New features, designs, and interactive noises abound — you’d be a real Goomba to miss out!

We can’t get enough of Mario! This year was prepped to be the big launch of several projects featuring Nintendo’s flagship plumber, but while larger-scale projects like Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World have been stalled in the face of COVID-19, the long-awaited collaboration between Nintendo and Lego is still blasting full speed ahead.

Since the project was announced in March we’ve been keeping tabs on the project, and we’re especially excited to see the star of the franchise himself. Mario’s Lego incarnation is equipped with tiny little screens on his eyes and chest, as well as a small speaker so he can emit music and sound-bites from his voice actor Charles Martinet.

Now even more info has been released about the sets… Namely, that there are a lot of them.

▼ We’re given a crash course in the 8 new sets in this introductory video.

To enjoy Lego Mario you’ll need to start off with the base set: Super Mario Adventures with Mario Starter Course, retailing for US$59.99. This is how you procure the amazing little Mario figure with which you can navigate the sets.

▼ The starter kit comes with lots of terrains for Mario to traverse — and a Bowser Jr. to topple.

We’d already caught a glimpse of two expansion packs in earlier videos, namely Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle (US$99.99) and the Piranha Plant Power Slide (US$29.99). Each comes with the titular character blocks as well as beefing up the interactivity: you can use your Mario block to kick Bowser’s butt, or have him slide between the Piranhas alongside some goofy sound effects. In this video we’re introduced to eight brand new expansions: Mario’s House and Yoshi ($29.99), Desert Pokey (US$19.99), Whomp’s Lava Trouble (US$19.99), Guarded Fortress (US$49.99), King Boo and the Haunted Yard (US$49.99), Thwomp Drop (US$39.99), Boomer Bill Barrage (US$29.99) and Toad’s Treasure Hunt (US$69.99).

▼ Mario and Yoshi can be reunited in the Lego realm!

But wait, there’s more! Mario can dress up in the games to gain new powers and stylish new looks, so you’ll be happy to hear he can wear similarly snappy costumes in the physical world. Power-Up Packs retail at US$9.99 per pack, containing either a Cat Mario, Builder Mario, Fire Mario or Propeller Mario as well as unique sounds and animations once those outfits are equipped.

▼ A child guides Propeller Mario through the air.

If you want even more variety in the enemies that populate your plastic world, you can fork out US$4.99 for a Character Pack — a blind bag item containing one of 10 unique characters: Paragoomba, Fuzzy, Spiny, Buzzy Beetle, Bullet Bill, Bob-Omb, Eep Cheep, Blooper, Urchin or Peepa.

If your eyes are rolling with coins much like the Mario figure, you’re not alone. To purchase the Lego Mario collaboration sets in their entirety, you’d need just under US$600 to purchase — and that’s presuming you buy a full set of Character Packs to ensure you get all ten of the options. If you buy them individually you run the risk of doubles, meaning it could be even more expensive than that.

Despite the hefty price tag, here are lots of fans excited for the versatile series who are already slavering at the potential of all those brand new, never-before-seen block pieces. The rolling grassy fields in Mario’s world mean for once we’ll have an abundance of green blocks, to boot!

Source: YouTube/LEGO via Hachima Kikou
Images: YouTube/LEGO
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