Yo, what? I never knew about either of these.
Same, actually. I think these are international releases, not the US-based ones we'd get over here too. It IS still monolingual packaging, though, so IDK.
It really did. It kept going in some form or another right up to DOTM. Probably to DOTM's detriment but we'll get there.
As for the packaging, I don't feel much. It works, but it doesn't give me that WOW impression that 07 did, but that's probably more due to context than the actual merits of the packaging. This is fine. Although, that half curve of the 07 packaging was stylish as heck and it is missed here.
Ayup. I actually started this writeup thinking there'd be a lot to say, but as I was moving through the descriptions of the packaging I felt a weariness that I realized had been there since that time. Even back then, this just totally failed to capture my interest like the 2007 movie line's packaging did. This was even more felt after the line, of course, and certainly now, but even on first impressions it just did nothing for me. The weird cutout sides felt like a tryhard attempt at visual interest, and the Even More Red was DOA after the also-interminable Universe 2.0 line. The sand and cyberglyphics were at least a bit refreshing, and a good contrast to the red, but that's about it. The back of the packaging was also just serviceable, basically the same template for the 2007 movie and Universe 2.0, and this wouldn't change for a long time.
And then it just kept going; I was surprised to look back and see that NEST Global Alliance was so short, because half the stuff I (mis)remembered as NEST releases were in waves prior to that subline. And as mentioned the subline was basically identical on shelves, not even an Allspark Power application of a thematic color change.
It's interesting that Hasbro also seemed to try and course-correct (or at least change up significantly) by having the DOTM packaging hew much closer to the 2007 approach and color scheme (I'll try and remember this for that writeup, noting the similar visual anchors of space + Earth/moon).
