Toys to Life 4 Lyfe

Posted byNicholas RadfordPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , ,

It’s the end of an era.

The Sora Amiibo was released on February 16th, 2024, almost a decade after the first wave of Smash Bros Amiibo–the first Amiibo ever–dropped, closing the book on arguably the most important series within this popular Nintendo franchise and maybe even the concept as a whole.

The upper shelf of my Smash Amiibo collection

Amiibo are what some refer to as ‘Toys to Life’ figures. This is a mechanic where real-life plastic figures are placed onto a device that reads them and activates or unlocks something within a video game based on the figure. This benefit could range from allowing you to play as the character represented by the toy to just gifting you a small loot chest with goodies inside. 

My history with the genre dates back past most people my age’s experience. I got into the game back when Skylanders were the big thing. You couldn’t walk into a video game or toy store without seeing shelves upon shelves of these unique little critters. The idea of collecting these little guys scratched the same itch that working on a Living Dex in Pokemon Home or slipping Magic: The Gathering cards into my binder did. But that wasn’t all. Not only were these physical things I could collect, but they also did something. They had a use. I was suckered in by the time Skylanders: Giants, the second game in the series, came out.

A tactic that Skylanders implemented that Amiibo mercifully stayed away from was variants. Now, these are not multiversal travelers of yourself from another timeline, though they are similar. Instead, these were different-colored versions of the adorable little characters that we knew and loved, meaning that they were more appealing or, at least, a motivator to buy even more figures. There were two types of variants in the Skylanders series: in-game variants and chase variants. 

In-game variants were as the name implied when you scanned the toy on the Portal of Power, as they called it (also the name of my WiFi since college), the figure would appear with the unique colors represented on the figure. These variants would also include unique naming and box art to sell that they were different figures. In-game variants included special subcategories of Skylanders like dark or legendary versions of the main cast, which both ran through the life of the series, plus holiday-specific designs like the Halloween-themed Candy-Coated Chopscotch or even Kickoff Countdown, which celebrated the World Series. There were also Frito Lay-exclusive Skylanders Sidekicks, which were adorable baby versions that were initially an unplayable aesthetic piece but were later renamed to Minis, made playable, and sold in two packs. (Even the Minis got in-game variants, like Eggsellent Weeruptor.)  

Chase variants were also aptly named, as they required more of a chase. Like in-game variants, chase variants were different twists on the pre-existing characters. But, unlike their variant brethren, chase variants did not appear different from the regular Skylanders in-game, nor did they receive special packaging. Someone who wasn’t paying attention or didn’t know what they were looking at would likely just dismiss these variants as a defect. But they were more than that, dear reader. They tapped into the same primal urge in a collector’s brain that shiny Pokemon have since they were introduced in the generation two games for the GameBoy Color. They were unique and difficult to find, which made them valuable. Also, like shiny Pokemon, chase variants were simply too much of a challenge for me to actively hunt down. It was cool when I stumbled across one, but I wouldn’t waste time seeking them out–the risk/reward ratio was just too off. That is why I strictly focused on in-game variants.

The lower shelf of my Smash Amiibo collection

Some of the in-game variants were released as exclusives to specific retailers. GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us (RIP) were the big ones, and I’m sure they made bank off this craze. It was such a successful strategy that Nintendo deemed it worthy to dip its toes in the exclusivity market by releasing certain Amiibo as exclusives to those same retailers, plus adding Amazon to the mix. These retail-exclusive Skylanders were pretty hard to come by, which taught me how to hunt. I learned when deliveries came in, followed Twitter and Reddit communities that were focused on obtaining these rare treasures, and slowly accumulated a decent trove of rare figures. It became a fun pastime for my college friends and me to load into the car and drive to the local GameStop or Toys R Us to see what secrets were hidden in their electronics aisles. Though my pals didn’t collect the figures as I did, they played the games with me, so were supportive nonetheless. 

The tradition continued once I graduated and moved to Portland. The location was different, but the retailers all operated the same, making for easy pickings. When Amiibo were introduced on November 21st, 2014, and proved even more popular and difficult to obtain, I was already up for the challenge. Amiibo proved a lovely addition to my already exemplary Toys to Life collection, and I was hooked. My life was so centered around collecting the little figures that when I went through a big breakup around that time, one of my first thoughts while going through a big breakup at the time was, “Who will I go Skylander hunting with now?” That concern ended up being less pertinent than I could realize, because the Skylanders brand only lasted a few more years, growing less and less popular with each release. Finally, on October 13th, 2016, the final game in the series, Skylanders: Imaginators, was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360, but some of the figures planned to go with the set never even saw store shelves. 

I was bummed (I still am when I think about it sometimes), but I had already found a new love: Amiibo. If I hadn’t already been on board from day one, I definitely would have started when Bowser and Donkey Kong made their Skylanders debut in Skylanders: Superchargers, even getting dark in-game variants to make them even more appealing. Looking back and now knowing that Superchargers was the penultimate game in the series, that toys to life crossover, lovingly dubbed “Sky-miibos” by the community, was probably the beginning of the end for what was a dying franchise, I was just too blinded by the hype to see it at the time.

Once I was forced to no longer split my attention–I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any other attempts to enter the toys-to-life space like Disney Infinity or Lego Dimensions–I focused solely on collecting Amiibo. I made the right choice since they are (were?) the last toy standing–plus they might have the most innovative figures, from the giant Detective Pikachu to the interchangeable Mr. Game & Watch to the Amiibo cereal box to the Yarn Yoshi and Poochy toys.

Some additional Smash Amiibo that didn’t quite fit with the rest

It grew difficult for a period of my life when I was essentially unemployed. I couldn’t keep up with the new releases, but once I had a disposable income again, I caught up quickly. I spent probably too much money on the figures that I had missed during my hiatus and started preordering every figure before they came out. I had initially avoided the preorder model because it helped replicate those days of Skylander hunting at Toys R Us, but the death of those physical retailers and the rise of preorder bots and scalping made the process much more frustrating and less accessible. Though the thrill of the hunt was all but gone, I was in the ecosystem and kind of a completionist, so I stuck it out. I’m proud of my trophy case.

The release of the Sora Amiibo marks the end of the Smash Bros series that kicked off the trend all those years ago, and we currently don’t know if there will be any more Amiibo released in the future at all. But, even if Nintendo never releases another Amiibo, my journey isn’t quite complete yet! There are still three Japan-exclusive Monster Hunter Amiibo that have eluded my grasp.

If you have leads on any of the following Amiibo, please let me know so my collection can finally be complete:

Lioleia & Cheval

One-Eyed Rathalos & Rider Girl

Navirou

THE WORLD IS YOUR BURRITO!

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