Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini: Yuna

Trade Arts Kai Yuna

Two weeks ago I reviewed the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini Cloud And Squall figures. Today I’ll be finishing this batch by reviewing Yuna. And then it’s time for some wacky figure posing!

But first I have an important note to make. I read my last Trading Arts Kai Mini review again and realized I had criticized Square Enix pretty harshly about their new Mini line. You see, I’m a huge Final Fantasy fan who pours hundreds of dollars yearly on stupid things like “black label” editions and moogle keychains. And I’ve been fantasizing about this Kai Mini series ever since Good Smile Company started their successful Nendoroid and Nendoroid Petit lines. I just wanted to make sure you understand I meant every word I said in the last review, and that it hurts me greatly that I cannot praise these figures endlessly or at least enjoy them more. With that said let’s have a look at the last figure in the first Mini Kai batch.

Trade Arts Kai Yuna 2

Trade Arts Kai Yuna 3

Yuna comes in two variations: Summoner Yuna from Final Fantasy X and Gunner Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2. These variations are not just clothes sets – Summoner Yuna and Gunner Yuna also have different hair styles.

Play Arts Kai Yuna 5

Play Arts Kai Yuna 6

Play Arts Kai Yuna 7

When I look at this figure I recognize one thing Square Enix did right and one thing they didn’t. Yuna’s clothes look great and have stunning patterns that are just a joy to look at. On the other hand her mouth looks really weird, like she is being forced so “zip it up”. She’s supposed to be smiling here but it just looks creepy to me. Her other faceplates are another smile (very similar expression really) and an agitated (or perhaps excited?) face.

Trade Arts Kai Yuna 4

Trade Arts Kai Yuna

Yuna comes with a command line prompt and two word bubbles. I know that command line prompt mimics the one used in FF X, but when recreated in plastic it kind of looks ugly. The strict translation to the speech bubble in the picture above is “Yuna! Going in!”. A more loose (and more natural) English translation would be “Here I come!”. The second speech bubble, that I didn’t bother to use here, says “I will defeat Sin. I will definitely defeat it.”

Play Arts Kai Yuna 7

Play Arts Kai Mini Yuna 8

Play Arts Kai Mini Yuna 9

Gunner Yuna also looks great. The hair variation makes her look more lively (just like in the game) and her belt is really detailed despite being such a tiny little thing. Remember, these are micro-photographs you are seeing. Very impressive stuff. The guns are a bit crude and appear plasticky compared to cloud’s sword. The gun-holding hands are considerably bulkier than the normal hands and you can see the guns “melting” into the hands’ plastic. Weirdness…

One thing I haven’t addressed yet about these figures is that all of them come with a forth, blank, faceplate. I don’t really know why that faceplate was included. I guess SE made them so you could draw your own custom faceplate? I personally would have preferred a proper third face. This isn’t as big as an issue with Cloud and Squall because they have very authentic and well-sculptured faces. But in Yuna’s case her two normal faces look kind of funky and her third face is deformed on purpose.

That wraps up the formal review. Now let’s have some fun. With Yuna’s cloths we can finally recreate THAT scene from Final Fantasy VII!

Cloud Crossdressing

Yes! Finally I can recreate the scene from the beginning of the game where Cloud crossdresses in order to save Tifa. Isn’t he cute?
I also played a little with his head (pun intended) and found out you can give him a more primal haircut and even enter super Saiyan mode:

Play Arts Kai Cloud Primal Version

Play Arts Kai Super Saiyan Cloud

Bonus footage!

Cloud and Yuna Skit

Final Fantasy Play Arts Kai Boxes

So what do I ultimately think about the first batch of Final Fantasy Play Arts Kai Mini? I feel that Square Enix chose the easy way and made some cheap figures. This minis do looks nice, but trying to position them or put a speech bubble next to them can be a real hustle. I’m going to nitpick here and say I have an issue with each of these figures: Cloud’s bike cannot stand on its own, the pole that connects Squall to his base is too big and doesn’t enter the figure right and Yuna’s face is freaky. Among the three I definitely like Cloud the most, as he is easy to position and looks good no matter how silly I dress or accessories him. The bottom line is these are cheap figures for a cheap price. Should you own them? If you aren’t a hardcore FF fan I’d suggest you pass over these and get yourself some Nendoroids. But if you are a hardcore fan and must “catch ’em all” than go ahead. Cloud, Squall and Yuna are available right now and the second line of minis – featuring Tifa, Tidus and Lightning – will be coming out in December. Which gives me just enough time to forget about the problems I had with these figures and blindly buy the next batch…

 


Social Links

Social Buttons with Twitter YouTube RSS Feed RSS Feed Twitter Twitter FaceBook FaceBook FaceBook

Like Us On Facebook!