A new series of Super Nintendo World videos from Universal Parks News Today have given us our best look yet at the rides, merchandise, food, and so much more from the much-anticipated park coming to Universal Studios Japan.Universal Park News Today shared 20 videos on its YouTube page, each with a focus on a different part of Super Nintendo World. While it may contain certain spoilers if you want to experience the magic of this park for yourself, we’ve gathered together all the best details from each one.
Hopefully this will help make the wait for the park to officially open a bit easier, as it was recently delayed from February 4, 2021, to a date that will be announced once Osaka Prefecture’s state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge
As guests enter Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge, they walk into a rendition of Bowser’s Castle. As Mario music plays in the background, guests walk up the stairs and are greeted by a giant statue of Bowser. As they go through the ride, there are tons of Mario and Bowser-themed items that adorn the walls, as well as Mario Kart trophies that will be familiar to any who have played the games. There are in-universe advertisements and posters, as well as power-ups scattered across the queue. A van from MKTV (Mario Kart Television) even makes an appearance, which looks set up and ready to capture all the action.
One piece on the wall is the “Team Koopa Rules of the Road,” which is Team Koopas plan on how to stop Team Mario. The three rules are;
- Play smart.
- Crush Team Mario.
- Win the Golden Cup or else!!!!
There is also a book containing what appears to be the maps of Mario Kart, with Rainbow Road being featured, a Paper Mario diagram of a Mario Kart race, and a book titled ‘Sibling Rivalries and How to Exploit Them.’
Once guests make it to the end of the queue, they are given AR goggles that look like Mario’s hat. MKTV’s Lakitu welcomes you to the race and introduces you to the main racers from Team Koopa and Team Mario, as well as giving instructions for the ride using Mii characters. Players can collect power-ups and coins, steer, and use the power-ups by aiming their glasses at an enemy.
The actual ride itself is a bit hard to gauge, because the footage shown is through a guest’s AR glasses, so it doesn’t translate perfectly to video. However, it looks to feature all of the characters, fun, and chaos of a Mario Kart race. There are enemies that appear on screen as you travel above and below water, through the air with a glider, and you appear to collect 15-30 shells at a time that you can use against your enemies. It all culminates with a battle against Bowser, a Star power-up, and a trip down Rainbow Road.
At the end, either Team Mario or Team Koopa wins, and you can see your score and how many coins you collected during the race.
Yoshi’s Adventure
Yoshi’s Adventure has a very colorful and artful look that is seen quite often in the Yoshi games. As you go through the queue, you see fruit and blocks that you can use your Power Band to interact with, Yoshi eggs and flowers all over the place, and so much more. Toadette even makes an appearance.
The ride itself seems to be a slower ride, most likely geared towards children, and takes you through a course that goes around Super Nintendo World. Each group of guests rides in a different color Yoshi, and it looks to give a great overview of the entire park. We also get a look at some important parts of Yoshi’s history, including a glimpse of Super Mario Galaxy 2, his time with Baby Mario and Peach, his trusty friend Poochy, baby Yoshi, Captain Toad, and more.
Walking Around Super Nintendo World
As guests walk towards Super Nintendo World in Universal Japan, they are greeted to a walkway adorned with score markers from the early games and other Mario items. The entrance of Super Nintendo World features a giant Star on the floor alongside both a pipe to enter the park and a few to take pictures in.
As you walk through the entrance pipe, it feels a bit as if you are traveling through hyperspace. As you walk out of the pipe, you arrive in the entryway of Princess Peach’s Castle, complete with shifting paintings on the wall and the stained glass portrait of her a la Super Mario 64. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad were even waiting outside to greet fans and take photos.
There are so many things to take in and items from Mushroom Kingdom to find and discover like 1-Ups, Fire Flowers, Key Coins, and more. There are also Coin Boxes, Mystery Boxes, and little Mario symbols located around the park that can be interacted with a Power Band to make something special happen like an iconic sound, secret glowing 8-Bit Mario or Bowser, or more. There are also LED walls with enemies that can also be played with.
