@OhDavidBowie you’re up
Japan Technology | Fractal | A-tier
Specs:
Diameter - 56.22mm
Width - 44.07mm
Weight - 64.6g
Materials - ??? Alu Body + SS Rims
Note: There are different variations of this yoyo. The variations mostly seem to be in the rim interfacing, but just understand that the version I was sent and playtested is the version in the pic above. I can’t speak for the other version which has a slightly different rim interface (pictured below in a spoiler) if there are any play variations I wouldn’t know.
Also, this is a big one so buckle up. JT makes interesting things I guess.
Different Version (note how there’s no line between the aluminum and steel)
The Fractal’s a far more standard yoyo compared to some of the other wacky offerings I’ve played from Japan Technology. The Shade was particularly obtuse and odd to me; the Jugemu was a modern-spec beast that needed some adjusting. The Fractal is, certainly more normal than both of these.
So the Fractal is kinda awesome. It’s very much a do-it-all yoyo. Probably one of the most reliable yoyos I’ve ever played with in the sense that it has a flexibility to it that just never gets in the way of anything you do. It’s not too big. It’s not too wide. It’s not too heavy or too light. It’s a truly impressively well-tuned yoyo. Perhaps a little unnatural feeling with the rimweight, but overall, the Fractal is insanely reliable and flexible for a lot of different playstyles. It controls well and it’s not uncontrollably fast.
But what’s the drawback? Why not SS-Tier if it’s so good?
For one, it’s extremely expensive for Alu + SS. Generally speaking, the price of a yoyo doesn’t mean anything to me. I say a yoyo is worth as much as you’re willing to pay. But, the $250 pricetag of the Fractal is an extremely tall ask. If you can justify that pricetag, ball out. If not: Use that money on other things. Simple as.
This leads me to the second thing. It’s a GREAT yoyo don’t misunderstand. But, the difference between that $250 price tag and the more budget-conscious price points for similarly shaped and performant yoyos is only as important as you are willing to justify. I wouldn’t be able to justify purchasing a Fractal over a Nucleon or an Overdrive Draupnir, even though I like the Fractal more than both. The play difference is there, enough for me to prefer the Fractal, but not to the point where I’m willing to fork out $250 when I have things juuust similar enough.
Tl;dr: Super good but the pricetag is a bit hard to justify even if it’s arguably better or more fun than other similarly-shaped and similarly-performant yoyos.
Play: Competitive
Power: Powerful
Speed: Average
Controllability: Easy
Stability: Build Different
Value: Terrible
Bind: Average
Sturdiness: Average(?)
Brass Exia added to S-tier*