Figma Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Link review

The Legend of Zelda series got an overhaul of sorts that brings fans back into its world when it came to the release of Breath of the Wild. The new artstyle, the open world setting, and no doubt some interest in the outfit changes out characters received leading to a bit of fanservice when we see Link as more of a twink; it's definitely the equivalent to seeing how Mario Odyssey got a lot of attention for being a more expansive title like with 64 and Sunshine, especially with how plenty of Mario titles between SMS and SMO were the usual reach-the-goal formula. Back to Zelda, while I prefer the green on Link and pink on Zelda, I think seeing them in baby blue is a nice change of pace that still fits them pretty well. We now have a figure based on the Tears of the Kingdom game, so let's see if an import brand is able to do justice to this character after missing out on the World of Nintendo line.

Here we have Link in-hand. He ditches the classic elf-like outfit in favor of a more intricate outfit to help him in his then-new journeys. Certainly a lot more straps and break-up on his tunic, which can be a bit annoying that the Hyrulean pattern can be obscured, and there appears to be no real way to get those out of the way without damaging the figure. Many complained about stuff like how Rob Liefeld or many comic artists add details on fairly simple costumes, yet I'd argue that plenty of Japanese fantasy artists are just as guilty. That being said, I do appreciate the color break-up with the blues, browns, beige, and a bit of green where everything is at least placed in the right spots. While Shrek once had an arrow on his butt, Link has a quiver full of them behind his own, which is funny how it'd have to be taken into consideration if he does any cool stunts or has it flap on his ass a lot when he runs. It isn't removable, and without a bow to display him with, it's purely decoration. While the outfit is a huge contrast to what Link usually wears in the games, it is still translated pretty well in figure form, and the lack of cel-shading does help him fit better with a lot of other figures.

His head sculpt matches the artstyle of the BOTW series, even without the cel-shading that numerous games aping the success of the series mimicked. So in a way he looks more like how he appeared in Smash Bros. I like that the mouth has a bit of a paint app to make it look more complete while making sure it's aligned properly. His hair is certainly browner than what Link normally has, but it still fits the character. His accessories include the Master Sword, a scabbard, a few alternate hands, a Hylian shield, two alternate faces, and a Hylian hood.

His articulation consists of a double ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, slight wiggle to simulate bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, double wrist pegs with a hinge to have them move either up and down or in and out. The torso is on two ball joints, hips move front and back, in and out (with assist from a drop-down system), thighs rotate, knees bend at two points, the ankles hinge as well as pivot, and the toes can hinge. His weapons require disassembly, as the handle that will be held in his left hand needs to be removed before splitting it in two pieces for the accessory-holding hand to use it. The shield also needs the hand to be removed to slide in before attaching the handle and hand back in place. Thankfully, the sword just has you removed the handle, slide it in the weapon holding hand, and attach the blade.

His sheath can peg on the back, while the shield includes a clear adaptor so it can attach onto the sheath and make everything seamless without any huge clips or holes. Very intuitive approach towards storage. 

He can also be posed with his flight stand, though it is admittedly weak for him to do any flight poses unless you tighten the screws. The hood, which is more of a cape, thankfully has the details nice and crisp on him. Nothing is see through either, and while some could argue it should be articulated, it at least needs it less than some recent McFarlane DC Multiverse figures (cough New 52 Superman, cough No Man's Land Batman).

The smiling face is a nice touch for someone who is usually quiet and stoic, and it befits him in a soft side kind of way for a character like Link. Look closely and the paint for the mouth meant to separate the lips and give the face an added bit of depth does have a small gap in the middle; not sure if it's a defect or if it's meant to represent how some anime artstyles draw the mouths with a gap in the middle to resemble the center of the lips. For a size comparison, here we have him being almost as tall as two Marios. Of course, the scale of Nintendo characters is always going to be whack, especially with the Figuart version of Mario being fairly small on top of Tamashii manufacturing it instead of the Good Smile Company. Mario is 5'1" while Link is 5'2", so something's clearly wrong with the scale.

For anyone wondering, a deluxe version is out there that includes the Traveler's Shield, the Rock Hammer, King Rauru's right arm, a rocket with a blast effect, a paraglider, the Construct Bow, an arrow, and the Ascend effect parts. Even without those extra accessories, this is still a great figure to own if you're already a fan of the series or are hooked on the aesthetics overhaul associated with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Other than the tolerances of the stand, this is easily my favorite Figma all around, especially compared to how dated Lum and Kagome sort of are for current Figma standards. Sure, it's not dare since we're comparing apples to oranges, but they had fewer accessories and likely were priced for less before they skyrocketed in the aftermarket. Regardless, please pick this figure up before the tariff situation gets crazier. 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 reissue review

The 2003 version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains a favorite of mine, even to this day. It was the right balance of being gritty like the Mirage comics and cartoony like the old series, resulting in one of my Top 5 favorite action cartoons of all time. Further more, the franchise greatly benefitted from not being as toyetic as the earlier show, and the aesthetics gave the turtles a badass look to them while still retaining their teenage attitude. We got these reissues a while back to celebrate the many different versions of the franchise, as the 2012 show had its own line of reissues as well, so let's see how these hold up over 20 years later!

