The Toys n' Joys store in Kaimuki yesterday looked more like a vision of Christmas Past than the ghost of this year's Christmas presents. Sales clerks were dashing to and fro, customers were elbow-to-elbow in the aisles and close to three dozen kids and parents were waiting in line to reach the cashier.

Many were there to purchase the hot toy of 2008: Bakugan Battle Brawlers.

Or, as store general manager Alex Le calls them, "The toy that saved Christmas."

Indecipherable to adults and irresistible to kids — boys at least — Bakugan Battle Brawlers and related merchandise have become an out-of-nowhere hit across the nation this shopping season.

"Bakugan qualifies as the hardest-to-find toy of the holiday season," Toys "R" Us national spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh said. "The minute it is restocked on store shelves, it vaporizes."

Toy makers often rely on holiday hits like Bakugan because up to half of their annual sales come during the last three months of the year. Even though adults are focusing their spending on children during this holiday season, analysts predict toy sales will be flat or even fall 3 percent from the $10.4 billion market research firm NPD Group said toy shoppers spent during last year's final three months.

A Canadian company, Spin Master Ltd. of Toronto, launched Bakugan in Japan in 2006, Canada last year and the U.S. this year.

Bakugan, which Spin Master worked with Sega Toys in Japan to create, combines magnetic playing cards and collectible marble-like objects that click open into action figures when they roll over the cards. An accompanying TV show, an anime production on the Cartoon Network, gives history and depth to the characters.

"What I like about it is that it's fun," said Cole Chance, 6, of Manoa, who was in Toys n' Joys yesterday with his older sister, Tehya, 8, and their aunt, Lori Kajiya, 38, who admitted that her only understanding of Bakugan Battle Brawlers was that it's the No. 1 toy on Cole's Christmas list.

A Bakugan combo pack with a Bakugan card and action figure is about $7, and a collector's tin with two action figures is about $20.

"Without a doubt, it's the best-selling toy out there," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson.

The phenomenon so far has mostly been a boy thing. Tehya Chance turned her nose up at it. Even Toys n' Joys owner Loan Le said trying to comprehend Bakugan drives her crazy.

"I don't understand it at all," she said with a laugh, admitting that she's happy Bakugan is selling and that her son, Alex, has been able to keep the toy in stock when other stores have run out.

Sales clerk Stephen Asato, 22, who does understand the toy, described Bakugan as a new twist on an old game.

"You shoot them basically like marbles," Asato said. "It's like an advanced representation of marbles. You could play for keeps, but mostly kids just play for fun."

Spin Master introduced Bakugan with tournaments, a van tour that gave demonstrations at outdoor festivals and in-store presentations and traditional TV advertising.

"We're going to put a lot of energy building the Bakugan franchise worldwide," president and co-CEO Anton Rabie said. "We want to turn Bakugan into a global franchise."

Retailers and industry experts say the most expensive items are selling slowest.

"We're cautious on high-ticket items this holiday period," said Drew Crum, a Stifel Nicolaus analyst.

An exception is Spike the Ultra Dinosaur, a remote-control dinosaur from Mattel Inc.'s Fisher Price unit, according to Jim Silver, a toy analyst with Timeto playmag.com. It retails for $140 at Toys "R" Us and $130 at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

"I thought it would do OK, but it's been a tremendous success," he said. "You walk into retailers and see kids watching the display and falling in love with it."

Among other classic brands, Hasbro's Nerf "is on fire," BMO's Johnson said in a note to clients; most popular are Nerf guns, which range in price from about $20 to $85, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.