Gold Mario is a simple, but cool variation on Mario.  New Super Mario Bros. 2 for example was heavily based around the idea of a Gold Mario and getting lots of coins.  For these reasons, many Nintendo fans may be wanting a Gold Mario figure and unfortunately, it is not that easy to find the Amiibo.  This review will tackle some of the differences between the World of Nintendo and Amiibo Gold Mario and determine which one is the nicer figure of the two.  With this goal in mind, let’s take a closer look at the figure.

Articulation – While I’m sure this figure is a repaint of an earlier Mario figure, the articulation on this figure is more limited than other recent World of Nintendo figures like Cat Luigi.  My figure has really stiff joints and while they have loosened up as I messed around with the figure, it was a little scary when I first started bending them.  If you pick one of these up and find a similar situation, be careful so you don’t break an arm or leg off.  As far as articulation goes, Mario’s knees and shoulders bend, his wrists and elbows will rotate and that is about it.  There is a little bit of movement in the hips, but it is a relatively small amount.  This means that the posing options for this figure are limited.  I took a few different pictures like normal and you are able to get a nice running Mario pose, but most of the variation comes in the hands and arms and how they’re position.  Overall, this is one of the worst World of Nintendo 4″ figures I’ve reviewed as far as articulation goes and it is disappointing his head won’t turn or rotate at all, but it is still a decent figure and has better movement than any other Gold Mario figure so I can’t complain too much.

Paint – The most important part of this figure is the paint and while yes, it is just Mario painted gold, if the paint is a nice color then it sells the entire figure.  One thing I have noticed is that the Gold Mario’s I’ve seen in retail all have a pretty consistent paint color.  This is a good thing overall, because some of the Gold Mario Amiibos do vary in color.  I compared the World of Nintendo Gold Mario to my Gold Mario Amiibo and I have to say that I prefer the Amiibo’s richer, shinier, and more brown shade of gold.  It looks fancier and more like real gold.  Even though I would pick the Amiibo over the World of Nintendo figure in this regard, the World of Nintendo figure still looks really nice and mine had zero paint issues.  My only complaint would be the manufacturing number on his back leg which is not horrendous, but still never a welcome sight.

Accessory – One area where Gold Mario might disappoint seasoned World of Nintendo collectors is that he is yet another figure who comes with a coin.  This is by far the most common accessory in World of Nintendo and while it fits the character really well, it is not particularly exciting.  Gold Mario cannot hold it and so it is not a very fun accessory.  The one upside is that coins are everywhere in Mario games and so having an extra will never hurt.

Closing Thoughts – While this is definitely not one of the best World of Nintendo figures, there is still plenty of fun to be had with it.  Gold Mario has some good poses and I had a lot of fun creating the picture above.  If you already have a large collection of Mario figures, perhaps this one is skippable, but for me, I’m glad to add it alongside Tanooki Mario and Cat Luigi.  While the Gold Mario Amiibo is more expensive and a bit nicer, I would say Gold Mario is well worth $10 and is a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to pay over retail for an Amiibo.  With regular, Gold, Fire, and Tanooki Mario already out, I look forward to seeing what Jakks Pacific brings us next in their Mario figure line.