The Legend of Zelda has kind of a crazy continuity, or more, a crazy lack of continuity. Despite there being many many Zelda title in the series, more or less all about Link fetching the Triforce to save Hyrule, there are few that are direct sequels or even that take place in the same world. Link has had many different designs over the years. Generically, he’s kind of an elf looking person in a green tunic. Sometimes he’s an adult, sometimes he’s a child, sometimes he’s somewhere in between. This version of Link is based on his appearance in the game A Link Between Worlds, a 3DS title that is a sequel to the SNES classic, A Link to the Past. This is the second Figma Link, the first being one of the older designs from Skyward Sword.
This design really hits all of the right points for my preferred link. Most of my experience with the Zelda series is in the older games, before Link was a grittier older warrior type like in Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess, and before he became a kooky cartoon caricature like in Wind Waker. It’s not exactly the same as the classic Zelda 1 style art but he’s a lot closer to that design than other options available at this time. It also helps that A link to the Past is probably my favorite Zelda title.
If I had any real complaint it’s that he is a really small figure. Like 4″ tall short. Admittedly this is kind of personal preference, I like to mix up my figures across lines, and I was hoping for a Link that didn’t come off as being a 5 year old kid next to my other ~6″ figures.
Personal gripe aside, it’s a fantastic figure to be sure. The accessories on the basic Link feel a bit lacking, though there is a DX version that includes a whole slew of extra bits. The basic Link includes a stand, two faces (total), the Master Sword and Link’s Shield. He also includes a flat cut out Link that is part of the gimmick of A link Between World’s gameplay. There are also alternate hands and a bracelet that can be removed if desired.
The DX version also includes a Tornado Rod with a flat effect piece, a Hookshot with long and short hooks, a Bomb, a Rupee, a Pot and a Baby Maiamai. All of the accessories are well designed and easily used. There’s a lot of “quality of life” sort of features to these accessories alone. For example, the sword isn’t one piece, forcing you to jam it into his hands, the hilt is removable so it can easily be slid into the hand and reattached. The shield and hook shot handles both disassemble into several pieces to be easily put into Link’s hands as well. The shield can even be adjusted so it can be held in both Link’s left or right hand (since Link is a southpaw except when facing west). Little touches like this really help sell the figure.
Pose ability is nice overall as well. The skirt part of Link’s tunic is a flexible rubber sort of material that allows for free movement in the hips, something that can often be a problem for figures with similar sort of outfits.
My only actual complaint with this figure is that his hair and face come off a little too easily. This seems to be somewhat of a Figma problem, since I have similar issues with Figma Motoko. There isn’t quite enough friction to hold things in place solidly. It’s really not a huge problem but it can be a problem. Another “Figma Issue” is that often when swapping the hands, the peg comes out of the wrist instead of the hand coming off the peg, which can make the peg hard to remove from the hand, since it’s so small. This is another issue I’ve had with other Figma as well.
Figma A link Between Worlds link is a pretty good figure. Some of what it comes down to is, which Link Design do you prefer. Also, given his small size, he’s a bit pricey, even for an import figure. Higher prices aren’t uncommon for import figures but the tiny 4″ size makes that harder to take, especially with the anemic accessory count on the non DX version.
