Super Mario

Dry Bowser Castle Battle Expansion Set

A hulking skeleton king, a secret basement, and the best Mario expansion yet.

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 71423 · 2023

Pieces1,321

Minifigs5

Year2023

Set number71423

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The verdict

This is the Super Mario expansion set that finally made me sit up.

Dry Bowser himself is a big, stocky, genuinely intimidating build, and the hidden basement full of plans to storm Peach's castle is the kind of detail I love finding. Just know going in that it's an expansion, so you need a separate Mario, Luigi, or Peach starter to actually play the game features. If you already own one of those, this is close to a must-have.

Best for: Super Mario fans who already own a Mario, Luigi, or Peach starter course

The full review

Let's get one thing out of the way first. Dry Bowser is the skeletal, undead version of Bowser, the one that falls into the lava and comes back as a pile of angry bones, and LEGO® set 71423 turns him into a hulking centerpiece you can actually stare down. He's stocky, he's sturdy, and even though his legs don't move, his arms swing around freely and his face has this permanent scowl that sells the whole thing. Sitting on top of his castle platform, he genuinely looks the part. This is the biggest and most ambitious of the Super Mario expansion sets, and at 1,321 pieces it earns that reputation.

The castle underneath him is where the play features pile up. You get a Bowser-jaw entrance that opens and closes, a crane to hoist the trapped Purple Toad to safety and topple Dry Bowser, flippers to knock out the Bone Piranha Plant and Bone Goomba, and a Magmaargh attack function that lunges out at you. There's even a little gym for Dry Bowser, which is a silly, brilliant touch that made me grin. But the detail that won me over is the secret basement. Underneath the platform is a hidden strategy room stashed with plans of Peach's castle and maps to reach it, and finding that after building the whole thing feels like a proper reward.

The crane, I'll be straight with you, is the weak link. It looks good but it wobbles, and reviewers noted it detaches from the castle the moment kids start playing hard, with the cage breaking pretty easily too. The bigger catch is that this is an expansion set, not a standalone game. You need a Mario, Luigi, or Peach starter course (all sold separately) to open up the interactive scanning and points. Without one you still get a great display and playset, but you miss half the point. At roughly $110 that's worth knowing before you commit.

Here's where I land on it. If you already own a starter course and your kid (or you) is into Super Mario, this is close to essential, and it looks fantastic parked next to the regular Bowser's Castle. If you're brand new to the LEGO Mario line, budget for a starter first or you'll only be getting part of the experience. And if you just want a big, characterful villain build for the shelf, honestly, Dry Bowser holds his own on looks alone. It's a very good set with a couple of real caveats, and it's since retired, so it's worth grabbing if you spot one at a fair price.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build splits into two clear jobs, and they feel different. First you tackle Dry Bowser himself, and it's a satisfying, chunky build with a lot of internal structure to make him stand solid, plus the jointed arms that give him a bit of pose-ability. Then you move to the castle platform, which is where the mechanisms live. You're building linkages for the crane, the flippers, the opening jaw, and the pop-out Magmaargh, so there's real Technic-style function work tucked under the studs. The pacing stays varied enough that it never turns into a slog, and the hidden basement reveal near the end keeps things interesting.

On pieces, the headline is the figures. Five characters come in the box, four of them exclusive to this set at release: Dry Bowser as the star, plus the Magmaargh, Bone Piranha Plant, Bone Goomba, and a Purple Toad. Those printed and molded character parts are the real value here, since you won't find most of them elsewhere. Beyond the figures you get a good haul of dark and bone-colored elements, chains, fire pieces, and Key Block and Treasure Chest Block components for the game mechanics. At 1,321 pieces for around $110 the per-piece math is fair rather than a steal, but the exclusive figures and the working play features are where your money actually goes.

Fun facts

01Dry Bowser debuted in 2006's New Super Mario Bros. on the DS, appearing after Bowser falls into lava and comes back as a skeletal, undead version of himself who's immune to fireballs.
02In the games he's treated as the king of the Dry Bones, which is why this set pairs him with skeletal enemies like the Bone Goomba and Bone Piranha Plant.
03The secret basement hides plans and maps to Princess Peach's castle, a nod to the fact that this is an expansion meant to connect to the wider LEGO Super Mario game.
04At 1,321 pieces this was one of the largest LEGO Super Mario expansion sets, and it's designed to sit alongside the standard Bowser's Castle for a full villain lineup.