The figure that I originally planned to review got delayed until March, so instead I'll be looking at two figures I picked up at a con last summer: Dissidia Trading Arts Terra and Cecil!
These two are from a line of trading figures by Square Enix that re-create the art for the character designs seen in the Final Fantasy fighting game, Dissidia. These poses will be familiar to anyone who has played the game, since they come up on the character selection screen and the faces from the art serve as character portraits in battle. I'm a pretty big fan of Final Fantasy; IV and VI are two of my favorites and I really enjoy Dissidia as well as once I saw these I had to have them. Like most trading figures, these technically come in individual parts that have to be fitted together but the American release has them pre-assembled. They're also not very big; here I have some pictures of them next to Madoka Nendo for scale. the size doesn't bother me too much since I like smaller figures and again, they're trading figures so they tend to run small. Speaking of size, I appreciate that the figures themselves are scaled in relationship to each other; if Terra were as tall as Cecil it would just look strange to me. The sculpts on these figures are great; they're instantly recognizable and mimic the artwork they're based on very well. I'm particularly fond of the flow of their capes, especially Cecil's since it looks like a breeze is passing by.
However, these figures are not without their defects. Terra's legs weren't attached right, so she falls off her stand whenever I move her and she noticeably tilts to one side as you can see in the pictures. Some of the details on her paint job are pretty good given her size--her hairpiece for instance, and the flowers on her stockings and cape--but other parts seemed rushed. The black part at the top of her shirt looks like someone scribbled it there with a marker and there are red paint flecks on her boots. There is some noticeable discoloration on her shoulders as well. Cecil is a bit better; he's much more stable on his stand and doesn't tilt but he suffers from some of the same paint issues. There are some white lines on his cape, some blue got onto his fingers, and the blue and gold lining around his shoulder plates feels off somehow.
Despite my complaining though, I genuinely love these figures. Like I said above, I'm a big fan of the series and seeing two of my favorite characters in figure form was too good an opportunity to pass up. Would I like to see better versions? Sure (what I wouldn't do for a Play Arts Terra), but even if Square does decide to release more expensive, prettied up versions of these I think that I'll always like these the best, since they were first. And even with the paint application problems on their clothes, they're still much better than their bootleg counterparts. I do have to say one more thing: their faces look amazing. Clearly the most time was spent on making sure that the faces looked good on so small a scale. To be able to look so close and feel like I'm staring my favorite character in the eye is something that only a good figure can achieve. For that reason alone, these guys are going nowhere.
These two cost me $15 dollars apiece at the con, and Square Enix is selling them online at the North American store for $16.99. Vol. 1 for the series includes Warrior of Light, Squall, Cloud, Tidus, and Zidane. Vol. 2 includes--aside from Terra and Cecil--Sephiroth, Bartz, and Firion.
Images by me.
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