I consider myself a pretty hardcore Metroid fan – I’ll defend the series to my grave and praise Other M’s story even as it hurts my soul to do so. Despite all that, I actually only really have an affinity for Samus’ armored forms – all her Zero Suit incarnations were whatever to me. Skin-tight blue bodysuits are sexy and all, but the sexy quota doesn’t quite outweigh the cool factor of Badass Power Armor.
For that reason I never really paid much mind to this Figma Zero Suit release when it came out at around the same time as Samus’ armored form way back in the day. It’s not a Figma that I would mind having in the collection, but also not something I’d be willing to drop MSRP for. Good thing there are friendly folks at Anime Expo who are willing to discount.
This Zero Suit iteration of our favorite gaming heroine is unfortunately lackluster as a Figma – though I wouldn’t blame this on Max Factory for designing an inadequate figure.
I don’t blame them for keeping this Figma so basic – there’s a very underwhelming amount of accessories right out of the box, and that’s mostly because…well, Zero Suit Samus never really had that much to play with in the first place. All the Power Suit gimmickry is gone – we’re left with a stun blaster and different hand options.
I suppose that’s a core facet of this character form – who can forget how helpless and underpowered they felt playing as Zero Suit in Zero Mission, tasked with infiltrating a Pirate base with nothing but a short-range stun blaster? Not much has changed since then.
I can’t fault the core figure – it’s a bit basic and boring, but that’s because it’s not a super special hero with a bunch of cool robes or a sick tunic. The skin-tight body suit means this Figma’s range of motion is basically limitless, with the limbs capable of stretching and bending with absolute zero (ha HA!) hindrance.
That being said, the body sculpt is actually well done. It may be basic, but Max Factory didn’t skimp on those basics. There’s only so much I can say about how proportionate and accurate her curves are before this wanders into creepy NSFW territory.
I really dig the metallic blue. Props to Max Factory’s painting accuracy; the different shades of blue are very clean in their application, with no noticeable bleeds.
Like I mentioned earlier – ZSS’s armaments start and end at her stun gun. The measly little thing is detailed, if a bit difficult to pose with because…well, it’s a little pistol.
Unfortunately, the gun itself can’t completely slot into her thigh holster, but Max Factory is considerate enough to include an extra hilt that can be pegged into it to give the illusion of the gun being carried.
Full marks given for her standard face sculpt. It’s serious, it’s grim, and most of all pays attention to the details, because it wouldn’t be Samus if she didn’t have her birth mark under her lip.
Thankfully Max Factory didn’t hold out on us completely though – we do get the option of another expression – a softer look for when Samus isn’t kicking ass and taking names.
Another neat little feature – one that I personally don’t care for whatsoever – is the inclusion of a separate head with Samus’ hair cut short and a communicator in her ear, representing her flashback self from Other M’s ham-fisted storyline.
Good on them for including this head, but personally I don’t think it flows with the body very well – I associate this look much more with Samus’ youngster Galactic Federation military outfit.
My thoughts on the separate head sculpts. It should be noted that the two facial expressions can be freely used with either hairstyle.
This is an accessory I have an easier time getting behind – though ironically it’s just another head. I think it’s a bit of an obscure one – I know this ZSS sculpt is supposed to be based off the one from Other M, but including an accessory that only really has relevance to the game’s long-winded epilogue quest sort of alienates those who haven’t played it, no? I say that with the assumption that Other M’s abyssal feedback meant that those who gave it a chance probably didn’t make it to the very last scene in the game.
To save those unfamiliar from a Google search: the helmet belongs to Samus’ former commanding officer and father-figure, Adam Malkovich, who gave his life in Other M to save Samus. After you beat the main game, you can return to the space station and go through the entire map again just for Samus to reclaim Adam’s helmet that he left behind in the control room, as a sentimental memento of the dearly departed. The reason it’s included in this Zero Suit figure is because it’s one of the only objects you interact with in the Zero Suit – Samus couldn’t carry Adam’s helmet out of the space station while wearing armor after all.
No, the helmet has no pegs or joints, so Samus can’t wear it.
And of course, next to full armor. Unfortunately the effect isn’t quite complete because my armored Samus is kind of no longer stock colors, but it still sort of counts. Maybe I’ll make some special boots for the Zero Suit to portray her Smash 4 appearance.
This stun gun doesn’t work on Metroids…!!
G-GET IT OFF! GET IT OOOFFFFFFFF…!!!
I don’t mean to sound harsh on this Figma – Max Factory did the best they could with what they had to work with. The base character never had too much going for it, other than being an action girl in a skin-tight bodysuit with a pistol, so I can forgive the lack of accessories and inclusion of ones that are forgettable at best. If you’re dying for a relatively inexpensive portrayal of ZSS to add to your collection, this at least makes a nice display piece to fill that void – though of course if you want to go a little more upscale the (very) expensive PVC Statue from Good Smile Company is also available.
