Out of all the games that Square Enix has lined up for 2022, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has quite the unique reputation when it was revealed. Touted as a prequel to the original Final Fantasy game, it combines the universe of the first entry in the franchise with a Soulslike action-RPG gameplay. The initial showing of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin gave fans and critics immediate mixed reactions, where many lampooned the game's aesthetic and tone. That being said, there was much excitement revolving around the revamped character designs of the returning characters from the first Final Fantasy.
One of the biggest characters that has been retooled for this game is Garland. In Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Jack and his party find Garland at the top of the Chaos Shrine dungeon, sitting at his throne. While he doesn't call himself Garland, he instead declares that he will "become Chaos" where Jack also has an obsessive thirst to kill Chaos. This leads to a boss fight with Garland, which is the final obstacle of the demo for the game. Square Enix announced that a figure based on this iteration of Garland will be releasing this year.
Much like the character from the original game, Final Fantasy Origin's Garland sees him decked out in a set of heavy armor. This figure of Garland has him wearing this set of armor, where it is entirely jet-black, with plenty of tiny details that run over it. This includes the trimmings and intricate parts of the armor such as his gloves, chest plate, and headpiece. This figure will also have a replica of Garland's oversized sword, which is also covered in a fine pattern.
Standing at approximately 13 inches tall, this Garland figure will have plenty of ways that it could be posed. This is thanks to the figure's join structure that can allow for smooth movement despite the shape. The figure's cape in particular has a special wire mesh that can allow the cape to be moved in specific ways. This allows fans to recreate several scenes from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, or dabble in some photography that can sell how intimidating this version of Garland is.
The figure of this iteration of Garland is open for pre-order now, and will release November 5, 2022. Orders can be placed through the official Square Enix store or other third-party sellers like Big Bad Toy Store or AmiAmi for at least $200. With the amount of detail that is in this figure, along with the elaborate joint structure, the price is no surprise.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin launches March 18, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
