Review: New 2021 LEGO Super Mario

I had the opportunity to preview some of the new references of the LEGO Super Mario range expected for August 1, and today we quickly toured these boxes which now include the possibility of playing for two and therefore to finally share "the experience". This was one of my complaints about the product last year: you had to wait your turn and watch the other have fun. A year later, LEGO finally decided to add a second interactive minifigure so that two players can cooperate or compete against each other.

The very preliminary version of the application essential for updating the firmware of the two figurines and for assembling the sets was totally inoperative during the test and I had to content myself with a few round trips on the course during a video conference that was to present all the opportunities offered by the arrival of Luigi. The official application should however be updated by August 1 and it should offer introductory sequences of the new features available.

At the exit, I especially remember this possibility of no longer bickering about who will play the hero and it is already a significant evolution of the concept. The success of this range with young audiences is undeniable and the possibilities offered by these new extensions should boost sales which are already excellent since the launch of the set. 71360 Adventures with Mario Last year.

As I said above, the extensions planned this year to accompany the launch of the new starter pack 71387 Adventures with Luigi (59.99 €) are designed to take advantage of the presence of the two plumbers with rides two-seater and actions that require the presence of two miniatures to eject a villain or get coins. Simultaneous actions are rewarded and active cooperation between the two players results in the best scores. Fortunately, the new levels remain playable solo, it is above all about typing barcodes to get coins, bonuses or extra time and beating the various enemies crossed along the way.

The flagship of this new wave of sets is the set 71391 Bowser's Airship Expansion Set, a big box of 1152 pieces which allows to assemble a pretty modular boat based on very large hull elements. The boat is a playset on its own, it offers a lot of fun with a few stickers to scan to get parts or beat Bowser and the whole is really very well done. Its presence on a game board will give a little volume to the whole as the castle of the set already did. 71369 Bowser's Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set (1010 pieces - 99.99 €) launched in 2020.

The boxes that I was able to test also allow us to bring together some emblematic characters from the Mario universe with a Yoshi Rose, Boom Boom, Kamek, Lakitu, Torti Taupe, a Goomb'os, a Bill Ball and a Fuzzy.

The third series of collectible characters in a bag will allow you to obtain a Scuttle Bug (Spotted), a Swoop (Swooper), a Parachute Bob-omb (Para-Bomb), an Amp, Torpedo Ted (Ted Torpille), a Crowber (Corbek), a Galoomba, a Bony Beetle (Scaraboss), a 1UP Mushroom (1UP Mushroom) and a Boo.

As it stands, if you have two children who are fighting to play with the sets in this range, this new starter pack and its expansions are for you. If you collect the different figures to assemble available in this range to console yourself for never having been entitled to a real series of minifigs around this license, you will also be able to hardly ignore these sets because the different pad printed parts necessary for the assembly of these characters are exclusive.

The public prices charged for these products are relatively high, but with a little patience, it will be possible to afford these boxes at more reasonable prices and thus have enough to renew and expand the courses already created with the sets of the first. wave. I point out for all intents and purposes, all these new boxes are obviously 100% compatible with the sets launched in 2020 and I have the impression that LEGO has worked on the Clutch Power some new elements launched last year whose connection points seemed a little weak to me.

My advice for anyone who is hesitant to embark on this very expensive adventure: Just buy a starter pack and test the product on your kids to make sure they are hooked on the concept before you break the bank on a variety of expansions.

Note: The set of sets presented here (Mario figure not included), provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 1er July 2021 next at 23pm. For newcomers, know that you just need to post a comment to participate in the draw.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.