LEGO 71408 Super Mario Peach’s Castle Expansion Set

Now it has to be said that we are a complete family of Lego nuts in this household and have amassed an enormous collection of the brightly coloured bricks over the years. We always try to leave unbiased reviews and I will be honest and say that, as much as we love our Lego, not all sets are created equally. We have had a few horrendously designed sets in the past which, to be fair, isn’t usually the case so we were expecting good things from this set. We are also huge Mario fans and we have previously purchased almost the entire 1st wave set of Lego Mario builds that were originally released including the all important starter set. The 2nd wave featured and focused heavily on Luigi and this 3rd wave set now balances the male gender bias and showcases the indomitable Princess Peach in all her glory along with the paraphernalia and scene settings you would come to associate with her Royal loveliness. All 3 series are great in their own right but just remember to play with any of these sets and take full advantage of the interactive features you ultimately need to purchase a starter set and own a smartphone. Without access to a smartphone this particular set just becomes a more than usual expensive set of themed bricks. Now, whilst the odd set occasionally doesn’t stack up quite as well as it should or could, I am pleased to say that in this case at least, Lego have given the public a great set with a huge amount of versatility and playability. Here is our collective family feedback and final thoughts having played with the set for a good solid month.

Princess Peaches Castle play-set is presented here ideally as an accompaniment to one of the main sets required for you to be able to use any of these expansion packs. It does however feel like one of the better sets in this 3rd wave release, at least, in my humble opinion it does. Character wise, you receive no less than 5 different figures which include the iconic Bowser himself as well as great looking Ludwig and Toadette characters. I love all of the characters and their interactive elements and I have to say that Bowser has been particularly well done and was highly enjoyable to build, with his trademark angry facial expression. Ludwig’s hair is really amusing and Toadette’s likeness had been captured perfectly. All of the character pieces can be moved freely around and positioned independently as you interact and play with your final build. There are so many different play aspects built into this set including a secret room, revealed by a spinning wall piece, and a Goomba hidden inside a giant cake. He is revealed by jumping on a small activation panel that causes him to explode out of the top of the cake which is utterly hilarious! That play piece was an instant hit with my children, and it has to be said, me too. The fifth and final figure includes a Bob-omb, although I will add that this character has previously been available in multiple other sets so is not really unique for this particular setup. A tad disappointing but certainly not a major complaint. One unique and rather pleasing inclusion in this set was the build of a special yellow pipe, which when activated plays the classic Peaches castle theme tune, that any one who has ever played with, or owned a Mario game will instantly recognise. We had immense fun and my kids, and I, really loved the final set as well as enjoying large portions of the build on this one too.

I do find that part of the draw to these themed sets is the ability to grow your Mario character line up by way of purchasing different sets. Inevitably you will always receive a few duplicates but I would have like to have seen one of the lesser common character pieces included here. Lego have played it smart though as you will most likely feel the urge and need (or at least your children will) to expand your character roster, and at some point this urge will propel you to your nearest stockist to part with some of your hard earned cash simply to add a new and iconic character. Try as you may, you can’t escape your destiny – lol!

The usual challenges of collecting coins and defeating enemies applies, and as per the Mario and Luigi sets which have preceded this iteration of the brand and theme, all play is supposed to be completed within a set time limit to allow Peach, or as this is an expansion set. Mario or Luigi to also ‘run the course’. Collecting digital coins, knocking off and subsequently jumping on the digital codes placed on your enemies backs is clearly the main aim of the game, although to fully reap the rewards of this you will need to own a smart phone. Without a phone you are limited on being able to make the most of the full interactive play element to which these sets have been designed and centred around. As I alluded to earlier in my review, when viewed as a basic Lego set, i.e not used alongside a smart phone, the set is actually pretty expensive on a pence per piece ratio. The manufacturers have clearly and purposefully aimed this set towards a digitally engaged customer demographic. It’s clever marketing and really helps bring Lego into the 21st century in terms of trying to future proof and develop the brand, whilst gaining and capturing new, and old, users coming to the toy brick marketplace.

There are a number of additional expansion sets that you can purchase separately to further grow your ‘world’. What is great here though is that as well as these great new sets, all of the previous Mario and Luigi sets are fully backwards compatible with your new Princess Peach wave of sets and vice-versa. If, like our household, you own several other similar sets, the interactive play element here is hugely expansive and incredibly engaging for your children.

In summary, this Princess Peaches Castle Expansion set is absolutely brilliant. I really can’t find anything to fault or dislike with this product at all. It’s marketed and aimed at ages 7+ on the box and it’s pretty simple and easy to build, although I would suggest any child under 7 years old would more than likely need some adult support and guidance to help put this together. Our youngest is 5 and a half and he has no issues using his iPad to follow along with the build instructions, and he loves seeing his digital world grow alongside his physical one. I think Lego have got the mark just right with this set although there is one small caveat here, as with most Lego themes to be fair, it can become quite expensive to keep up with every release in this theme. You don’t technically need to collect all the sets although it’s a compelling part of Lego’s success story here and you will undoubtedly find your children asking you for the next in the line set at some point in the coming weeks post build. Be prepared to see you wallet take a heavy hit if you do relent though. Gulp! All else is great though and you truly won’t be disappointed. This is yet another great quality set which provides your family a significant amount of play longevity and value for money. Simple brilliant!