
Spending an afternoon unboxing Wave 2 amiibo figures got my boys more than a little excited, but along with the frenzied Christmas joy they quickly latched on to just how detailed these toys are.
We first caught up with Wave 1 amiibos Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Peach before getting on with the real business of Wave 2: Pit, Diddy Kong, Luigi, Little Mac, Captain Falcon and Zelda. The family were more than a little excited to get their hands on these.
With more amiibo knocking around the house, getting lost under beds and filling up the toy box we’ve got a better idea on how they stack up as physical toys as well as electronic gaming tokens. The biggest difference here is something the kids noticed more than me — as you can see in the video — they feel different to the smooth forms of the rival Skylanders and Disney Infinity toys.
While Skylanders excel in the variety of materials and light-up electronics and Infinity figures have sweeping lines that perfectly recreate the House of Mouse family favourites, amiibo is all about the sculpted detail.
Get Donkey Kong out the package and he feels almost furry in the hand, very different from Sully who is similarly furry in real life but in toy form looses his locks. Mario and Luigi look smooth at first but on closer inspection the fabric of their overalls actually has a physical weave to it.
Little fingers soon find the detailing on Pit and Zelda unlike that of Torch or Star Strike Skylanders, adding layers of material as well as paint passes. The layered skirt of Peach was also appreciated by my kids used to the solid moulded forms of Anna and Elsa in Infinity.
The eyes are different too on the amiibo, with tiny detail lashes for the female figurines and pixel perfect light spot for Mario and Luigi. "Pit has got something in his eye, dad" my youngest commented yesterday. I assumed he was just playing a made up game, but looking closer (really close in fact, for my older eyes) and there is the tiniest dot of white highlighting the corners of his eyes.
Much of this detail isn't something you notice without close inspection, but it makes a big difference to how the toys feel, how they "read" in the hand. Whether it is this, the cross game features or perhaps the simple knowledge that there is more coming for these toys in other Nintendo games, my kids have a closer affinity to these toy characters than the others that have passed through our doors.
The extra detail may also be a clue to the difficulty of getting hold of some Wave 2 figures in stores. This must be more complex to manufacturer and also a bit more costly. Perhaps this is part of the reason of avoiding holding too much stock.
Either way, there is a window of opportunity for Nintendo here that needs to be capitalised upon with more news about how amiibo toys will work with other games both on Wii U and 3DS. My kids are hooked, but they're also fickle and will soon get attracted to the next shiny thing in their lives if amiibo doesn't keep developing.
What do you think? Had you noticed the super fine detail on your amiibo? If not take a closer look, and let us know if this makes a difference to you.
Comments 43
As a parent the penultimate paragraph nails it. For now my kids like the figurines but are not impressed with the implementations. Hopefully Nintendo realises this.
I think the detail in the Amiibo is pretty great overall. However, it's the faces of the more realistic characters that fall short. The eyes may be nice, but the detail in the rest of the face is pretty sparse! I wish I had my Link Amiibo review up, but alas, exams have postponed it Although I did manage to get a video detailing my custom Amiibo project up (which also apologises for not getting the review up xD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VG1WzGSlZE&list=UUnhsc1g7p5LLqe7bX19gSVQ
My little brother (also featured on my channel) is really excited for his Amiibo this Christmas, for some reason he's taken a liking to Samus...? I think it's because she looks so badass. It'll be hard to explain to him why the suggestive and feeble zero suit is inside that awesome warrior. I'd like to know the answer myself!
Link is so full of details, he gives detail a new name. From the chainmail to his earrings, there is so much going on its incedible.
Kirby on the other hand is a pink blob, there is really nothing at all that surpried me. ^^
I actually think the more realistic amiibo look pretty good. They are anime style inspired so features are minimal anyway. Looking at my figma of other anime characters they follow a similar minimalist style...most of the facial expression is in the eyes. The eyes look pretty good on the amiibo. I'm not saying that it looks like a figma but I am saying that they aren't as derp faced as I've seen some folks say. I do wish the hands were better sculpted though... but given the size and price I'm not honestly upset about it.
