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The Hero (Dragon Quest VIII)

Height: 15cm to top of head.

Articulation: 24 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 5 points in arms- double-jointed shoulders, pre-elbow swivels, hinged elbow, forearm swivel; swivel waist; 6 points in each leg- ball jointed hip, upper thigh swivels, hinged knee, calf swivel, double-jointed ankle.

Accessories: Soldier's Sword with scabbard, Extra Hand, Stand.

Colors: Molded yellow, medium blue, gray, dark gray, fleshtone, brown, gunmetal, and transparent blue(Stand). Painted brown, medium blue, yellow, gold, olive green, tan, and white(eyes.)

Release Data: Released in the US in Spring 2006 at an approximate MSRP of $18.99. This item is still widely available as of this review (May 22nd, 2006).

Gallery: 10 pictures.

Author: RAC

The Figure

I must have a thing for difficult causes. Like Gundam, Dragon Quest isn't anywhere near as popular in the United States as it deserves to be. Previously released as "Dragon Warrior" here, DQ reclaimed its Japanese name late last year with the release of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for Playstation2. Thanks to the greater assets afforded by developer Enix's merger with Squaresoft, DQ8 was upgraded for the US with a soundtrack performed by a full orchestra, graphical tweaks, and a superbly well-written and performed English script.

And support, in the form of merchandising, of course. Released in the US through Diamond Distributors, the Dragon Quest VIII Play Arts line includes all four of our main characters: the former thief Yangus, temple knight Angelo, the mage Jessica, and the Hero, who must remain nameless until you play the game and name him yourself.

The Head

A good sculpt that makes liberal use of softer plastic for the bits that stick out, like the bandanna and the Hero's hair. The balljoint gives a fair but not great range, with plenty tilt and infinite swivel. He can only raise his head so far, though, topping out at looking straight ahead.

The Arms

A fair amount of detail, enough for the unassuming tunic the Hero wears. The hinge-swivel combo seen on the Clone Troopers also forms the shoulder joint here, and provides for a fair range, though nothing close to the articulation in your average MSiA's arm. Swivels above and below the elbow help the arm a fair bit, though the post-elbow swivel is really only put to good use on the right arm to change the angle of the sword. The single option hand grips the sword quite well, and at a dynamic and natural-looking angle.

The Torso

The torso makes up most of the detail of the Hero's costume. A lot of free-floating soft vinyl to be seen here, including the satchel and scabbard strap and the entirety of the long yellow topcoat that Hero wears, as well as the skirt to the blue tunic he wears underneath. Detail is really great here, from the large homemade-looking stitches on the topcoat to Munchie, the Hero's pet mouse. Character designer Akira Toriyama's trademark wrinkled fabric is molded crisply and looks very nice with a light paint wash to bring out the detail.

The Legs and Feet

The pelvic joint is a tiny little swivel stuck up under the tunic. With all the long clothing it'll never be seen anyway, so there's no real need for anything more complex. The hips are technically ball-jointed, but the shape of the legs pretty much reduces them to glorified swivels. This loss of articulation is partially made up by the addition of upper-thigh swivels. While not equal to a good ball-joint, it does allow for a half-decent range of leg poses. The hinged knees give a 90-degree angle, which is to my way of thinking the minimum requirement in action figure articulation.

The best articulation on the entire figure is in the lower leg, and really saves the figure in my opinion. There's a swivel at the top of the boot, which helps the balance greatly, and a hinge and swivel combo in the foot. The entire foot swivels from side to side, a joint I'd seen previously on one of Kaiyodo's Evangelion figures. This joint allows for some reasonably wide and dynamic stances despite the under-articulated hips.

Paint and Decoration

The figure is almost completely painted, with the exception of the face and arms. The paint  is clean and even for the most part, with the only minor issues being a little bit of yellow on the shoulders under the topcoat, as though it were attached to the figure before the paint was dry. Otherwise, it's a sharp-looking figure with a lot of nice detail.

Articulation gets 6/10

Sculpt and Deco get 9/10
 

Accessories

I have to admit, I wish there was more to the accessories. The Hero's starting sword is included; however he has a vast selection of swords, spears, boomerangs, and even shields to use in the game. At least the simple "Pot Lid" shield could've been included, surely!

-Soldier's Sword

The Hero's starting sword in the game, it looks weathered and well-used, as befits a starting weapon in an RPG. The edge of the blade looks somewhat plasticky, though- very much out of place after the rest of the figure's production values. Molded in a nice-looking gunmetal color, it fits the Hero's hand snugly. It fits in the scabbard snugly as well- too snugly if you put it in backwards. I wish I could tell what "backwards" was by looking.

-Extra Hand

You get an open hand for the sword to replace the default fist. Both fit well and look fine. Not much to say about them, really; they're just some guy's forearms.

-Stand

A nice generic stand with a broad oval base. It's the type that encircles the waist, and can be raised a few notches to a maximum of 11cm off the platform, more than enough to place the Hero in an airborne pose if you so desire. The ends are also coated in plastic to prevent scarring or tearing of any kind. It's nice and could probably be put to good use on any action figures of a similar scale.

Accessories get 7/10

Closing Remarks:

While superior in articulation to nearly all MacFarlane Toys (but come on, what isn't?), emphasis is being put on appearance and display value here. That's probably also why the accessories are extremely basic, limited to only what's shown in Toriyama's original illustrations and a stand. It's not groundbreaking or super-articulated, but it looks great, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better-looking figure of a Toriyama character.

I paid about $20 for this shipped, which seems to be the going rate. If you're a fan of Dragon Quest VIII or just like the looks of the figure, you'll probably be pleased with the Hero, as I am. It's a Very Good figure, and I may well track down the rest of the line later on.

-RAC, 05/22/2006