Holiday gift guide: $50-$100
Posted by Huw,
Romans122 selects a set today to start off the third week of our holiday gift guide, in which we'll be recommending sets in the mid-price range of $50-100:
71360 Adventures with Mario may look simple and low value at first glance, but it is actually a model with a lot of potential. The set simulates the actual Super Mario Bros quite well and is surprisingly enjoyable even for an older LEGO fan.
The Super Mario figure is a masterpiece of Lego technology: it combines a speaker, colour sensor, LCD screen, and even a gyroscope into a 42-gram figure! The sensor scans the terrain along with barcode stickers (thankfully pre-applied), while the gyroscope senses movement and orientation. Mario has a lot of personality and plays many of the original sounds from the original Super Mario Bros.
The set unfortunately has to be built digitally either through the Lego Super Mario app or the pdf instructions. The build recreates the style of the Super Mario games very well. The platforms can be connected via plates to form a pretty much endless number of courses. A few decorations are also provided, which add flavour.
The gameplay is fairly straightforward and involves a bit of strategy. The objective is to maximise the number of coins achieved in a minute by smashing enemies, spinning around, and even flying on the cloud. A mystery block randomizes the experience, giving everything from a Starman (for invincibility) to a Super Mushroom to 15 seconds extra time.
I would recommend Adventures with Mario for anyone who is a fan of Super Mario or is looking for some more fun with their Lego. The set packs a lot of nostalgia, and I myself was pleasantly surprised by its prospects.
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19 comments on this article
Now we're a few months on, it would be interesting to hear how people who took to this theme feel about it. As an experimental theme, has it succeeded in finding an audience eagar for more?
What would they change, what really works and what is good but could be improved?
I am not the target demographic for Super Mario sets at all, yet every time I go to TRU, I play around with the display set for a few minutes. It is quite fun even with that type of limited interaction. It is a good recommendation for a Super Mario fan.
As a parent with a ten year old and a five year old, I can confirm: they are having a blast with the Mario theme and plays a LOT with those sets. If you are an AFOL, you might be somewhat disappointed with the theme; with kids, you really can't go wrong.
Have the Starter Course, Mario's House and all the Blind Bags plus the poly and the Fire Mario kit, and so far I'm loving the theme, it doesn't get boring imo.
You can create one course play around with it then make another and do that over and over. I personally don't get why people get bored of it.
Is the Starter Course worth £50, sort of, but I'd suggest a price drop - ASDA have it for £38 rn which is imo a great price for it and seems to be selling quick in my locals. The Blind Bags without a doubt the best part of the theme as it gives even those who aren't interested in the Mario figure a taste of the theme and the themes pieces.
Would I recommend this set for Christmas, Yes I would to any age.
I have reviewed a few of the sets I've got including the Starter Course. So if you want my full opinions and some in depth look at features might be worth a read: https://brickset.com/reviews/author-Minifig290/theme-Super-Mario
It isn't too hard to build the entire starter course without any instructions - plenty of pictures on the box and in the included quick start guide, and the builds are very simple.
I bought Super Mario for myself after wanting it for a while. I was far less impressed than you were. While I agree Mario himself is thing of technological beauty the limitations of the sets I feel were enough to get me to sell it. The instructions are only through the app, the app doesn’t have design layouts to give you an idea of what a map could look like. The minute time span is also a bit of a limitation. The Mario outfits seemed unnecessary at a price point of $10USD for a suit that helps fight an enemy that already isn’t a threat. I opened it and played with it for two days before packing it up to resell.
Literally the only problem I have with LEGO Super Mario is its price, especially for the expansions given that the electronics that make the magic happen are only in the Starter Course, justifying that set's cost somewhat. Everything else about it is great, and whoever receives it as a gift will enjoy it, at least for a good while. It's just been super hard to stomach the S$120 cost for just the Starter Course plus Yoshi, and I plan on getting the Guarded Fortress and maybe Boomer Bill Barrage, which will set me back another S$100 (and these numbers are after 10% discounts). No matter how much I will play the game, that's still incredibly rough when I could've gotten a Modular Building for the same combined price. But hey, at least it's still a little less than getting a Switch Lite and a game to go with, right?
Got this for my 6 year old yesterday and he instantly couldn't stop playing with it. The imagination of a kid who loves Mario runs wild and there is no end to the possibilities with it. You can build whatever track you want, play however you want it and try to get those coins before time runs out.
The little details make it awesome as well. Mario starts to sleep after a while if you put him on his back, he gets dizzy when you spin him around and all the sounds he makes are exactly what you would expect form the real Mario.
He really hopes there will be a Luigi character soon, that's his favorite.
As an AFOL, the sets are cute but pointless. Having a 6 year old, though, these sets are great. We'll sit down almost every day and make a new course, then run through it for 45 minutes trying to get the most coins.
Biggest issue is obviously the cost, they feel overpriced by about half for what you actually get.
But I love these sets overall, this idea is pure Nintendo weirdness that just works (like everything else they do!)
@tielenaar said:
"He really hopes there will be a Luigi character soon, that's his favorite."
