The retro reviews continue this week as today we take a look at a character that nearly seemed forgotten by Nintendo.  Dixie Kong debuted in Donkey Kong Country 2 and also played a key role in Donkey Kong Country 3 and finally made her triumphant return in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.  I’ve always enjoyed using Dixie Kong because her hover ability is a nice skill to have in some of the challenging aerial sections of Donkey Kong Country.  So getting a figure of Dixie Kong is awesome even if she is not one of the better World of Nintendo figures I have reviewed.

Character’s Figure History – Since Dixie Kong has a small number of figures, I thought it would help us better appreciate the World of Nintendo figure by looking at what other options Nintendo collectors have for Dixie Kong.  The first ever Dixie Kong figure was released in Japan by TOMY Takara.  Occasionally these figures come up for sale here in the United States and they are generally expensive from what I have seen/heard.  US collectors may find the figure to be a bit odd because Dixie Kong is based on a Donkey Kong Country show in Japan where she is dressed differently than in Donkey Kong Country and is missing her trademark ponytail.  In fact, many of the TOMY Takara figures are different than what fans of the video games would expect, but this figure line is one of the only ways you can get other obscure, yet sought after characters like King K. Rool.

There is one other Dixie Kong figure which actually saw a widespread US release, but it is on the small side and has no articulation.  Released by Popco, the Dixie Kong figure is only 2 inches tall and has a somewhat odd pose.  Until the World of Nintendo figure came out, this was the only option collectors had and if you’re interested, the figure seems to available at an affordable price.

Articulation – So one way that the World of Nintendo Dixie Kong figure could set itself apart from the others was by having some nice articulation and pose-ability, but unfortunately, this figure has the worst articulation I have seen in this figure line.  Dixie’s hands will go up a bit, but the problem is that then she can’t stand up because she needs to rest on her hands to stand up at all.  Why Jakks Pacific decided to make her arms move when it looks silly and has no real function is a mystery.  I’m also not sure why Dixie’s ponytail is so long and it makes her rest on the ground poorly.  The ponytail is longer than any part of the figure and it cannot be rotated at all.  That makes Dixie unable to rest on her hind legs the way she should.  It is hard to show in the pictures, but if you look closely I think you can see what I mean.  I try to be positive both on the site and in my reviews as much as possible, but this is just not a well-designed figure in several different respects.

Paint – Fortunately, the paint and sculpt of the figure are much better.  I bought my Dixie Kong online and so I had no control over which figure I received and she has almost no paint blemishes.  Her pupil, irises, and hair look fantastic and while the rest of the figure is simple, it is always great to see the paint done well.  The only spots I can see is on her hands which the Donkey Kong World of Nintendo figure also had a few spots on.  Other than that, they captured Dixie Kong’s likeness well and did a great job with the paint.

Closing Thoughts – While there are some pretty disappointing aspects to this figure, if you look at the alternative figure options, this Dixie Kong is by far the best one you can buy.  She is true to the video games and while she has no real articulation, she looks good in her standard pose and looks great next to other DKC characters.  This is one of those figures you have to be glad it exists since the character is obscure, but there is no doubt that you need to be a real Donkey Kong Country fan like myself to want this figure and I think that is why Dixie Kong is easy to get online for her retail price (or at least at the time of this review) even well after she was originally released in stores.  With the right expectations, you can enjoy this figure even if it is the worst World of Nintendo figure I have reviewed thus far.