Talking Flower from Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a jump-scare toy

What began as a quiet Saturday morning turned into an early wake-up call when my girlfriend was startled by the toy saying, “They say the ocean tastes like tears,” while sitting on our nightstand. Nintendo’s Talking Flower borrows the cheery character from Super Mario Bros.

Wonder and turns it into a wise-cracking device that pipes up throughout the day. Designed as a lifestyle product in the vein of the Alarmo alarm clock, it aims to add a little wonder to life — but in practice it behaves more like a jump-scare machine. Setup is straightforward: pick one of 11 languages, set the time, and enter wake and bed times so it won’t speak at night.

There’s no digital display; the Flower announces the hour on the hour and interjects quips at random intervals. You can press a button to make it speak, switch it to mute, or play a brief tune from the game. The manual warns, “Do not drop, hit, or otherwise abuse Talking Flower.” The toy’s unpredictability is its biggest flaw.

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