The Megazord is undeniably iconic among Power Rangers fans and the nerd culture community. It's got a great design, a good selection of Dino Zords, and neat use of weapons (the Mastodon head becomes a shield to seamlessly accompany the sword). This is also the most commonly recreated Megazord in existence, with both Bandai America and Bandai Japan going back and bringing this design back to life (BoA moreso with stuff like the Retrofire, 2010, and Legacy versions). The more popular versions of the Megazord include the Super Robot Chogokin figure from 2013 and the 2017 Soul of Chogokin Daizyujin. It's great that we got both versions of Bandai giving the original Megazord love (even when Bandai Japan focuses on the Sentai-Of-The-Year), but now we have Hasbro's take on the tokusatsu mecha. Let's see how much they deliver on this beast.
Before we begin, I want to mention that you can buy the Dino Megazord either in a 5-pack or with three sets. I honestly feel that the 5-pack would work much better than releasing these individually. Sure, it's kind of like how Japan did it with the Daizyujin components, but Mighty Morphin never had the Dinozords released individually. That also made sense for Beast Morphers because that season's Zords did more than just be Megazord components.
Let's start things off in morphing order. Here we have the Mastodon. This toy doesn't look too bad aside from the fact that it doesn't have half of the stickers that you would need. While I'm fine that there are stickers on the toy, I wish we'd have the extra details that the head is known for; the ears are especially noticeably incomplete. Hasbro did add a feature where the Mastodon head can move left and right slightly to give it a little more movement. I didn't expect this Zord to do much, but while the head movement is kind of appreciative, I wish he had some of the details you'd get from the other versions.
Here is the Pterodactyl Dinozord. This design doesn't really change all that much from the other versions we've gotten. Maybe the neck's thicker and the wings aren't as pointy, but it's fine since the previous ones weren't that mind-blowing anyways. The gray used for what would be the skirt armor of sorts is a sticker instead of a gray piece. Why? That's beyond me. As always, the cannons can be attached to the bottom to make the feet. I like that the chest isn't a sticker and has sculpted details, even if it's not sharp.
Here is the Triceratops Dinozord. Once again, not all that different from the older versions. In fact, you could easily mistake this for the 2010 version thanks to how basic it looks aside from the yellow crest details and the lack of black for the tank treads. Still wish his tail didn't look like Shockwave's barrel. Also wish he had actual wheels. I don't care if this is a 2020 toy, removing rolling wheels is a stupid way of saving money.
Here we have the Sabretooth Tiger Dinozord. I think its design has a few influences from the Soul of Chogokin version of the toy, what with the more uniquely designed head. I still wish some of the details that other versions of the toy had would be carried over. I also don't like how there are obvious crevices for the hind legs when they fold up; it makes it feel incomplete moreso than with the previous releases. In terms of missing details, the black around the shoulders of the forelegs would be good enough.
And finally, we have the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. Aside from the slightly off-model head, this design isn't too bad overall, though things like the hollow tail and the doggy dick pegs look distracting. I do like how his leg articulation works as well as his waist swivel, which is a first for a Tyrannosaurus Dinozord that is neither the SOC one nor the non-transforming Legacy version, though I can't deny the latter does look better than this one in some areas. At least he has the molded arm cannons.
As a whole, the Zords individually aren't the best given how incomplete they feel, but they don't look too bad if you just want them to be how they are with the bare minimum. I can't help but feel that the 2010 version did have slightly better Zords. As for the tank mode, it's the same method as always, though things like the Pterodactyl connection is better than previous versions while the Mastodon arms detaching would be weird. I still don't like that there are no wheels.
Before we go further, I want to comment on how funny this looks. Yeah, it's kinda cheap, but it can either be the Megazord playing "Peek-A-Boo" or him in the middle of putting on a sweater.
And now we come to the Megazord mode. You basically stand him up, adjust the hands, and so on and so forth. Detail-wise, it's not too bad when it's put together compared to when it's put individually. It'd go for some extra stickers at least, but I like his proportions. He doesn't feel quite as straight up and down as the Bandai America molds were, meaning he's closer to the Tamashii Nations Soul of Chogokin version in terms of how his physique is. He feels a little less restricted and has more of an action figure feel, which is something that I always wanted from a Megazord! Sure, it's fine that they're big bricks, but after handling Leader Class Transformers, it's kind of hard to go back to the bricks of the past, and the Beast Morphers Zords were able to be better than the BoA ones in terms of articulation. This guy's not perfect, as the tip of the tail sticks up a little too high while the right leg could use a heel like the left leg, but it's still better than I thought it was going to be.
Head sculpt looks fine, and while the mouthplate and cheek guards pop nicely, the eyes could use a little more detailing to make them stand out more. Articulation is better than the previous mainline Megazords, but it's still nit quite there. The shoulders move front and back without any ratchet joints (or Zordbuilder ones), they move in and out somewhat, and they swivel at the biceps. If you detach the tail you can get a waist swivel. The hips move front and but don't move back, they slightly move in and out, and the legs can swivel at the thigh or above the knee.
While he lacks actual knees, you could reverse the hips and have his knees actually work, though it's not a pretty sight. I do want to know if there is a way to mod them so I can get a more poseable custom out of this with the added paint and stickers. His weapons look decent in his hands, and while they do look kind of cheap with the lack of details, they are nicely complemented with the elbow articulation, giving him a little more dynamic of a display option.
For a comparison with the only version of the original Megazord I own, here he is with the Legacy version. As you can see, the size is different between the two, with Bandai's being taller and coming with die-cast and premium details. It's not quite a fair comparison, but if I remember correctly, it cost around 60 dollars while this new toy is more or less 45 dollars, so it's a little weird that this figure, despite having better proportions, looks worse in terms of detail and quality. Still, he holds the Bandai sword and shield and looks nicer with them, but I'm going to need some additional paint and maybe some pennies to add some weight for the Hasbro one.
And for one final comparison, here he is with the Beast Morphers mecha, consisting of the Beast-X and Striker Megazords. While he looks decent with the Striker Megazord in terms of height, he's much shorter than the Beast-X Megazord! I still like the Beast Morphers Zords, what with them adding some play value that I felt was lacking for PR in a while, and their quality made me much happier than I initially thought, too! Also, while it's not fair to compare the Zords because of how they work, I can't deny that the Beast Morphers offerings have better value for money than the Dinozords do. This new Megazord's not awful, and it is nice for someone that wants a Megazord that simply "bes" Megazord, but if you're going to be like that Sentai-purist that DosmRider makes fun of, you better have cash to buy the SOC versions. I was thankful to pay less than 40 dollars at Walmart, and that's how it goes!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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