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It seems nowadays that people are always looking to the past for inspiration, which is probably why we have seen so many old game series resurrected in recent years. However, it has often proved to be no bad thing. The Shining series was always my favourite RPG series, and I was understandably happy that it has been resurrected in a big way in Japan. A whole glut of games have been released there, and the return of the franchise has also seen the creation of an anime series based on the games Shining Tears and Shining Wind. As most people know, where you find anime you invariably find merchandise... The Shining Wind Trading Figure Collection is the latest set of figures based on the game and anime, and it's also one of the best looking. The series consists of seven figures based |
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around the most recognisable characters from the series. They are the archer Kureha, swordsman Kiriya, swordswoman Seena, sorceress Hiruda, priestess Clalaclan, elf Xecty and priestess Houmei. Each figure stands around 5" (12cm) tall and require a surprising amount of assembly to slot parts together, although there is no need for glue. When constructed these figures look great. Each one has a lot of detail and their costume and weaponry matches that in both the game and anime. Each one comes with a stand and plastic support to keep them standing upright, and the moulding and painting is surprisingly good for figures of this size. Join lines are generally well disguised and the large box the figures come in means that longer parts such as Kureha's bow are intact and unbent. They look great when constructed, they're all distinctive and impressive, but the problem is that they're bloody difficult to put together. Some parts are quite small and some don't fit together firmly enough, it's incredibly frustrating when you attach a head an the legs fall off and this kind of thing happens a lot. Once they're put together they're great, but if you move them things have a habit of coming |
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apart. This might sound like a poor workman blaming his tools, but I have an awful lot of these kinds of figures and I have rarely had this much trouble. It's really annoying to be honest, but the finished product is worth tearing your hair out over! At the end of the day these are great display figures that are superbly detailed and have plenty of character. However, you expect a figure to stay intact once you've put it together and that doesn't always happen with these. It's this which knocks a star off the score, and if you don't have a decent amount of patience I would probably suggest thinking a bit before buying these. However, if you want some really good figures that will look great on your shelf, or if you are a fan of fantasy art you can't do much better. Get past the frustration and there's great figures wanting to be found. Extras Ratings Product:
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