Review: 71381 Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter
Posted by Huw,71381 Chain Chomp Jungle Encounter is the smallest and cheapest expansion pack to be released this year, but even so, like many of the Super Mario sets, it seems expensive for what it is: £19.99/$19.99 for 160 pieces.
With that in mind, let's find out what it adds to gameplay.
This set and two of the other new expansion packs utilise medium lilac plates to signify a new biome/world: the soda jungle. Mario can recognise the new colour when he crosses it, but doesn't like it: he becomes progressively unwell as he does so, until he is unable to collect coins. Shaking him, or scanning blue water plates, remedies this.
There are two foes to defeat, a Bramball (a portmanteau of bramble and ball) and a Chain Chomp, which bears a resemblance to a ball and chain and is typified by its large, tooth-filled maws and incessant biting.
The bramball is constructed using two of a new flexible foliage element, 73828 Plant, W/ 3.2 Shaft, No. 3. The flexibility gives the foe a bit of bounce when you stomp on it, which earns one coin.
The main gameplay aspect of the set is to dislodge the chain chomp from its tether by hitting the brown tile in front of its mouth with Mario. It takes a bit of force to do so, and once done the yellow coin box underneath the chain can be accessed. Scanning it multiple times will yield coins for four seconds.
Scanning the barcode on the underside of the chain chomp causes Mario to emit a bark, and display a startled expression and an exclamation mark on his chest. If you have star power, he'll receive 16 coins. (Thanks to Richard at The Rambling Brick for explaining this, and other aspects of gameplay, to me)
Overall it's a bit underwhelming. It looks quite cool I suppose but it doesn't really add much to the gameplay. It requires no skill and is easily mastered once you've discovered the force required and the position to hit.
If you have, or are planning to get, 71382 Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge and 71383 Wiggler's Poison Swamp, it will combine with them to make a nice large soda swamp section of gameplay and that might be reason enough to get it, but if not, I suspect you'll have more fun elsewhere.
The most interesting aspect is the new foliage piece...
It's available at LEGO.com for £19.99/$19.99/€19.99.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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18 comments on this article
I just want this set for pieces :D LOVE the new barbed vine!
This whole theme has a distinct feeling of “We did it because we could, not because it was a good idea.” I love Lego, and I’ve been playing Mario games in their various incarnations for nearly 40 years but even so...
I like strawberry jam and I like roast potatoes, but I wouldn’t combine them.
Still, wouldn’t do if we were all the same, so as long as someone out there is enjoying this theme. I’ll just stick to my not-at-all-divisive Technic!
"you'll have more fun elsewhere"
@BooTheMightyHamster said:
"I’ll just stick to my not-at-all-divisive Technic!"
Sarcasm at its finest. :-)
I do like that new vine piece, though.
Really appreciate these reviews Huw, thanks. I don't get this theme at all (or indeed plan to get any of it) but then I am not the target market and was also never into Mario Bros! Fascinating though to see the use of pieces, the game play and its melding of digital and Lego.
I’m sorry, but this reads like a press release. Only two pictures, one is the set built up? New Elementary is killing it with their reviews, they show the new pieces and building techniques in detail, for example they had “serving suggestions” for the new road plates which were really impressive... I would love to see more in depth reviews of the sets, not only two pictures :( show us pictures of the box, the content of the box, the spare pieces, the reactions of Mario in a GIF or something like that, even when this set is underwhelming, this review looks so rushed.
I hope we see those vine pieces in many other sets going forward, they're lovely.
This set is only 5 Singapore dollars less than the much more fun and engaging (if a little repetitive and less coin-rewarding) Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge, which is surprisingly well-priced as a Mario set in comparison. This set costs more than Whomp's Lava Trouble, when it should be costing less.
Chain Chomp himself is also way too small. He should've been at least a little bit bigger than Mario, considering the large amount of coins he gains from attacking Chain Chomp while invincible.
It does seem rather underwhelming for its price compared to the other two Soda Jungle sets, between which I haven't been able to decide...
