There
aren’t too many action figures that are akin to all-terrain vehicles.Samus Aran is one such figure.After almost two months of being dropped, stepped on, dunked,
buried, kicked, and thrown by my son in a marathon of abuse (i.e.
playtesting), Samus survived, albeit with a few scratches and dents.
I
find this amazing for a number reasons, but mainly because her right
(gun) hand is on the spindly side and has limited articulation.In fact, all the articulation is muted.This is likely to disappoint those expecting more.Her “robotic” form should have allowed much more practical
and useful articulation since it’s easier to hide articulation.Take for example Joyride’s Jupiter (MechWarrior) figure – the
articulation is all in plain sight but none of it catches your eye.In comparison, Samus’ articulation is rather glaring.Not only that, the articulation is restricted.Her shoulder joints are seams underneath the “shoulder pads”
meaning her arms are barely mobile.A better solution would have been to make the shoulder pads
ball-jointed for great mobility.It
almost goes without saying, those looking for poseability won’t be
happy.The tradeoff is that
she’s tough and very playable.
The
color scheme is all right but it’s not outstanding.The metallic sheen of Samus as seen in Metroid Prime (GC) is not
present.Instead, she looks
more along the lines of what a Saturday morning cartoon based on the
game might look like.Overall,
it does not look like she’s been ripped right from the game even
though some of the small details are bang on.
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As
a display piece, Samus ranks lower on the scale.Although she’s recognizable and stands easily she just
doesn’t reach out and grab you, which is too bad because Samus is such
a popular character.Samus
comes with interchangeable heads: one helmeted, one not.They can be popped in and out easily, but just be careful about
losing one or the other (or both).
Overall,
collectors are likely to be disappointed with Samus.Although it’s good to finally see a Samus figure, it just
doesn’t go far enough; however, if you’re into playing with your
toys Samus is a great figure.