Amiibos

So, I've finally been bitten by the bug. I intially managed to completely avoid the Toys To Life addiction like the plague, I barely managed to escape Skylanders, and I kept a healthy distance from Disney Infinity, but Nintendo went for the throat.

They knew I liked Smash, and they ever so gently eased me into a false sense of security. I saw the Marths, the Villagers, the Wii Fit Trainers. I scoffed at them, I'd never buy a Amiibo! I had no need of them. They were cheap plastic with a gimmick, and I'd, at most, buy a Link figure for the inevitable Hyrule Warriors purchase (along with a Wii U down the line.)

I only recently got into Smash in earnest, and that's when the addiction started tickling the back of my brain like a parasitic insect that crawled into my ear. I really enjoyed playing as Fox, and both he and Link were becoming increasingly rare, according to the mutterings I heard. I should at the very least pick up those figures, for characters I enjoyed. They're cheap, and very well sculpted for their price, so it was a no lose scenario!

Which lead, as you'd expect, to a full on addiction of me scrounging through 8 different stores, desperately looking to find a Marth, Villager, or Wii Fit Trainer because they're apparently "never coming back", because I can't just have a few figures, I need the entire collection, I need ALL OF THEM, and I won't be able to rest until I can proudly look at my shelf full of boxed smash figures.

I'm happy to find out that Nintendo is in fact slowly restocking the rarer wave 1 figures, but it's becoming increasingly stressful that due to the holidays, everyone is going toy-crazy, and even figures like Rosalina (which I desperately wanted) have sold out of pre-order within 30 minutes of going live. It's nerve-wracking, I'm losing sleep and I can't stop, because I need them.

In the past, I occassionally dabbled in collecting, trying to recapture the Pokemon card craze of my youth, seeking to reinvigorate that sense of discovery and wonder, constantly rearranging my cards, looking for doubles, trying to out-wit other children on the playground and dupe them into giving me something incredibly rare for a something I had multiples of.. as an adult, however, this is incredibly dangerous.. I have the income and access to multiple venues of purchasing, and I'm not restricted by parents looking down on me telling me I shouldn't spend my money on silly toys..

No, no, it's quite the opposite, all of my friends, including my roommate have also succumbed to the siren call of Amiibo collecting, and this group mentality is only reinforcing our resolve, and slowly but surely driving us to madness.