Music Boxes take over one of the walls in Super Nintendo World, each which light up with different colors. If you hit a few of the same colored boxes in a row, it will reward you with a classic song from Mario’s history.
Much like Disney World and Disneyland’s Hidden Mickeys, there also appears to be Hidden Pikmin all around Super Nintendo World just waiting to be found.
Ultimate Key Challenge Mini-Games are placed around Super Nintendo World, and each have a challenge guests must complete, including having to crank a wheel to defeat a Goomba, repairing a broken Key Coin on an LED screen, hitting POW blocks to make a Koopa shell hit another POW block, one that has you touching an LED screen filled with tiles to switch ? to !, and one that has you turning off a bunch of alarm clocks to not startle a Piranha plant.
Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown
Guests can partake in the Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown, which tasks you with swatting away virtual enemies, ducking to avoid Bullet Bills, and even collecting Fire Flowers to shoot fire at your enemies. When you play, you are looking at your shadow, and you have to physically do all the motions, not unlike Fruit Ninja on the Kinect.
What’s a bit different about this interactive experience is that you have to collect three keys around Super Nintendo World for the chance to face off against Bower Jr.
Super Nintendo World Merchandise and Food
One of the best parts of going to a theme park is the wonderful exclusive merchandise and food you can buy, and Super Nintendo World provides both.
The 1-Up Factory is one of the stores and features a TON of Mario-themed gifts and treats. From chocolate crunch to collectible tin boxes to pins and key chains to t-shirts to figures to water bottles and cups, there appears to be something for everyone.
There are also a wide collection of plush toys, including a row of blocks with hidden 1-ups inside, wearable blankets of Mario and Yoshi, Princess Peach’s Crown, and more. You can find pretty much everything you’d expect to find in a store in Disney World or otherwise, but with a Mario twist.
Mario Motors is another store guests can visit, and it features many gifts themed after Mario Kart, including collectible cookie tins to a Mario Kart wheel filled with chocolates to keychains and pins to exclusive Mario Kart and Power-Up figures. There is even a Blue Shell plushie.
Kiniopio’s Cafe is one of the main dining spots at Super Nintendo World, and it offers a ton of delicious-looking options, most with a bit of Mario flair on them. For example, the Mario burger comes with a Mario hat on top and the Super Star Rice looks like a Star power-up. It is also a sit-down restaurant, and you can see a bunch of virtual Toads in a virtual kitchen cooking up all the food. Some of the food and drink choices include;
- King Bowser’s Hamburger Steak with Bread or Rice
- Fish Bone Meunière with Bread or Rice
- Mario’s Bacon Cheeseburger
- Luigi’s Green Curry Chicken Sandwich
- Teriyaki Chicken and Super Star Rice
- Chef’s Special: Omelet Rice with Shrimp and Mushroom Cream Stew
- Yoshi’s Spinach Carbonara
- Fire Flower Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Piranha Plant Caprese
- Yoshi’s Favorite Fruit and Veggie Salad
- Mushroom Soup
- Super Mushroom Pizza Bowl with Mushroom Tomato Sauce
- Portobello Mushroom Pizza Topped with Bacon and Vegetables
- Kids Hamburger Meal with Mario Figurine Pick
- Kids Curry and Rice Meal
- ? Block Tiramisu
- Goal Pole Cake
- Double Cherry Chocolate Cupcake
- Princess Peach’s Cake
- Super Star Lemon Squash
- Super Star Hot Yuzu Lemonade
Yoshi’s Snack Island is a smaller snack booth that offers guests an array of delicious treats as they explore Super Nintendo World. It has everything from a Green Shell Yakisoba Calzone to Yoshi’s Hot Apple Tea to Yoshi Melon Lassi.
Caramel Peach and Mushroom Cream popcorn can also be purchased at a Popcorn shop in the park. What’s even better is that they come in collectible containers that make a full picture when put together.
For more on Super Nintendo World, check out 8 ways your visit to Super Nintendo World will be gamified, a look at the official website, more details on Super Nintendo World’s area map, merchandise, and cafe items, and all the exciting reveals from the Super Nintendo World Direct that was hosted by Shigeru Miyamoto.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.