DIMIC

If you think of Nintendo licences most likely Mario or Kirby will pop up in your head. But there is also Metroid, one of the most ancient series in the Nintendo universe. Metroid on the NES shocked many gamers when the end credits were scrolling over the screen. The protagonist was a female, which was unseen at the time and left many gamers with an open jaw staring at the screen. But if you think back and give this a very good thought you can only come to the conclusion that it was insanely brilliant.

Why? Fact: Most of the gamers are male. Fact: Those gamers are mostly teenagers. Fact: Most of the manly gamers at that age are besides the games also interested in women and not in a little chubby plumber. And just think of it… later in the series you have the zero-suit. And you have to admit it, that suit is only suited for a female body. No? And you also know it’s true that a female hero can work. Like who doesn’t know Lara Croft?

Nintendo has a nasty habit not to share the licences so easy with merchandise makers. The last, and still about only, licence holder of Metroid is First 4 Figures whom did a tremendous work with their statues. But, for some, these can be a bit pricy. Not everyone is willing to spend so much on a statue so Max Factory stepped up to fill this hole in the market. They announced two different products based on Metroid Prime: Other M. The first one is a figma of Samus in her Power Suit. What the F.. is a figma I hear you ask, well wikipedia tells me this:

Figma (フィグマ?) is a Japanese action figure line produced by Max Factory and distributed by Good Smile Company. A large number of the figures are based on bishōjo anime characters, and are available with various accessories, such as exchangeable faces.

So she will be full posable. I’m normally not so in figures with articulation points. Most of the time I find them really disturbing, or just plain ugly. But heeeeey, it’s a power suit and it’s very convenient you can’t really see the articulation points in a ‘robotish’ suit.  The armor looks really shiny in the pictures  and that’s even more positive. From what I can see this will be a new line on my To-Buy list.

The other product is a 1/8th scale figure of Samus in her zero suit. Yes indeed, that spandex blue shiny suit. From what I can see the face is a bit to anime for me. I really hope that little slime enemy (you know that little Metroid) will be included. I’m not 100% convinced on this one, but I think my girl will add this one to the list.

I know Max Factory delivers quality, I also know that the only way the price of Max Factory pieces goes, is up. Another known fact is the giant offers of bootleg figures on the secondhand market. So the easiest and cheapest way to get this figure is to buy her when she’s released somewhere in 2012. If you’ll wait too long the chances of buying an overpriced bootleg will only goes up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!!