Back in 1998, Xenogears was one of the last and arguably best role-playing games on the original PlayStation. It’s taken over two decades for us to get any real toys from the game and the first of these is of the main protagonist, Fei Fong Wong and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.
To get into the story of Xenogears would be a very lengthy, involved and inherently spoiler-ridden endeavor. However, it’s enough to say that Fei is the protagonist in the game and one with an incredibly complex history. Not to mention dual personalities. He also pilots a Gear mecha called the Weltall, which will also get a toy in the near future.
Xenogears is also the start of the ongoing Xeno series of games. That said, it is more of a standalone release when it comes to the narrative, as the subsequent Xenosaga and Xenoblade games have their own story, though some elements carry over.
The fact we even have any toys from Xenogears is definitely interesting and is likely to do with the 20th anniversary of the game. Though, the recent success of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the Switch has also probably spurred Square Enix into action when it came to new Xenogears related merchandise.
With any luck, we may yet see a re-release of Xenogears, as its mix of 2D sprites with 3D environments is something games like Octopath Traveler have clearly been inspired by and that was hugely popular.
As for this figure, Square Enix has clearly done more work on its various toy lines in recent years. After The Luminary figure from the excellent Dragon Quest XI, my opinion of the Bring Arts line has definitely improved.
In short, these new Bring Arts figures are in-line with the S.H.Figuarts and figma releases in terms of articulation, detailing and overall quality. They are also similarly scaled and often come with a nice array of accessories.
In the case of Fei, he doesn’t get much in the way of accessories, bar a can of Soylent System, a variety of hands and a different face, but the sculpt and detailing are very well done.
The articulation is also solid and while the arms and upper body are flexible, the legs are quite simplistic. However, you can balance Fei nicely on one foot to perform a kick as per the game (shown above).
Specifically, the knee joint on the legs is simplified, though still sturdy. This is likely because the sculpt of the legs themselves, with the baggy trousers, necessitate this type of more straightforward articulation.
The highlights for me are Fei’s hair and belt, as these are quite fine pieces but are done very well indeed.
In that, this figure of Fei goes to great lengths to make it faithful to the character design in the game and considering the scale and price point, this figure is remarkably accurate to the original artwork by Kunihiko Tanaka.
Overall, if you are a fan of Xenogears and have longed to have a proper action figure of Fei, then this toy will definitely satiate that desire. While it may be a bit limited when it comes to accessories, it more than makes up for it with the accuracy of the sculpt and detailing. Not to mention the reduced price compared to the recent figure of The Luminary. The articulation is good too and the figure is nicely balanced with it. I just wish Square Enix had released figures of the characters back when Xenogears was originally released. I shouldn’t complain though, as this Fei figure is definitely worth the twenty-year wait.
This Brings Arts Fei Fong Wong toy is available from the Square Enix online store for $69.99.
Disclosure: Square Enix sent me a sample of this figure for the purposes of this review.
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