If you’re a true-blue Nintendo fan, and you managed to get the latest LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System (71374) building set, then you may have spotted this pretty neat easter egg that comes with the build. This is what IGN’s Brian Altano delightfully discovered as he tries his hands at LEGO’s official brick rendition of the iconic gaming console. You can watch Brian’s review right here, or you may want to skip at the 5:30 mark to see what the hidden secret is.
For the untrained eye, it is easy to dismiss this portion of the build being like a LEGO version of transistors and electronics hiding underneath its side panel. But for avid fans of the original Super Mario Bros. like Brian, the reference is clear and very cool indeed. As you may have noticed, this is a micro build of sort of the video game’s World 1-2 that allows players to have access to the hidden Warp Zone at the end of the level. This secret area, as the name suggests, allows players to immediately jump to other worlds in the game without passing through the levels before them. Brian began to realize this easter egg when he started to put the sections of the build together
As you take a close look at this portion of the build, the details become more pronounced and the reference unmistakable. You have the bricks on the left side, the moving platforms recreated in orange tile pieces, and perhaps the most apparent of them all, the green warp pipes that bring you to any of your selected worlds. For the uninitiated, here’s how this particular level looks like in the actual video game.
Here’s a closer look at the Warp Zone from the original Nintendo Super Mario Bros. video game.
Knowing how LEGO pays close attention to details, I wouldn’t be surprised if LEGO opted to throw in an easter egg or two in such an awesome set. And the timing and intention are absolutely perfect, knowing that the set’s concept and design are practically focused on LEGO and Nintendo’s adult fan base. I just love what LEGO designers did there.
The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System (71374) has already been released over at LEGO Shop@Home and might still be available at your local LEGO brand store. But unfortunately, it is temporarily out of stock as of this posting, with just 2 days after it was officially launched. Such being the case, then we have to wait a bit longer if you wish to add this to your LEGO collection.
Thanks once again to IGN for sharing this neat, hidden secret.
