My foray into World of Nintendo figure collecting
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Here's one thing I really didn't expect myself to start doing - collecting World of Nintendo figures. Over the years, I've seen these figures at various stores that sell video games such as EB Games and Toys R Us. I was never interested even though the figures looked very nice because they just seemed like toys for kids. And I knew that if I started buying them, I would probably get hooked.
Mario and Luigi posing with Super Mario Odyssey game card and box - @sm128c IG
For this reason, I've avoided amiibo collecting because of the effort and money it would require to partake in this activity. There are so many amiibos available, there's the main Mario amiibos, Super Smash Bros. amiibos, along with other Nintendo franchises. It's nice that amiibos can be used in some games, but honestly the functionality they provide don't add much value, and at the end they are more so novelty items for collecting.
That being said, I do own a few amiibos, such the ones from Yoshi's Woolly World. I enjoyed Yoshi's Woolly World a lot and it was one of the best Wii U games. The yarn Yoshi amiibos are super cute and adorable are great for photos on Instagram... which gets into the next part of the story.
Last year, I casually started to do some Instagram posts on @sm128c with my amiibos, along with various parts of my Nintendo collection. Eventually, I realized that these World of Nintendo figures I'm seeing a lot from other IGers make great photos as well. I didn't realize that there are actually so many figures available, and many of them are adjustable for fun poses!
The first World of Nintendo set I decided to buy is the Mushroom Kingdom Pack featuring 4" figures of Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. It's a perfect starter set as it has everyone's favourite heroes! This set comes with a Mushroom Kingdom background that can be used as a diorama. Mario comes with closed hands doing his signature punch, Luigi has open hands, and he has pretty much the same look as Mario, but of course he's taller and skinnier, and unfortunately Peach can't really do much except move her hands around...
Buy the Mushroom Kingdom Pack at Amazon.com
Buy the Mushroom Kingdom Pack at Amazon.ca
Another good alternative for a starter package is Bowser's Lava Battle Set, which comes with a 4" Mario, 2.5" Bob-omb and a 6" Bowser. Compared to the Mushroom Kingdom Pack, the Bowser set includes a Mario with open hands, which will allow him to hold items more easily.
Buy the Bowser's Lava Battle Set at Amazon.com
Buy the Bowser's Lava Battle Set at Amazon.ca
The World of Nintendo plastic figures are made by a company called JAKKS Pacific and come in two main varieties, the 2.5" and the 4" types. Many of the main characters (such as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi) come in the 4" format, they are larger and have more movable parts - and usually come with an accessory. You can also find the main characters in 2.5" but they are not as nice and detailed. I feel the 2.5" line is better suited to smaller enemies that scale with the 4" characters.
Pictured above are Mario and Yoshi from the 4" series, and Piranha Plant and Goomba from the 2.5" series. The Piranha Plant appears a little small relative to the 4" characters, but the Goomba scales well and appears proportional.
The World of Nintendo figures look pretty nice from an overall standpoint, and they have many of areas of articulation that can be adjusted to setup different poses. One thing I noticed is that the production quality is not exactly flawless, the paint on the figures can feel slightly off, and some of the plastic details can appear uneven. Other figures such as the Bandai Tamashii Nations figures and Nendoroid figures have significantly higher quality production - although of course these come at a higher price point, these products are definitely more for serious collectors.
For me, these World of Nintendo figures are good enough, and make excellent decorations for my game collection. I was mainly drawn into this from social media, so I'm going to have fun taking pictures of my figures and posting them on Instagram, check out @sm128c to see what adventures I'll bring them to next!
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