Lego Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone is a 1125-piece love letter to 1990s Sega

Gamers of a particular vintage will remember when a certain blue hedgehog blasted on to the scene back in 1991. The speedy Erinaceid blazed through levels at a frightening pace, making Nintendo’s leapy plumber look comparatively staid. 

The bright-green landscape of Green Hill Zone was the very first level of Sonic the Hedgehog and remains indelibly imprinted on millions of minds, with its blue skies and exciting loops. And now it’s been immortalised in block form.

Well, a slice of it has at any rate. We shudder to think how much a full-size brick-built Green Hill Zone would cost – and how much space you’d need to build it. But Lego Ideas Sonic the Hedgehog™ Green Hill Zone (£60/$70, available 1 January) does get you a tree, a bridge, some greenery, a bunch of rings, and one of those all-important loops.

Figures of fun

You also get a selection of figures. Sonic himself has appeared in Lego form before, as part of Lego Dimensions. The figure in this set is updated from that game’s level pack incarnation, though, and joined by brick-built takes on Crabmeat, Moto Bug and Dr. Eggman.

Although the set is primarily intended as a display piece, you can opt to recreate the original console game in analogue fashion. Dr. Eggman can be popped in his Eggmobile and swooshed through the air while you/he laughs maniacally. Meanwhile, a built-in Technic lever on the spring module lets you launch Sonic into the air – albeit in a manner that’s unlikely to be quite as graceful as in the game itself.

Entertainingly, Lego also notes the set is a ”modular build, which can be linked to other architecture sets”. Alongside miniature takes on London, Paris, Tokyo and New York, it’ll presumably stick out like a sore thumb – but in a good way. Now we just need Nintendo to release a minifig Mario and for Lego to inexplicably announce Lego Ideas Manic Miner and all our brick-built platform game dreams will have come true.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

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Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.