“Gun!”
It took a mighty 4-player Co-Op effort to initially defeat the powerful Bugster Graphite. Using the Level 5 Gashat Drago Knight Hunter Z, Ex-Aid and the other doctor Riders were each granted a portion of it’s power & armor. Thus the Dragon Gun was inherited by Kamen Rider Snipe! Eventually though Taiga would come master the powers of this Gashat on his own. For now we see how well Tamashii Nations has tamed this wild power with a new gallery of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Snipe Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5!
Snipe Level 5 is a mold you’ve seen before. Largely unchanged from the original Snipe Level 2 release, Level 5 swaps out the left side limbs for the Drago Knight Hunter Z armor, granting Snipe the powerful Dragon Gun. While these parts are largely unchanged from their outing with Ex-Aid Level 5, Snipe can make full use of this arms’ articulation unlike Ex-Aid. This go around we also have the inclusion of 7 unique word bubble effect parts to spruce up your Ex-Aid display or a battle scene! A few of which are different from those included with Brave Level 5, whom this figure pairs perfectly with.
We’ve attached the full 60+ image gallery to this post, but you can also read up on our full review of this figure by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. We’ll be back soon with a new gallery from Kamen Rider W!
"Gun!"
When 1 Player alone couldn't defeat the powered up Bugster, Graphite, it took 4-Player co-op to bring him down! Using the Level 5 Gashat Drago Knight Hunter Z Ex-Aid and his allies were each granted a portion of it's power and a piece of it's armor. In Taiga's case he inherited the power of the Dragon Gun, fitting his sniper theme perfectly. Unlike Brave, Snipe would would only gain mastery of this Level 5 Gashat in the Chou Super Hero Taisen film, never in the TV series. He would also eventually gain the much more powerful abilities of Level 50 with Bang Bang Simulations and go even further beyond briefly as the Legendary Hero Cronus. But at one time his piece of this Level 5 power-up was a force to be reckoned with. Let's see if that still holds true in figure as well with our review of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Snipe Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5!
Packaging
As with the first web exclusives in this line, Lazer Level 2 & Brave Level 5, Snipe features a bright and standout box. With no packaging window as all web exclusives are these days. As with the others the colors really pop and I like the character portrait on the front. That's about all there is to say on this one.
Main Figure
Seeing as this figure features components from two others we've seen previously, Snipe Level 2 & Ex-Aid Level 5, you'll notice a lot of my review is very similar.
Most of Snipe Level 5's body is reused from the Level 2 release. While the left side of the body reuses components from the Level 5 Ex-Aid body. The Level 2 Ex-Aid riders themselves all share a great many number of parts as is. Each suit has it's own unique detailing and colors, but at a basic level they feature the same mold. Sporty type shoes, the bike shorts look, the driver, the chest plate. You see what I mean. This release of Snipe is still as lavishly detailed as the first.
From the Ground up the Ex-Aid type body is pretty solidly built. Though the ankles are still a huge fault for me. They don't have the full range of motion they need for Snipe to assume many of the dynamic poses he's known for. You'll find that wide stances are just really really difficult to achieve, which means he's always gonna be a bit off balance. Unlike my Brave Level 5, Snipe Level 5 has legs that are at least the same length. The knees have a great bend that helps improve some of the articulation woes as well, rotating hips also go a long way to that. And I would say that the bulkier left leg helps a bit with weight and stability. All that being said, the paint apps for the legs are exquisite. I don't know why but generally when I saw official images of this release it seemed more black than blue, but the colors match well with the Level 2 in person.
As with previous releases, the Gamer Driver is still my favorite thing about the figure. This entire device is extraordinarily detailed for something at this scale. The Driver handle can still flip shut. The functionality it features still astounds me. Changes to this release include a new "dummy" Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, which is removable as you can see in my pictures below. You can insert it as with any other Gashat into the Critical Finish slot on the Gashat Holster. Speaking of there's also what is meant to be the Level 3 Jet Combat Gashat in the holster. As with Ex-Aid's Gekitotsu Robots Gashat, & Brave's DoReMiFa Beat, Jet Combat is sparsely detailed and permanently fixed to the holster.
Snipe's upper body, right arm and head are unchanged. He still has the pretty terribly designed sash on his right armor that severely limits articulation. It still feels very awkward to pose. Snipe's chest detailing as with the others is still something I still just cannot get over. The paint apps on the outer layer are crisp and clear, and the Rider Gauge label in the chest is just perfect. On the flip side of the torso is the deactivated Level 1 head we've seen before. Looking up to the primary head, we have antoher reuse from the Level 2 form. The scarf still limits it's movement a bit, as do the "bangs" hanging down the right side. Thankfully those are pegs in so they can move easily.
