Wahoo! After years of being able to buy Mario-themed Lego sets, the Lego company is finally giving us something even better: Lego Mario Kart. While there's no sign of a Lego-themed Mario Kart game, Lego is giving you the chance to build and race your own Mario Kart tracks with a handful of characters from the game.
Lego announced six Mario Kart sets at Gamescom and confirmed that they will be released on January 1, 2025. Prices range from $15 to $80, and each set includes at least one character and one vehicle from the Mario Kart series.
Picture 1 of 7
Unfortunately, adult versions of Mario and Luigi won't be available with these sets, but existing Lego versions of the duo (and Princess Peach) will be compatible with the new karts. Additionally, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Peach will be joining them. This may be a trigger for those of you who've spent a little too much time playing Yoshi's Island, though. Thankfully, these plastic versions can't cry incessantly.
While the Lego Mario and crew figures are pretty compact, Lego promises that this will allow you to add sound and visual effects to the race. Hopefully, this means that the classic sound effects from the games will be available. Because it's not really Mario Kart without the classic starting countdown or the waves of anxiety when you realize a blue shell is heading straight for you.
As with the Super Mario sets, the idea is to let you customize your own karts and tracks. In a way that simply isn't possible with a Mario Kart video game, and probably never will be until Nintendo releases a Mario Kart-centric version of Mario Maker.
The cheapest set on offer is the $15 Yoshi Bike, which includes a blue Yoshi figure on a motorcycle and various track accessories like the red shell. The standard Kart set costs $20 and comes with Toad the mechanic. It appears that Toad is not allowed to drive, and the size suggests that this kart is intended for adult Marios.
Donkey Kong and the DK Jumbo costs $35, while Baby Mario vs. Baby Luigi costs $30. Toad's Garage costs $40 and lets you officially build and customize your karts as if you were a real mechanic. Two other Toads are included in this set, but they're not supposed to drive. At this point, you have to wonder what the Toads did to be relegated to the sidelines like that.
Finally, there's the $80 Baby Peach & Grand Prix set, which includes the official starting line for Lego Mario Kart adventures. It also includes two other karts, a motorbike, as well as Lemmy the Koopa, Baby Peach, and another Toad. Apparently, he's the only inhabitant of the Mushroom Kingdom who still has a valid driver's license.
It's a shame that Lego Mario Kart isn't arriving in time for the holidays, but at least it means you can start the new year off with a bang. Specifically, the sound of a green shell knocking your little brother's kart off the track and into the endless void below.