Kaiyodo Revoltech - Pixar Figure Collection 005 Woody from Toy Story

Hey guys, i'm taking a break from Play Arts Kai. It's either i'm backtracking or grabbing some other figures since the next release schedule of a PAK figure i'm interested in is still some weeks or months away.
I just got this nice figure of Woody from GreattoysOnline, i believe it's under Kaiyodo Revoltech - Pixar Figure Collection which means it's got some nice articulation and details and definitely he did not disappoint.

Play Arts Kai Solidus - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Review

You know, you don't always get the chance to grab a Play Arts Kai figure of a President, the 43rd President of the USA in this particular case albeit a fictional one. Therefore, i am honored to introduce to you,  Mr.George Sears or better known as Solidus Snake. Former US President, in fact, the youngest one at 28 years old but largely due to the influence of The Patriots, a prominent figurehead on Mt. Snakemore in Shadow Moses,  instigator of both the Shadow Moses and Big Shell incidents, Raiden's (Jack's) mentor, creator of "Dead Cell" and the "Perfect Clone" of Big Boss. Now beat that, other US Presidents...

And therefore should be addressed as Sir... 

Touya of FFM speculates the meaning of those 2 blind areas...2 upcoming PAKs?

Play Arts Kai Solidus Snake is also the most elaborately packaged and most expensive Play Arts Kai 'human' figure released by SQEX so far. His box is actually bigger than the DMC3 figures though it's much more simpler (i.e. no flaps, back story narration, etc). Didn't think i'd get one but since Greattoys Online is currently keeping their prices highly-competitive here he is and boy, oh boy, he's a very. very impressive figure indeed.

Play Arts Kai Dante - Devil May Cry 3 and 4 Comparative Review

I first read about the release of Play Arts Kai Dante from Devil May Cry 3 @ FFM...uh, yeah, that's the more famous version of Dante with the man-bra and sculpted abs...and i'm a bit perplexed, thinking if i should let my awesome Devil May Cry 4 version go. It got worse when i saw that he's packed with all the weapons of DMC4 Dante + 1.

Fast forward months later, i got him together with his twin, Vergil, and decided to do a comparative review instead of my standard review for Play Arts Kai figures. This will mark the first time i'll be doing this so please feel free to add more info and provide constructive feedback. 

Play Arts Kai Vergil - Devil May Cry 3 Review

After a few weeks of delay He's finally here, the elder of the Twins and the one who chose his demon heritage over humanity. Dante's brother and his fiercest adversary: Vergil. Play Arts Kai welcomes you brother.

Upon arrival you can't help but stare at the massive girth of the box, almost as big as 2 older Play Arts Kai boxes, SQEX seems to be leaning on the same direction as Hot Toys and Medicom indeed.

Damn! the packaging's good, just don't use it to justify the price increase...

Of course the flap opens and you get these...

Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh - Metal Gear Solid Review

"Good things come to those who wait" indeed, i have misgivings about the latest SQEX release: Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh from the Metal Gear Solid series so i did not include her in the priority list, (with DMC3 at her heels and Solidus) but then an "unexpected SALE" came up and i decided to give her a shot. 

Play Arts Kai Kazuya and Play Arts Kai Jun Kazama colored protos revealed!

Just saw these pics yesterday from the Play Arts Kai Tekken Tag Tournament 2 line and i'm so d@mned excited! By the way, these were taken at TGS 2012. Kazuya looks great though his body sculpt and detailing reminds me of Play Arts Kai SSF4 Ryu and Akuma. Seems like the King of the Iron Fist Tournament participants will be in the same scale as those. The real surprise though is the very impressive face-sculpt of Jun Kazama. Those who are already playing the game will agree with me that she's dead-on with the in-game character design. Can't wait for these babies to show up soon.
Thanks to Touya of FinalFantasyMerchandise for sharing the pics and MarshallAlloc, the source.

