The packaging is pretty spiffy for a mass release figure, but probably nothing you haven’t seen in this scale before. It’s basically a window box with a front flap, emblazoned with the Tron logo, that covers up part of the window. It’s a decent enough design as it shows off the figure, screams the name of the license, and allows you to really see what you’re getting in the box. As with all the electronic Tron toys, there’s a Try Me hole cut out in the front of the window that lets you see the figure light up and demonstrate the impulse projection gimmick. The packaging is also fairly collector friendly. It’s easy to get the figure in and out without mangling anything, but the accessories are all attached to the back of the tray, so unless you go to the trouble of re-tying them, they’re going to be rattling around in the bottom of the box. And there are a lot of accessories.

Once out of the box the figure shows a lot of resemblance to its Deluxe sized cousin. There’s a lot more sculpted detail and some of the light effects that were just painted on the smaller figure, like the four rings on his torso and the bars on his thighs are now replaced with blue transparent plastic and actual lights. The painted lights are also more prominant and look a lot better than on the smaller figure.

So there’s good news and bad news about the electronics. The good news is that the lights have been added to his thighs too, so when he’s lit up you do get a much better looking effect than the Deluxe. The bad news is that pretty much everything else is just like the Deluxe. The impulse projection has a few more frames of animation, but otherwise it is exactly the same and the figure says the same lines:

• My name is Sam Flynn.
• Some things are worth the risk.
• We gotta work together. It’s the only way!
• Where am I? Am I on The Grid?
• This is it… Come on.
• I’m not a program.

A few more lines in this bigger, more expensive figure would have been welcome, but all in all the electronics look fantastic on this figure. The button has moved from his armpit on the Deluxe to the center of his chest on this version.

Accessories are definitely one of this figure’s strong points, although most of them are just scaled up versions of what we’ve seen in the Deluxe scale, albeit with some diecast added. You get Sam’s Ident Disc, a Light Katana, a set of Light Chucks, a Fighting Staff, and a Lightcycle Baton. Instead of pegging into the figure’s leg, the Baton here uses a magnet to attach. It’s a nice idea and holds on to the figure pretty well. The Ident Disc has some really nice weight to it too.

The articulation adds some useful points over the Deluxe sized figure. The arms feature ball jointed shoulders, hinged elbows and swivels in the biceps, elbows and wrists. The legs have ball joints in the hips, swivels in the knees and ankles, and hinges in the knees and ankles. The fingers are hinged to grip the accessories and the feet are hinged too allow him to stand in more dynamic positions. Still no articulation in the torso or head, though.

I think the biggest problem with this Ultimate version of Sam Flynn is that, apart from its size, it still feels like a tweaked version of the Deluxe. Yes there are a bit more electronics, yes there are more accessories, some added articulation and some diecast… when I lay it all out it seems like a lot, but with the figure in hand? I’m not so sure. On the other hand, even at full price, this figure is only twice the cost of the Deluxe. And let’s face it at $30 for a 1:6 scale figure these days, it isn’t like you’re paying for a premium format figure. It’s not at all a bad figure at the price, but unless you’re an absolute Tron fanatic, you might find yourself content with the Deluxe version.