History TabletopGame / Beyblade

** ''Unique Line'': Beyblades under this system are labelled with the product code '''UX'''. While operating on the same three layer system as the Basic Line, the metal is mainly distributed along the outer perimeter of the Blade, creating higher Outward Weight Distribution (OWD) and greater stability of the Bey. This is achieved with Launcher Hooks made of resin, rather than metal.

** ''Xtreme Gear Sports''[[labelnote:*]]This is colloquial placeholder name, as the system hasn't been given an official name other than ''Beyblade X''[[/labelnote]]: A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet (a centerpiece that has its own protrusions to either aid the Blade in attacking or act as a weakpoint that dislodges upon impact to trigger a Burst, and determines its general height), and the Bit. Its burst mechanics differ from the previous generation in that burstability is determined by the Bit, where Attack-type Bits have generally a tighter lock than the other types.

** The Hasbro ''Burst'' Master Set Launcher still includes the clips to attach multiple launchers together. However, there's no opening for the winder to pass through, so any attached launchers will be pointless. And since two String Launchers can't be attached side-by-side, it's not really easy to double launch using two String Launchers. It mainly seems to be there for the carabiner attachment. The same is true of the Dual Threat Launcher, except the Carabiner gets in the way of the mode lock switch.
** The Sword Launcher and its recolor the Apocalypse Blade Launcher similarly have the useless clips on the sides, but also use a different ripcord - though a regular one can be used in a pinch. That said, there's still no openings to allow them to be used at the same time.
** The launchers used in ''Burst: Speed Storm'' only include the male connector on the front of the launcher, with a rounded back end and no female connector. This effectively means you can't use the feature without owning older toys. The rerelease of the Super Grip Launcher means it kind of works with that, but also the second launcher will barely get any power since it has much less of the ripcord to work with.

* NominalCompatibility:
** The connectors on ''Burst'' launchers to allow multiple launches from one ripcord are included on launchers that don't use ripcords or use different ripcords, or in some case only include the male connector but no female connector. Also partly TheArtifact.
** During ''Gatinko'', GT chips were supposed to be interchangeable between Layer Bases. However, Left- and Right-spin Chips and Bases were mutually exclusive, meaning there were very few Left-Spin combinations in comparison to Right-spin.
** Some Energy Layers and Performance Tips have their own built-in equivalent to a Forge Disk, meaning the resulting Beyblade will only have two main parts. However, this means that in both cases and especially with each other, they aren't able to use all of the other parts that should be available. For example, Nightmare Luinor can't use several performance tips because they won't fit its built-in Forge Disc, while the Generate-H Tip can't be used with certain Energy Layers because its own built-in Disc gets in the way.
** For Metal Saga, Left- and Right-spin Energy Rings had to be used with the same spin Fusion Wheel. The first dual-spin Metal Beyblade, Gravity Destroyer, had an Energy Ring AND Fusion Wheel that basically only worked with each other.

*** ''Shogun Steel'' had the Orochi Metal Wheel, based on the 8-headed serpent that Susano-o slayed.

** {{Orochi}}: A Warrior Wheel in ''Shogun Steel''.

** Very common in ''Metal Fusion''. Both of the top tier L-Drago wheels got a significant weight reduction when Hasbro licensed them.

** ''Burst Turbo'' has seen the biggest Nerf of all time with the removal of ''all'' metal parts on the Energy Layers, including in Beyblades whose selling point was their metal parts. Nightmare Luinor L4 is the first Luinor with no metal at all, and Galaxy Zeutron lacks the bearings that make its Japanese counterpart as good as it is. Additionally, mechanical gimmicks like Krusher Roktavor R4's blades are no longer moving parts but instead just static molded details. But [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this isn't all bad]], since ''Cho-Z'' Beyblades had the distinction of rarely if ever bursting, despite this being the ''main gimmick of the line''. ''Turbo'' Beyblades burst much more often than Takara look-alikes, and the lack of part gimmicks prevents newcomers from [[ContinuityLockOut being overwhelmed]] and older parts from being [[CantCatchUp significantly outclassed]]. Some Wave 3 and onward Beys have their Takara counterparts' gimmicks included, and Xcalius X4 finally became the first ''Turbo'' Energy Layer to include metal.

