The latest Nintendo Direct wasn’t about a badass RPG boss or a slew of indie releases. Instead, it 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 at long last be opening 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 rides — there’s a slew of merchandise, including one that looks to be something of a throwback.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Super Nintendo World is a Mario fan’s dream come true. Power Up Bands allow users to punch coin blocks and challenge Piranha Plants, while an in-park cafe lets you eat burgers and treats whipped up by Chef Toad. More importantly, the attraction will feature the prerequisite merchandise stand. Nintendo is already an incredibly toyetic brand, and it only makes sense that the theme park’s shop would be packed to the brim with all sorts of new and unique Mario-adjacent merchandise.
One piece, in particular, stands out. The “Toktoko Mario” looks to be an incredible figure. Mario is rendered in a hard plastic body and wearing a slick pair of cloth overalls that conceal the toy’s mechanisms. Mario is attached to a red Koopa Troopa shell, and pushing it along makes him walk. The toy looks like something Nintendo fans are sure to eat up, but it does feel like a throwback to a surprising source.
Happy Meal Toys have kind of become niche in today’s market, but in the ’80s and ’90s, they were big business; so big that they changed the history of cinema when backlash over Happy Meal toys led to Tim Burton not returning for Batman Forever. In 1989, McDonald’s dipped their toes 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 shell Koopa has a tube coming out of its back, connected to a pump at the end. Squeezing on the pump causes the Troopa’s legs to kick, making him appear to walk forward, much like Tokotoko Mario.
The rest of the line is pretty standard Happy Meal fare. There’s a Tanooki Mario attached to a spring that launches in the air when you press down on him, a Starman Luigi who can be pulled back and will run around in circles and finally a Goomba who can do a flip. The 1989 release of Super Mario Bros. 3 toys wouldn’t be the last time Mario toys would appear in kid’s meals, but their base features are still being used in Mario toys today, indicating they have survived the test of time.
.item-num::after
content: ‘/ ‘;
About The Author
