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| Bandai Hyper Yo-Yo Battle Coin - Fireball No. 003 |
| Exhibit #2372 |
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| Color | Gunmetal |
| Size | 30mm |
| Weight | 11.13gm |
| Condition | Mint |
| Date | 1998 |
| Owner | Rick Brough |
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In late August 1998, as the yo-yo boom was accelerating in Japan, Bandai Hyper Yo-Yo of Japan released a series of eight battle coins. The series included four yo-yo trick battle coins and four Yomega yo-yo model battle coins. Each round metal planchet in the series was minted with a design on the obverse ("heads") and reverse ("tails") in a single operation called a cold deformation. Each coin was 30mm diameter and 11.13gm. The coins were as follows:
2 gold coins
No. 007 - Obverse: Official Trick Mark, Double or Nothing, Hyper Level 3
No. 008 - Obverse: Official Trick Mark, Magic, Hyper Level 2
4 silver coins
No. 001 - Obverse: Hyper Yo-Yo, Yomega Hyper Brain
No. 002 - Obverse: Hyper Yo-Yo, Yomega Stealth Fire
No. 004 - Obverse: Hyper Yo-Yo, Yomega Stealth Raider
No. 006 - Obverse: Official Trick Mark, Tokyo Tower, Super Level 2
2 gunmetal coins
No. 003 - Obverse: Hyper Yo-Yo, Yomega Fireball
No. 005 - Obverse: Official Trick Mark, Walk the Dog, Basic Level 9
The reverse of all eight coins featured a three-digit number, the words "Hyper Yo-Yo", either the trick name or the Yomega yo-yo name, and the numbers 1-10 in a non-contiguous, circular arrangement.
Each coin was placed in its own clear plastic two-part capsule: a lid (roulette wheel) that held the coin and a base (roulette track) on which the lid was fitted.
The coins were sold through Bandai's trademarked "Gashapon" for 100 yen each in 1998 (about 108 yen in 2024; about 70 cents US in August 1998, and about $1.30 US in 2024). The accompanying poster in this exhibit made a point of letting you know that, "Due to the nature of vending machines, the same product may come out repeatedly." The coins pictured on the poster were shown actual size.
The coins could be used in two modes: "Collection mode" and "Battle mode". Collection mode was basically keeping the coin in its capsule or trading the coin in its capsule with other players. In Battle mode, the coin's reverse side was inserted onto the roulette wheel, face up. The wheel was then placed onto the roulette track with the hole in the wheel inserted onto the protruding, short peg in the center of the track. This configuration let you spin the coin on the track, much like a roulette wheel. When the wheel stopped spinning, the arrow pointer on the track pointed to the number that the coin stopped on.
The Japanese documentation for each coin described the following games that you could play in Battle mode (translation has been enriched and improved from the original):
Game 1 - Coin battle only
The winner as to who goes first in Game 2 is determined by the player that spins the highest (or lowest, if preferred) number on the roulette wheel. Or, you could spin the roulette wheel and the number it lands on (1–8 only) is the battle coin you use for Game 2.
Game 2 - Coin + Yo-Yo battle
The number on which the roulette wheel lands becomes the trick level number that you perform.
For example, suppose you were using Battle Coin No. 003 - Fireball, considered a Basic Level yo-yo model. Spinning the roulette wheel, you land on 6. In that case, you use the Fireball yo-yo to perform the trick "Rock the Baby" which is the level 6 trick in the Basic Level. If successful, the next player tries the same trick, and so on. If the player is unsuccessful, they are eliminated. This process is repeated with each spin of the wheel until all but one player is eliminated. The remaining player us declared the winner.
Another battle variation: Suppose you were using Battle Coin No. 007 - Double or Nothing, a Hyper Level coin. You and the other players could use whatever Yomega yo-yo you wanted. Spinning the roulette wheel, you land on 3. In that case, three is the number of times you must successfully complete "Double or Nothing", the trick embossed on the coin. Or, if you spun a 5, you would perform the level 5 trick "Barrell Roll" from the Hyper Level.
Using your imagination, there were many other game variations that you could invent based on the roulette wheel number you spun and the battle coin used.
These Hyper Yo-Yo Battle Coins helped to create friendly, interactive skill competition between two or more yo-yo players and encouraged yo-yo practice. They were also designed so that you could challenge your own self with a spin of the wheel.
Besides the Battle Coins, there was also available a series of Collector cards featuring players, tricks, and Hyper yo-yos, more that 30 different Hyper Yo-Yo patches, and even special award yo-yos for completing Hyper Level certification.
Bandai's well-thoughtout and well-organized marketing, sales, and promotional strategies among the yo-yoing youth of Japan became a money-making juggernaut for them. They far surpassed what was taking place at the same time in the US. Just in 1998, more than 7 million yo-yos were sold. These various "seeds", planted more than 25 years ago in Japan, have now helped that country to produce the very best yo-yo players in the world today.
Of interest...
Bandai Hyper Yo-Yo Official Trick Mark List—There were three ability levels within Hyper Yo-Yo: Basic, Super, and Hyper. Within each level there were ten tricks. With each trick that you passed off at an official Hyper Yo-Yo Certification center in Japan (usually a retail store), you received a stamp of completion on your Hyper Yo-Yo card. When you completed all ten tricks in a level, you were awarded a prize.
Use Google to find videos for each trick.
Hyper Level yo
1. Pinwheel (3x)
2. Magic
3. Double or Nothing
4. Side Winder (both sides)
5. Barrel Roll (3x)
6. Moonsault - Back Flip
7. Split the Atom
8. Aomic Fire (2x)
9. Shoot the Moon (3x)
10. Double Loop (5x)
Super Level
1. UFO (both sides)
2. Tokyo Tower
3. Dog Bite
4. Three Leaf Clover
5. Loop the Loop (10x)
6. Brain Twister (3x)
7. Moonsault - Trapeze
8. Stop and Dash
9. Homerun
10. Loop the Loop (30x)
Basic Level
1. Long Sleeper (minimum 3 seconds)
2. Walk the Dog (minimum 12 inches) (see Turning Point's Kerberos yo-yo made exclusively for this trick!
3. The Creeper
4. Forward Pass
5. Break Away
6. Rock the Baby (3x)
7. Rocket (above the head) (see Turning Point's Shuttle yo-yo made exclusively for this trick!)
8. Elevator
9. Around the World (1x)
10. Loop the Loop (3x) | |
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