16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Nintendo Super Smash Bros. R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and Duck Hunt

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Nintendo Super Smash Bros. R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and Duck Hunt Nintendo, 2015

Day #1,345: December 30, 2015

R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and Duck Hunt Inspired By Your Parents' Video Games Super Smash Bros. Amiibo GameStop Exclusive Amiibo Item No.: No. NVL E NAA3D USZ Manufacturer: Nintendo Includes: n/a Action Feature: Works with Super Smash Bros., Super Mario Maker, more Retail: $34.99 Availability: September 25, 2015 Other: USA Triple Threat
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While not an instant sell-out, GameStop's exclusive R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and Duck Hunt set got me to give them money for the first time in years - I'm still bitter over the debacle that was their Hasbro exclusive The Force Unleashed Stormtrooper Commander and how that was handled. I was fortunate this time, though, because a store checker let me know every GameStop near me had these on launch day and as of lunch I had my pick of stores to visit. $35 for 3 ain't bad, especially when you consider the Mr. Game & Watch Amiibo actually has four stick figures you can swap on the base.

So let's get started with Mr. Game & Watch. Based on a series of LCD games that predated the original GameBoy by a few years, the little plastic stick man is what it is - basically a cookie cutter on a base. Thankfully Nintendo realized how boring a figure that was and gave us four options, but there's so little work being done here that pretty much anybody with minimal skill and a 3D printer could probably hash these out. The figures are molded in black with a light grey outline, and by default you have a frenzied figurine. You can swap that out for a parachute figure from Parachute, judge (from Judge), and bell (which I think is the Bell Bug but I don't have a complete set of these things). They're about 3-inches high, and with little paint or articulation are amusing mostly as a piece of Nintendo memorabilia for old-timers. I'd say "they'll never make another one like this!" but then someone will prove me wrong when the Smash Bros. choco toy sets come out in 2018.

If you ask me the robotic operating buddy R.O.B. is the set's gem and key selling point - you can see where the money went. The stick figures aren't much to look at, but boy howdy is R.O.B. a piece of work. Painted arms! A printed label on his base! Labeled switches! A fake wire! They did an amazing job here, and it makes me wish they had an NES-shaped carry case for my Amiibo stash. Granted, it'd be pretty small, but you get the idea. Paint is clean, sculpting is good, and it looks a lot like a scaled-down version of the robot so few of us had as a kid thanks to compatibility with only two games. Tributes to obscure (or at least, underutilized) Nintendo hardware make for a fun set, and this robot is just plain awesome. For those of you old enough to remember the 1980s, companies like Tomy put out a ton of toy robots like the Hootbot, Omnibot 2000, Spotbot, and so many others. This looks very similar, and for all I know the engineers were buddies. For a tiny replica robot of old Nintendo hardware, this alone is worth the price of admission. After all, the real deal is going to set you back $100-$200 nowadays.

Rounding out the trio is a twofer with Duck Hunt, featuring (as far as I know) the only available versions of these characters as a collectible in North America. The duck looks similar to the original NES game, with the white collar and a pink and purple set of feathers. I would have preferred the green-headed version as it's more recognizable, but it does look like a classic Nintendo duck.

As for the dog - legendary mostly for laughing at you and people wanting to shoot it - it really doesn't have the feel of the classic NES game. Sure, it matches the in-game Smash Bros. art (as it should) but the sleepy-eyed, turned-around dog isn't the spot-on hunter we saw in the game. He is, though, well-designed. His paws have painted pads on the bottoms, while his eyes are outlined and feature multiple colors of paint. His collar has painted rivets, with his face sporting painted whisker dots. They didn't cheap out here, which is great to see. A clear base does what gravity don't, keeping both figures connected on a small display base. This isn't the only multi-figure Amiibo, but it does a good job capturing two of gaming's icons. I'd love to see (and would probably buy) a redeco with the duck in green and black, because that's the kind of person I am. I'm a huge fan of old Nintendo stuff and while I won't buy everything, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll pick up any fairly-priced piece of NEStolgia Nintendo puts on the market. Assuming I can find it at retail, that is.

At first I was a little miffed I had to buy all three figures, but I get it. Preventing the cherry-picking and shelf-warming we so often see in this line is a smart thing to do, and a $35 price point makes it harder for people to buy out a store and flip them on Amazon or eBay - but not impossible. It also opens up the avenue of splitting a set with friends, or keeping one of the three while flipping the other two on eBay. I got my money's worth, and I appreciate the slightly discounted price - $35 rather than $39 for 3 figures. I imagine there's really no other way to succeed in selling Mr. Game & Watch in North America, but what do I know? I think fans of Nintendo who were alive in 1985 and 1986 will be delighted by this set. For everybody else, it's a cute piece of Nintendo history. Here's hoping we see some more things like it, and also my kingdom for Zelda Maker or Metroid Maker.

--Adam Pawlus

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