Toads have been a part of the Mario universe since the Super Mario Bros. game, where they helpfully informed Mario that his search for the Princess would need to continue onto the next castle. As well as being the collective name for the mushroom-like folk, Toad, as a character, has also appeared in other titles such as Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and Mario Tennis. An adventurous Toad, called Captain Toad, appeared in unique minigames in the Wii U title, Super Mario 3D World. Captain Toad’s expeditions proved so popular, he soon set out on an adventure of his own in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The LEGO Super Mario expansion set, Captain Toad’s Camp, is inspired by the game and kicks off my reviews of the entire Summer wave of Super Mario set reviews.
Product Details
Set Name: Captain Toad’s Camp | Set Number: 72040 | Pieces: 159 | Theme: Nintendo
Number of Bags: Bags x 2 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Action Tags: 3 | Characters: Toad, Goomba & Turnip
RRP: £12.99/14.99€/$14.99/24.99AUD/17.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from August 1st
As a smaller set, it only features a couple of buildable elements. The first of those is a tent and a campfire. It’s a basic build, but nicely represents Captain Toad’s rest area. There’s enough room for Toad to sleep in the tent, minus his backpack. The second buildable section offers a little more playability. In the game, you are tasked with fins hidden treasure around a small enclosed level. This piece of scenery shows that with a flip-down section in one of the columns and a collapsible bridge.
The set features three buildable characters, including Captain Toad, a Goomba and a Turnip. Toad is similar to his previous appearances, but sports his explorer outfit, which includes his backpack and headlamp. The Goomba isn’t unique, with the same angry-looking face being used in four other sets. The Turnip is less of a character than it is a projectile, but it’s only ever appeared in one previous set.
One of the key features of the Super Mario expansion sets is their Action Tags. These scannable tiles can be incorporated into physical LEGO levels built with any of the LEGO Super Mario and Mario Kart sets. This set includes three Action Tags, including a unique tag for Captain Toad found on his tent. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the interactive figures couldn’t scan this tag, so it’s unclear what it does.
The big draw of the set is the Captain Toad figure. The rest of the set is fun, but doesn’t offer much over other Mario expansion sets. At this point, you’re picking up the LEGO Super Mario sets for one of two reasons. Either to expand your collection of Mario characters or to expand your physical Mario levels. It’s great to see the LEGO Mario sets take inspiration from the wider Mario universe. Captain Toad has become a fan-favourite character despite only being introduced a few years ago. The Captain Toad’s Camp expansion set launches on August 1st.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Nintendo. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
