Formation Arts

The Formation Arts Figures are officially-licensed sets of collectible figures made for the Kingdom Hearts game series, and are part of Square-Enix's larger Formation Arts collectible figurines series. As of 2009, three official Kingdom Hearts sets have been released.

All sets are composed of six figures, three heroes and three villains. All figures are made of heavy plastic and feature a character or characters with important props, locations, or symbols that represent them.

The 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 so the figures can be used on a Chess board. However, there are repeats of the same piece throughout the series so you can use whatever ones you want based on liking or which ones you receive.

Set Types
Two styles of the Formation arts figures have been released. 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. Some characters can be guessed at based on the weight of the box; Hades from the first volume can usually be selected without opening the box, for example, as packages with his figure were slightly heavier. 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 gashapon toy according to the directions contained within. These figures were primarily released in Japan, although a few make their way to other countries through collectors and conventions.

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 as the original releases did, the blister figures are made from one molded, painted piece of plastic. They are generally seen as lower in quality, but on the plus side are cheaper and readily available in more places, including many American shops and bookstore chains such as Borders.

Volume 1 Figures
The figures from Volume 1 were made available in Japan in April 2005. They are, in numerical order:


 * 1. Sora in his Kingdom Hearts gear, holding the Kingdom Key on top of a stylized version of the Traverse Town Gizmo Shop clock. Available in both styles. Sora is the white king.
 * 2. Donald Duck, holding the Mage's Staff and sitting atop a stylized Traverse Town roof. Available in both styles. Donald is a white bishop.
 * 3. Jack Skellington with Zero, surrounded by ghosts and a stylized version of Halloween Town's Guillotine Gate. Available in both styles. Jack Skellington is a white knight.
 * 4. Maleficent, holding her wand and encircled by thorns and her dragon form. Maleficent is the black queen.
 * 5. Hades, sitting on his throne with Cerberus behind him. Hades is a black knight.
 * 6. A collection of Heartless, including three Shadows, one Wyvern, one Darkball, the Gauntlet of the Guard Armor, and a black Black-Mage type, such as a Blue Rhapsody. This piece is a black pawn.

Volume 2 Figures
The figures from Volume 2 were first made available in Japan in April 2006. A "re-run", or re-release, will be done in August 2008. They are, in numerical order:


 * 7. Cloud in his original Kingdom Hearts gear, wielding the Buster Sword on top of some damaged pieces of Olympus Coliseum. Available in both styles. Cloud is a white knight.
 * 8. Kairi on the dock at Destiny Islands, surrounded by palm trees and with a Paopu Fruit in her lap. Available in both styles. Kairi is the white queen.
 * 9. Goofy with the Knight's Shield atop a stylized spire in Traverse Town, complete with Tinker Bell windvane. Goofy is a white knight.
 * 10. Oogie Boogie, surrounded by the dangerous toys and tricks from his lair in Halloween Town. Oogie is a black rook.
 * 11. Ansem and his Guardian, cupped in Darkside's hands. Ansem is the black king.
 * 12. Jafar, atop a pile of treasure from the Cave of Wonders and Genie, holding Genie's lamp and Iago. Jafar is a black bishop.

Volume 3 Figures
The Volume 3 figures were released in Japan in August 2008. It is the first series to be based on Kingdom Hearts II. In numerical order, they are:
 * 13. Sora in his Three Fairies made-gear from Kingdom Hearts II in the World That Never Was. Available in both styles. Sora is a white king.
 * 14. Queen Minnie with Chip and Dale at Disney Castle. Available in both styles. Minnie is a white queen.
 * 15. Jack Sparrow atop treasure from the Isla de Muerta. Available in both styles. Jack Sparrow is a white rook.
 * 16. Axel with his chakrams on top of Castle Oblivion. Axel is a black knight.
 * 17. Pete with various cartoon-style implements of destruction. Pete is a black pawn.
 * 18. Ursula with Flotsam and Jetsam, holding King Triton's Trident. Ursula is a black bishop.