Elise (SSX Tricky)

“Make it la-a-a-a-ast!”

“I am so loving this!”

Something missing from the SSX Tricky figures is a sound chip to play a couple of catchphrases. Each of them come with a base, so why not rig up a little electronic chip to spout a line elicited from an uber trick to really knock it up a notch? In Elise’s case her pose doesn’t suggest anything even approaching an uber trick so I

suppose I’ll let it go this time.

The biggest hit to Elise is the facial sculpt. It comes close – hits part of the target – but it misses the bulls-eye. It looks more like Elise when the sunglasses are in place. However, if you lose the sunglasses this point becomes a bit glaring. I think part of this problem is that we usually see only the back of Elise’s head as

she carves down a course, so we don’t necessarily have much to compare to the facial sculpt. Admittedly, I might be a bit tougher when scrutinizing Elise because I used her the most during the game. (She is, after all, the only Canadian character.) The rest of the sculpt, including the base, are very well done. It really does capture Elise’s curves, that’s for sure.

The paint job is also very good and authentic right down to the “Butterfly” written on the board and Spiderman symbol between her shoulder blades. I really like her shiny blue tights. There’s no oversplash or other imperfections.

As a display piece, Elise is very good and definitely recommended for fans of SSX Tricky. However, poseability is quite limited owed to the sculpt. She’s articulated at the wrists, shoulders, neck, waist, and boots. It sounds like a lot of articulation but it sure doesn’t make for drastically different poses. (Reposition her boots and she’ll fall over.) The most dramatic change is achieved simply by removing the board from behind her back. But then you have the problem of where to put the board so you don’t lose it; however, she looks better holding the board. It would have been better still if she had more leg articulation, ball-jointed shoulders and the ability to peg into her board. (And possibly variant figures with different boards.)

Playability is somewhat limited thanks to the inability to secure Elise to her snowboard. There’s nothing stopping you from playing with her in the snow, but being able to stick her on her board and send her down a hill would have been fun. Her sunglasses are extremely easy to lose. I speak from first hand experience on this one. The glasses slide easily and snuggly into her head just above her ears but all it took was one knock and they flew outta there – and became lost forever. (I still can’t find them a couple weeks later.) Highly recommend glue.

Elise is hampered by several things, but I’d still make her a recommended figure – and not just because she’s a Canadian character. Although there are aspects I’d improve on, she’s still possess the right amounts of attention to detail and displayability that makes her a good buy if you’re not that interested in playability.

- Omni
(September 25, 2002)