Before we finish up with the main body, Snipe's left arm has been replaced by the Level 5 Dragon Gun arm. Surprisingly, or maybe it shouldn't be, this arm isn't impaired at all like it was with Ex-Aid Level 5. With Ex-Aid the bulky shoulder pad was attached directly to the main body via the new chest plate on the torso. With Snipe thankfully this pad is just attached to the arm and it really frees up the movement. Sadly the elbow is still neutered, being unable to achieve even a decent 90 degree angle. So you can't really get this gun in any nice two-handed pose which is a shame. Exchanging hands on this arm is also a nightmare. The wrist pegs are rather tight on this release and difficult to replace thanks to the dragon claws on the wrist. Just as they were with Ex-Aid & Brave. For snipe I didn't really bother trying more than couple times. That arm can't do anything crazy anyway.
Physical shortcomings aside, this release still fills out my display quite well. But the real point of it is the accessories it includes.
Accessories
4 - sets of hands. These are identical to those that came with Level 2 Snipe. Straight re-packs with no additions or subtractions at all.
7 - "word bubble" effect parts. These clear thin plastic sheets were the big selling point for both Brave & Snipe Level 5. Each replicates an effect a battle action or outcome from the show. Included are:
These world bubbles are really great, and the biggest reason I wanted to buy this figure. However the accessories needed to utilize them are lacking. Snipe does include some different ones as well. The "GREAT" included here is of the blue/green variety without the "!" on the end. Instead of a "PERFECT" a "CONTINUE" is included. And "GAME START" is subbed in for "GAME CLEAR". So Bandai's trying to include enough differences to entice you to buy both.
4 - effect part holders/arms. Each of the word effect parts can only be used thanks to these. And it's pitiful. The word effects themselves are actually really cool. However, of everything included, there's only 1 small flat clip that can actually hold them. The other 3 parts consist of a couple wrist/leg mounts and a small elbow shape piece as a go between from the clamps to the flat clip. So it takes 3 of these four parts to use even one word bubble. And those wrist mounts? They're incredibly weak. I've used them for only a handful of photos in these two Level 5 galleries and there are already stress marks on them. They aren't nearly flexible enough.
I wish they'd at least re-packed the Gashacon Magnum with this release as well. I borrowed the one from my Level 2 Snipe for a few pics. It's just really dumb to include the hands that can hold it, without actually including the weapon they're meant to hold. And while I love the word bubbles, I'm still upset at the poor execution for the parts to hold them. Only 1 small clip to hold 1 of 7 parts at a time is just ridiculous.
Final Thoughts
I'll give the figure high marks for quality control, and for taking the best parts of two figures and making them work together. But it's hard to excuse the way the effect part accessories were handled. As cool as the word bubbles are they simply can't be used very effectively. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Snipe Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 is a mixed bag of a release. One that I wanted for very specific reasons, sadly reasons that didn't pan out very well. Both it & Brave Level 5 are just a bit underwhelming ultimately. I love Ex-Aid and I want these figures to complete my display. But I completely understand why someone else may not, there are a lot of turn-offs between these two releases. I imagine neither will greatly appreciate in value, so hold off on a purchase for now.
Part 2
- Battle Scenes
- Group Shots
Man i still cant believe Bandai made a new release for ... four new parts? They shoulda done a set for dragon armor for all the others
Yeah I agree both Lv 5 brave and snipe are underwhelming. They don't offer much but the dragon parts. You know you can take some of Ex-aid Lv 5 dragon parts and switch them to another rider I seen a lot pics on Japanese twitter. Just look around your find some pics.
The best Lv 5 Dragon Hunter is Lazer he really looks great with it. Also will that be the next gallery?
The best Lv 5 Dragon Hunter is Lazer he really looks great with it. Also will that be the next gallery?
These figures are very underwhelming, unfortunately. I get why they did it; it's an easy way to make extra money off of the mold without the need for much retooling.
That being said...meh. I think the Lvl 5 forms were just destined to fail. The Lvl 5 forms for Brave and Snipe suffer a bit from Sentai Syndrome in that you can't really justify having just one or the other since those forms were literally designed to go together and don't offer much more as standalone pieces than the Lvl 2s. To make matters worse, Ex-Aid is in his Full Lvl 5 form which is inaccurate if you plan on having all four Riders together. And even then, the Full Dragon Hunter form came to be more associated with Brave and even Snipe to a degree later on than Ex-Aid.
The only one that feels like it'd be worth getting is Lazer, and only because it's the only humanoid form we have of him in the Figuarts line at the moment. This could all be remedied with implementing the parts swapping gimmick but that might mess with the engineering on the Lvl 2 bodies, and I'd much rather have a perfectly functional Lvl 2 figure than the ability to accurately create the full Dragon Hunter lineup.
Not my favorite Ex aid power up, but great shots Nonetheless
An eh design getting even more eh. That's all I can say really
Do the word bubble effects work more or less like the Midnight Shadow shuriken effect parts for Drive? Those were a little fiddly, but they had a tiny bit of anchor since they were molded around some of Drive's design details.
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Snipe Hunter Shooting Gamer Level 5 Gallery - Page 2
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