Review: Super Mario Character Packs series 4
Posted by Huw,
The fourth series of Super Mario character packs will be released in January, bringing the total number of the colourful critters to 40.
The series appears to be more enticing than the last on account of it featuring more antagonists that have not been made before, rather than minor variations of existing ones. However, I suspect some of them are a bit obscure.
In this review I'll take a brief look at the plumber's friends and foes included in the selection, including their effect on gameplay.
For reasons unknown, retailer boxes of these character packs now contain just 18, so are two short of two complete sets. The box we were sent for review contained two of eight of the characters and one of the other two.
The first eight bags in the row contained the same character on each side of the box while the one right at the back of each row differed.
The order was, from front to back:
- Coin Ciffer
- Ant Trooper
- Scratchy rat
- Baby Penguin
- Goombrat
- Freezie
- Bully
- Para-Biddybud
On the left, the 9th and last bag in the row contained Mechakoopa, and on the right, Stingby. So, assuming that all boxes packed in Europe are the same as this one, and you want to buy a complete set without buying a whole box, you need to take every pack from the left-hand row of a freshly opened box and the back one from the right.
We can surmise, then, that Mechakoopa and Stingby will command a premium on the secondary market.
Freezie
Freezie is an enemy made of ice who has a puzzled expression. That's certainly the case here.
The decorated parts in the packs are all printed and there are also many unique re-coloured pieces including, in this one, the 2x4 slopes in light royal blue.
Each figure comes with a 4x4 biome plate which in most cases also feature interesting parts, often in unusual colours. Appropriately, this one is a piece of ice. They add a lot to the display-ability of the figures and of course allow them to be incorporated into your game circuit.
Barcode action: Mario/Luigi's screen shows ice for a few seconds during which I presume he's inactive.
Mechakoopa
These are mechanical versions of Bowser, and one of his many minions. It features two printed parts for eyes and nostrils, and a hinged jaw. The key on his back betrays its mechanical nature.
The printed 1/4 circle tiles are rare, having appeared only in 41679 Forest House earlier this year.
Barcode action: Two scans yields two coins
Ant Trooper
This very colourful critter makes good use of the minifig 'action pose' piece in dark blue for its antennae while its printed face piece makes it look rather glum.
It's one of three in this series that comes with a nougat coloured biome plate, which were introduced to the theme relatively recently.
Barcode action: One coin
Goombrat
Goombrat's are a species of Goomba which, rather than resembling mushrooms look more like some sort of fruit. It certainly looks like an angry one...
He's accompanied by a very attractive bright green biome plate, featuring a rock and foliage.
Barcode action: One coin
Scaredy Rat
In the games these orange-footed grey rats are troublesome and run fast, a trait not shared with this one which is statically perched on a pile of bricks. I'm not familiar with its star-shaped foot element, so I presume it's new.
A piece normally used for horns makes a suitable tail.
Barcode action: One coin
Bully
The version of bully depicted by the model is based on its appearance in Super Mario 3D world.
He's a big chunky character, so there's not much room for anything interesting on his stand.
Barcode action: Bully can only be defeated by doing a somersault before scanning him. Doing so yields 10 coins. Subsequent scans produce only one.
Baby Penguin
This cute critter, also known as Tuxie in the games, is the only non-antagonistic character in the series, which I guess is why the barcode plate is in front of it, thus allowing Mario/Luigi to scan it without stomping on her.
The curves and colours of the icy stand look splendid.
Barcode action: Five coins and Mario/Luigi displays a heart on their display.
Stingby
These bee-like creatures have their stinger protruding from their faces!
The foliage and bushes on the biome plate makes it one of the more attractive in the series.
Barcode action: One coin
Coin Coffer
This character, which is a cross between a purse and a frog, stands on top of a wooden platform. Two yellow 1x3 plates with two studs have been used instead of regular plates for its lips on account of them having a groove at the bottom which gives the impression of a gap between them.
Barcode action: Repeated scans within 5 seconds or so produces multiple coins. The video in the app suggests you'll receive loads, but I only seem to be rewarded with one per scan.
Para-Biddybud
These are a winged variant of the common biddybud enemy in the games, in which they resemble ladybirds/bugs. Two printed 1x2 cheese slopes provide spots on its side.
Barcode action: One coin
Verdict
I've pretty much lost interest in playing the Super Mario game and thus the sets as well, but I do like these character packs. They are colourful, collectable, full of interesting pieces, and in some ways I think they provide better value for money than collectable minifigures: certainly if you end up with spares you can use the often rare pieces in your own models.
I guess my only complaint is that they have such a short shelf-life, 4 months or so, so you need to be quick off the mark if you're after them all. That seems to be the case with most of LEGO's low-cost collectables nowadays.
They are priced at £3.49 / $4.99 / €3.99 so, unusually, offer better value for money in Europe than in the USA. They'll be available at LEGO.com from 1st January.
