Posted By Adam White on Dec 23, 2020 | 2 comments

The Mario games are filled with numerous iconic foe, from garrisons of turtles to walking bombs, but its a pipe dwelling plant which is the focus of this particular LEGO® Super Mario Expansion Pack. Piranha Plants can be found popping out of warp pipes or having a snooze, here they are sitting on a pair of rotating platforms, guarding a series of Red Coin Blocks. But what does the set offering in terms of play features and how can it help LEGO Mario boost his coin count, let’s find out in another 2021 set review and take a look at Expansion Set 71382: Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge.

Product Description

Let kids expand their LEGO® Super Mario™ universe for extra fun with friends or solo play with this Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge Expansion Set (71382). It features 2 Piranha Plants and a Spiny figure for LEGO® Mario™ (figure not included) to defeat and a spinning carousel to knock the Piranha Plants out of the way to reach 3 red-coin blocks offering big digital-coin rewards. (Note: the 71360 Starter Course set is required for interactive play.)

• Set Name: Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge Expansion Set
• Set Number: 71382
• Pieces: 267
• RRP: £24.99/$29.99/29.99€
• Action Bricks: Spiny & 3 x Red Coin Blocks
• Availability: January 1st, 2021 

The Set

As is the case with the other Expansion Sets in the new range of LEGO Super Mario sets, Pirahna Plants Puzzling Challenge is based within the newly introduced poison swamps area. Which doesn’t mean much beyond the use of purple plates for the base of the build. Of course, if LEGO Mario should dip his feet in this new biome, he will lose coins, unless you can find some water to hop in. As a mid-sized set, the build is quite compact and features a central turning platform, surrounded by a pair of Piranha Plants and a lone Spiny. The Piranha Plants are guarding a trio of Red Coin Blocks, which all need to be hit within a certain time to earn a coin bonus. In the Mario games, these are often dotted around a certain area, to replicate this in the set, you’ll need to twist the platforms and knock the Piranha Plants out the way to reveal one of the boxes.

Those platforms are all connected via splat gears, so placing LEGO Mario on the central platform allows you to twist it and turn the other platforms, which feature the Piranha Plants. The aim is then to use that central platform to flip the Piranha Plant back and reveal the final Red Coin Block. Unfortunately, this doesn’t go to plan during play. You can easily hit two of the blocks, but I found an issue with the third one. You have to line-up the central platform to the Piranha Plant’s mouth, which is where the puzzling aspect of the set comes into play, but flipping it back can cause the Red Coin Block count to reset. It seems slamming LEGO Mario on the central platform to flip the Piranha Plant needs to be done with such force, it can interfere with the any Red Coin Blocks, you’ve already scanned. There are two rubber connectors under the central platform, which absorb the impact of hitting the platform, but this also limits how much the platform flips when hit. Which in turn means you’ll need to really whack it, so there is enough impact to flip the Piranha Plant.

Action Bricks

The set features four Action Bricks, one can be found on top of the Spiny enemies, with the other three being on the Red Coin Block hidden around the Piranha Plants. If all three Red Coin Blocks are hit within the time limit, you’ll get bonus coins.

Overall

The Piranha Plants are an instantly recognisable part of any Mario game and they have already appeared in LEGO form in sets from the first wave of releases. They look great here, with a clever collection of parts capturing their look perfectly. However, the play function is less impressive. The idea behind how it should work is great, the practical side of this just doesn’t quite work. This is possibly something which could be addressed with a software tweak, as opposed to the actual set because you can flip the Piranha Plant, even if it takes a couple of tries but the impact seems to cause LEGO Mario to forget the Red Coin Blocks he’s already encountered. Despite that, I like that another gameplay element from the games has been incorporated into the physical realm of LEGO Mario. Please note the LEGO Mario interactive figure is not included with this set. It can be found in the LEGO Super Mario Adventures with Mario Starter Set.

Coming January 1st: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand

This set was provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.

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