01.04
After the recently released AFX-exclusive packs Ryu vs. Akuma and Chun-Li vs. M.Bison, each wearing their Player 2 (alternate colour) costumes, appears the last “P2” variant set of the first wave; the Previews exclusive set of Demitri vs. Morrigan. I got this set sent through to me for review by fellow Minimate obsessives at fantastic online retailer stuckakid.
Packaging
The packaging is very similar to the old Marvel-style carded packaging before they switched to boxes. The Minimates are very visible inside the card and there is a nice Minimate’d drawing of Ryu on the bottom left. For this set, as it features characters from the companion videogame Darkstalkers, the Street Fighter 2 logo shares space with the Darkstalkers logo. The Previews exclusive sticker is near the bottom right of the bubble.
The back of the card shows the first wave of Street Fighter 2 Minimates, without showing any of the exclusives. Overall it’s very nice packaging, quite stylish.
The figures are packed in a bubble tray, and have several twist-ties holding them in, along with rubber bands. Like the Lord of the Rings Minimates, the twist ties are wrapped around the arms, making them difficult to remove.
The Figures
Demetri (P2)
The first figure in this set is Demitri Maximoff, a vampire from the Darkstalkers videogame. Unlike the AFX-exclusive Player 2 variants, the P2 versions of both Demitri and Morrigan do not feature different expressions to those of their wave 1 counterparts. A slightly missed opportunity, especially as the new Player 2 expressions for Akuma, Chun-Li, Ryu and M.Bison were a big selling point in differenciating them from the wave 1 versions.
So Demitri’s expression hasn’t changed from his wave 1 counterpart. He retains a haughty expression. The hairpiece however has changed colour, although it’s not a huge shift. The dark brown of the original has been replaced by a much lighter shade of brown for this particular hairpiece. It retains the peg and the head block still has a hole.
The costume detailing has not changed at all, only the colour has changed, although it’s such a minor switch that at first glance you may not even notice it when it’s in the package. Instead of wave 1 Demitri’s royal blue, this “player 2” version has a much lighter hue, almost a greeny-blue. This simalarity in colour is the fault of the game itself, though, which Art Asylum have to remain faithful to. The paint apps are again on the whole quite crisp, but Demitri still has issues with the forearms, with the yellow stripe being smudgy, and the white stripe being slightly uneven.
Demitri has his usual orange translucent energy blast accessory, and also features C3 feet but like the other Street Fighter 2 Minimates the old Minimates body is used.
Overall, This Demitri is so very similar to the original that it’s just really a matter of preference as to which colours you prefer. I actually prefer this Demitri’s lighter hair and suit, but it’s such a minor palette change, coupled with no new facial expression, that makes this figure hardly a must-have.
MMC Score – 5 out of 10
Morrigan
The second figure in the set is the succubus known as Morrigan. I just want to add here that I’m not a huge fan of the idea of this 2-pack in general, as it seems to be pushing it slightly to effectively make a variant out of a pack that already has a chase. However, any variant of Morrigan is fine with me, as she’s a very distinctive and unique-looking character.
As stated above, Morrigan does not get a new expression on her exquisite face, which is a shame as I’d’ve loved another sultry expression for her. The hairpiece is now blonde, and whilst I do like that colour, it loses the sense of exoticness that the original figure’s blue hair had. The bat wings are black, to fit in with the main set of wings lower down. Like the original, the hairpiece is pegged, but seems to fit worse than the first figure, as the wings on the back are pushing the hairpiece up from behind so that it sits awkwardly.
The costume colours have changed a lot more extensively than on Demitri, with only the white “frills” on the bust and arms remaining the same. The orange on the arms and the pink on the legs have been replaced by a light pink on both, a move I like as it makes the costume colours look more uniform. The deep purple has been replaced by black, which looks great but does obscure some of the detailing, as that has remained black as well. The wings do look very ominous in black.
Morrigan has the same great translucent yellow energy blast shaped like the head of a creature, with opened mouth.
Overall, this “player 2” version of Morrigan is different enough to be worthwhile, despite the lack of a new expression. I do in fact prefer these more co-ordinated colours over the wave 1’s more haphazard colouration.
MMC Score – 8 out of 10
Review and pictures by Danny Mills
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