Nintendo recently held a hands-on showcase event with a bevy of demos for upcoming games. And while less of a focus than the games themselves, the presentation also included an opportunity for a closer look at some of its upcoming products like the new Mario Wonder Amiibo figures and $35 Talking Flower. We had a chance to get hands on with the Alarmo-adjacent doodad and it is certainly a talking flower.
A brief video walked us through the functionality. It will say random phrases from time to time, and you can press a button on the front to prompt it to speak. You can set a wake-up time or bedtime so the flower will wish you well, and that way it’ll stay quiet at night. The phrases shift based on the time of day, and it’s attuned to the room temperature so it can tell you if it’s a little chillier today, and it will alert you if it needs a battery change. In music mode it can activate a “Wonder Mode,” playing the Mario Wonder music.
The oddest feature, so to speak, is the ability to tell the time, but Talking Flower will sometimes tell you the wrong time. In the video demonstration he said it was 10 AM, then quickly corrected himself to say it’s actually 9 AM. What a little scamp! An unreliable, possibly infuriating little scamp.
We played with the demo unit, which basically amounted to pressing the button a bunch of times and hearing some of his randomized phrases. You can also hold down the button to make him stay quiet.
Talking Flower was a big part of Mario Wonder, and now the character will be back as the announcer in Mario Tennis Fever. Nintendo is going all-in on the Talking Flower business. The toy will be available on March 12, just ahead of the March 26 release of the Meetup in Bellabel Park expansion for Mario Wonder.
Speaking of which, you can check out our Mario Wonder + Bellabel Park impressions. And read on for even more from the Nintendo showcase, including impressions of Mario Tennis Fever, Virtual Boy, and Resident Evil 9 and Pragmata.