Final Fantasy VII Tifa Lockhart

Appearance:

This is probably the first time I’ll be saying this, but the packaging for Final Fantasy VII Play Arts Vol. 1 Tifa Lockhart Action Figure is certainly eye-catching. The packaging is made of very sturdy cardboard-like material and the letters “Final Fantasy VII Play Arts Vol. 1 ACTION FIGURE” are written in shiny silver font. The Final Fantasy VII logo is printed on the right-side of the box. On the opposite side is a
picture of the product with the name of the character in both English and Japanese (note: these figures are Japanese imports, hence the Japanese lettering, etc.). On the back, a big picture of the figure and two smaller pictures of the other two figures from this line are shown.

If you consider yourself a HUGE fan of the Final Fantasy video game series, then you most certainly have played Final Fantasy VII. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to play this game (coincidently nor did I own a Playstation at that time). For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Tifa Lockhart is a long-time childhood friend of the protagonist, Cloud, and is also secretly in love with him.

What really drew me to these figures is the fact that these were sculpted under the supervision of original character designer, Tetsuya Nomura. It’s too bad that there isn’t too many of this going on (Toymakers make note of this *hint*
*hint*). It’s hard to say that this figure is “game-accurate,” mainly because the in-game graphics were blocky (Wikipedia it if you’re not sure what I mean). This figure is basically an exact copy (no surprise here) of the drawings of Tifa (again, Wikipedia it, she’s a popular character).

I was pleasantly surprised at how big the figure was. Tifa is slightly more than 7 inches tall. The paint application on this figure is practically flawless! Very (and I mean VERY) minimal sloppy paint jobs or smears. The detailing is nothing less than incredible. Her suspenders are made in such a way, allowing her unrestricted movement in her hips. Even the detailing of her shoes and shoelaces are well-crafted. Tifa is a bit on the pale side, but that doesn’t detract from the figure at all.

Fun:

According to the back of the packaging, there are “over 22 points of articulation!” I’ve been spending too much time just admiring the craftsmanship of this figure to even really care to verify this claim, so I leave that to you guys. Tifa has a ball-jointed neck (movement is limited due to her “dolphin-style” ponytail), ball-hinged shoulders, swivel wrists, swivel forearms, swivel hips, ball-hinged knees, and ball-hinged ankles. Her thin PVC
miniskirt restricts some movement with her legs (no sitting poses can be done).

In the accessories department, Tifa comes with two interchangeable hands and one fancy display base which includes a stand that can hold your figure around its waist to keep it from tipping over. This also allows Tifa to hold more poses than your average action figure.

Overall:

These figures are solely aimed at adult-collectors, NOT children (especially little children, since there is a choking hazard). Although these figures are a bit pricey (SRP $24.99), I recommend you buy two of these: One for outside the box display and one inside the box. This is one figure that will probably become even more popular as time passes by.

Rich’s Score: 100/100

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