As I allocate more and more of my display space to high-end figures and statues, I’ve substantially cut back on my number of impulse figure purchases at random stores. But while I was at Target yesterday, I stumbled upon the first wave of World of Nintendo 2019 figures and knew a few were destined for my home. The World of Nintendo Parabones and Piranha Plant are already selling for $20+ each on the aftermarket—are they worth the fuss?
Once Toys R Us closed up shop, I pretty much threw my hands up in the air and gave up on seeing new Jakks Pacific World of Nintendo figures in stores. The distribution on this line has been horrible for years, and with the demise of TRU, things have looked even more bleak.
I hadn’t intended on putting extra hunting time into chasing down new WON figures, but I happened across a few at Target this week that I just couldn’t leave the store without: Piranha Plant and Para-Bones (Winged Dry-Bones). How are they? Well, in a word: “Fun!”
This is the first World of Nintendo series to feature all-new packaging, but have no fear, the line won’t be all-Mario going forward: each character from now on will have packaging themed to their specific franchise—it’s just a coincidence this wave is entirely made of Mario characters.
Let’s start by looking at the figure I had rock-bottom expectations for: the 4” Piranha Plant. I mean, come on: how much articulation can you give a Piranha Plant, right…?
Well, it turns out you can incorporate about three points: and that ends up being plenty to make it tons of fun to pose and play with.
World of Nintendo Piranha Plant’s “stalk” is on a swivel, as is his “head”. He has a hinge at his jaw so that you can open and close his mouth.
Now, that may sound like pretty minimal articulation, but being able to swivel the WON Piranha Plant’s head to various angles and open his mouth up to whatever degree I like gives him a shocking amount of expressiveness and display options.
The paint is nicely applied, the joints are all solid, and I have a big smile on my face when I’m playing with this guy. If that’s not a success for a $9 action figure, I don’t know what is.
I’ve always loved Dry-Bones, so even though I own a few of K’Nex Dry-Bones figures already, as soon as I saw Para-Bones on the shelf at Target my eyes lit up with glee.
I haven’t been so excited to rip an action figure out of the package in quite some time, and just having him in my hand made me happier than a toy has in ages.
The ball-jointed wings snap tightly into place on Para-Bones, although you can also leave them off if you prefer for this to be a Drybones figure (with two round holes in his shell).
The proportions and cartoon look of this turtle are so on-model it’s crazy, and just tilting the head backwards and forwards and opening and closing his jaw gives him a wide spectrum of personality.
While Jakks Pacific probably could have tried to crowbar some extra articulation into this guy, what’s present is honestly sufficient—and not having an over-abundance of visible joints really helps keep this guy looking snazzy and on-model.
Overall: I haven’t bought many World of Nintendo figures in the last year-plus, but after buying this duo I am seriously regretting that decision. Many of the figures such as Lakitu are exceptionally difficult to find and expensive now, which is a real bummer, because I desperately want them all now.
If you’re only interested in ultra-articulated SH Figuarts Figures, then you may be disappointed with what you get with these 4” World of Nintendo Parabones and Piranha Plant Figures. But if you’re open to fun-looking, authentic-looking, cleverly designed toys of characters that many would have never dreamed would actually get articulated figures, these just may be for you. These are easily my favorite toys of the year so far, and well-worth their sub-$10 price-point.