I have hardly heard anything else from my 6 year old Son since he saw that LEGO were releasing Nintendo sets (which I reported on here) so I finally relented and pre-ordered him the LEGO Adventures with Mario Starter Course set (73160) – if for no other reason than to give my ears a break. Amazon were great and delivered the set the day following release, as well as honouring their ‘pre-order price promise’ whereby they reimburse you the difference if anyone sells one cheaper anywhere else – returning £5 to my bank account.
The set itself is quite small for the price of £45, but as you will see the cost appears to be all in the rather brilliant interactive Mario figure, which is needed to play this and every other set in the series.
The starter course comprises of a few special pieces that are exclusive to this set and includes the start pipe, cloud platform, a question block, a Goomba, Bowser Jr., several standard platforms and the goal pole. But the star of the show is the interactive Mario figure. Running on 2 AAA batteries, LEGO Mario has colour sensors in his feet along with LCD screens in his eyes, mouth and belly which can display over 100 different reactions to movement or position on the course. He can also play iconic sounds and music from the video game through an inbuilt speaker.
There are no building instructions included with the LEGO Adventures with Mario Starter Course, you will have to use the LEGO Mario app, which gives you step by step instructions that you progress through by actually playing with Mario. This is something my Son really enjoyed doing and is a fun departure from what we are used to with regular LEGO sets.
Barcode tiles and colours are what triggers Mario’s facial expressions and the Mario Bros. game sounds – you will hear the familiar game starting tune when putting Mario in the start pipe for instance, or when flying on a cloud and jumping on a question block. What colour Mario stands on determines what is shown in his belly area. Standing on a red brick means Mario will get hot and die if left on it too long! Defeating Bowser Jr. is as simple as knocking him off his tower and repeatedly stomping on his shell barcode. You will collect coins along the way too, and this is recorded on the LEGO Mario app if you have the figure connected via Bluetooth.
In summary
Whilst at first glance the set looks small and uncomplicated for the price, it is soon apparent that the cost of this set is down to the fabulous interactive LEGO Mario figure. It really is fun to play along with and my Son adores it. The set is adequate to play with for a short while, but for any worthwhile playtime, you will be needing to buy one of the many add-on sets that are now available. All in all, surprisingly fun, but can only give the starter course 4 invaders due to its limited longevity. Check out our unboxing video below for a closer look at the interactive LEGO Mario figure.
