Up until now, all of the sets related to the LEGO® Nintendo collaboration have related to the new LEGO® Super Mario theme, as a form of integrated game, aimed at ages 6 and up. But where has the love been for those who grew up with Nintendo, playing Super Mario?
Today, LEGO and Nintendo have unveiled the 71374 LEGO® Nintendo Entertainment System™. A model Retro TV and Nintendo Entertainment System Console, with a scrolling platform display. The TV is also designed to integrate with the LEGO Super Mario Brick, found in the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course.
This set, aimed at adult builders will be released August 1st 2020, through LEGO branded retail this year, with wider distribution in 2021. It has 2646 elements, and will cost AUS $349.99 – NZD $399.99 – US $229.99 – CA $299.99 –DE €229.99 –UK £209.99 – FR €229.99 – DK 1799DKK.
“The brick-built NES is packed with realistic details, including an opening slot for the Game Pak with a locking function and a controller with a connecting cable and plug. The console comes with a buildable retro TV, featuring a flat 8-bit Mario figure on the scrolling screen, plus an action brick to scan with LEGO® Mario™ (figure not included; find in the LEGO® Super Mario™ Starter Course set – 71360) so he reacts to the on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups just like in the Super Mario Bros. game. The buildable TV measures over 8” (22.5cm) high, 9” (23.5cm) wide and 6” (16cm) deep.”
Looking closely at the images provided, it would appear that, like the Super Mario Sets, there are no stickers to apply! I love the printed Mario tile, as well as the 1×1 tiles representing Goomba’s, Turtles, Coins, Mystery Boxes, Coins and Super Star! The details of the console and television also appear to be printed (although, we might need to wait and see the final product to be sure.) Mario’s actions are regulated simply enough: he is attached to a dish, which moves up and down, according to the on screen layout.
I appreciate the landscape that has been included for Mario’s Adventure: with pipes and hills, as well as platform and clouds. I find myself wondering how it is able to interact with the Mario figure, to ensure that the response from the brick matches the onscreen action. I suspect it relates to the coloured tiles seen at the top of the landscape, which will; pass under the colour sensor while Mario sits on top of the television.
Here is the official press release:
The LEGO Group introduces LEGO® edition of classic
Nintendo Entertainment System™
The LEGO Group and Nintendo build on LEGO® Super Mario™ partnership with this new LEGO® Nintendo Entertainment System™ and 1980s-style TV that let adult fans recreate Super Mario Bros.™ gameplay and rekindle nostalgic NES memories.
BILLUND, July 15, 2020: The LEGO Group today announced a LEGO® Nintendo Entertainment System™ (NES) Building Kit for adults, letting grown-up fans create their own NES console with LEGO bricks. The new kit, the latest product of the LEGO Group and Nintendo partnership, offers a brick-built NES model packed with realistic details, including the accompanying 1980’s style LEGO television set, so nostalgic gamers and LEGO fans can recreate their favorite Super Mario Bros.™ childhood experiences.
Today’s announcement will let adult fans take a trip down memory-lane by building a mechanically functional version of an all-time favourite console with LEGO bricks. The new NES Building Kit will include a controller with a connecting cable and plug and even an opening slot for the Game Pak with a locking feature. The console also comes with a buildable retro TV, featuring a flat 8-bit Mario figure on the scrolling screen. Fans can scan an included action brick with LEGO® Mario™ from the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course, so he reacts to on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups just as he would have in the iconic Super Mario Bros. game.
“Super Mario has been a cherished figure in the gaming world for over thirty years now,” said Maarten Simons, Creative Lead on LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System™, the LEGO Group. “Many adults still fondly remember that first time they saw Mario leap across the small screen, even if the graphics were a lot simpler than they are today. With the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, we’re letting them truly indulge in that nostalgia, recreating one of the most-loved consoles of all time so they can see the Super Mario from their childhoods once again – and even to share the experience of gaming in the 1980s with their own children.”
The LEGO Group and Nintendo announced their partnership earlier this year, bringing a fun-packed LEGO Super Mario universe to life through a Super Mario Starter Course set that exclusively features a LEGO Mario figure who displays a wide variety of instant reactions to movement, color and various action bricks. This entry point set was followed up on in May with a series of Power-Up Packs and in June with the announcement of a range of Expansion Sets and collectible Character Packs. All have been designed to build out the world of LEGO Super Mario, letting players unleash their creativity by building exactly the levels and challenges they want to see LEGO Mario and friends compete in.
This highly collectible NES building set is part of a range of inspirational LEGO models designed for discerning hobbyists, as they look for their next immersive challenge. The LEGO NES willbeavailable exclusively from LEGO Retail Stores and LEGO.com from August 1st2020. From 2021 it will be available also at other leading retailers around the world.
I love the look of this set, and hope to be getting a copy of it soon to review. I particularly love the details present in the TV set, bringing back so many nostalgic memories – from the antenna on top, to the imitation RCA jacks on the back of both the TV and the NES Console. There have been MOCs seen online of similar concepts – the retro TV scrolling platform, but I think the addition of the Super Mario Brick interactivity is well utilised here.
I like the use of flexible tubing to connect the controller to the console, but am (only a very tiny bit) disappointed that this does not appear to extend to the connection between the console and the TV.
That said, this set will certainly be a talking point. I am intrigued to see how it might be possible to customise the Level, and still have Mario respond appropriately.
71374 LEGO® Nintendo Entertainment System™ will be released through LEGO Branded Retail channels on Augst 1st, 2020. It will become available through other retail channels in 2021
It might not be the set of Mario Collectable figures that people were expecting BUT if nothing else, the LEGO Nintendo Collaboration keeps throwing up products that we might not have otherwise expected. Who knows where it will go yet?
What do you hope to see in the future? Why not leave your comments below, and until next time,
Play Well!
