Thy Kingdom (Hearts) Come: Reviewing Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts Action Figures

Hey folks, welcome to another ToyFare toy review. This time I’ll be reviewing the figures based on the original Kingdom Hearts video game which holds the distinction as being the only RPG-like game I’ve ever played and liked (though I still haven’t finished it). With that in mind, I was pretty excited to get my hands on this line from Square Enix which consists of Sora, Riku and King Mickey. The figures are highly poseable with an advertised 12 points of articulation per figure (even Mickey) and each come with a sword accessory and extra hands. So, let’s get into the individual figure reviews.

SORA

Right out of the box, Sora is a very impressive figure. Square Enix captured the look of the video game perfectly from his spikey hair down to those huge yellow shoes. Even more impressive at first glance, though, is the articulation. Even with his super-thin arms, Sora’s got elbow and shoulder joints that allow for a wide range of motion. But my favorite piece of articulation takes place in those giant yellow shoes I mentioned. If you look, the ankle joint is actually incorporated into the tongue of the shoe and when you bend the shoe joint, the back of the shoe stays with the ankle while the rest of the shoe moves. It’s definitely a small aspect of the figure, but I really appreciate that attention to detail.

Aside from the aformentioned joints and the knee joints, the articulation is actually a bit weird once you start posing and playing with the figure. His hips don’t move all that much, maybe because of the crazy MC Hammer pants he’s sporting or maybe he’s just built that way. Also, the mid torso joint doesn’t really seem to do much. It allows you to kind of lean Sora forward just enough so it looks like he might have scoliosis. Speaking of negatives, after only a few minutes of playing with this figure the arm popped right off and it’s not the only appendage to be lost from this series, but more on that later. Luckily Sora’s arm popped right back in.

But, hey, these figures probably aren’t really meant for kids to be playing with, they’re more for collectors and video game fans I would assume. Those fans will be happy with the figure and even happier with the Key Sword Sora’s rocking. Just don’t be too rough on the figure and you should be fine

RIKU

Sora’s pal Riku is actually a far more interesting figures as far as poseability and playability go. His arms are a little thicker and his hip joints do a lot more. Like Sora, he looks like he popped right out of the video game and is ready to kick butt with his dragon wing sword. Of course, not all is perfect with the figure. Almost immediately after taking the figure out of the packaging his head popped off. Like Sora’s arm you can pop it back on, but it doesn’t sit very well. Even for a figure that you’re not necessarily going to play with a lot, that’s not a good sign which is really too bad, because like I said, it’s got more articulation and playability than the other two combined.

Even with that in mind, if your version of Riku has a head that stays in place, this figure should please any Kingdom Hearts fan. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a pose from the game that the figure can’t recreate, though you might lose some arms, legs or heads in the process.

KING MICKEY

I purposely waited to open Mickey last because he was the figure I was most skeptical about. As you can see in the above picture, he’s wearing a Matrix-like long black trench coat that would seemingly inhibit movement. I was surprised to find that his arms are compeltely articulated from the shoulder to the wrist and even his legs have limited range of motion thanks to that coat.

I took it easy on Mickey as far as exercising the joints because I’d feel pretty bad if I broke or beheaded the most famous cartoon in the world. But the head sculpt is dead on and his crown sword looks great. I didn’t mention above how these swords work. They’ve got a tiny hole in the handle and the figures have protruding posts in their palms, so the post slides into the whole give the sword some movement, but otherwise keeping it in place.

Little details like the Mickey ear-shaped hood resting on his back and the tail sticking out through the trench coat make this my favorite figure of the bunch even though he’s got the least playability. I think he’d make an interesting convesation piece on just about anyone’s mantle from your video game obsessed cousin to his Disney obsessed mom.

ALL IN ALL
All in all, the line looks fantastic and has enough little embellishments to boost them from average video game figures to somewhere higher up, but don’t spend your money on them if you’re looking for anything more than cool shelf surfers.

In praise of He-Man…

Justin here. We’re redecorating the ToyFare office, and one of the things we did was dedicate a shelf (actually, a windowsill) to our 200X Masters of the Universe collection. This is the first time I’ve had these figures on display like this in a couple of years and let me tell you…it’s still one of the greatest lines of all time.

Full disclosure: I was a massive He-Man fan as a kid, and the Four Horsemen managed to make their updated figures look almost exactly like what my memory told me the classic figures looked like. Except the classic figures were never this cool and my memory had been seasoned by time and distance. To have them all arrayed together again brought it all back again how cool this line was.

Do yourself a favor – if you’ve got your Masters toys in storage, pull some out this weekend and play around with them. If only to get yourself jazzed for the imminent release of the first two Masters of the Universe Classics!

Back Page: The Ultimate Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sometimes these coming up with these Back Page is like pulling teeth. A bunch of us, including Justin, photographer Dylan Brucie and myself lock ourselves in a room and try to think of what we can make fun of in one big gag. I honestly don’t remember how long the meeting for this “Vs. Video Game” parody took, but once we did, we ran with it, tossing out ideas for toys and properties to show off based on existing crossover franchises and whatever other craziness we could think of. And we got most of them in, only being limited by our toy library (we originally wanted to include Army Ants). Jairo did a great job designing the whole thing with the logos laid out how they are. We’re really happy with the finished product and wish we could actually play this game! Who doesn’t love team ups? I guess we’ll just have to settle for DC Universe vs. Mortal Kombat. GET OVER HERE!

–TJ

ToyFare # 137 and Twisted ToyFare Theatre v.9: On sale 11/12!

Are you ready for double the ToyFare goodness?

Justin here, and this week you’ll be able to head to your local comic shop and pick up not just the new issue of ToyFare (#137), but also the latest volume of the collected Twisted ToyFare Theatre, volume 9! To find a comic shop near you, call the Comic Shop Locator at 1-888-COMIC-BOOK.