Here we have Leonardo as the base figure we'll look at. All of the Turtles have a specific stepping pose to simulate them in action, which was a common trope for most older toylines where figures aren't sculpted to be standing straight if they're articulated. While the proportions are a little more stylized to fit the engineering utilized on the toyline, the general strokes for the TMNT 2003 artstyle is still consistent, from the comic-like proportions to the signature Turtle sneer that is refined with better sculptwork than the old toys combined with not appearing basic like the original show. The paint apps are applied mostly well, though I swear the bands on the wrists, elbows, and knees should be a little more opaque unless they are meant to simulate paint rub for some nostalgia. The pre-posed legs make standing him a bit annoying, though it isn't impossible.

His articulation consists of a neck swivel, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotation at the elbows (but no bends), wrist rotation, and hips that move front and back as well as rotate via the pegs used to attach onto the waist. While poseability has varied from kids toylines at the time, this was a bit of a standard for the TMNT line, yet they make up for it with the accessories. In addition to the twin katanas, which are a bit flexible due to the PVC they're made of, he comes with some suction cups to help him climb up walls or windows depending on how well they stick on there. All four Ninja Turtles come with the same throwing stars.

Up next, we have Michelangelo, who has his legs sculpted in a different stepping pose and appears to have some noticeable paint rub. He comes with his nunchucks that are thankfully flexible enough to be stored in his holsters, as well as a grapnel hook that he can use whenever he is set to go up a building.

As for Donatello, he comes with his signature bow staff as well as two weapons he normally wouldn't wield: a sword and a battle axe! Thankfully, the sword is a different sculpt from Leo's katanas, and both weapons can attach onto the ends of the staff to make a longer, deadlier combo of sorts.

And finally, Raphael comes with his twin sais, which bend pretty easily on the belt and are probably not recommended. He does come with a handlebar for when he zips down the line of Mikey's grapnel launcher.

For anyone wondering about sizes, they are part of the old style of scale associated with TMNT toys, making them incompatible with the 1:12 scale and even with the scale of the cartoon. That being said, they are meant to be for nostalgia and not for a modern display. I mean, 20 years ago, we had reissues of G1 Transformers to tap into the nostalgia while modern articulated lines make more sense for crossovers and display ability. 

Overall, these figures are highly recommended to anyone who loves getting some old TMNT figures in their collection and are huge fans of the 2003 series like I am. It's great to see this show get some attention after mostly getting stuff based on the 1987 cartoon when it comes to bringing back older lines, an it says a lot when this and the Super7 lines are giving the 2000s their due for once. Speaking of, I look forward to giving the Super7 Ultimates a shot, even if the reputation is mixed.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McFarlane DC Multiverse Cyborg & New 52 Superman review

So apparently there is a new Superman movie that came out weeks ago, and it's probably the most course-corrective piece of shit I have ever seen. It tried to backtrack from what Man of Steel did while desperately going for the bits of nostalgia associated with the Christopher Reeve movies; it also used the more recognizable bits of Superman media like All-Star and Kingdom Come while vaguely using them to influence the movie, and not particularly well. But while the movie sucked, it at least made Todd stop making too many variants of Batman so we can get some versions of Superman that are based on prominent story arcs or eras of the character. Let's see how Cyborg Superman and New 52 Superman turn out! It should be worth mentioning that one is fairly available depending on the store while the other is a Gold Label Target exclusive.

Here we have Cyborg Superman in-hand, who is a heavy retool of the Hush Superman body. This is my first version of the mold, and while I felt he was a little wider than usual with the original version, I think it works a bit better with the Cyborg version. Granted, with the new parts that represent the non-robotic portions of the figure, I would love to see them on a vanilla Superman even more than the softer musculature of the COIE buck, but the execution here adds to that 90s comic aesthetic with how dynamic the character looks, especially from making the era Hank Henshaw was introduced. Reign of the Supermen was definitely experimental with how we depicted the Man of Steel's various spiritual successors, with Superboy visually contrasting the classic boy scout with a more biker gang look to him with the jacket and shades; meanwhile, the Eradicator added some black to his costume and had a visor that gave him a more futuristic look. Steel was a dude inspired by Superman and wanted to fight for good while inspired by him, and Hank was turned into a cyborg version of the superhero after receiving some of his DNA scans. He claimed to be the real deal and fooling many people in the process until Kal-El shows up in his regenerative costume. Some may comment that he should have some black on the logo and possibly an S-shield on the cape, but I find that he could use a few more silver paint on the robotic parts that are left unpainted. Regardless, I love how the robotic parts turned out, especially with how easy it could have been to make the parts look chalky with the wrong paint or left in marbly plastic like with many Hasbro Marvel of Legends.

