Goodbye, money: Lego’s latest playset is sure to leave your wallet empty

Oh my god. Oh no. Oh, Christ.

That was my reaction when I saw Lego’s latest video game-themed set: Set #71438, “Super Mario World: Mario and Yoshi.” Nintendo and Lego have been working together for years. That partnership started with kid-friendly, app-enhanced Mario sets, but it’s grown quickly. We’ve had adult nostalgia bait like the NES and the Block, Animal Crossing sets, and Lego Zelda is coming out in a month after turning down multiple fan pitches featuring the series.

My point is that the concept of such a collection is not entirely newThis gorgeous brick-built set of Mario riding on his trusty dinosaur friend fits squarely into the aforementioned ‘nostalgia bait’ category, aimed squarely at those approaching middle age, nostalgic for their childhood and with enough disposable income to think it’s ‘fair enough’ to spend £115 on some plastic bricks. Basically, it’s aimed at me. So none of this is brand new. However…

This set – this is a little different. dangerous. I was excited but also scared, not knowing what was going to happen next.

All of these feelings are triggered by the very nature of the set – a Lego recreation of a game sprite, with bricks representing 16-bit pixels with astonishing accuracy. A few other sets have similar effects – most notably the NES, where over the course of about an hour, builders would attach 1×1 bricks to a sheet of flexible board to create a recreation of Super Mario Bros. 1-1 level, and place it in an included Lego TV to simulate the game being played. This one is a little different, though – it’s just a big sprite that can be placed on your mantel.

Lego has obviously given it some classic “Lego” functionality. When you turn the crank on the side of the set, Yoshi’s mouth opens and his tongue extends, just like in the game. You might be able to hook it up with some Lego “power-ups” with a little trickery, meaning you could turn it into a mobile feature without human interaction if you wanted.

There’s also a scannable tag on the set that can be read by a digital Lego Mario figure – so placing Mario, Luigi or Peach on the set triggers some kind of sound and music demo, just like the NES. It’s all very cool, and I think looks like good value for money. I told you I was that guy.

But the funniest and scariest thing is yesLike I said, it’s not its bonus features. Lego loves a theme and it can knock it in all shapes and forms. The company, like Nintendo, often makes bold experiments, and there are many false starts for themes or ideas – but when something works, they Go for itThat’s why there are so many adult-oriented LEGO products that feature highly realistic recreations of flowers in the form of plant series. It’s why everyone from Donald Duck to Knuckles has been recreated as “brick” characters. Seeing this, I see LEGO’s next great theme: Elf Building.

LEGO has had a number of video game partnerships; we’ve worked on games with Atari, Namco, Sega, PlayStation, and Nintendo. Four of those companies have some truly iconic sprite art. I can imagine – the spin run animation from Sonic 2 or 3, recreated with some kind of moveset, like Yoshi’s tongue? Pac-Man munching? Axel’s fiery uppercut from Streets of Rage? Or better yet, a LEGO animated version of the Rising Dragon Punch developed in partnership with Capcom?

Imagining all of this in LEGO form, it’s also easy to imagine how each brick could be enhanced beyond simple construction, which is exactly what the company’s designers love to do most.

The moment I saw the photos, I knew all of these possibilities were inching closer to reality. I also knew what this would mean for my bank account. A can of fat worms had been opened. But here I am.

Lego Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi will be released on October 1, 2024 – but it’s available to pre-order now.