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

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

Day #1,490: July 20, 2016

World of Nintendo 8-Bit Classic Mario Action Figure Series 1-1 World of Nintendo Walgreens Exclusive 2.5-inch Scale Action Figures Item No.: Asst. 95705 No. 95707 Manufacturer: Jakks Pacific Includes: n/a Action Feature: n/a Retail: $4.99 Availability: November 2015 Other: From Super MarioLand
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Based on the 1989 (to me) classic Super MarioLand, the 8-Bit Classic Mario is based on a Mario game that was, if you get right down to it, the third released in the USA in the proper Mario canon. Back then, few lucky kids had a GameBoy so the very notion of a portable NES - even if it was black and white and ruined your eyesight - was a huge, huge deal. This Mario figure is based on the colors of that 16-stage 8-bit game, but the design is simply a recolored NES sprite. The GameBoy one had a different pixel layout.

Standing at 2 1/2-inches tall, Mario joins red & blue Mario (Walmart), Star Power Mario (Walgreens), Mario, and Luigi for shared use of the same, non-super mold. It's a good one, and while it would be inaccurate to say Jakks has done all they could do with it, I'm ready to stop seeing it recolored. A blue-and-green Luigi makes good sense, and the black and white Mario is a really clever idea and a cute and likely unintentional nod to another popular cartoon mascot with a popular black and white look, Mickey Mouse.

Just like in the game, Mario has a black hat, black overalls, and a grey shirt which matches his mustache. In 1989, GameBoy systems could only display 4 shades of grey - and that's it. Making Mario stand out from enemies and backgrounds required some high-contrast choices and discipline on the stage designer's part, so you get a much darker Mario that doesn't fade or blur quite as much on the original game hardware. And now he's a figure. It'd have been nice to see a new sculpt based on the GameBoy design, but that's probably not going to ever happen. Much like other fandoms, the Nintendo stuff seems largely about the NES and expanding to other generations seems unlikely.

This figure is neat, but not as neat as the others. If I had a subcollection of black-and-white stuff, this would be an awesome entry. Heck, that's not a bad idea - but for now, I'll just be happy with this one. I hesitate to say it was worth the several months I spent trying to find a Walgreens with him and his other two exclusive brothers, but if you find it you should buy it. For four or five bucks, it's awesome. For Amazon prices, maybe not.

--Adam Pawlus

Additional Images

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