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.

Play Arts Kai Chun Li - Super Street Fighter 4 Review

After my Play Arts Ryu review i think one could suspect this one not far off, being very impressed with how the ultimate Street Fighter series poster boy turned out i'm looking forward to doing one for the series' poster girl or should i say, "The First Lady of Fighting Games". Unlike Ryu, the first time i saw pics of the Play Arts Kai Chun Li i am impress with the overall looks and aesthetics of the character, believing that she may be the best Chun Li figure ever released so far and much, much better than Play Arts Kai Ryu. When i got her i am happy to say that i got ONE of those statements on the mark. 

She indeed is the best action figure incarnation of Chun Li so far but is she better than Ryu? Well, let's find out shall we...

Play Arts Kai Ryu - Super Street Fighter 4 Review

This article will mark the first time that i would review a figure that i am really hesitant to grab at first, being unimpressed by it, but after getting my hands on one i would reverse my judgment. A great thanks to Mr. Malvin Lim of Greattoys Online for the sample, i really enjoyed doing this review.

Play Arts Kai Kazuhira Miller - Metal Gear Solid - Peacewalker Review

Alright, time for another late review, i just got Kaz last week, not really planning to get him before but with Play Arts Kai Solid Snake and Grey Fox to be released soon (around early 2012) why not get all the MGS characters made available so far? Master  McDonnell Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller's name first came to light during Metal Gear 2 as a member of FOXHOUND then Metal Gear Solid where Liquid assumed his guise to fool Solid Snake. In the series backstory, Peacewalker, he's the deputy chief of Big Boss in the Militaires Sans Frontieres. 

Play Arts Kai Nero - Devil May Cry 4 Review

I think i've held back long enough for this review and, i think, the main purpose of this one is that i notice fellow collectors pass up this awesome figure. I don't really know why, to me he's almost as good as the Play Arts Kai Dante figure. I actually got requests to review this figure before but i only got time to do this one now, better late than never.

A Gamer's Journal Part 1: 1997-2000 RPGs, et al.

I was rummaging through my old things and i recovered a couple of very interesting pieces of paper that i initially believed to be lost for all time. I haven't really seen them for more than 7 years and finding them just opened a floodgate of memories. I used to be a gamer back in the mid to late 90's when Playstation 1 is in the pinnacle of it's popularity while SNES is on the stage of decline. Oftentimes i play 2-3 RPGs simultaneously which explains why there are "conquered" dates that are very close to each other.

This is the 2nd draft of the list which i re-organized back in 2000 (as indicated by the date above), at least 3 pages are missing though. Apparently, i have a lot of time in my hands back then...

Role playing games are my #1 interest though from time to time a really good game comes along and i pick it up. For every game i invested time on and finished i kept a short entry on a journal of the experience as well as the dates when i actually finished the game. Sadly though, the 2 pcs of paper i recovered are just the starting pages of the journal mentioned, i don't really know what happened to the accounts i have written about the actual games. Also, the entries on the pages i got stopped on 2000, i believe there are still some games i've finished after that date which i will try to check.

"Memories, make me want to go back there..."

Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 1.0

This article may seem a bit ambitious since i have only started collecting Play Arts Kai, however, the justification is that who can better understand would-be or potential collectors but a newbie as well? Unlike my older lines (Transformers Classic, Transformers Movie, etc.) i never really started blindly with Play Arts Kai. The reason for this is that i know well enough which figures i would like to get, PA Kai being a relatively new line offering a rather small lineup at the moment, made mostly of characters that i am quite familiar with. As stated by one of my fellow PA Kai collector (orochicoops) from the Pinoy Toy Kolektors forum and i quote:  "I always recommend to go for your favorite character. Sometimes kahit may (even with) minor flaws, you'll let it slide na din (also) because of your love for that character "

I too started with PA Kai with that mindset, as long as the character looks cool to me, dear to me, or from a very memorable game for me i would not hesitate to grab that figure and of course, minor flaws can be forgiven, am i right Ezio?

The purpose of this guide is to promote what our chosen line has to offer, provide insight on the figures (reviews aside) and/or inspire others to pick up the line. Choices vary from person to person but, ultimately, here are some of the figures worth checking out if you are considering starting out with the Play Arts Kai line. *** Please take note that this is purely based on the collective opinion of yours truly and my fellow collectors and in no way we consider this as experts' advice, at the end of the day choices will still depend on you, also, this list comes in no particular order.

The Essentials 

"Get me or...get me, your choice!"

Warning: Play Arts Kai Metal Gear Bootlegs?

I never thought i would be writing a note of Warning regarding collectibles but i just had a close brush with a very suspicious Play Arts Kai figure yesterday. Unfortunately, i was not able to take pictures since the said figure has been with me for only a few hours. Good thing, the seller (whose name i will withhold since he's not a member of the local PA Kai community and probably not really aware of these figures) allowed me a refund but i advise all my fellow PA Kai collectors to gather as much info as possible before getting a Play Arts Kai figure from online sellers.

Older Play Arts - Final Fantasy collectors would be quite familiar with the bootleg PAs by now and could easily spot the tell-tale signs of a bootleg figure even if it's boxed. Of course, the Final Fantasy series is a bootleggers favorite so i was not really surprised to see bootlegs of the PA Kai Final Fantasy Dissidia figures that are now available in the market. However, i was deeply disturbed by the fact that the alleged bootleg figure i got is NOT from the Final Fantasy Series but from Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker.

Play Arts Kai Adam Jensen - Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

Hi everyone, just got the time to make another review. I actually got this Play Arts Adam Jensen figure last week but i was not able to play with him due to busy work schedule.

Anyway, Play Arts Kai's newest line is from the awesome video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. By awesome i mean that the game really got terrific reviews from video game critics and is considered one of the best in its genre.The main protagonist of the game, Adam Jensen, is an ex-SWAT turned security specialist who was given cybernetic augmentations when a deadly attack on his charges (researchers and scientists of Sarif Industries) left him critically injured. Here he is in his full Play Arts Kai glory: