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If you don’t get one, you’ll have to hope you get lucky with a standby lottery for spaces that didn’t end up getting taken. I say “theoretically” because once you’re inside, you’ll need to use the USJ app to secure yourself timed entry to Super Nintendo World, and space is extremely limited. It goes without saying that everyone was wearing masks, though I was surprised to see a designated “mask-free zone” with some spaced-out benches by the waterfront.Įntry to Super Nintendo World is theoretically covered by a regular USJ one-day ticket, which costs 7,800 yen (about $70) on weekdays or 8,400 yen (about $75) on weekends. While some nearby Asian nations have done better, Japan has been hit far less hard by the pandemic than most Western countries without enforcing strict lockdown restrictions.
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With limits on entry imposed and the fact that USJ and Super Nintendo World are largely outdoors, though, I didn’t feel like this was unusually risky. It’s fair to question the wisdom of opening a theme park at all right now, let alone a new area that’d inevitably boost visitor interest.
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Still, a day out at Super Nintendo World starts out feeling like a regular day at USJ. Both areas are situated at the end of long entrance paths, and you generally can’t see the rest of the park when you’re inside. Super Nintendo World follows the blueprint set by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in that it’s housed within the larger theme park but feels entirely separate. Once travel starts to open up again, it’s going to drive a huge number of visitors. Super Nintendo World is a gleefully surreal experience that pushes surprising technological boundaries. The short answer is that they’ve succeeded. With that in mind, I headed down to Osaka for the opening day to see exactly how Nintendo and USJ would pull this off. Its game design credentials are unimpeachable, but in many ways it’s quite a conservative company, and theme park attractions are not exactly in its wheelhouse. And even in more normal times, this would be new ground for Nintendo. The park is launching under less than ideal circumstances it was originally planned to open ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were also delayed to this year. Well, a global coronavirus pandemic, for one thing. USJ is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Asia, and Universal has experience in the field, having launched the conceptually similar Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed areas at three of its parks, including Osaka. The themed area of the park is Nintendo’s biggest swing yet to leverage its most iconic characters beyond their traditional home of video game consoles. After years of development and delays, Super Nintendo World finally opened this week at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) in Osaka.