NECA 8-Bit Freddy
This 8-Bit Horror trend we've been seeing lately is pretty astonishing to me. This year we've seen a resurgence in the Friday the 13th video game all thanks to NECA releasing a San Diego Comic Con exclusive figure in a variation of his appearance in the classic NES game. And it paved way for many to reminisce about how awful the game was(including me, who spent more time than I care to admit playing it.) and eventually lead to people dressing as the NES Jason at conventions and even cooler, artist Chris Ott of London 1888 studios is releasing an AWESOME t-shirt showcasing great art of NES Jason. If you're a Jason fan, it's pretty cool to see this happening. If you're a old school gaming fan, like myself, it's pretty cool too. And while this has lead to a pretty warm reception due to it's uniqueness(as well as being a figure we've never EVER seen done before!) it's starting to spread into other franchises. Shortly after Jason was made available, NECA announced an 8-Bit Freddy would become available soon. Fans got pretty excited as they were expecting the figure to be done in an equally awesome fashion, not too mention, fans secretly wanted to have battles in classic Nintendo fashion. And of course, being a Freddy fanatic, I was pretty stoked to own one as well. My expectations were high, knowing NECA always puts out the best effort possible to satisfy fans...
But a problem happened on the way. Well, not really a problem. It's just my anticipation waned a little bit after looking at more photos from others who already had received them. The more photos I saw, the more I felt it was a pretty weak figure, paint job wise. I was hoping that would be the only issue I'd have with it. By the time I got my figure in the mail, I realize my hopes were still a little too high.
Just as they did with Jason, NECA recycled parts from previous Freddy offerings. And...eh...I can't say it's any parts that stand out. I'd say the glove was pretty good choice for this figure and the positioning of Freddy's fingers look kinda creepy. At the same time, you have to take special care of removing Freddy from the package(if you're a fan who buys toys to open them and display) as his gloved hand has potential to break if not paid attention on it's removal.
The paint job may be the most upsetting aspect of this figure. Where as the blue and purple with glow in the dark accents was eye catching for Jason, the bright red and light green just don't work for Freddy. And to be fair, there's not much to work with. The original game depicted Freddy in minimal detail. So I'm really trying to be fair and appreciate that aspect. After all, 1989 wasn't the watermark for video game graphics. Here's a good picture of how Freddy looked in the game...
But a problem happened on the way. Well, not really a problem. It's just my anticipation waned a little bit after looking at more photos from others who already had received them. The more photos I saw, the more I felt it was a pretty weak figure, paint job wise. I was hoping that would be the only issue I'd have with it. By the time I got my figure in the mail, I realize my hopes were still a little too high.
Just as they did with Jason, NECA recycled parts from previous Freddy offerings. And...eh...I can't say it's any parts that stand out. I'd say the glove was pretty good choice for this figure and the positioning of Freddy's fingers look kinda creepy. At the same time, you have to take special care of removing Freddy from the package(if you're a fan who buys toys to open them and display) as his gloved hand has potential to break if not paid attention on it's removal.
The paint job may be the most upsetting aspect of this figure. Where as the blue and purple with glow in the dark accents was eye catching for Jason, the bright red and light green just don't work for Freddy. And to be fair, there's not much to work with. The original game depicted Freddy in minimal detail. So I'm really trying to be fair and appreciate that aspect. After all, 1989 wasn't the watermark for video game graphics. Here's a good picture of how Freddy looked in the game...
And here's a better photo of the Freddy figure...
Ok, as I said, I'm trying to be fair in in remembering how bland Freddy was depicted in the game. And if accuracy counts more than my opinion, it's spot on. It really is. And in the photo above, it looks more like a candy coated Christmas colored variant. I'd expect it more to be something that would appear in a Pixar Christmas special where he plays an evil elf who tried to steal Santa's stash of candy canes. I don't know. I feel something could've been added to make it stand out better than it does.
The packaging is another thing I take issue with. A lot of trimmings were put into making the package for Jason to be as perfect a replica of the original NES game. Well...
Again...here's the original NES package....
And the packaging for NECA's figure...
Again, it feels pretty bland. The Jason packaging had little nods to every label and slogan on it's Nintendo counterpart whereas Freddy doesn't. I don't know. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, I just feel we were robbed on this figure as a whole. I'm really trying to be biased and look at this in a neutral light, but I can't get past certain omissions on the packaging.
The inside of the package, however, is another story. Just as Jason was in the bunk where he battled teens, Freddy was just chilling in front of that famous house at 1428 Elm Street! And when you open the package...
Awesome. Freddy's kill screen is the first thing you notice. The famous quote that adorns the inside flap is as follows:
So, the evil is purged
Fire purifies all.
The bones are ashes
Soon to be dust.
Freddy is dead
And the nightmare is over.
...Or is it?
So, I can say the inside flap of the packaging is probably it's high point. I don't know if that's a reason to drop some dough on it, but if you're a Freddy completist and must have every unique Freddy available, pay the 20 bucks.
I'd hate to dedicate an entire blog entry to writing something negative. I really do. But, as a diehard Freddy fan and collector, I can't really give this my stamp approval. Not to say NECA doesn't put out great efforts, it's just that at the end of the day, this is a rather weirdly forced figure that was made because fans were expecting it and I don't think it's the best effort put out by NECA. Whereas I enjoyed Jason for it's originality, I can't get into this one. It's more or less a figure I want on my shelf so I can have a complete set of 8-Bit figures. That and Jason can't hog all the glory. Whereas I will always defend Freddy to the death, I can't shake this feeling that the figure just was made to make a quick buck. And unlike the movie, I feel like Jason wins this battle.
NECA plans on continuing it's 8-Bit themed line with Robocop in all his Nintendo-like glory. And actually, this figure looks better than many other Robocop figures of the past. And that's one figure I am looking forward to placing on the shelf. Preview images are already suggesting it's going to be a welcome addition to anyone's collection...
I'd buy that for a dollar!
-Chad