Super Nintendo World toys have us feeling super.
When we found out last week that McDonald’s Japan is putting Nintendo toys in the new batch of Happy Meals we were very, well, happy. And our joy got kicked up another notch when we received a preview pack featuring the entire lineup!
In the original reveal, McDonald’s only showed off four of the six available Nintendo toys, so we were especially curious to see what the other two were, and so we quickly got to photographing/playing. Technically, the current Happy Meals are a collaboration between McDonald’s and Universal Studios Japan, so all of the Nintendo goodies are based on the characters and locations found within the theme park’s Super Nintendo World area, which translates to the Super Mario and Donkey Kong franchises, and the first toy is a salute to Super Mario Kart, which is also the basis for Super Nintendo World’s flagship attraction.
The kart comes with a few decals to put on in order to get it looking race-ready, and since both driving fast and making use of weapons are the keys to victory in Mario Kart, it also comes with a green Koopa shell disc.
After loading the “shell” into the front of the kart, press the button on its side and it goes shooting out in front, with a surprising amount of velocity and accuracy!
There’s more propulsion-based fun with the Donkey Kong barrel minecart.
This one also comes with a set of stickers to apply. There aren’t that many, just enough to let you feel like you’re playing a part in the production process without overtaxing the attention span of little kids/easily distracted Internet writers.
Like with the Mario Kart, there’s a button on the side of the barrel that sends Donkey Kong careening forward when pressed. Compared to the Mario Kart’s green shell, Donkey Kong’s trajectory feels a little more chaotic, but that seems perfectly suited to the character and the riding-the-ragged-edge-of-disaster nature of the minecart levels in Donkey Kong Country.
Moving on to one of the toys we hadn’t seen before today, we’ve got Luigi ushering us into a Warp Pipe.
This pipe is modeled after the one that serves as the entrance to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, and the toy is actually a View-Master-type design that gives you glimpses of USJ’S video game-themed area.
Another nod to Super Nintendo World’s architecture comes in the form of the Princess Peach Castle.
Pressing the lever at the base of the tower randomly changes the character who’s coming out to greet you, or, if you’re extra lucky, displays the stained glass artwork seen in the games.
Rounding out the lineup are a Yoshi bracelet whose cover flips open to reveal a game where you try to place a trio of the dino’s eggs into the holes with their corresponding colors…
…and a clever rubber band-version of a traditional Japanese kendama toy in which you try to flick the bands around the frying pan, spatula, and head of chef Toad, dressed in the uniform of Super Nintendo World’s Kinpio’s/Toadstool Cafe.
The Nintendo toys are being included with McDonald’s Japan Happy Meals until July 18, after which toys based on Universal movies will take over from July 19 to 25, followed by a third stage starting on July 26 in which Happy Meals may contain toys from either set.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]