Background

It would be difficult to find a person who has not played some video game starring the infamous Mario (Donkey Kong, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Mario Kart, and all of the Super Mario Bros. games would be included). It's Nintendo's flagship series. When you thought of Sega, you thought Sonic – and when you thought of Nintendo, you thought Mario.

Still popular amongst gamers, Goldie has released their Super Mario Large Action Figure Collection Series 1. Consisting of seven characters (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Daisy and Koopa Troopa), the rotocast vinyl line brings some of your favorite video game characters to “toy life”.

For our review, we're going to take a look at Koopa Troopa, Luigi, Mario, and Toad.

The Facts

Super Mario
Series: Large Figure Collection
Manufacturer: Goldie
Material: Rotocast Vinyl
Dimensions: Between 4” and 5” tall
Points of Articulation: 3 Points (arms and neck) (Koopa - only neck)
Designs: Koopa Troopa, Luigi, Mario, and Toad
Pricing: $9.99 each

Packaging

Each figure is packaged in the same fashion. They're all set in a plastic bubble on the same backing card. There's a CGI-looking Mario jumping up on the card front, and characters from all of the Mario games on the back.

Our Opinion

Growing up, I always ended up being in the Sega camp. I had the Master System, Genesis and Dreamcast. I did have the N64, but I never really got into any of the Mario Bros. games (basically bought it with paper route money for Goldeneye). If I would have seen the Super Mario Bros. film starring Bob Hopkins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper earlier...I would have been on that Nintendo bandwagon.

So, I'm looking at four of Goldie's Super Mario vinyl figures based on the video game characters. (There are others in Series 1, including Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Daisy) They are called the Large Figure Collection, although 5” tall really doesn't seem that “Large”.

The rotocast vinyl feels like a normal mass-produced toy. (If you remember Jazwares Mega Man line from several years back, these are fairly similar) While Mario and Luigi might legitimately be worth $10.00, the Toad vinyl is pretty brutal. To stand, you need to extend his arms forward to get him to balance. I attempted to push his feet down, but that ended up splitting the vinyl on his heels. The Koopa isn't that bad, but the limited articulation and poor paintwork does hurt it a little.

I like the Mario and Luigi (who I'd probably rate as the best in the series) figures because they have a stylized look to them. Also, they appear to be of a slightly (very slightly) higher quality than the other vinyl.

If you own Mario Tennis, Super Mario Sunshine, or Yoshi's Island...then I'm guessing you clicked the below link 10 minutes ago. If you're a casual Super Mario Bros. fan, some of the figures might appeal to you – especially being rotocast vinyl.

You can purchase these at the following:

ToysRUs.com: $9.99 each