Let Your Toys Live: Zombie Zity

Zombie Zity is a 2013 toyline by Dracco. According to their website, while based out of Hong Kong, Dracco sells its toys in over 60 countries. And while Zombie Zity has not appeared in US markets, Dracco does apparently have a US office in St Charles, IL. This suggests the possibility that the toyline could arrive here at some point. Until then, you can find Zombie Zity products for purchase online, available in both German and Spanish packaging.

To date, there have been two Zombie Zity lines of toys and an additional trading card line. One version of the toy comprises a collection of 48 small figures called Bouncerz. They are marketed similarly to the Trash Pack and Gogo's Crazy Bones. The material of choice here is a soft, bouncy rubber. They meet all the trendy gimmicks for toys of this size, namely: An intense "collect them all" goal, blind packs ensuring lots of duplicates, rare chase versions (monochromatic green, metallic silver and gold), and lots of "games" you can play with them which undoubtedly involve throwing or rolling or bouncing.

The other Zombie Zity toyline is called Zwobblerz. These are 2.25-inch figures that comprise a much more manageable set of 12. They come in single window-box packs; so you can see the figures you are getting (as opposed to blind packs wherein you cannot). They are described as being similar to bobbleheads even though they lack springs for necks. Instead, they are joined at their necks by ball-joints. So, they don't really wobble or bobble at all, but they can be positioned in a variety of poses. Any articulation is a good thing. Plus, since the head and arms are removable, this allows Dracco to market the gimmicks of "swappable parts" and "create your own."

The Zwobblerz are chock-full of other tried-and-true toy gimmicks. In case cool sculpts are not enough encouragement to "collect them all," we also get the possibility of battle-play and electronic-play. Each figure comes with a hard plastic disk which can be used to fling or sling at the zombies in faction-based battle scenarios. Also, each figure comes with a small character card with a "secret code" that allows for exclusive content to be accessed in either an App game or an online game. Finally, we have the "sold separately" gimmick. The Zombies have playsets and accessories available to expand their Zity.

Now, don't let the fact that I point out their gimmicks (or call them what they are) lead you to believe that I don't like them. For the record, I do like them. Zombie Zity is pretty cool and I hope they come to the US. I am simply noting a fairly thorough marketing effort. A gimmick is just a special feature for its own sake. It's not a necessity, but it can certainly help a toyline stand out. Since toys are non-essential (novelty) purchases anyway, a gimmick or a series of gimmicks can really determine a toyline's success. Toys are marketed to fickle kids and more importantly their skeptical, cash-strapped parents asking, "I know you want it, but what does it DO?" To be eye-catching is one thing, but added novelty can help create the illusion of reason as to why you just have to have it (...and another ...and another ...and another). In general, gimmicks are good.

That said, as an adult collector, I like Zombie Zity not because of, but in spite of, their gimmicks. They look cool. That's it. There is similarity within the collection of figures, yet enough uniqueness among them individually. Originality plus variety plus consistency. Of course there are plenty of toylines that I like better than Zombie Zity, but I like those toys for the same basic reasons. They look interesting. Some thought went into their design, their naming, their sculpting, and their production. Each figure is unique and the overall collection is consistent.

Before we look at the figures, I'd like to explore one last gimmick: The backstory.

This one is relatively easy to incorporate, yet often overlooked. I'd also say that it's pretty important especially when your toyline isn't already tied to an established storyline most likely provided by a TV, movie, or comic franchise. Even in those cases, it certainly does not hurt to put a backstory or a bio on your toy's packaging.

The Zombie Zity backstory is a weird one. The mayor (himself a zombie) has somehow, for some reason, turned the "zitizens" of Zombie Zity into zombies. It is unclear why the city was called Zombie Zity before his administration. Presumably it could have had a different name, as the characters could have had too, though this is not explained at all. Nevertheless, now there are good zombies and bad zombies. The bad zombies are minions of the mayor and the good zombies are aligned with the doctor who is trying to find a cure for the "zombie syndrome." So, all are infected but some don't want to be. It's slightly different than People vs Zombies or even Plants vs Zombies, but still an A vs B story-arc (itself a popular gimmick).

The most unfortunate thing is that there seems to be no women in Zombie Zity. In the Zwobblerz collection of 12, there are none at all. In the Bouncerz collection of 48, I have confirmed that there is at least one female. I consider this a noticeable flaw as it is not representative of our society, and likely limits potential buyers of the toys. Even the toyline Zombiezz made 2/20 females.

Enough talk, let's look at the toys. I do not have any of the small Bouncerz. Here are 7 of 12 Zwobblerz. (All that I have currently.)

2. Phillippe Snotti -- Waiter