There are certain franchises where the moment a new game comes out, the announcement catches my attention. Sometimes it's for the high quality tied to the IP; other times, it's a mixed bag that I can't help but see where the coin landed. Sonic the Hedgehog is one of those franchises. One moment, you could be playing a finely tuned, beautifully designed game; the next, you could be playing a glitchy, broken mess where you wonder how it got through certification. Even re-releases aren't immune to the coin toss, with games like Sonic Genesis for the Game Boy Advance being a horrible port of the original Genesis/ Mega Drive game, and last year's "remaster" of Sonic Colours (see the Mediaholics RAWs channel if you want to see a small selection of the issues I came across while playing the Switch Port). There are many reasons why the Sonic community is an Internet Punching bag, but for better or worse, Sonic still lives on. Though it didn't make his 30th birthday, Lego did put out a set themed to the iconic Hedgehog and with Lego Super Mario still refusing to give the vocal minority of the community Minifig scaled sets, and we can use this to see if it's something we actually want. Welcome to the Green Hill Zone!
Right off the bat, there is a bit of controversy to this set. Due to this being a Lego Ideas set, it started life as a project pitch that Lego fans could vote on to get it to a review process. Those who have been keeping up with the reviews process for Ideas sets would know that while this was a Sonic set themed to Green Hill Zone, it wasn't themed to the original Sonic the Hedgehog game but rather one of the more recent retreads to the zone in Sonic Mania. The inclusion of two Hard-Boiled Heavies and the Death Egg Robot were the most significant elements to this theme that were dropped to make it based on the original zone. Personally, I think this change is for the better, as it makes things more consistent. Because of how frequently used Green Hill Zone as a level theme is, keeping it a bit more generic handles many level tropes for Sonic. This can easily represent Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania or Sonic Forces, Splash Hill from Sonic 4 Episode 1. Some may confuse it for Emerald Hill from Sonic 2, Neo Green Hill Zone from one of the Sonic Advance games, get a second copy, add another layout, and you can make this into the Green Hill Stage from Super Smash Brothers, or make a tube and call it Windy Hill Zone from Sonic Lost World. Though it does suck to lose things like the Flickies and the Death Egg Robot, I think this change is overall for the better. Does that make the set good, though?
There are some frustrating elements to it, the way the ground was done is quite tedious, and some of the uses of stickers is infuriating (particularly for the loop, as two parts need three stickers each). Even with those issues, it's hard to deny how good the set looks. When looking at Green Hill from a 2D perspective, it's a beautiful set, representing a nice miss mash of elements iconic to the stage and series. As tedious as it was to put all those 1x1 plates on, the ground looks beautiful, perfectly representing the checkerboard dirt of Green Hill. I love how they handled elements like the tree the floating rings (though it would have been nice if those were gold instead of yellow). The simple but effective mechanisms for the spring and checkpoint are nicely done, and the Motobug and Crabmeat look amazing when next to Sonic. The set encourages customization, with things like the stage built in interchangeable modules and optional alternate stickered plates for the item boxes and Motobug's head. I'm not surprised that the original fan designer has put out a set of instructions for alternate stage elements like a spike trap, a Buzzbomber, and other aspects of terrain to help expand it further if you purchase a second copy. It has a feel to it like the Architecture Great Wall of China in that regard. The main issue I have with the end result of the look is that I wish it were a little wider. Not including the decorative tiles on the side, the ground is four studs wide, which looks fine straight on for most positions where you can put Sonic, though it makes certain elements look cramped when you see the stage from other angles. There's not much space to get past the tree, especially the checkpoint. Perhaps six studs wide could have looked better? Unfortunately, the curse of taking something intended to be flat and bringing it into a three-dimensional world. The only other minor complaint I have is that something representing Sonic curled up in a ball would have been a nice touch, as there's another way to display your Sonic.
Alongside the badniks, you get a Dr Robotnik/ Eggman in his Egg Mobile and a little display stand for Sonic and the seven Chaos Emeralds. While the original game only had six, the emerald piece is likely very cheap to produce, and Sonic 1 was the only game to have six Emeralds; every other game since had seven (or seven collectable items of less than or equal to power). The stand is a nice little touch, and the action stand for Sonic gives him a dynamic pose while on the stand with the emeralds. Another missed opportunity might be the lack of a Super Sonic minifig, but it doesn't feel like a huge loss when in hand. Robotnik is a bit of a mixed bag. I love how they handled the Egg Mobile; it's a beautiful recreation of the sprite. The Eggman himself, though, not so much. Robotnik's sprite was always going to be difficult to replicate, he is, after all, a ball with limbs and a head, but the overall look feels wrong when standing on his own. The legs look good, but everything from the hips up doesn't do it for me. The fan designer has gone on record saying it was for stability reasons, something that I could see when putting it together, as it is a very stable, durable build. I just feel like there could have been other ways to handle elements like the head. I'm glad this wasn't a Bigfig like it was in Lego Dimensions, though the Bigfig scaled Eggmobile does look good in that game.
Looking at this set and comparing it to Lego Mario, I'm glad that Mario went in the direction it did, as it does lead to a wider variety of things in a consistent style. However, if Lego Mario were a line built in this style, I would likely lose my mind with all the repetition in assembly, thanks to how sprite-based games are made, especially in Mario. Does that make this a lousy set, though? No, quite the opposite. On its own, Lego Green Hill Zone is excellent, a nice collector's piece for fans of the consistently inconsistent speedster. I just don't think this has the potential to be a future line in this state (even if that would mean missing out on Lego Tails, Knuckles and Amy).
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