It seems Nintendo wants to hear people. I answered a special quiz yesterday at Club Nintendo. They asked about what kind of games would I like to see amiibos on. Of course I selected the "amiibo exclusive game" option. They asked too, about if I looked for alternative color amiibos. ("YES!!")
Finally they asked what other uses would I like my amiibos to have, I asked for premium amiibo figures (even more detailed) which unlock full retail digital games, too. Crazy, huh?
@sgotsch - That's pretty much exactly how I feel. Some are great - I bought my kids Link and Fox - but others aren't, Kirby, Yoshi even Luigi just look cheap. And overall there's something about the amiibo that's lacking to me. As good as Pitt is I think Knight Light is better, certainly the wings (if the final product looks like this photo)
http://kotaku.com/skylanders-trap-team-introduces-two-new-elements-ligh-1672147242
Disney Infinity characters I think are made to look like cheap CG animation, they are all way too smooth. My guess is they are trying to match the in game look as close as possible. And that horrible Super Hero Squad cartoon look. Mickey and Tinkerbell at least look somewhat ok, but no not as good as Skylanders and some of the finely detailed amiibo.
@rjejr I really like my Kirby. Its cute as hell. Imagine they would have blastet more details on him - he needs to be simplistic.
@rjejr
I was curious about which amiibo you had purchased. I got Link and Fox will be a Xmas present, as WFT, my original pick, was nowhere to be found. Also have Peach and Samus and preordered three from the third wave
I think it's the humanoid faces that is their biggest flaw. The cartoony ones such as Pikachu, Kirby, Donkey Kong and Mario look great, but stuff like Peach, Zelda and Marth all look a bit... off.
Do we need so many amiibo articles? We've had three in the past day, and eight in the last week. They aren't that interesting. I was going to post about the amiibo I've collected but I already did it on the forums, and don't have anything to say about them that I haven't already.
@rjejr I actually like the stylisation of the Infinity figures, they're nice and slick more than cheap to me. Some of the characters look off in that style though (Phineas especially).
@sinalefa - For the record the amiibo were for my kids I'm not that attached to any Nitnedo characters really, only 1 I can think of would be Olimar w/ a pikmin, but I can't recall seeing any that complicated yet. My 1 son bought the other Double Trouble and Sonic Boom (both wave 2) Skylanders that have side kicks. Double Trouble is really cool. I may need Tinkerbell and Fantasia Mickey for Disney Infinity. Yeah, we're getting all 3 this holiday, things are out of control in my poor house.
The fox logos on his figurine blew my mind, so small and well done. How did they do this all for $13?
@Drawdler - As a big Phineas and Ferb fan its first few seasons I'm actually ok w/ them. Though it makes me glad they were a cartoon and not CG.
Looking at all of them closer now it's mostly the Marvel ones I really hate. Probably b/c I grew up reading the comics in the 70s and 80s. Pirates figures aren't too bad. The Toy Story ones looks really good.
I don't know, they all look like they are made out of modeling clay to me and would melt in the sun.
@sgotsch - Well Kirby does need to look like that, but my thinking is if I'm going to spend $13 anyway and I'm not really invested in any particular 1 I'd rather get 1 that didn't look like it might have come out of a Happy Meals box. Not Kirby's fault he looks that way, it's true to him, not true to my wallet
I dunno, whenever I see them in stores, I notice horribly painted faces. Especially on ALL the Marth figures.
@Drawdler One of Nintendo's biggest commercial successes of 2014 and you want us to post LESS about it?
You really cannot please everyone...
@rjejr I got the Kirby for my fiance and even though he is simple, I think he still has super detail hehe. Granted it is a christmas gift so I haven't felt any amiibo yet...
She is gonna love that pink puff!
