After a lot of anticipation and some seemingly customary leaks, LEGO has finally announced a new set based on Sonic the Hedgehog. This set commemorates one of the most iconic locations in the franchise’s history, Green Hill Zone, with the deep level of detail that LEGO has become famous for over the last couple decades. This set also serves as another step towards adapting more video games into LEGO bricks, as Sonic the Hedgehog joins Super Mario and Minecraft as properties that have been able to transcend the video game space and become immortalized by one of the most iconic toy companies in history.
This LEGO Sonic set has a lot of features for fans of all ages. Minifigures of Sonic and Dr. Eggman are included, and details like the Chaos Emeralds and a life counter in the bottom corner of the set really make it feel like it’s been taken right out of the games. When this set was revealed, LEGO didn’t say whether or not fans could expect more Sonic sets in the future, but if the LEGO Super Mario line has proved anything, there’s a lot of potential in creating sets out of various iconic locations. Sonic has built up an impressive catalogue of locales over its 30 year history, and there are some that would look excellent in LEGO form.
Chemical Plant Zone
With Green Hill Zone out of the way, perhaps the next most iconic location from Sonic’s early days is the Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Turning this level into a LEGO set could be a wondrous sight, as the many twisting paths of Chemical Plant Zone coupled with its distinctive color palette could give it a distinct profile. It also wouldn’t be Chemical Plant Zone without the anxiety-inducing pink liquid that Sonic can fall into, so including that in the set in whatever way possible would tie things together perfectly.
Angel Island
Compared to the classic status of the first two Sonic games, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 can get the short end of the stick sometimes. It’s perhaps one of the most important games for the franchise, however, as it expanded on the lore significantly and introduced gamers to Angel Island. This floating landmass is home to Knuckles the Echidna, protector of the Master Emerald, and turning Angel Island into a LEGO set could feature both in brick form. It could also tie into the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film that plans to include both Knuckles and the Master Emerald, even if the set is just a small slice of the greater island.
Central City
Few Sonic games have had such iconic opening levels as Sonic Adventure 2’s City Escape. From the opening sequence of Sonic riding through the city streets on part of a helicopter, to the downhill truck chase that caps off the level, Central City has become an integral part of the Sonic franchise in the years since Adventure 2 first released. Adapting this location into LEGO bricks could be a very dynamic build if it mimicked City Escape’s structure, and if it included some feature that allowed Sonic to do tricks like he did in the game, it could be a huge success with Sonic fans of all ages.
This first Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO set looks like it could succeed much like the Super Mario and Minecraft sets, and if LEGO and Sega would want to continue their partnership after this first venture, it could give fans a plethora of new ways to show their appreciation for the blue blur. With Sonic Frontiers in active development with a release window of next holiday, and this set scheduled to come out on New Year’s Day, it seems that 2022 could be one of the best years for Sonic in quite some time.
