Lego's Super Mario seems like something that should have been realized years ago, but as Mario himself would say, "Let's Go!" is. In cooperation with Nintendo, Lego plans to release a set of Super Mario physical toys. The toys are like a real-life version of Super Mario Maker, allowing players to create their own complex platform levels.

Lego had teased the announcement on March 10 (often known colloquially as Mario Day, thanks to its abbreviation March 10), but today (March 12) they released the full video. The press release, accompanied by a video, explains what it's all about: you buy a physical set of LEGOs and a special minifig. At the center of the experience is a computerized Mario figure that reacts to other blocks, takes damage, collects coins, and fights bad guys.

The following video gives a brief look at the setup:

First, the Mario figure itself looks incredibly complex. Not only does it keep track of the damage taken and coins collected, but it also times how long it takes to complete each stage, plays the familiar Mario theme song, and changes facial expressions on several cleverly placed LED panels. Having to charge Mario before his adventures on the platform seems like a hassle, but perhaps no worse than charging a Switch controller.

It's hard to say how the overall experience will work from start to finish. In the video, two kids create Mario levels and guide him through them, stopping occasionally to "fight" enemies such as Goombas, Piranha Plants, and Baby Bowser. The game is a complex mix of physical platforms, traps, digital power-ups and hazards. Yoshi also makes an appearance, but it remains to be seen how the two characters will interact.

We've only seen one playset, so we don't know if kids will be able to build endless platform variations from a single set of blocks, or if Lego will sell multiple playsets to tackle them. (I think it's the latter. ) The reason is that Lego will have to make a profit on this product somehow. Still, I would be surprised if there is only one "route" included in each playset. Not many children can play the same short "level" over and over endlessly. There are probably several different configurations in each playset, and there could be ways to change the Mario experience each time.

At the end of each level, the number of coins Mario received would be tallied. An incentive to purchase multiple play sets would be great, especially if the pieces could be combined between the various kits.

I am not sure how LEGO purists would feel about the LEGO Super Mario sets, as they do not seem to be extremely compatible with existing LEGO bricks. (Universal compatibility is one of the reasons people support the LEGO brand in the first place.) But this is definitely a toy-reality video game experience unlike anything I've ever seen.

If you have children, please show this video to them as well.