Tag Archives: Video Games

#3944: Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

MILLENNIUM FALCON CD-ROM PLAYSET with HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO INTERACTIVE)

“Explore 7 Worlds of the Star Wars galaxy! Battle TIE Fighters, search for the Death Star and destroy the Empire!”

Are you guys ready for things to get weird?  Okay, so, you *are* reading a review on a toy review site that’s nosing in on 4000 entries, so maybe weird’s a bit relative.  Are you ready to jump into some of the weird marketing strangeness of the ‘90s?  Yeah, of course you are!  In the midst of the success of the Power of the Force relaunch in the ‘90s, Kenner got bored with just doing basic toy stuff, and really started just trying a little bit of everything to see what stuck.  The back half of the decade saw household computers become a lot more common, and CD-ROM based media was seen as the thing to get into.  Toy Biz did a whole set of Marvel figures that included CD-ROMs with digital comics, but Kenner/Hasbro needed to do better than that, so they built a whole interactive platform.  Like, literally.  It was a platform that you put over your keyboard and it let the figures “interact” with your computer.  Welp, let’s check this thing out.

THE TOY ITSELF

The Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset was added to the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line in 1998 as a standalone piece.  It was released not by Kenner, but rather by the Hasbro Interactive division, because of its more computer-based side.  Included were the actual Falcon playset, an exclusive Han Solo figure, and a Windows 95-compatible CD-ROM with a “game” featuring 7 different locales that you can “guide” the playset through.  I, unfortunately, don’t have a Windows 95 PC these days, so I was unable to try out the game.  I know.  For shame.

The bulk of what’s included here is the playset.  It’s a sizable chunk of the innards of the Millennium Falcon, largely focusing on the main cockpit, but also including one of the gunner stations, so that you have some options.  It’s a pretty large set-up, which does actually give you some space for fitting in a bunch of the figures.  It’s notable for actually giving us a pretty nicely sized take on the cockpit, which were don’t usually see.  In fact, it’s a bit too large, which isn’t the direction you’re used to seeing.  It’s also somewhat comedic that, for as much space as there is included, they still don’t give you all four seats.  That said, there are the two seats for Han and Chewie, as well as two spots with pegs for additional figures.  In terms of sculpting, it’s all pretty rudimentary stuff.  Not a lot of smaller technical details, and it’s soft even by the standards of the other offerings around it.  It does at least have a neat visual presence.  The whole thing is designed to go over a standard sized (at the time, anyway) QWERTY keyboard, placing the weight on the outside sections.  There’s even a strap meant to hold it in place, lest the children get to vigorous in their playing.  The three seats, the two spots for the standing figures, and three different spots on the central console are all capable of pushing down, and through use of springs, they can correspond to the keys to “interact” with what’s on the computer screen in front of them, which will appear through the set’s widow.

In order to really tie it into the line, there’s an included Han Solo, who’s exclusive to here.  Nowhere else to get him.  Unless, of course, you just opted to get the very similar figure from the gunner stations line from the prior year who was likely still available and retailed for 1/4 of this item.  But this one’s got knees!  This figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation, which, yes, includes the knees.  On the flip side, though, he loses the waist swivel that was standard for the rest of the line.  This is Han with the headset and gloves, seen most prominently during the gunner station sequence when they’re being chased by the TIE Fighters.  It’s a sculpt that’s similar but not identical to the gunner station one.  It’s different for different’s sake.  It’s still on the old Han likeness, so it doesn’t look much like Ford, and he’s still a little bulked up.  Generally, though, it’s not a bad figure, just a bit redundant.  The paint’s more or less the same, which is to say it’s fairly basic and not terribly exciting.  He doesn’t get any accessories of his own, but by this point in the line, everyone had, like, 50 Han Solo blasters, so you can just give him one of those.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I did not own this set as a kid.  I did look at this set *sooooooooooooooooo* many times on the shelves at CompUSA, where it was the only toy that was ever carried.  My dad was in IT and had to make a lot of trips there for work, and there this set would sit.  I thought it was cool, but there was no way I was getting it for its retail price.  Instead, I got it many years later, when I had my own job and my own money, and no one could stop me.  It came in through All Time Toys a number of years back, and it was still very cheap at the time, so boom, I had one.  It’s goofy.  There’s no denying that.  But, it’s also kind of a cool display piece, even removed from the whole CD-ROM thing.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this item for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3942: Nightwing

