This page will have their 2021 / 2022 articulated larger-5 inch size figures only. They have both modern and classic license, so any figure that falls in the "Articulated Action Figures" category will be on this page if it was in 2021 or 2022. Bendy type figures, deluxe figures & small line or car-figures will go onto a separate page. But if it's by Jakks Pacific and it's an action figure, check them out here.
UK NEWS: These & other JP figures CAN be at Smyth's Stores!
Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Jakks Pacific Deluxe Figures *
At an expected time, later on in waves of figures, 2023 (probably spring) will see Cream in stores from Jakks Pacific. As she is not quite as popular, she gets released a bit later on than other characters, once the line is well established. (This is common for action figure producers, they want to be sure the audience is ready to buy to complete their character line-ups)
As expected, she looks quite cute, and has a positive expression. Her accessory is a 2-scoop ice cream and...is this the first thing these figures can actually hold?? There are numerous figures with a 'grip hand' but nobody ever had an accessory to go there? She might be it! (So with this, any grip handed 5 inch figure could have an icecream) Of course, because she is the shortest character, this figure will be the smallest, but it still counts for the 5 inch line.
Opinion Zone:
The icecream is cute and fun, it's a good surprise because it is something new AND something that any figure can hold. However, why didn't they put her with Cheese OR Chocola? Having a chao with her is pretty much *Her Entire DEAL* much like Amy's Piko Hammer. Also, they have not released Cheese as a figure yet (3 generic chaos, yes, (golden station square, neutral and dark)) and this would have been the perfect opportunity to do so.
This is only the 2nd time an Infinite figure has been released, and never at this size. The previous one was the (now rare) not as good Tomy Toys one which had less articulation.
These out of the box photos prove that Jakks Pacific has done a pretty great job with the figure and Master Emerald Accessory. (The boxed photo for this appears on Page 2) Lots of good decisions were made here, so this figure is a must-get
The Master Emerald isn't life size (because it'd be huge to the figure/too expensive), it is hollow hard plastic, and fairly shiny. Thsoe odd black lines you see in it are an effect of the camera photographing it/the angle it is seen at. There is a little hole in the flattened-off base so you could put it on a stand........if you had one! They sure do include hole for a peg but then nothing ever comes with a stand to use to actually...have it do anything.
Is this a 100% great item?
It's soooo close....he would get 100% marks but they.......left out his brain! Part of the creepy monster look of this character is the visible, floating pink brain in the head. Seeing Chaos/whatever-version brain sloshing around in there was definite 'monster' design so to not have it in the toy is a fairly big overlook to just skip it. (It was probably considered, but then would have made the toy too expensive or something)
The box IS still mis-labeled.
The title on it needed to be Chaos 0 or Chaos-Zero, the whole point of it was that there were multiple versions/looks depending on how many emeralds it absorbed during the plot. If they want to make a later one, this one needed to be named properly. The box says "An ancient god who's power flows as it consumes the negative energy in Chaos Emeralds".
The bottom line:
Get this figure! Glossy transparent plastic, great articulation, feels sturdy, good big Emerald for helping to set the scene on your shelf, rare boss/rare foe character from only 1 game...likely to end up rare as a toy so yes go pick this up if possible.
You can notice right away that they did detail the bottom of the feet, so it would be like the games. Then, it does have elbow and knee joints. You can see how the shoulders rotate/work well. The head DOES turn so you can face it various directions. The Eggblaster gun is pretty plain, but it wasn't that detailed in the games either. Notice that it has 3 fingers--Eggman's way to denote that this isn't a person, even though it is painted to look like his classic clothing/outfit. With lots of articulation, easy to hold gun, and good paint job, this is an excellent figure. There isn't even anything to complain about here, it stands well, doesn't seem to have any issues, and the 10 dollar price is good for what you get.
In that...wow did they use some plastic making this guy. He's easily 2x as heavy as any other figure they've done. (It wouldn't be surprising if this figure has the thinnest profit margin of all of them due to materials costs) His proportions are wierd, but this makes him easy to make an action figure of.
The arms are long but uniformly thick, so shoulder & elbow joints are easy to do. The gloves are big/with large cuff so easy to spin the wrists. He literally has no knees so you just need to turn the feet/move the upper leg joint. His head has a limited range of motion because of the hair in the back. The tail is also large/sturdy.
He can hold the ring accessory (that he comes with) but the hand really should have had the fishing rod or froggy to hold onto instead. Not having 1 or the other keeps this from being a 5 star figure because those are such a 'big' part of the character / it makes no sense to release him without it.
Out of the package, you can really see that his expression is determined/happy, but it looks good. He's usually a very serious character, but this expression isn't out of character (though it is likely rare) They have his proportions right, the face/head shape seems fine, and the tail is made of a softer plastic to keep it from breaking because it is thin. Look at all the 3D detail on his gloves, they did well here, and with the shoe tops/socks.
The bottoms of his shoes are not detailed?
DID they have detail in the games? (Silver & Shadow's boots are famous for their sole details...but Espio's shoes are hard to find info on...) He stands well and can do decent poses because of the proper/large foot size, as seen here.
What keeps him from being a 5 star figure?
The star post...why does he have this? A ninja star or a ninja knife (kunai knife) that he has in the games would be perfect (and easy because it's small) but they
Star post: It is spring-loaded. If you push the ball to one side or the other, it will pop back up.
The open hand is made to hold her accessory ball, and the other is again that mystery 'handle holding hand' with nothing to ever put there. Her sculpt and facial expression are good, the paint is good, and the extra articulation is very welcomed for poses. She stands up easily too. Having a unique/appropriate accessory is always a great addtion.
Is she perfect?
Not quite, but she's really good. The problem being where the wings hinge. This tipped over on the photo shoot and one of the wings popped off. So...if kids are playing, that's going to be an issue to have to keep fixing. Still: GET HER. She's certainly worth the 10 dollars in box or out of it.
They have angled the tail so it can be turned around and act as a 3rd 'leg' to support him for more poses. The 'wings' of course will never work in the form of an action figure if you want to move the arms at all. On the character/irl they connect between the under arm to the side of the chest. (On a real flying squirrel though, they go underarm, chest, thigh, and even the lower-leg side!) Small feet also don't usually look good on the characters, but it looks fine/normal here.
Really, this is a great figure of him to get, and he'll likely end up as a rarer character because he's still so unknown. (It's actually a bit suprirsing he appeared this early in their line)