His head sculpt has a prominent shred of Terminator skull on the left side of the head. The right side is possibly inspired somewhat by the Action Comics 1000 head with a few tweaks added to match the rest of the facial structure. I love the red eye with a glow in the pupil, adding an uncanny vibe to this design. His articulation is the standard affair for the McFarlane DC Multiverse line, so I shall mention how he has a right pointing hand and an open left hand. He also has a wired cape that adds to the photogenic potential of a character that usually flies. It's a bit early to get to conclusions, but I have to admit this is the best version of the Hush tooling McFarlane made, and the cybernetic parts as well as the paint applied make this a slam dunk in spite of maybe needing a flight stand or some extra weapons.

As for the other side of the McFarlane quality spectrum, what the fuck happened with New 52 Superman?! I'm not saying this to slander the costume design, as I think it does a decent job at modernizing the look of the character, but the execution McFarlane gave us is woefully flat. Literally, as the costume details are smooth on him when there should be panel-lines as well as a raised chest emblem. It's very baffling when you remember how the Lee Bermejo version of the figure had an embossed chest logo while Action Comics 1000 was the classic Superman costume with a few embellishments many nicknamed McFarlanizations. None of those are present here, and the black outline on the chest logo somehow feels worse than on the Silver Age version. And don't get me started on the triangles painted on the hands. Sure, we get more proportionate hands that were oversized somewhat on the Page Punchers/DC Classic version, but the painted triangles that tried to simulate the costume doesn't work in the slightest. It was either add them in weirdly to preserve articulation or hinder the wrist joints somewhat. The S-shield is added on the back of the cape, and that may very well be the sole positive of the cape. The boots being stylized while the body is flat and basic just results in what looks like a poor kitbash.

His head sculpt feels wrong. It's less New 52 Superman proper and more like a comic version of Cornsweat with how non-heroic he looks. It's like if the likeness to New 52 Superman was done via memory rather than from using the reference material. I get that he is meant to be slightly younger in the New 52 comics, but the result looks more like someone else than New 52 Supes. Articulation is the same as before, but you may notice he still has the same hands attached. Despite the DC Classic Superman having a pair of flat open hands and more gestural claw-like hands as well as a flight stand, nothing of the sort was brought over with this figure. Even if they had the same paint app weirdness like on the fists, at least we could have them carried over with this figure. To make matters worse, the cape has no bendy wires implemented! What the fuck is going on with the cape consistency at McFarlane Toys?! Is the license making them go back and forth with what capes use it and which ones don't?!

For a Superman comparison, here we have both of them with Silver Age in the middle. I honestly like the shade of blue and the embossed logo on the Cyborg Superman, and even the musculature looks convincing on him. Not saying Silver Age is bad, but there are some benefits that Cyborg Supes gains compared to New 52.

There is a Target variant of Cyborg Supes with a red costume and may yellow replaced with a black. Suspiciously, it was released around the same time as a red Strange Lives of Superman figure that was also sold at Target, so does that mean the retailer prefers the Man of Steel in red? Of course I kid, as New 52 and the regular SLoS versions are in blue.

Overall, Cyborg Superman is a huge recommend due to the heavy retooling elevating the character out of the commonly reused Hush buck. It makes me want to see a Superman with that level of musculature and with an embossed logo, but I doubt McFarlane would give us one as the license is close to expiring. New 52 Superman, on the other hand is the one figure that could have had those McFarlanizations more than any other character, and the fact that this is the best we're gonna get from him in terms of superposeability is downright sad. Unless you're a HUGE New 52 fan, you don't need this version. Not like it matters since pre-New 52 comics and Rebirth-current designs have been present while New 52 gets jack squat. 