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT (DC COLLECTIBLES)

Okay, what did I say in last week’s  intro?  Hang on….checking…ah, right, Arkham games were a big splash for DC in the ‘10s.  Very good.  Solid intro. Right, so we’re doing a bit more with that this week.  No need to get too far outside your comfort zones, though, because I’m sticking with Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, as seen in 2015’s Arkham Knight.  Because that’s just how I roll.  Let’s check out Nightwing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing was released as part of the second series of DC Collectibles’ Batman: Arkham Knight tie-in line.  He was figure 05, making him numerically the first figure in the series.  While there were a number of different options for Nightwing’s City look in figure form, this was his only figure from Knight.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  By the time of this line’s release, DCC hadn’t gotten a bit more invested in trying out improved articulation schemes.  They were still using a lot more fragile plastic than they should have been, so he’s a bit tricky to pose without worry of breakage, but generally the design and implementation of the joints gives him a decent range.  This is honestly one of the better posing Arkham figures I’ve handled from the DCD/DCC run, so that’s actually quite nice.  Nightwing had an all-new sculpt, based on his updated game design.  City added a tactical flair to the comics designs, but Knight heavily re-worked everyone into far more teched-out and armored appearances.  Nightwing follows suit, and ends up with something that quite a departure from how he tends to look in the comics. The armor seems like it would bee pretty restricting to an acrobat, but I don’t hate the overall silhouette of the suit.  I’m not *crazy* about the mask, which goes from his usual domino-style piece to a whole cowl-style thing that connects to his suit.  Ultimately, though it did sort of grow on me.  I still don’t like it, but I can stand it.  The sculpt does a generally good job of capturing the model in plastic form.  The suit is very sharply defined, and the face feels a little less weird than the last one (though he still feels a little bit “dead”).  His paint work is generally not bad.  The colors match the game assets (still not crazy about how dark the blues are, but whatever), and none of the suit’s smaller details are missed.  My figure has a weird spot of pink on the hair, and I don’t know how well the attempt at stubble on his face works out.  Otherwise, though, he’s fine.  Nightwing is packed with his batons in both extended and collapsed form.  They’re a bit tricky to get into his hands, and it’s a shame there’s no storage for them on this release, but at least they’re present.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t play any of the Arkham games, but I did pretty closely follow a lot of goings on with Knight when it was released.  I was less than enthused with Nightwing’s design at the time, so I didn’t jump on the figure.  A decade removed, I’ve softened on it a bit.  I had the chance to get this one at the same time as the City version at the beginning of the year, and opted to snag him.  While I still have some issues with how the design works relative to the character it’s meant for, I do have to admit that this makes for a cool figure, and it’s definitely a superior offering to the City release.  I actually had a lot of fun messing with this guy.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3928: Captain America vs Venom

