Universal Studios Japan starts Super Mario Sunshine-style soaking wet Power Up Summer event

Fans encouraged to dance, douse, and defeat an old Mario foe.

Summer may be hot and humid in Japan, but it’s also when students and families go on vacation. That makes this the prime amusement park season, so it’s great that Universal Studios Japan’s newest attraction is all about cooling off by getting blasted with water, while also helping Nintendo’s Super Mario defeat an old (but also young) foe.

Tuesday marked the start of the Osaka theme park’s Super Mario Power Up Summer program, part of its annual No Limit Summer series of special shows and rides. Though Universal Studios Japan has a whole section of its park, Super Nintendo World, dedicated to Mario, Super Mario Power Up Summer is being held in USJ’s Gramercy Park plaza, with a giant stage filled with colorful pipes, question mark blocks, and power-ups from the video game series.

Billed as USJ’s first bishonure or “soaking wet” event in four years, the park is emphasizing the interactive/participatory elements of the show, with guests encouraged to dance and pose along with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and other on-stage performers to music from the Super Mario series, and while shooting water from their own water guns and being doused by the performers. As the crowd collectively clears challenges, water cannons embedded in the pipes will soak them even more.

Of course, any mention of Mario and water cannons will have fans immediately thinking of Super Mario Sunshine, the GameCube title in which the gameplay revolves around using jets of water in creative ways. So naturally Bowser Jr., the source of Mario’s troubles in Sunshine, will be trying to crash each and every Super Mario Power Up Summer show.

▼ Bowser Jr. makes his entrance

The Super Mario Power Up Summer show takes place three times a day, at 2, 3:50, and 5:40 p.m., and will be going on until August 24.

Source, images: PR Times
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