Review: Ultimate Buzz Lightyear Robot
Written on Dec 18, 2009 by Brian and filed under Disney, Reviews, Thinkway
Ultimate Buzz Lightyear was a summer announcement for Disney and followed in the steps of the Ultimate Wall-E from the year prior. Ultimate Buzz features 7 motors, multiple sensors and over 100 sayings in Tim Allen’s Buzz voice. The sometimes-delusional Buzz can also walk, play games and otherwise be directed by kids via 15-button remote.
Getting Started with Buzz
Buzz comes in “Try Me” mode and a demo set of batteries. It’s important to switch to new batteries, as Buzz will partially function, leading parents to think he might be broken. This is noted in the manual, but I mention it here, as most of us don’t start with the manual. On the battery front, Buzz loves them. He needs 14 total batteries, four AA in each leg, three AAA in his back and three AAA batteries for the remote. Buzz is relatively gentle on them though, we tested for a few hours on rechargeable batteries before needing to swap them out.
Using Buzz
The Buzz Lightyear robot is pretty advanced in terms of the embedded technology. The unit has three sensors to help make him more interactive. The level sensor lets the robot detect is he’s fallen over, which does happen from time to time. The positioning sensor is used in programming Buzz and there’s also a touch sensor in his right palm which is used in some of the games.
There are also several ways to interact with Buzz. There are direct activation buttons on the robot, the remote control, a voice command mode and a programming mode. The depth of control is pretty impressive and as robust as any robot we’ve tested.
The other fun thing is that Buzz has two personalities, the Space Ranger Buzz and the Toy Buzz. It’s pretty fun for kids who are familiar with Buzz’s story to be able to flip him between the two modes. Kids can change his mode by using the remote or they can use the voice commands “You’re a toy” and “Space Ranger.” It’s worth mentioning that not all of this is obvious outside of the 20-page manual. The manual is easy to manage though and is a worthwhile time investment to read it.
Our testers mostly worked with Buzz through the remote control. They liked walking him around, even though he’s pretty sluggish. Buzz more waddles than walks, rolling his feet on the ground. It takes a bit for him to turn as well, but kids didn’t seem too worried about his lack of mobility. The interaction with the robot was more appealing to them.
The remote has 15 buttons that cover all off Buzz’s functions. Buzz also has receivers on the front and back, so as long as kids are within 20 feet or so of Buzz, the remote should work just fine. From the remote kids can control Buzz’s persona, have him perform activities like a salute or laser blast and kids can launch the target game, program mode and voice activation.
Buzz is also open to quite a bit of programming for older kids who might be interested in that. The interesting thing is Thinkway has made this available through what they’re calling “puppeteering.” This means kids can program Buzz by manually moving his arms, body, head and legs. When kids push the playback button on the remote, Buzz will go through their specified sequence. Buzz can record one program at a time of us to 64 moves.
Aside from controlling, programming and playing the targeting game with Buzz, kids love that he has personality, similar to what they’ve experienced in the movies. That’s probably the strongest sign that Disney and Thinkway got this robot right. Ultimate Buzz really feels like he came out of the movie, which isn’t a connection that’s always there with licensed toys. While Buzz is recommended for 8+, kids down to 5-6 appreciated him, while the older kids found the programming and more advanced features to be fun.
Here’s a brief video showing Buzz in action:
Bottom Line
Ultimate Buzz Lightyear is a lot of fun and a respectable incarnation of the toy from the movies. We have only one complaint and that is his walking and turning movements are sluggish. But that appears to be more of a parental issue, kids didn’t seem to mind. It is worth mentioning though; if your child is expecting Buzz to cruise around the floor with any speed, they won’t be happy.
Buzz isn’t cheap, with an MSRP of $149. We find the value to be above average though, as kids in a wide age group had fun with Buzz. Couple that with the fact that everything but the walking is well done and there’s a lot to like here.
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
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