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

CAPTAIN AMERICA VS VENOM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the ‘90s, Capcom’s arcade fighting games were a pretty notable thing, and also Marvel Comics was a pretty notable thing.  So, Marvel and Capcom opted to do that whole “two great tastes that taste great together” thing, and teamed up for some crossover action.  First starting more focused with X-Men vs Street Fighter, they eventually added the larger rosters of both Marvel and Capcom to the mix, and even got some toys along the way.  There’s remasters and all sorts of nostalgia going on right now, which always leads to an interest in some merchandising.  Jada has been running a really strong showing with a number of the Capcom properties, and, in a bit of an informal crossover, Hasbro’s doing their own line of just the Marvel half of the games.  Would you believe I bought the Captain America?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America vs Venom is a two-pack release from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  They’re part of the first big push of the “VS” set under the “Gamerverse” banner.  Though the packaging uses sprites and design elements from Marvel vs Capcom, there’s no actual mention of the game on the package, again keeping the informal crossover bit going.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag you’re buying the same thing over and over again?  I mean, I frequently am doing *exactly* that, but, like in a more metaphorical sense?  That’s where I’m at with this Captain America.  He’s the next progression of the journey to a classic Cap that we started back in 2016, with the Cap Wolf Cap, who debuted Cap on the “new” Reaper mold.  Wow, I said “Cap” a lot of times in that sentence.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Remember my “Ship of Theseus” comment in the Secret Wars Cap review?  Well, this guy just sort of furthers that.  All that remains of the original Reaper body use at this point is, in fact, his belt piece.  He gets the lower torso first used for the 80th Cap, and the standard calm masked head included with the 20th Anniversary Cap.   His lower arms, pelvis, and legs to the top of the shin are all the modified pieces used on the Secret Wars Cap last year.  That leaves a new upper torso, upper arms, and boots for this specific release.  Cap’s game design notably omitted the usual scale-mail that his upper torso spots, so this figure does that as well,  but it still grants him a lot of sculpted elements, rather than simply painting them all on, like the Cap Wolf figure did.  Most notably, the new upper torso gives Cap butterfly joints on his shoulders, something he hasn’t had since the Toy Biz days.  They’re quite handy when it comes to fighting poses, which is ideal for a figure that’s specifically for a fighting game.  Cap also gets a new alternate head, with another expression.  This one takes the teeth-gritting expression of the Secret Wars release and dials it up to 11, for a full on scream.  It’s not your typical Cap expression, but it feels exceptionally true to the sprite models from the game.  Cap’s color work is perfectly fine, if not above average in terms of paint work application and quality.  But, once again, we’ve gotten *another* shade of blue, meaning that you can’t swap the heads on this guy with either the 20th or Secret Wars figures, which continues to feel like a missed opportunity.  Presumably, Hasbro’s waiting to unveil a Maximum Cap that has all the heads and retools this torso into one with the scale mail.  Cap is packed with two pair of hands (fists and thumbs up), his shield, and a bash effect piece for the shield.  The thumbs up hands are really cool, and offer a lot of fun posing options.  I wasn’t thrilled about the move back to the smaller shield, but I think it does work a bit better for the game look.  It’s amusing that this shield is smaller than the one included with the original TB MvC Cap figure, though.

VENOM

Venom.  Yay.  Venom.  I totally bought this set for both figures, and not just the one.  Of course.  I totally know all of the facts about the different Venoms, too.  Like, this one’s…blue?  Cuz of the sprite.  That’s why.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Like Cap, the classic Eddie Brock Venom’s gone through a lot of different mold variations.  This appears to be the same mold used for the Amazon three-pack Eddie that came with Riot and Agony, which itself was based on the Omega Red molds.  It means he’s still got visible pins on the knees, but otherwise modern articulation.  It’s not a bad sculpt by any means.  It feels very true to the character, and the heads both feel very much in line with his game design.  I especially like the partially unmasked head, because it reminds me of the old Spider-Man Classics figure.  In terms of coloring, he is, as noted above, blue.  It’s honestly a pretty good way of getting him to stand out from the others.  Generally, the paint’s pretty basic.  I do really love the green saliva on the tongue, though.  Venom is packed with the alternate unmasked head, and two pairs of hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m cursed to keep buying every Captain America from Hasbro as they continue to make them incrementally better every time.  I’ve just accepted that.  This time, they also made me buy a Venom.  Wasn’t thrilled about that, but I really wanted the Cap, so I did it.  I’m glad I did, because I do really, really like this Cap.  The changes feel worth it, and he feels more like a new figure and not just a retread of the ones from before.  I think Secret Wars may still be more of a definitive Cap for me, but this one’s exceptionally fun, and I especially love all the fun stuff you can do with that screaming head.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased these figures for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3920: Vega

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

VEGA

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER II (JADA)