 More pics after the jump

Play Arts Kai Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and The Joker (Heath Ledger)

Just got these awesome first look from my buddies at FinalFantasyMerchandise. Anne Hathaway and the late, great Heath Ledger will be making their Play Arts Kai debut soon. Catwoman and The Joker are from the The Dark Knight Rises and the The Dark Knight respectively. Judging from the pictures though looks like these will be in the same scale as the Play Arts Kai Arkham Asylum and Arkham City figures. Dashing my hopes of having them in the same scale as the Play Arts Kai Metal Gear Solid figures (10 inchers).

Check out the pic after the jump.

Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja Red Version Exclusive Review

When Square-Enix announced that the alternate open-masked head of Grey Fox is going to be included in an exclusive release i thought i'll never get my hands on one. I never thought i'll be covering the event exclusive Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja Red Version since i'm really not into exclusives and i hate searching for one online with all the CC/PayPal payments, shipping and handling charges and custom taxes that come packaged with an online international purchase. I guess i just got lucky i was able to sign up for a sponsored group buy as a very late addition. In fact i signed up when he's already here...

Play Arts Kai Robin from Arkham City debuts @ SDCC

Play Arts Kai Robin of Arkham City was unveiled during SDCC 2012 and boy he looks pretty good. I've always liked the character design of this Robin compared to the traditional one. No villain would take the traditional Robin seriously.

Photo courtesy of Touya of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

More pics after the jump.

Play Arts Kai Raiden painted prototype @ SDCC 2012

This seems to be an afternoon full of surprises, word just got to me of the painted Play Arts Kai Raiden @ SDCC 2012. Aside from Play Arts Kai Meryl and Play Arts Kai Solidus this is another figure which i cannot afford to miss.

Finally! Play Arts Kai Raiden. Photo courtesy of Touya of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

More pics after the jump.

Play Arts Kai The Dark Knight Rises revealed

The recently concluded SDCC 2012 brought some surprises for Play Arts Kai fans. Seems like Square-Enix is finally going to the movies with their first ever Movie licensed line: The Dark Knight Rises.

Photos courtesy of Touya of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

More pictures after the jump.

Play Arts Final Fantasy Customs of Zelu1984

I got into Play Arts when Kai is already making waves so i missed the older Play Arts Final Fantasy lines, well, except for a couple of Advent Children figures. It's kinda ironic since i am a big fan of the Final Fantasy series. All i know is that Square-Enix did not care to finish the lines, hence, they are missing some of the most memorable and key characters for each line like Final Fantasy 8's Seifer, Zell, Quistis and Irvine or Final Fantasy 9's Beatrix and Steiner and Final Fantasy 7's Barrett and Cid. There must be legions of fans out there that are yearning for some of those to be produced and wondered how their collection would look like if only Square-Enix continued with the lines. Well, i am fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of this guy...

Actual pic of Zelu1984

...who literally made that fanboy dream a reality. You don't believe me? Check out the rest of his pics after the jump. And oh, Click Zelu1984's name for his deviantart site.

Play Arts Kai Kazuya and Jun spotted @ SDCC 2012

Just got this news from bro orochicoops of PinoyToyKolektors forums and Zelu1984 of FinalFantasyMerchadise, seems like we'll be seeing the Tekken characters make their much awaited transition to Play Arts Kai.

Photo courtesy of Zelu1984 from FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

More pics after the jump.

Play Arts Kai Lara Croft of Tomb Raider colored prototype spotted

Zelu1984 of Final Fantasy Merchandise brought us the first colored prototype shot of the upcoming Play Arts Kai Lara Croft figure. Personally, i hope they'll do better than that when it comes to her face though i'm good with it as long as Square-Enix won't pull another Play Arts Kai Sheva Alomar face paint apps on us. Perhaps we're just expecting more since, as Touya of FFM pointed out "The wait began (for Lara) the moment SQEX bought Eidos," well said bro, we all know it's only a matter of time.

