GoNintendo Feature: Your LEGO Super Mario questions answered!

Q&A time, boys and girls! You had the Qs, and we have the As. Hopefully you find our answers insightful! As always, thanks for reading.

We've talked a ton about LEGO Super Mario so far, but there's always more to share! We've put together a written feature for our hands-on time, a video giving a closer look at the characters, and shared lengthy impressions on our latest podcast. Now we have put together answers for your LEGO Super Mario questions!

Thanks to our Patreon gang for offering up a great set of questions. Now let's get to the answers!

Holding it in your hands what makes the lego Super Mario set unique compared to other traditional lego sets and other branded sets?

While I am certainly familiar with LEGO and have played a ton with different toys, I'm not SUPER well versed in sets/branded sets. Obviously this is unique in that it's an official Nintendo collab, but as far as functionality goes, LEGO Super Mario himself is the key difference. His interactions with what you build, be it through jumping on enemies or specific colored blocks, as well as connectivity to the SUPER LEGO Mario app for extra features is what I believe sets this apart.

What's your favorite scenario you have put Mario in so far with the set?

My favorite scenario has to be the one I built for the virtual competition. I really put a lot of thought into it, and wanted it to play out like a traditional Mario level. There was a main path and some branching aspects for secrets. Building that course really opened my eyes to the types of fun you can have building out your own levels for Mario. The level-building component shows the real magic of LEGO Super Mario.

So you really can use any pre-existing LEGO bricks with this?

Yes, your courses can use any LEGO blocks you have in your collection. Obviously the interactions will be limited, but it's all about building a course for Mario to run through. If you use blocks that have colors LEGO Super Mario recognizes (yellow, blue, red, ect.), Mario will react to those as if they were sand, water, lava, and so on. Take any LEGO bricks in your collection and make Mario jump through the course of your dreams!

How do the enemies work, especially very motion-based enemies such as Bullet Bills and Cheep-Cheeps?

Some enemies, such as Goombas and Koopa Troopas, are stationary. They sit on the course and wait for Mario to come along and jump on them.

Enemies like the Boomber Bill Barrage and Cheep-Cheeps are all about movement. With the Boomer Bill setup, the set comes with some gears that attach to a spinning arm. When Mario jumps onto the arm, you can spin the platform, which in turn will spin the Bills. Depending on where they are when you start and how you rotate the arm, Mario might get knocked off of his platform.

With the Cheep-Cheeps in particular, these two are on a rotating arm as well. They are connected to a bridge, and you can spin the arm to have the Cheep-Cheeps jump over the bridge. You can give it a flick for one or two spins, or really smack it to have them spin around like crazy.

There's other enemies that have some sort of minor interactions tied to them as well. For example, with Bowser Jr., he sits atop a small castle turret. You're supposed to hop Mario over to the castle and jump on a special lever on the back, which will send Bowser Jr. flying off of the castle. Then you can wander over and jump on his back.

Does the phone app work without an internet connection?

Most of the app does work without an internet connection. You can still use Bluetooth to connect to Mario, see the kits you've built, read instructions, and more. The part you need an internet connection for is seeing the pictures that other people have taken and shared on the app, as well as details on the new weekly challenge from LEGO.

Can I take a naked Mario around a course?

Ha, if you really want to, you can! The camera in LEGO Super Mario doesn't need Mario's hat or overalls to function. It makes his base a little wobbly, but it works!

It seems "high scores" are based around how many coins you collect from activities, blocks, and enemies. What's stopping you from using the Piranha Plant Power Slide to rack up coins, then tossing LEGO Mario down to the end of the course to stick him on the flagpole for a quick clear?

There's nothing stopping you from doing that, other than the honor system. When you're playing different courses, you use your own rules. Obviously if you're playing with a group, you'll want to define those before you start. Let everyone know that they can't skip course portions, can't jump on enemies more than once for coins, can't ignore obstacles, and so on.

Do you think we will eventually see LEGO Luigi for multiplayer capabilities?

LEGO hasn't said anything about official multiplayer compatibility, but I don't see why it couldn't be something to add in down the line. Throw in a LEGO Super Luigi and have him run through a course with his brother, or other traditional Mario characters to do the same. Seems like a no-brainer for content down the road. Hopefully LEGO feels the same way!

How does the LEGO Koopa Troopa work? Can you "stomp" on it twice to "launch" the shell like you could in Super Mario Bros.?

The Koopa Troopa does require two hits to get your coins. As to what's taking place for both hits, that's up to your imagination. You might imagine Mario hitting the Koopa Troopa shell into other Koopa Troopas, or Mario knocking a Koopa Troopa out of his shell and then pouncing on him for coins.

In your article you discussed how Cat Mario could recognize climbing walls. Does this work with LEGO Mario facing the wall, or do you have to turn him so that the light sensor on his bottom is against the wall?

Climbing walls with LEGO Cat Mario does require you to turn Mario horizontally so that the unit recognizes that its been turned sideways. When you climb up a wall, you'll hear Mario make cat noises, and you'll get bonus coins for climbing up something. It doesn't seem this is tied to the camera, but something else that is registering that LEGO Super Mario has been turned sideways.

Are you able to equip power-ups while playing a course?

You can leave the Cat Mario suit anywhere you want on your course and pick it up later. No need to start at the beginning with it. Just remember that you have 60 seconds to run a course and get all your coins, so swapping out a suit during that time might cost you precious seconds!

Is LEGO Mario compatible with LEGO Bionicle?

Now that I don't know. I'm not familiar enough with the Bionicle series, nor do I have any on-hand to test out. If Bionicle uses bricks/pieces that work with traditional LEGO, then those will also work with LEGO Super Mario.