I don’t do a ton of video game-related reviews around here, but the ones I do tend to follow some pretty set themes.  The earliest video game-related figures I owned, long before I’d ever played any of the associated games, were Street Fighter characters, mostly because they came packed with the best X-Men figures available at the time.  Okay, the best Cyclops figure available at the time.  Look, a man’s gotta have his priorities, okay?  But, it did lead me to finding out who the heck these other guys were, and ultimately gaining my own personal appreciation of the characters later.  One of the stand out toy companies these days is Jada, who launched a line of Street Fighter figures last year.  I’m not jumping in as a completist, but I’m picking up some of my favorites, and that includes today’s offering, Balrog Vega!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vega was released in the fourth round of Jada’s Ultra Street Fighter II line, and hit retail around mid-August.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s sporting an all-new sculpt, as is pretty typical for character debuts in this line.  Most of the Street Fighter cast has gotten a number of changes over the years to their designs as they’ve moved through various iterations of the game.  In Vega’s case, they’ve never been all that drastic, but there are a number of shifts that have occurred to the actual specifics.  Other figures in this line have gone more towards the revamped sprites of various remasters of the game, but Vega seems to lean more into his earliest designs, which honestly isn’t the worst thing, since most of his designs seem to forget he’s supposed to be from Brazil Spain [EDIT: Yeah, I don’t know where I was going with that one, apart from that I was writing this after midnight…].  What’s most notable is that he’s working from a different approach than his old SOTA figure, with the most notable shift being his claw being on his right side, rather than his left.  Most art depicts it on the left, but his sprite always places it on whichever side is facing outwards, so if you’re Player 1 (as this figure’s coloring suggests), he would be a righty.  So, that’s what this one goes with.  The sculpt is a decent one.  He’s got a slightly bulkier build than the earlier Vega, but that’s consistent with the game.  He’s got two different heads, with and without his mask.  Much like Cammy, the ponytail on the masked head is articulated, so that you can make it slightly more dynamic.  The unmasked head is not, though, presumably because it’s less intended for action poses.  Of the two sculpts, I prefer the masked one, since it’s the default look and all, but they’re both pretty solid.  In addition to the sculpted elements, Vega’s also got a cloth sash piece, which has a wire running through it for posing.  I definitely dig it.  Vega’s color work is alright.  Generally basic, but there’s some more involved work for the tattoo on his chest and arm.  Vega is packed with two pairs of hands (fists, and open gesture), a claw piece, a slashing effect, and a loose mask piece.  The claw is designed for the open right hand, as the fist has a claw piece of its own permanently attached.  The effect piece easily slots over either set of claws, and adds a nice little bit of pop to his posing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My interest in Street Fighter as a kid came to its head when SOTA’s line hit.  I was super interested in most of the line, but ultimately, I was only ever able to get a single figure.  That figure was Vega, who I’ve held onto since.  I do really love that figure, so I wasn’t sure I *needed* a new one, even given how good the Jada figures have been.  But, it’s Vega, and I do like the design, and I’ve liked all the Jada figures I’ve gotten thus far, so once he was shown off, I knew I was snagging him.  I appreciate that he takes a different approach, and he’s ultimately a better figure, even if I’ve still got some serious nostalgia for the old one.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3777: Guile

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GUILE

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER II (JADA)

