16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Nintendo Super Mario Maker Classic Color Mario

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Nintendo Super Mario Maker Classic Color Mario Nintendo, 2015

Day #1,280: September 30, 2015

Classic Color Mario Inspired By Super Mario Bros.* from the NES and Famicom* Super Mario Maker Amiibo Wave 3 Amiibo Item No.: No. NVL C AFAA USZ Manufacturer: Nintendo Includes: n/a Action Feature: Works with Super Mario Maker, more Retail: $13.99 Availability: September 2015 Other: Also available in red and blue, supposedly, good luck with that
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I continue my love/hate relationship with Amiibo - I love the concept and was totally on board to buy the lot of them, but artificial limitations on collectibility tend to make me angry. (It also means I'll be waiting for you to age out of this and buy your stuff at a net loss for you.) I'll still buy some now as I find them, as I lucked in to Classic Color Mario on a recent trip to New York's World of Nintendo shop. They actually had a pretty decent selection of the 3 1/2-inch figure, which also has the dubious benefit of introducing yet another variation into a line that really, honestly, doesn't need new ways to irritate those who are trying to assemble a complete set. As one of two 8-bit Mario figures made for this game, this one is in the original game's colors - brown and red. A version with blue overalls, a red shirt, and white gloves can also be found if you're some sort of amazing truffle-sniffing pig. I haven't seen that one outside Walmart's bundle packs yet.

This particular figure is more massive than his companions, despite sporting a skinnier plastic bubble package. The pixel figure does a good job of proving Nintendo basically understands how to do a "retro" toy by delivering the colors from the original game rather than illustrations based on said game - a literal interpretation being the easier-to-find version totally works for me. I've got a lot of Mario toys, so I'm pleased when they find a way to do it different. It's pretty much a pixel-perfect recreation of non-super Mario's jumping sprite with the added dimension we rarely see. If you rotate him, you'll see a pair of yellow pixels stand in for the letter M on his hat, both eyes, plus the bottom of his shoe and a head-on look at his face. Nintendo doesn't bring new dimensions to its old game sprites all that often, so seeing something like this really nails down their commitment to drag nostalgists into the present. It's old and new, breaking the illusion for its green pipe display stand which reads "Super mario Bros [crown] 30th." As a small collectible toy trophy for under $15, it's actually a perfectly nice little tribute piece - not cheap, but not ugly either. With no articulation and nice, clean paint it's a cute little statue and that alone is enough for me to say snag it if you see it. I sincerely hope to see more 8-bit figures like this for, I hope, Zelda and Metroid maker games down the road. (This will never happen.)

As an Amiibo it also adds to games you may already have. Super Mario Maker boasts an in-figure DLC which unlocks when you swipe it with a giant Pixel Mario that can crush blocks on the screen, and that's a lot of fun. In Super Smash Bros. Wii U, he functions just like a standard Mario Amiibo with a fireball. The same is true for Mario Kart 8, you just get the Mario outfit for the Amiibo racer. Downloaders of Amiibo Tap will get another grab, I got Super Mario World when I swiped it.

If the Amiibo line was easier to deal with, I'd have bought a ton more of these - but they're not, so I don't. I'll snag more as I can because most are nicely made, well-painted, nifty collectible figures that have an added NFC ability to unlock stuff in some games. As Classic Color Mario figures go you could do worse, and thankfully the price isn't bonkers yet. Get it if you can.

--Adam Pawlus

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