The Lego Super Mario line of Lego sets, where the Danish toymaker company and Nintendo collaborated is getting a second year of new sets, releasing today in Malaysia. But with a new trick this time.
2021 is the year of Lego Luigi. Mario’s brother is now debuting in this line, bringing in new gameplay mechanics for this part-construction toy, part-video game line. In particular, co-op play.
We have built and assembled the Luigi Starter Course, as well as all of the new expansion sets for the summer 2021 release. We have high praises when the original line came in, so how does the follow-up year stack up?
For a more general review of LEGO Super Mario line and the Adventures With Mario Starter Course Set, you can find that here.
It’s Luigi Time
For this year, the biggest new addition is a new playable figure to accompany Lego Mario, and who better fits the Player 2 role than his own brother Luigi. Initially just a colour palette swap in the video games, Luigi has come to grow into his own unique character.
The Lego team had the challenge of designing a new figure that’s not just Lego Mario but with a green torso, but also ensuring backwards compatibility with all the power-up costume sets released before.
“Backwards compatibility” is the technical way to describe that Lego Mario and Lego Luigi must wear the same size of pants, essentially. So that the previously-released Power-Up Packs, which gives Lego Mario new abilities via a new pants piece, can also work with Lego Luigi.
What the team landed with is this: a thinner jawline and a subtly different hair and facial hairstyle.
Also, Luigi is indeed taller, exactly one Lego plate taller.
The differences overall are subtle, but thankfully the contrasting colours and a different tone of Charles Martinet voice is enough to make Luigi his own character.
Ready Player Two
The addition of co-op play is by far the smartest new inclusion of the line this year. Any two figures, either a Mario and Luigi or two of Marios and Luigis, can be paired up via Bluetooth and play through the courses together.
And you don’t need the mobile app to pair the two figures either. An important note to make as currently, the app is in a buggy mess, where button prompts go missing and connecting the Lego figures don’t seem to work.
You’ll still need it to use it for the building instructions as well as update Lego Mario and Lego Luigi’s software to use the new wave’s sets properly, however. But pretend-playing can all be done without the app. And we are told that updates for the app are coming to resolve the issues.
Once connected, have one figure start the course and you’re off to do your pretend-play. Co-op play adds an extra 30 seconds on the clock (making it a 90-second run) and encourages the two figures to be in sync.
Every time you jump together, fight together (by taking turns to scan a fallen enemy’s sticker) and do the same things together (like rotating around platforms), you’ll get extra coins as well some feel-good sound effects. Mario and Luigi will also chime in saying “Nice”. Nice.
There are various fun interactions that happen should the two figures not be in sync as well. Have a figure fall over and the other will get worried. Have one figure finish the course first and they’ll go “come on come on” to encourage the other to keep up.
There’s many of these little interactions that make you feel that the designers have thought of a lot of things to squeeze in these cursed-looking figures. Though to be frank, their blocky-ness has grown on me over time since last year. Don’t stare at the black holes of despair when they are not powered on and you’ll be fine.
With the addition of co-op, all of the new sets have incorporated jolly co-operation opportunities in some way or form. But don’t worry, all the play functionalities work just as well for solo players.
71387 Adventures With Luigi Starter Course Review
Price: RM259.90
The Lego set designers have now started to be comfortable with the Lego Mario line, and are a bit more adventurous this time. Luigi’s starter course is a great example of this.
While Lego Mario has simple platforms to build, the Luigi set has more gears and Lego Technic pieces. It’s more fun in putting Luigi’s set together compared to plain old Mario, but it’s not necessarily more complex. Just a bit more involved compared to the extremely straightforward building experience see in Mario’s.
The main attraction piece, the see-saw rotating tower, is also really clever. It combines the “rotate the platform” play and “see-saw” play elements into one cohesive construction. And it’s also a glimpse of the co-op play functionalities you will see across the new Lego Mario line. There are two see-saw platforms where two figures can heave-ho in rhythm, moving up and down. While rotating about.
I also like that that the Luigi Starter Course fulfils the same fundamental requirements as the Mario Starter Course but without needing to carry over the same figures and platform builds. You get sand (yellow), tower (brown) and poison/Soda Jungle (purple) biome tiles, and three different figures (Pink Yoshi, Boom Boom and Bone Goomba).
You can’t go wrong with the Mario Starter Course, but if you are looking to get your first Starter Course, you’d get more value by going for Luigi, just for the more fulfilling build process.
However, if you want your experience to live to the expectation all the marketing shebang might have suggested, you really need to get at least one more expansion set. Both Starter Course sets only provides you with the fundamentals to get you started, and you’ll get bored with rearranging the pieces to make new courses before the weekend ends. There’s really not many pieces to work with.
