Zelda

Say what you will, you never hear anybody talk about "The Legend of F. Scott," do you. Zelda is the wise princess of Hyrule whose sealing power is the key to stopping Calamity Ganon. She has a keen interest in researching ancient technology such as the mysterious Sheikah Slate. Jakks Pacific has made a Zelda figure before (Zelda the princess character, not Zelda the game series), but that one was from Ocarina of Time, and so has a vastly different look from Breath of the Wild Zelda. It's always been a bit weird that the entire game series is named after a character who's basically just a typical damsel in distress, but she (like her fellow Nintendo princess, Peach) has at least gotten somewhat more proactive over the years. Not much, because The Gamers™ are regressive dorks who still resent their mothers for having power over them, but she did star in her own game in 1993, which beat Peach to that same benchmark by more than a decade. One thing that Peach and Zelda do have in common is their hair color - specifically, they were originally shown as redheads, but became blonde over time. This Zelda doesn't wear a crown of any sort, unless you want to count the way she braids her hair over the top of her head. She's got pointy elf ears, and little strands of hair hang down in front of them. Breath of the Wild Zelda is set apart from her antecedents by the fact she's doing her thing in outdoorsy, adventurer clothes - "she wears pants instead of a dress" is a very 1960s idea of "strong female character," but it's something. She's not the first Zelda to wear pants, but she is the first to do so publicly instead of as a disguise. This is a very cute outfit, a short-sleeved blue top over a long-sleeved white undershirt, dark brown pants, and lighter brown boots. The symbol of the Triforce is present in a few spots on her clothes (the center of the gold trim around her ribs, between the folded flaps on her boots), which is appropriate for Hyrulean royalty. I get a lot of pushback when I say Marvel Legends are $15 figures that are being sold for $25, and that's why you should do whatever you need to do to not pay that much for them. But here's Jakks Pacific, making a figure that's slightly smaller (they call it a 4" line, but she's closer to 5") and of commensurate overall quality, and she retails for just $10. You can't even blame licensing fees, because there's no way Nintendo isn't getting their cut! She doesn't have all the same articulation as a Marvel figure, but it's close: balljointed head, swivel/hinge shoulders, double-hinged elbows, swivel/​hinge wrists, balljoint waist, balljointed hips, double-hinge knees, swivel/hinge ankles, and hinged toes. The waist pops apart easily, but goes back together just as well. Zelda comes with one accessory, her iPad. I mean, her Wii U. I mean, her Sheikah Slate! The Sheikah are a race that first appeared in Ocarina of Time, but are much more plentiful in Breath of the Wild. Their name comes from the Japanese シーカー (shīkā), a transliteration of "seeker," so it makes sense the シーカーストーン (Shīkā Sutōn, Sheikah Stone) would be used to help you navigate around the world and find hidden temples. The details on both sides are accomplished by stickers - that works on the screen side, since it's a screen, but the back should be sculpted. (The original plan was that the slate's functions would be duplicated on the Wii U Gamepad, but that got dropped when Nintendo decided to release the game on the Switch at the same time, and they didn't want the two versions to be any different.) Her hands are shaped to hold it perfectly: more cloaed on the left, to grip the handle, and more open on the right. Technically we see Link using the Sheikah Slate a lot more than Zelda ever does, but it's still a fun thing to include. There are two hooks on the right rear of her sash to hang the Slate from, but the handle is a little too thick to stay in place securely. Zelda (and her matching Link) first showed up at Walmart in early 2023, and they're still pretty easy to find today. She's a good action figure, and for an SRP of $9.97, seems to cost exactly what she should. -- 04/09/25 What's your favorite incarnation of Zelda? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.