Deluxe DoubleSoul MetalSoul MegaMan

Height: 14.5cm (MegaMan); 16.5 to top of head, 17 to head fins (MetalSoul mode)

Articulation: 14 points total - Swivel neck, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, post-elbow swivels, swivel waist, hinged knees, post-knee swivel.

Colors: Molded black, blue, light blue; Painted light blue, dark blue, red, yellow, black, fleshtone, blue-green, green, white (MegaMan); Molded red, dark blue, clear light blue, grey; Painted silver, red, dark blue, black, yellow (MetalSoul).

Accessories: MetalSoul armor, consisting of 10 pieces; Battlechip for electronic PET Personal Terminal game.

Release Data: This figure was released for first quarter 2005 at an average price of US$10. This figure is easily available as of this review.

Gallery: 11 images.

Author: ExVee

The Figure

Okay, the MegaMan franchise DID start in the late 1980's. But like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it had most of its life, and arguably gained the majority of its current following in the 1990's. Now, MegaMan is an undeniable classic, and I'd not attempt to say otherwise, but when it comes down to it, the original story could be seen as a little generic - Mad scientist in the future turns household robots against their owners, and has a series of Robot Masters as the generals, and a lone, uncorrupted robot must save the day!

Yeah, that's a very basic summary, but essentially accurate. And even though it might add its own touches to the concept, it is basically a generic robot killing platformer. The difference is staying power. The potential in the story expanded upon in numerous sequels and spinoffs set farther into that vague future. But after many years of this, there was an innovation, a reimagining of the concept basically from the ground up.

Instead of robots, the familiar characters were now computer programs called NetNavis. The electronic toys of children, as well as the tools of criminals. With this change of background, a different gameplay style was brought into the series, with MegaMan now being firmly set in RPG. Mind, the old style games are still made, but MegaMan Battle Network (Or NT Warrior for the cartoon and toys) provides a refreshing alternative, not to mention revitalizing a stagnating property.

This figure represents one of the new elements added, which is the ability to take on attributes of, and even combine with a second Navi to increase battle performance. In this case, MegaMan comes with addon parts to represent a DoubleSoul fusion with MetalMan (may be renamed later as HeavymetalMan). As this is supposed to represent another Navi combined with MegaMan, it's kind of a shame that it's not possible to make a complete MetalMan. For a $10 toy, it can be a little bothersome, but considering how crowded the package is already, I won't hold it against the toy overall.

The Head

The basic MegaMan elements are present, with the large blue helmet and the somewhat juvenile styled face. But effectively everything else is different. The helmet is still fairly simple, but there's more bits than the classic style, plus much more color. And MegaMan even has some blue-green "hair" poking out from the bottom of the helmet.

As a function of the transformation, MegaMan's helmet is removeable. Underneath, the head is shaped pretty much like a normal head. But the skin coloring is just for the face, everything else is a light blue, and covered with vaguely techy detailing, and has MegaMan's logo just above the forehead.

The sculpt is pretty well on model. The cartoon kept close to the design used in the games, and the figure actually seems to be a mix of the two slightly different appearances. The only articulation is a swivel joint at the base of the... er, "skull", so movement is limited to side-to-side, but the head is free to rotate as far as you'd like, helmet or not.

The Torso (and Arms)

This is where the big departure starts. While old MegaMan looked like he was wearing blue body armor, this version looks much more like a kid or teenager wearing a skin tight jumpsuit. There's no muscular detailing, but the sculpt does give a body shape that suggests the familiar human musculature. MegaMan's logo is painted onto a raised circle in the middle of his chest, and there's a light blue stripe running down either side of his torso. The waist joint is a swivel, and at least on my figure tends to want to pull to the side slightly. Oh, and there's a removeable single piece backpack, too.

