World of Nintendo: Ganondorf and Metroid

The World of Nintendo toyline by Jakks Pacific continues, with two figures that should honestly be in stores right now: but aren't!  Who knows why Toys R Us won't stock them?  'Cause they're the only ones getting the larger figures!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-----

AHEM anyway: I was on vacation when good 'ol Barbecue messaged me saying that these two figures were in stock as a set at Big Bad Toy Store for just about the normal in-store price. I whipped out my phone on the spot and thanked the wifi gods that the place I was at had a good signal and ordered these two.

Thank you, Barbecue - you're a gentleman and a scholar. 

Here's hoping that Jakks somehow finds a way to make these less scarce at some point, but I'm not even sure if it's their fault.  A few big stores are stocking the World of Nintendo line, but like I said: only TRU is stocking the 6 inch figures, and they can't seem to get beyond a couple Donkey Kongs that are collecting dust.

But enough about complaining, lets talk about toys!

Ganondorf!  The name strikes humor into the hearts of anyone who originally saw "Ganon" get a "dorf" on the end of it.  If you saw just the right kind of references, back in the day, you may have jumped to "Ganondorf on Fishing" but perhaps that's just me. 

Granted, so much time with Ganondorf has sort of made him MORE impressive than Ganon, since Ganon's recent appearances have all been rampaging monsters, and Ganondorf gets all the cool lines and sly side-eyed evil glances. 

I would still LOVE to see a classic blue-pig-demon Ganon with a trident (especially in this scale!) but for now, I'm quite happy they went with Ganondorf - specifically THIS Ganondorf, from Wind Waker.  I like the other Ganondorf looks, but this one is the guy that really made an impression on me. 

One thing that was important with this Ganondorf is the look on his face - which could use a little work - but for the most part, I'd say it's successful.  He is MASSIVE compared to Link, in Wind Waker, so he's always looking down at Link with his chest thrust out in a regal stance.  Ganondorf thinks so highly of himself that he won't even move his neck to look down at Link - it's just the eyes.  They get that right, here.

The other important parts are the designs on his robes.  SPOT ON, baby.  I'm not sure I'd change anything beyond a slight change to the smile on his face - otherwise this guy jumps right out of the game!

Of course, he won't be doing any actual jumping, because his body is built like a brick house - sturdy and immobile.  His articulation is regulated to the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and neck.  Not that I'm complaining: What else could they have done with the main body?  If I could ask for any added articulation, I'd only add a ball jointed neck and some swivels at the elbows.  Otherwise, he does some good basic stuff.

Beyond articulation, though...there are some things I'd change.  Namely, the fists.  I know they're mostly covered by the sleeves, but give him some open hands for me to work with!  I'd figure something out. 

And MAN, those sleeves!  That is one hell of a comfy looking robe.  When you throw his arms wide, he looks like a freakin' demon albatross, gliding gracefully through the cosmos. 

Now, Ganondorf needs to fight a Link, but they haven't made a five-inch-scale Wind Waker Link yet, so this is all I have: the WoN Link, and a little gashapon Link from Four Swords.

Li'll gashapon Link is obviously too small, even if his adorableness is off the charts (his eyes move side to side when you turn his head. I tried to even, but could not). 

Scale is always gona be crazy in this toyline ('cause Mario is a weird chunk of human with a gigantic head the size of Link's torso, while Link has normal human proportions) but I think Jakks does a decent job keeping the scale reasonable.  Link will match up well with Ganondorf, even if 'ol Dorf seems a little large.  Just look up pics of Ganondorf vs Link from Wind Waker and you'll see what I mean.  It's like Andre the Giant vs Warwick Davis.

If I had one major complaint about this guy: It's lack of swords!  The absolute most awesome part of this particular Ganondorf is his two swords he uses to whip Link around like a rag doll.  The articulation is already enough to give him some good sword poses, but we've got nothing to use and no open hands to compensate with!

I managed to get some little clear rubber bands and wrap them around his wrists, then shove some swords in there, awkwardly.  They worked well enough for the photoshoot, but GAH!  He needs those swords!  There's a bunch of ways it could have worked out: either by adjusting the sleeves a little to get them to fit, or by an action feature!  His sleeves are large enough to house some blades - not blades as long as they are on the game, but still - how cool would it be to push a button and have his swords slide out like they do in the game? 

We're looking at Ganondorf standing around and being awesome - and that's cool.  This is an action figure line, though!  Lets get some action in here!  Nothin' Ganondorf does in that game is more ACTION than the events at the end of the game, and that's the Ganondorf we needed here.

It's not a deal-breaker, but the missing swords is a bit of a sore spot.  This IS still a fantastic representation of Ganondorf, and if you're looking for him in any form: this is the way to go!

He's not the most exciting toy, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was popular as just a display piece alone.  He looks just as imposing looking head on as he does with his back to you, looking over his shoulder.  He'll draw your attention to any shelf.

...just wish he had those swords.

Next up is the highly sought-after Metroid.  I've seen this once, in the wild: At Acen for forty no-thank-you dollars.  More popularly known as screw-you dollars.  Look-what-I-found dollars. 

Whoo-boy, this one is an interesting beast of a figure!  As you can see from the back of the package: It has twisting talons!  And a realistic clear dome!  Just like REAL Metroids! 

Seriously though, I wish you could touch this thing, 'cause it's weird.  The dome is squishy plastic that is a bit...oily feeling?  It's hard to say.  The oily feel has worn off a bit, but I still don't wana leave this out in the open that long, 'cause it attracts dust.  It's neat, though! 

The inside is full of standard Metroid blech.  It's hard plastic, with the squishy dome wrapped around it. 

Surprisingly, the talons aren't just twistable, but move all around!  They're on disc hinges, so they can twist and move in and out and side to side.  What have you. 

The bottom is just solid, which brings me back to the lack of "features" in these figures.  Just like Ganondorf could have housed some pop-out swords in his large forearms, this Metroid could have easily had a hollow inside and a soft, slotted bottom to allow Samus to be captured.  That would have been SOOO COOL.  There's more than enough room in this thing, too!  To top that off, they could have made the insides clear as well, so you could sort of see Samus inside. 

Once again: this is an awesome representation of a Metroid and I love having it...I just wish it was a TOY as well as a display piece.  Granted, any kid is gona love this thing - it's squishy and fun!  I am just a child of the 90's, and I'm used to large vehicles or figures doing something, ya know?  It seems like it would have been easy to make the underside hollow so you could capture Samus.  I'm surprised it was overlooked.

Otherwise, in terms of a display piece or a photography target: It's hard getting this thing to look like it's floating!  That's not a knock on the figure, of course.  It's just a weighty piece and I don't have many stands around that'll hold it up without being obvious.  Maybe I'll try fishing wire at some point.

Now, one other major thing to cover is scale.  This is BIG.  As you can see.  Real big, compared to the WoN Samus. 

A bit smaller compared to Figma Samus, but still big.

Sprites from The Spriter's Resource

Here's the deal: While the scale is sort of all over the place...it works on multiple levels!  For one, this guy is nearly correct (compared to WoN Samus) to be the Baby Metroid from the end of Super Metroid, if you take a look at the game's scale above.  Granted, the dome is a bit higher, but I'm thinking this is more of a style difference than a scale difference - if the Metroid were styled after the 3D games (like this toy clearly is), then I think the scale would be similar to the Super Metroid sprites. 

With that in mind: Awesome!  This is a figure of the giant Baby Metroid! 

However: That means we still don't have a normal Metroid.  Even compared to the Figma Samus, I think the Metroid is just a bit too big.  Only a bit, though.  As you can see, the Metroid could fit over the top half of Samus' body, and if this one had a hole in the bottom, I think it would do the same.

So, yeah...just a tiny bit too big to be a normal Metroid, but certainly close enough if you bought the Figma Samus and want a Metroid to attack the shit out of her.

GAH, I can't stop posing Figma Samus!  Help! 

Okay okay, this isn't a Figma Samus review.  Back to the Metroid.

I'm hoping they do a regular Metroid in the 5 inch scale at some point, 'cause that should be in perfect scale with the WoN Samus (and then a tad bit too small for Figma Samus, but I don't think you're gona do any better than WoN's stuff, so deal with it).  As it is, I'm glad to have a toy of the giant Baby Metroid, 'cause it's part of a pivotal scene in Super Metroid and totally deserves a figure.

Plus, if you're cosplaying as Samus and need a tiny Baby Metroid to put on your shoulder: This works too!  It's about in scale with the size of the Baby Metroid when Samus first meets it when compared to a person.  Maybe a bit smaller, but EH.  Who cares? 

Now I wana say "run out and buy these!" but I can't because no one will stock them.  If they DO stock them, they don't last long enough for anyone to get 'em without some scalpers coming in and creating an artificial scarcity and shouting "DUUUR IT'S RARE!" on their Ebay page. 

Well yeah, it's rare NOW, ya dingus. 

Seriously: Jakks' next mission is to find a way to get all the stores that stock their toys to ALSO stock the 6 inch line!  Come on!  These things are WAY awesome for the price, and I haven't bought a bad one yet.  I may get hung up on the lack of features or accessories, but that is in NO way a negative review of these things.  They're fantastic. 

So check your favorite online stores from time to time if you really want these, and always remember: Don't feed the scalpers!  You only make them stronger.  These should be around 15 to 20 bucks, so don't get scalped!  In the mean time: Email Jakks and let 'em know we NEED MORE.