The 8-Bitters –
When Nintendo first launched amiibo unto the market, they had no idea that these $12.99 figures would instantly sell out everywhere and cause mass chaos among collectors. Trying to build off that success, Nintendo has partnered with Jakks Pacific to make a string of non-NFC based toys that will pull on the nostalgia heart strings of Nintendo fans. Personally, I couldn’t help myself when I saw these mini 8-bit figures on the shelf. I had to have them.
Like previous waves, this latest wave features a total of 8 different figures. ToysRus sells these on the store shelf for $3.99 but other retailers like Target have them listed at $2.99. This particular wave contains 8-Bit Mario, 8-Bit Luigi, 8-Bit Donkey Kong, 8-Bit Link, a red Shy Guy, Dixie Kong, a Yellow Pikmin, and the Skull Kid. On my random trip to ToysRus (I was there looking for the restock Villager amiibo), they had four of the eights figures on the shelf. Yes, of course I bought what was available.
The packaging for each figure is actually nicely done. The highlight is the paragraph summary of each figure on the backside. Surprisingly, this summary actually contains a decent chuck of content when a simple one sentence breakdown would have been enough.
Even the 8-Bit Mario figure contains the 30th Anniversary logo just like the 8-Bit Mario amiibo. Each figure also contains their respective logos on the packaging as well. A nice touch.
Standing just a couple inches tall, these figures contain an impressive amount of detail considering their size and price. For the record, there are zero points of articulation; each figure just stands there.
The 8-Bit figures look great and function well, meaning, they can stand on their own. Unfortunately, the Skull Kid figure cannot stand. Because he is top heavy, he tips forward whenever he tries to stand. This is a shame. You’d think they would have tested this. This is a major upset because fans have not yet had the chance to own a Skull Kid figure, unless you were one of the lucky few who was able to buy the extremely limited Skull Kid standee with the special pre-order of Majora’s Mask 3D on 3DS. The Skull Kid figure is pretty sweet though, colorful and creepy just like in-game.
Now these are just the mini figures. Jakks also have been producing full size figures. Previous highlights include a Samus figure and even a Metroid, although these figures where rather difficult to find on shelves. Most of these full size figures also came bundled with a “mystery accessory” to further incite buyers. The Samus figure, for example, came with a little morphball. So in other words, the Samus figure came bundled with another Samus figure. The Skyward Sword Link figure came bundled with his shield.
New to this wave is a cool Fox McCloud figure. His mystery accessory is a mini Arwing. These bigger figures sell for around $10 in-store. To my knowledge, I believe this is the first Fox figure of its kind, outside of the Fox amiibo of course.
Because of their size and sky high charm value, these figures should be occupying any gamer’s desk space or coffee table. If you can’t find the amiibo you are looking for, or want to continue your Nintendo hunt in a new way, check out these Jakks Pacific figures. They are pretty sweet.
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