The Hidden Easter Egg Inside The LEGO NES That Is Blowing Our Minds
Nintendo fans tend to get really into nostalgia, particularly when it involves the Nintendo Entertainment System and some of Nintendo's flagship franchises. That's why Nintendo has decided to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. with a wide variety of goodies, including a new line of LEGO sets. There are a huge number of LEGO characters and set pieces that can be assembled for fans to relive the glory days of the NES, but the most impressive one may be the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System. That set just came out in stores over the weekend and has a few cool secrets within.
This LEGO set resembles the original Nintendo Entertainment System, complete with a controller and a prop Super Mario Bros. cartridge that can be placed inside of the completed Lego NES. However, that's not all. The set also includes a LEGO television (complete with an old school TV stand) that displays a LEGO facsimile of World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros.
YouTube channel Brick Depot also has a lengthy unboxing and building video of the set, showing off just how intricate it really is. The packaging is designed to mimic that of the original release of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which should give buyers a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. The finished product is pretty impressive, particularly with the inclusion of an antenna on the back of the television set. However, the coolest part is actually on the inside of the Lego console.
As pointed out in screenshots captured by Geek Culture, there's a section of the system's internals that resembles one of the most iconic spots in Super Mario Bros. Gamers will instantly recognize it as the Warp Zone from World 1-2 of the original game. This series of pipes can instantly warp players to a later area in the game, and discovering where all of the Warp Zones are hidden has become something of a rite of passage for Super Mario Bros. players over the years.
This is a fantastic easter egg that appropriately captures that original feeling of discovering an actual hidden area in the game. Even better, completing the top part of the LEGO set won't keep you from being able to take a look at the set any time you want. As pointed out by Geek Culture, a panel in the side of the "console" can be removed, allowing for a full view of the world's cutest little Warp Zone.
The inclusion of the Warp Zone has been well-received by fans of the original game, particularly since it feels like the kind of easter egg that only a devoted fan would have designed for this set. An excited fan on Twitter said that they didn't even realize the Warp Zone was there because they were so focused during their build. It wasn't until they went back and looked at the photos of their progress that they discovered the easter egg. One fan said that this marked the first LEGO set they'd gotten in nearly four decades, which definitely shows the power of nostalgia. Some fans have expressed a desire to somehow put real NES hardware inside of the LEGO version to make it actually functional, which would be next-level awesome.
Others seem to feel like the easter egg is pretty great, but not quite cool enough to justify the hefty price tag on the LEGO set. However, given the fact that an original sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. recently sold for $114,000 at auction, it's hard to tell what people wouldn't spend on their Super Mario fandom.
In the past, we've seen some amazing real life creations inspired by games, particularly with LEGO bricks. One superfan built a replica of the Master Sword and Link's shield from The Legend of Zelda franchise entirely out of LEGO. In other words, there's really no limit to how inventive Nintendo fans can be with LEGOs.
These Super Mario LEGO sets are just the latest part of Nintendo's grand plans to celebrate the 35th anniversary of everyone's favorite adventuring plumber. Earlier this year, it was reported that Nintendo may be planning to release new remastered editions of several previous Mario titles, including Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine. This year also saw the release of Paper Mario: The Origami King. Despite some weird restrictions on what villains the game could use, The Origami King was still released to positive responses from fans and critics alike.
The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System appears to be out of stock currently. However, don't be too worried if you missed out on the initial release. As one fan pointed out on Twitter, LEGO will most likely restock them in the near future.