Kamen Rider Snipe Gashats

Today we have something a little different.

Instead of a straight up review, we have a comparison between Rider gimmicks for a series!
Now this specific Rider had 3 Gashats in the series, however one of them didn't have a Rider form shown, and was only used in his weapon, as such, it's not included today!

So, what do you get when you mix a grumpy Doctor with an anti social attitude, and the power to become a Kamen Rider...
Well you get Kamen Rider Snipe of course!

To start, we have Bang Bang Shooting!
Taking the form of a gun toting wierdo with a cape, Kamen Rider Snipe certainly has the attitude to be a side switching last second hero in any series.

But we're not here to talk about the Rider himself, just his gimmicks! And of course the mantles they spawn. Full Rider breakdowns might be a thing for the future.

Sporting a very dark blue, almost purple colour scheme, this base form Gashat doesn't really appear too special. I know that sounds harsh, but when you look at how bright and standyouty all the other Gashats are, this one kinda fades away... Especially when you consider, Legend Rider Hibiki is the only one close to a comparable paint job, and even then its way brighter!

But! Redeeming factor for the outward appearance, the picture is brilliant! The pixelated shooter in bright yellow and blue, added gunshots, its the perfect low res version of Snipe!

The light on this Gashat is a very nice shade of blue, which shows up very nicely in the Driver.
For the sounds, you have your typical Rider intro, calling out the name of the Gashat, followed by music.

With this, you get the following:

Press the button once, "Bang Bang Shooting!" followed by rocky music

Insert it into the Gamer Driver, "Gashat! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?! I'm a Kamen Rider!"

Level Up! "Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! Bang Bang Shooting!" followed by more rocky music
Providing you have somewhat fresh batteries in there, you'll get very clear sound, as with 95% of the Gashats, this is entirely dependant on battery power.

As with most single stack Gashats, Bang Bang Shooting also operates in the second slot on the Driver, though I don't recall this being used in the series (please correct me if I'm wrong on that). For the level up sounds, you get an alternate version of the standard Bang Bang jingle, it's along the lines of " Gan gan gan, Gan gan gan, Yes! Ba-Bang Bang-Ba-Bang! Bang Bang Shooting"
I still prefer the level 2 jingle :P

Now the second Gashat that Taiga uses is a Dual Gear, which shares a form with Kamen Rider Brave.
Bang Bang Simulations!

I mean come on, who doesn't want to walk around with a Battleship on their shoulders?

Just me then?

Darn...

Alright then, Gashat Gear Dual Beta is a twin Gashat, takes both slots in the Driver and contains two games. One for Kamen Rider Brave, and one for Kamen Rider Snipe. Both are level 50 forms, their first major power up in the series (or in Snipes case, his only real power up if you leave out Bang Bang Tank which as I said, only saw use in a weapon).

Dual Gears work a little differently from standard Gashats, and even Double Gashats (See Mighty Brothers XX). Gear Beta even works differently when compared to Gear Alpha (Knockout Fighter/Perfect Puzzle) in that you need to pick a side before inserting it into the Driver.

So, turn the dial on the front to pick your side, for this review we're going with Simulations (obviously, if you thought it was Fantasy you haven't been paying attention to my rambles! :P)

After turning the dial, you'll get a standby sound. Drumbeats and a voice, honestly to my ear it sounds like he's saying "I ready you're a Battleship!", which makes more sense to me given the mantle is that of a Battleship sitting on your shoulders!

But no, the standby actually says "I ready for Battleship!".

Insert the Gear into the Driver and you'll get "Dual Gashatto"

Once inserted the standby will continue (the perks of a Driver thats there just to trigger noises in gimmicks!), open the Driver to level up!

"Gachan! Dual Up! Scramble da! Shutsugeki Hasshin! Bang Bang Simulations!"

I admit, I hunted for that... I knew what it said but stood no chance of writing it!

So congratulations! You're now Kamen Rider Snipe Level 50, Bang Bang Simulation mantle! -happy dance-

Ha try dancing with a Battleship sitting on your head!

Close the Driver to start your Kimewaza!

You'll get a very urgent sounding "Kimewaza!" from the Gashat, followed by electronic standby noise and... "Bang Bang Critical Fire!"

Whoops, you just took out half the city with that explosion :P

I'll be perfectly honest though, I much prefer the Henshin sound from the Para-DX side of things.
"Dual Up! Enemy is coming! Shoot down their Bang Bang Simulations! " with way more intense music!

Oh yeah, the gear works without a Gamer Driver, but we're not here for Para-DX :P

Visually, the Dual Gear looks fat. Well of course it would, it's two Gashats stuck together, you'd look fat too if you were stuck to someone identical to you!

Red, silver and a touch of yellow on the dial, unlike Bang Bang Shooting, this Gashat certainly stands out, as much for its colour as its size.

You'd be hard pushed to lose it! He says having done just that... Don't worry! Found it :D

The picture on the side carries on the same theme as Bang Bang Shooting, with a pixelated version of Snipe, this time wearing an Admiral hat and saluting, surrounded by Battleship turrets. But instead of the writing being in yellow, this time it's in red, and looks a fair bit more menacing!.

Now, another major difference with the regular Gashats is, this one doesn't have the standard silhouette when inserted into the Driver. Instead of a basic lined version of the Rider or add-on, it's a lit image of both Bang Bang Simulations and Taddle Fantasy. When inserted into the Driver, Taddle Fantasy is facing up, while Simulations is upside down. This does not change based on which form is picked.

Overall, I absolutely love the Bang Bang series of Gashats, I think Snipe got cheated by only having two forms (3 if you count Proto, 4 if Tank had a mantle, but it didn't so it doesn't count :P)

Now like I said before, there are much more impressive looking Gashats out there, but when you're that badass, do you really need that little extra flash? :)