We pull off a rocket start and snag all 10 figures in the new Nintendo line.
Since early this month, fans of fast food and fast cars have been buzzing with excitement (and pretend engine noises) as we waited for the release of the brand-new line of Mario Kart Happy Meal Toys at McDonald’s Japan. As of November 15, they’re finally available, and we’ve got the whole collection, all 10 karts and racers, ready to show you.
With Nintendo’s Mario Kart video game series being a perennial best-seller for over 30 years now, the fanbase spans a wide range of ages. So while these are simple, fun toys that even little kids can enjoy, they’ve also got design details that adult gamers can appreciate too, such as the display-worthy aesthetics of the boxes the toys come in.
▼ No just plunking a plastic-wrapped toy in with your food here!
Like a lot of recent promotional giveaways in Japan, the Mario Kart Happy Meal toys are being released in a staggered schedule, with the first round running from November 15 to 21 and featuring half the lineup. Obviously, Mario himself is there right from the start.
It’s a minor thing, but we appreciate how the matte finish to the plastic for Mario and his kart, plus the stickers. It gives a more organic, real-world feel, and we have a hunch it’ll make scratches less noticeable too if/when we crash it into a wall while racing it around our living room floor.
Each toy comes with three components in the box: the racer/kart body, the tires/chasis, and a sheet of stickers to apply. Some of those stickers go on the kart to form its livery, while others, styled after the power-ups and weapons you can collect during Mario Kart races, are yours to stick wherever you like.
▼ Difficult as it may be, we must advise resisting the urge to throw the Koopa shell stickers at friends and siblings, however.
Joining Mario in Round 1 are Toad, Luigi, and Bowser.
As you might have noticed, different karts come with different sets of wheels/tires. Toad has a pretty standard set…
…but Mario and Luigi have their wheels turned sideways, mimicking the in-game karts’ anti-gravity mode…
…and Bowser has a set of big, beefy off-road tires.
While each racer always comes bundled with the same tires, you can actually pop the top of the toys off and mix and match them however you want.
▼ This does require obtaining more than one toy, but come on, be honest, very few of us are going to stop after getting just one, right?
Rounding out Round 1 is the Pink Gold Peach kart, whose glossy material actually makes perfect thematic sense.
No sooner does Round 1 end than Round 2 starts, lasting from November 22 to 28. Like leaping to a different section of the racetrack, though, we managed to pull off a shortcut and have the remaining five racers in our hands already, starting with Yoshi.
▼ It’s nice to see Yoshi, who spends so much of the Super Mario franchise as a steed, get to be the one riding a means of conveyance for a change.
Peach shows up in Round 2 in a non-metallic state…
…while Mario takes his turn in precious-metal form with Gold Mario, whose kart is the only one with its nose art rendered in relief instead of a sticker.
The remaining spots on the starting grid go to Toadette…
…and Donkey Kong, who we’re seeing a lot of these days as he teams up with not only McDonald’s but Universal Studios Japan too.
Again, Round 1 runs from November 15 to 21, and Round 2 from November 22 to 28. There’s also a Round 3 scheduled to start on November 29 in which any of the toys could be in your Happy Meal, but as it’s a “while supplies last” deal ostensibly meant to make use of whatever meager leftovers there are from Rounds 1 and 2, if there’s a model you’ve got your heart set on, it’s probably best to take your shot in the first two rounds.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we really do need to get back to work…
…by which we mean, obviously, thoroughly testing these items for…um…safety…or something (weeeeee!).
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]