This week, Toys'R'Us finally began stocking their exclusive 3 3/4" Force Link Starter Set. This pack had been on my huntlist since September, so I was quick to pick one up not long after its release. Retailing for $34.99US ($51.33NZ), this set comes with a Force Link bracelet and two figures that are (for now, at least) are otherwise unavailable: the First Order Stormtrooper Executioner, and an (alternate) Elite Praetorian Guard.
The Stormtrooper Executioner is a phenomenal little figure, featuring some finely painted details and a dynamic leg-stance that sets him apart from his less melee-oriented comrades. My only criticism is that he wasn't given just one extra point of articulation so that he might heft his axe two-handed. The Praetorian Guard fares a lot less well. Try as I might, I can't find a single pose that works for him. Honestly, I'm just hoping that the terrible look of these guards isn't any indication of how they'll appear in the movie - but is simply down to Hasbro failing to translate them into an aesthetically pleasing toy format. Only time will tell, I suppose.
One really nice feature of this set is the surprising number of accessories that accompany the two figures. The Praetorian Guard has his 'whipstaff' in both its 'whip' and 'staff' configurations, while the Stormtrooper Executioner comes with a fantastic little electro-axe (featuring translucent electrical sparks), as well as a blaster rifle and blaster pistol - both of which can clip into the holster on his right thigh.
Of course, there's one more item in this set that I've yet to mention: the Force Link bracelet. For those who are unfamiliar with the technology, the Force Link bracelet is an electronic device that - when worn by someone holding a Force Link figure - will play dialogue and sound effects appropriate to that character, responding to taps on the device and particular movements of the wearer's arm.
At least, that's how it's supposed to work.
In short, the bracelet is bad. So, so bad. My fiancée and I each spent a long while trying to elicit the correct sounds via the appropriate gestures - but for the most part, it seemed utterly random. Sometimes a character would repeat the same line ad nauseum, while other times they wouldn't say a thing. Occasionally we managed to elicit the desired sound out of the device, but only with the most convulated of arm gestures. Later in the day, I struggled to even get the device (which features no buttons or switches) to turn back on. Put simply, the Force Link bracelet is really just an inferior version of the same technology we saw almost twenty years ago with the Episode I CommTech reader. While that device was clunkier, and the chips too large to fit within the figures, it at least managed to work reliably every time. As an added bonus, the CommTech reader was actually fashioned after an in-universe device - the comlink used by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace. The Force Link bracelet is just... well, a bracelet.
That being said, no one will be buying this set for the bracelet. The real attraction here are those two exclusive figures. Toys'R'Us is also currently sweetening the deal by offering a free Star Wars poster with any Star Wars purchase, and $10 off any combined Star Wars purchase of $50 or more.
