I love collecting Final Fantasy Action Figures because they are so finely detailed. The paint jobs are really top notch. I like to get into the history of my action figures, so here is a bit of a Final Fantasy History lesson…

Final Fantasy is a media franchise that was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. It was originated by it’s owner Square Squaresoft. The Japanese company later combined with a different game company called Enix to become Square Enix.

Final Fantasy revolves around a line of sci-fi role-playing videogames. However, it also includes movies, final fantasy action figures, anime, and additional products. The Final Fantasy series started in the eighties as an video game that was created to help save the videogame company from bankruptcy. It was initiallly put out as a Nintendo Entertainment System game. The videogame was a winner and bred sequels. The game has since evolved into additional genres and gaming platforms, like tactical role playing games, a multiplayer web-based game, portable games, and mobile phone games.

While most installments are breakaway plots with assorted scenes and characters, they have core components that define the franchise. Such repeating elements are character names, story themes, and gameplay mechanics. Stories focus on a collection of heroes combating a large evil while finding the fictitious characters personal struggles. The names of characters are usually from the history or mythologies from worldwide cultures.

The franchise is critally and commercially a huge success. It’s Square Enix’s highest selling game with over eighty-five million games sold. Square Enix’s second best seller is Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy was presented a star that’s part of the Walk of Game. It also has 7 Guinness World Records. Final Fantasy is acknowledged for its visuals, innovation, and music. It’s loved for it’s photo-realistic characters, use of full motion movies, and orchestral film music by Nobuo Uematsu. It’s been a major force in the videogameing industry. It’s also infixed a lot of features that are now standard in console RPGs. Final Fantasy has helped popularize RPGs outside of Japan.

The franchise now has 28 games with a lot of spin-offs, 2 full-length movies, 3 animated productions, and numerous published versions of the games. Since its creation, the franchise has sold over eighty-five million games and is widely believed to be the most favorite Role Playing Game franchise on the planet. It’s also the 4th most popular videogame line in the world, only trumped by Pokémon, Mario, and The Sims.

Aside from being role playing games, the signature feature of Final Fantasy games are long and elaborate stories, which are often widely praised by critics. This contrasts with the idea of a video game being a fun distraction with a simple premise. Final Fantasy games are often described as being more like an interactive book or movie rather than a video game in the style of platformers like Mario or arcade games like Pac-Man.

The Final Fantasy game has also spawned many Final Fantasy action figures. They are great looking and extremely detailed. Meeting the high stanadards of the franchise, Final Fantasy Action Figure are some of the best Action Figures on the market today.

My Zack Fair Action Figure is awesome. But who is Zack Fair I hear some ask? Well, here is his a Zack Fair Bio…

Zack Fair is a non-player fictional character from of the video game Final Fantasy 7. He also is in every Compilation of Final Fantasy seven. At first he had a small role in Final Fantasy, but he got a backstory by a the writer. Zack Fair was drempte up by Tetsuya Nomura and Zack’s last name was from the term ‘fair weather’, as oppsed to the character named Cloud Strife. His voice is from Kenichi Suzumura in Japanese and it’s done by Rick Gomez in the English editions. Suzumura was picked especially for his voice and was awarded the job without having to audition. Western critics have said good things the character of Zack along with his part within the Crisis Core.

Though Zack Fair has already died by the beggining of Final Fantasy 7, he’s named when his close friend named Cloud acquires a amalgamated role of his original persona and Zack which is there until Cloud can recall his past and get back his own personality. Zack Fair is additionally the 1st love of Aerith Aerith is a playable role from Final Fantasy 7. During the game and other titles it’s said that when Zack was younger, he united with the Shinra Electric Power Company’s militia hoping to become a hero. Zack was there as his buddy Sephiroth went crazy and demolished Nibelheim. Zack tried to stop him. But, he was foiled and afterwards experimented on by Hojo prior to being murdered by Shinra’s armed forces.

