16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Jakks Pacific World of Nintendo 8-Bit Mario Action Figure

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Jakks Pacific World of Nintendo 8-Bit Mario Action Figure Jakks Pacific, 2015

Day #1,349: January 5, 2016

World of Nintendo 8-Bit Mario Action Figure Series 1-5 World of Nintendo 2.5-inch Scale Action Figures Item No.: Asst. 86718 No. 86720 Manufacturer: Jakks Pacific Includes: n/a Action Feature: n/a Retail: $3.99 Availability: November 2015 Other: From Super Mario Bros.
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If there's one thing I've learned from the indie toy world, it's smart to launch a new toy as a repaint, too. Luigi and 8-Bit Mario came out in the same shipping carton, so you could take your pick - or get both. As a new mold, you're getting two new toys instead of a repaint of a toy you have. It's smart business to get both of those sales at the same time, before the mold gets stale. Granted, they kept it going - Walgreens got a Star Powered Mario, Black and White Mario, and Modern Colors (red and blue) Mario as well. If you can find them. (I can't.)

Standing about 2 1/2-inches tall, Mario is the same as Luigi except for the colors - and saying that it's the best thing ever would be hyperbolic. There have been many Mario toys since the 1980s, but the pixel stuff has largely been reserved for the Japanese market. So a small, cheap plastic figure for the US toy shelf is, really, an absolute treat.

The sculpting is identical to the Luigi figure from this line, so get both. Otherwise you're missing out on the "brothers" angle, which I hope continues with the likes of the princess and the mushroom folk. The sculpting of these figures are largely quite good, with the Mario/Luigi mold making the most out of the conversion to three-dimensional stability followed by a strong showing by Link. Donkey Kong is a little funkier, but it's not often you have a figure that has his hands held open, pointing to his genitals. That's what happens when you leave out the barrel from the sprites.

At the same time, it's good. He can stand and he's thin, but not flimsy. The plastic is nice and tough, so it doesn't feel like it should bend or easily crack.

This is a keeper. If you already have the Amiibo, you probably don't need this - but if you have a job and a monitor that's more than 1/3-inch thick, you can stand them on top like I do. (I also got my latest extra monitor from a thrift store.) I find this figure to be essential mostly because it is the central core to the modern gaming industry, even if you've moved away from mustachioed plumbers toward unshaven, gravelly people wearing stylish jackets and grimly shooting people. It's funny to think back in 1999 companies like ReSaurus made the concept of pixel figures, then based on Atari VCS software, something of a joke - and here we are, actively celebrating the format now that it was just taken a handful of years into the future. Who knows what might be next? Will Jakks tackle Samus, will Jazwares grab Sonic,

--Adam Pawlus

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