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Princess Zelda and Impa (Ocarina of Time

From Link we move onto Princess Zelda, the young princess of whom all the Legend of Zelda games are named. Based on the N64 game Ocarina of Time, this action figure is more of a set – each figure in this line contains a figure and their horse, but as well as this Zelda also includes her protector Impa, the warrior who saved Zelda from the rampaging Ganondorf during the first half of the game. This sounds like a great set, and it is indeed good value (three figures in one!) but there's a couple of problems with this particular set that make me irk, although they don't detract much from the figure's overall quality.

To start with, the card that the figures come on is nice, with a pretty map of Hyrule on one side, and information about the other figures in the line and their action features on the back, but the naming of the figure is all wrong. Instead of focusing on Zelda, the card's title is Impa, who only had a small role in the game overall, and she's the only character featured in the picture on the front. Argh! She's got nothing on the princess! To add insult, Zelda is treated like an accessory rather than another figure. I dislike this – Zelda's sculpt and appeal is much more than Impa, and she shouldn't be treated like a secondary, dammit! Anyway, onto the actual review.

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Impa stands 4" tall, with Zelda standing slightly shorter at 2 1/2", based on their "present day" characters in the game. The sculpts are nice – Impa is a nice representation of the game warrior, with a slightly more excessive bust than I remember, while Zelda is picture perfect. She looks great. An innocent, young Princess, new to the world. The expression on her face is great, a pretty innocent young smile. Unfortunately, Impa wears a similar smile, which is out of context,

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seeing as she doesn't smile once in the game. A more serious expression would suit her far better (a similar problem to Link from this same line).

Mentioning Link, there's another flaw with these figures is that they're out of sync. Link is the older, future Link from the game, whereas Zelda and Impa are the younger, present day figures. This means they look all wrong on display, and it's annoying since there are no more figures to correct things. I would have really liked an older Zelda, and perhaps a younger Link. Though I s'pose this is just myself being picky, but still!

Detail and paint application is above average on both figures. Impa and Zelda both have all of their details and specifics, looking very nice – particularly the strange marks under Impa's eyes, and the golden Tri-Force on Zelda's dress. Their horse is detailed better than both figures - with nice highlighting and detail all over, and not a single smudge (unlike Impa, who has a few splatters and errors).

Articulation is creative on all figures, if not a little lacking for Impa. She has neck, shoulder, arm, wrist, leg, thigh and knee joints, which despite all doesn't give her as much poseability as I'd like for a warrior of her calibre, and her action feature cuts it off further. Pressing down on the lever in her back causes her to stab with her measley knife, which isn't as kewl as Link's sword slashing. She really needs ball-joints; but admiring her leg joints, I can't complain too much. She's been ingeniously made to sit easily on the horse thanks to the peg system, which works well. Zelda has similar articulation at the neck, waist, arms and a joint in her dress to allow her to sit. She has her own peg on the horse so she can sit behind Impa, holding onto her waist, while the horse gallops from the murderous Ganondorf, like in the game. It works well, and the articulation works better than in Impa and Link – after all, the young Zelda isn't expected to protect herself, yet.

Accessories are lacking, unless you count the horse and Zelda as an accessory and Impa as the main figure, but I don't. The only accessory included is Impa's measly undetailed knife. It's disappointing and unimpressive. Where's the sword for the protector of the princess? Where's the princess's ocarina? Or a Tri-Force for display? They really could have done some creative things for these figures, but instead they've left it to the imagination. I don't like this at all – shame on Toybiz!

Overall, I like this set better than the Link figure, but only just. The playability is high, but Impa is less a warrior than Link and she needs more accessories - Zelda is the real highlight here. She's perfect, and looks great, exactly like she does in the game, even with the same stance. As with all of these figures, the horse is great also – the potential for play with these toys is immense, and I like that. Rescue the princess and fight off the evil, then go down to the Kwik-E-Mart to talk to Apu! I recommend this set for those who like the Legend of Zelda games, particularly Ocarina of Time – players and displayers wont be disappointed.

- Shocka

(September 21, 2002)