71388 Boss Sumo Bro Topple Tower Expansion Set Review
Price: RM149.90
This is is the smallest and simplest of the expansion sets, but it’s quite ingenious and highlights a great use of a familiar mechanic. Remember the tower toppling gimmick included in the Lego Mario starter course? Now put a bit more engineering on the mechanic, allow for two-player play and you’ll get Boss Sumo Bro Topple Tower.
This is an homage to Boss Sumo Bro’s appearance in New Super Mario Bros. U. Just like the boss battle in Screwtop Tower, Mario and Luigi can’t beat him by just jumping on top (Boss Sumo Bro in Lego figure form has one small spiky bit on top of his head as a nod to this). But you don’t quite jump under him either.
Instead, there’s a two-sided lever where you can tilt the shaky ivory tower on which Boss Sumo Bro resides on. With fast enough motions, and optionally a help from a buddy, he’ll be toppled, revealing a star power-up block in the process.
The central lever base is tied with rubber bands and tightly constructed. It’s a decent build. But other than that, what you see is what you pay for. There’s a few platforms, two stackable tower platforms, and a figure of Crowber on the side.
Boss Sumo Bro is a towering figure in himself though, with non-friction swivels on his arms so that he’ll bump his chest solely by the natural motions as your figures bounce on the levers. But that’s all there is to it.
I can see why this is the cheapest of this wave’s expansion sets, as it does not offer a lot. Though for its small scope, it’s all well put together. That lever platform could be repurposed in other parts of your own custom course.
71389 Lakitu Sky World Expansion Set Review
Price: RM179.90
Lakitu Sky World feels like what Boss Sumo Bro Topple Tower could’ve been with a bigger budget.
Instead of one small, but intricately built platform that is the center of play, Lakitu Sky World is centered on big set piece of a platform. The extra platform pieces, the Time Block and Fuzzy figure feels like an afterthought compared to the massive, big set piece that makes up this expansion set.
The building process for the main set piece is exhaustingly long. It does not help that the instructions app considers this as just one part instead of breaking it down into smaller chunks.
But it’s one of the more intricate builds of the expansion sets. All these tiny plates and sharp-edge pieces combine into a soft-to-the-touch centrepiece of a playset.
Lakitu (not holding a fishing pole or a camera, unfortunately) resides at the center- loosely connected, of course- floating on the clouds. The clouds are technically rotating platforms as we’ve seen in previous sets, but there’s only one room for a figure- the other side has a Bullet Bill figure zooming around.
The main play action here is rotating the cloud platforms, but not directly. On each side, you can place Lego Mario or Luigi on the cloud sliders. Slide them up and down to rotate the clouds via a gear mechanism, and slide fast enough to yeet Latitu off his puffy throne. The cloud surface rotates on an uneven plane. There are curved Lego pieces that act as bumps that in turn help wiggle the cloud off-balance, and in turn throws Lakitu off from his perched position.
The platform, as well as the sky cloud, triggers Sky Land music from Super Mario Bros. 3 to play. Because of course it does.
If you’re looking for just one expansion set to get for this wave, but cannot afford the big two expansions below, Sky Lakitu is the one to get.
71390 Reznor Knockdown Expansion Set Review
Price: RM329.90
Reznor Knockdown is the quintessential Lego Mario expansion at its best. It adds a lot of different play mechanics and includes a very involving and satisfying build.
The namesake Reznors, two included in this set, are these really big buildable figures. Putting them together was a process and then some. It’s amazing the free-form figures can be used to replicate Mario characters, and the two Reznors here are the most complex of this wave.
The main play mechanic here is a fusion of the Reznors’ first appearance in Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. 2. There are four vertically rotating platforms- two occupying by Reznors instead of all four. One platform is left vacant for Lego Mario or Lego Luigi to balance themselves on it as the platforms rotate. And one resides a ? Block.
Now, to make it spin around, there’s another connecting platform down below that houses the spinning mechanic. The rotation force is sent to the base of the tower, up to the top and then to the rotating platforms. Two rubber technic pieces are attached to the pin that connects to the whole gear mechanism, adding much-needed friction to keep it only rotating when you wanted it.
It’s a long way to send energy to, and surprisingly the build is really robust. It can remain at position solidly, and only turn when you decide to – either by grasping at the nice disc pieces that acts as a handle or by attaching a Lego Mario or Lego Luigi and use them as a handle. And each notch of rotation you get this satisfying click to it. It’s so well engineered, it’s amazing.
But that’s not all. There’s two extra play mechanic that involves the main tower. One is a little lever that can bump the bottom of the spinning platforms. This is to bump the ? Block since, by default, the part with the activation sticker of the block is recessed so you need to bump it from below before your Lego figure can activate it.
