JCnator
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Welcome to my new series of amiibo Review! Here, I will tell a brief history or context behind the character and then I'll review its amiibo. I'll take 3 factors into consideration: its presentation, its usefulness and its accessibility at the time of writing the review.
For now on, I'll only review the amiibo I currently own. If you liked this review, look forward for my upcoming amiibo reviews.
Don't worry about the paint defect from his mustache; I can assure that they don't all look like mine at all!
Today's amiibo will be none other than Mario, the most famous mascot in the video game industry who jumps, stomps, gains power from items such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower.
A little bit of history...
The character was first created by Shigeru Miyamoto as a carpenter named "Jumpman" since 1981 and he was also known as "Mr. Video" in Japan. In that year, he first starred in an arcade machine game called Donkey Kong, which had him saving Pauline from the clutches of the titular ape while avoiding barrels and other obstacles. He is then renamed with the first name of Mario Segale, the first owner of Nintendo of America's office.
Two years later, Mario Bros. came out in the arcades and the carpenter is portrayed as a plumber for the first time ever and his younger brother Luigi came in as a palette swap of Mario. In this game, you had to knock the pests out by running underneath the platform they are currently on, jump and hit them before they recover.
In 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in America and ones of the most influential video game of all time came in the same year as the console.
This was a massive commercial success as it managed to become the best-selling game with 40 millions of copies sold on NES until Wii Sports took the crown. It did managed to resurrect the crashed American video game market of the 1980s by not only popularizing the side-scrolling sub-genre of the already popular platform genre, but it also changed on how the games were made later. As the years went on, the game spawned many sequels such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and more, as well of spin-off titles such as Super Mario Kart. And the legacy of Mario continues to grow on and on, with him appearing in well over 200 games.
Presentation
The Smash version of Mario amiibo looks very nice for the most part. Some people may think that his pose isn't quite representative to who he really is since he seemed to be a bit too serious and realistic for a supposedly children-friendly character, but that's really a matter of taste. I personally find that pose fitting his personality very well, as it conveys both confidence and determination, which both characterized Mario in first place. The level of details strikes a reasonable balance between simple and complex, which makes the amiibo less prone of defects and satisfying enough to hold him. My only complaint for him is that his colors are slightly washed out, rendering him a bit duller when compared to the Super Mario version of him.
Usefulness
Mario's amiibo already is compatible to a handful of titles that are already released, such as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10. Being the long-running popular Nintendo mascot, he's unquestionably ones of the most likely amiibo to be supported in future games. He will give you the most bang for your bucks, despite already having a lot of merchandises before.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
List of compatible games that reads this amiibo:
Accessibility
The Smash version of Mario amiibo is very easy to find with its MSRP of $12.99 USD, even 5 months after his initial release. He's available in quite a lot of retailers that sell video games, so you might won't need to place an order online. If you somehow struggle finding him, there's also the Super Mario variation of him that is bundled in some copies of Mario Party 10 and as a standalone product, which also works the same as the Smash variation but with a different pose.
Final verdict
If you're looking for your very first amiibo, the Smash version of Mario amiibo is a choice that won't disappoint you, in terms of collectibility and usefulness. It arguably does a very good job representing the plumber's personality. He's available pretty much anywhere along with his Super Mario cousin and has quite a fair amount of games supporting the amiibo already as well for the foreseeable future, especially if you love the universe of Mario.
Recommendation: GET IT!
For now on, I'll only review the amiibo I currently own. If you liked this review, look forward for my upcoming amiibo reviews.
Don't worry about the paint defect from his mustache; I can assure that they don't all look like mine at all!
Today's amiibo will be none other than Mario, the most famous mascot in the video game industry who jumps, stomps, gains power from items such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower.
A little bit of history...
The character was first created by Shigeru Miyamoto as a carpenter named "Jumpman" since 1981 and he was also known as "Mr. Video" in Japan. In that year, he first starred in an arcade machine game called Donkey Kong, which had him saving Pauline from the clutches of the titular ape while avoiding barrels and other obstacles. He is then renamed with the first name of Mario Segale, the first owner of Nintendo of America's office.
Two years later, Mario Bros. came out in the arcades and the carpenter is portrayed as a plumber for the first time ever and his younger brother Luigi came in as a palette swap of Mario. In this game, you had to knock the pests out by running underneath the platform they are currently on, jump and hit them before they recover.
In 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in America and ones of the most influential video game of all time came in the same year as the console.
This was a massive commercial success as it managed to become the best-selling game with 40 millions of copies sold on NES until Wii Sports took the crown. It did managed to resurrect the crashed American video game market of the 1980s by not only popularizing the side-scrolling sub-genre of the already popular platform genre, but it also changed on how the games were made later. As the years went on, the game spawned many sequels such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 and more, as well of spin-off titles such as Super Mario Kart. And the legacy of Mario continues to grow on and on, with him appearing in well over 200 games.
Presentation
The Smash version of Mario amiibo looks very nice for the most part. Some people may think that his pose isn't quite representative to who he really is since he seemed to be a bit too serious and realistic for a supposedly children-friendly character, but that's really a matter of taste. I personally find that pose fitting his personality very well, as it conveys both confidence and determination, which both characterized Mario in first place. The level of details strikes a reasonable balance between simple and complex, which makes the amiibo less prone of defects and satisfying enough to hold him. My only complaint for him is that his colors are slightly washed out, rendering him a bit duller when compared to the Super Mario version of him.
4/5
Usefulness
Mario's amiibo already is compatible to a handful of titles that are already released, such as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10. Being the long-running popular Nintendo mascot, he's unquestionably ones of the most likely amiibo to be supported in future games. He will give you the most bang for your bucks, despite already having a lot of merchandises before.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U : Use him as a CPU-controlled Smash Fighter and level up to 50
- Mario Party 10 : Use him to unlock Mario board from amiibo party and use him as a playing piece that will retain the tokens he obtained at least once during a game
List of compatible games that reads this amiibo:
- Mario Kart 8 : Unlock Mario suit for Mii characters to wear
- Hyrule Warriors : Use him to unlock a weapon from level 3 or below, materials for crafting or even up to 50,000 rupees
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker : Use him to gain a 1-UP mushroom once per day
- ACE COMBAT Assault Horizon Legacy+ : Use him to unlock aircraft F-22 that is themed after the character
- One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X (Japan-only): Use him to unlock his outfit that give a special ability for Luffy
- Girls Mode 3: Kirakira Code (Japan-only): Use him to unlock a Berret similar to his cap
- amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits : Use him to let you play a few "scenes" from NES and SNES titles
- Yoshi's Woolly World: Unlock a Yoshi design based on the character.
5/5
Accessibility
The Smash version of Mario amiibo is very easy to find with its MSRP of $12.99 USD, even 5 months after his initial release. He's available in quite a lot of retailers that sell video games, so you might won't need to place an order online. If you somehow struggle finding him, there's also the Super Mario variation of him that is bundled in some copies of Mario Party 10 and as a standalone product, which also works the same as the Smash variation but with a different pose.
5/5
Final verdict
If you're looking for your very first amiibo, the Smash version of Mario amiibo is a choice that won't disappoint you, in terms of collectibility and usefulness. It arguably does a very good job representing the plumber's personality. He's available pretty much anywhere along with his Super Mario cousin and has quite a fair amount of games supporting the amiibo already as well for the foreseeable future, especially if you love the universe of Mario.
Recommendation: GET IT!
