Christmas is out of the way, and covid-19 has cancelled New York Toy Fair, but also: It’s Been a Week. So your regular check-in with all things toy this week on Gizmodo is a little light, but really — what more do you need than a distressingly long Pikachu to cuddle?
New Wave Toys Asteroids X RepliCade Mini Arcade Cabinet
There are countless ways to re-play classic video games of decades past, but few recreate the experience of hunching over an arcade cabinet. If your home doesn’t quite have the room for even Arcade1Up’s scaled-down cabinets, New Wave Toys’ RepliCade line scales them down even further to just 12 inches tall while preserving the original controls and gameplay. First released by Atari back in 1979, the new RepliCade Asteroids cabinet features five action buttons and a pair of taller volcano buttons for piloting your vector-rendered ship and destroying a non-stop field of flying space debris. On the back is a charging port and access to a series of dip switches letting you customise the game (like adding more lives) and is now available for around $155, but limited to 3,500 units. (Plus another 500 featuring a special paint scheme.)
S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Full Power Son Goku
Figuarts’ line of Dragon Ball figures naturally has quite a few different levels of overpowered Goku in it already, but Bandai’s latest entry in the series is a chance to upgrade the original Super Saiyan Goku figure with some small tweaks to make it a “new” version of Goku at his standard level of power up. Based on Goku’s appearance in the Cell Games arc when he could maintain his Super Saiyan form permanently, the Full Power Goku includes alternate hands for posing him ready to blast a kamehameha, as well as three alternate faceplaters: a standard scowl, a “I’m in a Dragon Ball Z filler episode” screaming face, and a more standard happy face. He’ll cost around $50 when he releases in Japan this June. [Toyark]
Chronicle Books Lego Brick Playing Cards
You can now play digital versions of everything from solitaire to Texas hold’em on your smartwatch, but there’s still something satisfying about sitting around a table with a stack of physical cards in your hand. Companies like theory11 have elevated playing cards to an art form, but we’re equally enamoured with Chronicle Books’ new Lego-themed decks featuring colourful bricks on the back and face cards recreated with minifigures. You can pre-order them now for $22 which gets you two decks with yellow vs. blue colour schemes, but you’ll have to wait until mid-April for them to arrive.
Sentinel FLCL Canti Red and Canti Blue
Sentinel might be more hyped up for its out-there, armoured-up takes on the world of Marvel figures, but its latest toys dabble with an anime classic: Canti Joseph Nandaba from the beloved FLCL, with two figures of the android turned maid. Both the red and blue-tinged versions — based on Canti’s first appearance and then eventual transformation — come with the same accessories, including alternate hands, a wired cape, and extra weapons, but the red version of the character will set you back a bit more when they both ship in winter 2021. [Hobbylink Japan]
Pokémon Plush Centipede Pikachu Body Pillow
There are some Pokémon that were clearly designed to help sell plush toys, while others are destined for a life only lived in the various Pokémon video games as adversaries you just can’t help but feel eager to battle. We’re not entirely sure where this Frankenstein Pikachu creation falls. Officially listed on the AliExpress website as the “Very Long Pikachued Insect Elf Plush Doll Cute Anime Cartoon Pillow Stuffed Toy Yellow Decoration Christmas Gift For Kids,” this creation seems like an attempt to make the human centipede concept palatable to kids — although we’re not entirely sure why. Pricing ranges from around $25 for the shortest 2.5-plus feet version, to a little over $120 for the longest 5.5-plus feet monstrosity. What are they good for? Aside from cuddling, they apparently help with improved posture and could potentially even be used as a neck pillow for napping, during which they’ll inspire plenty of fun nightmares.