I did something I never do when I first saw the Lego Mario & Yoshi set on the shelves - I bought it outright at full price. I've been a deal hunter for years now, I really should know better, but the pixelated promise of a full Super Mario World build in my collection proved too powerful. I paid £114.99 for this set back in October, but if you've managed to hold off for a discount there's a reward waiting at Amazon.
The figure is now available for just £89.99 with delivery ahead of Christmas Day for Prime members. That's a £25 saving on the original RRP, and a return to a record-low price only previously spotted for a few days last month. Considering this is easily in the running as one of the best Lego sets of the year, that's a fantastic result.
This has been a full priced set until very recently (and it remains that way at a number of retailers this week), but has only dropped to £99.99 with any real regularity over the last few weeks. Similar Lego deals are available at other stores, with Very also posting an £89.99 sales price, but I'd stick with Amazon if you need that speedy shipping.
Should you buy the Lego Mario & Yoshi set?
Longtime Mario fans will already have their eyes on this retro set, but anyone with a collection of Lego's gaming icons should be taking note too. After diving headfirst into the Lego Pac-Man Arcade, I started building a suite of video game inspired builds, and it wouldn't be complete without this hero and his dinosaur pal. The build process itself starts easy, then goes full technical, then ends with a super relaxing stud mosaic, reminiscent of the brand's Lego Art range.
That technical squeeze in the middle was the only slightly frustrating part of the experience for me. The entire structure is built off a central platform, hosting all the gears and levers you need for the moving parts (no spoilers here). Smaller pieces seemed to fall off slightly easier compared to other technical builds I've done (the Lego Typewriter being the most complex so far), and lining up larger sections to hook in correctly took a little jimmying as well. I never spent more than a couple of minutes fixing a problem or connecting a cross axle, though.
It was obvious throughout the build, though, that this was going to be one of my favorite Lego sets. Never mind the classic characters, the detail running throughout is impeccable and the finished result runs incredibly smoothly. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to spend a larger chunk of time on a build (it took me just under a week of relaxed building for a couple of hours per day) who already has a few technical sections under their belt.
Of course, there are plenty of upcoming Lego sets to get excited about in the new year, but we're also rounding up all the best gifts for gamers and plenty more of the best Nintendo Switch gifts available right now.
