Nintendo Pop-Up Worth A 2nd Visit? A Coin Purse That Stares Into Your Soul Says 'Yes'

I'll be honest: While I love video games, I'm not really a hardcore Nintendo fan.

Nonetheless, back when the Nintendo Pop-Up Store first landed in Singapore in late 2023, I eagerly went to check it out, lured by the novelty of it and the promise of cool merch previously exclusive to Japan.

Now, the pop-up store is back at Jewel Changi until 24 July, with additional merch being brought in on top of the 2023 stock.

This time, I wasn't quite as excited about it. I'd already visited it once, after all; would it really be worth going back just to see a bit of extra merch?

Still, I had to admit that I was a bit curious about what might be new this time around.

The crowd's gone, but the colour's still here

A surprisingly empty store. | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

An eye-catching display greets me as I enter the store. It's much less crowded this time around, though that could be because the store has already been open for a few weeks, and it's a school day.

Pikmin overload!

Wasting no time, I head to the right as I enter the store, where I'm greeted by the Pikmin section.

Here's my first surprise: The sheer variety on display.

So. Many. Pikmin. | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

Previously, the store only had a few pieces of Pikmin merch based on the basic three Pikmin (red, yellow and blue). This time, there's a rainbow of different Pikmin types represented as pins and plush keychains, including a slightly chonky purple Pikmin, and an albino Pikmin that's just a tad unnerving to look at.

But what really catches my attention is the rather horrific-looking slug monster, which Google informs me is an enemy creature called a Bulborb.

I assume they look cuter in the actual game... | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

It's ostensibly a coin purse, with the Bulborb's mouth serving as the actual purse part. Personally, I think I'd be too creeped out to retreive my coins from this... thing's... mouth, especially with the way its eyes seem to stare into my soul.

Villains take centre stage

Leaving the Bulborb behind, I turn my attention to the Mario plushies section.

In contrast to the multitude of Mario character variants available the last time, the 2025 store only has the basic versions of classic Mario characters. What it does have, however, is a huge range of enemy plushies that weren't around the last time.

Welcome to the Enemy Emporium.| IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

Want a Bob-omb for your collection? How about a Chain Chomp or Boo?

They even have the adorable Polterpup from the Luigi's Mansion subseries, long floppy tongue and all.

DOGGO! | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent far too long petting it, and had to repeatedly remind myself that I absolutely do not need any more plushies.

Rupee get!

Rupees and Bomb Flowers not included. | IMAGES: NICHOLAS YONG

The Zelda section is unfortunately rather lacklustre; most of the merch are repeats from the 2023 store, though there are a few somewhat novel additions in the form of a Rupee pouch and a Bomb Flower bag (note: bag is not suitable for storing actual bombs).

But the section beside that is completely brand-new: A shelf of Donkey Kong merch.

A banana pencil case and a DK cushion walk into a store...

Time to monkey around. | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

The Donkey and Diddy Kong plushies were previously stocked with the Mario plushies in 2023. Now, they have their own section, small as it may be.

There's also banana-shaped pencil cases for carrying stationery (or your lunch-break banana, if you prefer), and large DK barrel cushions (non-smashable, as I discovered, though not for lack of trying).

Near the front of the store, the Animal Crossing and Pikmin sections are about as unremarkable as the Zelda one was; aside from a few character plushies that weren't available the last time, nothing really stands out to me.

Hold on to your wallet...

Finally, I reach the last section that I've yet to look at: The big-spender section, otherwise known as the large plushies shelf.

Better not slip on these banana peels... | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

Here, you can get truly massive plushies ranging from Bullet Bills to banana peels from Mario Kart, and even Mario and Luigi's hats, the last of which are sadly not wearable. As befitting their size, some of these plushies can cost upwards of $100 — certainly not your typical impulse buy.

But what's this?

Kirby deserves better; at least he's here!

Say hello to a familiar pink blob-creature.| IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

On the bottom shelf of this section, I spy a few plushies from a criminally under-represented series: Kirby.

Sadly, there are only a few plushie variants of Kirby himself, along with Meta Knight and something that looks like an egg in a chef's outfit (Chef Kawasaki, according to Google). I would have liked it if a few more characters were represented, especially Kirby's arch-rival King Dedede.

There's a few more items to look at to the left; joycons, Nintendo Switch games, and a few pricey novelty items like Mario Kart Drift Tomica cars and an elaborate Nintendo Sound smart alarm clock with 35 different alarms based on Mario, Zelda, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4 and Ring Fit Adventure (yes, really).

I think I've seen enough though, and the store is starting to get crowded, so I take my leave.

Final thoughts: Still worth a side quest

So, is this year's Nintendo Pop-Up Store worth visiting as a casual fan?

There's certainly quite a few new additions to look at, albeit less so for some fandoms. But what they do have is definitely worth checking out, in my opinion. If you have some time to spare, meandering through the store and admiring the goodies on display is a fun way to spend the afternoon.

And hopefully, the next time this store returns to Jewel (fingers crossed), Kirby will have his own section.

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