Review: LEGO Ideas 21331 Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Ideas set 21331 Sonic The Hedgehog Green Hill Zone, a box of 1125 pieces sold at the public price of € 69.99 vaguely inspired by the project Sonic Mania - Green Hill Zone posted by Viv Grannell on the participatory platform.

There is actually nothing to ask too many questions about this product derived from the legendary video game that has accompanied many fans since the 1990s, its rather reasonable public price avoids wondering whether to crack or not.

Assembling the set is a bit laborious, unless you like to chain stack the 1x1 pieces together and try to line them up neatly. But it is at this price that we get the famous iconic pixel effect of the Green Hill level and we can not deny that it is successful. The construction experience is therefore in my opinion nothing very attractive, but it is the finality that prevails here with on arrival a nice exhibition product 36 cm long by 17 cm high and 6 cm depth.

I regret a little that all the elements of the set are not grouped or associated with each other, in particular to facilitate the display and movement of the product. Here, you have to find how to present the level itself, the small display with the emeralds of chaos and Robotnik installed in his Egg Mobile. Small funny detail that brightens up the laborious assembly of the product: the different Chaos Emeralds are obtained at each end of the assembly step and they are then installed on the intended display.

The four modules of the level are associated with each other over the stages and are then held by the black border which circulates at the foot of the building. It is technically possible to change the arrangement of the level, but the task is complicated by the presence of Technic axes which cannot be extracted from their respective modules without a little disassembly and some of which are too long to allow a perfect adjustment. between two modules. It's a bit of a shame, especially for those who would like to line up several sets and who would like to reorganize the level along its entire length without complicating the task too much. A real modularity thought out from the start would have been welcome.

The playability of this pure exhibition product logically remains very basic: a platform allows Sonic to eject to allow him to reach the three rings placed nearby and the transparent supports can be folded back to simulate the capture of the rings. . It is not possible to fix Sonic upside down in the heart of the loop, nothing has been planned in this direction.

Two sheets of stickers are necessary to dress different elements of the product and the background of some of these stickers does not always match the color of the parts on which they are placed. LEGO even went so far as to impose two stickers on us for the Motobug's facial expressions. The manufacturer who usually doesn't skimp when it comes to pad printing dozens of different items in the LEGO Super Mario line-up disappoints here with these two stickers that really feel like they're looking to save the money.

On the other hand, the designer did not forget to "sign" his creation via the scoreboard which mentions Viv Grannell (VIV), Lauren Cullen King (LCK) who worked on the graphic aspect of the product and Sam Johnson (SAM) the chief designer on this file. Five other stickers embody the different bonuses that Sonic can get and LEGO obviously provides the Tiles on which they take place. It will then be necessary to change these Tiles on the level according to your mood of the day. The possibility is there, but LEGO does not provide the supports which would have made it possible to complete the level with all the bonuses provided. As usual, everything that is not on the two sheets of stickers that I scanned for you is therefore pad printed.

As soon as the product was officially announced, many fans were enthusiastic about the presence of the two Technic pins at the end of the level. Let's not get carried away, until proven guilty, these two pins are only there to possibly combine several copies of the set and fill a shelf along its entire length. It is not me who says it, it is visuals lifestyle of the product. If you only plan to display a single copy of this product, you can simply remove these two pins for a "smoother" finish.

We could also discuss the buoys that embody the rings. As I said during the official announcement of the product, it is compatible with the accessory included in the LEGO Dimensions pack 71244 Sonic The Hedgehog Level Pack, even if the effect obtained here is a bit poor and a new, more suitable gold coin would undoubtedly have been appreciated by the fans.

The only minifigure in the set, Sonic, is successful. It is technically more accomplished than that of the LEGO Dimensions set 71244 Sonic The Hedgehog Level Pack and those who had not invested in the extension of the late video game launched by LEGO will have a minifigure of the character at a lower cost. As often, the official visuals have been retouched and the pad-printed flesh-colored area on the chest is a bit pale.

For the rest, it is necessary to compose with assemblies of bricks more or less convincing: Robotnik is in my opinion frankly failed. I think the character would have deserved more attention from the designers, for example with a cast figurine or at least a more accomplished head. As it stands, it is not worthy of an 18+ stamped set which is only intended to satisfy the nostalgia of an adult clientele who can afford this type of derivative product. The Egg Mobile is doing a little better, but the machine would have in my opinion also deserved some additional efforts. The Crabmeat is very correct, the Motobug is totally missed, it has absolutely nothing of a beetle mounted on a wheel.

On arrival, this product derived from a cult video game franchise does not demerit, in particular because it is sold at a reasonable price. I still have the impression that LEGO has applied a lot to the packaging to the detriment of certain elements of the product itself. The spirit of the initial idea submitted by Viv Grannell is however there and we find the first emblematic level of the Sonic universe, even if the Robotnik of the initial project seems more credible to me than the one delivered here. LEGO hasn't betrayed the idea that fans got excited about on the LEGO Ideas platform and that's already a good thing. For 70 €, it does not have much to think about anyway if nostalgia invades you to the point of wanting to exhibit this product with the very correct finish and limited space.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 16th January 2022 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.