Fans might not have ever imagined Mario as part of a LEGO set, but now that the plucky plumber exists in LEGO form, pre-orders for the LEGO Mario sets are selling out. It seems apparent now that the initial set revealed was just the tip of the iceberg, as Nintendo and LEGO have now announced some expansions to the core set.
With the success of the Nintendo Switch revitalizing the brand, and Mario approaching his 35th anniversary, there is no shortage of Mario and Mario-themed projects to be found. The casually-dropped-on-Twitter announcement of Paper Mario: The Origami King is one such project that has fans speculating on what evil spell might have befallen Princess Peach this time. The game is a little more of a traditional Mario project, which is why the LEGO sets are an interesting direction for Nintendo to be taking the character.
The eight different expansions announced by LEGO today cover a wide range of familiar Mario environments. Mario's house comes with a hammock and faithful friend, Yoshi. There is also a village featuring Toad and Toadette, the intimidating lead up to a fortress, and Bowser's Castle to name a few. Some of the expansions are a bit more sparse, and are meant to enhance the starter set. A number of classic enemies are present as well. Bullet Bills, Bob-ombs, Koopa Troopas, and Monty Moles are just a few that fans will be able to get their hands on. Coupled with the previously announced Power-Up Packs that will be released at around the same time, and the scope of the Mario LEGO project becomes apparent.
The sets, expansions, and power-ups do their best to re-create a Mario game experience. The Mario piece interacts with a number of other pieces in the sets by making sound effects when he touches them. An "ow ow ow ow" when stepping on a lava tile, or the whirling of a propeller when wearing the propeller suit. It is certainly a challenge to take Mario out of his video game form and create the same kind of fun in a LEGO set. But Nintendo is definitely giving it its all to take the character, and the world he is from, and expand outside of video games. The still-under-construction Super Nintendo World is another example of reimagining the Nintendo experience in a different form.
With so much Mario news going around, it's no surprise that fans are also feeding into the excitement. A remake of Super Mario RPG at the top of that list, as rumors abound that a Super Mario Collection is in the works.
The LEGO Super Mario Starter Set, Power Up-Packs & Expansion Sets are slated for release on August 1st.