I wonder how many more series of these LEGO can come up with? Is there a danger of running out of antagonists or are there plenty more in the games still to be made?
Thanks to LEGO for sending these sets for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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31 comments on this article
With the possible exception of the baby penguin, they've definitely entered C- and D-list territory with these character packs. Tuxie is the only one I instantly recognized.
I ended up remembering Mechakoopa after looking at my Nintendo Adventure Books based on Super Mario World! One of the puzzles has Bowser sic Mechakoopas on you — the wrong solution causes them to not only defeat you but also turn on Bowser himself, before going off on a quest for world domination. "Today, Dinosaur Island. Tomorrow, the world!"
Unfortunately other than the legs and printed eyes it doesn't look that accurate I feel, particularly the lower jaw, the "mohawk" which should've used jumpers like the Cheep Cheep but I know would've added too much bulk, and the crank element is too small but I know there aren't any good alternatives. Still, I will be getting it. In fact, I might have to get at least two, or even three, if the supposed scarcity proves true.
And wow at the Bully's function! I wonder if the spinning motion of the Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack will count against the Bully, too? If not, that seems like a miss. What about the Super Star and the Fire Mario Power-Up Pack?
I think this may be the best looking set of these yet. My son has also lost interest in playing with his Mario collection, so it's doubtful he will be interested in picking any of these up.
Not my cup of tea. Looks like those are mostly characters from newer Mario games that I never played and their style is leaning even more into simplified "children's coloring book" territory. Might get a few just for fun if there's an opportunity, but I'm definitely not going to go out of my way to collect them all.
The Goombrat works way better with this style than the regular Goomba ever did...
This is a pretty good wave, the enemies are both unique and a lot more accurate design-wise than previous waves. (A shame that they're too obscure for most people besides for me to recognize, lol.)
Freezie's the only real awkward one here, the only reason I recognized it is the distinctive printed face. IMO, the face should be bigger, and there should be more "peaks" at the top (at least two).
Bully's horns are also weirdly lanky, but that's forgivable at this scale, it's otherwise superb.
I thought Freezie was light royal blue! Pleasantly surprised to see medium blue be used as that’s become a much rarer colour recently. :)
Now it's like super obscure characters, I can't distinguish them outside the color blocks.
I played Mario Kart on the Switch recently and there was Mechakoopa walking across the track trying to ruin my race! A lot of these characters are obscure but they still pop up in the games. I’m looking forward to more boss / miniboss characters in Lego form. Thanks for the review!
@Soupperson said:
"I thought Freezie was light royal blue! Pleasantly surprised to see medium blue be used as that’s become a much rarer colour recently. :) "
Your comment prompted me to check, and actually it's light royal blue. Sorry for the confusion.
Who are buying these? Seems Mario keep surfing on some wave of success that other TLC gaming efforts failed to get.
@Huw said:
" @Soupperson said:
"I thought Freezie was light royal blue! Pleasantly surprised to see medium blue be used as that’s become a much rarer colour recently. :) "
You comment prompted me to check, and actually it's light royal blue. Sorry for the confusion."
Medium blue mostly appears on the PAB walls here as 1x2 bricks now. I have only like a hundred and a half of them, some intended for actual walls, the rest for 1x2x1 filler. That said, I welcome the circulation of more light royal blues in recent years.
I think this is the best series yet. I am really waiting to get my hands on these. And some i want several of.
Sure, they are becoming more and more unknown (for the people that don’t play Mario or have played it once or twice), but for the fans these are such lovely additions :-)
I consulted my son who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Mario characters.
Mechakoopa-first appearance Super Mario World
Stingby-Super Mario 3D Land (also Coin Coffer and Para-Biddybud)
Bully-Mario 64 (as mentioned this version is based on Super Mario 3D World)
Scared Rat-New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Goombrat-New Super Mario Bros. U
Ant Trooper-Super Mario 3D World
Baby Penguin-Mario 64
I haven't played most of those games either. Thought some others might be interested in knowing where these characters originated. Needless to say, my 12-year-old son is extremely excited for this new range.
One suggestion for reviewing mystery bags in the future:
Is it possible to include a photo of parts before the model is built?
It would be helpful for the “feelers” to know the parts (including spares) present before feeling. Thanks.
Acutally, none of these are obscure. Most of them were just introduced on recent games, from New Super Mario Bros. onwards. However, that doesn't mean they had just one appearance and were forgotten afterwards, they're regular enemies.
Exceptions: Freezie debuted on the original Mario Bros. from 1983; Mechakoopa debuted on Super Mario World; Tuxie and Bully debuted on Super Mario 64 (Coin Coffers are related to the Moneybags from SM64 too).
As mentioned elsewhere, these characters aren't obscure, they're just from the newer games (i.e. the games most people on this site are unlikely to have played)
If they want REALLY obscure characters, they should do sets based on enemies from games like Super Mario Sunshine, a game few people have played in general. Imagine models of enemies like Strollin' Stu or Swoopin' Stu, the latter of which would be a potential source of transparent parts. The fact we have Luigi's mansion sets coming next year means we might get character packs based on the various ghost enemies from the games.
