Unlike traditional Lego figurines, the Mario figure is large and electronic,[a] with the eyes, mouth and chest use an LED display.

For example, if the scanner scans the color red, Mario will detect it as lava and pretends to "lose a life".

This set includes a full size replica of the console with a cartridge and controller and a miniature CRT TV which displays gameplay of Super Mario Bros.' World 1-1.

[12] The TV supplies a crank, which when turned, can make the game scroll manipulating the 8-bit Mario on the screen move.

While unrelated to the original theme, the TV can connect with the interactive Mario figurine, causing it to make sound effects when winding the crank.

[14] In addition, The Lego Group built a life-sized model of Super Mario who appears in the video game.

Pressing the various buttons will elicit different reactions that match up with what happens when regular Lego Super Mario stands on certain types of bricks.

Another design involved the figure having a giant screen to display Mario's face, but decided against it due to the vacant void left when being turned off.

[20] The design went through rigorous testing for durability and strength, resulting in Nintendo dropping 6,000 prototypes to ensure its quality.

The sound effects that are emitted from the figure were newly recorded lines from Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, as well as music from composer Koji Kondo.

[24] In July 2020, Design Manager Jonathan Bennink and Marketing Director Christian Munk discussed the Lego Group and Nintendo became close collaborators on Super Mario.

Jonathan Bennink explained, "But there is also LEGO DNA at the core of it because after that rough patch that we had, with management saying “where are the bricks?”, in one of the online brainstorms we came up with the idea of the start and the finish.

"[35] Jonathan Bennink and Christian Munk revealed why Super Mario took four years to develop and what they learned from Lego Dimensions.

Because a lot of tech toys out there, they are fun for maybe a day, and then they drop off and here we hope there is a longevity in building levels, just coming up with your own ideas and putting your own creativity into it, and then sharing that with people around you.

and Christian Munk explained, "Just to build on that, what also makes me really proud is we have probably one of the first truly interactive play experiences from the LEGO Group.

[93] The theme received generally positive reviews, with most claiming it is a perfect item for kids, but can work for Lego and Mario fans.

[94][95] CNET's Scott Stein described the theme to be "solid summer entertainment" which allowed for something to do during lockdown, praising the cute, simplistic to build sets as well as the amount of intractability with the theme but criticized the overwhelming amount of open design and a lack of replayability.

In the review, he summarized that the Mario figurine is very charming and quite likable as well as citing the simplicity being better suited for younger audiences.

[98] In The Telegraph's review, Tom Hoggins felt that the homages in the sets added charm to the overall product, praising the idea as a whole, but did point out that the price range of the sets didn't seem to match with the age range, adding the pricing was more for Lego collectors.

[101] In November 2020, Adventures with Mario Starter Course was listed on the Top Toys for Christmas 2020 as selected by ITV's This Morning.

[106] In 2020, Adventures with Mario Starter Course (set number: 71360) was awarded "DreamToys" in the Licensed To Thrill category by the Toy Retailers Association.

[107] In 2021, Lego Super Mario won the NPD Group's Global and European Toy Industry Performance Awards.