Here we have Cloud Strife in-hand, wearing a set of armor not commonly depicted in most Final Fantasy media to my knowledge. As I understand it, this is how he appeared in Kingdom Hearts, whereas he is usually known for wearing purple or black. On the scale of anime fantasy fashion ranging between basic clothes in Earthbound to the MCU lines and over detailed dresses in some lesser known game series with a garbled name like Saviorheaven Majestyquest Journey, this is somewhere in the middle. Underneath his mostly blue clothes is a red taper that is ripped up and likely his sole bit of warmth and identity secrecy. He also has a hip guard of sorts on his right side, differently detailed gloves and forearm armor, a more armored up left bicep to go with a shoulder pad above it; it's certainly interesting to see what makes each part of a character design asymmetrical on both sides without having to overdo it or make the concept feel underdone. I also appreciate the shading used on the pants and the taper to give the whole toy a less plasticky look. However, is it just me or does the toy have a somewhat lanky aesthetic to him? While the earlier days of the series did have its clunky polygonal charm, I can't help but think that this figure feels more in line with how older figures used to have more obvious joints without making a balance between form and function. It could explain why the joints look less naturalistic on this figure than in any of its competitors. Not helping is how the character's physique usually isn't as muscular or broad as on a superhero type character, which may result in this gangly appearance. The armor hides how skinny and long his limbs are decently, though. It matches the way Kingdom Hearts characters are designed, but I feel like if I pick him up, he starts flopping around a bit, and moreso than how I felt with the way the Sailor Senshi Figuarts were.
His head sculpt does match the way he appeared in Kingdom Hearts, especially with the "Mako" eyes that some used as a coined term. The bait is decently shaded to make it appeared layered while using a somewhat glossy yellow paint to keep it vibrant. He has an optional left wing themed after a demon to juxtapose the right angelic wing on Sephiroth, aka the character that the Mario Bros whose ass they can kick without issue. That's where one of those more exposed pegs on his back comes into play.
He also has two pieces of molded robe that peg on the back. They can rotate at both legs as well as hinge in the middle of each double ball peg. The rest of his articulation, however, feels like it was on a late 2000s import era style of engineering. His head is on a double ball neck of some kind, shoulders rotate as well as hinge in and out, there is a bit of a bicep swivel, single jointed elbows, similar joints found on his back are used for the wrists, and he has a ball joint for the torso. His hips are also on ball joints while his thighs are on swivels. He has single jointed knees, hinged ankles, and pivots that are implemented at the middle part of the feet. I know not every company is the same as Tamashii, Medicom, Good Smile, etc, but this feels like it was made when import toys were starting to be as poseable as ToyBiz Marvel Legends figure, not in the middle of 2019 where just about every toy manufacturer aimed at collectibles more or less nailed the balance between sculptwork and articulation. Even the parts meant for the robe are odd, given how they make more sense on a statue than an action figure. As for his signature sword, now with bandaids wrapping around it for some reason, it tends to weigh his arm down, and while you can find the sweet spot to keep it in place for some dynamic poses, the joints should have been tighter. Also not shown, but he has an open right hand and a left hand meant to hold the sword. He should come with a flight stand but mine didn't have one. At least he has a mouth cover.
For a size comparison, here we have him next to Deadpool from the Marvel Legends line. He's a pretty common figure, knowing how popular he is even to this day (also helping is his consistently entertaining trilogy). The scale on the Bring Arts line may not match up that great with Marvel Legends, so perhaps he should go with the 1:10 scale seen with McFarlane Toys. Honestly, I'm surprised Square Enix is making merch as mediocre as Forspoken and their Avengers game. The proportions are a mixed bag, articulation is comparable to an outdated figure, the accessories are decent but nothing too plentiful, and the tolerance on the joints feel subpar. I would argue that the figure would have been easier to stomach if the price was $60, but sites had him range between $80-$100, and BBTS at one point had him for $120! Honestly, there has been a rare time or two where figures would get a low rank, but I think this figure has the lowest rank yet in the entire site. I feel bad doing this since I kind of wanted to check out Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, but they deserve better than this.
Final ranking: ⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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