Set #71344 The LEGO Batman Movie Fun Pack: I’ve been procrastinating long enough, it’s time to finish discussing LEGO Dimensions. The last few waves are almost done, here we find ourselves with another new Batman suit. This is Excalibur Batman, he is unique to this set and so if you’re aiming to collect all of the LEGO Batman Movie variant Batman Suits then you’ll have to buy this set. But is he important to own for the game itself? Read on to see.

Packaging

It is your typical LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack packaging design. Excalibur Batman is prominent in the top of the package, the artwork behind him is harder to make out, but it seems to be the Batcomputer. The rest of the set is showcased in the same field of dark blue with the green energy band contrasting.

I don’t believe I’ve ever discuss this before, LEGO has a different coloured band of rippling energy effect, almost appearing to be a digital grid pattern. On Fun Packs in Series 2 it is green. Other packs feature different colours, this is a clever visual ploy, aside from the size to help indicate which ‘level’ of Pack you are purchasing.

Parts

Aside from Batman’s toy tag there are no other printed elements in this set, and what is here is rather limited in scope and use. This is the first time I’d have to say you won’t find a whole lot of options here if you want these sets for parts packs. Many of the pieces in the set are fairly common, the only rarities would be the piece used for Macy’s helmet from NEXO Knights in black and two un-printed LEGO Shield elements in plain grey.

Minifigures

Excalibur Batman: While the head is not unique to this Minifigure, as it is the same dual-sided print we’ve seen on most LEGO Batman Movie Minifigures, the rest is all new in print and colour with a standard grey LEGO torso and legs printed with armour detailing and a silverish cowl and shoulder armour piece that slides on. Add the unique almost faded blue cape and this Minifigure stands out as very impressive for a Batman variant.

With his massive LEGO Sword you could easily see him standing amongst the NEXO Knights in an adventure to stop another ‘Evil Clown’ and protect all of Knighton from sinister monsters. Even his Toy Tag has armour printing complete with Bat logo. Overall a very nice Minifigure to own.

The build

Bionic Steed: Welcome to another build of an animal rather than a truck or car or plane. That’s right, the Bionic Steed is a mechanical horse. This build is pretty clever, it manages to convey the illusion of a horse rearing on its hind legs thanks to the extra parts used while building for stability. Fairly solid build.

Bat-Raptor: This is not a dinosaur, at least it doesn’t resemble any. No, this Raptor build is more evocative of a Bird-of-Prey, which is what Raptor means. The build thusly is a pretty poor one honestly, it kind of looks a little nice, but they could have called it the BAT-STAP and it would have been more accurate into what you’re building here. Very disappointing build.

Ultrabat: This is a fairly interesting looking build, it’s not quite a bat, the little ears are missing from the head area due to the limited amount of parts in use, but it is a fun little build and a vast improvement over the previous build.

The completed model

Bionic Steed: The stand out model in my opinion, this physical toy was great fun to build and it makes an excellent little model. The only downside is Excalibur Batman can’t sit on the horse, there is a LEGO handle bar piece he can hold with his hands to make it look as if he’s riding his faithful steed, but he’ll just be dangling off the back of it. A larger model wouldn’t be bad if LEGO ever revisits The LEGO Batman Movie.

Bat-Raptor: With the parts here making this model resemble an actual bird isn’t entirely possible. The fact that it has a vaguely, non-trademark infringing resemblance to the Battle Droid STAP vehicle is a nice idea, but this hodgepodge of parts as a finished model doesn’t really resemble much of anything even half-way decent.

Ultrabat: Good, solid model with a decent use of parts. If it had actual bat ears it would be perfect, as it is, a decent secondary build offering from the available parts. And loads more fun to play with physically than that sad excuse for a Bat-Raptor.

The Digital Content

Adventure World: Excalibur Batman cannot access the levels from the Story Pack, so you can only play in the Adventure World, which isn’t too bad as it is a vast area to explore with all of LEGO Gotham opened up for you. If you’ve played any of the previous LEGO Batman games though there isn’t a whole lot of new scenery to see here on its own.