For the third week in a row, if you can believe it, I’m taking a look at a video game-based figure.  Following up on last week’s Street Fighter review, I’m doing another.  This time around, I’m taking a look at the aggressively all-American Guile!  You know, the very American character played in the live action film by the very French Belgian Jean-Claude Van Damme?  Classic.  Guile is one of the second game’s breakaway characters, down to his stage’s theme even being the one used for the main game theme as well.  Also, he’s got weird hair, which has only gotten weirder as time has gone on.  And also, here’s the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guile is part of the third round of Jada’s Ultra Street Fighter II line, alongside last week’s Cammy and Dee-Jay.  The figure stands just over 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme here is much like Cammy’s, but with the addition of butterfly shoulders, which are a really good addition. He’s got some great range, and he holds poses well.  Guile’s sculpt is all-new, and based on his design from II.  It’s quite nice, clean, and distinctive.  There’s a nice mix of textures, which could have been easily been overlooked.  I especially like the lining of the shirt.  In addition to all that, you definitely get all of the necessary elements for recognizing Guile.  He’s even got that crazy weird hair.  It’s very much crazy and weird, in exactly the way Guile’s hair should be.  Like the others in the line, Guile has two heads, one calmer, and the other more intense.  Both are really solid, and match well to his usual look.  Guile’s paint work is cleanly handled, and matches well to the game sprites.  I quite like how the camo pattern on the pants turned out.  Guile is packed with two pairs of hands (in fists and an open/gripping combo), a comb, dogtags, an effect replicating his “Sonic Boom” attack, and a display stand.  The comb in particular is a fun little accessory that is exactly the sort of goofy thing I’m here for.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never played Guile much within the games themselves, but I’ve enjoyed his appearances in other media, especially in the animated film, so I was excited by the prospect of a figure, especially at a more affordable price than a Figuart.  He’s got one of those really classic designs, and it translates really well into toy form.  The end result is another really nicely sculpted, really playable figure for this line.  Jada is continuing to knock it out of the park with their action figure offerings, and I really can’t wait to see what else they put out.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3772: Cammy

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CAMMY

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER II (JADA)

Last week, I really shook things up a bit with a video game related review, and this week, I’m taking the shake up and making it more of a status quo, so it no longer shakes things up? Look, what I’m getting at here is I’m doing another video game related review. This time around, I’m jumping over to Street Fighter, which actually does have a respectable little presence here. Keeping things in the Jada realm, just like last week, because their modus operandi appears to be “being awesome”, which is really good for them, honestly. A few months back, I looked at their Dhalsim, but now I get to review my personal favorite character from the game, Cammy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cammy is part of Round 3 of Jada’s Ultra Street Fighter II line, alongside Guile and Dee-Jay. All three hit together at the same time at the very end of last year. All three from a set hitting at the same time is actually a first for the line, which has thus far been staggering pairs and singles. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. The articulation here is a little more straightforward than the Cammy Figuart I looked at a few years ago, but it results in some generally cleaner posing and range, especially on the legs. I was also quite happy that her neck joint allowed for upward movement, so she’s not perpetually looking down the way that figure was. Additionally, the assembly of the articulation is such that she winds up looking a fair bit less segmented when posed, which is always a plus. And, she’s surprisingly stable on her feet; the pose in the photo up top took some careful balancing, but required no other support. Cammy is sporting an all-new sculpt, specifically based on her SF2 design, which is my personal favorite. It’s an earlier Cammy, so the proportions are a bit more balanced, and not *quite* as thigh-heavy as later looks. In general, the sculpt is quite clean and a good match for the game design. She gets two different heads, one calmer and one more intense. Both expressions work well in the body and with the included parts, and the braids on both heads are articulated. Personally, I’d have loved a third head with a smiling expression, but two’s the standard, and the two they went with are solid. Cammy’s paint work is basic but clean, as you’d hope. I’m not super crazy about the marbelized plastic on the torso, and worry about its longevity. There’s also a little bit of mismatch between the molded and painted flesh tones. She is, otherwise, quite good. Cammy is packed with two sets of hands and a kick effect piece. I was surprised by the lack of stand, but as noted above, she balances okay on her own.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Due to the Toy Biz X-Men vs Street Fighter line, I had something of an early investment into Cammy.  I remember really wanting the SOTA one back in the day, but was never able to snag one at anything approaching a reasonable price.  Since she’s become my go-to character for the game over the years, I’ve always wanted a good figure.  The Figuart was an okay figure, but she was always a bit of a placeholder, especially with her being from V not II.  For a fraction of the price of the Figuart, this one is absolutely fantastic, and for me blows that one out of the water.  I’ve got my minor quibbles, but they’re very minor, and they don’t really hold her back.  Jada’s really onto something here.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3767: Elec Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ELEC MAN

