The best LEGO Nintendo sets to unleash your inner child

Haven't yet got yourself a Nintendo Switch 2? Don't panic and chill with these Nintendo LEGO sets instead...

An image of Mario Kart LEGO
(Image credit: LEGO)

Some things just work well together: tea and toast, gin and tonic, Kermit and Miss Piggy. Another duo that is trying hard to muscle in on this list is Nintendo and LEGO, as this best LEGO Nintendo sets list proves.

Since their official link-up back in 2020, LEGO has made some stunning Nintendo sets. The initial batch were strictly for kids (not that this didn't stop us from having a go), blurring the lines between digital and analog play, with the arrival of an interactive LEGO Mario figure who could collect coins within the LEGO bricks.

The partnership soon blossomed to go beyond this, however, and create some 18+ sets ready and waiting to be built. Oh, and that age rating isn't because they are pure filth (Nintendo would never veer down that rude road), but because they are complex and take a long time to piece together.

With patience comes pleasure, though, something I can attest to as we have been busy building a number of the below Nintendo LEGO sets.

As you will read below, I have narrowed it down to 5 very special sets — all of which will give you that power-up Star invincibility feeling when you build them.


Nintendo LEGO

(Image credit: LEGO)

1. Mario Kart – Mario & Standard Kart

The ultimate drive time

Specifications

Pieces: 972
Recommended age: 18+

Mario Kart is one of the greatest things to come out of the Mario pantheon — there's a very good reason that Mario Kart World has been chosen as the main Switch 2 launch game — and this LEGO recreation is fantastic fun.

This is the newest Nintendo LEGO set on this list and I found it quite a complex build at first, but once the frame of the kart is built then it's all about layering on the Mario goodness, and it becomes a lovely engrossing build.

Size wise it's more compact than you would think, being 32cm long — a perfect shape to sit on a shelf to admire once built.


Nintendo LEGO

(Image credit: LEGO)

2. Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi

SNES-era style

Specifications

Pieces: 1215
Recommended age: 18+

If you are looking for the ultimate retro room decor, then I can't recommend this Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi LEGO set enough.

It's comprised of 1,215 pieces and, once built, creates a pixelated effect that will bring your right back to the '90s. Not only that, this thing moves, too, thanks to a hidden handle on the back of the piece. Crank this and it looks like Mario is riding Yoshi and looking for his next adventure.

You can also choose between two Yoshi appearances, one of which takes advantage of Yoshi's bulbous tongue.

There's an 'action tag' on the set, too, so it can interact with other Mario characters from LEGO's burgeoning collection.


Nintendo LEGO

(Image credit: LEGO)

3. Piranha Plant

A build with bite

Specifications

Pieces: 540
Recommended age: 18+

This is one of the smaller builds on this best Nintendo LEGO list but that doesn't make it any less fun! It's a brilliant recreation of Mario's flower-based enemy, complete with a posable mouth (mind those teeth) and a plant pot for the flower to go in.

There's also a fun, secret coin element to the build, too. This one should only take an afternoon to put together but you'll have hours of fun playing with the thing once you have created it.


Nintendo LEGO

(Image credit: LEGO)

4. The Legend of Zelda: Great Deku Tree 2-in-1

Give this tree some life

Specifications

Pieces: 2500
Recommended Age: 18+

At some 2,500 pieces this is one of the biggest LEGO sets in this list (not the biggest, mind, read on for that one). It's also here to spoil Mario's party — this is meant to be a best Nintendo LEGO list after all, not just a Mario love-in.

For Zelda fans young and old, this set has it all. There are two minifigure versions of Link, plus Young Link and Princess Zelda are included.

And the build can be done two ways: the tree as seen in Ocarina Of Time or the one in Breath Of The Wild. Both builds are great and whichever you choose will instantly show off your age — so choose carefully, fellow kids.


Nintendo LEGO

(Image credit: LEGO)

5. The Mighty Bowser

Build the Bossman...

Specifications

Pieces: 1807
Recommended Age: 18+

Everyone loves a bad guy and The Mighty Bowser may well be the baddest of the lot — which must have been the reason that attracted Dennis Hopper to the role all those years ago.

This LEGO set is a brilliant recreation of the ultimate bossman, and is as big and bawdy as the character portrayed.

There are some 2,807 bricks in the box (some 300 more than the Zelda build). Once built, it sits 32cm high and has its very own display stand which comes with two towers and a hidden POW Block.

The model is highly posable, will work with the interactive Mario figures and will have you singing "Peaches, Peaches, Peaches" to yourself all day long.

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.

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