LEGO Mario Time
Today LEGO are officially announcing the LEGO Mario sets, ... well, not entirely. We've known about LEGO Super Mario for some time, but today the full product range is announced. In addition, HispaBrick Magazine has had some hands-on experience with Mario that we are eager to share.
The first set to be announced was 71360 - Adventures with Mario, also known as the "starter course". This is the only set that contains the mario figure as well as the start and finish that is reused with every other set. All other sets are add-ons to this one. In a bid to make the set look special, the packaging has a very curious shape. I am at a loss to define it so just have a look for yourself:
So what exactly is in tis starter course. Let's have a closer look:
Although the set includes what at first sight looks like an instruction booklet, it turns out this is just a leaflet with an overview of all the available sets for the theme. Instructions are only available in digital format inside the companion app.
For some of the builds those instructions may come in handy, but for most of the elements in this set they are a bit of overkill: we built the entire set just from the images on the box (we didn't have access to the app at the time).
As you have probably already noticed, there are plenty of new element sin this set. The most universal ones are the platforms/plates with round corners, that are used to build game elements on. These come in different sizes and with varying numbers of studs. What they all have in common though is that they are 2 plates thick and have 2-stud wide gaps to connect plates.
Another important new element is the pipe that serves as the starting point for all of Mario's adventures
And, of course, Mario himself!
Mario Hardware Overview
As you can see, Mario comes without trousers... for now, and this gives us a moment to talk about a few important features on this new electronic gadget. Mario appears to have 2 (or 3) screens. 1 (set) is used to animate his eyes and mouth, the other one to display animations on his stomach which serve to indicate important game elements like scores, time and special effects and bonuses.
If you turn Mario over you can see a few other important elements. There are two buttons, one to wake Mario up (or shut him down) and another one to connect him to the app. near the top of his head there are a few small openings over the location of the integrated speaker and finally there is a screw (which will be hidden later by the trousers) to access the battery compartment.
Mario is powered by two AAA batteries and works fine with reachargeables!
Finally there is the bottom side of the hub. This houses a colour sensor/scanner that allows Mario to "see" where he is. If it sees any of the primary LEGO colours included in the set his small screen will show he is standing on (green) grass, (blue) water or (red) lava. The scanner also recognises all of the coloured barcodes that are present in the set.
Remember the 6 little switches below Marios lower screen? These interface with the ridges inside the trouser piece. Different ridges (and so a different witch combination) means different behaviours.
To this end there are several Power Up packs that give Mario new and different powers. We had a chance to play with his Cat suit, making Mario a wall climber, among other things.
Mario also has a second, less visible sensor: a gyro or accelerometer. Make Mario jump and the hub will respond by making a jumping sound. Put Mario on his back and he will go to sleep (and snore!).
Gameplay
Playing with mario requires building levels. These levels can be as simple and complex as your imagination and the available amount of bricks allows. In addition to the start and end - common to all levels - you can take Mario through his level by bouncing him over the pathways that connect the new platform pieces. The real fun, however, is in the special barcodes. These trigger special behaviours. For example, repeatedly bouncing on the barcode on the back of Bowser allows Mario to finish him off and collect points. A surprise box can give Mario more time to finish the level and there are numerous other actions. All of these actions are explained in the app as you add elements to your collection.
There are plenty of printed parts in this and the other sets and not a single sticker. That is to say: no stickers you apply yourself. The barcodes Mario scans for special game play are pre-applied stickers. While this may seem strange, it is actually a very good solution. Printed bricks can be scratched easily and the type of gameplay Mario proposes, with plenty of bouncing and bashin opponents would in all likelihood render printed barcodes useless after extended use. Stickers, when applied by the user, tend to peel off, fade or also scratch. The stickers that come pre-applied however, use a different (stronger) glue to hold them to the brick, preventing them from peeling off. The are also quite thick. Closer inspection reveals there are several transparent protective layers on top the barcode print, ensuring a much longer lifespan for the stickers.
The expansion sets for Mario are not intended as individual levels, but as additional level elements that can be linked to create new and exciting combinations. You only have 60 seconds to complete each level - unless you find a way to score extra seconds, so you need to figure out how to make the most of each level configuration and score the highest points. Making the best use of your time also adds to your bonus at the end.
The app provides suggestions for level configurations, but also allows you to take pictures of your own levels, keep track of your scores and share scores and creations online.
Value for Money
Although I had a lot of fun testing Mario with my kids, I wouldn't play or build levels on my own. The sets appear to be very much oriented at kids and I doubt many adults will be drawn into really playing with these sets.
Since LEGO has revealed the entire line-up today, let's have a quick look at the listing:
Starter Course
71360 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Adventures with Mario Starter Course (59,99 USD/EUR)
This is the set shown at the start of this blog post, and a requirement to be able to use any of the additional sets.
Expansion sets
71362 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Guarded Fortress Expansion Set (49,99 USD/EUR)
71363 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Desert Pokey Expansion Set (19,99 USD/EUR)
71364 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Whomp’s Lava Trouble Expansion Set (19,99 USD/EUR)
71365 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Piranha Plant Power Slide Expansion Set (29,99 USD/EUR)
71366 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Boomer Bill Barrage Expansion Set (29,99 USD/EUR)
71367 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Mario’s House & Yoshi Expansion Set (29,99 USD EUR)
71368 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Toad’s Treasure Hunt Expansion Set (69,99 USD/EUR)
71369 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set (99,99 USD/EUR)
71376 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Thwomp Drop Expansion Set (39,99 USD/EUR - available only with select retailers)
71377 - LEGO® Super Mario™ King Boo and the Haunted Yard Expansion Set (49,99 USD/EUR- available only with select retailers)
Power-up Packs
71370 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Fire Mario Power-Up Pack (9,99 USD/EUR)
71371 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Propeller Mario Power-Up Pack (9,99 USD/EUR)
71372 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Cat Mario Power-Up Pack (9,99 USD/EUR)
71373 - LEGO® Super Mario™ Builder Mario Power-Up Pack (9,99 USD/EUR)
Character Packs 71361 – LEGO® Super Mario™ Character Packs (4,99 USD/3,99 EUR)
These are essentially collectibles as they come in blind bags
The full range of sets will be available from August 1, 2020
Building a medium sized Mario level requires the Starter Course (~60€) and 2-3 expansion packs, setting you back around 100€ total. By the time you have built a full-on Mario layout you are probably well into the 250€ figure. How much play are you really going to get out of this? And how long will your kids stay interested in playing this game on their own, or watching how their sibling/friend plays levels half of the time. How physical is the game really and how different is the interaction from standard video game play? All of these are factors to take into account when deciding whether to take the leap and dive into the world of LEGO Super Mario.
For me the really interesting part is how these new electronics relate to the existing Powered Up platform. I would love to be able to read the triggers from the colour sensor and the gyro to make Mario interact with my Boost set or even with the upcoming 51515 MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor set. Maybe it's time I got a Bluetooth sniffer to figure out what is going on inside this, for now, closed system.
Time to bring an end to this blog post. As Mario would say: See you later!
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