The LEGO Super Mario set has finally hit store shelves today. The collaboration was revealed all the way back in March where Nintendo teased the partnership with LEGO on Twitter to celebrate Mario Day.
Now that the LEGO Super Mario sets are hitting store shelves, fans are eager to see how the interactive, digital Mario figure works with the set. The included Mario figure even has brand new voice lines from Mario’s official voice actor, Charles Martinet.
What first seemed like a somewhat innocuous collaboration has morphed into quite a grand undertaking. The LEGO Super Mario sets aren’t like other typical LEGO sets that have come before. The Mario figurine that comes with the set is fully digital and interacts with the rest of the set. The set also functions as a sort of Super Mario course where players collect coins, defeat enemies, and reach the flag pole. LEGO is also releasing eight expansion sets to go along with the starter set.
As the Mario figurine that comes with the starter set is inherently interactive, Mario naturally has many voice lines included. Interestingly, Mario’s official voice actor, Charles Martinet, recorded special, brand new voice lines exclusively for the LEGO Super Mario set. This information was teased in the official trailer released by Nintendo, but confirmed in an interview by way of Nintendo Life.
In the interview, the lead designer of the LEGO Super Mario set Jonathan Bennik said, “We had Charles Martinet record a few special lines. It was a cool moment when we received a sound file from the voice of Mario, specifically made for us!” The interview goes on to detail what the process of working with Nintendo was like and the difficulties that arose from working through the pandemic. Bennik also confirmed in another interview with Nintendo Life the company’s way of testing the LEGO Mario set’s quality.
The level of interactivity and innovation with the LEGO Super Mario set clearly showcases Nintendo’s unique design philosophy throughout, including the addition of Charles Martinet’s voice lines. The set has plenty of fans excited, as most of the sets preorders sold out extremely fast. The LEGO Super Mario set and the NES LEGO set that released alongside it showcases a very promising collaboration between LEGO and Nintendo.
The LEGO Super Mario Starter Set, Power Up-Packs & Expansion Sets are available now.
Source: Nintendo Life