@Lego_max said:
"I’m sorry, but this reads like a press release. Only two pictures, one is the set built up? New Elementary is killing it with their reviews, they show the new pieces and building techniques in detail, for example they had “serving suggestions” for the new road plates which were really impressive... I would love to see more in depth reviews of the sets, not only two pictures :( show us pictures of the box, the content of the box, the spare pieces, the reactions of Mario in a GIF or something like that, even when this set is underwhelming, this review looks so rushed."
Thank you for your feedback. Our reviews are in-depth when there's a need for them to be but in this case there was nothing more I felt like writing about it. As I said, it was underwhelming.
There's no need for us to compete with New Elementary: Tim and his his team does a good job of providing unique information for a specific audience and if you enjoy their reviews then I encourage you to continue to read them.
There's also not much point us adding photos of the box and often the contents because that information is available here in the database, something that NE and other sites don't have.
@Huw: FWIW, these comparisons to NE might be my fault... I can tell you that I generally don't expect information about new/rare parts from Brickset reviews, it was specifically 60304 for which NE's review was superior to Brickset's, because the entire point of the new roads was to showcase what was possible with the more flexible customizable road system, which Brickset's review didn't touch on even a little bit, and therefore IMO did somewhat of an injustice to the new system. Many other people agreed that they weren't convinced about the new system by Brickset's review, until they looked at NE's, and I do maintain that it's less of NE doing what it does best, and more that Brickset didn't do it justice.
Has anyone realized just how overpriced LEGO Mario is? Even Bowser’s Castle which has a great price per piece still doesn’t have many features.
@aztecwarrior said:
"Cons
Doesn't include much swamp"
This is what's got me torn between the two bigger sets. Piranha Plant Puzzling Challenge looks fun, but almost none of the soda goop is usable in the default configuration (I can easily swap out the purple plates for green ones though), and apparently the coin reward isn't so great. Wiggler's Poison Swamp has far more usable goop but boring play features compared to the former.
Can't we just appreciate that Chain Chomp build? It doesn't even use any new molds but it's a slicker design than even Bowser.
@Norikins said:
"Can't we just appreciate that Chain Chomp build? It doesn't even use any new molds but it's a slicker design than even Bowser."
I like the use of short Technic beams for chain links similar to the Piranha Plant in 71362, but that's about it. It's just too small. Maybe an additional layer of the black slopes on each side, and using 2x2 round tiles for eyes would've worked better. Provided LEGO didn't then increase the price further, but I guess we can't always rely on them not to do that.
Ever since getting the NES display set, I’m now enjoying LEGO Super Mario! What was I building before? Every single (often boring) LEGO Star Wars & Disney Sets...so, I’m not the target market., but guess what? It’s simply fun!!!
@aztecwarrior said:
"Pros and Cons.
Pros
It includes new rubbery vine pieces
Includes function to pop up chain chomp
Includes two foes
Includes a neat brick built tree
Has some useful parts
Includes 3 interactive digital pieces
Cons
Price is $4. more expensive than what it should be
Doesn't include Mario
Doesn't include much swamp
So, 6 pros and 3 cons. Besides the price, which is only a few dollars more, it is a pretty good set. Of course, it doesn't include Mario so you are practically forced to get the starter pack which is annoying, but it also has a lot of useful pieces and a neat function. I would put this at %65 value"
Man, I can never get enough swamp either.
@aztecwarrior said:
"Pros and Cons.
Pros
It includes new rubbery vine pieces
Includes function to pop up chain chomp
Includes two foes
Includes a neat brick built tree
Has some useful parts
Includes 3 interactive digital pieces
Cons
Price is $4. more expensive than what it should be
Doesn't include Mario
Doesn't include much swamp
So, 6 pros and 3 cons. Besides the price, which is only a few dollars more, it is a pretty good set. Of course, it doesn't include Mario so you are practically forced to get the starter pack which is annoying, but it also has a lot of useful pieces and a neat function. I would put this at %65 value"
Why would it include Mario? That would never make any sense.