I can't stand this anymore OMG be carefull with those jeez o.o
@Damo But how much is there to really say about them? There could be a similar article about Skylanders, or Infinity figures, but I can't remember seeing either of those despite them being around much longer. I know amiibo are more relevant to this site because they're made by Nintendo, it's just... There's already so much about amiibo (a whole forum for it here), when really, there isn't that much to discuss about them. I doubt there'll be anything very interesting until February. If any more amiibo articles, I think some featuring some nice customs would be different (Cheetimus has made the best I've seen). I've been pretty impressed with some of the customs I've seen but haven't seen compilations of cool-looking ones, or guides on how to make them, or anything like that. This article doesn't have anything I haven't seen before (which I guess is why I feel so fed up, this just feels like fluff).
@rjejr Phineas' eyes just creep me out! Perry looks fine, though. I agree the Marvel ones are some of the worse ones. I think the Wreck-it Ralph ones also look pretty good, but I might be biased. And the Frozen ones look really nice, even though I don't like that film. I think Randall is my favourite. I'm curious to see the Inside Out ones, if they make them (I'll definitely buy Disgust, just love her design so much).
I only have Villager so far, and while I love the overall quality of the figure, it bugs me that the eyes and mouth on the actual figures are positioned higher than they are on the stock photos and prototypes, resulting in his nose being right against his mouth and his face looking just slightly off.
@Drawdler I didn't like the Frozen ones, even though its a CG movie it's a cartoon in my head - hard to explain. And their chins are too angular.
And I think all the amiibo stories have been slanted a bit different - new wave, out of stock, breaking street date. Well except for yesterday (maybe Tuesday) when TW wrote his op-ed piece right after a very similar piece which gave me a feeling of deja vu commenting on the 2nd one. Fortuantley I like all of his soapbox rants so it wasn't a hardship, but I can understand why you think it's too many, but I can understand Damo's reason for postig them all also.
I only got Marth sofar (Ike is preordered and I don't plan on anymore in the near future), and I certainly noted several nice details.
Unforunately I also noticed quite a few flaws in quality, like I a bend sword, a huge scratch on the back of his mantle, some misplaced black coloring on his right arm as well as something that looks like a drop of (excess?) glue on his arm.
I ordered a replacement and I hope for a less flawed specimen tihs time, since esp. the scratch was really tainting the design. I hope these kind of flaws are (at least in such an accumulation) an exception to the rule.
I'm amazed at how critical some people are of amiibo's. I'm going to collect some but no freak out over every little imperfection or the fact that they really don't do much. They are only $13.00 mass produced figurines and I can't complain about how they look. I also hope they don't do much in video games because I don't want to miss out on big things If I don't have a particular figure. The sucky part for me is I feel like I have to preorder the ones I want because who knows if I can find them in the wild. Guess that is just the power of Nintendo and their characters.
@sgotsch Kirby, in general, is probably one of the laziest character designs I've ever seen. Pink blob with a cute face and blob appendages. That Amiibo is as detailed as it's going to get.
That being said, I love Kirby.
Still haven't received my Pit and C. Falc amiibos from Fry's yet. Kinda' getting ticked with the whole "Not enough amiibos" situation. I pre-ordered them too! and they just sent me a notice saying they're out of stock! Makes me mad.
@SwaveSays I might be making this up in my head, but I seem to remember reading once that the Kirby design came about because of the approach to development of the game. While they were developing the game, they didn't have a character design yet so they just used a circle to stand in for the character. Eventually, when it came time to actually design the character, they decided to just keep it as a circle, and give it some minimal features (stubby arms, feet, cute face). In fact, in the American box art for the original Game Boy game, he wasn't even pink; he was just white.
@earthboundlink "Boss, we don't have a design for the character yet!"
"Meh, just give that circle a face and some arms, and we'll call it a day."
But seriously, I love Kirby. That adorable blob always makes my day.
@SwaveSays Lol, yeah that's about how it went down, I guess.
Funny that I was never really a fan of Kirby until Super Smash Bros. for N64. I got so good with him, and thereafter started paying attention to the games (previously I had only really gotten into Kirby's Dream Course, which is still awesome). I'm still not a huge fan of Kirby's game series' because I find them too easy, but I do like the character, if for no other reason than I'm still really good with him in Smash.
