SlimyGhoul

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Posts posted by SlimyGhoul

  1. Posted

    On 1/12/2024 at 11:57 AM, Lion King said:

    I’m not really into builtable or dig-figure charaters. So I guess I will be done here but i stilll have my hope (at a low level). 

    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.

  2. Posted · Edited by SlimyGhoul

    2 hours ago, sjbricks said:

    I'd say the new bowser car set is a perfect example of how course builder Mario Karts sets would work. It's incredibly well designed, and the scan code putting a steering wheel on Mario's chest and allowing him to honk the horn by the pull of a lever, while launching bombs behind the car is genius. I wouldn't be surprised if we got more sets like it. The code in bowser's car has no indication on it of being exclusively for him, so it can be reused.

    I don't that this line deserves to die and be replaced fully just because AFOLS are disappointed by it. The fact it's been going this long proves it must be very popular with it's intended audience. I'd say it's quite harsh to say that it's unimaginative and sacrificing quality and excellence, because that's just not true. Deciding to not make figures like every other theme was a bold choice, and understandably some don't like it. The technology that makes the characters work is very impressive, to me it's one if the most interesting developments that LEGO have made in a long time, and one of the only examples of them tying a digital feature to sets being very successful. The designers have listened to feedback on the design of the sets too. I agree that quite a lot of them don't display well, it's kind of the idea that you take the sections apart and rearrange them, but recently, the builds have been a lot more solid. I think that the 3 airship sets and Dry Bowser's castle are good examples.

    As a platforming game, Mario unfortunately is not easy to adapt to playsets. Scanning codes with electronic Mario to interact with blocks, enemies, and other hazards was a great way to achieve it. Figure sets trying to emulate the platforming aspect just wouldn't work as well. I think they actually would be unimaginative and not as fun for kids to play with. Mario Kart would work as minifigure sets because you can play with the cars and move them around, but the sets would then need to be designed around cars driving through them, presumably with track pieces and other gimmicks, so they wouldn't display well either.

    At the end of the day, there is no way LEGO didn't explore minifigures when they obtained the license but there's obviously a reason why they didn't go that route, so we got the course builder system instead. I think the 18+ sets are the perfect place for LEGO to give us minifigures and great display models, like Peach's castle, while keeping the aspect of the theme that you can actually play with that's true to the series' nature alive.

    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 :)

  3. Posted

    12 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

    I still think this is Nintendo's decistion and not LEGO's, as they are pretty protective of their property, and things like Amiibo are still around.

    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/

    Quote

    We did a big concept round of all sorts of ideas. We had roughly 25 product ideas and distilled it down into eight directions. One of those directions was to have an interactive LEGO Mario or LEGO Nintendo figures. Then one actually got the most votes and won the voting rounds. Pretty early on, we made a prototype of Mario in LEGO brick form, but he had a screen for a display and a speaker and that was it – none of the fancy technology we have now. We all kind of fell in love with this cute little Mario in brick form. We decided that whatever we did in the future, the product would be built around that.

    https://www.brickfanatics.com/exclusive-the-inside-story-of-lego-super-mario-level-2

    Quote

    You mentioned the different options that you presented to management. Was minifigure scale ever a consideration for this theme?

    Jonathan: Yeah of course, it is such an iconic LEGO product or expression but of course the problem is the size of the technology, he had to have batteries, and a display, and a speaker. We tried different combinations of technology and to put it all in a minifigure was just physically impossible, as you can imagine.

    https://www.newelementary.com/2020/08/lego-super-mario-interview-jonathan.html

    Quote

    Did that drive come from Nintendo or from LEGO?

    Jonathan:
    It came from the managements meeting up; they realised that they had a lot of similarities like the safety, the quality and the originality of products. And so they said that when these brands come together, we should do something that people don't expect, and that only LEGO and Nintendo can do together. Yeah, that was my brief back then.

    Christian:
    This is the result of a long co-creation process between us and the partner, so we have the lead on it but our partner is really leaning in and helping us with the gameplay with the models, and how we ensure that it's a fun experience for the kids, and have the right quality and so on. So it is a special partnership.

     

    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.

  4. Posted · Edited by SlimyGhoul
    forgot a line

    On 1/7/2024 at 6:21 AM, sjbricks said:

    I've wanted Mario figures for as long as I can remember, but honestly I'm really hoping that the theme doesn't switch over to them fully. The brick-built character system has allowed for such a huge variety of characters to be made that just wouldn't be possible with figures. Who would have expected that we would have a Lego Toady? We only need Roy to complete the Koopalings, but there's no way Lego would have been able to make as many of them in minifig form by now. Each of them would need at least a new head mould with dual moulding and lots of print to achieve their look, but depending on how Lego would approach it, Roy and Morton might also need different body moulds to reflect their size.

    The brick-built approach not only helps Lego, but also fans. I'm not holding my breath for Lego to make Mario Wonder content, and there's not really any chance of them making Mario RPG content either, but I've been able to design Prince Florian and Mallow for my collection. Filling gaps like that as a collector would simply not be possible in a minifigure orientated theme where pretty much every character needs new moulds.

