Super Mario Maker Amiibo Bundle

Super Mario Maker Amiibo Bundle
Platform: Wii U
Year: 2015
Region: PAL

Super Mario Maker was released in September of 2015. It celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Super Mario series, and lets players design their own levels for the first time. Two different editions have been made available: one that is bundled with an idea book and an amiibo bundle (that also includes the idea book). The latter is the one shown here.

It continues the trend Nintendo started when they introduced amiibos: to bundle them with the corresponding game in a large, square box that has a window in the corner showing the amiibo. This is a cool idea because they give the different game boxes a sense of continuity while at the same time making them all look different as the colorful artwork on the sides is unique for each game.

First things first: the amiibo. This is a very cool one: a 3D replica of the famous pixelated version of Super Mario from the first NES game. There are actually a few versions in different colors, but this one has the same color palette as the original, and is thus the ‘Classic Colors’ version.

It’s part of the 30th Super Mario Bros Anniversary amiibo line. This is also printed on the green warp pipe that serves as the amiibo’s stand. All in all, a very cool and recognizable figure for those who are familiar with the original Mario Bros game (and who isn’t?).

The idea book is also really cool, and a trip down memory lane for those who have been playing Mario games for a long time. It is filled with colorful artwork of characters, items, worlds and enemies from the Mario universe, and the cover features the famous blocks that are in all of his games. One of the neatest things in this book are the pages containing reproductions of the original, handmade drawings that served to create the first Mario Bros game. Miyamoto used a grid to plan out the level design, and some of his notes can be seen in this book.

Last but not least, the game itself. The case is different from your regular Wii U game as it isn’t blue, but the same dark yellow that can be seen on the outer box. It makes the game stand out from the rest, which is always a welcome thing (similar to the green colored case of New Super Luigi U). It has a really nice cover, consisting of a checkerboard pattern with enemies, items and objects from Mario games from various eras. The only downside here is the annoying age rating in the lower left corner.

To conclude, a very nice Wii U Collector’s Edition once again, with nice items for a very good price.