The partnership between Nintendo and Lego, two of the most popular family-friendly entertainment brands in the world, has borne fruit. Lego Super Mario is an early amalgam of games and builds that requires a healthy imagination to enjoy to its fullest.
The Lego Super Mario starting lineup is massive and hard to find. Since launching earlier this month, stores nationwide have been selling expansion kits, Mario power-up kits, and blind-bagged tokens, which cost the entire set to collect. up from $ 600. We picked up a copy of the Starter set of $ 60 from the Lego online store and got to build.
The Adventures with Mario starter course is required for all other Lego Super Mario sets to work. The set of 231 pieces is the only way to get Mario himself, an electronic figure with LED eyes, mouth and chest, as well as a built-in speaker for playing music and responding to actions such as jumping on a Goomba’s head or stepping into lava.
Without its batteries and extra Lego pieces installed (pants, hat, ears) Lego Super Mario looks a bit strange. Some would say soul without saying. Others will run crying. I love his little blank face.
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Such a strange thing to find in a Lego kit. With its legs, clothing, and two AAA batteries (not included), Lego Mario is quite a beast, if only a little offset.
Mario is the key to the whole Lego Super Mario experience. There are sensors under his body that can detect when he is standing on green, red or blue objects, and react as grass, lava or water respectively. The sensors also read QR codes on special Lego Mario bricks, allowing the figure to respond to them.
For example, one of the first items that the Lego Super Mario app suggests building new starter kit owners is the Goomba. It’s a bunch of bricks on top of a pair of shoes, with a printed face plate that gives this signature Goomba glare. At the top of the Goomba there is a QR code. When Mario is placed on top of the code, a stamping sound is played and he earns a coin.
Most of the starter kit’s instructions are built into the Lego Super Mario app, available for iOS and Android devices. Rather than a thick booklet, users walk through animated instructions. Pieces on screen can be rotated for a better view. It is much easier to follow than the normal paper instructions. The app also includes regular challenges to engage players in new ways, such as building a course that includes a favorite chair.
There is no right way to build a Lego Super Mario course. This is not the kind of Lego set that one builds, puts on a shelf and forgets. The whole line is intended for play, not display. Adult collectors who are not looking for ongoing Lego Mario excitement might want to sit down with these sets.
To create a course, players need the warp pipe. Placing Mario in the pipe starts the music level and activates a 60 second timer in his chest. If Mario did not complete the course in time, he would not explode at all, although that would be cool. To complete a course, players need the piece of the flag code. This QR code, attached to a base with the iconic Bowser flag, ends a level, plays the flag-dropping sound effect and victory music.
This is a valid Lego Super Mario level. Technically, the Goomba are not even needed. He’s just there for drama.
The starter course comes with a bunch of different base bits and obstacles, which are connected with red, green or blue rectangular bits. As long as there is a pipe at the beginning and a flag at the end, the sky is the limit. Do you want an alien cloud on which Mario can stand to collect coins? That’s in there. Do you want to face Mario against Bowser Jr.? Beat him over and stamp on his shell. Do you want Bowser Jr.? place on a cautious platform that Mario can jump on, plunge him into lava? The introductory course has treated you.
The “game” gets better the more imagination the player provides. Adults may not enjoy the action of shaking Mario with their hand, jumping on items by lifting and placing the plastic plumber, while young children may have an explosion. Lego builders who are ready to mix sets can include any number of sets in their Mario courses, as long as the basic building blocks are present. I want to see Mario save Ninjago City from Bowser. Or maybe he can save a man who fell into the river in Lego City. The possibilities are endless, as long as one has the time and patience.
As a Lego collector, I do not feel compelled to pack every Super Mario set I can get my hands on. The $ 60 Adventures with Mario starter set gave me the basic mood. If there were more interactive electronic characters, I might be asked, but now I’m happy with what I have.
I was worried about the strange electronic Mario, with his dead, helpless eyes and his non-standard Lego figure shape, but he grows on me. Just look at the face.
He’s a player, that Mario.
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