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Friday, June 08, 2012

Play Arts Kai Nathan Drake - Uncharted 3 Review

I know quite well that this review of Play Arts Kai Nathan Drake from Uncharted 3 is pretty late already, so i think i'll treat this as a showcase more than anything else. In fact, i don't think anybody else needs to be convinced that this is quite a good figure (for his scale) and if you have been following Nate's adventures (as i do) then chances are you already got this in your respective collections.
When i heard that Nathan Drake is getting the Play Arts Kai treatment i was very much excited being a fan of the series, but when i saw that he's off-scale (again!) i can't help but feel a tad bit disappointed. I am hoping he can go toe to toe with the MGS 10 inchers but it would not be so...
That being said i decided to pass up the first opportunity of getting him in favor of Solid and Fox since those 2 offer a lot more PVC for your cash. Drake was eventually pushed lower on my hit list when Kratos was released. However, after failing to acquire a Kratos during the initial shipment (yup! i slacked) i decided to give Drake a shot.
I was not disappointed

His details are superb and very faithful to the game model, albeit a bit dirty, but hey! Uncharted 3 is a desert adventure primarily right? He is reasonably dusty and way-worn. Take a good look at his arsenal as well: Pistol, Sniper rifle, which by the way is labeled Dragon but it looks suspiciously like a T-Bolt to me, and AK-47 (with a folding stock). It is rare that Square-Enix would include at least 3 guns on any given Play Arts Kai figure so they are being generous to Nate. Of course you get extra hands and the blah, blah, blah, foreign language tutorial sheet...
His figure is true to Play Arts Kai form, the bullets on his bandolier are well defined, the creases on his pants, the scarf swath around his neck and the holster on right side are excellently detailed. Nate's also pretty flexible with his poses though i used caution with his arms. Hint: He's got the Dissidia hinges...
Great, power's out, and a girl's trapped. I swear to God, if there's a zombie around the next corner.. - Uncharted 2.
Though i must admit, those hinges come in handy when Nathan Drake is doing blind-fire poses as seen above. Hyper-extending the hinges though leaves a weird space behind his shoulders that is not noticeable up-front.
"Gotta be a big hero, don'tcha?"
"See ya, Jackass!"
Yeah - y'know, people are always telling me how lucky I am. But the truth is, everything I touch turns to shit. 
Overall he's a good figure, cheaper than the other new releases of Play Arts Kai but as far as details are concerned he's able to hold his own against the bigger and much more detailed figures. Summing up his Pros and Cons, here goes nothing...Pros: excellent details, very good accessories, in scale with the older Final Fantasy Play Arts figures (now i wish someone can take a pic of Nate riding Cloud's Hardy Daytona motorcycle) and he's probably the only articulated, collector-friendly Nathan Drake figure out in the market right now. Other lines will have a tough time pitting their Drake figures with this one i believe. Cons: he's small, some may be turned-off by the dirty paint finish on his face and he's probably the only Uncharted figure that Play Arts Kai will give us...as if you need anyone else...
Better get him especially if you are an Uncharted fan. Got mine from Greattoys Online.
"Awww, looks like kitty got wet"
Obsession to take a pic of these 2 figures is the only reason why i got FF13-2 Lightning.
That being said, next stop, ahem...Final Fantasy 13-2 Lightning.

11 comments:

  1. I think the Play arts style doesn't mix with these American licenses. I really wish NECA with make a Nathan Drake fig.

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  2. ^^i used to be a fan of NECA until i discover Play Arts, i'd love to see them give Drake a try but i'm afraid Square-Enix already set the bar very high. The older NECA figs are simply no match for the PAs though i'm impressed with their new Assassin's Creed: Revelations Ezio figure.

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  3. I think there may be other uncharted figures (in the works) because in the box it says collect them all and online it says wave 1 so possibly there could be more in the near future.

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  4. ^^that's good news if that is indeed true though i'm not sure who else they will release. Elena? Chloe? Sully? they are nice to have but if their SRP is same as Nate i don't think i'll feel compelled to get them. I'm betting on a Drake variant.

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  5. Just got my Nathan Drake today. A little disappointed because the left leg fell off as I was adjusting it, like less than 5 minutes after opening the package. Was really careful but still, the joint was quite loose to begin with. Must be a Play Arts issue. I was able to return it though, but it's already loose and I'm afraid that in the future it'll no longer hold if it keeps falling off.

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    1. try adjusting the ball-joint connector, that worked for my Ezio who is notorious for the same reason. Try applying a thin coat of nail polish also to tighten the ball-joint/

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    2. Thanks for the tip! I was thinking of returning the figure to the store but I already fixed it so maybe it wasn't worth the trouble. Guess I'm a bit O-C when it comes to my figures, hehe. Anyway I just noticed that the paint app on Drake's face isn't quite excellent. There's this dark finish on his forehead which is a little unsettling. Found the same thing in every figure I checked in stores. But nonetheless the figure is sculpted well and the details are amazing. I'm thinking of writing a review for this soon. Thanks again!

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    3. Glad to know about it, yeah, Drake suffered from the dark-shade syndrome. Almost all PAK figures released during the period got that shade (Kratos, Shepard, etc.)

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    4. Yeah I've seen Shepard. Not good.

      Anyway, I read that you'd like to see Nate on Hardy Daytona. I shot a couple of pictures here.

      Nate rocks on that bike. :)

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    5. yeah man, nice shots. now i'm envious, hehe, never had a Hardy only Fenrir and it looks too futuristic for Nate.

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  6. Can you post picture of the bootleg vs the original Nathan drake on your site? Thanks!

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