Luigi will come out in a few months with the new sets and two new costumes. There is a second Stater Set coming out and it has to be Luigi.
It's a weird one, the Super Mario theme. I don't think it's what anyone was expecting or hoping for, but it is also brilliant in its own way.
I have the starter set and a couple of the blind packed characters, and as an AFOL who grew up in the middle-era of Mario (think Sunshine) I'm loving it. It's weirdly compelling, much more so than you would imagine just looking at the pictures. I think it's tough to advertise because you kinda need to play with it to really see what makes it work so well.
I've quite enjoyed the sets I've gotten so far! The starter pack on its own is okay, but it's how it interacts with the expansions where it really shines. The expansions do a great job combining the "digital" interactions of Mario (with sounds, expressions, and a coin counter) with really stellar physical play features.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the most impressive of those expansions is the Bowser's Castle Boss Battle. It really does a great job of simulating a multi-phase boss fight, where defeating Bowser requires a specific series of actions to take place (first stomping forcefully on two platforms to lift the giant statue's arms up and then rotating Mario back and forth on the turntable near the bridge to tip Bowser into the pit, and finally stomping Bowser a grand total of ten times to collect a massive coin bonus).
But even the smaller expansions have their charm. I'm a big fan of the $20 Desert Pokey set that simulates the in-game enemy with a swinging hammer that can knock it to pieces one segment at a time.
I think the starter pack is an easy recommendation for Mario fans, especially since there's a lot of room for the theme to expand from here. More level types, more enemies and bosses, and more play scenarios are all possible with the strong foundation the theme has established so far, and there's 35 years of games to draw those from. I don't see this theme running out of steam any time soon!
I got this for my 7 year old, and after a month and a half he is still constantly playing with it. We only have the starter set so far, although I’ve purchased both bowsers castle and the piranha plant slide for the holidays.
I have to say, it really is a brilliant concept, and while I don’t mind the high price of the starter set as it has Mario, I do feel that other sets are way too expensive. I’d love to get my son a different suit to wear, but I feel like the $10 price tag would be better spent on more than just 10 bricks, but I may do it anyways as he is very intrigued by them and would no doubt love them.
I also own the NES set and it is very cool how Mario interacts with the TV screen.
Overall, I would say this theme is a huge success and I think that Lego would be wise to continue moving in this direction. I know that isn’t what AFOLs want to hear, but for children it is absolutely brilliant.
I like it, but I’m not the target demographic. Otherwise, neat line, although I’ll just wait for minifigure scale sets.
The LEGO Mario sets have been a great way for me to play with my kids (ages 6 and 4). They sometimes complain that "building doesn't count as playing", and I suppose they have a point.
The game play of LEGO Mario is fun, competitive even. We've got the starter set, a couple small expansions, a couple suits, and a handful of the collectible enemies (which are an excellent way to expand your course without spending a lot). We like to use other parts from our collection to add to the course. It's nice to put everything on base plates for better stability.
@golde62 said:
"I bought Super Mario for myself after wanting it for a while. I was far less impressed than you were. While I agree Mario himself is thing of technological beauty the limitations of the sets I feel were enough to get me to sell it. The instructions are only through the app, the app doesn’t have design layouts to give you an idea of what a map could look like. The minute time span is also a bit of a limitation. The Mario outfits seemed unnecessary at a price point of $10USD for a suit that helps fight an enemy that already isn’t a threat. I opened it and played with it for two days before packing it up to resell. "
Thank you for your feedback!
1. I am annoyed by the lack of physical instructions like you. However, you can download the pdf copy which I found better.
2. If you go to the top option (stars) of the Super Mario app they give some example layouts. The objective is to make the player come up with most of it.
3. For the minute time span you can get a 15 second bonus from the mystery block and 30 seconds from the time block to bring the total to 1 minute 45 seconds. I do see though how it could hinder larger courses.
4. I agree with what you say about the power suits, they don't add much and are expensive. Stick to the normal expansion sets, such as 71365.
@EstragonHelmer said:
"It's a weird one, the Super Mario theme. I don't think it's what anyone was expecting or hoping for, but it is also brilliant in its own way.
I have the starter set and a couple of the blind packed characters, and as an AFOL who grew up in the middle-era of Mario (think Sunshine) I'm loving it. It's weirdly compelling, much more so than you would imagine just looking at the pictures. I think it's tough to advertise because you kinda need to play with it to really see what makes it work so well."
I agree. I felt too old for it when I looked at the box and saw some videos. However, once you actually play with the set you get intrigued and pulled in.
Like many of you AFOLs, Mario didn't really speak to me (despite being an avid Mario and Lego fan). I will, however, be getting the set for my 6 yo and I expect he'll have a lot of fun with it. A bit disappointed to learn there are no printed instructions, so I guess it's iPad for that. And of course, daddy may need to borrow it to test out in the Lego NES...
Love Mario! We've had so much fun together as a family.really brings out the child in everyone. Great to see that the starter set is now heavily discounted in many places so that the entry level is reasonably priced. I appreciate that the theme as a whole is expensive but with so many new pieces, recolours and printed parts, it is understandable. A great Xmas present for any kid and they will have so much fun playing with this over Christmas.