I’m a longtime Square Enix fan and a newly-minted adult. There’s good and bad that come with that: I’m finally able to drop some money on those ridiculous Final Fantasy XV Play Arts Kai action figures that most of my friends will judge me for, but I’m also trying to save money where I can (American student debt is real). So, I ventured into the *arguably immoral* world of knockoffs and tried to see if those imported, $120+ Japanese originals are truly worth the money.

My conclusion: They probably are. But I still came out unscathed. Let me explain.

Where I bought the action figures

I bought all four knockoff, Chinese-made action figures on Ebay. All of the listings admitted that these were not the real deal, but I took care not to order figurines from any listing that made claims like “these are handmade copies, so products will vary from the picture.” I knew that if I got something really heinous, that would be the line the seller uses to shut down my request for a return.

I ordered Gladiolus for $46.46 USD (seller: vstargifts), Prompto for $39.99 and $2.99 shipping (seller: kenan323), Noctis for $48.29 and Ignis for $48.29. Both Noctis and Ignis — the most expensive and most terrible knockoffs — were purchased from lilyho1981. This seller immediately refunded me when I sent photos of the action figures and told me that I don’t need to return the items (you’ll see why). I got all four action figures within 3 or so weeks of ordering it and am satisfied with the sellers and their service.

So far, I have not seen any obvious knockoffs of Aranea, Cindy, Nix or Lunafreya. If there are fakes, they must be expensive — as of Oct. 18, 2017, the cheapest I’ve seen a resell of Lunafreya or Cindy is $90. They’re usually much higher than that.

Here’s how they came out.

All in all, I’m very happy with Prompto and satisfied with Gladiolus. Noctis and Ignis, however, are utter terrors.

They pain my eyes and look like the ugly voodoo doll version that, say, the antagonist of FFXV might create to stick pins in. And aside from their hideousness, it was clear that the creators of the Noctis and Ignis knockoffs took no care for the product or the packaging. The cardboard boxing was cheap, easily rippable and items were flailing around loose in the plastic packaging. As for Gladiolus and Prompto, both came in sturdy boxes with great packaging, plus the details are generally all right. Whoever packaged Prompto was clearly in love with him, because his box came in a sturdy styrofoam casing and then a padded cardboard box that fit it like a glove.

I haven’t seen any knockoffs of Cindy or Lunafreya, but if I do, I’ll probably pass.

Prompto: The best of the four

Let’s start with the good news: Prompto was great. I have no real complaints. His hair is well shaded, his face is painted carefully and he has a great expression.