Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Ryu figure review

Street Fighter V sparked a massive resurgence in the property. I’d kind of gotten out of fighting games until this came along and when Storm Collectibles announced a figure line, I was intrigued. Naturally SC kicked off the line with Ryu, the main hero in the series. He’s my favorite character too so if I was going to start this line with anyone, it was going to be him. I like Ryu’s default outfit just fine, but when Storm Collectibles announced a blue variant outfit, I had to grab it. Let’s see if I’ll get fully sucked into another line.

Packaging:  I really like this packaging. When I was still on the fence about getting into the line, the packaging helped put the line on my radar thanks to its vibrant color scheme and big window. The figure protecting plastic somewhat obscures being able to get a close look at the figure though.

I love the bio as it’s laid out by fans of the property who took a little extra time to give Ryu a comprehensive write-up. The back also shows all the accessories and posing options.

Likeness:  For Street Fighter V, Capcom decided to go with thicker character designs. Storm Collectibles’ line reflects that bulky aesthetic well. Ryu looks solid. I like the video game accurate spikey hair, but SC made a weird gap for the headband instead of having the eyebrows fully coming over it. I love the intensity of the sculpt as it captures Ryu’s stoic mindset beautifully.

Scale:  This line is more on the seven-inch scale so Ryu won’t quite match up to Marvel Legends or DC Classics figures. Ryu and Ken are about the same size. The scale is going to be more fun and more of a factor when I get Zangief to showcase the size differences.

Paint:  SC wouldn’t be taking full advantage of the line without a few color variants. I’ve always considered white a little dull for Ryu and immediately shift to whatever blue option is available. I like the blue used as it’s more of a midnight shade. Of course, this switch loses the black gloves from the standard edition, but I’ll manage.

Like the white gi, SC added a nice black wash to help bring out the details and convey more of the video game look. This time, Ryu comes with a yellow headband.

Articulation:  Compared to the SH Figuarts version, this version isn’t quite as fluid with the articulation, but Ryu can accomplish a lot of his signature video game poses. Best of all if you find the right sweet spot, he can hold some more dynamic poses like a side kick, very well.

Chalk that up to the smart engineering, which distributes the figure’s weight evenly enough so the ankles don’t have to support everything. I had a blast trying to re-enact all of Ryu’s signatures moves.

Ryu has:

• neck
• shoulders
• elbows
• wrist
• torso
• waist
• shoulders
• knees
• ankles
• feet

Accessories:  Ryu has two other face plates. One features him looking more in anguish while the other is set to launch a fireball.

Ryu also comes with a Hadoken fireball effect, which attaches to the open palm hand. There’s three additional sets of hands. Once you get the fireball on, it will stay in place well. The tricky part is actually getting it to stay. I’m not sure why Storm Collectibles decided to make it so heavy as it makes plugging it into the figures a frustrating exercise.

To help accommodate some of the more dynamic poses, Storm included a stand to attach to the Street Fighter V base. Ryu also comes with a backdrop so you have an immediate battleground for fights. I appreciate the ready-made battlefield even if it is a tad small.

Worth it? I got Ryu for $50. That’s a decent price for such a solid figure with a reasonable amount of accessories.  Knocking the price down another $8 or so would be even better, but this line has a lot of possibility and the cross promotional aspects with the Mortal Kombat, Tekken 7 and King of Fighters make this an easy sell.

 

Rating: 10 out
of 10

Where to get it?  I tracked Ryu down on Entertainment Earth. Prefer the basic look? Head over to Toys R Us.com and grab him. Need another option? You can also find him on Amazon.com