Before Donkey Kong, Nintendo was muddling around in the arcade world with games like Sheriff and Radar Scope. But when they created the tale of a kidnapping ape and a vengeful plumber, the combination of precise platforming action and a compelling if simple story launched a whole genre of games. Super Mario Bros. was the big selling point for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and nearly every piece of Nintendo hardware since has led with a Mario game. And, of course, there are toys. Here are our picks for bringing the Mushroom Kingdom home.
Nendoroid Mario
Good Smile’s Nendoroid line of little figures covers so many pop culture bases it’s hard to deal with. Everything from Western superheroes to the most otaku of anime characters to professional wrestlers all show up in their big-headed, super-poseable plastic forms. Needless to say, they got Nintendo in on it, too. The Nendoroid version of Mario comes with a pair of interchangeable faces (happy and serious), as well as a special stand for jumping, blocks to smash, and two enemies – a Buzzy Beetle and a Boo – just to make his life more difficult.
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Lakitu With Spike Ball Figure
One of the most annoying enemies in the original Super Mario Bros was Lakitu, the obnoxious turtle who flies over the battlefield on a cloud hucking Spinys at you to make your life miserable. Sure, a smart player can bounce off his head if he gets high enough, but he’ll be replaced soon enough. This World of Nintendo figure is articulated in the arms but can’t be removed from the cloud, which is very true to the game. He comes with a Spiny in rolled-up ball form as well as a transparent stand so that Lakitu looks like he’s hovering up in the sky.
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Tamashii Nations Bowser Figure
Bandai’s Tamashii Nations line is known as their compact but high-end series that merges incredible accuracy to the source material with tons of articulation. The massive King Koopa, the boastful Bowser, has been Mario’s foe since the very first Super Mario Bros. game, and he’s shown up dozens of times across the franchise and others. This figure comes with all sorts of cool stuff, including a trio of jaw pieces so you can pose him roaring or even spitting one of his fireballs at our hapless plumber hero. Your Koopa army needs a leader, so pick this guy up.
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Goomba Plush
The very first enemy you meet in the Super Mario franchise, the provenance of the Goomba is a bit of a mystery. In silhouette, they resemble the life-giving mushrooms that give Mario his added height and durability, and they move in exactly the same way – marching in a straight line until they hit an obstacle. What is the deal with these guys? The world may never know, but you can take a plush version of one home and give it a little respite from his existence of being stomped into paste over and over again. Seven inches tall, covered in whisper-soft velboa plush.
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Gold Mario Figure
It’s wild to think that Mario has been Nintendo’s flagship character since 1981. First dubbed Jumpman, he didn’t get called Mario until the American sales brochure for Donkey Kong, named after the landlord of the company’s Washington warehouse. For the character’s 30th anniversary, the company held a big shindig and produced a number of cool limited-edition products. Show your eternal love for the king of platform games with this gold-painted idol of Mario that stands nearly a foot tall.
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Dungeon Deluxe Playset
The real star of the Mario games isn’t the plumber, really – it’s the level design. Nintendo has earned a reputation for being absolute masters of platforming environments, using just a few basic tools to create immediately memorable worlds for your little guy to jump and stomp his way through. Hell, they even let civilians try it with the Mario Maker series. Now you can take a little slice of that home with this charming little dungeon playset. The diorama boasts a number of hazards for your action figure to tackle, including a Thwomp, a swinging bridge, and a rotating fire bar.
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Tamashii Nations Luigi Figure
Mario’s lanky brother started out as a palette-swap for player 2 to dash through the Mushroom Kingdom with, but by the second game in the series Luigi had already developed his own identity: taller, true, but also a little more cautious and odd. Over the years, Luigi has grown as a character and even anchored his own series (with a new Luigi’s Mansion on the Switch this week as we speak). This figure from Bandai’s Tamashii Nations line is probably the best on the market, with tons of articulation and accessories including a jumping stand, a red shell, and a brick block.
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Remote Controlled Mario Kart
Mario first got his driver’s license in 1992 with the release of Super Mario Kart, which transplanted his eternal battle against Koopas and giant apes into a new venue: the racetrack. Piloting a souped-up go-kart, Mario and his allies created a new genre of driving game that focused on quick action and very little realism, as power-ups and a rubberbanding AI made each race a tense and ridiculous experience. Now you can take Rainbow Road to the real world with this high-powered RC car that can pull all sorts of cool tricks with up to a 100′ control range.
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Piranha Plant Puppet
As a plumber, Mario knows that a pipe can hide treasure or terrible danger. In the Mushroom Kingdom, instead of encountering wads of hair in the drain, our man needs to contend with voracious man-eating plants that pop their heads up to take a bite out of his butt – or even lob a ball of fire at him. The Piranha Plant has become one of the more iconic characters in the franchise, and now you can transform one of your hands into one. Or even buy two to really mix things up. Nobody can stop you.
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Light-Up King Boo Figure
Bowser’s dominion seems to extend to the kingdom of the dead as well, with Dry Bones turtle skeletons menacing Mario along with the notorious Boos, shy ghosts that only chase our noble plumber when his back is turned. Since we’re talking Luigi’s Mansion this week, we should pay tribute to the main villain of that series, the massive King Boo. Take the spectral ruler home in the form of a motion-sensing light that runs on four AA batteries, laying in wait for any unwitting heroes to stumble into his spectral realm.
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Super Mario Cat Statue
Although the Wii U was Nintendo’s biggest hardware flop in some time, it did give us at least one very good Mario game in Super Mario 3D World. That game introduced the Super Bell power-up, which let our hero morph into a cat form that let him scale vertical walls and scratch at his foes. This super cool statue from First 4 Figures is cast from high-quality polystone and painted with gloss and metallic finishes. Mario stands 15 inches tall and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a hand-numbered base.
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