The LEGO Super Mario Is All About Action, Innovation & Imagination For All Ages

By Ammar Haziq  •  21 Aug 2020 in Pop Culture

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The LEGO Super Mario doesn’t look or play like the classic brick we all know and love. It combines technology to get the play going and of course, your imagination to power it. “That is also the fun of doing new things,” said Jonathan Bennink, the lead designer of LEGO Super Mario.

JUICE had the chance to have a quick chat with Bennink, on the creative challenges and process of bringing the product to life.

Bennink said that it’s important to take it to the next level and create a product that LEGO and Nintendo can do together, meaning “the product needed to have 100% LEGO DNA, but also 100% Nintendo DNA.” 

“So, we decided early on to embed technology into the product, so we could leverage what Nintendo is good at: creating original and seamless digital interactivity,” he said. It was also a conscious decision to make an interactive figure, which captures the LEGO DNA, creativity and imagination, during play.

After the planning and breakthroughs, the team worked on creating the actual technology, a Bluetooth compatible LEGO Mario figure and 16 expansion sets that brings all the classic environments and characters from the original games from the ’80s and ’90s that we love.

The expansion sets include Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle, Mario’s House & Yoshi and Bennink’s favourite set, the Piranha Plant Power Slide. True LEGO and Mario fans, can also get character packs to grow their collections, or give Mario a new costume with a Power-Up Pack, just like the games!

Unlike other LEGO products, you actually have to build it using instructions via the app. It’s a user-friendly app that has “fully rotatable 3D instructions which help kids figure out how to build the sets,” explained Bennink.

You can also use the LEGO Super Mario Starter Pack and other expansion sets to customise and build your own courses and share your level designs on the app for other users to try.

If you have a LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System at home, another cool thing you could do is place the Bluetooth Mario figure on top of the TV to bring it to live!

The LEGO Super Mario, along with its expansion sets are some of the most innovative, action-packed playsets that anyone will enjoy, whether you’re six or 26 years old.

You can get the LEGO Super Mario Starter Pack at your nearest LEGO store for RM259.90. Learn more about it here.