On February 14th 2013 during a
Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata declared Nintendo would be celebrating the Year
of Luigi. This was to honour the 30th
anniversary of Luigi’s first appearance in Mario Bros. the arcade game. At the time it was a weird decision because
Luigi had been ignored by most fans; always in Mario’s shadow and relegated to
younger siblings who had no choice in player selection. Yet
this celebration of Luigi marked a turn in his inferiority, as Iwata started a
movement of Luigi fandom where game’s starring only Luigi were released and
people (myself included) starting appreciating and loving Luigi more.
Besides the games I now also
collect Luigi merchandise, such as this S.H. Figuarts toy. These figures used to be Japan only releases,
but are now being imported by Bluefin Toys in North America. Although they are expensive toys, they’re
totally worth it (at least at retail price) because the quality is amazing
(painted well and lot's of articulation). I
just love having Luigi displaced on my shelf; he brings a smile to my face
every time I see him. For as many
wonderful things Iwata did, I’m glad he was also able to show us all how Luigi
was destined to shine.
S.H. Figuarts:
YouTube:
