It’s been four and a half years since I got my first Figma figure: Samus Aran. While she was based on one horrible game, she looked good enough and got me interested in getting several other Figmas. Now, after all this time Good Smile Company/Max Factory are returning to Metroid with both a Metroid Prime 3 figure and a Other M Zero Suit Samus. I might have prefered one that was actually from Zero Mission, but I realize how unlikely that is, so this will have to do.

What we get is a very sleek Samus, obviously. The Zero Suit is mostly skin-tight, but there’s some actual sculpted ridges that make it look more than painted on. The little markings on the hands and back are ridiculously detailed, of course. The same goes for her face, which is slightly longer than I would have liked, but is very sharply defined.

Like all Figmas I have, she comes with a ton of exchangable hands. But since I mostly refer to her as from Zero Mission, there’s not that much art to reference, so having a hand holding the gun is enough. Interestingly, I mentioned on my review of the Figuarts Scout Trooper that Figma would have had a separate sheathed gun rather than put the entire thing into an over-sized holster. That’s exactly what they did with Samus, so you can have it either way. Aside from that, she comes with an alternate face (as if Samus had alternate expressions) and the short hair. And for some stupid reason, she carries a spare Federation helmet. Why on earth couldn’t she have had something actually useful in that size, like… I don’t know… a Metroid?

Anyway, Samus is quite posable but they went more for a good-looking model than a super posable one. With no armor or clothing folds to hide articulation, she is a bit limited in what poses she can make. Also, Her head is kind of permanently tilted with her neck slightly forward. Must be all that time stuck in the suit.

Unfortunately, there’s not much more to say. She captures the Team Ninja design well and the figure itself is immaculate, but aside from a much lower price and scale compatibility with the previous Samus, this one isn’t that special compared to the statue that was released earlier. Having both Figmas is optimal, but if you only want one Samus, you need to track down the old one or wait for the Metroid Prime revision.