Oh my god. Oh no. oh, Christ.
That was my reaction when I saw LEGO’s newest video game-themed set: Kit #71438, Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi. Nintendo and LEGO have been going hand in hand for years. The collaboration started with a kid-friendly, app-enhanced Mario set, but quickly expanded. We have things like the NES and ? After rejecting the recommendations of many fans for the “Block” and “Animal Crossing” series, Lego Zelda will be released in more than a month.
My point is that the concept of a set like this isn’t exactly new. This gorgeous brick-built Mario riding his trusty dinosaur friend fits right into the “nostalgia bait” category above, a set aimed specifically at middle-aged folks who long for their childhood and have enough disposable income (some people’s Earnings £115). It was basically directed at me. So none of this is new. but…
This set – this is something different. something dangerous. I’m both excited and scared about what might happen next.
Manage cookie settings
All of these feelings are triggered by the very nature of the scene – a Lego rendition of the game’s sprites, with bricks representing 16-bit pixels with stunning precision. It’s similar in a few other series – most notably the NES, where over the course of an hour or so builders applied 1×1 tiles to a flex board to create Super Mario Bros. level 1-1 Game, you can sit inside the included LEGO TV and simulate the game being played. This is different, though—it’s just a big elf that you can put on your mantelpiece.
LEGO has obviously added some classic “LEGO” features to it. A crank on the side of the device causes Yoshi’s mouth to open and his tongue to stick out, just like in the game, when turned. You may be able to connect it to some LEGO “power-up” elements with some tricks, meaning you can turn it into a mobile feature that requires no human interaction if you wish.
There’s also a scannable tag on the set that the digital LEGO Mario figures can read – so putting Mario, Luigi or Peach into the set will trigger some kind of sound and music demo, just like the NES. It’s all very cool and I think looks like a good value for money. I told you I was that guy.
But the funniest and scariest thing is yes, like I said, not its bonus feature. LEGO likes a theme that can be hammered into all shapes and forms. The company, like Nintendo, often runs wild experiments and has many themes or ideas that are false starts – but when something works, they Go for it. That’s why there are so many adult-oriented LEGO products with highly realistic reproductions of flowers in the form of the Botanical Collection. That’s why everyone from Donald Duck to Knuckles has been reimagined as “Brick” characters. Looking at this, I saw the next great theme for LEGO: Sprite Builds.
LEGO has partnered with a range of video games; we’ve launched play sets with Atari, Namco, Sega, PlayStation and Nintendo. Among them, four companies have truly iconic elf art. I could imagine – a Sonic 2 or 3 Sonic with the spinning running animation, recreated with some sort of movement feature, like Yoshi’s tongue? A chewing, gobbling Pac-Man? A fiery uppercut from Axel in Streets of Rage? Or better yet, team up with Capcom to make a LEGO animated Shoryu Sword?
.jpg?width=690&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp)
All of this can be easily imagined in the form of LEGO bricks – but it’s also easy to imagine how each brick can be enhanced beyond simple construction, which is what the company’s designers love to do most.
The moment I saw this scene, I knew all these possibilities were inching closer to reality. I also know what this means for my bank balance. A fat can of worms has been opened. But that’s what I’m here for.
LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi will be available on October 1, 2024 – but is available to pre-order now.
