SlimyGhoul

I'll never get my hopes up for it again. Just have to accept that it's a botched line. *shrug* They're like "we hope lego and mario fans of all ages will play with this" and then made it a baby toy...oof.

I respectfully disagree with your opinion. I think that there is SO much more to Mario than just the platforming 1-1 world kind of sets. To me, those kinds of environments just scratch the surface of how fun and cool Mario can be.There are tons of fun, imaginative locations from the 3D titles, RPGs, etc. that will never be done justice with this theme. It's not *just* that they didn't do minifigs, it's that they sacrificed a tried and true formula for something that just doesn't work that well to justify it, in my opinion. I don't even think it's just an AFOL thing either, I was a HUUUUGE Mario fan as a kid (still am, clearly :P) and I know for a fact I would have been mega let down by this. I also wouldn't be opposed to 18+ sets with minifigs and continuing the digital line! If they'd even initially ran them concurrently I'd be so stoked. It just sucks that we got...this in lieu of something that could have been really great. ETA: I also want to say I hope I'm not coming off as condescending or mean to those who enjoy the digital figure line!! I value and enjoy other perspectives and having discussions about them, esp about two of my biggest interests :)

I was thinking about this the other day and went to find some interviews, that's actually not the case! In a couple of places, the lead designer Jonathan Bennink (I will never forgive him LOL) says that LEGO had like two groups and they all came up with ideas, and presented the digital thing to Nintendo: https://discussingfilm.net/2020/04/23/lego-super-mario-lead-designer-jonathan-bennink-on-evolving-the-lego-experience-exclusive-interview/ https://www.brickfanatics.com/exclusive-the-inside-story-of-lego-super-mario-level-2 https://www.newelementary.com/2020/08/lego-super-mario-interview-jonathan.html So, it seems like LEGO just couldn't find a way to do this convoluted idea and made the line to fit it, which I think was also a mistake. It should be the other way around.

I totally respect your opinion, but I'd say that it's only allowed a large variety of *enemy* characters. We've not gotten even a hint of any other of the main characters like Daisy, Wario, Rosalina, etc. Those are the characters I wanted from LEGO Mario. People keep saying they want LEGO to do Mario Kart with the course building system...what kind of fun would Mario Kart be with only 3 characters to choose from? Mind you, the course builder system (partly by design) falls apart at the slightest disturbance. How are they going to do karts with that? It's my opinion that the digital course building theme has...run its course. It's boring at this point and is a parody of itself. Almost every new set they put out has been just a rehash of a previous one (Mario's house, indiscriminate ice area, yet another tree with yellow and pink Yoshi, Toad house AGAIN...etc.). The new Yoshi set has an egg piece...none of the digital characters can even hold it. Not even the Yoshi figures can hold it. LEGO Mario is truly the monkey's paw phenomenon. I'd been waiting for it for like 20 years, only to be extremely disappointed when they made it into a crummy baby toy. It's almost patronizing. I wanted much cooler sets from this line, even the 18+ ones are kind of lame. I still don't know why they haven't included minifigures in even one of them. As for molds/printing with Mario characters, I think that a hybrid brick-built and minifig system would work really well, a-la Sonic. There are some brick builts even now that I feel would work if they do minifigs. Another big problem is that LEGO Mario doesn't feel like a LEGO product. It feels like some random silly toy. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Out of context, I'd think it was kinda cute for a little quick thing. Unfortunately, this kind of thing isn't why I like LEGO. It's not fun, it's unimaginative, and it's sacrificing quality/excellence for a gimmick that was DOA. I still cannot for the life of me understand why any LEGO fan would prefer this weird thing over actual cool builds and minifigures. Part of the magic of LEGO is that everything is compatible and you can bring all your favorite characters together. It seems bonkers to me that LEGO would make minifigures of Animal Crossing, Zelda, Sonic, Minecraft, etc. and Mario is burdened with this ugly, blocky, gimmicky, non-displayable theme that you can't really play with or merge with anything else besides itself. It's limiting and, IMO, goes against what LEGO is about. I really hope the digital aspect is over soon. It's a sanitized, generic, boring version of Mario that's limited by its own "features." It feels like someone who isn't really a fan of Mario came up with it. It's been a disappointment since its arrival and continues to be one.

Honestly the leaked sets are okay, nothing too exciting (as usual). I feel like we’ve gotten indiscriminate ice area and yoshi by a tree like 4 times at this point. Hoping the August 2024 wave is minifigures, this theme is getting even more stale imo. Even if we had to have the ugly blocky style, could we at least get cool interesting locations from the games? Lol

Oooh, I missed this! Did they say it as an educated guess or like they had insider info?

Can't believe you were right! lol. Aside, this is extremely disappointing and I won't be buying anything from this wave. It's really terrible and I can't believe they're still fumbling lego mario this hard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpc6SRkMFLE/ LEGO is hyping it up now...cautiously excited!

Confirmed getting info on or around Mar10 Day (aka next Friday)! EDIT: Oh WOW.... Big Reveal??

Yes! Honestly, *all* of the set prices + pieces are REALLY interesting...very interested to see what happens on Mario day...

Actually, it's more than that: - No new starter course sets - No Series 7 Minifigs (actually confirmed, not allegedly) - 3 Years since the theme started - P2P ratios are much different this time around, matching closer to minifig set P2Ps - 18+ set is $60 - Two $100 sets with over 1,000 pieces - Sonic sets getting minifigs - Zelda test stuff

IMO, if even one of the characters warrants a cartoon head mold, you have to do all of them in it to keep the style consistent. Mario is kinda like that.

According to an existing leaker, the latest blind box wave for Mario is here to stay, aka we’re confirmed not getting another one. 👀 cautiously optimistic.

Apologies for the double post, but WM posted this image. Are bootlegs ever indicative of things coming down the pipeline? Some of these are just too good.

You're correct! The 18+ set for Mario this year is only $60. Which is also insanely suspicious. Another thing I forgot to mention is that they released a "creativity toolbox" as a set this year, and to me that seems like..."Okay we ran out of ideas" kinda? They included a bunch of stuff they could have just made expansion sets out of. It seemed kinda like a last-ditch thing. I agree with allllllllllll of this. The current sets are just. Wayyy too big. They're also cumbersome and really hard to move. Which is why I don't think Mario Kart would really work here, either. I looove the buildable characters, and I honestly think they could still work with the minifig line (well, some of them. Bowser, the koopalings, etc. would all work imo!)