Roundtable: Next Property For a LEGO treatment

Allan Muir – Site Admin/EiC/Pokethusiast

LEGO Pokemon

So, as you probably know from any podcast I have been on as of 2020, I am a really big fan of Pokemon. I have most of the games at this point and have fond memories of playing Pokemon Red and Blue back in the late 1990s. This and the Pokemon animated series on Kids WB firmly cemented my love for the franchise. The franchise and television series have been around for 25 years at this point they have done films, television series, trading card games, manga, educational books, and more. But there is one thing that they haven’t done: a Lego game. While the Nendoroid is currently the closest we will get to any interaction with Pokemon I have some ideas of what I would want to see from a Pokemon Lego game.

Most, if not every Lego game is the equivalent of mashing your action figures together until they are completely and utterly battered. What I mean by that statement is you are in a Lego form of whatever franchise you are playing be it Star Wars, Marvel, DC, etc.… While the Marvel games have put their own spin on the formula, said formula nine times out of ten revolves around breaking the scenery and then building it back together in-game. My vision for a Lego Pokemon game would simply be a Pokemon game remade in the Lego format. The only example I can give as to what that would look like is the PlayStation 3 title 3D Dot Game Heroes. A game that is a near blatant rip-off of the Legend of Zelda but done in 3D with modern visuals and lighting while staying true to the aesthetic of Zelda. It was wonderful.

As I write this, I have just done a quick YouTube search for Lego Pokemon, and wouldn’t you know, there’s already a fan game of Pokemon as if it were within the Lego world. Not only that but it is treated with love and respect, which at the end of the day is all that matters. I will embed the video but as I previously said, a Pokemon game without any reference to the Lego redesign it would be in is the equivalent of Michael Caine’s performance in The Muppet Christmas Carol.