It’s the age old question that has stumped some the of the greatest minds in human history.  Socrates, Aristotle, Vizzini…none of the were able to determine if Yoda is really the accessory in this pack.  The answer is, it doesn’t matter.  Nothing makes sense anymore, because the Knicks are in 6th place.  [Editor’s note:  INCONCEIVABLE!]

Back in 2002, Hasbro killed it with their emphasis on figures and toys from Geonosis, and continued the trend for a few years giving us one of the most fleshed out set pieces in toy form from any chapter in The Saga.  At this time Hasbro was absolutely in love with gimmicks, and this figure seems to feature a bunch of them.  Frankly, it’s not the worst effort when all is said and done.  While many figures from that era have been revisited multiple times to provide much better modern options, the original releases tend to have at least some small value for your collection due to these gimmicks. 

In the case of Yoda, the figure itself is surprisingly nice to look at.  It has very little articulation to speak of, although the ball jointed shoulders were a nice thing to have in 2002.  The swivel neck and waist complete the list of otherwise underwhelming joints.  As such pose-ability is minimal.  Nevertheless, Yoda looks pretty nice, especially if you like a pre-posed, angry version.  I have to hand it to Hasbro, despite the limited articulation the accessories that are included interact surprising well, and somehow do all the heavy lifting that make the figure appear to be more dynamic than it actually is.

As for the accessories, they really steal the show, and make Yoda himself almost an afterthought.  Yoda has a magnet in his left hand (all the rage in 2002!), which he can use to “Force grab” the metallic saber hilt.  That hilt can be connected to the separate green blade.  Yoda also comes with his gimer stick.  The hands are sculpted in such a way that he can look like he’s using the Force, but can also hold onto these accessories somewhat convincingly.

Also included is a large blast of Force ligtning (another gimmick that was big in the blue Saga line).  It wraps around his hand and extends pretty far, although left unassisted, Yoda will lose his balance. 

That’s where the main accessory comes in.  It’s a large base that is sculpted and painted in such a way as to mimic the organic design aesthetic of the Geonosians.  It totally feels right, even without actually being something we saw on screen.  It’s reminiscent of the energy restraining generator that came with the Jedi Warriors set, which is used by Dooku to imprison Obi-Wan.  It works well with the back side of the Geonosis Battle Arena, to help flesh out the hangar duel scene.  Yoda fits onto the “invisible” rod, and turning the base gives the effect of him using his Force-enhanced acrobatic skills to fight Dooku. 

As one additional bonus, a piece of the base can be taken off to mimic a random part of the hanger that fits into the force blast, allowing Yoda use it against Dooku in your mini fight scene. 

When set up altogether, it has a nice looking effect, even if Yoda is sub-par.  If you’ve got a big Geonosis display, this almost 20 year old item could find at least parts of it into your layout.  While it’s not going to blow anyone away, I give it a surprising 5.