In a recent article, I hinted at a figure I bought at Nintendo New York and now it is time to unveil the figure and review it!  I have been slowly building a collection of World of Nintendo Mario figures and really enjoy that Jakks Pacific is starting to dive into some of the more obscure characters from the series.  Lakitu may not seem obscure to diehard Mario fans like myself but when you think about getting a figure from a character that has only appeared in about half of the Mario games, you realize that Jakks Pacific is really trying to give fans what they want.  Was this figure worth the wait?  Let’s find out!

Box – There isn’t anything too exciting to show off with the box since we have seen this design so often but seeing the other releases in this wave is nice and there are a few worth tracking down even if this wave is heavy on repaints.

Articulation – As you may have noticed on the back of the packaging, Lakitu has seriously limited articulation!  Only five points.  This is very low for a figure of this size and while it is understandable (especially since Lakitu’s legs are in the cloud), it means this isn’t the most exciting of action figures.  Lakitu can rotate his head 360 degrees but the more you turn it, the more unnatural it looks as you can start to see in the picture above.  His hands can rotate 360 degrees and his arms have a limited amount of movement.  This means Lakitu can be holding or throwing something, waving, or putting his hands up in the air, and that’s about it.  It is hard not to be a little disappointed that this figure is so limited and isn’t really fun to play around with or pose though Jakks Pacific does tell savvy consumers as much if they check the back of the box so it is hard to fault them too much on the articulation.

Paint and Details – The paint on this figure is well applied and there are not really any issues.  I should also point out that Lakitu is pretty darn cute as Nintendo designed him to be too!  There are some very noticeable seamlines both on the top of Lakitu’s head and around the middle of the cloud.  These take away a bit from the appearance which is a shame because there are some nice features like the glasses and Lakitu’s shell.  My figure has a few other little nicks and imperfections on Lakitu’s stomach which is a bit disappointing because it has been a little while since I’ve gotten a World of Nintendo figure with appearance issues.  While I would say the paint and details are better than the articulation, overall, there is some room for improvement on this figure in this regard too.

Accessory – Outside of an actual Spiny which could be walking around on the ground, getting a Spiny Shell that is about “deploy” and chase after Mario is perfect for this figure.  Lakitu can be posed about to throw it as you can see in the picture earlier in the review and so this part of the figure is well done and could be a fun addition to your Mario figure collection.

Display – The one thing that Jakks did that was smart for collectors is include a little clear plug that inserts into Lakitu’s base which lets him stand on a shelf easily and look like he is floating just off the ground.  While you can’t depict a lot of movement with the figure because of the articulation, it is even more important that you can show off this figure easily.

Closing Thoughts – All in all, this is an average World of Nintendo figure with below average articulation.  I love having a figure of Lakitu to join my cast of Mario figures but I don’t necessarily recommend that everyone go out and get this one.  It really depends on what you want out of the figure and if you can look past the limited articulation.  If so, then this figure is cute, fun to display, and a worthy addition to your collection.  If not, some of the other figures in this wave are more likely to appeal to you.