Super Nintendo World Japan looks like a Mario level dropped into reality

Even the coins spin in sync

by Jay Peters

Jul 2, 2020, 8:14 PM UTC

Jay Peters is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

We may have just gotten our best look yet at Super Nintendo World, Nintendo and Universal’s upcoming Mario-themed area for Universal Studios Japan — and it looks like a level plucked straight out of a Mario game and dropped into the real world (via Input).

Seriously, take a little over a minute of your day to watch this video of the park, from Twitter:

There’s just a stunning attention to detail. Coins rotating in sync! Hidden pipes! A menacing Pirhana Plant! A stack of Goombas! An angry Thwomp! Yoshi!! Every time I watch the video, I see some clever new feature that I had missed before.

If you want to get an idea of how big Super Nintendo World will be (and just how much of the Mario universe is packed into it), check out this photo, shared in what seems to be a now-deleted Instagram post that was saved by Attractions Magazine. The amount of Mario goodness in this one photo reminds me of a Where’s Waldo book:

Image: Attractions Magazine

And to give you a better idea of how Super Nintendo World compares to other attractions in the park, here’s a zoomed-out photo showing the Harry Potter-themed park nearby:

Image: Attractions Magazine

We still don’t know when people will finally be able to explore Super Nintendo World for themselves, though. The area had been scheduled to open this month, but on Monday, that opening was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Universal Studios Japan reopened in June, but with increased safety guidelines in place.)

We do know a couple things about the land already, however. There will be a ride based on Yoshi (if you look closely at the photos, you can spot what look like Yoshi-themed cars lined up) and one based on Nintendo’s hugely popular Mario Kart series. Visitors also will be able to use a Mario-themed wristband called the “Power Up Band” in combination with a smartphone app to track your activities while in the Nintendo-themed land.

Super Nintendo World is also planned for Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, and Singapore at some point in the future.

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