You’ve seen them. The $150 slabs of plastic that make your wallet ache just by looking at them. Collecting Final Fantasy VII figures isn't just a hobby anymore; it’s basically a high-stakes investment game where the rules change every time Square Enix decides to drop a new "Remake" or "Rebirth" trailer.
If you grew up in the late 90s, you probably remember those chunky, stiff Extra Knights figures. They were... okay. Honestly? They were kind of ugly by today’s standards. But fast forward to now, and we’re looking at Play Arts Kai sculpts that have more articulation points than some actual humans.
The market has shifted. It’s not just about toys. It's about shelf presence.
The Play Arts Kai Monopoly and Why It Divides Fans
For a long time, if you wanted high-end Final Fantasy VII figures, you went to Square Enix’s in-house brand: Play Arts Kai (PAK). These things are massive. They stand about 10 to 11 inches tall. They look intimidating. But there’s a catch that long-time collectors always complain about, and it’s the "Play Arts Face."
Sometimes, Cloud Strife looks like he just saw a ghost. Or maybe he just had a bad reaction to some Midgar street food. The paint applications on the faces have been hit or miss for years. Despite that, the demand for the Remake versions of Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough was so high that they sold out instantly and saw a 200% price hike on the aftermarket.
If you're hunting for these, you've gotta be careful. Bootlegs are everywhere. Seriously. If you see a "New in Box" Tifa on an auction site for $40, it’s a fake. The skin tone will look like cheap ham, and the joints will probably snap the moment you try to pose her in a Dolphin Blow stance.
Scale is Everything
Then you have the Static Arts line. These aren't poseable. They just sit there. But because they don't have those ugly elbow joints cutting through the sculpt, the aesthetic is much cleaner. For a lot of people, a Static Arts Sephiroth is the "definitive" version because his coat looks like it's actually caught in a dramatic Nibelheim wind, rather than being a series of hinged plastic flaps.
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The New King: Bring Arts and the Retro Wave
Recently, Square Enix did something kinda smart. They realized we’re all nostalgic for the 1997 polygons.
The new "Bring Arts" line of Final Fantasy VII figures focuses on the original character designs by Tetsuya Nomura. These are smaller—about 6 inches—which makes them much easier to fit on a standard bookshelf. They come with digital certificates of authenticity now, which is a whole different rabbit hole involving blockchain that most collectors didn't really ask for, but hey, the figures themselves look incredible.
The interesting thing here is the "Digital Plus Edition." You get a physical figure and a digital version. Most people I talk to just want the plastic. They want to feel the weight of the Buster Sword.
Why the Aftermarket is a Nightmare Right Now
If you didn't pre-order the Hardy-Daytona Cloud set back when Remake launched, you're basically looking at paying rent-level prices on eBay. Why? Because Square Enix doesn't always do re-runs.
Take the Advent Children line. For a while, those were the gold standard. Then they vanished. Then the prices tripled. Then Square released "Version 2" updates that fixed some of the scaling issues, which made the "Version 1" figures drop in value overnight. It’s volatile. You’re not just buying a character; you’re buying a moment in the production cycle.
- Check the holographic sticker on the bottom of the box.
- Look at the eyes—official figures have crisp, aligned decals; fakes often have "lazy eyes."
- Feel the plastic. Official PVC has a matte finish. Bootlegs are often shiny and smell like a chemical factory.
Adorable But Dangerous: The Adorable Arts and Nendoroids
Not everything has to be grim and gritty. The "Adorable Arts" Cloud Strife is a weird, stylized version that looks like a high-end Funko Pop but with actual soul. Then there are the polygon figures—the ones that look exactly like the 32-bit models from the PS1. These were originally "blind box" items in Japan, meaning you didn't know which one you were getting.
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People went feral for the "Hidden" figure in that set (usually a dress-wearing Cloud or Sephiroth). If you're looking for these, expect to pay a premium for a full set because nobody wants to end up with five Barrets and zero Tifas.
What Most People Get Wrong About Condition
"Mint in Box" (MIB) is the gold standard, right? Sort of.
If you live in a humid climate, keeping Final Fantasy VII figures sealed in their original boxes for ten years can actually ruin them. Plastic "bleeds" plasticizers. If the air can't circulate, the figure comes out feeling sticky. It’s gross. I’ve seen $500 figures ruined because the owner thought they were "protecting" them by never opening the lid.
If you're buying for the long haul, sometimes a "displayed in a glass case" figure is actually safer than a sealed one that's been rotting in a garage in Florida.
The Future of Midgar on Your Shelf
With the third part of the Remake trilogy on the horizon, we know what's coming. More characters. More "EX" versions with slightly different hair colors. Probably a Highwind model that costs more than a used car.
The current trend is moving toward "Third Party" figures—unlicensed companies like Gametoys that make 1/6 scale figures with real fabric clothing. They aren't "official," but many collectors argue they are better than anything Square Enix has ever put out. The Sephiroth 1/6 scale by Gametoys is legendary in the community for its rooted hair and terrifyingly accurate face sculpt. But since it's unlicensed, it exists in a legal grey area where it could disappear from storefronts at any moment.
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How to Actually Start Your Collection Without Going Broke
Don't buy everything. You can't. You shouldn't.
Focus on a specific "look." Do you love the 1997 polygons? Stick to Bring Arts. Do you love the hyper-realistic 2024 graphics? Go Play Arts Kai. Mixing them usually looks messy because the scales are all over the place. A Bring Arts Cloud looks like a toddler standing next to a Play Arts Kai Barret.
Also, look at Japanese retailers like AmiAmi or Mandarake. Even with shipping, buying directly from Japan is often 30% cheaper than buying from a local comic shop that has to bake the import fees into the price.
Actionable Steps for the Serious Collector:
- Audit your space: Measure your shelf height. Play Arts Kai figures need at least 12 inches of clearance; they won't fit in standard small cubes.
- Verify the source: Only buy from "Authorized Retailers" listed on the Square Enix support site if you want to ensure your "Digital Certificate" actually works.
- Climate control is mandatory: If you are spending more than $200 on a figure, keep it out of direct sunlight. UV rays turn Cloud's blonde hair into a sickly neon green over time.
- Join the community: Check the "Vinyl & Figures" sections of Final Fantasy forums. Users there often track re-release windows months before they hit the mainstream news sites.
Final Fantasy VII isn't just a game; it's a visual history. Owning a piece of that history is cool, but being a smart collector means knowing when to jump on a pre-order and when to wait for the inevitable "Gold Saucer Version" re-color.