch sequence depicted in episode 24 is faithfully reproduced.
As I replayed the responses of Gent and each member, tears started to flow. It was so intense.


② "Operation Command Mode"
This mode recreates monster fighting sequences according to the state of each mod.
This is the game with the most audio out of all the games, so I can't post all of it, but here are some excerpts:



Aside from Mod.3 and Mod.4, which have limited scenes in the film,
There are still many audio clips below the list above about Mod.1 and Mod.2, which were used throughout the whole movie.
The most common Mod. 2 continues the flow up to 75 short presses of the A button.

This is because there are multiple types of pilots who pilot Earth Garon in the movie.
For Mod. 1 and 2, audio sequences corresponding to each combination have been created and inserted.
That is,
① "Ghent x Henri"
② "Ghent x Yasunobu"
③ "Teruaki x Henri"
④ "Teruaki x Yasunobu"
You can enjoy strategic play in all patterns.
Of course, we have also incorporated dialogue inspired by scenes from the film at key points, so
I think it'll be fun to play and find things like, "Oh, that's a line from that scene!"
Personally, I like the part in episode 14 where it is revealed that everyone thought Henri was uncooperative.

③ "Emi sortie mode" / ④ "Ah-kun rampage mode"　
The basic sortie and operation patterns are covered in the above modes ① and ②,
Due to the Blazer's deep and generous worldview, there were some irregular performances.
This is precisely replicated in ③ "Emi deployment mode" and ④ "Ah-kun rampage mode."

Each,
In episode 16, there was a sequence where Emi went out on her own using the AI dialogue system installed in Ah-kun,
It faithfully recreates the sequence from episode 6 in which Earth Garon is taken over by Alien Cannan.



Since the mode is limited to a specific number of episodes, we recorded even the smallest details of the dialogue.
In particular, for the berserk form, you can replace the eyes with red ones using the included parts, allowing for more authentic play.



5. The last hidden gem: "Final episode replay mode"
Now, the last mode is this "Final Episode Reenactment Mode."

*Please note that the following contains spoilers for the TV series.


Speaking of the final episode, in front of the approaching V99 fleet, they try to communicate with each other through Ah-kun, who was created using the same technology.
...That kind of direction left a unique impact.

In the movie, Ah-kun, who was fighting Valaron in Mod. 4, was shown purging his units, returning to his base form, and sending a message...
We've recreated that with a gimmick!


To be more specific...
First, select "Final Episode Replay Mode" on Mod.4.
The audio then begins at the climax scene of the final episode, where Teruaki proposes to his superiors to communicate through Earth Garon and the dialogue progresses each time you press the A button.



After playing the audio to the end,
If you physically remove the "Mod.4 unit" from your "Earth Garon"...



A special command will be executed here, and the final episode replay mode will continue even after returning to Mod.1!
Just like that, after Ah-kun said, "We don't want to fight!"
The audio continues from the reconciliation with V99 to the end of the battle to destroy Valaron.



What do you think!

Just like the secret of V99 that Yu Dobashi was hiding,
This is the final specification hidden in the "Earth Garon COMPLETE EDITION"!

As expected, this article has become quite long, so I will now summarize it.
As you can see, this item contains almost everything from Earth Garon depicted in the TV series.

Of course, apart from the sound gimmick, there is still plenty of fun to be had by swapping out the physical parts, so
I would like to touch on that in the next update.

​" Earth Garon COMPLETE EDITION" has been reborn and evolved with a completely different play style from "DX Earth Garon".

Reservations for the product will be accepted on PREMIUM BANDAI until 11:00 p.m. on Monday, March 11th.


Earth Garon COMPLETE EDITION | Ultraman Series Toys/Character Toys | BANDAI Namco Group Official Online Shopping Site (p-bandai.jp)

In reality, we only have a few left until the maximum number we can prepare due to our production capacity.
If you've been hesitating to buy, now is your chance!

I'm sure it's a product that you will enjoy, so I hope you'll pick it up.

Thank you for reading to the end.

N