Here’s what you’ll find in ToyFare #137:
*A cover story on the Watchmen! We interview DC Direct about the highly anticipated toys, as well as Rorschach actor Jackie Earle Haley!

*The annual ToyFare Holiday Gift Guide, featuring all the coolest items for geeks this holiday season!

* Twisted ToyFare Theatre: Secret Invasion! Which one of your favorite Megos will turn out to have been a Skrull in disguise? It’s definitely one of these:

* A retro feature on Inspector Gadget: He only had one toy in the 80s, but it was one of the best damn toys of all time!

*A spotlight on Sideshow’s amazing Marvel products!

* Incoming: World premiere of NECA’s new Street Fighter 4 figures, plus much, much more!

* Behind-the-scenes of the first Become a Joe contest Hasbro held at San Diego!

* And a ton of other stuff.

In TTT Volume 9, you’ll find:

* Over 10 classic and neo-classic strips from TTT past, featuring the Megos, the Troopers, the Enterprise crew and more!

* A special gallery of Twisted ToyFare Sunday funnies!

* The latest chapter in the Official Handbook of the Twisted ToyFare Theatre Universe!

Buy both, and get free bragging rights that you bought both!

And now, my terrible artwork for the ToyFare 137 cover. Obviously, the real Comedian is my art skills:

Countdown to Twisted ToyFare Secret Invasion: 2 Days!

Aunt May. Goliath. Man-Thing. Sue Storm. Wolverine. Red Skull.

In two days, one of these Megos will be revealed to be a SKRULL!

That’s because November 12 sees the release in comic shops of ToyFare #137 and “Invasion of the Mego Snatchers,” when Secret Invasion reaches the Twisted ToyFare Theatre Universe.

We are totally not jerking you around. One of these major Mego characters will be revealed to have been a Skrull since the beginning of the strip. And NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME!

Come back each day for the next week (except on the weekends, when we have better things to do) to see three more characters with a Skrull hidden in their midst. Who will be revealed as a Skrull next week? The answers may shock and annoy you!

Post your theories about who’s a dirty Skrull at the Wizard Universe Message Board!

Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II

Robot Chicken, as you may know, are our friends. Most of them got their start at ToyFare, and we’re super-happy for all the success they’ve had. Now they’ve got a sequel to their mega-successful Star Wars special coming out on November 16 on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. It’s true! I saw Seth Green on The Soup promoting it!

Well, if it’s good enough for the Soup, it’s good enough for us to promote. Please tune into their special on Sunday November 16. Here are three new trailers for you to enjoy in the meantime. And tell ‘em ToyFare sent ya!

Countdown to Twisted ToyFare Secret Invasion: 5 Days!

Thing. Tarantula. Spock.

In five days, one of these Megos will be revealed to be a SKRULL!

That’s because November 12 sees the release in comic shops of ToyFare #137 and “Invasion of the Mego Snatchers,” when Secret Invasion reaches the Twisted ToyFare Theatre Universe.

We are totally not jerking you around. One of these major Mego characters will be revealed to have been a Skrull since the beginning of the strip. And NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME!

Come back each day for the next week (except on the weekends, when we have better things to do) to see three more characters with a Skrull hidden in their midst. Who will be revealed as a Skrull next week? The answers may shock and annoy you!

Post your theories about who’s a dirty Skrull at the Wizard Universe Message Board!

Countdown to Twisted ToyFare Secret Invasion: 6 Days!

Captain America. Alan Moore. Loki.

In six days, one of these Megos will be revealed to be a SKRULL!

That’s because November 12 sees the release in comic shops of ToyFare #137 and “Invasion of the Mego Snatchers,” when Secret Invasion reaches the Twisted ToyFare Theatre Universe.

We are totally not jerking you around. One of these major Mego characters will be revealed to have been a Skrull since the beginning of the strip. And NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME!

Come back each day for the next week (except on the weekends, when we have better things to do) to see three more characters with a Skrull hidden in their midst. Who will be revealed as a Skrull next week? The answers may shock and annoy you!

Post your theories about who’s a dirty Skrull at the Wizard Universe Message Board!

Countdown to Twisted ToyFare Secret Invasion: 7 Days!

In seven days, one of these Megos will be revealed to be a SKRULL!

That’s because November 12 sees the release in comic shops of ToyFare #137 and “Invasion of the Mego Snatchers,” when Secret Invasion reaches the Twisted ToyFare Theatre Universe.

We are totally not jerking you around. One of these major Mego characters will be revealed to have been a Skrull since the beginning of the strip. And NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME!

Come back each day for the next week (except on the weekends, when we have better things to do) to see three more characters with a Skrull hidden in their midst. Who will be revealed as a Skrull next week? The answers may shock and annoy you!

Post your theories about who’s a dirty Skrull at the Wizard Universe Message Board!

Fanboys Trailer!

Okay, I wanted to embed the trailer here, but I can’t seem to figure out how to do that, but I wanted to let you guys know that Fanboys is finally coming out on February 6th (which is also my birthday AND the first day of the New York Comic Con). The oft delayed flick also finally has a trailer you can check out here.

For those of you who might not know, the original story focused on a group of friends, one of which is diagnosed with cancer and might not make it to the premiere of Star Wars Episode I, go on a road trip to break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to watch the finished product before it’s released. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes, one of the most reported being that some of the higher ups wanted to get rid of the cancer plot. I’m not sure where all that stands, but I’ll be checking it out on February 6th (well, probably 7th or 8th) to find out.

I’m personally very excited about this movie as I’m a big Star Wars fan (who isn’t?), but I’m also a fan of the cast. WOO!

–TJ