As one of the most prolific toy companies in the world, LEGO has expanded its brick building empire in partnership with several popular media properties from Disney toStar WarstoHarry Potterand more. With licensing partnerships, LEGO can occasionally dip into the gaming scene as well for inspiration.LEGO has partnered with Sega to create aSonic Maniaset, and the company has developed multiple sets aroundMinecraft.
After decades of successful video game properties, Nintendo has finally decided to seek a partnership with the toy brick company. With a LEGO version of the NES, and multiple sets inspired bySuper Mario, Nintendo and LEGO fans were able to come together in 2020. Now thatthe LEGOSuper Mariosets have become one of LEGO’s most successful launches, Nintendo should be able to see that there is a huge audience for official Nintendo LEGO products. Looking to the future, there are multiple Nintendo IPs that the company should have turned into LEGO sets next.
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The Legend of Zelda
It’s no surprise that aLegend of ZeldaLEGO product line is at the top of the list, as fans have been hoping for it for years. WiththeZeldaseries celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021, this would be a perfect time for Nintendo to finally make fans' dreams a reality. LEGO sets can often range in size, as there are smaller affordable sets, all the way up to huge, thousand-plus piece products.The Legend of Zeldawould be a great addition that could have both small and premium LEGO creations.
There are numerous iconic locations from across the franchise that could be transformed into LEGOs, such as Hyrule Castle, Lon Lon Ranch, Zora’s Domain, and more. There could even bea LEGO Temple of Time, which a fan’s concept demonstrates, since the important location appears in multiple games. As LEGOSuper Marioreceived multiple expansions, the same could be done for a LEGOLegend of Zelda,too.
While fans will be getting morenews of the sequel toBreath of the Wildlater this year, there is already so much content inBreath of the WildandHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamitythat Nintendo could push for an entire collection based on this part of the timeline. How cool would it be to be able to build various Shrines, a corrupted version of Hyrule Castle, or even Divine Beasts like Vah Ruta? Each of the Divine Beasts could compare in size to theStar WarsAT-AT set. WithThe Legend of Zelda, Nintendo and LEGO could hit a gold mine.
Splatoon
For one of Nintendo’s newer properties, theSplatoonseries has quickly turned into a popular franchise with high potential. Soon, fans will even getanother installment in the series withSplatoon 3. Ideas for LEGOSplatoonsets could include versions of some of the game’s stages, like Urchin Underpass or Hammerhead Bridge. The bright, neon colors that come from ink around the fields could also make for an eye-catching set. WhileSplatoonmight not be the best choice for huge sprawling LEGO sets likeThe Legend of Zeldamight, LEGO could still make some worthwhile products.
Metroid Prime
WhileMetroid Prime 4is quietly in development, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t have much going on forMetroidfans as an alternative. Fans of theMetroidseries could use a little boost, and new LEGO sets inspired by the franchise could be a welcome option. As one of the games that helped defined the popular Metroidvania genre that’s still around today, it would make sense for this to be one of the next LEGO video game partnerships.
A fan previously createda unique LEGOMetroidsetfeaturing Samus Aran and her iconic ship, which can help fans visualize what LEGOMetroidmight look like. There are many possible sci-fi scenarios that could inspire LEGO creations, as the bounty hunter regularly fights the Space Pirates. Fans could even see a LEGO version of Mother Brain, one of the series' villains.
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Animal Crossing
Animal Crossinghas become a hugely popular village-sim series, and recent iterations likeNew Leaf, Pocket Camp,andNew Horizonshave helped introduce millions of new players to the franchise.Animal Crossing: New Horizonkeeps racking up saleseven a year after its release, so it would makes sense to consider the series for a LEGO collection. A LEGOAnimal Crossingcould also have the benefit of being more freeform that others, as a huge part of the games is a player’s own choices and style.
Someone had previously submittedanAnimal CrossingLEGO concept to LEGO Ideas, but it didn’t wasn’t chosen at the time. Possible creations could include Nook’s Cranny, the Museum,Pocket Camp’s campsite, or the Dodo Airlines airport fromNew Horizons. There are numerous possibilities for a LEGOAnimal Crossing, and they could be great options for kids as well.
Nintendo Consoles
The last big idea for more Nintendo-inspired LEGOs doesn’t come from any games themselves, but from Nintendo’s own consoles. TheLEGO Nintendo Entertainment Systemwas released last year, and was the first LEGO option available for Nintendo properties. The LEGO NES is incredibly unique and interactive, and the same idea could be transferred to other popular Nintendo devices. LEGO could make a version of the Nintendo DS, the Wii, and even the recent Nintendo Switch.
Some fans were upset with the price of the LEGO NES setalready, so LEGO might not want to make something as highly-detailed for the other ones. However, if LEGO does make any more products based on Nintendo consoles, they definitely won’t be super cheap. Who knows? One day there could even be a whole collection based just on Nintendo’s main consoles.
In any case, there are plenty of options that Nintendo could consider if the company wanted to keep partnering with The LEGO Group. Most ofthese LEGO set ideascould also come with unique mini-figures, which is a big draw for certain LEGO sets. For example,The Legend of Zeldawould obviously feature Link and Zelda, andSplatooncould feature multiple Octolings.
Many series that weren’t written about here could still make interesting LEGO sets as well. Fans have made their ownLEGO Pokemon creationsbefore, but the iconic franchise could easily make a cool LEGO set. Hopefully, Nintendo fans will hear news sometime soon about whether or not Nintendo will be licensing any more LEGO sets. Even though Nintendo is notoriously strict with its licensing agreements, it can only be a net good for the company to keep working with LEGO.