MEGA MAN (JADA)

Okay, things have gotten too comfortable and predictable around here, so I’m throwing caution to the wind and going nuts, and…well, I mean I’m still reviewing action figures, so I guess it’s not that much of a change-up.  But it’s a Mega Man review, you guys.  Or a Megaman review.  They’re both confusingly accurate.  Whatever the case, I’ve only done one of those before, so I guess I’m gonna do another one.  So, let’s break out one the original six Robot Masters, Elec Man!  He’s electric.  Boogie-woogie-woogie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elec Man is part of the second series of Jada’s Mega Man line.  He’s one of the two Robot Masters included (the other being Cut Man), bringing our total count up to four out of six.  Elec Man’s based on his look from the first game, albeit a more “evergreen” take on the design, as was the case with Mega Man.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Both his scaling and articulation are very similar to the standard Mega Man I looked at last year, and that’s a good thing in both cases, because that was a really nice figure.  He’s quite easy to pose and generally pretty stable on his feet.  Elec Man’s sculpt appears to be totally unique, and like Mega Man’s, it’s very clean and slick.  Some of the detail seems a little bit sharper, and there’s just generally more going on with his design, so it gives him a better starting point, I suppose.  Elec Man’s paint work is a little more basic than Mega Man’s was, not getting the same degree of accent work.  He gets the base colors, and the application’s overall not too bad, but there’s a little bit of slop on the logo.  Of course, given the price point, it’s still really not bad.  I also appreciate that the wrist pegs aren’t painted this time, so there’s less flaky paint.  Elec Man is packed with two different heads (one with a slight smirk, the other appearing to be mid cackle), two pairs of hands (fists and a pointing/thumbs-up combo), and an electricity effect piece.  It’s a nice little spread of extras, and while it’s a little lighter than what Mega Man got, he’s also a slightly more complex figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t really have much specific attachment to this character, per se, so I didn’t have any sort of undying need to own this figure.  That said, I’m patiently waiting for Guts Man and Proto Man, the main figures I really want from this line, and my Mega Man sure looked lonely on the shelf.  Elec Man was one of the vinyl figures I had back in the day, and was also one of the only ones that didn’t fall apart, so I do at least have a familiarity with him.  He’s got a strong design, and seeing him in person, I caved.  I don’t need him, but he’s still very fun, and this is a great line of figures that I’m very carefully trying to avoid going all-in for.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3676: Dhalsim

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

DHALSIM

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER II (JADA)

