The first in series for Gashapon Quest is Gashapon Quest ~Beginning of an Adventure~ (“ガシャポンクエスト～冒険の始まり編～”) by Bandai Namco was first released in Japan in December 2022. This product has a total of 7 styles. Of the 7 styles, there were 2 which were manikins bodies of the male protagonist and female heroine while the other 5 were wearables, armours & weapons. It feels like something from the fantasyland like Final Fantasy, Romancing Saga and such in toys format. Each was dispensed randomly by a Gashapon machine for the price of 500 Yen.

I understand this isn’t a strategy game. However, I do believe it has high relevance to the topic. So I look to share my experience and thoughts with it.

I first saw this when I was at Okinawa for a family trip this June (2023). And as usual, I was so intrigued with the vending machines (They called “Gashapon” or “Gacha” in Japan) and all these fun and interesting Japanese products and promotions. Of course, I passed by the Pokémon Centre at Okinawa as well woo hoo. Anyhow, Gashapon Quest ~Beginning of an Adventure~ was there on a few machines in the mall and it was a re-release. Perhaps it is due to popular demand? At that time, I took note only because I know I will want to spend a few there. Yet, I really can’t do it while family is waiting. I later got back and managed to get a full set via a Japan proxy service.

Gashapon Quest – The Product

The package I got was without all the capsule shells. It is a second hand pack from someone in Japan. Interestingly, Bandai Namco explicitly discourage buying from any 3rd party (Which I am not because my order was 2nd hand and I really can’t get it locally anyways) because it will ruin your experience. But it is worth mentioning because part of the fun I miss out was the experience to “draw” and the “randomness” of the Gashapon machines. Regardless for this set, I believe the redundancy wasn’t fun to own. While for some you get duplicated weapons are fun, but it doesn’t seems so for this set.

For the actual product, the 2 manikins on top left (male protagonist) and right (female heroine) have more parts. While the others styles such as wearables and weapons are just cut-outs, the manikins build were a bit more but straightforward. However, the instruction manual was shallow in providing details and is just the small piece of paper shown above. At some point it wasn’t too clear for me to distinguish left and right parts. And I only found out later when a took a closer look, the ‘L’ and ‘R’ was engraved on some of the parts. It took me about 20 minutes to build each. But overall, the fits were good and nothing truly complicated.

Gashapon Quest – A Quick Armour Build

Aside from the manikins, the wearables and weapons were straightforward especially after you build the manikins. You just put the weapons on or treat them as a partial body part and substitute them on the manikins you build. To show how it is like, for this simple armour build I need 3 sets for the change up (#1 Male Protagonist, #4 Upper Armour & #5 Lower Armour). The Red crossed out parts on the picture below are parts you don’t need. Of course, the little hands you can pick and you can dress in different boots as you see fit.

You will end up with the build below on the right. Pieces not used is on the left. I intentionally left out the right arm’s armours to show how the shoulder armour is attached. And then, the little piece slides on before you put the hand on.

According to the official Gashapon Quest brand page, the key product concept is a manikin body plus equipment parts combine a figure. Simple. And I can already feel how customizable it is. Awesome!

Gashapon Quest – Beginning of an Adventure The Story

The story goes like this for this particular product (There is a story for each Gashapon Quest product line up. You may find them on the official brand page). I just translated it via Google and did some edits. I thought it was worth reading:

Part 1: The Beginning of an Adventure ~Noah’s town~

One day, a boy living in Asakusa, Tokyo stood in front of a company with a red sign and a mysterious Gashapon.
He spun the mysterious Gashapon and he was immediately submerged in light and transported to another world [Capsule World].

Upon arrival, a monster attacked him but a [female knight] saved him from the dare situation.
She accompanied him to Noah, the town of beginnings where he meets the Hero’s Daughter.

[The Daughter of the Brave] worships a special Gashapon, one of the seven in the world.
She is about to depart for the Asakusa ruins, where wishes are said to come true.

What does the boy understand about Asakusa, and what’s his relationship with it?

If you use the power of the Asakusa ruins, you may be able to return to your original world.

That’s what the boy from another world thought.
He decides to go on a journey with the [Hero’s Daughter].

That’s intriguing and that’s what I love about all these Japanese products. Always so detailed by giving a bunch of back stories even for Gashapon toys. Interestingly, these stories were not mentioned in the instruction sheets unless you search them yourself. Given that this is a new brand and there were no references at all otherwise. Now let’s take a quick look at the history of Gashapon and its current evolution. And that’s why I was excited to write about it!

What is Gashapon? The Toy Lucky Draw Evolved

Bandai trademarked the word Gashapon (ガシャポン). It describes the turning sound of the vending machine turning and delivering the goodie. The concept of self selling vendor machine was way back and originated in 1965. Bandai picked it up at 1977 and it took off in Japan ever since.

The idea is that you pick what you like and enjoy the shopping experience. What is interesting, is that while I was looking into the Gashapon Quest toys, I found that you can draw online (only in Japan). And the process goes like the below. I tried to piece out the flow and some of the pics will not be 100% accurate due to how difficult it is to get the screenshots while not doing any purchase.

Gashapon Online Draw Process

And wow, there you have it. I think if I am in Japan I would have spent so much money on these! Imagine when we can buy things online its already amazing. Now you can draw Gashapon online. This took the whole experience to another level. I saw pictures online where people draw like 70 times for the entire set.

