Donkey Kong Lego Super Mario Expansion Sets Revealed, Preorders Live Now

gamespot.com:

Four Donkey Kong-themed Lego Super Mario expansion sets, including a 1,000-plus piece Mine Cart kit, release on August 1.

By Steven Petite on

After a teaser earlier this week, Lego and Nintendo have officially revealed that Donkey Kong is officially joining Lego Super Mario. Donkey Kong will be joined by other members of the Kong family, including Diddy and Dixie, across four new expansion sets. All four expansion sets release on August 1. As of now, only Donkey Kong's Tree House Expansion Set is available to preorder. The other three were available briefly before returning to the status of «coming soon» at the Lego Store. However, all of the expansions will be available at major retailers, too. You can check out the Donkey Kong expansion sets below. As usual, to take advantage of the «play» element of these sets, you'll need Lego Mario, Luigi, or Peach.

Mine cart levels have always been some of the most challenging and dynamic course types in the Donkey Kong Country series, so it makes sense that they are being adapted into a Lego playset. Diddy Kong's Mine Cart Ride nods back to Mole Miner Max, a boss fight from Donkey Kong Country Returns. It's the largest Donkey Kong-themed expansion, clocking in at 1,157 pieces. The set comes with buildable figures of Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Mole Miner, and Chomps.

In terms of the play aspect here, the mine cart will interact with a Lego Super Mario figure (Mario, Luigi, or Peach). Your job is fix the track and beat the Mole Miner at the end. In addition to the mine cart and rail system, you can build Funky Kong's airplane, which is complete with the balloons he sells in the game and a barrel.

Donkey Kong's Tree House Expansion Set lets you build the iconic treehouse that DK calls