I’ve talked about Street Fighter here on the site only a few times, and the bulk of it’s been Minimate-related, which I suppose isn’t really disqualifying in any real sense, but sort of feels like it to me?  I’m weird like that.  The thing about Street Fighter that’s important is that I rather like it, but, like, in this very sort of involved yet also only tangentally interested sort of way.  It’s my go-to fighting game, and I love its colorful cast, and I love the cool toys its gotten, and I’m always intrigued by it, but I nevertheless always feel like sort of an outsider, and I couldn’t really tell you why.  I’m working on it.  Jada Toys, who have been making some pretty amazing strides in action figures the last few years, and Street Fighter is one of the licenses they’ve dived into.  I’ve been waiting for the right figure to jump in with, and it turns out that’s Dhalsim!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dhalsim is part of the second round of Jada’s Ultra Street Fighter II line, which also includes Bison and Ken.  Dhalsim and Bison are hitting at the same time, while Ken preceded them by a bit, in sort of a reverse of Ryu and Fei Long from the first series shipping together, with Chun-Li trailing behind them.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Jada’s articulation scheme on the Universal Monsters and Mega Man lines has been pretty impressive, and the Street Fighter figures only improve on that.  Dhalsim’s articulation is very strong, once more being pretty much on par with Hasbro’s work with their 6 inch lines, right down to the use of pinless joints on the elbows and knees.  In particular, the addition of the butterfly joints at the shoulders is very useful for proper fighting poses.  The sculpt on Dhalsim is all-new, patterned on his more idealized model from more recent updates to the game.  It works well with the articulation scheme, working everything in pretty cleanly, while also keeping the overall look a good match for his design.  There are two different heads, one calm, and the other shouting, giving some additional variety to his posing.  I love the use of actual metal hoops for the earrings on both heads, and the general likeness is very good.  His necklace and bangles are free-floating pieces, which I’m typically pretty iffy on, but in Dhalsim’s case, the free movement of those pieces is kind of a feature, so it works pretty well.  Dhalsim’s paint work is rather basic for the most part.  It generally works pretty well, but there’s some notable slop on the wraps on the wrists.  Dhalsim is packed with two sets of hands (in open gesture and flat poses), alternate bendy arms and legs for his stretchy attacks, and a stand to aid in keeping him balanced when using the alternate limbs.  The hands swap easily enough, but you do have to be careful to not lose the bangles.  Likewise, the limbs also swap easily, though the arms take a little more doing the first time they’re used.  In a perfect world, I’d have liked to be able to use the fists from the stretched arms on the standard limbs, but that’s very minor, and what we got works well within the confines of Dhalsim’s attacks within the game.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My introductions to Street Fighter as a whole are kind of all over the place, but Dhalsim figures into a couple of them.  I actually got a small little MUSCLE-style Dhalsim as an arcade prize years before I had any ideas of the game at all.  My first experience actually playing any version of the games was a ported copy saved on one of the computers at my middle school, where the only character I had any luck playing against the CPU was Dhalsim.  I wasn’t certain I’d get this one when he was first shown off, but once I saw him in hand, there was no way I was passing on him.  He’s a fantastic introduction to the line, and a fantastic figure in his own right.  I’m very excited for the rest of the line.  I’m not going full completism or anything, but I definitely want more of these figures.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3574: Mega Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MEGA MAN

MEGA MAN (JADA)

Fun FiQ Fact #0053:  Mega Man is known as “Rockman” in Japan in reference to the musical genre rock & roll, something hammered home by his sister robot being named “Roll.”  His original name gained further relevance given the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” nature of the games.

Mega Man is one of my earliest video game experiences.  As a kid, I didn’t do much with video games, but I did dabble with PC gaming to a minor extent.  Amongst those games was one of the DOS Mega Man games.  Admittedly, the gameplay kind of confused me and I didn’t make it far, but it did instill in me an attachment to the title character.  And for me, you know that’s always gonna lead to action figures.  Just my luck, Jada has continued their surprisingly solid jump into the action figure game with a line of Mega Man figures, and I’m looking at the Blue Bomber himself today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mega Man is part of the first series of Jada’s Mega Man line, alongside Fire Man and Ice Man.  He’s based on the classic Mega Man design, which is really hard to beat, when you get down to it.  The figure stands just shy of 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Jada continues to impress on the articulation front; there’s a really nice range of motion on most of the figure’s joints, and his poseability is fantastic given his design and scale.  Of particular note, the elbows and knees both get further than 90 degree bends, even with only a single joint, as well as rather sizable gloves and boots.  His sculpt is all-new, and works well around the articulation.  He offers up something of an evergreen version of Mega Man’s classic design.  It translates well to three dimensions, and it’s a rather cleanly rendered sculpt.  There are some spots where it’s a little on the softer side, but it works okay for his design.  There are two different heads, one with a slight grin, the other gritting his teeth.  They’re internally consistent, so it’s clearly the same guy between the two.  Mega Man’s color work is seemingly pretty basic, but actually has a good deal of subtlety to it.  Of note, the darker blue sections get a faint airbrushing to give them a slight accenting.  He’s even got the red detailing on the bottoms of his feet, which is an awesome touch.  Mega Man is packed with two pairs of hands (fists and a open gesture combo), a buster cannon that can be swapped out for either of his forearms, a blast effect, and an articulated display stand for the effect.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been after a solid Mega Man figure for a while.  There’s no shortage of options, but none of them quite hit the spot for me.  After enjoying Jada’s Universal Monsters line so immensely, I was excited to see what they would do.  They did not disappoint.  Now, can I please get a Protoman?

