Force Friday, a festival event concocted by Disney to celebrate Star Wars and show off new toys based on the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, has come to a close. Boxes have been unboxed, and action figures now roam the galaxy, free from their oppressive plastic prisons. In fact, you can head out to major retailers right now and find new toys lining the shelves. But with so many to choose from, which do you pick? If you're open to suggestions, here are three toys you'll see us dropping in our shopping cart.
Sphero BB-8 droid ($150)
A little on the expensive side for something that has no practical application outside of making you smile, but we think it's totally worth it. BB-8 has been adored by fans ever since his brief appearance in the first trailer for The Force Awakens, and this is our chance to own a miniature version of him. The best part is that this isn't some dinky little approximation or imitation: the BB-8 app-controlled droid can rotate his body with complete freedom independent of his head. The ability to record augmented reality "holograms" that you can only see through a tablet's screen and the cute sounds BB makes are just icing on the cake.
Battle Action Millenium Falcon ($120)
Again, this is a spendier toy than many others you'll see in the coming months, but the bang-to-buck ratio is strong with this one. First off, the Battle Action Millenium Falcon is big. We're talking more than a foot long and almost as wide. It comes with articulated action figures of Han and Chewy, as well as a smaller BB-8 (seriously, this little droid is going to rival R2-D2 in terms of popularity). The outside is well-detailed, but the interior is even moreso - it even includes the dejarik table where we learned about why you should let the wookiee win. Lastly, panels on the front open up and turn the Falcon into a NERF-like blaster. Don't get cocky, kid. They're just foam pellets.
Elite Series Die Cast Action Figures: ($24.95 each)
These 7-inch tall figures are higher quality than your typical action figure, and the detail shows. They're fully poseable as well, so you can display them however you like. Maybe Captain Phasma is just chillin' by the side of your computer monitor. Maybe Kylo Ren is locked in epic, albeit tiny, battle with Finn. Crafted of both metal and plastic, these figures also look pretty solid. Which is good, because we may have been planning to have them fight He-Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Honorable mention: The Force Awakens costumes (price varies)
The only reason these didn't make the cut is they're not technically toys. Tell you what they are though: badass. Look at that fabulous Kylo Ren mask!
