Here's How Super Mario Cereal Works (And Tastes)

Hands-on
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Here's how Super Mario Cereal works with your Switch — and how it tastes, too.

You've probably played Super Mario Odyssey by now. But have you tasted it?

Nintendo's new Super Mario Cereal lets you enjoy a sugary rush of grains and marshmallows inspired by the iconic Italian plumber, while also scoring some extra items in the new game. But is the cereal any good? We got our hands on a box before the cereal hits supermarkets on Dec. 11, and did the hard work of eating a bunch of it to deliver you some crucial hands-on (and mouths-on) impressions.

Let's start with the box, which features a Mario-themed maze on the back as well as a variety of simple Mario trivia questions. But the real kicker is its amiibo functionality, which allows you to scan the back of the box to your Nintendo Switch to get a few goodies in Super Mario Odyssey.

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

The box works like any other amiibo that isn't specific to Odyssey. If you scan it while talking to Uncle Amiibo in any of the game's worlds, he'll reveal the location of a Power Moon. He also acknowledges the box as a "delicious amiibo," which made me chuckle.

MORE: 9 Tips for Mastering Super Mario Odyssey

If you scan the box anytime else, you'll get a few extra coins. Note that the scannable part of the box is located right on the back, meaning you could theoretically take your Switch to the supermarket and scan a box on the shelf without buying it. (Not that we condone such misuse of cereal.)

As far as taste goes, Super Mario Cereal is basically Lucky Charms. You've got your fairly plain oats (which are shaped like stars) that are mixed in with sugary colored marshmallows. The marshmallows are meant to look like mushrooms and question blocks, but they all looked like indistinguishable blobs in the final product. If you like sugary cereal, you'll probably like this.

Overall, Super Mario Cereal isn't anything game-changing, both in terms of taste and amiibo functionality. Still, it's a fun, silly collector's item for Mario fans, and will likely put a smile on any little ones in your life that spend their days glued to their Switch. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few more colorful marshmallows to inhale before I get back to collecting Moons.

Images: Henry T. Casey/Tom's Guide

Michael Andronico
Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.