Xv-02 Pro Review

[Harcourt Ordonez]

Ijust finished my XV-02 build last week, and ran my first race with it on Thursday. I hadn't really looked online for replacement or hop-up parts until after I built it, but I noticed that there's really not much available for the chassis compared to my TT-02 and that makes me a little bit scared to race it in case I break something. Tamiya doesn't even offer an aluminum steering upgrade, which seems weird since the steering parts seem like the weakest link. Why is that? Is it just because it's a relatively new chassis? Or have sales been lower than expected? Should I be worried? Makes me wonder if I should have gone with the XV-01 instead.

The XV-01 still has a strong following, and the TT-02 has a truly massive following compared to either of the XV models, as well as far more room for improvement via hop-ups than either of them, so both Tamiya and aftermarket manufacturers will have a greater variety available for the TT-02 compared to the XV-02.

I wouldn't worry though - as with other higher spec models, you are unlikely to need as many hop-ups as you would for a TT-02, and where weaknesses become apparent as more people build and use the XV-02, I am confident that hop-ups will become available to address them, be it from Tamiya or others such as Yeah Racing for example.

Probably just too new.. and also same for me, locals are not big on Tamiya's to start (USA). One thing about steering.. if you strengthen just one part the next weakest link will break. It's almost best to keep it on the soft side as an entire system. I don't plan to drive mine hard so I think I can get away with not getting another NIB for spares.

I've not built my XV yet.. I have the XV01 and XV02-Pro. Not sure whether to build during warmer months or just wait until Fall. I recently kicked off my 1:1 car season so RC building takes the back seat.

On the "FOR" side, is that it seems to be a great rally kit, and reviews have been genuinely positive. It's a "Pro" spec kit, so it's well appointed out of the box.

I think the biggest road bumps it has to deal with are:

In typical Tamiya fashion, I think people haven't given the XV02 a fair shot yet... they are comparing it's price to a lower spec car that was released 11 years ago, and despite spending 11 years asking for an updated version... they will just pine over what once was.

XV01 is great. And has a decade of variants, upgrades, setup tips and hacks to make it work better.

XV02 is also great. But newer, and maybe a bit of a wild card.

@RallyX Tamiya lists the TB-05 Aluminum steering bridge as a compatible upgrade for the XV02. There is a build thread HERE that show's it being used.

I wouldn't worry too much about parts, as long as you treat your XV-02 like a rally/touring car (so no giant jumps or what not) you'll probably wear out the motor or your tires before breaking anything.

The TT-02 front knuckle breaking was due the bottom of the knuckle protruding, especially in 'high' ride height mode and becoming very exposed when driving off road. That was basically a design compromise Tamiya made to be able to do it all with the same kit, low or high. On mine I have shortened the bottom of the knuckle to make it flush with the bottom of the lower arm. I have never broken one this way.

I doubt the XV-02 would have similar needs for either modifying parts or constantly breaking and replacing them. As others have said, it is a high-end kit and you are more likely to wear-out tires more than anything else.

I run both the XV01 and XV02, they are both quite sturdy and have never had problems with any of them, the reinforced plastic in the XV02 is just so much better than the plastic in the tt02... the way its built.. its just something else.

About the steering upgrade I dropped a TB05 alu steering with ackerman adjustment without mods and next thing Im trying is the Embie mod to place the servo upside down and with direct steering which I did also in my XV01 and love.

Well, I've raced my XV02 once so far at the very small indoor off-road track (won the B Main) and I've run it on both the dirt track near me on Tuesday and the very large indoor off-road track today. Finally broke something after getting smacked by a SCT and of course it was the steering bellcrank that snapped off where it connects to the rod from the servo. Naturally I can't find anywhere in the US that stocks the T parts (or even the Yeah Racing parts), so I guess I'll be running my TT02 at the race on Saturday.

I will be building my XV02 Pro pretty soon. I made an extension cable for the 1251MG I will be running this morning. Will also run XR10JustStock, 17.5 ThunderPower BL, and a Futaba receiver to run off my 7PXR. Will do the Delta body,, but will start with the dark blue version first with minimal decals. I have another Delta body (actually a XV01 kit) which I shall do box art later in the Fall.

What battery are people using? I'm still deciding whether to go XV01 or XV02. I have a few shorty lipos from my B6 race buggy and it seems to make sense to run a short pack pushed to the front with the XV02.

By the way, I ended up getting a set of Eagle Racing bell cranks off of eBay, and they're fantastic! About the same price as the Yeah Racing, but they seem to be higher quality. Less slop than the original parts, too.

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Let me be clear that, despite all the glitzy marketing campaigns and previews, The King of Fighters XV is not a reinvention of the wheel, retaining a good chunk of what made its predecessor so fun to play, all while adding more content on the side, and removing a bit of content on the other. The end result is pretty good, despite the latter: this is, without a doubt, the best looking polygonal KoF game ever made, with the smoothest gameplay and performance of any game in the franchise. And yes, it does feature rollback netcode for its online multiplayer. Bless this game.

I do have to admit that The King of Fighters XV is basically better than its predecessor in almost every single regard, just being a bit more lackluster in terms of the amount of day-one fighters when compared to the ludicrous roster size featured in XIV. It looks sharp enough (albeit not by next-gen standards), its controls are responsive, and its multiplayer is more than solid. Sure, it might be a bit rough around the edges when put next to a few higher-budgeted fighting games, but The King of Fighters XV ended up being exactly what I wanted it to be. Kudos to SNK, for they have successfully delivered a banger after so many delays and setbacks.

Fast-paced and responsive. What you should expect from a modern fighting game, with an excellent framerate and a lot of combos to pull off. Just bear in mind this is an SNK fighter: some special attacks are usually slightly harder to perform by design.

Way Too Many Games is an up and coming gaming site run by gamers for gamers. Established in January 2017 Way Too Many Games began with the goal to provide objective reviews and better represent independent developers and niche titles, eventually expanding into board games as well. Since its launch, WTMG has been a presence at E3, Brasil Game Show, and Play NYC, with more events on the way.

Originally when I had played through the preview build, I was met with some issues that forced me to stop playing. I was no longer able to access my game and thus I could only play one part of the game. Fortunately, since then I've been able to conquer the game without any issue or save problems, which I was delighted to see. I really didn't want to have to start over a few more times to regain all the progress I've lost. I've not seen any other save issues since my time with the preview, but as is the case with any mobile game, it's a good idea to keep an eye on your save data.

After my time with the game and playing through the smaller version of classic moments I enjoyed actually hoping Square Enix goes ahead with more translations of its larger games like this one. There's a wide variety of fans out there who may not have the time to spend on playing the full-sized versions. These are the same folks who have difficulty hanging around at home long enough to enjoy console releases. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition is exemplary of the kind of game that can be crafted when a company cares enough about a property to give it a proper mobile adaptation.

I'm hoping to see more bite-sized chunks of my favorite stories released in this manner for when I just don't have the time to sink into the version I want to. There's definitely a market out there for these types of releases, and I'd love to see it grow beyond the cheaply-made mobile cash-grabs out there.

This review is based on an iOS download code provided by the publisher. Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition via the App Store and Google Play Store and is free to play for the first chapter. The game has been rated 9+ by the ESRB.

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!

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