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Cyborg Superman)

⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (New 52)

Toy Story Signature Collection Buzz Lightyear review

Buzz Lightyear is one of the most beloved animated characters you can come up with. On top of the Toy Story series being one of the best film franchises in cinematic history, it's no surprise that Buzz Lightyear remained a timeless character, being one of the pillars of quality we should expect up until his random tendencies to play with himself (not that way, get out of the gutters) in Toy Story 4 before his even further unnecessary spinoff movie that claims to be the in-universe inspiration for the toy-character of Buzz (because Disney and Pixar are pussies that refuse to acknowledge Buzz Lightyear of Star Command). Anyways, the Signature Collection is a line that won fans over on the 15th anniversary of the first movie/10th anniversary of the second movie/tie-in with the third movie; the higher accuracy to the film models is present for the most part, as we'll go over in this review.

Here we have Buzz Lightyear in-hand, being quite a good display piece overall despite not being 100% screen accurate given the fan mods that popped up later. Buzz Lightyear's character design is one that is fairly easy to recognize thanks to the color scheme and overall proportions; the use of neon green and purple on a predominantly white spacesuit was a reference to the favorite colors of big creep John Lasseter and his wife (who may or may not also be a creep). The upper body is bulkier than the lower legs, though moreso in a Batman: The Animated Series style of physique and not whatever McFarlane tried to do with his stab at the design. Stickers are used on the center badge, his name tag, the upper edges of the wings, the border above the laser button, and the afterburners on the jetpack. There are some paint scuffs from the previous owner, so forgive me on that. Despite that, the rest of the figure holds up fine, and this could represent how Buzz sort of looked near the end of the third movie before he was cleaned up (and somehow didn't mess his electronics up). Speaking of, he is supposed to have three modes. The toy mode where the speaker is quieter and says a select few phrases. The space ranger mode where the speakers are louder, he says more phrases, his neck can rotate, and has a whole lot more interactivity with his play features. The microphone mode allows you to talk to him, and he will respond. When not in use, Buzz will turn off to save battery power, though turning him off entirely is recommended. Also, no, he doesn't have the ability to retract his helmet entirely.

His head sculpt is iconic, straight up THE signature expression for a character like Buzz Lightyear. The raised eyebrow, the confident grin, and the chin swirl all come together to result in a remarkable character we all know and love. I know it's not accurate to the movie since he has his eyes open a bit more, but honestly, who cares? On a side note, it's funny how the facial expressions was something many called out DreamWorks for reusing to contrast Pixar, yet Buzz Lightyear did that himself before DreamWorks was a thing! Plus, it's not like DreamWorks characters had different expressions while Pixar characters reused Buzz's facial expression. For articulation, his head is on a swivel though it is motorized due to the gimmick, shoulders rotate and move in and out (though they don't go all the way down due to the way they're designed. The elbows rotate and bend, the wrists rotate, and the fingers can move individually. The abdominal section can tilt to the sides and crunch front and back. His legs can move front and back as well as in and out on normal hip joints, yet the knees and ankles are on ratchets. 

The features I can show off in text form is a button that activates his laser. It may only blink for a bit and play the sound normally heard when he's scanning an enemy, but you don't want to be in the way when his laser goes off. His wrist communicator reveals a sticker that thankfully hasn't been damaged since not only would she be a concern, but that was something Buzz did himself in the first movie. There is a button that plays either an opening sound or a closing sound depending on if the button is unpressed or not. In Space Ranger mode, Buzz can interact with it.

His wings can pop out from the back to showcase some decent length to them, as they used to be pretty short for safety reasons. There is a bit of translucent plastic used on the purple, but the wing tips light up green and red. And no, he has no karate chop action.

As far as other uses of the sculpt are concerned, Mattel has given us a Buzz with most of the features stripped out, including the wing tips lifting up, the talk-back interactivity, and the articulation. To make up for it, the prices are lower and the figure remains the same quality. There have been other versions, including Power Blaster Buzz (who has a colored tint for his helmet along with a giant laser gun and riot shield) and Power Up Buzz (whose torso lights up sort of like on the old repaints we used to get). 

The one you'd probably need more is Utility Belt Buzz, also from the Signature Collection. He includes the iconic belt found on the New Buzz we saw in Toy Story 2, and that naturally means new voice clips to go with the more militaristic personality. As for a size comparison, you don't need one if you already know Buzz is meant to be the same scale as he is in the movies. The Signature Collection version is highly sought after, especially with fans making their movie-accurate mods, but boy is it pricey in the aftermarket. That being said, my love for Toy Story is bigger than my hatred towards Disney as a current company, so I recommend you splurge a lot of cash on him if you got a monthly payment set up. I mean, this is Buzz Lightyear! Any other toy would give up its moving parts just to be him. He's got wings! He glows in the dark! He talks! His helmet does that...that...that 'whoosh' thing. He is a cool toy! As a matter of fact he is too cool. Though Buster Optimus Prime is close. And Super poseable Spider-Man from the second Raimi movie.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