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The Tokotoko Mario from Super Nintendo World looks like a great collector’s item, but its toy functions are reminiscent of early McDonald’s Mario toys.
The latest Nintendo Direct wasn’t about a badass RPG boss or a host of indie releases. Instead, he focused on something much more entertaining: Shigeru Miyamoto’s overwhelming joy with the upcoming Super Nintendo World.
After nearly four years of development, Super Nintendo World will finally open at Universal Studios Japan in February 2021, with plans to bring the attraction to the states eventually. Naturally, it’s more than just a series of attractions – there are a host of products, including one that appears to be a throwback.
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Super Nintendo World is a Mario fan’s dream come true. Power Up Bands lets users punch coin blocks and challenge Piranha Plants, while a cafe in the park lets you eat hamburgers and treats prepared by Chef Toad. More importantly, the attraction will feature the prerequisite merchandise stand. Nintendo is already an incredibly playful brand, and it makes sense that the theme park store is stocked with all sorts of new and unique merchandise adjacent to Mario.
Highlight a particular piece. The “Toktoko Mario” looks like an incredible figure. Mario is represented in a hard plastic body and an elegant cloth jumpsuit that hides the mechanisms of the toy. Mario is tied to a red Koopa Troopa shell, and pushing him makes him walk. The toy looks like something Nintendo fans are sure to eat, but it feels like a throwback to a surprising source.
Happy Meal toys have become a niche in today’s market, but in the 80s and 90s they were big business; So big they changed movie history when the backlash over Happy Meal toys kept Tim Burton from coming back Batman forever. In 1989, McDonald’s dove into the Nintendo market with a series of incredible Super Mario Bros. 3 related toys.
The line consists of four toys. The Koopa Pararoopa is the one that makes us think of Tokotoko Mario: this red-shelled Koopa has a tube sticking out of its back, connected to a bomb at the end. Squeezing the pump causes the Troopa’s legs to kick, making him appear to be walking forward, just like Tokotoko Mario.
The rest of the line is a pretty standard Happy Meal fare. There is a Tanooki Mario attached to a spring that flies into the air when you press it, a Starman Luigi that can back up and will run in circles, and finally a Goomba that can do a flip. The 1989 release of Super Mario Bros. 3 The toys wouldn’t be the last time Mario’s toys would appear in children’s meals, but their basic characteristics are still used in Mario’s toys today, indicating that they have survived the test of time.
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