The team behind LEGO Ideas Engagement announced today that a Sonic fan submission being made into an official LEGO set. The submission is a colorful take on one of the Sonic franchise’s most recognizable and colorfully named levels, Green Hill Zone. This area was the first challenge for players that picked up Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis in 1991 and the grassy zone has continued to make appearances in various titles throughout the franchise’s history. With teasings of a new Sonic Adventure 3 possibly on the horizon, this bit of nostalgia hits home for old-school gamers.
The lighthearted announcement is a welcome change following the recent gloomy Sonic news. On Tuesday, voice actor Cindy Robinson, who had brought the character Amy Rose to life for the past decade, revealed that she would be moving on from the role. Remarkably, Robinson is not the first long-time Sonic voice actor to depart recently. Just the week prior to Robinson’s news, Roger Craig Smith, who had voiced the rapid rodent for ten years, announced he would no longer be the voice of Sonic. Though these announcements were largely met with disappointment, fans of the franchise have a lot to look forward to as Sonic the Hedgehog turns thirty this year and the franchise will be coming to Netflix next year.
After another round of reviews for last year's submissions, LEGO Ideas officially revealed that Viv Grannell would see her idea for a Sonic LEGO set become a reality. The team called Grannell’s submission entitled Sonic Mania – Green Hill Zone, “colourful and fun.” The team will be working with Sega as well as the set’s creator to make Sonic the Hedgehog into a real LEGO product. Though the reveal shows an image of the original submission, the actual LEGO set will likely look different when the finished creation hits shelves. Unfortunately, the team does not offer details on when that will be, explaining that the set is in the works and that a date and price will be announced in the future.
For those looking to fill the time before the new Sonic set’s launch, the blue blur is not the only iconic gaming protagonist to be immortalized in LEGO form. Recently, LEGO teamed up with the creators of the Super Mario Bros. franchise in order to create a surprising new product. Unlike many LEGO sets, the Mario project promised to be more like an electronic game than a modular building set.
Considering the Sonic franchise is celebrating an important milestone this year, it would be great for the creators to be able to offer this Green Hills Zone LEGO set soon. However, LEGO is clearly not ready to commit to that timetable, so it remains to be seen when fans will get ahold of it.
Source: LEGO Ideas