8-bit Donkey Kong, Mario, and Bowser

8-bit Donkey Kong, Mario, and Bowser

World of Nintendo - Jakks Pacific

Walgreens exclusive 2-packs

Finally Jumpman and original, mane-less Bowser are here to join Jakks Pacific's World of Nintendo lineup!  The downside is you have to pay twice as much for them, as they come in 2-packs with some previous offerings.  Seriously?  We couldn't get the same, flat 8-bit characters in another pose at least?  DK in profile or holding a barrel over his head?  

Eh, at least the diorama package presentation is nice.  And, at this point, you would probably be paying more than $10 for a single-packed Bowser alone.  If you're a fan of the retro look, and don't mind the more "display over play" approach to the 2.5 inch line, then don't pass these by.   They make great little desk ornaments.  The DK/Jumpman set is hitting Walgreens now, so happy hunting!

Dr. Wily and Mega Man

Dr. Wily and Mega Man

Funko - 4-inch figures

Alright, Funko...I'm giving you some more money with the hope of you not bungling another property.  Wait...your first wave consists of only two sculpts?  Four Mega Man paint variations (and one is a crappy chase variant)?!  No robot masters?!  Ugh, not a great start.  At least the hero and the big-bad look good!

Scale-wise, they match up quite nicely with Jakks Pacific's World of Nintendo figures.  That's really what got me to buy-in:  video game universe cohesiveness.  Wily looks great with other baddies like Bowser and Ganondorf and Mega Man's mega noggin might be able to out-bonk Mario's.

The articulation is comparable, too.  Mega's upper-leg/hip area is a bit lacking in range of motion.  Megaman comes with an alternate set of hands.  That's great, but no blast effect?  Wily gets nothing to hold, which is a shame for a mad scientist.  Nothing to tinker with?  I guess that's the price we have to pay to get one unique character in the batch.

Price-wise, I shouldn't complain too much.  At $10 each, you get a pretty chunk of plastic with some decent playability and great sculpts, much like Funko's Disney Afternoon figures.  That's another line that I was afraid Funko would be one and done with, but they did recently put out a second wave with some great characters.  All I am asking for is a complete Mega Man One robot master lineup, Funko...or anyone, really.  So, so many starts and stalls for a modern Mega Man action figure line.

8-bit Mega Man

Mega Man 8-Bit Figures

Jakks Pacific

Not quite "The World of Nintendo," but these new 8-bit figures from Jakks Pacific sure do fit in nicely.  These are Gamestop exclusive two-packs that have been hitting now at $10 per set.  What sets them apart from the WON 8-bit figures is that they are double-sided with detail, include a removable/interchangeable weapon piece, and feature arm articulation! Nothing extreme, but in line with the 8-bit aesthetic: Mega Man can aim his buster canon up an down and the robot masters can move both arms up and down.  

It's kind of sad that this is the most complete MM offering I've seen in a mass-produced line, and in this scale.  I would prefer fully articulated, 3-D figures of the original games, but the closest we've had to that in 30 years of MM is the wonky Bandai figures from the animated cartoon from the 90s.  I hope Jakks/Gamestop can at lease finish the remaining robot masters from the first game (Bomb Man, Ice Man) and a couple of other key characters (Dr. Light, Dr. Wily).

So, buy'em up if you can.  Even if this look isn't your preference, you might be kicking yourself later. Even the packaging is nice.  I will throw away the outer sleeve, but the cardboard recreation of the level backdrops are worth hanging onto. 

Mario and Cappy

Mario and Cappy

World of Nintendo - Jakks Pacific

The World of Nintendo line has cooled as of late, which is a shame since it's the kind of line every kid in the 90s dreamed of.  It's also a shame that it's become less the World of Nintendo and more the World of Mario.  Good thing we love that plumber so much!  I haven't played Mario Odyssey, but I hear its a must-have for Nintendo Switch.  The gimmick of this game is that Mario's hat is a sentient being that he uses to overcome obstacles.  Even if I don't ever get around to the game (Switch holds little appeal to me, and I still feel burned by the failure of the Wii U), we've got the best Mario action figure variant ever!

It's the first sans-hat Mario figure!  Well, action figure...I have a vintage PVC figurine without a hat and a creepy looking doll where the hat is removable.  Anyway, this is Mario without his hat as we have seen in Super Mario 64, Smash Bros, and now Odyssey.  I won't say Cappy is removable, as its not really meant to sit on Mario's head with the sculpted features of his hair.  You can get it to sit on top in a few ways, but it doesn't look natural. Oh well, Mario's hair looks great anyway!

This Mario also features a new pointing hand and some realistic detailing on his overalls that set him aside from previous variants.  As a plus for customizers, I have seen online that the hat-less head and hands can easily be modified to fit the superior-articulated SH Figuarts Mario.

I do wish it had a regular Mario "M" hat as well,(maybe the metal hat from Mario 64, too) but this is still a unique take on an old character that is worth having in the lineup. 

Mega Man X

Mega Man X

Marvel vs. Capcom Target exclusive

Mega Man X is one of the greatest Super Nintendo games ever.  Set a century after the original Blue Bomber, X is the more grown up, grittier Mega Man no one asked for.  Don't get me wrong, he's still awesome, but now he's fighting animal-themed robots instead of industry-appropriate robot men? 

In this Target exclusive 2-pack, he's fighting Iron Man.  Just 'cause.   I don't collect Marvel's 3.75 inch line, so old Shell Head got kicked to the curb right out of the box.  I bought X hoping he would size well with the World of Nintendo 4-inch line. 

 

He's a little short, sadly.  But I can live with it considering Worlds of Nintendo's scale is fudged a bit with the more human characters (Samus, Link).  I was hoping he was at least head to head with his old-school counterpart, represented by this nice Ban Dai figure from a few years back. 

No dice.  X should be taller and lankier.  Oh well.  He's pretty close in size to an old Rockman model character that is almost two decades old.  While his height is disappointing, I don't regret that I bought him other than having to have a generic, repacked Iron Man figure to get him.  His articulation is decent, and he comes with a blaster effect that plugs into my original Mega Man as well.  Also, there isn't a lot of Mega merchandise states side this inexpensive.  Like many fans, we're still holding our breath for a company to pick up an expansive, yet inexpensive Mega Man line.