Nintendo’s amiibo line of toy-to-life figures came under heavy fire at launch for the manufactured scarcity that led to people staying up at all hours fighting for pre-orders or being forced to shell out exorbitant prices to eBay scalpers. As the line expanded, they were criticized for the features they added to compatible games, with many deriding them as physical DLC, made even less forgivable when they're so hard to find. As the amiibo fervor has died down, these features have been reduced significantly, effectively turning the line into the budget collectible line it should have been from the start.

Because, as legitimate as the complaints against amiibo are, I’ve never been able to resist their allure as a simple collectible figure line. Despite a few price increases since the line started in 2014, they still boast a reasonable MSRP of $16 (whether you'll be lucky enough to find one at MSRP is another story). The neat freak in me also loves the cohesion, unifying many disparate game series in a similar art style and with the same simple, trophy-style stand to sit upon.

But what I love the most about them is the way they let some of Nintendo’s more neglected franchises get official merchandise. While Chibi-Robo, Duck Hunt and Punch-Out!! all fall under this category, the one that always comes first for me is Earthbound. Despite critical success and a rabid cult following, that series has always been neglected in the West. Nintendo has released almost no official merchandise for the franchise outside of Japan, with one of the few items being the amiibo of Earthbound protagonist Ness they were obligated to release to finish the Super Smash Bros. line.

It’s a simple figure, but it more than justifies its price. The creepy, dark void eyes translate surprisingly well to a 3D model, probably due to the simplicity of Ness’ overall design. Despite that simplicity, however, this figure still manages to dig in and capture the spirit of the character. The pose (taken from the fourth Super Smash Bros. game) evokes the vigor and sense of adventure inherent to Ness, while the vibrancy of the colours reinforce his youthful qualities. There’s also some nice attention to detail on various parts of the figurine, like the raised texture on his shoelaces, or the buckles on his backpack, that make it feel like equal thought was given to this figure as others with more complex designs.

The figure has a nice weight to it, lending it a premium feel. The paint and construction materials seem to be quality as well, seeing as Ness has been sitting on my shelf for about five years straight now with no signs of sun fading or other wear and tear. The paint on the T-shirt is a little uneven in places and the stripes aren't perfectly uniform, but it's a minor detail and hard to notice unless you're specifically examining the figure for faults.

Functionality-wise, there’s not much available due to how little Ness shows up in games outside of the Smash Bros. series. There’s the standard amiibo fighter function in the latest two Super Smash Bros. games, and the few games that go the extra mile to include a lot of costume options for every amiibo (like Super Mario Maker or Yoshi’s Woolly World) include Ness costumes. There are a lot of games that include some small bonus for any amiibo scanned, and if Ness is the only one you own, he’ll fit the bill for them as well.

Screenshots of the Ness costumes in Yoshi's Woolly World and Super Mario Maker

Since it has so few functions, and even fewer impactful ones, it’s unlikely you’ll need to take the Ness amiibo off your shelf often, but that's not really a problem. This figure is high-grade, a rare bit of merch from a beloved cult franchise, and deserving of a prominent spot in any gaming collection.