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3313: ODST Rookie (with Drop Pod)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ODST ROOKIE (with DROP POD)

WORLD OF HALO (JAZWARES)

I’m a sucker for side characters, and that’s no more true than the Halo franchise’s plucky group of not-quite-Spartans, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, better known as the ODSTs, who got their own focus in Halo 3: ODST, a spin-off released in 2009.  It follows a squad of them through events bridging Halo 2 and Halo 3, and it’s a rather unique game within the context of the franchise.  The ODSTs are not without their own merchandising coverage, though they’ve been a little bit absent from the toy coverage in the last couple of years.  But, hey, it looks like things might just be changing.  And here’s a look at our favorite silent protagonist, the Rookie!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The ODST Rookie is part of Jazwares’ World of Halo line, the smaller scale of their two lines.  He’s a deluxe-sized item, and appears to be part of Jazwares’ new product for 2023.  Distribution’s been a bit iffy on the line, so it’s tricky to tell.  He’s technically the second ODST in the line, though, again, with the distribution, it’s been hard to track.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme on this figure is fairly similar to Jazwares’ Fortnite line of the same scale and style.  With the exception of the elbows, which are a bit restricted, the movement’s all pretty good.  The Rookie’s sculpt is a pretty solid one.  It doesn’t quite have the crispness of some of the McFarlane ODST sculpts, but it still gets all of the details of note, capturing all of the little tacked-on elements of his design quite well.  His build is just a bit bulkier than other ODST figures, keeping in line with the other Jazwares sculpts, much like the Fortnite figures.  Some of the proportions aren’t an exact match for the game models, and I’m not 100% sold on the exact shaping on the helmet (it took McFarlane a few tries to get that one right, too), but the overall structure of the figure really works.  The Rookie’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  His colors in the game are all rather subdued, and that’s true of the figure as well.  The differences between the greys and black are a bit more pronounced here than in the actual game, but I don’t mind that so much, especially given the general stylings of how Jazwares has been handling the line.  The general layout of the colors mostly matches up; the chest plate’s supposed to be a lighter color, but other than that, it works.  The application is mostly pretty good; the only thing I’m not too keen on is how the fingers have been painted on the hands.  They go too far up, past the knuckles, which doesn’t match up with the design, or even the sculpt, and just generally looks rather sloppy.  For the figure proper, the set includes the Rookie’s signature silenced SMG, his handgun, and his backpack.  The biggest part of the set, though, is the Rookie’s Drop Pod.  It’s a key piece, what with being the thing that gives the ODSTs their name and all.  It looks to be decently scaled to the figure, and gets an impressive amount of detailing, including a fully detailed interior, complete with his seat and controls.  It’s a little bit basic in exactly how it works; there’s a sort of a spring-loaded feature for the hatch, but no actual way to trigger it from the outside, meaning it…well, it doesn’t seem to actually do much of anything.  There’s a locking system on the inside, which also doesn’t really do much, as whether it’s locked or not, you still have to manually pop the hatch off.  It feels like there was meant to be more to this mechanism, but it was cut at some point to save costs.  As it stands, it’s still a nice display piece, even if it doesn’t really do anything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m unabashedly a huge ODST fan, so I’m always eager for more toy coverage from the game.  I’ve enjoyed what I’ve gotten to mess with from Jazwares’ Halo offerings, but the lack of anything ODST has definitely been a bit of a bummer.  This one actually caught me by surprise.  I had no clue it was coming out, and only happened to find the set while doing a quick wander through the Target toy aisle during some quick errands.  It was certainly a pleasant surprise.  The Rookie is a pretty straight forward, but nevertheless quite fun figure.  The Drop Pod is a rather basic piece, which doesn’t quite land the features it reaches for, but given the price point for the whole set, it’s still hits the marks it really needs to.  Hopefully this set signifies some more cool ODST stuff for the line!