There are several different iconic, brand pushing video game franchises out there: Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Mario, and Sonic, among others. However, one of the longest running and most recognizable franchises out there has to be the Legend of Zelda series from Nintendo. Recently, Nintendo announced that they were doing a remaster of Link’s Awakening. Link’s Awakening first debuted on the Game Boy back in 1993, and is currently slated for its remastered release on the Nintendo Switch later this year. It was a fairly easy decision to pick up the Princess Zelda and Link figma in honor of this announcement and the series in general.

Max Factory The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Zelda Figma
Company: Max Factory/Good Smile
Release Date: May 2017
Price: $59.99

Link’s Adventure on the NES was the first game I ever played as a child. I still remember when my father brought home the system, complete with the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/Track and Field bundle cart, but what really caught my eye was that glorious golden cartridge that contained the game that would launch my life-long love of video games.

We sat there for hours, eventually having to get an R/F switch for my old black and white TV so we could continue our game (ours for some reason, had a faulty save option). It was an amazing and magical experience.

So yes, while the recent announcement for Link’s Awakening had me wanting to do something special in terms of a review for our readers, I did have ulterior motives in choosing to do a review for the Princess Zelda and Link figmas. Please forgive me my small indiscretions and slight falsehoods. They really were done with the best intentions in mind.

I am so incredibly happy to have added the Princess Zelda figma to my ever-growing collection. She is by far not the most “complete” of the figurines I own, but she is by far the most detailed when it comes to her overall design. The biggest issue I have with Zelda is not the extras that she comes with, nor am I disappointed with her level of articulation. No, the biggest issue with Zelda is her dress, which I will get to later on in the review.

Articulation wise, Zelda doesn’t stand out from others in the figma line, standing at about 6 inches tall with 16 points of articulation. Just in case you’ve missed the previous figurine reviews, you will want to be careful with her wrist joints. Also, while very finely detailed, you will also want to be careful when handling her saber accessory; it is incredibly thin and easily bent. I would hate for someone to purchase this amazing figure only to have one of her main accessories ruined because it was bent or broken.

Her Bow and Light Arrow however are thick and heavy enough that there should be no concerns regarding them. The issue with those accessories is just trying to get the light arrow to stay near the hand holding the bow. The hand that best fits the arrow doesn’t allow for ease of posing if you wish to pose her holding both.

The final needling aspect here is her crown. In order to change out her different facial expressions (of which she has two), you need to remove her crown as well. This is a very small piece on the figure, and if lost will leave you with two small holes on her forehead. Take extreme care when changing her facial expressions that you don’t lose or break this vital piece.

Now, as far as the articulation and design of the figure goes, half of the figurine is very very good. The other half? I have to wonder a bit what Max Factory was thinking.

Hopefully you’ll read the recent review on the Arturia figure from Tamashii Nations, but if not, TN did a very good job of allowing full articulation and movement on that figure by making the skirt of Arturia a three piece plastic set the buyer could put together and display if they so chose to.

With the Zelda figma, while the detail on the paint job is absolutely fantastic, especially on the skirt, the skirt itself is three pieces attached directly to the figure.

You can move the skirt, because it is very cleverly put together, but due to the fact that the skirt is attached to the figure, even moving the skirt to keep it together and skirt-like, there is basically zero movement for the figure below the waist.

The confusing part of all this is that Max Factory actually gave the figure fully articulated legs and feet! You can put Zelda on her tip toes, bend and rotate her knees and legs, but due to the fact that you can’t really pose her below the waist, these details won’t be seen 99% of the time.

They even gave her boots, and detailed them as well as the rest of the figure. It’s very confusing. It would have been much nicer had her dress been a flexible rubber or plastic to allow for more movement, or at the very least detachable from the figure entirely.

However, disregarding the confusion with her legs, Zelda is absolutely beautiful. Her gloves almost appear to have actual lace on them. Her dress, bodice, bow, rapier, etc, are all exquisitely detailed down to the smallest and most inconsequential aspect. As I said earlier, Zelda might not be the figure with the most extras, but she is by far the most detailed figure I have encountered.

Well, her and the Link figma, but that’s a review for another day. I will say, the Twilight Princess incarnations of Link and Zelda are perhaps my favorite in the series. I may be a bit biased here, but again, when it comes to the intricate detail that Max Factory put in to these two figures, you really would be hard pressed to find others with such a fine eye to detail.

If you are a Legend of Zelda fan, there is absolutely no reason at all to pass this up. At $59.99 (at the time of this writing), Zelda is still right at most launch price points, making her easy to afford for most collectors. The attention to detail is beyond reproach and will make her and Link easy center pieces for just about any collection.

I would love to give this figure a perfect score, but between the same old concerns over small wrist joints, the inability to pose her below the waist, and the fact the crown is so small and easily lost and so vital to the look of the figure, I just can’t give it that coveted 10. Even with all that, I still highly recommend this figure for just about anyone looking to add a fantastic addition to their collection.

The Max Factory The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess Zelda Figma was reviewed by a retail unit purchased by Niche Gamer. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.