Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo review

I picked up the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo when Nintendo announced it last October for a limited-time release through their store. I got curious: a motion-sensing alarm clock that wakes you up with sounds from Mario, Zelda, and other Nintendo games? If you love Nintendo as much as I do, the Alarmo can make your mornings fun. Sleep in and expect to hear Bowser yell at you. Sit up and you get a cheer from Mario. Most novelty gadgets lose their appeal after a few days, but Alarmo’s charm has held up surprisingly well. And I’ve been using it ever since.

Now that the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo is available at Best Buy Canada, let’s take a closer look at what makes this quirky little clock worth waking up for.

Getting started with the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo

The Alarmo’s design is peak Nintendo. This round, toy-like alarm clock features a red plastic shell, stubby black legs, and a glowing white knob on top. Though the body overall makes it seem round, its 2.8-inch screen is rectangular, which is noticeable in the dark when you can clearly see the screen’s outline. The contrast fits the playful look.

Setting it up takes about 10–15 minutes. Most of it involves answering a few questions and doing light stretches in bed. The clock walks you through everything—where to place it, how to position it, and how to test the motion sensor. When checking the sensor zone, I had to lie down in bed and move slightly, and the screen showed a little icon that indicated where my movement was detected in relation to the sensor’s range. It made setting up easier, helping me confirm I’d placed the clock in the right spot. The clock is meant to sit close to your bed, ideally just a little above mattress height. Too high or too far, and the sensor won’t pick up your movement correctly. For larger beds, Alarmo can now track motion from up to 50cm away if configured correctly.

You control Alarmo using the glowing knob: twist to scroll and push to select. It’s a simple setup. But typing in your Wi-Fi password this way could take more time and might feel a bit tedious for some users. Spinning through each letter and number manually isn’t fun, especially if your password has symbols or uppercase letters. At least you only have to do it once if you want to download more alarms. There are two other buttons: one for going back and the other for checking sleep messages and tips. The clock also saves basic sleep data locally, and while it’s not super detailed, it’s still fun to see how long you were in bed or how quickly you got up.

You’ll need to plug in the Alarmo with a USB-C cable, but it doesn’t come with a wall adapter. I had a spare one lying around, but it’s something to keep in mind. Once it’s powered up and calibrated, though, you’re ready to start waking up Nintendo-style.

Waking up the Nintendo way

Alarmo doesn’t just beep and hope for the best. It tries to nudge you out of bed using a mix of motion-sensing and Nintendo soundscapes. You can choose from 46 scenes inspired by Nintendo Switch games, like Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, and Ring Fit Adventure—and each one comes with several alarm variations. You can preview each alarm scene before picking one, which makes browsing all the options quick and convenient.

Some alarms are gentle. Others feel like they’re actively judging you. I usually stick with the Zelda theme. Waking up to a soft piano melody and Korok noises feels way better than getting slammed by a generic phone alarm. On the flip side, if you take too long to get up, things escalate. Link might start getting attacked by Guardians, or Bowser might roar in disapproval. It’s surprisingly effective.

There are four alarm modes to choose from. Steady Mode starts quiet and gradually ramps up the volume. Gentle Mode keeps things soft the entire time, even if you oversleep. Moderate Mode begins with a calming sound and character animation, then escalates to a more urgent “Hurry-Up” state if you stay still for 20 minutes. And Button Mode skips motion sensing altogether—you just smack the top to silence it.

The motion detection works decently, as long as the setup is right and you’re not sharing the bed with a partner, kid, or dog. Alarmo needs a clear view of your movements to know you’ve actually gotten up. Otherwise, it either resets the alarm or keeps ringing. I’ve had to switch to Button Mode a few times when the sensor acted up, but when it works, it’s a fun little reward to hear Mario cheer or the Pikmin sing once you’re up.

You can schedule different alarms for each day of the week, which helps it fit into your routine without setting it up daily—something I ended up appreciating more than I expected. You can also randomize alarms within a single theme or across all games, which keeps mornings from getting stale. That variety—along with the celebration noises when you finally get up—gives Alarmo more personality than any alarm I’ve used before.

Alarm clock extras, sounds, and surprises

With the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo, you can also enjoy an hourly chime setting. I’ve been using it at my desk, and for a Nintendo fan, it’s weirdly satistifying to hear Pikmin sounds or coin jingles on the hour. You can turn this off, of course, if someone in your home doesn’t appreciate alarm sounds at 8 a.m.

The screen changes based on the selected theme, including different fonts and characters. Watch Link sit by a fire, or Mario bop around near the clock display. Some themes feel more polished than others, but they all add personality. It’s fun glancing over and seeing the screen match the game world. If you found the screen too dim before, there’s now an updated brightness option for darker rooms that makes it easier to see at night.

The Alarmo can also help you through bedtime. You can turn on Sleepy Sounds, which automatically play soft ambient tracks when you lie down at night. Depending on the theme, you’ll hear crackling campfire, soft piano notes, or nighttime animal sounds. You can set sleepy sounds to play anywhere from one to 60 minutes, and even replay them if you wake up and want to hear them again.

It also tracks basic sleep stats, and logs how long you were in bed, how much you moved, and how fast you got up after the alarm. These records stay on the device—there’s no app or syncing with your phone or any device required. However, they’re not super accurate if you share your bed with someone (or a pet). It’s more of a novelty than a health tool, but still interesting to check once in a while.

You can download new themes by linking your Nintendo Account and connecting to Wi-Fi. So far, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Bros have been added. It’s a slow rollout, but I’m hopeful Nintendo keeps expanding the list—waking up to a Kirby jingle wouldn’t hurt.

So, should you set your Alarmo?

The Nintendo Alarmo is a fun, cheerful, very Nintendo gadget. It turns a routine part of your day into something more playful. Whether you’re waking up to Zelda’s campfire sounds or Pikmin panic noises, there’s something oddly motivating about it. It feels like a little Nintedo character living on your nightstand.

I’ve used Alarmo since launch. I still haven’t put it away. That says a lot. Most alarm clocks I’ve bought end up shoved in a drawer after a week. This one stuck around because it does the one thing an alarm clock rarely manages: it makes mornings more exciting, especially for Nintendo fans like me. The Alarmo isn’t the most practical clock out there. If you need multiple alarms in a single day, voice control, or detailed sleep tracking, this alarm clock won’t cover that. But if you love Nintendo as much as I do and want a bit of charm in your morning routine, Alarmo’s easy to enjoy.

Get the Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo at Best Buy Canada.