Once I laid eyes on the Lego Nintendo Entertainment System, I knew that it would be an impressive, fun, nostalgic build. After saving up to cover the high (but honestly fair) price tag of $230, I documented the build experience so that you will know if it’s worth it for Lego and Nintendo fans to pick one up (spoiler: of course it is!).

The build process

The Lego Nintendo Entertainment System is split up into 2 discrete parts, the Television, with an endless, scrolling Mario, and the NES console itself, with controller and game cartridge. All of 2646 pieces are conveniently split into several bags, each corresponding to a section of the instructions. This means that you only need to dump out a small number of bricks at a time, instead of having to sort through the whole lot throughout the build.

I started my build with the television, which is the most intricate and interesting part of the model considering all of the moving mechanics. The belt system which drives the scrolling Mario level on the TV is one of the best examples of Lego engineering that I’ve seen in recent years and it was an absolute joy to see it come to life before my eyes. Even after literally putting it together myself, I blown away by the ingenuity and creativity in this set.

The mechanics of the belt-scrolling Mario level were fascinating to build.

The console was more of a sculptural build with a lot of grey bricks providing the shape of the NES console which itself was quite grey and boxy. The mechanics of the spring-loaded game slot where impressive though, and there was one delightful surprise which we will discuss in the next section.

Accuracy and details

The NES console is designed to more-or-less be a 3/4 scale replica of the actual Nintendo Entertainment System. I can say without a doubt, after comparing the Lego model to a real-life NES, that Lego has absolutely nailed it (with a couple exceptions). The console itself is scaled correctly while the overall curves and outlines of the device are spot-on. The top grating and the cartridge slot door in particular are handles very gracefully with some clever use of non-standard brick arrangements.

My only quibbles come from the game cartridge and the controller. First, the cartridge itself feels a bit flat with almost no details on the underside. The visible green bricks which represent the PCB are a nice tough however. The controller is very accurate, but for some reason they seem to have gone with a full 1-to-1 scale for the controller which leaves it a bit odd when stacked up against the 3/4 scale console. The A and B buttons are a bit chunky too, which is an understandable limit of using Lego parts.

The TV set is less limited by the fact that it’s not based on a particular real-world product. The scale and features are convincing though, and the finishing touches such as a clicky channel changer knob are especially impressive. My only complaint with the TV is the parts used to represent the Goombas and other objects in the mock world 1-1 level. Compared to the large Mario sprite (possibly the best single Lego part in the set IMHO), the Goombas, turtle shells, and mushrooms look downright silly. Lego was trying to go with a single brick grid, but in doing so, the scale is a little wonky.

The micro-scale level 1-2 “warp zone” was a very pleasant surprise.

The finishing touches are what really set the entire model apart and turn it into a true Lego masterpiece. Everything from the RCA ports, to the Power and reset buttons, and represented in superb accuracy along with accurate labels which use the correct fonts (no stickers are used except for a label on the back of the TV and on the game cartridge). As if these details weren’t enough, Lego had the sheer audacity to include an Easter egg on the side of the main console in the form of a micro-scale representation of the warp zone at the end of level 1-2, aka the first cave level of Super Mario Bros. If I had one complaint, it would be the fact that there is no “video cable” connecting the NES console to the TV.

For anyone that has one of Lego’s kid-oriented Super Mario sets, they’ve built in color coded “triggers” along the internal belt-scrolling system so that Mario can play sound effects when mounted in a secret compartment on top of the TV. It was almost enough to make me spring for the $60 Mario starter kit.

Final thoughts

The Lego Nintendo Entertainment System has exceeded my expectations in everything from the joyful build and the dozens of tiny details that only an original NES owner would appreciate. If you are remotely interested in Lego and Nintendo, this is the set to save up for!