My son (and I) have been having a blast building and playing with our LEGO Mario sets. As such, we've been ripping through a number of the expansion sets (see all my LEGO Mario reviews here). For today, it's time to look at the next expansion set that we built: LEGO 71381: Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter.
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The Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter set contains a rather small 160 pieces and originally retailed for $19.99. The set features two main bad guys: the titular Chain Chomp along with a much lesser known bad guy named Bramball. Both of the bad guys are unique to this set (as of the time of this post at least). In addition to the two bad guys, there's also a coin box with a bar code that the LEGO Mario (or Luigi/Peach) figure can scan and interact with.
The Chain Chomp is a fairly classic Mario enemy, dating all the way back Super Mario Bros 3 if my memory serves. However, the Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter set features purple plates representing poison which I don't think entered the Mario universe until somewhere around the time of the Nintendo Wii. There's no doubt that Chain Chomp is the star of the set (as if the set's name didn't give that away already). I love the fact that the Chain Chomp is attached by a red pin that is designed to pop out (much like how Mario can "butt slam" the post in the first level of Mario 64 and free the Chain Chomp). There's even a play action in this set with a seesaw of sorts that is designed to "pop" out the Chain Chomp's pin (unfortunately, that particular play feature doesn't necessarily work consistently at all).
Unlike Chain Chomp which has roots in some of the oldest Mario games, the other enemy in the set, Bramball, is a much newer enemy (first appearing in a single level in New Super Mario Bros Wii). He's known for taking high steps with his viney legs - and Mario can usually scoot underneath one foot at a time to get by the enemy unscathed.
Both enemies look quite good in LEGO form, but unfortunately the Bramball suffers from having his feet "stuck" to the base plate - he's virtually impossible to actually play with without breaking him!
In the above photo, you can more easily see the coin block that the Chain Chomp is protecting. Hitting the little lever is supposed to knock the Chain Chomp's harness pin free - and it does work once in awhile but for the most part my son and I had to resort to popping the pin with our hands. Kind of a bummer that it didn't work better since that's the only real play feature of the set!
The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun: 2
Play Value: 1
Kid Value: 3
Adult Value: 3
Overall: 2
This is the second lackluster Mario set we've reviewed in a row, but the good news is that I can promise that not all of the Mario sets are duds! That being said, it's hard for me to find much to recommend here in the Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter. The Chain Chomp himself is great (including the simple but effective LEGO chain) but the lack usability of the Bramball hurts this little set a lot. Compounding the set's problems is a single action feature which barely works - and yeah, you've got a set that is probably best skipped.
That all said, I'm reviewing the sets as my son and I build and play with them (in the exact order we build them). Thus, there's a chance that ratings will get moved up (or down) depending on what comes in future sets - I've got quite a few Mario sets squirreled away for "rainy days." As you can see, even with the relatively few sets that we've built and reviewed thus far, our LEGO Mario level is actually quite impressive!
For now though, here's my ranking of the best of the LEGO Super Mario Expansions:
Best LEGO Super Mario Expansions:
1. Whomp's Lava Trouble (review link, 9/10)
2. Boomer Bill Barrage (review link, 3/10)
3. Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter (2/10)
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