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December 21, 2013

[Toy Review] No. 13: Heroes of Light Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini


He's the first guy of the longest running video game series. The one that saved Square from utter destruction. Without him, Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth, Squall, Tidus, Lightning and FF games in general won't exist. This nameless hero is called the Hero of Light (Warrior of Light) from the first Final Fantasy and Dissidia Final Fantasy game and finally he's given a toy treatment he deserves in form of a Trading Arts Kai Mini figure (and Variant Play Arts Kai version).

PACKAGING

Front and back of the box (sorry about the flash)

Everything almost unpacked
Why does the box says "Heroes of Light" and it's in plural form? Whatever, let's just call him Warrior of Light (WoL). Anyways, the box is the same as the rest of the TAKM boxes to date. It's a window-type box where you can see the figure and its accessories in front, and at the back you can see different mini WoL figure shots. Ace and Zidane can also be seen, three of them belong to volume 5.

This is what we get in this WoL mini figure

There are small parts in this packaging so remove the small ones first. Be careful unboxing the figure, use a cutter to remove the other accessories inside the red blister pack. If you're a kid (especially influenced by sugar), have a parent or older sibling assist you in unpacking the figure.

WoL is now ready to bring justice.

Packaging includes: WoL standing figure with removable hands, Extra no helmet WoL posing figure with removable sword and left hand, 2 extra faces, Shield and extra left hand for the shield, display stand, 3 figure supporters, 3 stand accessory mounting rods, a Dissidia story select sign, 2 speech bubbles, and a detailed manual. This the short version, more details on the accessories portion.

THE FIGURE

It's a two-in-one package! We got two WoLs with different poses, I prefer an extra EX Mode WoL though. On the plus side, the other figure gives some variety which I will talk about later.

WoL (normal stance) in 4 sides
The figure follows the classic Yoshitaka Amano design so its got a lot of detail. Yes, for a mini figure everything is accurate. The armor, cape, helmet, sword and shield looks great. The paint application also looks great with semi-metallic look on the armor parts. The same goes for the extra WoL figure too. One little complaint though, his face looks friendly and look at him, he looks similar to mini Lightning.

WoL (offensive stance) in 4 viewing sides
The other WoL figure got an offensive pose and doesn't wear a helmet. Most of the other accessories are attached here and I consider this 2nd figure an accessory.

ACCESSORIES

If we detail all his stuff (dissecting the 2nd figure and excluding the stand+accessories) then WoL have a right hand with sword and shield, extra 2nd body where you can remove the torso and legs, 3 extra swappable faces (Neutral, Eyes closed and Faceless), WoL's hair, one extra right hand, and three extra left hands where the two have peg holes for the shield. Meaning, this guy's loaded.

This is WoL's equipment of choice.
Ok, WoL's got his standard hero equipment, the sword and shield which both looks great, The sword isn't sharp looking like mini Cloud's (AC) Fusion swords. BTW his extra left hands holds the shield differently, one holds the shield on the side, while the other one holds the shield in-front.

He raises his sword to start the battle
(This pose is a combination of 1st body's legs 2nd body's torso)
We can mix the two WoL's removable legs and torsos so that you can make few extra poses for this figure making it a bit more fun. Sorry for the lack of photos because I only chose the best combination of WoL's body parts to use as an example (check the photo above).

The emotions/expressions of WoL's faces looks similar to Cloud's (AC) faces. The only difference is that WoL looks tougher than Cloud. It would be nice if WoL have that more serious look.

WoL lost his face.
It's easy to swap WoL's faces because his helmet while it looks like hard plastic, is actually soft so that it can be easily removed and also be replaced by his hair.

Neutral face with normal speech bubble
WoL's stand's accessory quantity and appearance is the same as the other TAKM figures have, the only unique here are the texts in his two speech bubbles (normal and loud) and the Dissidia story select screen sign. If they included the "Radiant Sword" effect like the Variant PAK version have, that would be so awesome.

2nd WoL body with Angry face and using a loud speech bubble

WoL concentrates while he selects a story.
(closed eyes with Dissidia story select screen)
Again, the texts in all these speech bubbles are in Japanese only. Can someone help me translate these texts?

OTHER STUFF TO MENTION

WoL have some articulation so lets mention them. He can move his arms and removable hands, he can also move his torso. His head can move a little because the collar of his armor restricts the head from moving up/down and looking left/right.

The main heroes of 3 different FF games.
The size of mini WoL figure looks a little smaller compared to the other TAKM figures. If we add his helmet to his size then he's taller than the rest.

CONCLUSION

Warrior of Light is a 100% must have if you collect these Final Fantasy TAKM figures because he's the man! This mini figure is made quite really well, yeah it got few loose parts but it doesn't stop me from mix matching the figure's parts and accessories. It's a little expensive compared to the older mini figures, I don't know why, maybe Square-Enix is revving up all the prices of their merchandise. Like I said, if you're a FF fan, get him now while supplies last.

And now I can make some comics using my mini figures :D

Check out my mini Lightning and Cloud review to (somewhat) follow this story.
Cheers and Happy Collecting!

2 comments:

  1. woah!! i really wanted to buy WoL especially when i saw they include without his helmet :D where did u buy this?? and how much thanks :D

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    Replies
    1. I bought mini WoL at a local video game and software store here in the Philippines (Datablitz). He costs around 950 to 1,000 Pesos

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