As a child of the 1990’s there is something immediately nostalgic about the combination of Nintendo and LEGO. I still remember fondly the opening of Christmas wrapping paper to find a new LEGO kit like it was only last year (wait, it was!). But equally I remember opening up my first handheld console, the Gameboy Pocket.
It’s a console I still own to this day, and whilst my love affair with video games began with the SEGA master system and Alex Kidd on my mother’s console, it was my own Gameboy and the original release of Pokémon Blue/Red which launched my passion for gaming into a new stratosphere.
A few short years ago I opened the much larger NES kit, which proudly sits on the display shelf to this day complete with it’s rotating screen TV. But I never owned an NES, so whilst I have many fond memories of playing one, it wasn’t the one which launched it all for me.
This one was. Once again I found myself opening the latest LEGO and Nintendo collaboration, and from the moment I saw the image on the box it felt like I was 10 years old again. My original was the smaller pocket model, unlike the bulky original that LEGO has painstakingly recreated, but every detail is still preserved with love and care.
The build itself took only around 2 hours to complete in the chaotic aftermath of Christmas Day. Standing at 421 pieces and 14cm tall, it is almost 1:1 scale, and is one of the smallest sets in my collection. But this compact build was also one of the most fun I have had in a little while.
There is no wasted space, and if something moves on the real console then it moves in lifelike symmetry on the completed LEGO set. Four rubber pieces is all it takes to create lifelike button reactions it seems, and makes me wish that the NES controller had received the same treatment as the more premium set. Even the volume and contrast wheels work and feel as you would expect, although it must show my age that I even remember you needed a wheel to control the contrast of the screen, and my memory instantly goes back to playing in the car on the drive home, with no backlight and passing streetlights guiding the way!
Holographic screen inserts mean that each of the buildable game cartridges can appear to be played while inserted, although my instant preference is the iconic falling Nintendo start-up screen. I would almost have craved a smart brick with the recording of the classic startup “beep” tone, but that may have been too much to ask for a smaller and lower price range set.
This set is entirely made for nostalgic kids like me I am sure, however is a very straightforward build which could be enjoyed by all ages. Printed pieces mean that only the two cartridge fronts require a sticker placement, and a display stand is built for both console and cartridge (including the extra inserts) as part of the pieces included.
Overall I would recommend this Gameboy kit as a great gift for anyone who like me grew up in that classic era of handheld gaming, or even to their children who may only now be old enough to remember the switch. Let them enjoy seeing how far we have come since the original release in the 1990’s, so they never again feel unlucky that their handhelds only run HD and 30fps.
