Despite there being new World of Nintendo figures out there, I still am unable to find any and since I try to keep new content coming on the site I sometimes am faced with a dilemma.  Do I buy figures I don’t necessarily want just to be able to write articles?  Occasionally I do, but in this case I was at least a little interested in Cat Toad.  I love all of the Cat suits in Super Mario 3D World and while I haven’t been buying any of the Cat figures in the 2.5″ size, this is a figure I am happy to add to my collection since there isn’t a 4″ figure yet.  With that said, let’s take a closer look at this diminutive feline and see if it is worth the money or not!

Box – The 2.5″ packaging hasn’t changed much over the years and is pretty well-designed.  I still would love to see some more variation in the packaging art but at $4 (which is what Meijer charges for these), I can’t complain!

Articulation – I always like to preface my review of a 2.5″ inch figure by pointing out that these figures have very simple or limited articulation because of their size and low price.  So I don’t hold these to as high of a standard as a 4″ inch figure.  It is a good thing with Cat Toad because he can do very little.  His arms and “paws” can go up or down but like Dixie Kong, if you move them very much, he can’t stand up any more.  That makes the articulation almost non-existent because at least one paw has to be on the ground at all times for him to be balanced.  Truthfully, if you like how this figure looks in the package then you’ll be happy with it outside of the package as well.  It is definitely a case of what you see is what you get.

Paint and Details – The one reason I was reluctant to pick this figure up is the fact that there were some obvious blemishes to the paint that I could see before buying it.  Toad’s face has a little something dark streaked near the eye.  A lot of the white paint is not evenly or well applied as I would like.  This seems to be more common with 2.5″ figures than the 4″ ones and is one reason why I tend to skip over them for their more expensive counterparts.  Jakks Pacific has a tendency with these figures to put a factory code somewhere on the figure that is really obvious and kind of annoying.  This time, they hid it underneath Toad’s tail which is both clever and much appreciated.  Even with the paint issues, Toad has a nice design and is very cute, especially at this small size so I don’t want to appear too critical of this figure.

Display – I have less 2.5″ inch figures in my collection than 4″ figures and yet, I still was able to come up with a couple of fun pictures to show off what this figure can do and why you may want to pick it up.  Despite its paint flaws, this is a fun figure that has some fun display options which is nice.

Closing Thoughts – I think it is fair to say there is a reason why this particular Cat Toad was sitting on the shelves.  The paint just isn’t as nice as it could be and I would guess that this one is just a little subpar compared to other Cat Toad figures.  If you can live with the very limited articulation then you can certainly enjoy this figure.  I had a surprising amount of fun taking pictures of it for this review and I think it is a good addition to your 2.5″ inch collection even if a subpar one is all you can find.