The arms are actually kind of surprising, considering this line is made by Mattel. Just the mention of that name should make one expect swivel shoulders and maybe wrist swivels, but MegaMan actually has elbows! The forearms are removeable for transformation, and so what would be the wrist articulation ends up just past the elbows. Technically, this is more in line with how the human arm works, so that's okay. The arms aren't entirely on model. MegaMan is supposed to have yellow shoulderpads, which are unpainted here. Other figures in this series have that area painted, though, so it's just a matter of whether that paint app fit the budget for a particular figure, it seems.

The Legs and Feet

Both legs carry on the strip from the torso, right down to the top of MegaMan's boots. Articulation is just hips, knees, and a probably unintentional swivel in the lower legs. Of course, it's all pretty much pointless. Without ankle articulation, or at least someplace to sit, leg articulation is almost worthless. Anyway, I figure the post-knee swivel is unintentional since it results from having to take off most of the boots during MetalSoul equipping. It doesn't really add anything, except that you might be able to make a slightly better looking static pose.

Oh, and about sitting, that wouldn't work either. MegaMan's hips don't go far enough, unless he's in a recliner.

Paint and Deco

Overall, it's pretty good. Some edges have poor definition, and some of the yellow doesn't quite cover the blue adequately. Otherwise there's no real problems.

Sculpt gets 9/10

Articulation gets 6/10

Paint and Deco gets 7/10

Since I don't own a PET, and even if I did it wouldn't really make for a review, I'll skip the Battlechip, and just talk about the MetalSoul parts.

This consists of ten parts, some replaces standard parts, the rest just covers it. The MetalSoul is made up of a new helmet, two-part torso piece, replacement gauntlets, the right having a launcher gimmick, and boot covers, plus two pieces that fit over the shoulders of the torso piece.

Where normal MegaMan is made to look like a lean kid, MetalSoul mode adds bulk, and almost an inch of height. The figure is kept in proportion with a slideout joint in the shoulders, making them a bit wider to fit in the torso cover. To transform to MetalSoul, remove the helmet, backpack, gauntlets, and boots, and slide the shoulders out. Then just pop the new parts on, replace the original boots through the bottom of the Metal boots, and you're all set.

The only particular change to the articulation is in the shoulders. Since the shoulders on the torso piece are molded solid, the range of the shoulder joints is limited. Plus, the slide out bit seems to loosen up what articulation is left available. The right arm has a launcher. It seems MetalMan's attack is supposed to be some kind of spinning fist missile, so the way this works is kind of like those cheap tops you find in dollar stores. Stick the fist on the right gauntlet, turn it clockwise a few turns, then get out of the way and push the button on the wrist. I suppose the intent was for it to go spinning forward. What happens each time I try is that it separates from the figure a bit, and spins out to the side. Kind of a let down, especially since in return you're stuck having an energy effect disc around the right wrist at all times, to provide the hypothetical aerodynamics that don't necessarily work anyway.

I like the overall appearance of MetalSoul MegaMan, since it's not disproportionate and hulking like GutsSoul, but it has a power to it from the added shoulder width and beefed up forearms. It's a stylistically pleasing contrast to the slim base MegaMan. It really looks like a legitimate upgrade, which is nice to have in your upgrade toys.

MetalSoul gets 8/10

Closing Remarks

If there's one thing Mattel can do well, it's sculpts. MegaMan is far from the most articulated toy ever, but the figure captures the style of this incarnation extremely well. If one is to rework a 90's concept, this is a good way to do it. It certainly puts the mid-90's MegaMan figure to shame, in stylishness and articulation.

I do think that MegaMan should have come with an attachment weapon for the base mode, either the standard Buster or the almost as frequently used Cyber Sword, but considering how crowded the package is already, I can overlook it. For $10, this is a little bit steep purchase, but I'm happy with it. If you do own a PET, you'll get a little bit extra value with the included Battlechip. Either way, it's a bit beyond my Impulse Purchase range, but I think it's a good purchase if you're a fan.

I'm gonna give MetalSoul MegaMan an overall rating of Very Good.

-ExVeeBrawn, Revenge of The 90's Week.