Photo courtesy of Zelu1984 of Final Fantasy Merchandise

Play Arts Kai Batman and Catwoman from Arkham City

If you haven't read about the 1st Play Arts Kai Batman figure from the Arkham Asylum game you can see it HERE, sure, i'll wait for you... ... ... ... ... ... Ok, done? Let's move along.
With the recent release of Play Arts Kai Arkham Asylum Volume 2 featuring Harley and the Armored Batman figures Square-Enix announced a hard-hitting follow-up to the popular Play Arts Kai line: Batman and Catwoman from the Arkham City game.

Photo courtesy of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

The third Play Arts Kai Batman figure looks a lot closer to the classic Batman design and it's a good thing they decided to pep up the accessories, well, a little bit, with an alternate head and the Batclaw attachment.

Play Arts Kai Vergil and Dante - Devil May Cry 3 - on the way

A pleasant surprise arrived yesterday, seems like Square-Enix / Capcom will be backtracking to the older Devil May Cry games in the mythology arc of the story to bring us one of the MOST well-known and beloved character in the Devil May Cry series:

PHOTO Courtesy of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

You got that right, we'll be seeing Vergil this October (tentative) together with his fabled Yamato. He's got his Force Edge as well and a couple of grip hands to complete the package. Of course, what would DMC be without Dante?

Play Arts Kai Kratos - God of War 3 Review

It is with distinct pleasure that i bring you Play Arts Kai Kratos, one of my favorite video game characters of all time, the Play Arts Kai incarnation of the fabled "Ghost of Sparta." Took me a while to get him since 1) my sponsor sold him out quickly, heck! he's sold out even in the online shop of Square-Enix; 2) gotta be careful of getting one "elsewhere" since he's been bootlegged already and; 3) i hesitated to buy him at first since i saw that his scale is messed up again. However, having located an authentic one at a very reasonable price i decided to bite the bullet and grab him.

Play Arts Kai Lightning - Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review

As promised on my Play Arts Kai Nathan Drake review here's Play Arts Kai Lightning, or rather her Valhalla Knight edition from Final Fantasy XIII-2. I also mentioned in my previous article that since this is a late review already (slacking off as usual, i'm so ashamed) i'll treat this more of a showcase.

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.

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.

Starcraft 2 - Tychus Findlay Terran Marine Series 2

"Hmmm...might as well try my hand on something new", with the next Play Arts Kai figure in line for review being delayed i was asked by Greattoys Online owner, Mr.Malvin John Lim to give my insight on this Starcraft 2 figure from DC Unlimited. Of course, i jumped to the opportunity without hesitation...

Play Arts & Play Arts Kai Bootlegs tell-tale signs

While waiting for a new figure to review (Play Arts Kai Kratos) i might as well create this partial list of all Play Arts (the older Final Fantasy-based line) and Play Arts Kai figures who are already bootlegged as well as the tell-tale signs that would help fellow collectors avoid being duped. Since i am no expert when it comes to the older Play Arts line (and i don't profess to be one, PA Kai perhaps) i enlisted the help of my comrades from the local Play Arts community in PTK (pinoytoykolektors) to help me out with this article.

I would like to give due credit to the following: Balthier - for the Play Arts bootleg list and the ultimate collector of Play Arts; Tri3dge - for his load of researched data and invaluable insight; Jeff1031 and Squall - for additional info. Hopefully, i can get the others involved so we can further expand this list.

Please note that this is not a complete list and we don't have data yet on the tell-tale signs of some figures, however, i will endeavor to provide updates from time to time. If this proved to be a hit then i will make this a permanent page in this blog site.  

Photo courtesy of Zelu1984 of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

Photo courtesy of Zelu1984 of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

LEFT - Original, RIGHT - Bootleg

Proceed to the list...

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake Bootleg?

Hi guys, thanks for dropping by. Play Arts Kai's most recent release, the legendary Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series is greeted with much enthusiasm and doubt. There has been a debate about the authenticity of certain versions that arrived in the market. I have been on the forefront of this issue for quite some time already and though nothing has been proven yet, for the benefit of all I would like to record the differences i have encountered with both the "perceived authentic" Solid Snake figure and the "alleged bootleg" one.

