The most horrifically crap toys based on games

Thankfully, games are now a big enough deal that the toys licensed from them are usually of a pretty high quality. There have though, been some absolute stinking abominations over the years. And it's these wretched, malformed plastic beings that we're going to pay tribute to here. They should never have existed. But they did. And now you have to deal with it.

GI Joe Street Fighter II

Yes, the first Street Fighter toy run was part of the GI Joe range. And it showed. Mainly in the fact that they looked like standard GI Joes at Mardi Gras.

Oh how excitedly we ran to the toy store shelves as '90s children, upon realising that Street Fighter II action figures existed. Oh how we sullenly slunk back from those shelves, empty-handed and a little moremistrustful bythe world, upon actually seeing the things.

GI Joe Mortal Kombat

Yes, they got hold of MK too, and gave it the same pug-faced mistreatment. Sonya Blade or muscular transvestite? You decide. We're too transfixed by Goro's look of utter disappointment at his own lower body.

Doom: The Movie action figures

Scarier than the film. Fact. The Rock's tiny bean-head alone is a greater afront against God than any Cyberdemon ever was.

Let's take a closer look at the others.

Actually let's not. That Imp looks like someone skinned a Ninja Turtle alive.

Malformed Sonic plushies

For some reason, Sega's main mascot has a long, dark history of hideously mis-shaped toy-based representation. Maybe the licensees tried to make the toys at the speed of sound. Or maybe they were just crap. Either way, stacks of Sonic toys now fit into the category of"so hideous we atually feel sorry for an inanimate object". There are loads in the nightmare collection atSonic Gear, so check it out. Just don't blame us when your mind snaps.

Mortal Kombat: Deception figures

Okay, so Mortal Kombat toys havebecome more detailed since the days of the GI Joe license, but that detail looks to have been lavished entirely uponthe accuraterendering ofstupid.

Over-formed Taki

Oh God. Oh God why? We know Soul Calibur's Taki is famed for her over-emphasised bullet-nipples, but why did they have to sculpt everything else as well? It looks like a 1/6 scaleReal Dollwith ink-dipped Barbie doll hair. But if you want to see more of her, check out thefull galleryat the rather excellent and thoroughly comprehensive Captain Toy review site. That's where we found the above Baraka and Sub-Zero figures too.

David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.