There’s a new LEGO set for adults—and very ambitious children—coming Oct. 1 this year. Just a few days after the 25th anniversary of Super Mario 64’s North American release, LEGO will begin sale of a nearly-life-sized (seven inches, tall, wide, and deep) iconic Question Mark Block that folds out into scenes invoking the classic Nintendo 64 game. Recreated stages in the 2064-piece building set include “Peach’s Castle,” “Bob-omb Battlefield,” the penguin-infested “Cool, Cool Mountain,” and “Lethal Lava Trouble.”
Most of the character pieces in the set are really tiny and more evocative of the characters as avatars than as who players remember controlling. These “microfigures” include Mario, Yoshi, Princess Peach, King Bob-omb, Chain Chomp, Big Bully, Mr. I, Lakitu, and both a penguin and one of its babies. That aside, the LEGO website recommends incorporating a LEGO Mario or LEGO Luigi figure from the 71360 or 71387 Starter Courses (each sold separately). Both character figures are giant-sized relative to the stages that fold out of the block. If nothing else, this can help players reminisce about the Mario Bros adventures taking super-sizing mushrooms.
Made of tiny parts, based on a 25-year-old game, retailing at $169.99, and much more of a display set than a play set, LEGO was right to designate this as for ages “18+.” However, this is just one of two of the LEGO Super Mario sets for that age range, with 30 more sets available on the LEGO website directed at any child over the age of six. If a Super Mario-loving adult wants to introduce children to their favorite Nintendo mascot, options still abound.
For nearly two decades now, LEGO has been making videogames licensed from intellectual property owned by competing firms—Batman, Avengers, Indiana Jones, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and SpongeBob Squarepants among them—looping all the way back around to making the LEGO Movie and a separate LEGO Batman movie. Super Mario 64 isn’t exactly a direct spiritual predecessor, but a year into their partnership with Nintendo, maybe it’s only a matter of time before we get a LEGO Super Mario videogame.