Reznor Knockdown - LEGO Super Mario #71390 - REVIEW

The LEGO 71390 Reznor Knockdown is another expansion set for the LEGO Mario product line.  As with all of the other expansions, this particular set comes with new bad guys, new play features, and new codes for Mario to scan.  The question is, is the set worth it or will this one be knocked down like the titular Reznor?

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Coming in at a rather large 862 pieces, the Reznor Knockdown set has one of the highest piece counts of any LEGO Mario set in the line-up (currently, there are only four other expansion sets with more pieces)!  Of course, more pieces typically means higher cost and this set is also one of the more expensive sets (retail price: $69.99).  

The set comes with two main action components - the large "Ferris wheel" with the Reznors and a smaller see-saw with a Grrol enemy.  In addition, you get Blue Toad to rescue and a yellow pipe that allows for a couple of different modifications to the Mario play experience.  

We'll begin by looking at the Grrol.  This particular enemy rolls back-and-forth on the see-saw as Mario hops from side-to-side getting coins.  It's a simple mechanism but it's prone to "sticking" during actual play.  Overall, it's fine but it doesn't feel like it goes with the rest of the set in my mind (I get what LEGO was going for - kind of a warm-up enemy before the final boss battle with the Reznors but I don't think it quite works here).  

Luckily, the Grrol is really only a small appetizer for the main course:  the rather large Reznor wheel of doom!

The wheel contains four platforms.  Two of the platforms contain Reznors (it's worth noting that the two Reznors are slightly different builds).  The third platform contains a "?" block while the fourth platform is empty (save for a bar code tile) for Mario to stand on as he tries to defeat the Reznors (and also save Blue Toad).

While we are talking about the Reznor wheel of doom, we ought to look at how to beat the Reznors!  As usual, Mario has some tricks up his sleeve - in this case, that trick is an entire battering ram that is positioned just right to knock Reznors off of their spinning perches!

Here, Mario stands on the black platform and slides to move the battering ram in and out.  It's a gloriously simple design that works perfectly (and it looks pretty good too)!

On the other side, we get something designed for the multiplayer aspect that LEGO was shooting for with this wave of LEGO sets.  The idea here is for one character to stand on the gray platform to raise the technic ball joint up high enough to "pop" the yellow "?" tile up.  Then, the second character can hop on the yellow platform and reap whatever rewards the "?" block offers up.  The functionality works fine here and it's a nice way to include multiple people at once - something that I imagine LEGO will try to do with some of their other LEGO Mario sets as well.

The final item to talk about for this set is the yellow pipe.  This was a fun surprise in that the pipe includes a bar code that serves to offer up two different changes to the game.  If you start at a starting pipe (green) and go into the yellow pipe during your exploration of a level, the yellow pipe will give you 15 additional seconds.  On the other hand, if you start in the yellow pipe you get a different sort of challenge:  collect 50 coins as fast as possible!  It's great that there's a second way to play included (and honestly, I feel like the starter sets should include both ways to play).

Despite the relatively high price tag, I honestly believe that this set offers one of the best "bangs for your buck" that you can get in the LEGO Mario line-up.  You get two unique enemies (Grrol plus two Reznors), Blue Toad, a bunch of working mechanisms, plus the Yellow Pipe which offers up two changes to gameplay.  Even better, this was a fun set to build with plenty of gears and other interesting building ideas throughout the entire build process.  It's easily the most intricate of the Mario sets that I've built at least - and certainly the most fun.  Finally, the set even has a nice table presence, something that I can't say is true for many of the other expansions!  This one checks all the boxes - fun to build, fun to play, and fun to display!

The Bottom Line (out of 10):

Fun:  10

Play Value:  10

Kid Value:  10

Adult Value:  9

Overall:  9

I'm reviewing (and ranking) each of the LEGO Mario expansion sets as I build them with my son.  After a couple of rather lackluster expansions, I'm super happy to find one that both he and I love!  If you can get this set for closer to $50-55 I think you have a "must buy" recommendation from me.  That's my only complaint about the set, I do think a retail price of $70 is slightly too high but with the price increase on basically all LEGO sets now, it's probably the new normal that I'll have to get used to!  That being said, this is easily the best expansion set that I've built so far - yep, even topping the Whomp's Lave Trouble set that I loved!

Best LEGO Super Mario Expansions:

1. Reznor Knockdown (9/10)
2. Whomp's Lava Trouble (review link, 9/10)
3. Boomer Bill Barrage (review link, 3/10)
4. Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter (review link, 2/10)

I still have a number of other expansion sets to build and review, so expect more changes to the above rankings as I continue to review other LEGO Mario sets!