Dr. Egghead plastic surgery failed.
On December 28, LEGO and Sega jointly unveiled a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed block set. The set, which commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Sonic series, is expected to hit shelves on January 1 next year for $69.99.
Lego officially uploaded a promotional ad at the same time, showing the mental journey of a "Sega and Sonic veteran".
The set uses 1125 blocks to recreate the "Green Hill Zone" scene in the first level of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. As is representative of the first level of the original Super Mario, the turquoise hills are also quite recognizable, and in Sonic's subsequent works, this area often appears in different forms.
The original designer of the "Turquoise Hills" set is Viv grannell, a lego and Sonic fan from the United Kingdom. In 2019, she uploaded a Sonic-themed design package at Lego Idea, Lego Idea' platform for user ideas.
Viv's original reference is not the original work, but the Sonic Mania released in 2017. Sonic Mania is a work developed by the fandom community and has been officially recognized and released by Sega. As a tribute to the work, Sonic Mania also designed Turquoise Hills as the first level in the game.
The Steam page of Sonic Mania shows the game screen is also turquoise hills
Lego Idea adopts a voting system, each plan requires the voting support of 10,000 users to be eligible for review, which will be included in the official Idea brick set. As a bonus, the original author of the set will receive 10 final products and 1% royalty.
One of Viv's original design drawings
In March 2020, Viv's proposal reached 10,000 votes, and Lego began a nearly year-long review. In February 2021, LEGO announced a formal partnership with Sega to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sonic series, while changing the object of the finished tribute to the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It wasn't until the end of the year that this Sonic-themed LEGO was finally available.
Unlike mario-themed LEGO bricks, which use a lot of electronic components, allow for random stitching of level scenes, and focus on interactivity, the Sonic suite is dedicated to restoring the original, so the decorative meaning is stronger.
Replaceable prop stickers
Rotatable relay checkpoints
The red spring that can really bounce Sonic up, the GIF source Youtube@Tiago Catarino
However, there are also things that upset players about this set of blocks, and the most undesirable thing is The Lego's ultimate villain, Dr. Egghead: the designer probably gave him a plastic surgery.
The red nose and the brown moustache that covers the mouth are the distinctive features of Dr. Egghead, but Dr. Lego's nose and beard are really a little misaligned.
"It looks bad. Really bad. ”
For comparison, this is Dr. Egghead in HD
Some players compared the official promotional image with Viv's original design, and found that the two Lego Doctors were not a style of painting at all. The lego version of Dr. Lego's egg head does not have the roundness of The Viv's version, as if the neck has been deliberately elongated; the inverted figure eight eyebrows have been deleted, the goggles have also moved their positions, and the temperament of the villain is almost invisible, but it is a bit like a loyal and honest person.
"What the hell happened to Dr. Egghead's face?"
In addition, some players pointed out that although this set of LEGO claims to restore the original Sonic, the "Phantom Ruby" in it is actually from the "Sonic Mania" that the original case wants to pay tribute to.
The original case is very different from the finished product, and the pressure is naturally transferred to the original designer, Viv. In response to the players who came to ask on Twitter, Viv said that Dr. Bullet was put together by Lego parts after all, and the head design in the original case was impossible to achieve due to the limitations of building block construction and spraying, and "it would look better to hold it in your hand."
However, Viv's bitterness cannot hide the fact that Dr. Egghead's plastic surgery failed, nor can it stop the author of the meme and fan figure from creating a mockery at the speed of light.
"No, Sega, please don't turn me into a best-selling but deformed LEGO!" No!!! ”
"When you only take one vitamin tablet a day instead of two"
"Dr. Egg High"
Similar stubble hunting soon spread to the official commercial, and some veteran players began to look for any of the wear shots in the video, and they were happy to do it.
Just the Sega European version of the Mega Drive console that appeared at the beginning of the advertisement, some people pointed out that the game cassette was not plugged in at all; the actor did not actually turn on the console, because the console's power indicator was not on.
The game presented in the next scene is naturally not a game on the MD platform, not to mention that the lower right corner of the game title screen is impressively written "2012".
Some players even found the European version of Sonic cassette in the advertisement, and they were able to point out that the European version of the game ran more slowly.
Admittedly, the nitpicking of these veteran players is at best a joke, not to the level of resistance, and the bricks jointly launched by Lego and Sega are not so badly made.
But the veteran players showed more knowledge and attention to the details of the game than the official, proving their high enthusiasm for the game. This time, the "plastic surgery storm" may be able to remind those games and peripheral manufacturers who want to eat emotional meals: when setting old players as the main audience of the product, they must pay more attention than usual.