.

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 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 first figure in this set is Demitri Maximoff, and, suitably for a videogame featuring fantastical and mythical dark creatures, he is a centuries-old vampire.

Demitri has a very haughty expression. The guy obviously thinks a lot of himself, as the contempt practically radiates off him. The detailing is done in thick black lines, much like Akuma, however it’s not overdone. The hairpiece is quite pointed and adds a bit more to his height. The head block has a hole in it, and the hairpiece pegs on.

The costume is fairly simple, but the detailing is done well, again utilising the black outline style for the most part. The only sloppy looking bits are on the forearms, with the yellow stripe being slightly smudgy, and the white stripe being a tad uneven. The boots, normally a problem area on Marvel Minimates, are very even. Demitri also has a cape, which hangs off him like most of the super-hero Minimate capes rather than the flowing look of M.Bison’s, however, it does look nice and the contrast between the blue exterior and the red interior is most pleasing to the eye.

As with the other Street Fighter 2 Minimates, Demitri has an energy blast accessory, which is a re-use of the ones that Ryu and Akuma have. This time the blast is in translucent orange. I have to say, these accessories do look really good and add a nicely vivid touch of colour to the Minimates display. Demitri has C3 feet and the old Minimates body.

Overall, Demitri is a solid Minimate, with no particular flaws but no real strengths either.

MMC Score – 6 out of 10

The second figure in the set is Morrigan, a succubus – a female demon. She has a rivalry with Demitri in the Darkstalkers game, so it is fitting for these two to be put together in the set.

Like the other females seen in the line so far, Morrigan’s face is finely detailed, with long expressive eyes and a slightly-parted alluring mouth. Possibly the only flaw with Morrigan is the shade of her hair – whilst here it is a very distinctive blue colour, in the game it was more of a green shade. This might disappoint some people, but I don’t really know enough about the character for it to bother me. Regardless, it’s a lovely hairpiece, from the individual strands of the fringe to the bat wings sprouting out from her temples. Like the other Street Fighter 2 Minimates, the hairpiece is pegged and is very secure. It is also nicely angled to not interfere with her wings too much.

Ah yes, the wings. These have been implemented very well. They are attached to the figure via a small “belt” strip which fits on the torso peg. They point up across her back, to give the impression that’s where they are attaching from, and then wrap around her sides, almost like a little cape. It’s an idea that works, but it would have been even better if there could have been a way to articulate the wings slightly. Still, at this scale that would have been hard to accomplish without sacrificing other parts of the figure, so the way they have done it is fine. The rest of the costume detailing is excellent, from the little bat shapes on her legs to the ample bosom and heart shape on the chest block. The paint job is also top-notch.

Morrigan has an absolutely fantastic accessory – a translucent yellow energy blast that isn’t shaped like the usual fireball, but as the head of a creature, complete with opened mouth revealing 4 sharp teeth. It looks great in an action situation and has a lot of play value with the open jaws being wide enough to chomp on other Minimates arms.

Overall, Morrigan is an exceptional Minimate with lots of unique features. Highly recommended. 

Review and pictures by Danny Mills

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