Parents' Guide to

Bakugan Battle Brawlers

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Shallow card/strategy game promotes the Bakugan brand.

Game Nintendo DS , Nintendo DSi , Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 2009
Bakugan Battle Brawlers Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Bakugan Battle Brawlers Game: Screenshot #1
  • Bakugan Battle Brawlers Game: Screenshot #2
  • Bakugan Battle Brawlers Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of baby-year-old
November 12, 2017
age 6+

The best budget game

You can often find this game nowadays in bargain bins and it's totally worth picking up. I wouldn't give more than $20 for it, but fortunately it can be found much cheaper than that online and certain retailers. Has excellent graphics if you are playing it on the DS. It's just a nice little game that doesn't take long to beat. It can be beaten within 10 hours or less with the 10 hours being if you find any mini game parts hard to perform on the touch screen. Also Leonidas is a good original character and it's a shame he was never apart of the anime or toyline as his backstory is pretty interesting and also dark for a children's game as Leonidas is from the Doom Dimension and born from the rage of those trapped there. Your character that you create is paired up with the angry Bakugan who clearly has issues but is accused of being evil (which is sorta true but Leonidas becomes a good guy being moved by the power of friendship). It's a decent little game and much better and more kid friendly than other Activision games like Call of Duty and Skylanders (which is the WORST thing ever aside from Disney Infinity and Amiibo) as you buy the game full purchase and then pay for other playable characters that double as toys that are scanned. Also as a side note I have no problem playing only as a male character. The original Gameboy Pokemon games minus Crystal version only had male characters with zero customization aside from naming the character. So I'm used to it.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
tylerr2
tylerr2 Adult
February 19, 2015
age 7+

A decent dip into the Bakugan License, but could use a lot more content

While the anime series was already posting the Bakugan brand everywhere, the demand was so high that a videogame was released. Overall, as a whole, it's a fun and easy strategy game that makes you wish there was a little more content and freedom (no female Brawlers). It'll satisfy anyone 7 or older who may be into Pokemon, and obviously anyone who loves everyone Bakugan (myself included).

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much consumerism
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Based on the popular television show and card game, both of which are geared for young boys, BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS features children using Bakugan cards in battle. The story involves Bakugan -- ball-shaped beasts that transform into monster-like creatures when they touch cards -- that have come to Earth and are in the midst of a massive conflict of good and evil. One of the good Bakugan, named Leonidas, befriends a boy just learning how to play the card game and joins forces with him. The game itself is similar to other fantasy-based card games in that players play cards by tossing them into an arena, then throw in their Bakugan, trying to land them on the cards. Should two opposing Bakugan land on the same card a battle starts, with players doing things like seeing who can shake their remotes more quickly or tap buttons in time with on-screen cursors more accurately. (We tried the DS version as well and it felt much the same as the Wii edition, only with different battle activities, such as rubbing the screen with the stylus as quickly as possible.)

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (7 ):

There's little doubt kids who love the Bakugan television show and card game will want to play the video game as well, and they'll probably enjoy it. The question is whether it's because it's a fun, well designed game, or simply because they recognize and covet anything that's part of the Bakugan license. Chances are it's the latter.

While Bakugan Battle Brawlers is relatively easy to learn for a strategy game and has a nice quick pace, it has very little meat on its bones. There are only three battle types -- shaking, timing, and shooting (which has players pointing at floating icons and pressing the A button) -- and they're all pretty shallow. The strategy involved in selecting ability cards, how you toss your Bakugan, and picking up power-up items on the battlefield adds a bit of depth, but not enough. Consequently, it feels more like an interactive ad for the Bakugan brand than a full-fledged game.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the concept of cross-marketing. Do you understand that one of the primary reasons games like this exist is to promote the products upon which they are based? Do you think that Bakugan Battle Brawlers can offer an engaging experience for kids who haven't seen the show or played the card game with which it is associated?

  • Families can also discuss strategy card games. What about them makes them so appealing? The act of collecting cards? The pursuit of the perfect deck? The actual play? The socializing that goes along with playing? The fantasy and imagination involved? Does a video game capture these elements?

Game Details

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