Yikes, it’s been a while since my last update, so I sincerely apologize for letting the GHG blog go a bit stale lately. As I’ve mentioned a few times, my focus has shifted a bit to producing video content on YouTube. Between that, trying to get through games in order to provide raw content for those videos, and writing daily pieces on the blog was simply too much for one person, and I’m still a one-person team at the moment. Some things are in the works to help ease the workload, but those things take time, so for now I’ve just been going with the flow and not worrying about it too much!
In any case, this past Friday saw the release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and the first wave of Nintendo’s Amiibo near-field communication (NFC) figurines, first announced and shown at E3 2014. I was skeptical — and remained so for a long time — seeing it as Nintendo being late to the party on the Skylanders and Disney Infinity playable figurine market, and giving critics one more reason to hate them for not announcing Super Mario Galaxy 3 or a new Metroid.
Not being a fan of the Smash Bros. franchise didn’t help, but as time passed, footage was shown, and features revealed, my interest level skyrocketed. By the time early November rolled around, I had the game and a Yoshi Amiibo preordered. Yeah, I’m weak that way.
While I’m still getting used to the game itself, I wanted to share a collection of photos I took of the game and the Amiibo, as well as comments about each. I hope you enjoy them!
Bright and colorful front cover, using the standard Wii U blue case color.
Front cover logo detail.
Back cover and spine with Super Smash Bros. circular logo.
Back cover detail. It’s a bit messy, but shows the roster and some of the new features.
Close-up showing supported controllers, including the new Wii U GameCube controller adapter. The 3DS can also be used.
Inside of the case, a relatively thick, full-color manual is included, although they tend to get mangled by the extra disc holders along the spine.
Printed on the inside of the game’s front cover is the Club Nintendo registration code.
Inside the manual is a guide to basic commands, as well as a list of the fighters and their move set. Since I’m new to Smash Bros., I was surprised to see that commands are identical across all of them, although the moves obviously vary depending on which fighter you choose.
Close-up of one of the manual’s move set pages.
Game disc has nice art and the usual high quality Nintendo printing. Gotta love those smooth, rounded edges on Wii U discs.
The Amiibo packaging is pretty standard stuff with a cardboard backing, clear plastic display holder, and cardboard Amiibo base insert.
This particular Amiibo figure looks good. Bottom of packaging is relatively flat for convenient in-box displaying, too.
Closer detail of Amiibo packaging. Where the plastic meets the cardboard backing is wavy and not very attractive.
Back of packaging. Nice that it’s themed for the Amiibo inside and not just generically across all of them.
Another shot of the back packaging. Poor Diddy Kong!
The infamous metallic protective piece that prevents users from scanning/using Amiibos while they are still in the packaging. I don’t mind this, but I know that this irks some collectors who like their stuff to be “NIB”.
Nice detail on the actual figurine with good color, motion, and sculpting. At $12.99 each, they are competitively priced with the offerings from Skylanders ($9.99-$14.99) and Disney Infinity ($12.99).
Close-up of Yoshi’s bulbous snout.
A shot from above.
More detail of Yoshi’s shell and tail.
They did a really nice job on his eyes.
Gold and black Amiibo base with Super Smash Bros. logo on it. It’s interesting that they are themed this way since they will be used for current and future titles not part of this franchise.
It’s worth noting that this is one of several Amiibo that do not have clear or colored translucent support braces. I think that for the most part, those supports look terrible, so I do prefer ones like this, Kirby, and Pikachu.
Another shot of Yoshi’s tale. Notice the somewhat sloppy painting errors.
There are even more splattery painting problems underneath his right arm. This is the side you see the most, which is unfortunate and slightly disappointing.
Underneath the base, showing the Amiibo logo, part number, and other information.
For the most part, I’m happy with the quality of the Amiibo figurines, and the game looks and sounds beautiful. I’m definitely looking forward to digging into it more this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and for those braving the store crowds, may the Black Friday odds be ever in your favor.
