JCnator
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Welcome to my third amiibo Review! As usual, I will tell a brief history behind the character and then I'll review its amiibo by 3 factors: its presentation, its usefulness and its accessibility as of now. This time, we will tackle none other than Pikachu, the cute yellow eletric rodent mascot of Pokémon.
Make a contract with me and become, you guessed it, a Pokémon trainer!
A little bit of history...
Pikachu initially appeared on the first three Pokémon games released in Japan in 1996, two of which eventually reached in English territories. The name was derived from combining two Japanese sounds: pika and chu. The former is a sound an electric spark would make, and the other is what the mouse makes. This iconic character and Clefairy were designed to appeal to both children and adults. The former is originally played second fiddle to the latter, but then his popularity took over the other and became the mascot of a long-running and commercially successful video game franchise, especially with the anime further popularizing the character.
Presentation
By the look of that, Pikachu is just being Pikachu, staring at your soul. There is nothing that makes him stand out the crowd. The biggest problem with the amiibo is that there are a lot of merchandises of the same character that features the very same pose as the product in question. In other words, the pose is unquestionably basic. Also, his arms are built in the mold, which makes them hard to see them in a distance unless with a proper lighting. The only good things about this amiibo is that they got everything else perfectly and he's highly customizable cosmetically, but that may be just because the pose is extremely easy to mass produce in first place.
Usefulness
For some strange reason, Pikachu is among the least useful common amiibo to date. There's currently 4 games that he's compatible with it. There's not even a single announced Pokémon game that supports amiibo so far. However, I wouldn't expect that situation to last that long, as his popularity will help him turning the tables in the next few years. If you don't care much about his presentation, wait until more games support the amiibo before investing on it. At least, you certainly won't have to spend more than $12.99 USD, but still...
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.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
- 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.
- Mario Party 10 : You get an extra scratch ticket and test your luck to attempt earning a prize.
- amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits : Use him to let you play a few "scenes" from NES and SNES titles.
Accessibility
Pikachu amiibo aren't actually difficult to find in many stores, despite being among the least useful amiibo in the market. This is the only variation of amiibo available as of now, though he's very likely getting his own line of Pokémon amiibo.
Final verdict
Pikachu would be given a solid recommendation for anyone if he's compatible with more games given his legacy, and that's not really the case here. His disappointingly basic pose doesn't help him being an attractive choice compared to some of the better common amiibo out there. Whether you get him or not largely depends on how fanatical you are on him or the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Otherwise, you're better off avoiding him for the time being unless he gets a price reduction.
Recommendation: WAIT! OR SKIP IT!
Make a contract with me and become, you guessed it, a Pokémon trainer!
A little bit of history...
Pikachu initially appeared on the first three Pokémon games released in Japan in 1996, two of which eventually reached in English territories. The name was derived from combining two Japanese sounds: pika and chu. The former is a sound an electric spark would make, and the other is what the mouse makes. This iconic character and Clefairy were designed to appeal to both children and adults. The former is originally played second fiddle to the latter, but then his popularity took over the other and became the mascot of a long-running and commercially successful video game franchise, especially with the anime further popularizing the character.
Presentation
By the look of that, Pikachu is just being Pikachu, staring at your soul. There is nothing that makes him stand out the crowd. The biggest problem with the amiibo is that there are a lot of merchandises of the same character that features the very same pose as the product in question. In other words, the pose is unquestionably basic. Also, his arms are built in the mold, which makes them hard to see them in a distance unless with a proper lighting. The only good things about this amiibo is that they got everything else perfectly and he's highly customizable cosmetically, but that may be just because the pose is extremely easy to mass produce in first place.
3/5
Usefulness
For some strange reason, Pikachu is among the least useful common amiibo to date. There's currently 4 games that he's compatible with it. There's not even a single announced Pokémon game that supports amiibo so far. However, I wouldn't expect that situation to last that long, as his popularity will help him turning the tables in the next few years. If you don't care much about his presentation, wait until more games support the amiibo before investing on it. At least, you certainly won't have to spend more than $12.99 USD, but still...
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.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
- 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.
- Mario Party 10 : You get an extra scratch ticket and test your luck to attempt earning a prize.
- amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits : Use him to let you play a few "scenes" from NES and SNES titles.
2/5
Accessibility
Pikachu amiibo aren't actually difficult to find in many stores, despite being among the least useful amiibo in the market. This is the only variation of amiibo available as of now, though he's very likely getting his own line of Pokémon amiibo.
5/5
Final verdict
Pikachu would be given a solid recommendation for anyone if he's compatible with more games given his legacy, and that's not really the case here. His disappointingly basic pose doesn't help him being an attractive choice compared to some of the better common amiibo out there. Whether you get him or not largely depends on how fanatical you are on him or the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Otherwise, you're better off avoiding him for the time being unless he gets a price reduction.
Recommendation: WAIT! OR SKIP IT!
