Thursday, July 23, 2026
Technology

Lego’s Donkey Kong arcade machine lets Mario jump endless barrels — Miyamoto is reportedly happy

Carl Merriam has designed some of my favorite nostalgia-inducing Lego sets, including the Lego Nintendo Game Boy and Piranha Plant. He's assisted on the incredible Lion Knights' Castle, Galaxy Explorer, and Pirates of Barracuda Bay. Now, he's helped the company create a Donkey Kong arcade machine se...

Lego’s Donkey Kong arcade machine lets Mario jump endless barrels — Miyamoto is reportedly happy
Image: The Verge

Carl Merriam has designed some of my favorite nostalgia-inducing Lego sets, including the Lego Nintendo Game Boy and Piranha Plant. He's assisted on the incredible Lion Knights' Castle, Galaxy Explorer, and Pirates of Barracuda Bay.

Now, he's helped the company create a Donkey Kong arcade machine set that managed to win even Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto's favor - or so he's told.

It doesn't play quite like Donkey Kong, of course. Jumpman, the character that would be renamed Mario, can never reach the top under his own power. But like Lego's $230 pinball machine, it does contain a basic fully functional game. There's a working joystick …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Originally published at The Verge

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