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Sugar Mario Bros.: Nintendo Candy Round-Up

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Mmmm, taste some of that sweet, sweet licensing. Nintendo's enjoying merchandising craze it hasn't seen since the days of the Nintendo Cereal System. Among many other things, this has spawned a ton of Nintendo-licensed candy. On one hand, none of it's particularly tasty. On the other hand, almost all of it comes with a neat toy or collectible container you can keep when you're done. The sugar reels you in, and the plastic keeps you there.

Most of these candies are produced by one of two companies: Au'Some and Boston America. Au'Some produces candy Bob-ombs (Ba-bombs?), Pez-like Klik dispensers, bedazzled fruit leather-like Snerdles, and Mario gummies. Boston America produces Wii gum, coin-shaped sweet tarts, and pretty much any Mario candy that comes in a metal box. Here are seven of the most notable Nintendo candies available today. This isn't a complete list (still looking for a tin of Mushroom Sours), but it's a pretty good sugar rush to get you started.

Ba-Bomb

The container: It’s a Ba-bomb! Or Bob-omb, or Bo-bomb, or however you spell it. Either way, it’s the iconic little walking explosive in tiny plastic form. It’s about three inches tall from feet to fuse, and looks exactly like the bombs from the video games. Little feet, big white eyes, tiny fuse, and even a nonfunctional wind-up key. The Ba-Bombs have only just started to return to candy stores after nearly a decade-long hiatus; they were taken off the shelves after 9/11 because of their explosive theme. This is easily the favorite candy container of the bunch.

The candy: Fun Dip. That’s pretty much all it is. There’s a chalky candy stick hidden in the screw-off fuse cap, and the bomb’s body is filled with sour cherry powder. The stick’s a little short, so if you really want to get it nice and coated, you have to lick it, screw it back in, and shake up the bomb. It’s not bad, if you’re a fan of candy powder.

Mario Snerdles

The container: The candies come in a translucent yellow question mark box with a pop-off lid. Ten of the “Snerdles” sit inside the box, each wrapped in clear plastic. Bad for the environment, but good if you don’t want to eat all of them at once. The box feels a bit flimsy and doesn’t look quite right as a Mario item. It’s a nice enough little plastic trinket box to stash your spare change, but it doesn’t impress like some of the other items on this list.

The candy: “Snerdles” are squares of a fruit leather material with sprinkle-like candy dots covering one side. Mario Snerdles are red, green, or blue leathers, with the dots forming mushrooms, fire flowers, stars, and coins. It’s pretty clever thematically, since you’re basically opening up a question block to get an item from the game. The candy dots are chalky and the fruit leather is ridiculously chewy, but they’re flavorful enough to justify gnawing on them. Of course, the flavors are “red,” “green,” and “blue,” but that’s what you get when you want your fruit in candy form.

Nintendo Wii Klik Candies

The container: The miniature Wiimote candy dispenser/holder is a nearly perfect replica of the actual Wii controller. The detail is amazing, with a clear acrylic “A” button, a paint job that that matches the Wii remote down to the tiny blue house logo on the home button, a set of lanyard holes, and even a removable battery door. It’s accurate enough that you could hilariously frustrate any of your drunk friends who want to play Mario. The detailed top plate slides off of the controller to load candy horizontally, and pulling the “B” button trigger launches out a candy piece.

The candy: They’re basically Smarties under another brand. Little colored sugar discs that taste… well, like sugar.

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