Final Fantasy VII Remake was a highlight of 2020, giving a nice break to the nonsense that was going on in the real world. FFVII has been one of my favorite properties since it dropped back in the 90s, and I’ve always had something repping it on my toy shelves once those were a thing. Play Arts Kai has also been in my rotation over the years (see our galleries here) – for FFVII it was Advent Children at first, then the early Remake figs (see first release Cloud and Barret here). Today we are moving on to the full, post-game versions with Tifa!
We’ve run Tifa for a full set showing off what she can do. Read on to check out some additional thoughts and over 55 HD images courtesy of Entertainment Earth!
Related Entertainment Earth links: All Play Arts Kai, Remake Rude, Remake Reno, Remake Sephiroth, Remake Barret, All Final Fantasy Items
Square Enix Play Arts Kai Final Fantasy VII Remake Tifa
Overall Thoughts:
Haven’t rocked a Play Arts Kai figure in a bit. The market has changed and there are a lot of top tier figures for each brand out there. PAK kinda lost it’s spot for that, it was once a way to get a really big, well done figure for a reasonable price. Competition and inflation has made that more difficult. However, the one place it still dominates is with their own properties, and FFVII Remake is it right now. I grabbed the first versions of Cloud and Barret in 2018 when the trailer dropped. I didn’t think I’d be waiting 3 years to pick back up with the line but here we are. Tifa is the first of the new batch I’ve handled.
Overall she is a solid figure. No breakages, no loose joints. I was able to bend and pose this joint for a couple days with no problems. The stand is new (to me), much smaller and pre assembled compared with the old bigger ones. It’s welcome and well done. Actually using it on the shelf where the old ones were too big to do that. Sculpt is solid, captures the details of the game model well. Leather, boots, stockings, and those Tifa abs all pop. There are 2 faces, one better than the other. The stern face is close to game model. The smiling one is a bit less accurate. Neither 100% nail it, and neither are horrible IMO. The hair was a bit wonky, takes a bit to get right. Supposed to tack behind the one ear, but that requires effort to stick. Also has a little nub that has to be pressed in/down once you connect it. But in the end, you can get it right with some effort. Paint is well done. Simple, but purposeful with washes and brushing where needed.
All in all it’s the best PAK I’ve handed in a while. Feels more like a standard action figure than even Remake Cloud and Barret were, which have PAK specifc engineering going on. My goal was to get Tifa and decide what to do next. Do I go all in for the full cast at 150 a pop? I also missed the pre-order Hardy Daytona bike. And still need to cop the Advent Children PAK Bike. All expensive goals. Now that I have Tifa, still not sure. I’m thinking Aerith, but I’m staying in neutral for a bit after that.
Bottom line – Tifa is great, and if you focused on the core team it would be a worthy set. If you have cash flow to do it all, go for it. PAK has come a long way, and Square’s execution of the Remake characters in this format is awesome. Just expensive.
Here’s hoping they shrink these guys down to Bring Arts size (aka 1:12). BUT – if they do that, it can’t cut corners on articulation like most have. We need these figures, shrunk, under 80 bucks. Or skip it.
Check out our shots below, she’s out now and shipping!
TIFA PAK FFVII REMAKE 27
CompaniesSquare Enix
CharactersTifa Lockhart
Scale10 Inch
Sub-LinePlay Arts Kai