Published , by Morgan Shaver
Published , by Morgan Shaver
It's Friday, and you know what that means... it's Shack Chat time! If you're unfamiliar with our Shack Chats, they're a weekly feature we publish every Friday in which the Shacknews staff get to voice their opinions on a variety of fun topics. Additionally, our Chatty gets to comment and share their own thoughts on the subject matter at hand. With the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the staff has been asked to share the video game franchise they think would make an awesome LEGO game.
This might be because I'm so fresh off Stranger of Paradise or it might be because I'm still dazzled by the beauty of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. With that said, Final Fantasy is a beautiful video game franchise with some truly dazzling landscapes and set pieces.
Imagine a LEGO adaptation of those worlds, as well as miniature reenactments of some of the franchise's most memorable moments. Picture the motorcycle chase from Final Fantasy 7, the Ghost Train fight from Final Fantasy 6, or the Theater scenes from Final Fantasy 9 all built with LEGO bricks. Heck, LEGO Tidus doing the Tidus laugh is a sight I never knew I needed until now.
I think Elden Ring really lends itself to the LEGO video game format. The game is already hilarious, look no further than the thousands of clips shared on social media of silly moments and comically unfortunate deaths. It plays perfectly to the slapstick humor of the LEGO video games.
Plus, those creature and structure designs would be absolutely sick in LEGO. Imagine Raya Lucaria Academy built in LEGOs or bosses like Godrick and Malenia. It would be stunning. This idea just makes too much sense. Let’s get FromSoftware on the phone.
Look, people. It just makes an incredible amount of sense for LEGO and Nintendo to team up on a game. For starters, there’s already a crap-ton of Mario-themed lego sets out there that are constantly expanding. But even beyond that, there’s the NES LEGO set, which to me shows that both companies want to take this partnership beyond everyone’s favorite red-shirted plumber. Could you imagine a game where you took on the role of iconic Nintendo characters that had been LEGO-fied?
Imagine LEGO Donkey Kong teaming up with LEGO Kirby to smash through some walls and suck up some enemies. The potential for a massive roster that would make even the Smash Bros. franchise jealous is definitely there. A cornucopia of potential settings from several decades of first-party titles would also be on the table. We’ve already seen what LEGO can do with Star Wars, DC, Marvel, and beyond, why not give them a crack at some of the most iconic game characters out there? Hell, LEGO even has Sonic the Hedgehog kits, so maybe we can just throw SEGA’s catalog on top of the big N’s while we’re at it!
Yeah, of course this is the one. Minecraft is entirely centered around manipulating blocks in a 3D world. You couldn’t dream up a better tie-in with the LEGO brand, but a big-budget LEGO Minecraft does not exist. With that said, fans of the Java Edition of Minecraft know about the magic of community-produced content. Thanks to the outstanding work of some dedicated creators, it is possible to infuse your Minecraft adventures with LEGO flavor.
In the video embedded above, you can see the game running with a mod (Brixel) that presents the game’s blocks as LEGO bricks along with a shader mod to provide better lighting and shadows to help the blocks look just like the real deal. Seeing the game like this in motion is a real head-slapper as you’ll immediately wonder out loud, “How on Earth is this not an actual game already?”
A game given the LEGO treatment set in The Witcher universe would be pretty cool. Something smaller in scope than The Witcher 3, but perhaps there are some unique stories to be told there. Since The Witcher 3, we’ve gotten a card game, a couple of television shows, crossovers with other games, and a cookbook on the way. It’s not a franchise that is afraid to branch out. The Witcher is also a world that has many serious themes, and it would be a breath of fresh air to see a change of pace in the LEGO universe.
When I think about what I want in a LEGO set, it isn’t just about characters I like. It also has to have some fantastic scenery that could be LEGO-ized. The Legend of Zelda fits the bill in my opinion, especially since Breath of the Wild. Those games feature all sorts of incredible architecture that would be delightful to build in a LEGO set.
Hyrule Castle, the Temple of Time, the Sheikah Towers, Revali’s Landing in Rito Village, Impa’s hut in Kakariko Village, Mipha’s Statue in Zora’s Domain… All these iconic locations are just perfect for the picking if there was just a Legend of Zelda LEGO series with which to box them up. I’ve been hugely enjoying LEGO Super Mario. If Zelda became the next Nintendo IP to be LEGO-ized, I’d have to figure out how to keep enough money and shelf space for those sets.
What series would I like to see made into a Lego video game? That is an interesting question as so many franchises have gotten the Lego treatment. Ever since I was a kid I wanted a Super Mario RPG Lego set. I remember using regular Lego pieces to simulate the different characters, like Bowser as a crocodile or Geno wearing a blue helmet. It could tie into a Mario RPG sequel if they ever get to do it, not likely.
Some people will say that Mario already has Lego sets and they’re right. If I went a different direction for this, then I’d go with a fighting game like Mortal Kombat. Seeing fatalities in Lego form would be pretty sweet. Pulling Lego heads off of people, having them fall to the ground, and then just picking their head up and back onto their body. My first choice for a Lego game is Mario RPG with Mortal Kombat picking up the rear.
I would love to see LEGO collaborate with the worlds of Capcom. Become a World Warrior in a Street Fighter area with showdowns against Bison or Akuma. Fight through hallways full of LEGO-sized zombies in the Spencer mansion. Explore the worlds of Mega-Man like never before or like the Mega Man Legends sequel we never got.
There would be a ton of fun to be had with the variety of combo potential that is apparently being established in The Skywalker Saga with some of those lightsaber moves. Kicking butt as LEGO versions of Dante from Devil May Cry sounds fun to me or even something more obscure like Asura’s Wrath. This would also be a perfect way to bring back Viewtiful Joe! Give us a character that can store in powers they learn from each Capcom franchise and use them to take down a threat of epic proportions.
Something I found interesting when checking to see if there's ever been a LEGO game for Halo was that there technically was, but it was canceled before it had a chance to go anywhere. The game, referred to as Mega Bloks Halo (codename Haggar), was reportedly being developed by N-Space for Xbox 360 before being canceled in 2013. If you’re curious as to what the game looked like, check out this video from PtoPOnline on YouTube.
To me, Mega Bloks Halo looked quite promising, so it’s a shame it was canceled. It’s also a shame that we haven’t had anything similar pop up in the almost 10 years that have passed since Mega Bloks Halo was canceled. With that in mind, I think there’d be more than enough interest in a LEGO Halo game to make it worth revisiting. Not to mention, there are some stellar LEGO-ish Halo sets from Mega Construx (like this Pelican) that demonstrate, at least in my opinion, how cool a LEGO Halo game could be.
And there you have it, some of the video game franchises the Shacknews staff think would make great LEGO games! Now we turn the question over to you in Chatty, what franchise is ripe for a LEGO game adaptation? Let us know, and afterward, be sure to read some of our LEGO coverage on topics like Epic Games and LEGO partnering to create a metaverse experience for kids.