Lego’s ongoing partnership with Nintendo has produced some of its all-time great sets, including a buildable NES replica, a posable Bowser and the two-in-one Great Deku Tree set. Next off the production line is a brick-built tribute to the arcade game that started it all, with the 1,371-piece Lego Donkey Kong Arcade.
Aimed primarily at its nostalgic adult audience, this playable replica of the classic Donkey Kong arcade cabinet features a working lever that you pull to release one of the 21 included barrels. The joystick controls Jumpman (or Mario, before he became known as Mario) and you press the button to make him leap over the oncoming obstacles. It’s functionally similar (if understandably a bit simplified) to the game you’d have found in a real-life arcade all those years ago, only smaller and, crucially, completely free to play after the initial purchase for as long as you wish.
The set recreates in impressive detail the iconic scaffold and ladders that make up the first level of the Donkey Kong arcade game, and features Jumpman, the original DK and the damsel in distress referred to only as “Lady” at the time. She eventually became Pauline.
Flip the set around and you can see the working barrel-shifting mechanism at the back of the cabinet. It’s all remarkably intricate, and just as impressive as the crank-operated Pac-Man set that Lego put out a few years ago (and is about to be retired for good, in case you haven’t picked it up yet).
The $200 Lego Donkey Kong Arcade launches August 1, and is available to pre-order now.