Battle Arena: For fun multiplayer action and hijinks, join Excalibur Batman in The LEGO Batman Movie The Batcave Battle Arena. This version isn’t infested with Joker memorabilia, it’s just The Batcave. So basically a swap of what you got in the Story Pack.

Character & Vehicle Abilities: And now, what abilities does this Dark Knight variant possess?

Excalibur Batman has the Boomerang ability, Stealth, Laser Deflector, Grapple, Master Build, Sword Switch and can destroy Cracked LEGO Objects. A very well-rounded figure with most abilities we’ve seen and discussed before.

The Bionic Steed has the Super Jump and Special Weapon abilities/features. The Bat-Raptor retains Super Jump (Hmmmm, perhaps this is meant to be a Bat version of the Dinosaur rather than a Bird… Could have fooled me with that build.) and can Destroy Cracked LEGO Objects. The Ultrabat grants you Sonar Smash and Super Strength, an interesting combination.

Overall opinion

While I find myself leaning more towards Not Recommending this set, I have to say, it’s tough to say that. I mean Excalibur Batman alone is well worth the price of admission, and while the digital content is available with the Story Pack, the fun dialogue you can have with Batman and Excalibur Batman on the Toy Pad together more than makes me think you’ll want to pick this up just for that comedy alone. And two out of three decent physical models isn’t too bad.

Very slightly recommended for completionists.

I wanted to explore the LEGO Batman Movie world and I liked the figure. Let's see how that went.

Parts

Not too many that come to my attention, but I suppose the blank grey shields and the relatively new bar-holder-with-bar piece would be interesting.

Minifigure

It makes sense that the Batman from the movie would be wearing one of his ridiculous Batsuits, and especially so players don't confuse the two Batmen. This suit is nice, especially because it's exclusive, and it depicts Batman in a medieval suit of armor. I like the bold sections of heraldic colors on his armor, and the cape and cowl go better with the rest than one would think. His cape is the softer variety, as is the practice with superhero minifigures now. He comes with a single-colored Nexo Knights sword, which is suitably over-the-top.

The completed model

The Bionic Steed is actually a pretty nice thing, and I like how there are touches of armor on it, too. The arms are well constructed, and the pose is quite dynamic. The other models aren't quite as impressive, but I like the flying bat vehicle.

The gameplay

Spoilers: You probably should have picked the Story Pack.

LEGO Batman isn't that bad, he's got the base abilities of the DC Comics Batman, but with the sword-switch ability, master building, laser deflection and the ability to smash cracked walls. But again, Finn and various other characters can cover that.

As I explored the LEGO Batman Movie world, I marveled at the all-LEGO construction and the iconic locations while simultaneously seeing lots of puzzles made for Batgirl and Robin. And there's the problem. There's nothing only LEGO Batman can do. But his sidekicks both have exclusive abilites. So this character starts to feel entirely useless. Sure, he's fun to play as, but is it really worth it? Also, one thing I noticed is that all of the quest givers must be allowed to speak their entire monologues for the quests to work- skipping through the speeches just caused them to reset. The game's Year Two track record has been pretty buggy, so beware.

However, there is one wonderful little feature. The Red Brick for the world that can be accessed via this pack or the Story Pack. The game is programmed to turn the DC Comics/Starter Pack Batman into LEGO Batman in the LEGO Batman Movie levels/world, and the world itself has the "Always Batman" Red Brick that turns DC Batman into his hammier counterpart at all times. In this form, he has the grapple, boomerang, and stealth of before, but he also has the LBM detective ability, the ability to glide, rope swing, and master build. He's animated in the style of the LEGO Movies, and occasionally when targeting, he'll recreate the hilarious "first try" gag from the first film. He's also armed with the Merch Gun, which will cause targets to be dressed up in lots of Batman-branded gear. But again, the Story Pack can get you the Red Brick, too.

Overall

He's a really cool minifigure and a fun enough character, but he doesn't really aid that much in completion compared to his teammates, and even the LEGO Batman secret character isn't exclusive to the pack. The Story Pack may be more expensive, but it will save you some Hire-A-Hero studs.