If you ever wanted to know what it was like going through a warp pipe or traveling through an underground Super Mario video game level, you’ve come to the right place. Nintendo has revealed an all-new look at the upcoming Super Nintendo World theme park expansion at Universal Studios Japan, including a tour of a big portion of the area.
In the video, Shigeru Miyamoto, who created the Super Mario franchise, walks around the land, pointing out the many things visitors will get to do. It all begins with a warp pipe, which you walk through to enter Peach’s Castle, as seen in Mario 64. As Miyamoto explained, the castle music from Mario 64 will also greet you, and the land is filled with a variety of different songs from throughout the Super Mario franchise.
From there, you’re essentially immersed in Mario’s world, which is incredibly animated with spinning coins, wandering monsters, and even snoring piranha plants. There will also be plenty of interactivity, thanks to a wrist band guests can wear, which syncs to their smartphone. With that band, you can collect coins by hitting certain blocks, unlock hidden images and games, and even activate a Pow block to defeat a Koopa Troopa.
Next, Miyamoto showed off a maze made to look like an underground level in one of the games, which included a section with much larger blocks to make you feel as if you shrank and are in need of a mushroom to get back to normal size. Given this is a theme park, there are also gift shop and food options. The restaurant, Kinopio’s Cafe, is run by Chef Toad and features a variety of unique and mushroom-centric dishes.
Then there are the rides. Miyamoto didn’t actually ride any of the attractions, but he did walk through the line queue area for the Mario Kart-themed ride, showing off the various iconic trophies from the Mario Kart games, as well as the one designed specifically for the course the ride takes. The story is simple, Bowser has created a track simply to best Mario. As the plumber’s friends, it’s up to the visitors to race on the track and make sure Bowser doesn’t win.
At a glance, Super Nintendo World is incredibly impressive, and that’s before anyone has set foot on the rides. The Mario Kart attraction is one of two that will be available when the land opens, the other is a family-friendly adventure in which guests will ride on Yoshi’s back. You can take a look at everything Miyamoto explored in the land above.
Super Nintendo World will open at Universal Studios Japan on February 4, 2021. The park is also coming to both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando in the future.
