Photo Update: Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan

Mario and the Nintendo gang are coming in a big way soon to Universal Parks around the world. The first to open will be in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan. Thanks to USJ Information L.C.A.STUDIOS on Twitter we have some great looks into this exciting new land.

Super Nintendo World will open first in Japan, the original home of Nintendo. The Nintendo brand has also been announced for Universal parks in Singapore, Hollywood and Orlando. This rapid use of the brand is expected to bring us numerous lands that are quite similar to each other, much like the Hogsmeade areas that started in Universal Orlando. If so, we can use this first land as a good basis for what to expect stateside.

This new expansion for the Universal Orlando Resort has even been teased a little in the Universal’s Epic Universe announcement.

Now, looking at the image we can clearly see Super Mario-esque elements like the cartoony trees, the “?” block and the moving clouds. It is great to see moving elements as this will help add kinetic energy to the land.

Zooming in we can see part of these moving elements and some of the brick and “?” blocks on the other sides. This is one of the few areas that can currently be seen within the land’s construction so we assume this may be a waypoint of sorts as a taller structure in the land.

Closer to the bottom of this structure we get a better look at the “?” block and an unknown piece that is covered in a blue tarp. Seeing how the “?” blocks do not appear to have a place to move we can assume this covered object is something else.

Perhaps a creature from the game, like this lakitu, could be represented with the smaller movements that appear possible at the base of the covered object.

We can also get a great sense of detail from this shot as we look at the layers of dirt, stone and grass. The trees, while not yet complete, already perfectly mimic the look from the world-renowned Mario games.

Another angle shows off this POW block and adjacent blocks with coins on top. While we cannot confirm, it is safe to assume that these blocks will be spinning on top of their respective blocks. You can also see, where the POW and coin-topped blocks are attached, that there is room for movement here as well.

An iconic part of the games is the flag at the end of each level which is clearly seen here on top of the main structure. We hope to see construction workers in future photos for a proper way to scale all of these objects. But, for now, we can assume that each guest is to be the size of Mario. If so, each block would be approximentally 2 feet long in each direction, a little over twice the size of a basketball. The blocks seen here may differ in size though because of the use of forced perspective.

This technique is used frequently in theme parks to make things seem smaller or larger than they really are by skewing the size of objects as they get farther away from guests. Main Street U.S.A. and Cinderella Castle use this to make the buildings feel taller than they actually are.

Super Nintendo World is coming soon to Japan and elsewhere in the world in the years to come. This major franchise is a huge win for the Universal Parks and Resorts group and we are excited to see how they implement this property through rides, merchandise, food, shows and more.