The other is a Skewer. The massive spikes of death can be controlled as well here, and it can be commandeered by a Lego Mario and Luigi. It’s more effective in toppling the Reznors and it has a sticker too, so activating this gets you coins.
And we’re not done yet with the play mechanics. Over on the yonder, there is also a new version of a see-saw of death.
Step on one side of the see-saw, but jump before Groll from Super Mario Bros. U come and smack you as it falls due to forces of gravity (and hopefully not stopping mid-way because of friction). Then stand on the other side of the see-saw and do the same. And repeat.
Also, did I mention there’s a Toad figure and a Special Pipe included? The Special Pipe: Speed Run was first released in wave 2, and it’s an alternate starting pipe with an alternate game mode.
Instead of collecting the most coins under 60 or 90 seconds, you have to collect 50 coins the fastest way possible, while Super Mario 64′ Slider music plays.
All in all, the Reznor Knockdown Expansion Set provides the most play functions of the expansion sets in this wave. And there are elaborate builds all around for those who are looking to spend their free time with brick-clicking ASMRs.
It’s on the expensive side, but you get what you paid for. This expansion captures the many elements of what makes the Lego Super Mario line special into one box.
71391 Bowser’s Airship Expansion Set Review
Price: RM499.90
And finally, the piece-de-resistance of this wave. Bowser’s Airship is the most expensive of the expansion sets, for good reason. You build a full, display-friendly airship that happens to have some Lego Mario platforms so you can integrate it into your custom course.
Bowser’s Airship feels more like a normal Lego set than any of the sets in this line. And for the more traditional Lego collectors, this is mighty good news.
The build experience is fantastic, with many detailing aspects of the ship being fun to put together. Also, it has technic functionalities, the ship can be opened up to reveal its hull, unveiling most of its play functions. Or close it down and put it on a shelf just to gawk at its impressiveness.
But that shouldn’t stop you from just slapping a Lego Mario or Lego Luigi on the captain’s deck and just waggle the whole ship in the air. That’s one of the intended ways to play, and for a solid and robust built, I feel not too worried doing so.
Plus, it’s not as imposingly huge as the box size might suggest. Given that you don’t really have extra platforms (bar one), everything on this expansion is compacted into this one airship.
There’s no Bowser figure here, but he is here in spirit. There’s two Bowser heads that’s intricately built, plus a Mecha Hand.
Bowser’s Airship is definitely faithful to what you see in the many Mario games. This Lego rendition sticks closer to the one seen in Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
There’s a massive Bowser head at the front. Three canons with three Bowser flags adorned at their top. Two propellers at the back and with the side and back facades looking pretty close to the original. As long as you ignore there’s one mast missing. But it’s fine.
Another cool play feature is the addition of a POW Block. In the Mario games, this will reveal (and unreveal) certain tiles, blocks and coins for a period of time. In the future when Lego can find a way to make augmented reality fun to use, maybe we might see that being used to create the effect. But for now, it’s all practical, but brilliantly captures the same concept as it was in the games.
The Rocky Wrench figure is designed to stand inside the tight captain’s hold (hole?). But smack the POW Block in the right way and it will catapult Rocky Wrench out of his hidey-hole. Or at least tip them enough so you can wrench them out of it.
There’s another mechanism at the end of the ship that once jumped on, should drop the Bowser head at the back of the ship, revealing the sticker to “defeat” the ship.
Bowser’s Airship also includes an alternative start block, the Cannon Start Pipe. Instead of the usual World 1-1 music we all know and love, the Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 plays.
The three figures included are great, even if the Goomba with the pirate hat is just a regular Goomba. It’s something I see AFOLs will want. It’s a hefty price, but definitely justified.
Closing Thoughts
As I summarised last year, the Lego Super Mario line of construction toy sets is essentially Super Mario Maker in real life. But now in its second year, I feel Lego has found more confidence to let their set designers loose with the new sets.
The added functionality of two-player co-op is brilliant, even if it only makes sense for households with a family (or friends that also nerd out on Lego) to play with. It’s not something I imagine everyone would try out, unfortunately. Shelling out for two Starter Course sets is not cheap- unless you only needed to buy another one.
The first year of Lego Super Mario tipping on its toes between a video game of sorts and a Lego set at the same time, and both aspects feel either compromised or undercooked. This year see both gameplay additions (co-op) and more fun sets to build. It’s a win-win all-around, maybe except for your wallet.
Just like Luigi, this wave’s sets jump higher. You won’t be disappointed with picking up the new Luigi Starter Course plus an expansion from this wave.
All LEGO sets provided by LEGO Malaysia