Super Nintendo World review: A guide to Universal’s Mario mecca
Visiting Super Nintendo World for the first time feels just as joyful as booting up Super Mario’s greatest hits.
Built straight from the imagination of master designer Shigeru Miyamoto, it’s a disservice to refer to Super Nintendo World as a simple attraction: it feels totally unique among the other offerings at Universal Studios Japan – the theme park which houses it – especially in terms of its attention to detail, and how engaging the park is with its visitors. You don’t feel like a visitor, but a player.
Thanks to the combination of a smartphone app and special wristbands, interactive elements and secret Easter Eggs are littered everywhere around Nintendo World’s colourful Mushroom Kingdom-inspired landscape, with all the imagination and attention to detail we’ve come to know from the Japanese giant’s greatest games.
The rides themselves, while a thrill to experience (especially Mario Kart), don’t quite live up to the quality bar set by the park itself, but as a vehicle for Nintendo World’s app gamification, they’re a definite success.
Super Nintendo World officially opened in Osaka on March 18, 2021, but VGC was able to visit the park early for three days as part of a technical rehearsal. Here’s everything we learnt about Universal’s Mario Wonderland…
Videos included in this feature were supplied by GameXplain.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World will officially open on February 17, 2023, the park has announced.
When it opens, America’s first Nintendo World will house an augmented reality Mario Kart ride set within Bowser’s Castle, a Toadstool Café and a 1-Up Factory merchandise store.
In addition, visitors will be able to purchase Power-Up Bands to play interactive games around the park and track their
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