Toy Review: Play Arts Kai Star Ocean Series

01/15/10

Play Arts Kai Star Ocean Figures

The Play Arts (PA) line of toys recently came under the Square Enix umbrella. With the merge came a big jump in the number of licences that PA had to utilize. Before, we were pretty much stuck with characters from the various Final Fantasy installments. And Dragon Quest, but who really wanted those? When I wrote that preview article on the upcoming FF XIII figures I said how this was a line that had only a few waves a year. I was wrong.

Since Square Enix took over, we’ve gotten wave after wave of new product, including Final Fantasy IX, Full Metal Alchemist, and Kingdom Hearts. If you do a search on the BigBadToystore site, you’ll find a whole mess of new figures slated to come out in 2010. There’s the aforementioned series 1 of the Final Fantasy XIII figures, series 2 of the same with 3 brand new characters, and 2 gestalts (Shiva and Odin) that will transform from humanoid mode to combine into vehicles for the figures. They’re HUGE and look as detailed as the Daytona Hardy and still look as articulated as the regular figures.

Awesome.

Unfortunately, this flood of plastic is a severe drain on the wallet, which is why I’ve really got to pick and choose the ones I really want. It’s hard going since PA has been so consistent with the quality of their sculpting and manufacture. I mean have you seen that Alphonse Elric figure? That thing is a work of art! Since I’m so in love with the gestalt designs, I’ll be saving my money to get those two figures to put next to my Cloud and Fenrir, I passed on the Alchemist and Kingdom Hearts figures. But when I saw these two figures at Best Toys in VMall, Greenhills I couldn’t resist.

Star Ocean is another franchise owned by Square Enix. It was originally released waaaay back in 1998. Remember when the Playstation was still the rage? I didn’t think so. Gosh I’m old. The graphics for this old school RPG weren’t anything to spank a rabbit over, but damn if it wasn’t a lot of fun. When I first got the PSP versions last year, I couldn’t stop playing, even if the unskippable cutscenes made it a chore to wade through the game a second time. Totally gave me 8-bit flashbacks to The Legend of Zelda.

The Last Hope (the installment these figures are based on) was released early in 2009 on the Xbox 360. The PS3 version should be coming out next month. It’s really more of a prequel (damn you George Lucas) and doesn’t feature anyone from the first parts. Since I haven’t played it, I can only tell you that “Edge Maveerick” (that is such a stupid name) is the impulsive captain of the SRF-003 Calnus and Reimi Saionji is one of his childhood friends that serves on the same boat.

The toys of the two characters come in the standard Play Arts box. It hasn’t changed much since Square Enix took over, with a few shots of the figure and accesories and one of the other toy in the series. The graphics are minimal and the packaging is mostly functional. It’s got a huge window up front that allows you to get a clear view of the toy itself, and all the parts.

I’ll start with Edge since he was the one I saw more of leading up to the time I purchased the set.

The character design of the video game is typical of the Japanese Sci Fi I’m familiar with; loud colors, broken lines, vaguely future-tech looking details. Sort of like a Jeepney. He’colored in white and weirdly effeminate pastels, but it’s a nice change from the unending black and gray of the FF VII Advent Children figures.

The sculpt looks pretty accurate from various screenshots I’ve seen of the character, and the sculpt is fantastic. There isn’t any painted-on detail here, it’s all 3D, sculpted work. The level of work put into these toys is really something.

The plastic is also great, with some nice transluscent look. It’s soft, but sturdy, and I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t go the way of my FF X-2 YiRiPa figures and start to break over time.

He comes with a few accessories. First he has an extra head.

Unlike the FF VII AC figures that were meant to look more realistic, these tend more toward their anime roots. It’s obvious in the design of Edge’s spare head. He’s made to look as if he’s screaming/howling/shouting and looks just as cartoony as anything on Japanese TV. There is an articulation problem with the head (the hair keeps him from looking up), but it’s not a big one. It’s easy to pop on and off to exchange them, though you’ll want to be careful to do so with care, since the post could conceivably break.

He also comes with an excellent looking sword and a rather ridiculously oversized scabbard. The scabbard looked extremely silly to me at first, but it really does grow on you you. I’m sure they explained in the game why he needed this thing (there’s probably some containment field or storage battery or some such). The thing is made of ABS plastic and slots right into his belt. It’s a nice little change from huge-blade-hanging-from-the-back-man.

Reimi Saionji has the same in build/design quality, sharing the same kind of general theme and hi-tech details. She sports a more cartoonish face than any of the other PA females I own, though, which is kind of a turn off. It’s odd that she’s also a tiny bit taller than the others as well. I guess Square Enix decided that their figures should be a tiny bit better than the old ones so decided to up the scale a smidge. It’s not really that noticeable unless she’s right up against one of the others.

Instead of a sword, she comes with her bow. It’s a sci fi version of the compound bow you see hunters and sportsmen using (or if you’re old enough, Rambo). Again it’s made of ABS plastic (even the string) so it’s tough, but feels fragile. I keep thinking I’m going to break that string if I store it in anything but a metal box. I would have prefered that they use actual string and included a few arrows or something. She doesn’t even have another head like Edge.

As I’ve said in previous reviews, I think that PA is really in the lead when it comes to female figures. They’ve found this perfect balance between sculpt and articulation, and unlike the big two, they’re always improving. The Ashe figure was a huge improvement on the FVII figures, and these sport some of the same things that made that toy so excellent, plus a few new ones.

For one, they have elbow joints that allow their arms to go past the 45 degree point. It’s not a double hinge joint, but hell, it’s almost as good, not to mention a hell of a lot sturdier.

The knees as well share that same extra range, making for very satisfying articulation. Unfortunately, due to his skirt, Edge’s leg movement is severly limited. The skirt is made up of a dense, soft plastic that doesn’t really bend. This blocks his hips. I don’t think there was much they could have done here, but it does annoy.

Reimi fares better since her “skirts” are articulated and you can move the pieces out of the way of her thighs.

I can’t recommend these toys for everyone. I got my Star Ocean set for Php3,800 (about $85) at Best Toys. Make no mistake, these figures are not for the Buy One Take One crowd. The level of detail and quality of the design, not to mention relatively low runs and the fact that they are imports, make these prohibitively expensive for many collectors. Shops don’t often carry many. I’ve only seen Edge twice in Greenhills, and the Reimi I bought was the only one I’ve seen locally.

However, if you’re a fan of Japanese video games and have about Php2000 to spare, take a look at the new Play Arts line up. Several of the toy stores in Greenhills have the new Final Fantasy figures for pre-order, and you can still find the older toys at Best. It’s not advisable to be a completist of the Play Arts Kai line, but with the new products Square Enix has in store for 2010, you’re definitely going to want to cherry pick a few good ones.