A review by Rebecca Fleming
Twitter is a weird and wonderful place. Sure, you get the trolls and the crazies in abundance, but it’s also a great place to meet and talk to other people with similar interests (in my case, writing, fantasy and generally nerdy stuff). I’ve become good friends offline with some of my Twitter friends. Last Christmas one of them (fellow DMZ reviewer C J Dee) was kind enough to get me Nintendo Monopoly for Christmas.
We all know that Monopoly is the game that destroys friendships and makes you hate everyone else. (There’s always that one jerk who enjoys watching their friends suffer as they’re forced to mortgage their properties so they can pay the fee for landing on Mayfair with a hotel on it. Then there’s the stormy arguments about who gets to play with the dog token). As a result, I (and most people I know) rarely play it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admire the game if I get an awesome nerdy edition of it. Here’s the Nintendo Monopoly board:
As you can see, instead of being based on places like the standard Monopoly, Nintendo Monopoly is based on characters from beloved Nintendo franchises. Most of the well-known ones are included, from Super Mario Bros (obviously), Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda to Animal Crossing, Kirby and Metroid Prime. I was sad that Pokemon were absent from Nintendo Monopoly, but given there’s an actual Pokemon edition of Monopoly available, it makes sense. The money has pictures of Mario on it (each denomination shows him in a different pose) and the Chance and Community Chest cards have been replaced with Blocks and ? Blocks. Some of the cards made me giggle. For example: “Turned off your system before saving your game. Go back three spaces.” and “Bowser tax. Pay $15.”
The utilities (water and electricity) have been replaced with Pipe and Piranha Plant, while the train stations in Nintendo Monopoly depict modes of transport used in various Nintendo games, such as the Pikmin Onion and Metroid Gunship. The tokens feature iconic items from the franchises; Link’s Master Sword, Mario 1-Up Mushroom, Samus’s Helmet, Olimar’s Spaceship, Gyroid and the Power Star.
Given the love-hate relationship many people have with this game, you may not think it’s worth the purchase. But if you love Monopoly and all things Nintendo, this is a must-have for your collection.