Tomopop Review: Final Fantasy Trading Arts Vol. 4

3:00 PM on 01.19.2010   |   Colette Bennett

It's been quite a while since we brought you a review of a Final Fantasy Trading Arts series. In fact, it's been exactly a year, if you go off the date of the Volume 3 set that Topher filled us in on last January. The most recent set will surely be appealing to any Final Fantasy fans, even if only for that most obvious of reasons: it contains Sephiroth!

Follow me past the jump for a closer look at these handsome little figures.

Like the releases before it, Trading Arts Volume 4 comes in a windowed box which gives you a good look at the four characters you will be obtaining. If you followed the Japanese blind box release of this same series, you'll note Final Fantasy X's Yuna (original costume) is missing from it. I admit I was disappointed as this version of her is by far one of my favorite characters from the entire FF series, but the only way to get her is to track her down individually (eBay has quite a few listings).

A bigger and better look at what you're getting. Let's not waste time though -- there's toys in this box to be enjoyed!

I wasted no time in ripping everyone's favorite villain out of the box first. Now, these are incredibly cute figures, and the detail is good, but when you get up close you are definitely going to notice they are not perfect if you have a discerning eye. However, for their scale, they are pretty good, and I don't think most collectors will mind that they aren't absolute perfection.

Oh, Sephiroth. That evil glimmer. Well, if he didn't have it, he wouldn't be the same guy we all love to hate, I guess. I wonder sometimes if Square can ever make a more effective villain.

For all the seething hatred that is the core of Sephiroth, we have the exact opposite here with Vivi. I've always loved this character's playful design, and this figure really captures it perfectly with the hands clasping the edges of the hat.He is easily my favorite of the four.

Run, Vivi!

I've been told I should cosplay Yuffie before. I can see why. She's pretty much the traditional tomboy with a flash of spunk and always wearing a mischievous smile. The paint on this one is the best of the four in my opinion. She has a ton of detail and all of it is expertly colored. Nice job, Square.

Zidane is last here not because I saved the best for last, but because I just don't like Zidane. Cool character design, sure. Bright little happy face. All that stuff. And I wanted to like Final Fantasy IX, I really did. I just genuinely was not able to like it. For the six of you that love that game, here's a nice little figure of Zidane for you.

Aw, he has a cute little tail. Paintwork on the boots is not as good as it could be here. Overall, it doesn't detract from the figure too much though -- it's not too often you're going to be looking at him from the back, and the detail on the front is better than the back.

For $19.99, you can't beat the value on this cute little set. It's well worth it if you are a fan of the characters, and if you're like me and not such a big fan of Zidane, you can just chuck him out a window and get on with your day. I actually heard a rumor, in fact, that the person with the best Monthly Megapixel entry of January has a crack at winning these. Maybe you guys ought to get your cameras out...