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!
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Not sure how deep I'll go, but I did get Tifa from the new rounds:
https://news.toyark.com/2021/03/08/t...gallery-420011
Great pics as always Tony!
What do you think about the figure itself? Have seen a lot of complaints so far about the QC and the head sculpt difference from proto to release. There is also talk of a replacement head sculpt for the Asian market, while the NA market getting ditched.
I really wish they'd make smaller versions of these, specifically down to the Bring Arts scale, because I need a Cloud that's the right size for my Smash Bros. collection (sorry if anyone's sick of hearing about that), and it'd cost me a fortune to get the 90s Final Fantasy VII figures.
What do you think about the figure itself? Have seen a lot of complaints so far about the QC and the head sculpt difference from proto to release. There is also talk of a replacement head sculpt for the Asian market, while the NA market getting ditched.
Face sculpt - one is fine, other is a bit off, but neither are as bad as I've seen people saying. Check the pics on front page, that's what I'm basing it off of personally.
And thanks!
Face looks all right to me. I'm looking forward to this and Aerith when my Amazon Japan order finally hits.
Tifa looks awesome but knowing this company they're going to charge an arm and a leg for her.
After all these years, SE still can't get those terrible knee joints right.
Their Bring Arts knees aren't the most beautiful in the history of articulation either, but at least the simpler, single-cut, ball-joints aren't the ugliest thing in all creation.
Play Arts knees still look incredibly segmented in the vanilla position (an accomplishment in itself) and look compound-fractured when bent 180 degrees.
Great pics, but the face is not nearly as good as the promotional shots. Hope something is done before it's released in 7 weeks.
I'll never understand why they keep changing the size until they basically became 12 inch.
When the Play Arts stuff first came out the novelty was having Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus, etc. all the same size to go together. Granted, the OG ones (FFX-2) were 6 inches and thus smaller than any that came afterwards (which worked for Rikku but little else). Then the FF12 ones made a leap in size to 7-8 inches, the FF13 ones jumped to 9 inches, then the FF13-2 ones dropped back to 7 inches, and from then on they went to 12 inches.
Not like the quality has improved that much IMHO, beyond not having limbs snap just moving them ala the FFX ones.
The prices of these have become just too high to really build a collection. Shame, because these look really nice. But having Bring Arts, Play Arts, Play Arts Dissidia, and Play Arts Kai CLoud all on my shelf looks too damn weird for me
When the Play Arts stuff first came out the novelty was having Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus, etc. all the same size to go together. Granted, the OG ones (FFX-2) were 6 inches and thus smaller than any that came afterwards (which worked for Rikku but little else). Then the FF12 ones made a leap in size to 7-8 inches, the FF13 ones jumped to 9 inches, then the FF13-2 ones dropped back to 7 inches, and from then on they went to 12 inches.
Not like the quality has improved that much IMHO, beyond not having limbs snap just moving them ala the FFX ones.
The prices of these have become just too high to really build a collection. Shame, because these look really nice. But having Bring Arts, Play Arts, Play Arts Dissidia, and Play Arts Kai CLoud all on my shelf looks too damn weird for me
Sure, for characters like Ridley from Metroid it'd make sense, but Cloud?!
She looks great! Don't they have KO of these as well? I remember seeing the PAK Marvel figures having them...
Kind of surprised they haven't applied photoreal to these. Especially since 12 inch is basically THE scale that's best with.
Face is "accurate" IMHO more towards AC Tifa than Remake Tifa it seems.
Cheaper Version from the Official one.
Usually breaks right after removed from the Box.
Man I am not so sure, if these Pictures here
are..."Official". The Face looks strange
and also does the Skin Color!
Maybe it is just the light of the Photo.
But I am pretty sure her Skin Color with that
brownish color is not supposed to look like that.
I have also pre Ordered Aerith.
I asked Square directly via
Email support (Merchandise Division)
for a Yuffie Figure from Intergrade.
I am pretty sure Yuffie will follow soon within
the Play Arts Kai Line.
Face sculpt - one is fine, other is a bit off, but neither are as bad as I've seen people saying. Check the pics on front page, that's what I'm basing it off of personally.
And thanks!
I might pick Tifa up in April when they release it in Japan, and hopefully drop a bit in price too. All I want to pick up are Tifa, and Aerith if they do a better job than the Crisis Core version I have, and also Vincent (probably a while for that one to happen lol).
I might pick Tifa up in April when they release it in Japan, and hopefully drop a bit in price too. All I want to pick up are Tifa, and Aerith if they do a better job than the Crisis Core version I have, and also Vincent (probably a while for that one to happen lol).
If not....Email, Email, Email.
Otherwise you could wait for the Company
"Game Toys" to Release all Characters. They are even more Expensive, but you get real accurate 1/6 Dolls for that. You can see them here
Cloud
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...ion_p2577.html
Sephiroth
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...oth_p2940.html
If not....Email, Email, Email.
Otherwise you could wait for the Company
"Game Toys" to Release all Characters. They are even more Expensive, but you get real accurate 1/6 Dolls for that. You can see them here
Cloud
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...ion_p2577.html
Sephiroth
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...oth_p2940.html
And woah, those Game Toys ones look nice. The price is a bit high, but appropriate for a 1/6. But, the thing with switching to that line now for me is that I will have to buy Cloud too. I was thinking of just getting the characters to fit with my Advent Children Cloud that I really don't want to sell. I love the accessory (swords, to be more precise) count too much in that to part with it.
If not....Email, Email, Email.
Otherwise you could wait for the Company
"Game Toys" to Release all Characters. They are even more Expensive, but you get real accurate 1/6 Dolls for that. You can see them here
Cloud
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...ion_p2577.html
Sephiroth
https://www.showzstore.com/gametoys-...oth_p2940.html
Of course, the issue is that these were not the US reps. The US reps pretend like there was no issue even when you contact them. My guess is that they are probably hoping most people won’t complain because it probably is too costly to replace for the US as well.
Still, your photos make it seem decent enough of a release.
Keep reading: Toyark's Play Arts Kai Remake Photo Shoots - Page 2
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