Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol.1

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

I brought this Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol.1 from eBay when the Final Fantasy Creatures was in its craze.  I paid more than the retail price, but it was considered as average at the time.  The reason why I brought it was to examine the figures in this series & understand it's popularity.

Since this is a book, it's has been out of print for a long time.

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

The Review

Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol. 1 front cover

The Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol. 1 contains 51 pages.  It has an interview article of the creators & covers all the Final Fantasy Creatures figures from the Valfor test market figure to the Final Fantasy Creatures Vol. 3 trading figures.  It has pics of all three versions, but doesn't show the Rikku Secret Dress secret figurine from vol. 3.  At the end, it has a section of advertisements of a small assortment Final Fantasy merchandise goods; from jewelry to plush dolls.  The entire book is in full colour

Dark Bahamut special trading figure

Included with the fan book is a Dark Bahamut figure.  This trading figure can only be obtained from this fan book only.  It's pre-built, so no construction is required.  Take it out of the package & display.  Since I didn't take any close up pics of it as it's still sealed in its bag, I can tell you the paint job is so-so in terms of the panel lines.  There are a lot of bleeds.  However, this can be forgiven a bit since the figure is quite small & there are a lot of lines to be painted.  Also, the lines are quite close together.  But the paint colours used is terrific.  The tone balance is very good as if it has a metallic finish.  Also, it doesn't look like a toy.  As for the molding job, not bad.  No chucks appearing in the middle or air holes.  However, there are some edges that isn't shaped too well.  There is a bit more molding material on it than needed.

Overall Conclusion

The Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol. 1 is something that Final Fantasy fans should get.  Although it doesn't cover vol. 4 & beyond in the trading figure series, that Dark Bahamut figure should be more than enough to get it.  Not having that is like having an incomplete set.

On a scale of ten, Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol. 1 gets an 8.5.  The book is written in Japanese, but the pictures & it being in full colour is more than enough.  The book is mainly a checklist really.  Plus, the Dark Bahamut is made quite nice if you aren't very picky about the paint job on the panel lines for a small figure like that.

The Final Fantasy Creatures Fan Book Vol. 1 as I mentioned is out of print.  So, your only hope is to get it from an old Japanese bookstore or from online auctions.  If you just want the Dark Bahamut figure, that's even more of a tough position.  Last I checked many months ago, the fan book was marketed at US$100.  However, it seems like the Final Fantasy Creatures craze is dying now with no new creatures in this product lineup appearing.  So, the price of that fan book may have decreased now.  How much is unknown to me.

Photos were taken using HP scanjet 4470c.

Last updated on February 19, 2008