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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 2.0

About 7 Months ago i came up with a list of the Play Arts Kai figures that (based on my personal opinion and the collective opinion of my comrades @ pinoytoykolektors.com) newbie Play Arts Kai collectors should include in their "hit lists" and are definitely worth a look or two by would-be/aspiring collectors. After some great releases, and a share of disappointing ones, we would like to present the must-haves and for-your-consideration figures from Play Arts Kai in the past 7 months. But before that, a brief rundown of our Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 1.0 last October 2011.

The Essentials - the Must-Haves: Dante of DMC4, Big Boss/Naked Snake Jungle Fatigue and Sneaking Suit versions of MGS: Peacewalker, Gabranth of Dissidia FF, Ezio Auditore da Firenze of AC2.
The Niche - for Fans of the Series: Adam Jensen of Deus Ex: HR, Edward Elric of FMA, Ichigo Kurosaki of Bleach, HALO: Reach line.
Outside, Looking In - Underrated figures: Resident Evil/Biohazard 5 line. 

*Thanks a lot to bro Maykello of PTK for letting me use his awesome pics, you rule bro
** Thanks to the following for their input: andrew, ramir19, tri3dge, hikari03. 

The Essentials - "Must-Haves"
"Can't always be the Living Legend, eh Snake? Oh s#!i i've been spotted!"PHOTO BY: Maykello
Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid - (REVIEW Here)
I've said much about him on my review already which i will no longer repeat here but think about this: Solid Snake is the "face" of the Metal Gear franchise. Not even Raiden can change that. This rendition of him is from the game that revived the interest in the line and the genre. If i'm going to have just 1 Play Arts Kai figure, Solid Snake is my hands down choice.

The Joker is rightly assigned as an extra in this pic. PHOTO BY: Maykello
Batman  - Arkham Asylum - (REVIEW Here)
One of the best Play Arts Kai figures in the last 7 months, he's miles above The Joker figure but with Harley and the armored version looming in the not too distant future this line is a good bet. Besides, He's THE G#dD@!n BATMAN! If only he's a 10 incher...

Ryu going Super Saiyan...errr...are those "fart" lines? PHOTO BY: Maykello
Ryu  - Super Street Fighter 4 - (REVIEW Here)
Ryu is simply the best figure in the Play Arts Kai Super Street Fighter 4 line and he won't be getting off that pedestal soon since we have reasons to believe that the line is done already after just 4 characters (8 figures including 4 recolored exclusives). He's the poster boy of the whole Street Fighter franchise so he's definitely the figure to get.

PHOTO BY: Maykello
Cyborg Ninja  - Metal Gear Solid - (REVIEW Here) 
Another excellent figure from the Metal Gear Solid line, Grey Fox's latest incarnation is really a must have if you are a Play Arts Kai collector. This line is the best so far in the whole Play Arts Kai universe and with 3 more excellent figures currently lined up in the near future, you just can't go wrong with it.

The Niche - "for Fans of the series/franchise"
 
The official "mascot" of Square-Enix is far from slowing down. PHOTO BY: Maykello
Cloud Strife - Dissidia Final Fantasy - (REVIEW Here)
At this point you'll probably be like: "Cloud Strife a niche figure?! Come on, you know he's the most overproduced character figure by Square Enix for the past, what? 5? 7? 10 years?This article is bull crap man!"
My answer: I know that too well that's why he's included in the niche for Cloud or Final Fantasy collectors ONLY. Cloud's terribly out of scale with the older Final Fantasy Play Arts figs but he's got the best face sculpt among them and the best articulation. You don't need another Cloud figure unless you are a die-hard fan of him or the FF series, in that case you can't afford to miss his Dissidia version.

Lightning (Valhalla Knight Version) - Final Fantasy 13-2
She's the new Cloud and like him she's pretty hard to resist if you are an FF fanatic. Even i was impressed with this figure and the only reason i did not get her is because i am not into the older Play Arts figures. Her scale is compatible with those by the way so more reason for you to get this excellent figure.

 Outside, Looking In - "Underrated figures" 


Enter the Fist!

Nero - Devil May Cry 4 - (REVIEW Here)
Everyone's hell bent on getting the more popular Dante and this figure is often overlooked though he's nearly just as good as Dante. Nero's also the main guy of DMC4 and you should probably get him if you are going to get Dante.

6 comments:

  1. Good work ! But why you say that Street Fighter IV line is done ? The Play Arts say something about that ???

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    1. ^^not really bro, but, once again, it's just our collective opinion. Also, Square-Enix has the habit of not completing lines or even bringing in all the series' icons. Example would be FF: Advent Children (no Cid, Barret, Yazoo and Loz), FF12 (no Basch? one of the major characters?).

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    2. Well, it is true ... I dream until today have Barret, Cid and Rufus Shinra completing my collection of FF VII figures. In the Resident Evil 5 serie, Play Arts dont launch Jill or Wesker, what would make me buy the entire line for sure. It's a pity. I support the launching of at least two more waves of SF IV containing Ken and Sagat and maybe Zangief and Vega / M.Bison.

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    3. ^^yeah, they should have made Wesker at least. Hi "midnight" version is his most b@d@$$ version IMHO. They could skip Jill with the battle-suit but i'm wishing they will create an RE3 Jill with the tube top. hehe. It's also odd that they left out Ken since where there's Ryu there should be Ken also. I also love to see Sagat but i think he will pose some scaling problems with Square-Enix since he's a large dude in the game.

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  2. I wouldn't say Gray Fox is a must have, if you're not a fan of the Metal Gear series his design is kind of plain with not a lot going on.

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    Replies
    1. thanks for the point though my qualifying statement is in reference to the line's potential. He's a unique character in the MGS line which is, arguably, the best line in Play Arts Kai right now. Fox is a series icon not just a game boss that has little to do with the storyline. Also, his inclusion is decided by the sum of the collective opinion of local PA Kai collectors and most of us are huge MGS fans. Not official though.

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