In 2016, Universal said it would make movies based on Nintendo games. The new area at Universal Studios Japan opened in 2021, and the first Nintendo attraction in the United States is now open at Universal Studios Hollywood. Resorts World Sentosa is the place where Super Nintendo World is being made for Universal Studios Singapore. It will be part of Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe (RWS).
At Super Nintendo World, the world of Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach comes to life. Based on Nintendo’s video games and characters, the land has fun entertainment and new technology. It has shops and restaurants with a theme and rides that are the first of their kind. Here, we take a look at what we know about the expansions so far.
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Super Nintendo World
At both Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood, there is a themed area called “Super Nintendo World.” It is also being built at Universal Studios Singapore and will be a part of Universal’s Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort.
The area is based on video game series from Nintendo, especially the Mario series and its many spinoffs. It was possible because Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts worked together to make it happen. In May 2015, Nintendo and Universal said they would work on a creative project together.
The next year, it was confirmed that both American Universal Studios parks and Universal Studios Japan would build a Nintendo-themed area. Work on the area of Universal Studios Japan started in June 2017.
The land didn’t open until March 18, 2021, which was a long time after it was supposed to. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Universal Studios Hollywood location opened to the public for the first time on February 17, 2023. Shigeru Miyamoto, who created Mario, helped plan and build a lot of the land and its attractions.
Entry at Super Nintendo World
You can get into Super Nintendo World as part of the price to get into Universal Studios Hollywood. If you want to get into the land in the weeks or months after it opens on February 17, you may need to make a virtual line reservation.
If the land is already taken when you go, there will be a way to wait in a virtual line. After you get into the park, you can use the Universal Studios Hollywood app to see if you need to wait in a virtual line to get into a land.
If there is a virtual line, you can choose a time to go back to the land and enjoy the rest of the park until it’s time to “warp” to Super Nintendo World. Guests with tickets, annual passes, or VIP tours that give them access to Universal Express can use those benefits to get into Super Nintendo World once per day if the land is using the reservation system.
If the land isn’t full, you can go there and start having fun without making a reservation. You can also add a Super Nintendo World Early Access Ticket to your regular admission to get into the park an hour before everyone else.
The prices change every day, but they are usually between $20 and $25, and you can get into the park an hour before it opens. You can also use Universal Express to go on the Studio Tour before 11 a.m. on the day of your visit.
Activities at Super Nintendo World
Like any good video game, Super Nintendo World has a story. As soon as you step through the warp pipe and into the land, your job is to get back the golden mushroom that Bowser Jr. took from Princess Peach’s castle.
Find keys all over the land to finish your mission. Playing a series of games that you can control will help you do this. You can choose from four games, and you have to win three of them before you can fight Bowser Jr. in his lair.
If you can beat Bowser Jr., the golden mushroom will go back to the person who should have it, and you’ll be the winner. In every game, you’ll have to fight enemies like Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plant, and Thwomp.
Some can be done by yourself, while others are easier to do with a group. In Super Nintendo World, you can do more than just finish these “key challenges.” Almost everything you see is meant to be looked at or played with, and all of these things can help you get stamps that will raise your score.
You can get a stamp by meeting Mario and Luigi, punching a pow block, or getting the highest score in Mario Kart. To get coins and stamps, take part in key challenges, and keep track of your score in the land, you’ll need to buy a Power-Up Band.
Power-Up Bands can be bought at kiosks in the land, as well as at Super Nintendo World stores in the park and at CityWalk. There are six designs to choose from, and each band costs $40. Depending on the character you choose, your “team” in the land will be different. Everyone who is playing Power-Up Bands that day and has the same design as you is now on your team.
You can see how your team does compared to other teams on the scoreboards or in the app. You don’t need a Power-Up Band to enjoy the land, but it is definitely worth the money if you want to get the most out of it and compete with your friends and family to see who can get the highest score.
Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
The only ride at Super Nintendo World is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. To get to the ride, you have to go through the huge Bowser’s Castle. Along the way, Mario Kart trophies, other memorabilia, and proof of Bowser’s plan to beat Team Mario are on display in the hallways of his castle.
With this interactive, multisensory ride, you’re in charge of a high-stakes Mario Kart race. Just like in the Mario Kart games you’ve played at home, you can race through familiar courses, throw turtle shells, and fight to beat Team Bowser.
With projection mapping technology, bright physical set pieces, and augmented reality goggles, the popular racing game comes to life in the real world. A roller coaster goes faster than this. It’s not as fast as many other thrill rides at theme parks, but the technology makes it feel like a race.
Each car has four riders, and everyone in your car has to work together to get enough coins to beat Team Bowser. If you “steer” your car in the right direction and use turtle shells to hit the bad guys, you can get coins.
At first, it can be hard to move the car with the steering wheel, but to throw turtle shells, you just have to look at the bad guy you want to hit and press the trigger on your steering wheel. Since you are in charge in Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the outcome of each race is different.
You have to be 40 inches tall to ride Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, and you have to be 48 inches tall to ride without an adult. The only ride in Super Nintendo World right now is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, but that could change in the future.
Yoshi’s Adventure is a second ride at the version of the land at Universal Studios Japan, and in 2024, a Donkey Kong-themed roller coaster will open. When Super Nintendo World opens in 2025 in Orlando’s new Epic Universe, these three rides are likely to be there as well.
Dining at the Super Nintendo World
If you get hungry, you can go to Chef Toad’s Toadstool cafe and choose from a wide variety of themed foods. If you still had things to do, you could get Yoshi’s Favorite Fruit and Veggie Salad instead of the Luigi Burger.
You can also order a special lemonade and Sprite drink with popping boba and mango jelly. Bowser’s Fireball Challenge is for people who like to take chances. It looks like Bowser’s head and is a big spicy meatball wrapped in puff pastry.
Also, if you are looking for Easter eggs, there are four 8-bit characters hidden in displays built into the walls all over the land. Keep an eye out for them with your Power-Up band, which costs $40 at the park.
Conclusion
Super Nintendo World, as a whole, tries to be fun for people of all ages. It would have been great to add more physical challenges or something like an obstacle course. Everyone who wants to play the games in your group will need a Power-Up Band.
This is a way to upsell the trip, just like the magic wands at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area at Universal. The Power-Up Bands can also be used as Amiibos, which lets you unlock character-related features in Nintendo Switch games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
