Review: Star Wars Black Series, Gaming Greats, Darth Traya and Darth Nihilus from Knights of the Old Republic 2
"There is no strength in the hunger he possesses... and the will behind his power is a primal thing."
The Star Wars Black Series first explored the Old Republic with the 2016 release of Darth Revan, following a fan's choice vote that chose him as a future release. Using the visuals from the various Old Republic video games in particular, we have since seen releases of the likes of Darth Malgus, Bastila Shan, and Darth Malek. One of the most anticipated releases from this era was the 2020 Darth Nihilus release, but it fell short (literally), arriving disappointingly on the Darth Maul body and not as tall and imposing as Nihilus as seen in Knights of the Old Republic II. Some 6-years later, Hasbro has revisited this Darth Nihilus release, fixing the original mistakes and packing him in a two-pack alongside his master and the other main protagonist of TOTOR2, Darth Traya.
Traya and Nihilus arrive under the Gaming Greats banner with the matt black box accented with the turquoise colouring across the front band and the character name text. The usual Gaming Greats hexagon sticker sits on the bottom right of the main window and again on the left-hand spine. The right-hand side carries the box art, hued in the same turquoise, and depicting Darth Nihilus at the top, with Darth Traya underneath. These two packs are not numbered, and while the image is in keeping with all of the other Gaming releases, it has no connectivity into the wider collective montage.
The back of the box uses expanded versions of both images with Traya on the left and Nihilus on the right, the latter image also featuring the Knights of the Old Republic II logo. In between them is the background text which details the relationship between Traya and Nihilus, expanding more into Traya's history and her having once been Jedi Master Kreia.
The contents are accessed through either side panel, and we have a main inner tray with a smaller piece behind that carries parts of Traya’s accessories. This is all set into a cardboard backing tray featuring a colour-coordinated image. In usual releases, this is a faded, less-visual image towards the top of the main colour backdrop. For this one, there is a defined, clear centralised image of Malachor V offset on the backing card.
Starting with Darth Traya, she is designed as seen in KOTOR2, fully robed in black. The figure is built using a new black cast robed torso and the arms and legs, also now cast in black, from the existing Shaak-Ti release. Over this base outfit is a black soft goods skirt, covered at the waist with a black softer plastic belt with a silver buckle.
Traya also wears an outer set of robes with flared sleeves and a hood that sits over her head. The material of both skirt and robes is the same type as used on Jedi figures and on Palpatine and Vader figures. It is tailored to match Traya’s frame and sits naturally in a number of poses.
With the hood down, Traya’s head is fully revealed and includes a pale face with subtle vein markings, darker lips, and dark black eyes - all applied via face print technology. The face is framed in a dark black hood which is trimmed in red and extends back and then opens up to allow her hair to flow back over her neck and down to the sides in two tied twintails. Traya’s hair is gray, and the twintails are tied with red and black ties down the length.
Traya’s articulation is very much driven by Shaak Ti, who in turn featured the main leg articulation from Admiral Holdo. This means the lower articulation is pinned at the knee, but double-jointed, which allows Traya a good level of lower leg movement, including the ability to kneel (not that she would) or sit (not that she had a throne). The new boots, added onto the Holdo legs for the Shaak Ti release, provide an additional swivel alongside the thigh swivel further up and provide a relatively stable base. Be mindful of the robes, which are longer than the figure and can interfere with the feet
The torso includes a ball-joint waist, and the neck is jointed top and bottom, with the head movement supported by flexibility in those twintails of hair that do come down over the shoulders. The arms include ball-jointed and butterfly shoulders, an elbow joint, and a wrist pivot. That means Traya weighs in with her combination of older and newer joints, with 21 points of articulation in total.
Traya comes with three lightsabers, all of which are identical and include a grey and black hilt. They are not new and appear to be one of the ‘trophy’ sabers that came with the General Grievous release and also came with Shaak-Ti. These are now recoloured but still retain their sculpted features, including the peg that connected the hilt to Shaak-Ti’s belt. This feature is redundant for Traya. Each saber blade is translucent purple and clips in and out of the hilt.
