The new Mario sets “Full of nostalgia”. A review
19 golggotmánnu 2020
At ToyPro we work with LEGO® every day. Usually with logistical questions such as: "Which new sets will be arriving?" "Do we have enough stock on that one single part?" and “Are all orders ready for shipment?”. Sometimes we take the time to build and play with LEGO® ourselves. Like with the new LEGO® Super Mario sets.
At the beginning of August, the LEGO® Super Mario sets came on the market and we didn't really know what to expect from them. Would you like to build your own levels? Do you have to be familiar with the Super Mario games to play the LEGO version of Mario? Of course, there is only one way to find out.
We played with the Mario starter set, the expansion set: the guarded fortress and the Builder Mario power-up package.
What is immediately striking when opening this set is that there are no booklets to build everything. Instead of the paper construction manual, you must install an app on your phone or tablet. Tip: use a tablet, then you can view everything better.
When starting the app, you immediately hear the recognizable Mario sounds. Even if you don't know Super Mario very well, this classic tune will sound familiar to you. While building the starter set, you can see very well on the app where the bricks should be. You can zoom in and rotate the object 360 degrees with your fingers. Very handy if you are not sure about something. The set is not difficult to build anyway. The experienced builder will walk through the building process quite easily and quickly ... ready for the gaming experience.
Mario
When you have built Mario, you can connect him with bluetooth via the app. This way it is registered how many coins you get in a level. In the app there are also weekly challenges that keep on challenging you. Just like in the classic Mario games, in the app you can see a map of the whole world. Of course you can see the sets and extension sets that you have purchased.
Mario has a color sensor at the bottom. If you put it on a green brick, it will register it as grass, if you put it on a blue brick, it will be water. Red is fire. You can build levels and figure out how Mario has to avoid certain obstacles in order not to go off.
The challenge of these sets is mainly in building creative, unique levels where you collect as many coins as possible. Especially if you play Super Mario with friends.
Starter set + Extension set
As the name implies, you have to start with the starter set; This construction set contains Mario and the starting point + end point to build levels. If you put Mario on the starting point (in the green pipe), a clock of 60 seconds starts immediately. Within that time you will go through your self-built level, defeat enemies and maybe even find a power-up. Are you ready? Then jump on the sensor with the flag and you have completed the level. You will immediately see how many coins you have collected.
What also becomes clear is that the set is immediately a lot more fun with every expansion set you add. The starter set teaches you the basics. Once you get started with those expansion sets, you will see how you can build many more fun traps, defeat new enemies and meet other recognizable characters.
What I like the most is the little sounds Mario makes when you change his outfit:
Conclusion
My adult colleagues and friends who know Mario think it is a very cool set. Lots of nostalgia: all the recognizable sounds from the original games are in it. You immediately understand what the intention is. It leaves you wanting more. Expansion sets feel almost necessary because of this.
These sets are great fun for children. This is because it requires a lot of creativity to build unique levels yourself. They can enjoy playing with this set for hours.
Are you a LEGO® fan, but no connection with Mario? Don't worry, ToyPro has many other fun and / or challenging sets.
Discover all Lightailing light sets here
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