Thursday, August 20, 2020

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Omega Ranger & Psycho Green Review

The Omega Ranger. One of the coolest Power Rangers in the series with one thing that people still bitched about: the fact that he turns into a ball. While I'd love to see him be in his human form like we all do, I'm fine with him turning into a glowing ball since it helps him stand out from all the rest in terms of who he is as a character. If fans won't say a word with that Blue Kyuuranger looking like a furry of all things (and one that would even creep out the alien Anubis Kruger), then a floating snowball will be nothing to get mad about. Plus, it's not like he takes away from the story since even if he wasn't a ball, it doesn't change SPD's quality; it's otherwise going to be the same great season of Power Rangers that I love even to this day. Still, Sam the Omega Ranger lacks anything that all the other Power Rangers have; aside from a civilian face, he doesn't really have any weapons so to speak since he himself is basically a weapon. I know that the Bandai toys tried to make him come with repainted Delta Blasters, but the next best thing is the Uniforce Cycle, a personal vehicle of his. That's right! For the first time in the Lightning Collection, we'll take a look at a Ranger that comes with a vehicle in the same vein of the Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series! Let's see what this force from the future has to offer! He'll also be joined by the Green Psycho Ranger!


Here we have the Omega Ranger in-hand, and I'll say this right off the bat: While the details of the figure are present for the most part, they aren't exactly done in an accurate manner. The main issue is that the VI on his chest is a little too thick for the gold, and I feel the gold shade is a little too dull. The other colors pop nicely, whether it's the vibrant white or the luxurious blue. That gold, on the other hand, just doesn't look right. I also wish his gloves had gold trim on the top, as well as paint for the back and his Omega Morpher. Otherwise, the rest of him looks good, even if a little inaccurate in the aforementioned areas. Thankfully, there are no real QC issues so to speak, though the articulation joints do break up the details of his suit.


Helmet sculpt is done quite well in my opinion. Most fans had some real QC issues when they opened theirs up, especially given how the box was closed. Here, it looks professionally painted. Maybe there's supposed to be more to the gold border of the visor, but at least it's otherwise complete. And the articulation, while the same as before, at least allows him to pose with his right hand revving up the Omega Morpher for his actions.


The accessories he comes with are not too intricate in quantity; all he has are two alternate left hands and a containment card. No alternate right hands, weapons, or even a civilian head! Actually, the third part makes sense as Sam, despite having a human form at the end of the series, remained either as a Ranger or as a ball before the finale. I honestly expected this guy to come with one, but I was also surprised Hasbro didn't give him a weapon since he doesn't use them.


The containment card is neat, but it's so god-damn tiny and undetailed. At least the other alternate hand adds to the look of the first pic as if he has no idea what to do with it. The Omega Ranger's other left hand, on the other hand (pun intended), has the effect piece, which looks really badass and adds to one of his attacks from the show. 


The electricity piece is also different from the Psycho Rangers. For one, it's yellow instead of green, the size is different, it's on the left hand instead of the right hand (and with a different glove design to boot), and it's coming from the palm of his hand instead of the finger tips!


The three Psycho Rangers had the same kind of lightning effect piece, which does get old fast, but at least the Omega Ranger's spices things up a notch! How's that for a force from the future?


For a Ranger comparison, here he is with the Red and Shadow Rangers. Obviously nice to have the other two Rangers with him, though I will say that while Jack and Cruger certainly got more accurate decos, Sam sadly doesn't get the right work for his VI symbol. They're not awful, by any stretch of the imagination, but they are noticeably off. At least he looks good with his allies, though now I wonder how we'll get Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink. I'm sure fans would want to get Kat, Nova, and Boom as well; while those three are ones I'd love Hasbro to make, I first want to see them make the other core Rangers soon. 


Now it's time for a comparison with his older figures. The older figures may fall short in articulation or proportions, but they at least have thin VI symbols for their chests, which beat the thicker ones that Hasbro made. The Super Megaforce version has the best colors in my opinion, and the Morpher being blue instead of white works better if you ask me. Instead of being like most of PR Twitter that goes (Noooooooooo this is poopy garbage Hasbro stop frickin betraying me I'm on your team!!!!!", I'd instead like to mention that had Hasbro taken the colors of the Action Hero from Super Megaforce as well as the symbol and added them to the Lightning Collection figure, I'd like it more. As it stands, it's not awful, but it could be better.