*** ''Burst'''s American launchers are based on the Japanese Entry Launcher, but are technically superior to it due to having more teeth in the ripcord. However, before the series was even localized [=TakaraTomy=] had moved on to the Light Launcher and Long Winder, which addresses issues with the Entry Launcher; namely, that the lack of a ratchet makes the tops prone to slipping off while setting them up to launch which results in "misfires". As a result, the Hasbro releases of the toys are prone to the same issues as the Entry Launcher despite technically launching as fast as the Light Launcher. The release of the String Launcher outside of Japan seems to have finally put them on equal footing, and ''Evolution'' introduced an upgraded two-direction String Launcher.
* NewSeasonNewName: The original became ''V-Force'' and later ''G-Revolution''. ''Metal Fury'' became ''Metal Fusion'' then ''Metal Masters''. ''Burst'' became ''Burst God''/''Burst: Evolution'' then ''Burst Super Z.''/''Burst: Turbo'', and later ''Burst GT''/''Burst: Rise''.

** [=BeyRaiderz=], introduced as part of ''[=BeyWarriors=]. Small cars with large flywheels in the center. Players rev them up before sending them rolling towards a goal to try to hit a target and collect a token if it hit. It uses an odd number of tokens to prevent ties. The player with the most tokens wins. Lacked any customization but included an "automatic return" gimmick, where the cars would roll backwards once they slowed down.

The anime and manga series are, like many other MerchandiseDriven series, a vehicle to advertise toys and other products. Starting in 2000, the series has been around more or less in some form constantly since.

Inspired by the traditional ''beigoma'' tops, and as such the basic premise is the same as the much older toys. Two tops spin together in an enclosed area of some kind, and the last one left spinning is the winner. Other battling top games have existed throughout the world prior to the introduction of ''Beyblade'', but it introduced a novel concept to the game - customization. This allowed for strategic play beyond "try to make your top spin faster."

* Plastic Generation (''Beyblade 2000'', ''V-Force'', ''G-Revolution''; 2000 - 2004) -- The first generation which was introduced with a key feature of ''customizability'', allowing each Beyblade to be able to split into several layers of parts that can be swapped amongst each other to affect its performance.

** Spin Gear System (SG): The first major update to the line. The Spin Gear was added and the Blade Base no longer needs tools to assemble. The Spin Gear is made up of a plastic shell, a small metal ring, and a piece that depended on the Blade Base's tip. The Bit Chip was also lengthened, so that it wouldn't require a cover. The spin direction of the Beyblade is now determined by which Spin Core is included, but requires separate launchers for each direction.

** Beystadiums started utilizing "pockets" (and are now a standard) where a bey would be knocked into instead of being sent flying out of the arena. This way, beys are no longer at risk of getting damaged by falling off tables. For Burst, it also prevents parts from getting lost by keeping everything inside the stadium during a Burst finish as well as projectile parts like the Bullet Driver or Phoenix armor.

** The Hasbro ''Burst'' Master Set Launcher still includes the clips to attach multiple launchers together. However, there's no opening for the winder to pass through, so any attached launchers will be basically pointless. And since two String Launchers can't be attached side-by-side, it's not really easy to double launch using two String Launchers. It mainly seems to be there for the carabiner attachment. The same is true of the Dual Threat Launcher, except the Carabiner gets in the way of the mode lock switch.

** The franchise's tagline: "Let it rip". In the original series, ripcords were prominently used in the anime and toyline. Ever since Metal Fight, string launchers were given a lot more promotion and focus. Burst started to diversify ripcords and even make some stronger than strings with the drawback of not being as easy to launch, but eventually reverted back to giving them less focus unless they were packaged with a set.

