Set Review ➟ 71365 Piranha Plant Power Slide
Of all the LEGO Super Mario Expansion sets, possibly my favourite one is the Piranha Plant Power Slide. Why? Well, let’s have a closer look at the set and see what it contains.
Like (almost) all LEGO Super Mario sets, the 71365 Piranha Plant Power Slide doesn’t come with printed instructions. You need to either download the LEGO Super Mario app or get the online PDF instructions. Depending on your building guide preferences you may want to decide for one or the other. The advantage of the PDF instructions is that you will see several steps on a single page. This is especially an advantage for those of us who can almost guess what the next step will be and like to build in 2 or 3 steps at a time. The benefit of using the app on the other hand, are that it is harder to lose focus or skip a step. At the same time, the digital building instructions allow you to rotate the build virtually so you can see it from different angles.
Whichever method you choose, you will invariably end up using the LEGO Super Mario app. Only here can you see the videos that explain what the set is about and some hints on how to use it.
There are two enemies for Mario to defeat in this set: a Goomba and a Koopa. They are easy enough to build without instructions if you pay attention to the available elements and the pictures on the box and of course each enemy has their barcode for Mario to scan.
The next element with a barcode is the time box. This will add time to Marios internal counter so you can take longer than the original 59 seconds to complete the level. This comes in very handy as the last element in this build requires some extra time to really make the most of it.
Of course I am talking about the element that lends its name to the set: the actual Piranha Plant Power Slide. The slide uses the new rollercoaster elements (a few straight pieces and a car) to create a unique attraction in the LEGO Super Mario theme.
Most of the challenges in the starter set and expansion packs are about jumping on things and a few require some basic motor skills to make sure Mario doesn’t fall off, like the sliding bridge or rotating platforms. This set takes these motor skills to a whole new level.
In order to score points, Mario needs to slide back and forth between the two piranha plants, making sure not to touch them! The internal gyro sensor in Mario keeps track of the bumps that will happen if you crash into either of the plants. If you manage not to crash into the plants your score will go up faster and faster.
Don’t feel up to the task? Well, I’ll leave you with a video by ROBOTMAK3R Dimitri Dekyvere who has found the perfect solution!
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