    In my opinion, the best way forward would be to keep the digital theme alive as the main focus, and then release a set like the original Green Hill Zone (21331) that'd include a few figures every once in a while. I'm pretty surprised that Lego haven't already included any in the 18+ display models on a little stand like in the UCS Star Wars sets, but I guess the designers haven't been able to decide whether a Mario figure should have a nose or not yet.

    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.

  5. Posted · Edited by SlimyGhoul

    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 

  6. Posted

    On 4/9/2023 at 6:05 AM, Kaijumeister said:

     The course builder sets are apparently intended to run up until 2025/26 (as per one of the moderators on the ‘Legoleak’ subreddit), so minifigure sets are not in the pipeline at all. 

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

  7. Posted

    On 2/20/2023 at 5:55 PM, TheOneLuxembourgerLEGOfan said:

    Alright, y'all are never going to believe me, but I'm going to share this anyway.

     

    I got news of the new LEGO Super Mario sets a couple of weeks ago from a friend of mine who works at the local LEGO store. 

    She told me that there is indeed a new lego mario series coming with Donkey Kong sets. This includes a starter pack with Donkey Kong, and mostly Jungle sets (I specifically asked about this as I was afraid it was just gonna be some weird NES/Pauline Donkey Kong stuff like the Smash Bros stage but this isn't the case).

     

    She had no info regarding a new figure series, so either they didn't tell her about it or a new one isn't coming. Personally, we think it's the former, as with major Starter Set releases there is always a new figure series to support them.

    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.

  11. Posted · Edited by SlimyGhoul

    2 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

    Correct, there are no rumours. People just speculate about potential minifig sets based on circumstantial evidence. If we can call it „evidence“ at all. All we know is that there is no starterpack-shaped box and allegedly no series 7. Concluding this must mean minifig sets are coming is quite a leap in logic :laugh_hard:

    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

  12. Posted

    1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

    Just my opinion, but as far as I‘m concerned, printed heads just do not work for Mario and friends. Look at the bootlegs and you‘ll see why I think that :tongue:

    If a cartoony character’s head shape is unique enough, a new part is justified in my eyes. The Simpsons are a good example. Using regular minifig heads looks cheap, awkward and offputting to me. Same thing with that goofy-looking Squidward from 2006, which got completely blown out of the water (pun intended) when the version with the moulded head got released :laugh_hard:

     Sure, most cartoon characters with specialised heads tend to be animal-based, but Mario‘s head shape is unique and distinct enough to also warrant that treatment.

    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.

  15. Posted

    16 hours ago, nicknack116 said:

    I hope you’re right! I think the Summer wave is looking very suspicious. And isn’t the Mario D2C set rumored to be a cheaper price this year, too? Or do I have that wrong?

    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.

    14 hours ago, Kaijumeister said:

    This is by no means a knock against the current digi-figure play pattern for this theme, but I really think scale and space rapidly becomes an issue. The course builder system relies on maximising space to populate with diverse builds to create an immersive ‘world’ for the digi-figures, but it comes at the cost of efficient space usage. There are of course exceptions to this with some sets, but it’s just my opinion - and I say this as someone who has bought a fair number of sets.

    That’s why I don’t think adapting Mario-Kart with the current system in play is the best idea. Comparatively minifigures would do a better job here, and I’m hoping like many of you that this summer brings about minifigure-scale sets. The product portfolio over the past 3 years has been quite vast and definitely enough for people to start designing their own courses, and I’m sure Lego could keep the course builder system going for a while at least with new scannable tiles and firmware updates, not to mention completing the Koopa kid cast.

     But all this aside and regardless of preferences for which direction this theme should go in, I don’t think anyone can deny that the buildable characters in this theme are impeccable. Both the large and small scale ones. 

    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!)

  16. Posted · Edited by SlimyGhoul

    The most recent set leaks have me reeeeally suspicious/hopeful about minifigs for the summer waves. I know some people say that they could just be ditching the weird boxes for starter courses, but the most damning piece of evidence to me is the PPR. 71423 and 71425 both have the around the same piece count as Peach's castle (1,321 and 1,157 respectively), but they're ~$30 less than it. Why? Especially after the recent price increases. Not only that, but they also seem like sister sets in a way? They're both $99.99. That makes me think that *maybe* they could be Mario Movie sets (maybe one of, like, a section of Peach's castle with Mario + Peach + Toad? and the other Bowser with Luigi + Kamek, etc.), but it's a little late to be releasing those tbh. I dunno. That combined with the lack of the buildable minifig series (arguably their bestsellers? Why get rid of those unless you knew you had something that would sell better than it?) is...sus at best. I think this is the most likely minifigs have ever been so I'm cautiously excited!

    Another situation I guess is Mario Kart, but...how fun is Mario Kart with only 3 players to choose from? Not only that, I feel like it would be weird/counterproductive for LEGO to do Mario Kart stuff considering Hot Wheels has been pumping out Mario Kart stuff for years and doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.