* MerchandiseDriven: ''And how''. The entire franchise exists to sell toys, and the cross sell is particularly heavy since you can't just buy one top and be able to play. Even the interchangeability is meant to convince kids to keep buying more since not only do you get more toys, you can customize them into ''even more'' combinations.
* {{Metagame}}: Boy howdy. Most types of wheels aren't even considered in the ''Metal Fusion'' tournaments, being severly outclassed. There's even a whole website dedicated to the meta, the World Beyblade Organization. It's better in ''Burst'' where most parts are usable in at least one combination. Fortunately, tier lists aren't quite as common anymore because of how debatable the utility of any given part has become. Many old metagame tactics have been beaten using parts combinations previously snubbed as being too niche or luck-based.
** The Limited and Classic formats were created because of this. Limited has an extensive ban list that allows previously mid to low tier parts to be competitive, and Classic doesn't have to deal with PowerCreep

* MightyGlacier: Defense Beyblades. They're heavy and ponderous, but designed to last against strong attacks. Their mass lets them turn an Attack Bey's momentum against it, as well as helping them stay near the bottom of the stadium. If something manages to move them from their spot (either the opposing Bey or a high-mobility tip), the return trip packs a solid punch.

* MythicalMotifs: Several sets over the course of the franchise have been based around related mythologies and legends.
** Myth/AztecMythology: Quetzalcoatl is a recurring motif, having a Beyblade released in every series so far (sometimes multiple), even if it doesn't fit in with the general theme. For example, ''Metal Fusion'' had a Quetzalcoatl wheel with Fusion and 4D wheel versions later despite most of the rest being based on Western constellations. Beat Kukulkan, AKA Khalazar K3, is based off of the Mayan interpretation of the figure and has a very similar overall design to ''Burst'''s Quetziko, apparently meant to be an upgraded version of it.

*** Most of the ''Metal Saga'' Beyblades were based on constellations, in turn based on Greek and Roman mythical figures.

** {{Excalibur}}: Xcalius and Xcalius X2. Both are themed after swords and actually have more full-layer pieces than others in their class - Excalius has two exposed layers while X2 has 3. Sieg Excalibur, the [=SwitchStrike=] upgrade, continues the motif. Buster Xcalius continues the trend into ''Turbo''.

*** ''Shogun Steel'' had the Orochi Metal Wheel, based on the 8 headed serpent that Susano-o slayed.

*** Hasbro never introduced the updated Metal Saga Light Launcher 2. It also skipped the String Launcher L in America, mostly because left spinners have an advantage over right-spinners (the majority of Beyblades) already.

** Some spin-stealing Beyblades can be launched ''by hand'' and may actually do better that way than with a launcher. Spin-stealing relies on the opponent's Beyblade starting out faster than yours, so a weak launch can actually slow another Beyblade down faster than if the spin is close to equal.
** On that note, an exceptionally fast spin-stealing Defense Beyblade can actually be used to ''speed up'' an opposing Beyblade. This may not sound very useful, but if the opponent Bey has a high mobility tip, this can lead to an easy ring-out.

*** Starting with the Spin Gear system, Dragoon in the original series could spin in either direction depending on its Spin Gear. It looks mostly like an Eastern dragon but with huge claws and a stockier, more Western body. Strata Dragoon, considered a different Bit Beast than Dragoon, had a similar but white and gold design for its monster. Its actual Beyblade parts are generally purple and included mechanical gimmicks in its parts. It's also a right-spinner, which makes it stand out among Beyblade dragons.[[note]]The very first Beyblade, Spin Dragoon, was not particularly noteworthy compared to other early Initial System toys.[[/note]]

*** ''Metal Fusion'' has two motifs. L-Drago's series all have three heads detailed into them and has more variations than any other beast. Omega Dragonis is the odd one out in that it is a ''right'' spinner and is themed on a Western dragon. They share similar design cues due to being based on the same constellation, and in the anime being Dragonis is used by Ryuga's younger brother Ryuto.