Releases/ Collector’s Guide

Initially I thought what I got, Gashapon Quest – The Beginning of an Adventure was the first in the series. I was wrong. The first ever release was in July 2022 where there were a set of 6 figures and a set of female heroine with equipment. I believe at that time they are starting a new format after Aqua Shooters! and went with a fantasy theme which is quite logical. The following is the list of complied releases sorted by release date. (Updated Nov 20, 2024)

Products	Styles	Price	Release Date*	Pictures**
ガシャポンクエスト~ノアの町編~ Gashapon Quest – Noah’s Town	14	300 Yen	July 19, 2022	Cover Rate1 Rate2
ガシャポンクエスト~キャラエディットセレクション~ Gashapon Quest – Character Edit Selection	6	1,200 Yen	July 19, 2022	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~ブルーフォレストの試練編~ Gashapon Quest – Blue Forest Trial	16	300 Yen	Oct 28, 2022	Cover Rate1 Rate2 Rate3
ガシャポンクエスト~ブルーフォレストギルド~ Gashapon Quest – Blue Forest Guild	6	1,200 Yen	Oct 28, 2022	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~冒険の始まり編~ Gashapon Quest – The Beginning of an Adventure	7	500 Yen	Dec 2022	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~迷いの森の案内人編~ Gashapon Quest – Guide of the Lost Forest	14	400 Yen	Mar 17, 2023	Cover Rate1 Rate2
ガシャポンクエスト~北の大地ポタルギルド~ Gashapon Quest – Northern Land Portal Guild	6	1,500 Yen	Mar 17, 2023	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~青い森のエルフ編~ Gashapon Quest – Blue Forest Elf	6	500 Yen	Apr 1, 2023	Cover
ガシャポンクエスト~ノアの武器屋~ Gashapon Quest – Noah’s Weapon Shop	10	300 Yen	Apr 19, 2023	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~ノアの防具屋~ Gashapon Quest – Noah’s Armor Shop	10	500 Yen	May 15, 2023	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~決戦!アサクサ遺跡編~ Gashapon Quest – Battle at Asakusa Ruins	17	400 Yen	Jul 31, 2023	Cover Rate1 Rate2 Rate3
ガシャポンクエスト~EPILOGUE COLLECTION~ Gashapon Quest – Epilogue Collection	6	1,500 Yen	Jul 31, 2023	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~獣人の国ポタル編~ Gashapon Quest – Beastman’s Portal	7	500 Yen	Aug 1, 2023	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~廻る(めぐる)旅の終わりに~ Gashapon Quest – The End of a Spinning Journey	7	500 Yen	Jan 21, 2024	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~ブルーフォレストの試練編~# Gashapon Quest – Blue Forest Trial#	16	300 Yen	Apr 8, 2024	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~迷いの森の案内人編～# Gashapon Quest – Lost Forest Guide#	14	400 Yen	Jul 18, 2024	Cover Rate
ガシャポンクエスト~青い森のエルフ編～# Gashapon Quest – Blue Forest Elf#	6	500 Yen	Jul 22, 2024	Cover
ガシャポンクエスト～獣人の国ポタル編～# Gashapon Quest – Beastman’s Portal#	7	500 Yen	Nov 8, 2024	Cover

Final thoughts

Gashapon Quest is definitely capturing and addictive once you are at it. I originally had a few other topics in mind but this caught my attention lately. Got a pack and it was better than expected. Then ,I am not sure if I will get more. But from what I saw here, the figures were pretty well made with nice details and head sculpt. The figure is a bit loose however, but all you need to do is set up the pose and it will stand well.

What amazed me more, is that you can actually draw Gashapon online in Japan and for many people this is certainly a game changer. Bandai Namco was also quite smart in limiting the amount of stocks you can draw online. Talking about the right distribution strategy I say they are absolutely smart about it. Sometimes, it is not about selling more to whoever comes first.

Now why do I write this article here and why is it relevant? Imagine how the loot box works (now a pretty negative term already in the gaming industry). This is essentially how it is suppose to be like but you can actually collect all the stuffs you get, and trade them as you like. I don’t have something definitely about this. But certainly one day it will tick and perhaps one of us will apply the learning and experience into our games!

Pros (Why It is Awesome)

• Really nice looking figures, detailed and amazing quality.
• There are so many to collect, and from what I saw no repetition (different colours/ styles doesn’t count as a repeat).
• Cute story gave nice vibes to the series.
• I saw people online making customized inventories already!

Cons (What could be done better)

• Too many and impossible to collect. Impossible, impossible impossible!
• Gashapon can only be drawn online from Japan only.
• Story and supports are also only available in Japan.
• I suggest some kind of storage case, or scenes for them.

Further readings & resources:

• Gashapon Quest official brand page (Japanese)
• Namco Park page with search term as Gashapon Quest (Japanese)

Please comment below what you think of Gashapon Quest. If you are enjoying it will you collect more? Do you look forward to what next for them? Will you be bothered by redundancy if you draw from a Gashapon machine?

Written by NKBDL for Strategy Games Evolution, Oct 26, 2023 (Updated Nov 20, 2024)

Disclaimer: All pictures shown on the article were taken by me from my own collections. For pictures that are linked out, and are very specific like those really rare items, I downloaded them from online auction websites and will reference them as best as possible. As these websites listings are quite dynamic it is very hard to keep a permanent link to them. If you found yourself to be the owner of such photos and I didn’t do my reference right, please contact me right away. Thank you!

I started this site so that anyone (including me) can come and learn about/ reference on interesting strategy game products, so being able to show and reference the right pictures meant a lot to me and my audiences. Of course I did put up some referral links so that I can continue to support this site and buy more products to review. So I shall let everyone know about this point too. Thanks again.