Recently we had the privilege of reviewing HyperX’s TimtheTatman collaboration collection, this time we’ve got our hands on their new Naruto: Shippuden set; or at least one half of it. This anime-inspired set comes in two themes, the iconic orange of Naruto and the edgy red and black of Itachi.
We have the full set which all together comes out to a little over $300 USD but all the pieces can be bought separately from HyperX, and for that reason we’ll be running down each product individually.
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HyperX Cloud Alpha – Itachi Edition – Gaming Headset
One of the first things I noticed about the HyperX Cloud Alpha was how versatile it was in terms of sizing. I’m a big dude with a big head, and when I pulled the headphones out of the box I was worried if they would fit. Surprisingly they managed to go on comfortably and they managed to fit over my ears too.
One of my biggest peeves about headphones is small ear cups. There’s nothing like putting on some headphones and either they’re too small so they just sit on your ears, or worse when they’re that awkward size that your ears fit but you’re bending the cartilage of your ear to make them fit.
The microphone feels like an afterthought, it comes separate in the box and plugs into a little niche on the headset. But with standalone mics being so affordable these days, I’d rather not have someone listen to my frantic while I play Sea of Thieves.
HyperX Pulsefire Haste – Itachi Edition – Gaming Mouse
I didn’t like it. It’s sleek, it’s aerodynamic, it’s lightweight. That’s all well and good but with only a few side buttons it’s more of an ostentatious ornament than serious gaming peripheral; but I’ll talk more about that at the end.
I’m more of an MMO player and I have huge hands. This mouse felt small and almost too light for me to use comfortably. Not to mention I dislike the honey-combed holes that style the mouse and cut down on weight.
Not because of trypohobia on anything, but because of how much I bet it sucks to clean these. Regular mice already have little nooks and crannies for dead skin and debris to make a home in. I can’t imagine how much fried chicken debris could accumulate inside your mouse from scraping off the holes.
Yeah you could always just wash your hands whenever you play but it’s just not practical for a typical user to avoid any and all snacks while gaming. Don’t lie to me, I know you all do it too; go clean your mice.
Other than that there’s some RGB effects under the mouse wheel if you’re into that. Itachi’s name is also written on the mouse in Hiaragana because I have at least an elementary schooler’s understanding of Nihongo (TL Note: Nihongo means Japanese).
HyperX Alloy Origins – Itachi Edition – Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
This is the real meat and potatoes of the collector’s set. HyperX Red switches rated up to 80 million presses without loss of quality, “aircraft grade aluminium” body, and a detachable cord for ease of transport.
For a semi-casual user this is a great starter mechanical keyboard if you’re used to typical membrane keyboards from work or school.
The body of the keyboard is sturdy and undoubtedly metal, it was actually cold to the touch out of the box. There’s customizable RGB under the keys with varying brightness levels but that kind of things is almost standard these days for “gaming” gear.
Surprisingly, HyperX is offering a fully sized keyboard complete with number pad and arrow keys. Some companies have been downsizing their keyboards to smaller sizes that don’t have the full array of keys but buyers will have everything they need for any game on this keyboard.
HyperX Pulsefire Mat – Itachi Edition – Gaming Mouse Pad
Last and (arguably least) the HyperX Pulsefire Mat. I say least because this is the least technical piece of equipment in the collection. It’s a rubber mat, there’s not much room to get fancy with it. But make no mistake, it’s high quality.
The Pulsefire Mat features a heavy-duty rubber underside, I was actually surprised at how much heft this thing has; not to mention the overall size of it. The size could be a potential problem for buyers if you’re on a smaller desk but I was able to make it work for me after moving my monitor a bit.
Another key feature is “seamless, anti-fray stitching”, which gave the pad a smooth feel on the top which helped the mouse glide. When you’ve got a mouse so light it feels like you’re holding nothing at all, it’s important to know your mousepad won’t suddenly start to fray from frantically sweeping it across the pad.
Artistically the pad features a red and black Itachi motif and includes the symbols of the ninja villages with a deep gash cut through them at the top. I don’t know what it says in the corner because I barely read kanji, and definitely not this hyper stylized calligraphy.
Ultimately the set is very nice to look at and each part is definitely a quality tool for their listed price. I have an aversion to collectible tools though, because eventually no matter how nice it looks, it’s likely going to outdated as technology continues to improve; but it’s more likely you’re going to wear it out before then.
For buyers looking to get the set, I highly recommend you take care of it early and often, don’t get dirt or food in it, clean the cracks and crevices, and learn how to care and clean for a mechanical keyboard. If you like Naruto enough to get one of these sets in th e first place, heed my advice.
