The Legend of Zelda: Bokoblin, Shadow Link, Breath of the Wild (Wii U)

The Legend of Zelda

Bokoblin, Shadow Link, Breath of the Wild

Bokoblins are prevalent enemies in The Legend of Zelda:  The Wind Waker.  They are smaller offshoots of the classic Zelda baddies, the Moblins.  They don't go into the evolution (or de-evolution) of these creatures in the flooded future of Hyrule (*see the convoluted timeline of Zelda games), but it really doesn't matter.  They may be smaller, but they still work for Ganon...and now they are nautical pirates!  Cool!

They are smaller, but a bit bigger than the figures here.  These are a little undersized as they come from the World of Nintendo 2.5-inch line...I'm just fudging it to stand in with the 4-inch line.
They're pretty nice as far as the smaller figures go.  They have movable arms and heads, and ball-jointed tails.  The only disappointment here is that their hands are molded as if they should be holding something:  swords, torches, or sticks not included, unfortunately.  At about $4 a piece, I bought 3 to give my Ganon figure some backup on the toy shelf.

Another item I recently picked up, on a similarly Zelda-ish theme, is Shadow Link.

Shadow Link may be a repaint, but he's also a completely different character that has appeared in several Legend of Zelda Games.  This version is from Ocarina of Time where he is the only saving grace of the horribly designed Water Temple.  This figure is a Spencer's Gifts exclusive priced at $19.99.  He comes with the same sword and shield accesso...what?!  Spencer's Gifts?!!  Twenty bucks?!!   Aside from the bizarre choice of retailer, that's a huge markup for a line where figures range from $8-12.  Would it have killed them to have thrown in a Biggoron sword or something?

Ah, well...he is evil incarnate after all.  I only got this one because I scored a couple bucks off on Amazon with a damaged package warehouse deal.

Wait a minute...the packaging said "Shadow Link," but the Zelda Wiki said he is not to be confused with "Dark Link"... the character this toy actually looks like.  What?  So an officially licensed product got it wrong?  Way to go, Big N!  Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder. (*pushes up nerd glasses*)

And finally, in this all-Zelda post...

I purchased Breath of the Wild on its release date for Wii U.  I didn't preorder it (as I kinda hated the last Zelda game, Skyward Sword), but glowing, early reviews gave me the itch.  I stopped at almost every one of the nine Walmarts and (I don't know how many) Gamestops before I found a single copy for Wii U left on the shelf (at the scabbiest Wally in town).

I get that they want you to buy the new Nintendo Switch on its launch day, but that's ridiculous. There were plenty of copies of the game for Switch at every store.  And I understand that Wii U was a lackluster system -- but it's no secret that this game was developed several years ago for the Wii U....and now Nintendo deliberately short supplies it for that system?  *Sigh*...They make it really hard to be die-hard Nintendo fans.

Anyway, it is as good as all the reviews made it out to be.  The big, open world...freedom to choose your own path...exploration blah blah blah.  It's great.  However, I do have a few nitpicks. The boss battles (various forms of Ganon) are pretty weak.  Weapon durability and food crafting can be tedious, at least starting out.  There aren't proper "dungeons" and most everything is on the surface world.  But hey, they couldn't give us all that in one game...what would they have left for next time?

Minor gripes aside, it's definitely worth the sticker price.  You could explore the world for months and months before taking out Ganon and still not experience everything the game has to offer.   I probably put in about 70 hours before I called it quits.  Not that I was tired of it, I just wanted to leave something for the next playthrough.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I suffered from withdrawal for a week or so after I put down the controller...and that's a good thing.

Goldust vs Rowdy Roddy Piper

Goldust vs Rowdy Roddy Piper

Mattel - WWE Elite and Entrance Greats

Goldust is a future WWE Hall of Famer.  To me, it's hard to believe he's not in the HoF already.  Dustin Rhodes, son of the great Dusty Rhodes, struggled to make a name for himself in early on in WCW and WWE.  He definitely had the skill and ability, but his overall ring persona was lacking.  Boy, did he pull a 180 on that one!  Goldust debuted in September of 1995 looking very much like this figure here. Like a Hollywood drag queen armed with an arsenal of sexually suggestive mannerisms, taunts, and movie references, "the bizarre one" helped usher in the beginning of the Attitude Era.  Goldust is still wrestling today, as tried-and-true and just as weird as ever!

They really nailed the head scan on this figure. The expression is just perfect!

He comes with a removable soft-plastic wig and robe.  Unlike most figures with removable goods, both the wig and robe look great on the figure...not ill-fitting at all.  He will most likely always be displayed with them on in my figure displays.  He also came with a plastic stand and cardboard backdrop that forms a bigger backstage area when combined with other figures in the series.   

This figure is a part of WWE Elite Series 47.  I picked him up on Amazon at the standard price of $19.99.  If you love the Attitude Era or just colorful wrestling gimmicks of old, you've gotta have this Goldust in your collection!

As a bonus in this review, and a throwback to their Hollywood Backlot Brawl in Wrestlemania XII, I'm tossing in a Mattel Entrance Greats Rowdy Roddy Piper that I picked up off of Ebay pretty cheap.  He is a basic buck (not Elite articulated) and comes with removable shirt and kilt, a set of bagpipes, and a stand that plays his entrance theme. Mattel hasn't made a great deal of Piper figures.  Most are gear-no gear variants of this.  In my opinion, this head scan is the best of the two out there and that alone makes it worth tracking down.  Fingers crossed to see more Piper variants in years to come! (Leather jacket with panther shirt and half-n-half body paint to name a few...okay, so that one's probably not gonna happen.) 

The Mad Hatter and 89 Batmobile

The Mad Hatter and 89 Batmobile

DC Collectibles - Mattel/Hot Wheels

Today we're looking at another figure from DC Collectibles' 6-inch scale Batman: The Animated Series line, The Mad Hatter. He comes with a Queen of Hearts Guard battle ax and mind control console; and also comes with two additional sets of hands and an adjustable stand that is standard to the line.  He's got similar articulation problems to the Scarecrow I previously reviewed.  The big, rubber coat makes joints from neck to ankles pointless.  Does it look like the character on screen?  Sure. But I have to ask again, is this a huge step up from the old Kenner line?  If you missed out on that line, you should be buying in...Batman: TAS is still the best Batman universe outside of the comics. And now, to discuss another loosely-related toy...

Batman (1989) was THE blockbuster movie of my childhood. You couldn't escape that golden bat-symbol that summer: t-shirts, posters, toys, Taco Bell cups...it was everywhere! I will never forget my dad taking my younger sister and me in our Batman t-shirts to meet the caped crusader at a local mall (though I had the suspicion that it was not Michael Keaton under the cowl.)  Despite a few flaws, I will always have a soft spot for that movie.  Not that it under-delivers by any means...if the story wasn't perfect, at least the design was. And the one design that refuses to fade away in the toy aisles is the 89 Batmobile.

I will buy any version of this car I see on shelves.  This particular one is the Hot Wheels 1/64th scale.  It's a little more detailed than your standard 99 cent Hot Wheels -- which it should be, since it costs about 4 bucks more.


Now, you might be thinking that I just happened to throw these two toys together because they are Batman related toys I happened to have purchased recently. Yes. But there is one more connective thread: I happened to recently stumble across an audiobook of Batman ('89) on YouTube that is read by the actor who voiced the Mad Hatter on The Animated Series, Roddy McDowall! You should listen to it! It's weird! (I would not have pegged Bookworm to tolerate audiobooks...)