"I’ve built a lot of sets in the Star Wars, Marvel, Hidden Side, NASA, and MindStorms series, but I have to say this blows them all away - and I’m not even a huge Nintendo fan!
The build is so clever and fun and never repetitive. I thought for sure creating the mosaic for the game screen on the TV would be monotonous, but that was one of the best parts. The mechanisms to scroll the screen on the TV and to allow the game cartridge to insert and eject from the console are remarkably smooth and sturdy. I also appreciate the mechanism to make the channel dial on the TV click with each turn as they did on real TV’s in the past. Even the way Mario impressively moves over obstacles on the TV screen is elegant in the simplicity in which it achieved.
There are so many fun details, some of which are hidden! If you ever had a TV of the sort depicted, you’re going to love it, especially the name of the brand. I also really loved that both instruction books came with a little history of Nintendo, the NES, and Mario. These are books you will want to keep for sure.
Finally the interaction with the electronic Mario from the Starter Course is INSANE. Just like the Mario on the TV screen, the way the electronic Mario interprets what’s happening on the LEGO TV screen as you scroll it is elegant in its simplicity.
I probably had more fun building and interacting with this set than playing the actual video game!"