*** Luinor L2 and its upgrade Nightmare Longinus appears to be an Eastern Dragon, with a fiery mane and long body. It also has bat-like wings and a horned crest on its forehead. The dragon-head designs (2 on L2, 4 on Nightmare) are made of metal, the first and only of its kind in ''Burst'' until ''Chou-Z''/''Turbo''. Furthermore, Nightmare Longinus has a built-in Forge Disc, meaning only the Tip can be swapped out. Bloody Longinus, its ''Chou-Z'' version, has 4 dragon heads akin to Fight Dragoon from the original series with a larger fifth one in the center.[[note]]The ''Beyblade Burst Turbo'' version released by Hasbro and its partners doesn't include any metal at all in its design, which is different in its own right.[[/note]] Zwei Luinor, from ''Burst: Rise'', stands out from its predecessors in that its dragon design is much less sinister. It has two metal heads on its default Layer Base (Zwei) and two plastic ones on its GT chip (Luinor), and appears to take more after the original than either of its prior updates. Rage Luinor has only two heads on the outer edges and one on its Sparking Chip, but also has an extending "blade" that protrudes from under the Layer Base. It also lacks the ability to use a Forge Disk, and incorporates elements of all 4 of its previous incarnations.

** ''Beyblade Burst Rise'' finally pushed ''Burst'' over the edge with the Gatinko system into full-on Power Creep territory. The ability to adjust the weight and burst resistance of an Energy Layer due to having multiple interchangeable parts and the reintroduction of gimmicked center parts. There's also the Hybrid and Ignition' Performance Tips, which have battery-powered spinning tips to extend spin time. While the remote controlled Digital Control Kits for Genesis Valtryek and Fafnir gave improved control to the player, the electric tips for ''Rise'' are able to overpower even those and are allowed to be used in tournaments, unlike the Digital Control Kits.

** A general rule is that simpler gimmicks yield more viability than complicated ones. For example, the Ignition' driver has a motor that lets the bey speed up in battle and also allows it to spin the opposite direction. The recovery is helpful but with no way to control when it happens you may end up speeding up at the wrong moment and getting yourself K.O'd, additionally going the opposite direction results in a loss of momentum so you need to pick up speed again which can give your opponent a window of opportunity to attack or return to the center. Compare it to the Destroy driver, whose only gimmick is a free-spinning plate and a jaggy bottom but has become a highly used tip due to having high attack and life-after-death.

* XtremelyKoolLetterz: The way they capitalize "eXtreme Top System" is obviously meant to invoke this. Also possibly what Xcalibur and Xcalius are spelled that way. And then there's ''X'' and its "Xtreme Gear Sports" and "Xtreme Stadium".

* X Series (''X''); (2023 - Present) -- Marketed as a fusion of all three previous generations' key features (customizability, metal attack layer and burst) along with a new feature known X Dash - The Bit is designed as a gear to interact with the Xtreme Stadium's X Lines, a ring of gear teeth that outline the bowl, which accelerates the Bey and sends it towards the center allowing for high speed clashes. This provides a significant fair-play advantage for Attack-types which have a notorious disadvange of flying to the sides of the Beystadium and completely avoiding contact with Beyblades of other types that stay in the center due to their strong centrifugal force unless launched with specific angling techniques.

* Metal Saga (''Metal Fusion'', ''Metal Fury'', ''Metal Masters'', ''Shogun Steel'' (''Zero-G'' in Japan); 2009 - 2014) -- Introduced with the key feature of being made of ''metal'', this line of Beyblades combine the Attack Ring and metal Weight Disk into a single Metal Wheel that comes into contact with other Beyblades during battle, allowing for heavier impacts and metallic clangs as per RuleOfCool.
** Metal System (MS): A completely new design, partly inspired by the HMS. Beyblades in this series are made of a Performance Tip, Spin Track (core), Metal Wheel, and held together by a Face Bolt. Tops in this series were only released in Japan and didn't appear in the anime, only the manga (with the exceptions of Aquario 105F and Poison Virgo [=ED145ES=], which appeared in Metal Masters).

* Burst (''Burst'', ''Burst Evolution'' (''Burst God''), ''Burst Turbo'' (''Chouzetsu/Cho Z/Super Z''), ''Burst Rise'' (''GT/Gatinko''), ''Burst Surge'' (''Sparking''), ''Burst Quad Drive'' (''Dynamite Battle''); (2015 - 2023) -- While going back to being made of plastic, this generation of Beyblades feature the ''Burst'' gimmick, where Beyblades can come undone and burst apart when dealt with the right amount of damage, allowing for a new way to win in battles.

