November 4, 2004

{ Super Mario Bros. Stage Figure }

*edit 20Nov04: better late than never? It looks like "jlist":http://www.jlist.com/PRODUCT/MY472 has these as a set for a decent price. Had I know how hard it would be to get these, I'd have bought a whole bunch more. . . * It's Christmas Eve 1986. My family has always opened our gifts the night before Christmas. I don't particularly know the reason, but that's the way we've always done it. I've worked through the pile of smaller gifts and amassed a horde of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and LEGO bricks. One package remains unmolested. One largish rectangular box. I know precisely what is inside. A year's worth of persuasion, reassurances, and out-and-out begging have led to this moment. The tension on my father's face is palpable. I can tell he's just as excited as I to rip through the colorful wrapping paper and unleash the wonderment that lurks inside that box. Despite the sheer lust I have for what is in that package I pull one of my own Christmas traditions: the feigning of disinterest. Gesturing toward the pile of toys I've already opened I say I've probably opened enough to satisfy me tonight. Maybe I'll leave this last one until tomorrow morning, have something to look forward to. My father protests that I absolutely cannot leave that box alone, it might contain a puppy. I continue to stall by suggesting some holes should probably be poked in the box in that case, while half-heartedly inspecting the rest of my loot. We both know this game cannot last very long. We both know that I've wanted that present with every fiber of my youthful being for at least a year now. For that last present contains the greatest gift our generation ever received: a Nintendo Entertainment System. And, while the Mario Stage Figure won't quite bring back those glorious holiday memories, it will certainly remind you of those eager moments when you first turned on that seminal video game system. It's also an incredibly fucking awesome desk toy. Randomly packaged from one of six designs the Mario Stage figure depicts a pixel-perfect pseudo-3D rendition of the world's most important video game. The stages are postcard sized pieces of plastic painted to resemble the background of a particular SMB(Super Mario Bros.) level. Foreground elements such as bricks and warp-pipes attach to the backdrop with a few quick snaps and you've instantly recreated your childhood. Mario and other elements are magnets that attach by means of a small metal bit behind the stage. Create your own 8-bit puppet show by moving these bits around! Of course, having only Mario to work with is a little dull, so you'll probably want to grab a handful of extra "Magnet Figures":http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-80-1-70-4qy.html. Sold separately and randomly packaged in a brick-shaped box, the Magnet Figures allow you to populate the stages with Goombas, Koopas, Cheep-Cheeps, and even the oft-neglected sibling Luigi. There's a rare mystery magnet too, but I couldn't tell you what it is. My guess: Bowser. Well, shit. I was going to tell you that you can snag your very own Mario Stage and Magnet figures from "Play Asia":http://www.play-asia.com/. That's where I grabbed mine, but they've run out of stock in the Stage Figure. Some Magnet Figures are still in stock and they'll work great on any bit of ferrous metal you've lying around the house. I'll try and hunt down an alternate source.

» Mario Stage Figure at Play Asia, sadly currently out of stock
» Mario Magnet Figure at Play Asia, currently in stock

By Benjamin in Toys | Comments:

Comments

i think the toy gods must've picked through your brain while you were asleep and designed the perfect gift for you. i can only asume that the expression on your face when you first saw this was identical to that when you recieved your first n.e.s.

Posted by: paul at November 6, 2004 7:39 AM

I found them available on ebay which led me to find this web site based in Hong Kong! I haven't used them before but they seem reliable from their ebay ratings!

www.click2won.com

Posted by: Ants at November 8, 2004 1:43 PM

I couldn't find the SMB Stage Figures on click2won.com, but I did find this adorably gay pink colorway for Optimus Prime, from the even more adorably gay "Tiniest Transformers" line put out by Takara.

http://www.click2won.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3998&HS=1

Posted by: Adam at November 8, 2004 7:43 PM

ok try

http://www.click2won.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=533

Posted by: Ants at November 8, 2004 9:57 PM

The secret one is a Invincibility Star.

Posted by: Gene Quagmire at November 27, 2004 9:16 PM

Click2won is selling them for about $20. They retail for $5.95. Ripoff!!!

Posted by: Tommy at April 6, 2006 2:24 AM