Five LEGO Mario Kart set features that make them feel like the game

21/08/202421/08/2024 Rachael Davies 324 Views 0 Comments

LEGO Mario Kart is officially here and there are plenty of nods to the original games to keep gaming builders pleased.

If LEGO Super Mario is going to continue as a theme without minifigures, it’s going to need to produce some strong sets outside of them – and that includes translating the spirit of the original Mario Kart games into brick-built sets. It’s an ask that can be tough to achieve, with LEGO Animal Crossing drawing criticism in the past for not capturing the heart of the game, as one example.

Thankfully, the newly-revealed LEGO Mario Kart sets, coming in 2025, have clearly been made with the games in mind and include references and features pulled straight from the video games. While there are no buildable tracks or minifigures as we had previously hoped, there’s plenty for gamers to love about the new range of LEGO Super Mario sets.

Game-accurate karts

Each set features at least one game-accurate kart. That includes (as you’d expect) Mario’s Standard Kart in 72032 Standard Kart, the Yoshi Bike in 72031 Yoshi Bike, the DK Jumbo in 72033 Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo, the Biddy Buggy and the Tri-Speeder in 72034 Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi, the B Dasher in 72035 Toad’s Garage, and the Standard Bike, the Landship Kart and the Wild Wiggler in 72036 Baby Peach & Grand Prix Set. The Standard Kart even includes the matching kite, ready to fly over the gaps in certain tracks.

Each one is almost instantly recognisable and the LEGO designers haven’t shied away from recreating some of the more complex karts and bikes, rather than sticking to the standard editions. The Yoshi Bike is a particular favourite thanks to its quirky design by Donkey Kong’s DK Jumbo is also pretty eye-catching.

Shells you can actually throw

There are various ways that shells can be used in these LEGO Mario Kart sets, including attached to the bike and karts like studs to mimic how they circle the player in the game, and an interactive stud shooter in at least 72033 Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo and 72034 Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi, so you can actually throw shells as you recreate fast-paced races.

So far, the ‘weapons’ included in the sets are green shells, red shells, and bananas – but there’s plenty more besides. A blue shell would be an easy recolour and its omission in this wave suggests that more sets are likely planned, saving the blue shell for a later reveal (although that’s just speculation for now).

References to the battles

Mario Kart is not just the races; there are also various battles to play as well. 72034 Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi features the two characters having a Balloon Battle showdown, a battle where the goal is to pop as many of the other team/player’s balloons as possible.

This still leaves plenty more to be done, leaving still more room to hope for more LEGO Mario Kart sets. Bob-omb Blast and Shine Thief, two battle modes from Mario Kart 8, would be the perfect opportunities for introducing new elements for the bob-ombs and Shrine Sprite – once again underlining how much more room the LEGO Mario Kart collection has to grow into.

Groundwork laid for customisation options

72035 Toad’s Garage includes different sizes of wheels, horn, and exhaust that you can seemingly switch in and out on the the B Dasher – or presumably any of the other karts as well. That opens up some exciting possibilities for the collection as a whole: do you prefer the Standard Kart wheels on your DK Jumbo? Go ahead!

If it works as easily as that (which we won’t know until people start getting their hands on the sets in the wild), then this leans into the best parts of both LEGO and Mario Kart. Customise your karts and bikes to suit your preferences and get ready for the race of your dreams.

Lakitu still has his job

Last but not least, 72036 Baby Peach & Grand Prix Set also features a brick-built Lakitu perched on a cloud. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Lakitu, having made its debut in 71389 Lakitu Sky World Expansion Set, but it now has the Mario Kart-only addition of the race lights. From the photos we have at the moment, it appears to only have green lights but it wouldn’t be too tricky to swap them out for red ones if you want to keep your brick-built karts in place.

LEGO Mario Kart 2025 sets

LEGO set	Price	Pieces	Release date
72031 Yoshi Bike	£12.99 / $14.99 / €14.99	133	January 1, 2025
72032 Standard Kart	£17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99	174	January 1, 2025
72033 Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo	£29.99 / $34.99 / €34.99	387	January 1, 2025
72034 Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi	£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99	321	January 1, 2025
72035 Toad’s Garage	£34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99	390	January 1, 2025
72036 Baby Peach & Grand Prix Set	£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99	823	January 1, 2025

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Rachael Davies

I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.