Mario takes the fight to Bowser in the skies above the Mushroom Kingdom...
Much like the vast majority of the places visited in the Super Mario video games - Bowser's Airship is pretty memorable. From its first appearance within Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser has often taken the kidnapped Princess Peach for a ride across the skies on this gargantuan sky-boat as Mario tackles the Koopalings - in their miniature airships below. Now, this fearsome sight has arrived in the world of LEGO Super Mario as the already expansive LEGO experience gets a whole new expansion.
Unlike traditional LEGO sets, the Super Mario range all features a modular design. This is so you can customise your Mario experience in any way that you see fit. While other sets such as 'Mario's house & Yoshi aim to expand your experience, there are others - like 'Bowser's Castle Boss Battle' that act as an endpoint. When it comes to 'Bowser's Airship' it's neither an expansion - nor a boss battle. If anything it's a standalone world that can be both or neither - and it's also one of my favourite sets.
The overall design of the Airship gives it quite a deceptive feel, and on the surface,e it's pretty compact. However, hiding in plain sight the airship does have a few tricks to keep any budding Mario or Luigi busy. The trick to this set is that it opens up to more than double the original size as the play area hides inside the ship. While Bowser himself doesn't come with this set we do get the wizard Kamek, a pirate captain Goomba, and a well-hidden Rocky Wrench. Of course, if you already have the Bowser figure, he can also be added for an additional challenge!
Aside from being a brick-recreation of Nintendo's premier franchise, the LEGO Super Mario range is also unique due to its action bricks. These come in the form of a flat 1x1 LEGO square that has a preprinted NFC barcode attached to them. Once "scanned" by either Mario or Luigi, the figure will recognise the barcode and perform the relevant action - whether it is hitting a question mark box, stomping a Goomba, or picking up a mushroom. Each of these actions also comes with its sound effect, which is taken straight out of the Mario world. Within this airship set, we get nine of these actions to perform - ten if you include the end goal flag post - which isn't included. These range from the battle with Kamek, the Captain Goomba, Kamek's broomstick, the Bowser figurehead, the claw, Rocky Wrench, the starting cannon, the POW brick, and finally - the hidden captain's seat. If you're playing when connected to the LEGO Super Mario app, then hitting these will give you quite a tasty coin bonus. Of course, these actions can all be expanded upon via adding various other enemies or mushrooms to this course too!
Another interesting mechanic within these Super Mario sets is the ability to switch and change Mario and Luigi's outfits. While both brothers start in their signature outfits, there's the optional choice to add power outfits in your course. This also works well with Bowser's airship. For our playthrough of this set, the kind folks over at LEGO's PR sent me three outfits to try out. These were the Tanooki Mario, Builder Mario, and Frog Mario outfits. Equipping each allows Mario or Luigi to perform an action tied to the suit whether it is swinging the Tanooki tail, stomping as a Builder, or high-jumping as the Frog. Of course with being a physical figure you're not constrained by video game limitations, but if using the app, these all work in adding to your score - and they can contribute to some quick boss defeats.
Not only does it look super and plays great, but the airship is also a satisfying set to build. For this one, it took us roughly three hours to fully complete by following the handy 3D instructions provided by the LEGO app. My only real complaint is that one of the hinge mechanisms on our model is a little loose which means it does come detached now and again. Another small niggle is that there isn't a way to lock the set into its compact form. I did find a workaround for this by adding two flat 2x2 bricks to the joint, but as they're sitting on top of two 1x1's there isn't a strong connection.
All in all, Bowser's Airship is my favourite set out of the current LEGO Super Mario range. It's an accessible build that offers a lot for younger - and older - builders to cooperate with. While it doesn't offer a lot of play space, it does give you nine action points with just enough space to add a few more Koopa or Goomba figures, or even Bowser himself.
If you're looking into getting a LEGO Super Mario set then 71391 - Bowser's Airship is one that both myself and Grace-Face highly recommend!
Rating: 9/10
Thank you to LEGO PR for sending out the Mario outfits used in this review.
71391 - Bowser's Airship is available now and can be purchased from anywhere that LEGO is sold.
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