Saber rattling

It's been a while since I've made a post about figures, but it's probably time since I made a change from posting about videogames and nerded out in a different way. For a while now, I've been a fan of Type Moon, and by extension, Fate/Stay Night. While it was originally just a visual novel, it's branched out into a range of different media, such as anime series, manga, a few fighting games, books, and probably a few other things on the side.

I've usually maintained the view that you can judge a character's popularity by the amount of merchandise they have. With that in mind, it would easily be Saber, the main female lead of the series. I'm generally aware of this because I'm also a fan of the Figma range of figures, which Saber has a few of already.


The first ever Figma I saw was the standard look for Saber. At the time, I wasn't so sure about it. I was only just getting into poseable figures, but was limiting myself to the Revoltech range. It was modestly priced, but for some reason I didn't feel like going for it. Currently though, I'm quite strongly tempted to pick it up.


However, I really became tempted with Saber Lily, a very limited one that only came bundled with a limited print of the PS2 version of Fate/Unlimited Codes, a fighting game by Capcom. I think I've missed my chance with it now, as it's been out for some time, but I really like the look of Saber Lily. I've also not played Fate/Unlimited Codes, and as it's a Capcom fighter, I should probably rectify that. But despite missing out on that limited edition, there are others.


With the soon to be released Fate/Extra, there's a limited version that comes with yet another Saber, the imaginatively titled Red Saber. I've no idea what's the justification for her is, but generally it seems that if there's a new version of Fate, there's a new Saber to go with it. I'm actually quite tempted with Fate/Extra. Not only is it an alternate take on the original story, but it's also following Persona's current example and adopting a school life simulator. However, the limited edition is £100, and as nice as that figure is, I'm not sure I can justify it. I remember once hearing limited editions described as a trap, which seems very fitting in this example.


Perhaps the one I'm most tempted with out of the Figma Sabers though, is the newest, Saber Alter. Or Dark Saber, she seems to go by two names. I already have a Revoltech version of the character, but I've come to appreciate Figma more than Revoltech recently, due to the fact that they're generally better presented. I'm usually not keen on the "dark" versions of characters, but I've always been keen on this version of Saber. I could easily cave and add this to my ever growing collection. Of course, this may depend on how many other forms of Saber get the Figma treatment, I can easily see more being added, as long as she keeps getting different outfits.