When the Force Link is with you, these new Star Wars toys come to life.
Hasbro unveiled the Star Wars Force Link line Thursday. You can play with this series of toys and playsets on their own, but if you use a special wristband they’ll play sound effects and voices from the movies when they’re combined.
When a toy is placed near the wristband, the band plays corresponding voices from the movies.
The system uses NFC, the same technology that powers Apple Pay in the iPhone and similar mobile payment systems, allowing the wristband to recognize which toys you’ve picked up and play the corresponding sounds.
For instance, if you pick up a Luke Skywalker figure, he’ll say something when the wristband recognizes him. Then if you shake the toy while continuing to hold it, you’ll hear new phrases.
The same is true for the vehicles in this line. If you’re using the biggest playset, the wristband will be able to tell when you’re placing a character in a specific room.
You can get the wristband in a $25 starter set (roughly converting to £20 or AU$30), which includes a Kylo Ren figure. Or you can get a big $200 BB-8 playset. It unfolds into a Mega Star Destroyer complete with a Stormtrooper barracks, the villainous Snoke, collapsing catwalks and a trash compactor to throw characters in. The BB-8 playset’s price converts to about £155 or AU$255.
You can put Luke Skywalker into the Stormtrooper barracks, and through the Force Link wristband find out he’s not welcome.
GIF by Mike Sorrentino/CNETThe room recognition feature makes that big BB-8 playset shine. If you put a hero such as Luke Skywalker into the Stormtrooper barracks, the Stormtroopers will threaten to kill him. But if you take Kylo Ren into that room, they’ll honor him. You’ll see similar effects when you place characters in other rooms, including a special exchange when Kylo Ren visits Snoke’s quarters.
Vehicles in the set include the Resistance A-Wing Fighter with Resistance Pilot Tallie for $30, the Resistance Ski Speeder that comes with Poe Dameron for $40 and Kylo Ren with his First Order TIE Silencer ship for $50. Those prices roughly convert to £25, £30 and £40 respectively. Or it’s AU$40, AU$50 and AU$65 for Australia.
Other figures, including C-3PO and new character Rose, are being sold separately for $8 (roughly £5 or AU$10) or in two-character packs for $15 (roughly £10 or AU$15).