** Sparking Layer System: Energy Layers of this system are split into 3 parts: the Sparking Chip, the Ring, and the Chassis. Circular part in the center of the Bey has been reintroduced as the Chip Core, a part considered a part of the Sparking Chip. Chassises have 2 variants; the Single Chassis that is compatible with Forge Discs, and the Double Chassis that does not allow Forge Discs to be used, integrating them into the Chassis itself instead. While the Sparking Chip in general is compatible with the Gatinko Layer Weights and Bases, some Sparking Chips have an additional ring or other features around them edges that prevent them from being backwards compatible. There is also a Sparking Core part that can be used with certain Beyblades, but offer little in the way of tactical advantage.

*** Some Forge Discs, on a case-by-case basis, were altered slightly to have deeper grooves or divots to make them lighter. However, the majority were unaltered and even seemingly use the same exact molds as the [=TakaraTomy=] releases. Starting with [=HyperShpere=], discs were modified to accomodate frames when the original ones weren't. This meant that many gimmicks were removed (like Hurricane's free spin or Blitz's wings)

** Engine Gears from the original series while they sound awesome in practice, often times do not perform very well, if they activate early they break flower patterns and sometimes self-KO's.
*** This issue was rectified withe the Long Sparking Launchers, which are more durable ''and'' have more power
** The launch styles of the Burst anime are some of the coolest and best looking. Attempting to do them in real life WOULD look as cool, if not for the fact your Beyblade would be incredibly inaccurate and unstable. You are almost guaranteed to miss or mis-launch while doing backflips, sprints, spinning, or tossing your launchers in the air.

** ''Xtreme Gear Sports'': A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet (a centerpiece that has its own protrusions to either aid the Blade in attacking or act as a weakpoint that dislodges upon impact to trigger a Burst, and deternines its general height), and the Bit. Its burst mechanics differ from the previous generation in that burstability is determined by the Bit, where Attack-type Bits have generally a tighter lock than the other types.

* ForWantOfANail: Competitive Beyblade requires a very precise selection of parts. Everything makes a difference, down to a milligram of weight. A single part can be the difference between a viable combo that can carry over to the next generation or one that won't make it past one round of a tournament. Similarly, changing one part can suddenly put your existing combination at an advantage against one specifically countering it. Some parts have almost the exact same shape and abilities, but end up better or worse because it is made of a different material (e.g: Rubber, polyoxymethylene, metal). Then there are even mold variations wherein two of exactly the same parts differ in performance due to not being made exactly the same which can cause them to be lighter/heavier than usual or easier/harder to break and wear down. For Burst, even two of the exact type of layer/chip/chassis/core may vary in burst resistance due to how much they were used prior to a match.
** It has become a somewhat running joke that slapping Drift onto any bey automatically makes it competitive. This is partly true. As long as the Drift combination faces a bey that spins in the opposite direction it has a nearly guaranteed victory
*** More so in the Dynamite Battle stadium, where ring outs (Drift's biggest weakness outside of same spin battles) are harder than the Standard stadium
** Metal add-ons such as Bit Chips, Face Bolts, God Chips and Chip Cores aren't always preferable. The additional weight isn't always beneficial as being in the center may affect OWD (Outward Weight Distribution) and provide less stamina.

** ''Xtreme Gear Sports'': A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet (a centerpiece that has its own protrusions to aid the Blade in attacking and deternines its general height), and the Bit. Its burst mechanics differ from the previous generation in that burstability is determined by the Bit, where Attack-type Bits have generally a tighter lock than the other types.

** ''Xtreme Gear Sports'': A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet, and the Bit. Its burst mechanics differ from the previous generation in that burstability is determined by the Bit, where Attack-type Bits have generally a tighter lock than the other types.