Zack hadn’t lived during the first scenario, and was dreamt up as Nojima was appending secrets of the tale. Nojima used Zack to connect Cloud and Aerith, as Aerith had seen her preceding love in Cloud, and whilst Zack was exploited as that former love. Zack made up designed by Final Fantasy VII designer named Tetsuya Nomura. Final Fantasy VII was achieving the close of development, making the call for for concept artistry abrupt. Zack comes out as a big young buck with peaky dark hair. He wears the first class SOLDIER uniform, comprising of a dark, sleeveless turtleneck, dark boots, and armour. In Famitsu, Nomura declared that Zack’s name was traced from ‘fair weather’ and counterpointed with Cloud Strife.

Nomura had desired Zack to have a pleasant cheerful voice which shaped his decision in highering Kenichi Suzumura. Nomura had dinner with Suzumura, where he had determined that at that time Nomura wanted him to be in a Nomura project if the chance ever came up. Suzumura was chosen without a tryout for the part. Nomura said that, since Zack was chosen as the lead in the Last Order, he needed a person who could handle the part. Zack wasn’t in Advent Children much, and therefore was not hard to animate. The team also get his design within the early days of the production which allowed the modeling of his persona to be done then too.

In an IGN interview, Yoshinori Kitase said that as the first videogame was created that Zack was a minor character. But, Nomura had made an art design and one of the writers had made a base idea for Zack’s story.

I have a Zack Fair Action Figure that’s a great reproduction of Zack Fair in Crisis Core. It has a lot of articulation and can of reproduce a lot of Zack’s poses from the game. The paint job on the Final Fantasy Action Figures and the the application on the clothes and hair is exceptional.

As one of the most popular characters in Final Fantasy, I had to have a Vincent Valentine action figure to start my Final Fantasy Action Figures collection right. I like to get into the history of each of my action figures, so here is the Vincent Valentine story…

Vincent Valentine is a fictitious character in Final Fantasy videogames. Vincent has multiple powers including shapeshifting, immortality, quickened mending, and magnified strength. He is a tallish, thin man with lengthy dark hair and a worn crimson cloak & mantle that he wears on top of black clothing. He has a gold metal glove on his forearm. Vincent’s cloak is over the bottom part of his face and it’s held shut by buckles. His eyes are by nature a red color. He mainly battles with three barreled six-gun named Cerberus. Character designer. His role changed from that of horror researcher at first, to that of a detective, then to chemist, and eventually the figure of a one-time member of Shinra Company’s Turks that had a tragical history. His red cloak was an addition to represent the concept of Vincent Valentine carrying a heavy burdon that’s associated with death on his back.

Although different characters have basic clothing in Advent Children, Valentine had a rather complex costume. Nomura thought that changing his figure to something a different one might infringe on his personality so he was given clothing that had assorte complicated pieces. His crimson cloak was hard to animate because it was really organic. The total complexness of his figure made scenes with him particularly difficult to make.Valentine’s parts were perpetually being adapted to bring out the elusive feel of apparently having some form, but not really having any shape.

The Japanese voice for Vincent was Shogo Suzuki. He explained he holds back as a good deal of emotion when portraying the character becuase Valentine is basically a loner who seems to be cold. Nomura wanted the voices of Vincent and Cloud counterpoint with one another because of their similarities. They thought that since Vincent was the elder and more matured compared to Cloud so they cast Suzuki for his very deep voice. The voice for the english dub of Vincent is done by Steven Blum.

Vincent Valentine’s story started together with his look as a sidequest character with his cold & confident demenour made him look really cool. Many people like him because of his cold face that appears as if it is out of blood. For his debut appearance in the Final Fantasy game, he is a secret character which could be in a position to play if you’re playing a side quest in Shinra’s Mansion.

He’s a great character and was the first to start my Final Fantasy Action Figures Collection. I was impressed with the assorted articulation points and the addition of an extra hand so that he could hold his Cerebrus. The action figure’s detail is beatiful and his cape & his gun are extremely well sculpted. And, Vincent’s golden hand & feet really look great. Of course his hair and face are done well also. Overall, I really like my Vincent Valentine action figure and just the overall character of Vincent himself.

The history of the Final Fantasy franchise made by Square-Enix.

Sure, Final Fantasy XIII isn’t coming out until 2010, but that didn’t stop Sony from showing us this fantastic new trailer at their E3 09 press conference. Check it out now.
Go to G4tv.com for more!

Final Fantasy XIII Trailer TGS 2009 PV HQ