Personally, I wonder when we'll start getting Amiibo that are not based on the Smash Bros. characters/designs. It's the right place to start, since it includes so many different characters from so many series', but Captain Toad, for example, is not in Smash, and has become a very popular character lately. And, of course, the possibilities for Pokemon are enough to make me want to buy a ton of Nintendo stock, because it would be more valuable than a money-printing machine.
@rjejr
I know they aren't for you, although Olimar is bound to come as he is in Smash.
I think I already mentioned this, but I want the two from Wreck it Ralph and Tinkerbell, the latter mostly because of you, as I had no idea she had one until you brought it to my attention. Still zero interest on DI itself, though.
@rjejr
Wasn't going to buy Zelda until I saw her in person and it took about 5 seconds before I put her in the cart... for my wife. Ahem. (Which means Samus maybe goes to me!)
I personally prefer Pit to that new Skylander by a large margin. In fact, I was going to hold out for Pit but I don't feel like stressing over his release date (or making someone else stress over it.) Detail is one thing but there is an overall design that makes a big difference. The Skylander looks like an idea to me. Pit looks like a fully realized character. (It's subjective obviously because, besides Zelda, Kid Icarus is the only game that really gets me excited about playing my 3DS)
Anyway, I can fully understand your frustration with the Marvel character designs. They are coming into an already established aesthetic from DI 1.0 and it doesn't always work for me either. I really enjoy the sculpted design of the Disney Infinity 1.0 figures though and Baymax is just awesome in 2.0.
@sinalefa - I still don't have much interest in DI either but I own it now so I better start huh. Still seems like a weird game, more to do than amiibo, but less of a game than Skylanders. Kind of like LBP3 which I've read has a really short story mode but it's all abut level building.
I just got it for the toy box, we'll see how it goes. I think I'm asking Santa for Tinkerbell. I don't think she does anything in the game but as you know I've wanted her since she was announced, at least now I have an excuse. And Fantasia Mickey, but not the clear one, thats just weird. I still can't help but think someday there will be some collectibles to put on my shelf - Dumbo, his mouse buddy and the crow, Jiminy Cricket, Pinochio, the 7 dwarfs or at least Sleepy, Grumpy Sneezy and Doc (can never remember the other 3) Bambi and Thumper. The bear, tiger and snake from Jungle Book. Riki Tiiki Tavi would be awesome, I wonder who owns his rights? A flying chitty chitty bang bang car. I have mentioned I'm old, right?
We had the Vanelope discussion, might pick her up used. Just realized I don't even know if these characters talk in game. And sorry, I was just messing w/ you, I know you knew they were for my kids, sorry I don't always come thru clearly.
@aaronsullivan - Baymax looks awesome, I really need to see that movie. You old enough to have seen Black Hole? We really need V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and Maximillian robot toys. Pronto. I think they are in DI 1 though. Here's there all important climatic battle to refresh your memory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5pOiyD4h6E
For me so far it was DK's "fur", Mario+Luigi's overalls, and that gorgeous translucent fireball that Mario weilds...
@rjejr
Yes, I can see you are into old school Disney. I want my Unca Scrooge figurine. But was Rikki in the Disney version of the Jungle Book?
Funnily enough, I would get Baymax without the armor. Movie premieres on Christmas in my country. When I was a kid, we had a Black Hole board game, so I would support your picks.
@sinalefa - "old school Disney"
That's funny, to me those just "are" Disney. Though I always assumed the game would be called "Disney Vault" due to their DVDs. Now that they have "Disney Originals" I can live w/ that. Stitch and Merida would NOT have been my first choices though. Way way, way, down the list. I'm not a hug fan of the 80s cartoons but either Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast have better characters - crabs, fish, lobsters, teapots, cups, candelabras. Guess if I had daughters instead of sons I would know all their names.
Rikki Tikki Tavi is 1 of my favorite kid cartoons, dont think Disney ever had anything to do w/ him but some big conglomerate must own the rights. Maybe Kiplings family still has him? Here's a fun little snippet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCNDqXPg6LE
I have Link, Cpt. Falcon and Diddy Kong, but the one I'm most waiting for is Falco.
