Play Arts Kai Noctis Lucis Caelum

        At long (long, looooooong) last, the prince arrives.  Well I guess it technically hasn't been that long since the figures officially went into production, but I remember that first gray Noctis prototype ages ago.  It's since been improved.  And so, the call of TEN YEARS... is still happening, but I have these lovely figures to tide me over.  ...And now I need to recover financially.
        The pre-order for Noctis popped up a fair while after the other three.  I'm guessing the exact reason had to do with working out a manufacturing schedule, since there were a hell of a lot of figures expected to drop in September (including the limited edition Noctis figures that came with the Ultimate Collector's Edition of FFXV; the delay may have been a bit of a blessing in terms of not having to wait on those, though I can't be sure on any of this).  It all seems to have worked out so far, anyway.

        STUPID.  BOXES.  It looks nowhere near as terrible with the human eye, but the combination of black and white, grain and shiny just destroys my poor camera.  Alas.  When you line all of the boxes up, it supposedly makes one long picture... which would be great if I hadn't already dismantled Ignis' and Prompto's boxes.  ...And mixed paint on top of Ignis' box.  So, well.  That's a thing.

        The last one.  Now I'm officially very poor, but at least the gang's all here.

        You know the drill by now; terrible picture of text, but as decent a picture of the image itself as I can manage.  Shiny glowy and neat.  So, text:

The prince who stands by his brothers and fights for freedom

As the son of King Regis, Noctis has been the rightful heir to the throne of Lucis from birth.  The rigid life of royalty never suited the free-spirited prince, but with his kingdom in crisis and its crystal taken, he embarks on a journey to find the king within himself.

The crystal's blessings grant the prince the power to conjure weapons for himself and his retinue; his sworn shield, Gladio; his trusted adviser, Ignis; and his pure-hearted pal, Prompto.  As they wage war to reclaim their homeland, the four forge bonds that transcend birth and blood.

The special arms Noctis conjures out of thin air are his means of both attack and defense; he can wield them to devastating effect against foes, or hurl them at distant targets to teleport away.

        Yes "King Regis" actually means "king king" and yes it makes me laugh when it probably shouldn't.

        There he is, looking every bit as impatient to get the hell out of that box as I've come to expect.  And a really lovely Engine Sword etching  ...There's no reason to save these and nothing to do with them, but I'm tempted anyway.

        His royal Noctis-ness looking ready for action and... pale.  Well, he's pale, alright.  And those damn short pants, argh.
        Anyway.  Along with this standard edition Noctis are two swords, the Sword of the Father and the Engine Sword, two open hands, two fist hands, and two sword-holding hands.  Of the type where you have to gently work the sword hilts into the hands, which is still a little nerve-wracking, but I haven't broken anything yet so hey.

        Noctis Lucis "Not a Model" Caelum.  And all of that freaking detail.  So many skulls and just the wonderfully detailed glove/guard and the slight pull of the fabric.  Good stuff here.  Also lots of sutble shading.

        Though he may have gotten a bit dirty with all of that fighting and warping around.  Not entirely in black!  Surprisingly.  Though I can't actually be certain if this was by design or paint reaction to packaging, so I'll have to ask around when more people get theirs.  Anyway, there are a few pockets for things and that seems... wise, considering.  More on that ass in a second.  (Seriously.)

        Pointing out the impossible to photograph boot detail; yes indeed there are feathers on the left boot.  I recall someone finding them on the in-game model, but they're on the figure as well, just under high gloss and so difficult to show off.  Also more astonishing detail in zippers and laces.

        Back to that ass.  He has ass flaps.  Two separate, individually articulated ass flaps.  I am officially never going to stop making jokes about the prince needing to protect his ass.  This is glorious.
        Also mildly uncomfortable, sure, but the humor makes up for it.

        Now on to these amazing swords.  The Sword of the Father is deeply impressive.  Just... look at that thing.  And the paint itself is really wonderfully metal-like.

        Those of us who have been here for ten years will immediately recognize the hilariously impractical Engine Sword.  Much loved, though.  Having it in hand and seeing the actual detail is really awesome.

        MORE DETAIL.  I'm impressed.  The slightly larger scale definitely makes these kinds of details possible, but even then all of the tiny little maddening things are awesome.  And they're pretty damn sturdy since you kind of have to work to get them into the slightly flexible plastic of Noctis' hand.

        He's gonna throw the sword at someone.  Not even gonna warp, just gonna throw that sword because it looks like someone clearly deserves it.  (Yeah, look, I get that people don't like the elbow joints, but there's only so much you can do to allow the smooth operation of sleeveless arms.)
        And again, the ability of these figures to balance is seriously impressive.  Particularly when I was wondering about those thin boots and tiny little ankle joints. *cough*  He's a delicate prince, alright?  It does take a bit to find that sweet spot of just the right balance, but he can get there.  The toes of those boots also rotate, which is helpful.

        And sure, I don't know if this is actually possible in the game, but this would be an awesomely terrifying sight.  ...And fun as hell to play.

        So Noctis can also use guns.  Which.  Well, I'm waiting to see if the shooting controls are actually decent.  I still prefer the hack and slash elements, but... sometimes a bazooka is what you really need, you know?
        In conclusion, for all four main FFXV figures, yeah they're expensive.  Even at a discount, they are pricey figures which are larger than a lot of the others on the market.  They're also incredibly well made, well detailed, look just like their video game counterparts, and actually have an incredible range of motions.  Plus, they can stand on their own a good deal of the time.  Worth it.  I am very poor now, but it's worth it for the stupid toy adventures to follow.
        And let's face it, I'm probably going to continue to display them in various hugging poses.  For my own emotional recovery after the game.