One of Traya’s key fighting techniques in KOTOR2 is to use her Force powers to levitate her sabers, and to replicate this, there are three new Force Effect stands, each slightly higher than the last and ending in a clip into which you attach the lightsaber hilt. These stands are swirled in nature, like moving air, and while translucent, have a slightly yellow effect to them which feels a bit odd.
Of course, Traya can, and does, wield her own lightsabers in the game, and the sabers will fit in one or both hands, utilising the extensive arm movement to wield them in the more traditional style.
We move now to Darth Nihilus, who is also modelled after the game design but does re-use parts where it can, with parts taken from the newer Revenge of the Sith Anakin Skywalker figure. The torso is cast in black with robe designs that crossover at the chest and that are then overlaid with a soft goods outer robe that then tucks into the belt piece. The arms, also cast in black, feature robed arms and long-sleeved black gloss gloves. The belt and ragged black skirt are an additional soft plastic piece that bridge the torso to the hips and legs while also securing the soft goods, which continue down over the legs as a skirt piece.
Under these robes are the Anakin legs, also cast in black and left without any further decor, which is fine considering they cannot be seen beneath the shirt. Nihilus’ outfit is complete by his cape that secures around his back and flows down his back. Like Traya, all of the soft goods are tailored to the Nihilus body and use the same material as other Jedi/Sith figures.
The iconic Nihilus mask provides a stark contrast to the black of the robes with its white face plate, central silver ridge, and the red above the eyes. Eyes, nose, and mouth are cut out from the mask and left black, but you can make out the sculpted shape of the face beneath. Around the head is a hood piece that frames the head and sits over the shape of the shoulders. Head and hood are connected so they move as one as the head turns. Doing the hood in a plastic material rather than the soft goods allows the very particular shape to be defined and held with the raised sides that almost look like horns.
This head with mask is carried forward from the original figure, while the hood is reported as being new. When you compare the new and old figures side by side, the core difference is the fixing of the height issue with the 2026 Nihilus now physically imposing alongside other Old Republic characters.
vs the 2020 Darth Nihilus (right)
One of the original ‘mods’ for the 2020 Nihilus was to swap the head onto a Kylo Ren figure, which provided the height and an approximate look. This new figure makes this mod obsolete, and it is great to finally put an accurate Nihilus in both outfit and height on display.
vs the 2020 Darth Nihilus (right, image 1) and the 'modded' version using Kylo Ren (right, image 2)
Nihilus comes with his saber, also carried forward from the original: a silver piece with a spiral design grip, pointed pommel, and a flared emitter. There is no holster option, and Nihilus can hold the weapon in either hand. The red translucent blade connects in the usual clip-in way, and allows for Nihilus to be displayed with lightsaber drawn and ready for battle.
There are 19 points of articulation in total, pinless thanks to the new parts and the donor parts from the relatively new Anakin figure. The arms include ball joints and butterfly shoulders along with an elbow that bends back on itself and the usual wrist pivots. These provide the ability for most lightsaber poses, including two-handed grips. The neck, while double-jointed, is restricted through the hood but can rotate and look up and down. The ball joint waist provides more movement, leaning Nihilus forward, or leaning him back while also allowing a full rotation.
The Anakin legs include a hip joint, rotating knee, bootcut swivel, and ankle rocker. Nihilus is solid once posed, with plenty of ratchet security in the ankles. The shorter torn shirt does have some impact on the hips, but the rest of the soft goods move with the legs, and Nihilus has plenty of range, including kneeling positions.
The Gaming Greats 2-pack featuring Darth Traya and Darth Nihilus is an Amazon global exclusive, so only available via the Amazon country-specific sites. It also commands a higher than usual RRP. While most Gaming Greats 2-packs retail from Amazon at £44.99, this one will set you back at least £60.99 here in the UK, with Amazon’s dynamic pricing now also kicking in following its release.
So we are paying £30 a figure here rather than the usual £25, and for that we get two iconic characters executed very well, with Traya in particular coming with a volume of accessories that may have warranted a Deluxe release were she to arrive on her own. Nihilus is a significant improvement on the original, and while this is what we should have got originally in 2020, the new version finally gives us the Lord of Hunger we deserve for our Old Republic era displays.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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