You want to know what I love more than comic books? Video Games. More interaction and there’s even video games about comic books! It’s a win-win situation. And one of my favorite franchises is the Kingdom Hearts series. Why? It takes two of my favorite things, Final Fantasy and Disney, and throws them together in a multi-world RPG (role playing game). However, Kingdom Hearts has expanded it’s franchise, and is no longer just a video game. It’s now a comic, specifically, a manga. Published in 2005, the first game produced four volumes. Chain of Memories, the second game (in order of the story) produced two volumes with Kingdom Hearts II still being translated. Now, what can be better than a video game/manga of my two favorite things together? Action figures! So let’s take a look at series 2, Halloween Town Sora (it’s close to Halloween, right?), Colosseum Cloud and Colosseum Sephiroth.
Series: Kingdom Hearts figures series 2
Company: Play Arts
Articulation: Sora-20 points, Cloud-24 points, Sephiroth-22 points
Packaging: White window box packaging with an enlarged picture of the character on the back, each in a special environment with their number and smaller images of the other figures in the line on the back.
Released: April 2009
Where to buy: Comic book stores would have these as well as some music stores such as Suncoast or FYE.
Price: $27.99 each.
High Points: Where to start? The articulation allows for incredible posing and the stands can change height, allowing for even more dynamic posing. They put joints everywhere on these figures! Cloud’s cape can move up or down, and both his and Sephiroth’s wings are have ball joints for a wide range of movement.
The paint job on these figures is just mind boggling. Sephiroth, for example, has long silver hair that fades to a clear silver at the tips which looks incredible in the light. His wings are a fade from dark blue to white with shading on the feathers themselves. His outfit has intricate silver buckle details on the waist, chest, and shoes and the paint is flawless. He comes with his looong sword (Masamune), extra hands and a display base.
Sora’s paint job is just as good. His hair has the darker tips like it does in the game when he visits Halloween town. His face has the darker shading around his eyes and forehead to give him more of a spooky look that, again, is seen in the game. The details: the trim on his outfit, the crown on his chest, the mask, the red lacing on his stockings, all of it is flawless as well. I could find no bleeding on my figure. His outfit, though it’s hard to see, also fades from black to grey. And his face masks’ green eye is made of two different greens. He comes with the Pumpkin King Keyblade.
Cloud has the most detail out of all of them, only because his outfit is more complicated. Numerous belt buckles, Vincent’s cloak and claw (a tribute to a fellow character in Final Fantasy VII, for those who aren’t aware of who Vincent is), steel arm guard, wing, and buster sword wrapped in scraps of cloth require more detailing than the other two. Vincent’s red cloak is burned at the end and the paint reflects that with a black to red fade with darker red fold detailing. It’s definitely a ragged look. The claws on the tips of his fingers are painted a metallic gold, giving the metal impression, which is the same impression we get from the metallic silver on his buckles and buster sword. He comes with his one extra hand, his buster sword, and a display stand.
Low Points: Sora’s fingers aren’t jointed to close around the Pumpkin King Keyblade, though there is a peg in his hand and a hole in the keyblade so it won’t fall out, it still looks good, so it doesn’t bother me too much. Sora also didn’t come with a base. His feet are big enough to support him on his own, but it would have allowed for air attack posing. Again, this isn’t enough to bother me that much.
Overall: 5 out of 5. I adore these figures. The paint job is incredible, the articulation is astounding, and the figures look like they stepped directly out of the game. These are a must have for any fan of Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy/Disney/ or Video Games.
Kingdom Hearts series one: Sora, Riku, and Mickey.
Dee McNamara
contact@comicattack.net
Lookin’ good!
Those look good especially for $30.
I love those figures. The best line, ever!
i have yet to see a bad sephiroth figure!
Saw a review for these on ANN a while back. They really do look great, especially the Sephiroth. The paint job on his wing is beautiful. I’d pick one up if I had the cash. But then, there’s a long list of things with that description.
I hear ya, Kristen! It seems the list keeps getting longer and longer with each passing week, too. 🙁