Formation Arts

Formation Arts are a line of officially-licensed collectible figures. There are two  Formation Arts series – the Original Series and the Kingdom Hearts II Series – each with three volumes of figures.

Design
All three original volumes are composed of six figures: three heroes and three villains. The Kingdom Hearts II volumes are composed of five figures each, and they lack the chess icons of the previous series. All figures are made of heavy plastic and feature a character or characters with important props, locations, or symbols that represent them.

The original series figures have a black or white symbol on the back opposite the Mickey head or Heartless symbol on the front of the base. This marks which chess piece the figure corresponds to, allowing the figures to be used as pieces on chessboard. The same chess piece is repeated on multiple figures, allowing for different configurations of the figures on the chessboard.

The Formation Arts figures have been produced in two styles. The original style comes packaged in a small, solid box. The figure inside is randomized, so the buyer cannot see which character they are purchasing, and will not know until the box is opened; however, certain characters can be guessed at based on the weight of the box, such as the heavier Hades figures. In addition, at least a few of each figure were also released in rare monotone version, colored to resemble a pewter-like metal. Once opened, the figurines have to be assembled in the style of a toy according to the directions contained within.

The second version comes packaged in a blister pack, so the character being chosen is readily seen; only the heroes from each set are available. In addition, instead of coming in pieces, the blister figures are made from one molded, painted piece of plastic. Although the material is of lower quality, the second style is cheaper and more readily available outside of Japan.