While not a Nintendo property, Resident Evil (and Capcom for that matter) have always had a strong relationship with Nintendo.  Perhaps the best example of that is Resident Evil 4 which launched on the Gamecube and went on to be a massive hit.  I never played Resident Evil until RE4 but I was completely hooked on the game and did everything in the game including the side modes like Mercenaries because it was so much fun.  RE4 is one game I’ve wanted to have figures of but it is so old now that they have gotten expensive to buy new.  So when I saw that Nendoroid was making a figure of Chris, I was excited and there was a pre-order bonus that also caught my eye and caused me to pre-order my first Nendoroid!  Let’s take a detailed look at this new figure to see if it is worth your hard earned money.

Packaging – It has been a little while since I purchased and reviewed the Kirby Nendoroid and it is nice to see Good Smile has changed their packaging style a bit since then.  There is now a larger “window” or area of plastic on the sides to look into and see what the figure comes with.  Other than that, there are the standard pictures of the chibi figure and some poses/displays you can expect on the front and back.  The packaging has remained the same for a long time because it works fairly well and I am happy with the new changes too.

Accessories – As you would expect with a Nendoroid, Chris comes loaded with all kinds of accessories and as usual, they are a major factor in determining whether the figure is worth picking up.  Let’s take a look at each one and see how good they are.

“Pre-Order” stand – The main reason I jumped on buying Chris was because of the cool 20th Anniversary stand that came with preorders.  Chris has been out for a couple of weeks now and you can still get him with the preorder stand bonus if you’re so inclined.  It kind of sucks that many of us preordered this and there are still Nendoroids floating around with major retailers like Amiami.com out there with the preorder stand available but oh well.  The stand looks awesome and the Resident Evil artwork makes this a darker Nendoroid than most.  Do keep in mind that because there is only one hole on the preorder stand, you cannot use the rocket launcher or some of the more elaborate accessories with Chris and this stand.  I had the best luck just using the gun and knife with it.

Face plates – Chris is a stoic character (almost comically so) in Resident Evil and his face plates represent that.  Compared to other Nendoroids, Chris’s face plates aren’t overly exciting.  One is a “straight face” that works with any accessory.  The other is a grimacing face that is best used when Chris is firing his rocket launcher though could be used in other situations for fun.  Overall, I would say these face plates are less interesting than they usually are with Nendoroids and only getting two isn’t as nice as other figures either but that is the nature of the character so I won’t complain too much.

Gun and Knife – These are two staples from the Resident Evil games so it is great to see them here.  Both these accessories are so small, they’re kind of cute, as odd as that is to say.  They’re pretty easy to use and fit snugly in Chris’s hands designed for them.  Because Chris has limited articulation, you won’t get a lot of crazy poses or anything like that with the gun and knife but you can certainly create displays where Chris is using them convincingly.

Green Herb – I have to admit, I was excited that the green herb is included as an accessory for Chris.  It is such a ubiquitous item in the Resident Evil games that it is hard to imagine having a figure like this and not having an herb to pose and play around with.  The herb is relatively basic as far as the design and paint scheme goes and it doesn’t have great details. The bigger issue though is that it is very hard to get Chris to hold the herb so it is not a very useful accessory for displays.  It took me many, many attempts to get Chris to hold the herb in the picture and the only way I could make it work is if he held it against his face.  That was a big disappointment since the accessories are generally pretty functional and Good Smile should have considered having a hand with a peg in it to help make the green herb more fun to use.

Rocket Launcher – The major selling point of this Nendoroid is absolutely the massive rocket launcher with shooting rockets.  Anytime you get a rocket launcher in Resident Evil, you feel like you can take down anything and so to get an awesome weapon like that here is a really fun idea.  Unfortunately, the rocket launcher is a pain to actually use and pose.  Chris cannot hold the rocket up as if he were aiming without using a stand.  This makes posing it difficult in and of itself but it becomes even worse when you couple that with Chris’s short arms.  I was unable to make it look like Chris had both hands on the rocket launcher no matter what I tried.  On the back of the box, they clearly show this can be done but in my opinion it is so challenging that it almost isn’t worth messing with.  In fact, I wanted to take lots more pictures for later on in the review with Chris using the rocket launcher and it was so unfun trying to pose Chris with it, I eventually gave up.  All in all, this is a cool-looking accessory that is not practical and is not fun to use.  It is a shame it wasn’t designed better so that you can use it more easily.

Articulation – That brings us to the other thing that is always important to keep in mind with Nendoroid: the articulation is limited.  The legs that Chris has are especially this way.  While there are two sets: straight and running, I wasn’t overly impressed by what the running legs could do and they don’t look as natural as I would like.  Chris’s arms are a bit better but definitely still fairly limited.  I’d love to see Nendoroid try to improve this area of their figures.  The accessories are amazing but with such limited posing options, it hampers what you can do a bit like with the Rocket Launcher.  I would say that Chris is fairly standard for Nendoroid articulation but maybe just a little less than other Nintendo ones I have reviewed.

Display Options – The main reason I wanted Chris was not only because I love Resident Evil but because I thought he would be fun to crossover with Nintendo Nendoroids I already own.  Unfortunately, between how many pictures I took for this review, wanting to get the article finished in a timely fashion and the fact that the Rocket Launcher is a pain to work with, I only have one to share that turned out well enough to show off but I am confident you can do many others if you have a Nendoroid collection.  I hope that Good Smile Company will make some more RE Nendoroids including Ada, Wesker, and Leon but I think having some enemies would also be incredible in the off chance that Good Smile tries to make them.  The crossover appeal of these figures is incredibly high and that is one reason I love collecting Nendoroids.

Closing Thoughts – There is a lot to consider with this Nendoroid and it is complicated to evaluate it.  The number of accessories is fantastic and really covers nearly everything you could want Chris to come with, let alone any character from Resident Evil. However, the limited posing and the difficulty in using the coolest accessory, the rocket launcher, dampen the fun factor of this Nendoroid.  Chris is not one of my favorite Nendoroids as I hoped.  He is mostly solid with a few drawbacks to be aware of before you buy.  Having said that, I suspect most Resident Evil fans will still find this cute figure hard to resist and I hope we get to see many more from Good Smile Company.