16bit.com Figure of the Day Review: Nintendo Toad Amiibo

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Nintendo Toad Amiibo Nintendo, 2016

Day #1,599: December 20, 2016

Toad Inspired By Your Childhood Mario Party 10 Amiibo Item No.: No. NVL C ABAE USZ Manufacturer: Nintendo Includes: n/a Action Feature: Unlocks hide-and-seek in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker Retail: $13.99 Availability: March 2015 Other: Works with Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Super Mario Maker, Mario Kart 8, and many others
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Because Nintendo made it hard to collect Amiibo figures early on, I skipped most of the line. I got Toad after finding Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker in a clearance bin. I heard it activated a bonus feature - so I went out and bought one. Nintendo using Amiibo as partners wasn't all that compelling, but using them as conduits to activate paid DLC was interesting enough. The figure is no slouch either.

Essentially a mini-statue, Amiibo is basically the perfect toy for the 1980s Nintendo kid. Most adults buy and display - maybe pose - but rarely play. The figure would be destined to go on a shelf were it not for the game functionality. It stands there and looks good - the sculpt is probably perfect and I see little chance Nintendo to somehow provide us even better sculpted figures down the road. Stylized versions, sure - but unless there's some new levels of textures or paint that can be delivered on the cheap, this is as good as it gets. He has the big smile, bigger hat, open vest, and tiny feet with no legs. How he walks, I have no idea, but he does - he was everybody's favorite coin-grabber in Super Mario Bros. 2. The paint is pretty clean, and the colors are perfect - after all, Nintendo has access to Nintendo's Pantone guides. The Japanese game giant is notoriously picky in approvals, so it's no surprise that many of these figures are exact replicas of key art or in-game models. There's no room for creativity or toyetic license in some cases - it's just a translation of a rendering.

The distinctive red base has a checker pattern on top, which sets it aside form the Super Smash Bros. or other Amiibo figures which have different colors or shapes as the base. It's nice. I almost wish there was a name tag on it, because I assume many fans will have some of their first interactions with these characters as these figures on current and next-generation game hardware.

With any luck, Nintendo will continue to crank these out and reissue them as new games become available that make use of them. For a little statue - one frequently marked down a few bucks - it's a great deal. Jakks Pacific has larger, more articulated Toad figures for roughly the same price - but this one does stuff in games you may have today or will purchase later, as it seems Amiibo are part of Nintendo's future plans. I can hope - it's way more interesting than downloadable content that will be impossible to obtain when the servers finally go down and old hardware begins to fail.

--Adam Pawlus

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