LEGO Super Mario gets the ball rolling with four Power-Up Packs

Fire Mario, Propeller Mario, Cat Mario, and Builder Mario

Nintendo and LEGO’s surprisingly outside-the-box collaboration on LEGO Super Mario is more than four years in the making, and you better believe they’re calling the basic $60 playset a “Starter Course” for a reason. Beyond the Piranha Plant and Bowser’s Castle expansions, the fancy LCD-eyed figurine will also have a range of separate Power-Up Packs featuring outfits styled after different Mario games.

The initial Power-Up Pack line releasing on August 1 for $10 a pop includes Fire Mario, Propeller Mario, Cat Mario, and Builder Mario. They all have coin-collecting abilities and sound effects – fireball throwing, flying, and wall scurrying – as you’d imagine. Super Mario Maker‘s Builder Mario, on the other hand, is all about stomping bricks. (Sure, why not?) Outside of collecting purposes and raw aesthetic appeal, I can’t see the need to get more than one or two, tops. They’re functionally pretty similar.

Thinking ahead, Nintendo has tons of opportunities for more LEGO outfits based on Super Mario Odyssey (whether it’s just a Cappy-centric look or something more formal), Super Mario Galaxy (Bee Mario!), or Super Mario Bros. 3 (the Frog suit is essential and I won’t hear any objections).

I have no plans to buy any of this stuff – especially not the costumes – but it’s interesting to see Nintendo branch out with LEGO. I’m thinking about other characters that might become brickified.

We may never get a “Zelda Maker,” but maybe we’ll be able to build official LEGO dungeons.