Photo courtesy of sorubeido

It is alarming that authenticity of Play Arts Kai figures is now in question noting how expensive these figures are and how loyal the fanbase is of the line.This record however is still not a basis for authenticity and like i mentioned, unless Square-Enix themselves confirm the existence of bootlegs the debate will just go on. My advice to all of my fellow collectors: be wary, careful and smart with your purchases. Check out the differences i noted below:

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid Review

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake - FINALLY, after a very stressful couple of weeks i finally got him. A 100% authentic one if i must say. I'd like to mention this also: 44 posts even before the actual review?! WOW! guys, thanks for the patronage. Ahem...Here's Snake by the way:

The real me is no match for the legend.

Well i guess this guy needs no introduction anymore, you won't be here reading my review if you are not familiar with the legendary Solid Snake in the first place. If i am not mistaken the only other action figures of Solid are created years ago by McFarlane and Medicom so the Play Arts Kai version is understandably highly anticipated. Anyway, Solid Snake is my favorite video game character of all time. Thought i just mention it...

Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja - Gray Fox Metal Gear Solid Review

When i first saw the Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja - Gray Fox pics on the web I had goosebumps all over thinking about the path that Konami and Square-Enix is currently taking with regards to their Metal Gear Solid line. We've got Fox right now, Solid is due later this month, Meryl not far behind and we've also seen the unpainted model prototypes of Solidus and Raiden; it is evident that the great people on both sides are really doing their best to bring us the characters that we definitely wanted to see. And, additionally,  "Kojima Kami Nandesu" indeed.

"That's good Snake, do you remember me now?!"

Gray Fox or Frank Jaeger is the only Fox-Hound operative to ever be given the codename Fox because of his skill in the battle-field. He's got a love-hate relationship with Solid Snake, sharing an ally-enemy-ally-enemy kind of camaraderie with him though ultimately sacrificing his life to help Solid defeat Liquid piloting Metal Gear Rex on Shadow Moses. I love the new packaging they employed for this new line. All along i was expecting a dark box typical of the theme used by the Metal Gear Solid game for the PS1 but i was surprised to find a rather minimalist box design for Fox. Take note also of the 25th Anniversary sticker on the lower right side.

Play Arts Kai Batman - Arkham Asylum Review

Ok, let's make it simple, when you come across a Play Arts Kai Batman from Arkham Asylum...

Yes, this one indeed.

...selling at lower than SRP (i.e. 3.7- 4K), GET HIM! If you are a fan of the Arkham Asylum game, GET HIM! If you are a Batman collector, GET...oh well...i don't think i need to tell you that. There is a good reason he's selling like hot cakes right now, most shops who got their first shipment of Batman sold him out pretty quickly. Aside from being a really famous character with a large fan-base that transcends toy lines, the Play Arts Kai Batman is really good. He's not perfect, but, well...we'll get to that in time. 

Play Arts Kai Lawrence Barrett - Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

Ok, time for another "back" review, i've been considering getting a Play Arts Lawrence Barrett from the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the longest time but with the 1st release going price of Play Arts Kai figures these days, it's a no brainer that i passed him for other more famous figures (Super Street Fighter 4; et. al.). I was finally able to get him for an "On-Sale" price hence this review.

Lawrence Barrett, if i remember correctly, is the first of the 3 augmented mercenaries that the main protagonist Adam Jensen will have to defeat in the game. He's a member of the Tyrants, the group responsible for the attack that left Adam with cybernetic augmentations.

Play Arts Kai Scale Guide v 1.0

Inconsistent scale is one of the main issues with Play Arts Kai figures and perhaps most of us collectors (and interested non- or would be- collectors) usually have questions about which figures are in the same scale (height, bodybuild, head-size?, ahem, etc.). I decided to create this post to help others decide, knowing that there is a considerable number of collectors out there that are very particular with figure scale. For display purposes perhaps? Please feel free to refer to this guide for scale inquiries.