Toy Review: G.I. Joe Classified Snake Eyes (v4) Almost Hits The Mark

When it comes to the big action figure collector lines, certain lines and manufacturers get all the hype- Transformers, Marvel Legends, DC Multiverse, Star Wars Black Series, most of NECA’s output, etc. But within that realm, two lines fly under the radar. And with the last couple weeks of the year, I wanted to spotlight (or at least try) those two lines: G.I. Joe Classified and Masters of the Universe Origins.

I’ve said for a very long time two things about my figure collecting — I’m never going to buy action figures out of the feeling of FOMO, and when it comes to G.I. Joe specifically, I’m only going to collect characters I collected in the past … or wanted to and narrowly missed them.

Well, back up to fall of 1992, when I was 9 years old. My primary fandom for the last few years had been G.I. Joe and — like many Joe fans my age — Snake Eyes was far and away my favorite character. So when Hasbro announced the Hall of Fame line, bringing back the 12″ Joes of the past with the modern characters, I was hyped.

That particular Snake Eyes figure was my only Christmas list item that year. And while Santa didn’t deliver — he gave me a pretty sweet RC car — I was thrilled to unwrap it a few minutes later. (In retrospect, I think I wanted it so much that my parents wanted the credit, which I completely understand as the parent of boys around that age now.)

So when Hasbro announced the version 4 design of Snake Eyes would be adapted to the Classified line, I needed it. In fact, I preordered it day one despite the fact I had two excellent Snake Eyes figures already. I’m going to be straightforward with this: in some aspects, this is a perfect figure. In one glaring area, though, it falls incredibly short.

So first of all, design, construction and posability of this figure is perfect. Snake Eyes’ has multiple iconic designs and, frankly, this one is one of the weirdest — the blue bodysuit, red goggles on the mask, and the light colors of the vest and mask all stood out for a character specialized in stealth ops. This figure translates it and modernizes it into a slick looking figure. The only design choice that confused me was the Japanese symbols on his forearms, rather than the iconic Arashikage emblem.

After the standard hot water bath, the posability is absolutely fantastic. The biggest problem it has is one that I talk about every time I do an action figure review: these figures need to come with stands. While it stands up great and you can hit some good poses on its own, it absolutely requires a stand to hit poses that the character is known for. I also really like the look of the accessories, that include a splash of red in homage to the original design’s red accessories.

And the glaring downside? This figure is seriously lacking in accessories. G.I. Joe Classified is known for some of the best accessories in the industry. However, this figure has a grappling hook, machine gun, two katana and a sheath for the swords. Period. In comparison, the other Snake-Eyes I have each have at least two guns (including Snake-Eyes’ trademark Uzi), a sword, several knives, cross-body belts, and more.

On top of that, there’s no extra hands, no extra head, and the holster on the figure is garbage that doesn’t actually hold the machine gun. (There is no reason at this point in the game where any collectible grade action figure doesn’t come with at least one extra set of hands.) While I know the accessories are based on the original version 4 figure — which came with these exact accessories plus a launcher for the grappling hook — it feels incredibly lacking here. And considering this is the design of both the v4 and Hall of Fame figure, an alternate head matching the face under the mask of the HoF figure — with just a balaclava and the character’s eyes visible — would have made it instantly better.

But you know what? This is still a great figure. One of my favorites of the past year, and I’m thrilled to have him in my collection. So hey, that’s a big upside.