@rjejr Black Hole scarred my childhood, yes. The soundtrack to that movie is one of the most oppressive pieces of music in my library. I really liked VINCENT and had a toy for him that lasted for decades. His little pod leg things could pull out on the toy and you could push his head down into his body to hide his eyes.
I thought Big Hero 6 was pretty good, but it seems even better to me looking back on it. It's sticking with me for some reason and my kids like it too. @sinefela I know what you mean about getting Baymax without the armor, too. They need to make a little blow-up toy version of him.
@aaronsullivan - I remember that VINCNT toy though I dont think I ever had one. Maxillian is 1 of my favorite robots. Ever see "Silent Running"? Defintely not a kids movie, but Huey Dewey and Louie were memorable. The music was the least oppressive thing about it though, but it shaped my view on ecology to this day. Think I saw it on late night tv in my teens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TckJBvl_uT0
Saw Zelda again in Target today, there were 8 of them (I counted) so decided not to buy it, maybe Nitnod is stocking her? And the usual few of Link, Mario, Kirby, DK, Pikachu and Peach (they all had legs).
Gotta hand it to you for your DI acumen. Disney did a good job of white boxes for DI 1 and blue for DI 2.0, but after that it seems a mess to me. So many toys only work in the "toy box" but no tin adventures. Some work in some adventures but not others. Seems somewhat confusing to me after 3 years w/ Skylanders that all seem forward compatible, just not backwards. Hulk i susable in both spidrman and Avengers so he's good, but seems like n cross-over btween Gaurdians and Avengers. Seems like a lot of work to gt my kids playing 2 playr for th adventures. I hope toy box is worth it. I won't botheryou abou tthat, I'll google it. But anyway, good on ya mate for knowing about that game, doesn't seem easy. I can just imagine a TON of flustered kids and parents Christmas morning, even if they own DI 1 already trying to figures out which toys work w/ which version and a in what scenarios. And selling Avengers starter pack separtly from the starter kit for $30 for people who boy Toy Box 2.0, it's all too much.
@rjejr Did not catch Silent Running, but I remember that robot that was playing cards as a toy or collectible or something. (I love how shoddy old trailers seem compared to the slick stuff we get now!)
Basically, there are only a few play sets. Each figurine has a symbol to designate which set it "belongs" to. There are many figures that are toy box only (they have a toy box symbol). The part that is confusing (but cool) is the crossover opportunities that you can unlock in some play sets. There's no designation on the figures themselves.
I think most people just buy part of it, then the kids sort it out from there. Playsets come with compatible figures and everyone plays in the toy box, so it's hard to be completely hosed on day one.
Looking back, I think I shouldn't have waited until Christmas for DI 2.0. Should have just bought in small and tried it out. It would have been way less consuming and we have too much as it is. Live and learn.
@aaronsullivan - I think I know what you mean about too much (but its late and I'm really tired)
I got my kids LBP3 for Christmas but since I got DI2 I'm holding off on that for my sons birthday in Jan. DI 2.0, Skylanders Trap Team and Captain Toad should be enough for 3 weeks. Plus 1 of the reasons I bought into DI was due to having DI 1 free on our Wii U. Mr. Incredible, Sully and Capt Jack are all $5 each used,and I'm sure I can get them B2G1, so thats another game to play. Though Im guessing toy box mode in that one will be a step back from 2.
By the way, I've been reading the comments and I want to say that I think it's reasonable we've been getting so many amiibo articles lately. That's what's really been going on in the world of Nintendo and I think we should be happy they have an item that so freaking popular it's like hotcakes, even if it is a little tedious.
I have two myself, Kirby and Pikachu (yes, the notorious boring blob). I actually think Kirby looks pretty good. He's certainly not going to look better. Pikachu is adorable too, of course. I bought those two because my best friend, who recently died, always used Pikachu when playing Smash, and I've always used Kirby.
Unfortunately I want more and I have nobody to buy me them so I'm just going to have to suck it up and take the plunge, I guess!
While they are very nice figures, I'm still bummed over the drop in quality from the prototypes. I'd be willing to pay for for higher quality figures.
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