Here is the Uniforce Cycle, which is the main selling point of this set. As the first vehicle of the Lightning Collection line, it starts making sense as to why the Omega Ranger was chosen to be in this subline: he's a Ranger that doesn't have much in terms of accessories, so Hasbro decided to give him this nicely done cycle! Normally, cycles aren't something I want to get from the line because they take too much space and aren't that easy to display unless it's something that Wolverine or Ghost Rider would come with, and they're kind of expensive if you ask me. This set, on the other hand, at least feels right. While it's a futuristic unicycle, it at least has all the right details you need as well as a nice feel for the plastic. I'm sure the Bandai America versions had better plastic and more features, but this makes buying the Omega Ranger more worth the money. The side has some screws, which are insightful, though.


There is an additional wheel that helps with some form of rolling, which I'm not sure if the actual vehicle or the Bandai versions had that, but it is nice, I guess. Also, the kickstand can raise up like a roll bar, but it doesn't stand upright because it's on one wheel that's sort of thin despite having a bit of thickness. The Omega Ranger can ride on it with no problem, but first, you need to attach the handlebars and footpegs if you want him to ride on it. I should mention that posing him on it is no problem, but the actual handlebars are a little too thick for the hands to grip on. Otherwise, it's manageable.


Overall, this set is a nice way of giving the Omega Ranger something that doesn't keep him from lacking accessories. While I don't like the inaccuracies for the paint, I'll at least give Hasbro credit for giving him a new method of releasing him with the Uniforce Cycle. I can see them doing this for sets like the Trans Armor Cycle for the Red Lightspeed Ranger, the Hovertek Cycle for Dino Thunder Blue, maybe a Catastros for Korragg? Whatever Hasbro does, I hope to see them be creative and try not to make bikes meant for the whole team. I recommend this set even with the inaccurate deco, though I should mention of the QC issues some fans had with the helmet.


Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now we have Psycho Green, who is pretty much the same as the other versions we covered, only he's got green instead. I still like this figure despite the previous issues fans mentioned like the lack of a neck, but my Psycho Green appears to not have his chest armor lowered properly.


Head sculpt is the same, right down to the differently designed eyes, and I thankfully have little to no QC issues with my copy. Many fans had that problem with their Psycho Greens, all thanks to Hasbro rushing their stock without a second thought on the QC itself, but at least mien looks good. Articulation is the same as before with the other Psychos, right down to the limited neck movement.


The accessories he comes with are the same as what Blue had, though his effect piece is green like he is and his sword's a new mold. Oh and there's the same old electricity hand and closed fist.


Now that we have these accessories on him, let's compare to the only other version of him. That Bandai SDCC exclusive Psycho Green Ranger does have a nicer shade of green that pops compared to the standard green that the Hasbro version has, and the helmet's a little more accurate, yet I will say that Hasbro's is at least more accessible if you had a chance to buy him from the site. As for the Bandai version...he's not terrible. I know fans love to shit on Bandai's stuff, but for what it was, it's a decent entry into the Legacy line and was one of the better offerings from that line. Certainly better than Lord Drakkon.


For a comparison with his allies, here you go. They're all the same except for the weapons and colors. I can't wait to sit on my seat all-day until Hasbro announces that Black, Yellow, and Pink will be available somehow without forcing me to buy the 5-pack. As for Psycho Green himself, I kinda get bored talking about him since I already know what to expect from him and the other versions, and it doesn't help that I covered the other two guys who are relatively the same. At least with seasons like MMPR or Beast Morphers, they have unique civilian heads, weapons, or accessories worth talking about. These guys are pure palette swaps, and I'd honestly say I'd prefer if Psycho Green was included in a two-pack with the American-exclusive Supersonic Green Ranger...

...to those unaware, Supersonic is a PR team that's a form of adaptation of Fiveman, which somehow got thrown into the stupid idea of New Powers in Super Megaforce, where the Super Mega Rangers wear the suits from Dairanger and most pre-Zyuranger seasons since Gokaiger was the source material and had bigger lore than Power Rangers did. Boom Studios took the Supersonic Fiveman guys and used them for the backstory of the Green Psycho Ranger, who also had an original suit in the form of a green Super Sonic suit before he became a Psycho Ranger. Oh and he wasn't in the show and may not be associated with Power Rangers In Space, but he is part of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics given his involvement in freeing Rita in 1969. Bandai's box calls him an MMPR character while Hasbro says he's from In Space. Go figure. And speaking of figure, this guy is neat to get, but try to wait for him to be available if you can.


Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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