My favorite part of these is the little environments they create on a 4x4 tile. So cute!
Gah, I made a long comment sharing my thoughts on a lot of these individually but I lost it. Long story short, I like this wave and feel like it's stronger than Series 3.
Great review of a great series - I thought series 1 was fantastic while series 2 and 3 didn't interest me much at all - this certainly is a return to form! And that's from someone who doesn't recognize any of the characters.
I collect them but not very interested in Mario sets!! I only collect them because I want to have all the minifigures (of any series: CMF, Disney, Ninjago, Harry Potter, DC comics, Batman, LEGO movie, etc.) but I do not want more of Mario, please!!!
@HeriSanmi said:
"I collect them but not very interested in Mario sets!! I only collect them because I want to have all the minifigures (of any series: CMF, Disney, Ninjago, Harry Potter, DC comics, Batman, LEGO movie, etc.) but I do not want more of Mario, please!!!"
You could always stop collecting them, they're not even actual minifigures.
@icey said:
"Who are buying these? Seems Mario keep surfing on some wave of success that other TLC gaming efforts failed to get. "
Mario is arguably the most recognizable video game character of all time, so I think it makes sense that the theme is doing pretty well.
Didn't recognize any except the penguin, but some are really good for parts.
Can't remember any of these characters. But no matter, rare pieces are always cool.
Plus, these character packs tend to get thrown out after a while for great discounts.
Just recently I went to Smyths and they had 5 for 10 Euro, I think it was Series 2 or 3. Bought five but haven't gotten round to opening them. But for 2 Euro a pop they are definitely good value.
All I see here is two sources of disappointment. First is that they came out with these nice wooden macaroni tiles, but haven’t made any attempt to standardize their wood print/sticker designs, so good luck finding lumber tiles that match both color and aesthetic. And the other is that the dark-purple action stands aren’t.
Scaredy Rat has only appeared in main series games in TWO LEVELS. How is that not obscure?
Anyway, I'm loving these and knew everyone exept Goombrat, which I had vague memories of. Also I'm dissapointed that the Bully isn't round.
I wonder if Mario will recognize the snow platform, that would be new. Maybe new snowy sets for summer?
@Squicman said:
"Scaredy Rat has only appeared in main series games in TWO LEVELS. How is that not obscure?"
THREE levels. It showed up in Super Mario Run. Are not a real Mario fan?!?!?
(Real talk, I went to Mariowiki to double-check because I was pretty sure they showed up in at least two levels in each NSMB console game, but you're actually correct. They are in six spin-off games though. Lol)
These are all fantastic! Almost all are characters from games you can find right now in stores so I can understand for older gamers they might seem obscure but they are almost all super common. Also very fun shapes and colours. Will have to get lots.
I wonder how many people are going to make little meme videos of Mario dropping the baby penguin off of tables when these come out.
Surprised people are saying these characters are too "obscure" or too "new." Bully and Tuxie are both form Mario 64, and Freezie and Mechakoopa are common in Smash Bros. I haven't even played or watched most of the modern Mario games but Ant Trooper and Stingby are such iconic designs that even if I didn't know their names I recognized them instantly!
Even from the perspective of a LEGO fan and not a Mario fan that Question Mark Block set from a few months back included a micro version of the Bully, so I'm surprised they didn't stand out at least!
Of course Brickseters have been the kind of people to complain in the past that Adventure Time and Overwatch were too obscure of franchises to make toys out of. I wonder how many are going to complain "who's this!?" when LEGO finally releases a Cappy figure. (Okay maybe that's harsh, but you know it'll happen with the Broodals at least!)
@GSR_MataNui:
Nah. You’re assuming we’ll actually care who Cappy or Broodals are. Mostly you’d just get, “why did they make this,” comments.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"I wonder how many people are going to make little meme videos of Mario dropping the baby penguin off of tables when these come out.
Surprised people are saying these characters are too "obscure" or too "new." Bully and Tuxie are both form Mario 64, and Freezie and Mechakoopa are common in Smash Bros. I haven't even played or watched most of the modern Mario games but Ant Trooper and Stingby are such iconic designs that even if I didn't know their names I recognized them instantly!
Even from the perspective of a LEGO fan and not a Mario fan that Question Mark Block set from a few months back included a micro version of the Bully, so I'm surprised they didn't stand out at least!
Of course Brickseters have been the kind of people to complain in the past that Adventure Time and Overwatch were too obscure of franchises to make toys out of. I wonder how many are going to complain "who's this!?" when LEGO finally releases a Cappy figure. (Okay maybe that's harsh, but you know it'll happen with the Broodals at least!) "
I only know Cappy. That's how limited my exposure to Mario Odyssey has been :( I genuinely didn't recognize Ant Trooper or Stingby so I guess they just weren't as iconic to me.