I’m the Emperor guy.  In this article HERE, I wrote the following:

My time at Bantha Skull is on a clock. If a new super articulated Episode VI Emperor Palpatine is not announced by December 2019, I will be leaving the site.

Hasbro themselves often made reference to that clearly empty threat.  Patrick mentioned it in our most recent Q&A:

So when it was revealed that this long awaited Emperor figure was nothing more than a re-skin of 2012’s VC79 - Darth Sidious figure, some of my cohorts within the community asked how I felt that this figure, one for which I deployed brinkmanship, was nothing more than a retool of a near decade old figure.  My answer was that I was initially okay with it.  I don’t need an Emperor figure to do a lot of things.  He’s mostly a set piece for Luke and Vader’s final battle.  Aesthetics are more important than function, and the initial images looked like it did the job.  The one task I need an Emperor figure to do is hold the cane naturally.  This release can not do that, and words can not express the frustration.

By re-using the hands from the 2012 figure, which did not interact with a cane, one of the key roles of the Episode VI Emperor is undermined.  A truly positive grip on the cane with the figure’s right hand is impossible.  Poor interaction with accessories is one of my biggest irritations.  2008’s Emperor Palpatine does a much better job of gripping the cane.  Furthermore, in 2021, Hasbro really should have sunk a few more retooling dollars into new hands with hinged wrists.  This would have allowed the figure to hold the cane naturally.  Instead, this Emperor holds the walking stick out in front of it at angle in such a way that would not aid in perambulation whatsoever.

As far as the aesthetics, I found the soft goods untameable, particularly the wizard sleeves.  This may not be a problem when sitting in the upcoming throne, which will be the figure’s primary job.  On the plus side, the hybrid approach with the plastic hood is executed very well.  Hasbro even sculpted it so that it draws closer to the Emperor’s right eye, which is exactly how it hangs in the movie.  The face sculpt is likewise executed very well, and what looks like Photoreal technique on the teeth perfectly convey Palpatine’s decrepit choppers. The problem is that the anguished expression is extremely scene-locked.  It really only applies to when Sheev fires his final lightning volley at Luke.  It looks silly in most any other pose.  The upcoming Pulse Con exclusive Emperor Palpatine will feature a neutral head sculpt.  Fortunately, the figure includes interchangeable lightning hands to make use of the “angry” head sculpt.  Hasbro really got this backwards.  This main line non-exclusive figure, of which collectors have a reasonable expectation of acquiring multiples, should have had the neutral head sculpt, especially since it represents the original 96 release.

The base score for a super articulated figure is a seven.  This Emperor starts there, and loses two points for the poor interaction with the cane and the unruly soft goods.  It then earns back two points for the excellent implementation of the hood and the interchangeable hands.  The end result is a disappointing 7 out of 10.  I don’t like to get conspiratorial at all, but I sense that Hasbro realized that name in the pill would sell this figure as much as the contents of the bubble, and settled for “good enough” with this release.