** Dynamite Battle System: Energy layers are comprised of a Dynamite Core (similar to GT and Sparking chips), a Blade (main contact points), and an Armor (similar to the GT layer weight). All DB beys can change mdes. Low Mode has the Core above the Blade and the Armor underneath. High Mode has the Armor over the Blade and the Core underneath. Low Mode makes the bey shorter and High Mode exposes the disc more. Low Mode can only be used with DB discs, as a DB bey using an older disc will only be able to use High Mode

* X Series (''X''); (2023 - Present) -- Marketed as a fusion of all three previous generations' key features (customizability, metal attack layer and burst) along with a new feature known X Dash - The Bit is designed as a gear to interact with the Xtreme Stadium's X Lines, a ring of gear teeth that outline the bowl, to activate which accelerates the Bey and sends it towards the center allowing for high speed clashes. This provides a significant fair-play advantage for Attack-types which have a notorious disadvange of flying to the sides of the Beystadium and completely avoiding contact with Beyblades of other types that stay in the center due to their strong centrifugal force unless launched with specific angling techniques.

* Plastic Generation (''Beyblade 2000'', ''V-Force'', ''G-Revolution''; 2000 - 2004)

* Metal Saga (''Metal Fusion'', ''Metal Fury'', ''Metal Masters'', ''Shogun Steel'' (''Zero-G'' in Japan); 2009 - 2014)

* Burst (''Burst'', ''Burst Evolution'' (''Burst God''), ''Burst Turbo'' (''Chouzetsu/Cho Z/Super Z''), ''Burst Rise'' (''GT/Gatinko''), ''Burst Surge'' (''Sparking''), ''Burst Quad Drive'' (''Dynamite Battle''); (2015 - 2023)

* X Series (''X''); (2023 - Present)
** ''Xtreme Gear Sports'': A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet, and the Bit. The Blade is made with metal and molded more similar to that of the Metal Saga attack rings. The Bit is designed as a gear to interact with the Xtreme Stadium's X Lines, a set of gears that outline the bowl, to activate the X Dash gimmick which accelerates the Bey towards the center allowing for high speed clashes. Note that these Beys can still burst, but the burst mechanic is much rarer than the Burst Generation.

** ''Xtreme Gear Sports'': A three layer system that consists of the Blade, the Ratchet, and the Bit. The Blade is made with metal and molded more similar to that of the Metal Saga attack rings. The Bit is designed as a gear to interact with the Xtreme Stadium's X Lines, a set of gears that outline the bowl, to activate the X Dash gimmick which accelerates the Bey towards the center allowing for high speed clashes.

The game's mechanics are simple. Each player can have up to three tops available to them. Two players each launch a top into a bowl-shaped battle arena, and the last one left standing is the winner. Winning can either be from knocking your opponent out of the ring (Ring-Out Finish) or making their top stop spinning (Survivor Finish). Each win earns a point, and the first to seven points wins. A Burst Finish, where a Burst Beyblade flies apart when it loses, nets the winner two point. Later ''Burst'' tops include instructions for a shorter 3 point match, mirroring the accompanying mobile game's mechanics - players try to score three points before their opponent but are only allowed one Bey. Another variation has the player select up to three tops, selects which order they will be played in, and the winner is whoever gets best of 3. The Battle Tower Stadium set introduces 4-player battles, having a standard 2-player Beystadium on one side and a 4-player one on the other.

* XtremelyKoolLetterz: The way they capitalize "eXtreme Top System" is obviously meant to invoke this. Also possibly what Xcalibur and Xcalius are spelled that way.

* Burst (''Burst'', ''Burst Evolution'' (''Burst God''), ''Burst Turbo'' (''Chouzetsu/Cho Z/Super Z''), ''Burst Rise'' (''GT/Gatinko''), ''Burst Surge'' (''Sparking''), ''Burst Quad Drive'' (''Dynamite Battle''); (2015 - Present)

*** ''Metal Fury'''s Fusion Hades was mainly changed to avoid confusion: The Fusion Fusion Wheel sounds redundant, and there is a Hades Fusion Wheel, meaning it would be possible to make a [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Hades Hades]] Bey. As such, it was changed to [[AwesomeMcCoolname Firefuse Darkhelm]].

** Out of all the 4D bottoms available in the Metal Saga, the best one out of them all is the Bearing:Drive. Unlike the others, it cannot switch tips nor can it automatically change modes. Its strength relies on the simplicity of a ball bearing, a device designed to reduce friction (A common hindrance of free-spinning parts) on the tip. The various Drivers from ''Burst'' that use the same gimmicks as the 4D bottoms are similarly of limited use compared to those with free-spinning or metal tips.