Much like E3 is for videogames, Toy Fair is where toy companies roll out the red carpet and show off what they've got for the upcoming year. This year, the American show was held in New York from Feb. 11-15.

BBI

The people who brought us a fairly good Legend of the Dragoon collection based on Sony's RPG is getting another go-around with the video company. This time around, they'll be doing figures for the hopefully soon-to-be-released Dark Cloud. Currently, only molds for the figures were on display.

Playmates

Playmates has managed to jump on the movie/toy bandwagon with their line for Tomb Raider: The Movie. Most of the figures on show were just different versions of Lara in all her costumes. While they look fairly decent, I hope they have something more than just trying to emulate Angelina Jolie in all of her wardrobe.

Palisades Marketing

The company that brought us such a great series in Final Fantasy VIII Guardian Forces is back with a vengance in 2001. They brought with them samples for DragonBall Z, Resident Evil, Space Channel 5, and concept art for the upcoming Bouncer series. Also, they showed up with a handful of 12" collectible figures for the Final Fantasy Movie.

Bandai

Not to let Palisades get away with all of the Square-sponsored merchandise, Bandai showed off two of their own upcoming lines: Final Fantasy X and action figures for the Final Fantasy Movie. Along with these were Digimon, Gundam, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (yes, they still make these figures).

McFarland Toys

Continuing their series of figures based on musicians, McFarland Toys showed figures for Kid Rock, Jerry Garcia, and Jim Morrison. Along Spawn lines, they showed the new Samurai Spawn series, which looks extremely influenced by Chinese and Japanese mythology. Also slated for release are figures for the upcoming CG film Shrek, a new Movie Maniacs figure, T-1000 (from Terminator 2), and figures inspired by Clive Barker's works. With both Metal Gear Solid 2 and H.R. Giger already planned for this year, McFarland Toys should sell big once again.

Some other noteables were:

Toy Biz - Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, Classic Spiderman, Classic X-Men and X-Men Evolution
Mattel - Harry Potter and Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots

- - Vane