Super Mario Cereal is a Nintendo fan’s dream — but not because of how it tastes

On Monday, Nintendo and Kellogg’s will launch Super Mario Cereal, and Mario and his new best friend Cappy will be on cereal boxes everywhere — for a limited time, at least. And no, the cereal doesn’t require you to save a princess before eating it.

Super Mario Cereal is similar to many cereals you’d see advertised on a Saturday morning as part of one’s balanced breakfast: Inside the box you’ll find boring beige bits with tasty, sugar-filled bits sprinkled in. Think Lucky Charms, but dehydrated Mario-themed marshmallows rather than hearts, stars and horseshoes.

Maybe you’re thinking Nintendo and cereal don’t really go together. Turns out, this isn’t new territory for the company: In the 1980s, Nintendo launched the Nintendo Cereal System. Check out the commercial touting the breakfast food — come for the cheesy tag lines, stay for the VHS-era “hiss” in the background.

Does Super Mario Cereal taste good?

Super Mario Cereal tastes fine. It’s not terrible, not amazing.

We ate five bowls in a row (because journalism), despite the fact that the food itself isn’t groundbreaking. There’s little here you wouldn’t find in a Lucky Charms or Cap’n Crunch box, save for the Mario marshmallows, which include item boxes, mushrooms and Mario caps.

The real attraction, however, is the back of the box. A Super Mario-themed maze and trivia inspired by the game is sure to keep the Mario fans entertained. And because this is 2017, the box has a near field communication tag built in (the same thing that powers Apple Pay and a bunch of Android capabilities). If you have a Nintendo Switch and the new Super Mario Odyssey, you can hold your device up to the box and unlock in-game features.

Do I need Super Mario Cereal?

It’s probable that few would complain if you gave them a bowl of Super Mario Cereal, since it tastes pretty good (hence the five bowls). But in a blind taste test, you’d likely have a tough time telling apart Nintendo’s offering from other sugary cereals.

But that’s not the point. Nintendo fans will buy it because it’s limited-edition, and to unlock the special features. Parents will buy it for their Nintendo-loving kids for the look on their faces when they get it. And smart people, well they’ll buy it so they can profit in 30 years — if this $500 Nintendo cereal resale is real, just imagine the possibilities.

Don’t buy Nintendo’s cereal expecting it will be any more than an early morning sugar rush. (No, you won’t double in size after eating the marshmallow mushrooms.) Do buy Nintendo’s cereal because it’s a rare piece of Super Mario history.