News: LEGO Cuusoo Zelda Reaches 10,000

[OverLoad]

[Note to mods: I felt that this was relevant enough to Castle sets to be put in this section, as it deals with a medieval fantasy world possibly becoming a series of LEGO sets. Feel free to move if I was mistaken.]

I'm sure by now most, if not all of us, are familiar with LEGO CUUSOO. CUUSOO is a program where LEGO fans submit ideas to LEGO and garner support. If 10,000 supporters are reached on an idea, LEGO will consider making the idea into a set/theme. So far, 3 ideas have been given the green light and became sets, while numerous others reached 10,000 but were not followed through for various reasons(Shaun of the Dead is an example of this, where the film's gory nature prompted LEGO not to continue the project).

Recently, an idea on CUUSOO proposing LEGO Legend of Zelda has reached 10,000 votes. The CUUSOO project proposed a variety of LEGO Legend of Zelda sets be made, spanning numerous games from the series. Now that the appropriate number of supporters have been reached, LEGO will consider the idea. Although it has reached 10,000 votes, LEGO still needs to give the A-OK regarding the project.

For those unaware of what Legend of Zelda is, it is one of Nintendo's biggest flagship video game franchises, dating back to 1986. Alongside Mario and Pokemon, Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most popular and recognizable franchises in the video game industry.

LEGO LoZ on CUUSOO: http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/6809
LoZ Wikipedia article(for those who want to know more about the series): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_Zelda

So, what you guys think about this? Are you excited to hear this news, and are you a fan of the Legend of Zelda series of games? Did you offer your support for this project, or is this the first time you are hearing of it? If this idea was to be approved by LEGO, would you want a full LoZ theme or just a single set?

Personally, I think this is possibly the greatest news I have heard in while. I am a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda series of games, in fact they are my favorite series of video games. I hope that LEGO will make a full theme out of this, but now that we have reached the point on CUUSOO where it's out of our hands, it's only a matter of time until we find out where this will be going.

[Medieval Guy]

if Lego does produce these sets, there is potential for some new elements. I doubt that I'd buy any sets from this theme because a)I'm not a huge fan of the games and b)I only have so much money to spend, and the Collectible Minifigure and Lord of the Rings stuff is going to suck my funds dry (It seems like I've been saying that quite a lot recently. There's just too much good stuff!) I do think that this has potential to be a wildly successful idea.

[Karalora]

I love LOZ and think it would make a terrific LEGO theme, not so much for the new parts and creatures (though those would be awesome too) but because of the sheer variety of environments to potentially be translated into sets. Rather than recreating any particular game, I would hope for more of a pastiche approach that utilizes recurring themes--not the Forest Temple from Ocarina of Time, but a forest-themed set that calls to mind the various forest stages from different games. And the same with the other setting types that show up in several different games--a Death Mountain set, a bleak dungeon with skeleton/zombie enemies, a water-themed set where Link meets the Zoras, etc.

But I have two big doubts as to whether TLG will approve the theme. First, of course, is the licensing issue--LOZ is an extremely valuable property and the license will probably be very expensive, maybe more than they want to spend on a line that wasn't conceptualized internally. The second issue is the lack of iconic vehicles in the Zelda series--off the top of my head I can think of the Red Lion boat in Wind Waker, the train in Spirit Tracks, and perhaps the Skyloft in Skyward Sword (technically a creature, but it functions more like a vehicle). It's rare to see an adventure-oriented LEGO theme that doesn't include some kind of vehicle in almost every set, so even if the license is considered affordable, they may reject it on those grounds.

[AK_Brickster]

Oh good! I cast my support to this idea some time ago, mainly for all of the neat swords and shields that seem like they could come out of it.

I've never played any of the LOZ games, being more of a Final Fantasy fan, myself (...say, that would make a neat series, also. Chocobos anyone?!)
but it looks like a fun game and a neat opportunity for TLG. I'd rather see a whole theme than just one set, though.

[Knight Man]

I wish this would have been the one that got approved because it looks castlely- http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/14886
But will Zelda pass the approval test or doesn't that> have an thing to do with it? http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=3189
...Intellectual properties that it is not currently possible to license, that the owner would not grant a license for, or that do not meet the terms of a current license agreement...
~KnightMan~

[Eklund]

I wish this would have been the one that got approved because it looks castlely- http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/14886
~KnightMan~

I have to agree, the sets in that project look much better than the achieved project. Anyways, I think a legend of Zelda set would be pretty cool, I could see the greeen torso fit right in with the forestmen.

[OverLoad]

...Intellectual properties that it is not currently possible to license, that the owner would not grant a license for, or that do not meet the terms of a current license agreement...
~KnightMan~

That's really in the case of other toy companies and the like. While there is Zelda merchandise availible, it's not as dead set as the ideas being referred to. Minecraft was successfully made into a CUUSOO set, and is sitting in pretty much the same grounds as a video game,

I have to agree, the sets in that project look much better than the achieved project. Anyways, I think a legend of Zelda set would be pretty cool, I could see the greeen torso fit right in with the forestmen.

The project goal still ends with the same basic idea: LEGO should make LoZ sets. I approve of M1NGLE's project better, since not only is it more LEGO-esque, but he also did all of those models himself, not to mention he really rallied up support and got the word out there.

For those of you who actually are fans of LoZ, (like me ), what sort of sets would you like seeing? Basic sets, dungeons, Hyrule Castle, Kakariko village? Personally, I'd like to see some "inspired-by" sets as well as some core locations. While dungeons might be difficult, I'm sure doing a single room or making a series of sets that connect could work. But look at me, speculating and writing a general wish list. Very unlike me.

[Karalora]

I think the best way to capture the LoZ "feel" within the scope of a LEGO line would be to have each set revolve around Link fighting a monster in a highly thematic location, with maybe an ally on hand in order to flesh out the setting and introduce different races such as Gorons and Zoras. By varying the size of the monsters and the elaborateness of the locations, everything from a simple Bokoblin encounter to a final showdown in Ganondorf's fortress could be expressed, filling in the usual price points.

I said earlier that the lack of iconic vehicles worried me, but upon further reflection I realized that LEGO hasn't relied as much on that with their licensed lines. Motion is important, but it needn't take the form of a vehicle per se, and with all the door-opening and puzzle-solving inherent in the LoZ games, there would be plenty for the sets to do. I think the signature build aspect of such a line would be mimicking the switches and moving parts of the dungeons. In one set, the monster could be inside a cage that must be opened. In another, it might be perched on a trapdoor, ready to drop through when the switch is triggered. In a third, Link could have bombs to blow out a section of wall (a la Fantasy Era King's Castle or the Pharaoh's Quest line) and find the monster behind it. In fact, it would be great if every set gave Link a different iconic weapon from the games and a treasure to win. I'm debating internally whether it would be better--or rather, more likely--for the Master Sword to be a constant between sets or for LEGO to include it in only one or two and thus encourage people to buy those sets.

[gedren_y]

I remember playing the original Zelda and Link on the NES V1. Link himself seems to weathered the years better than even Sonic the Hedgehog.

I don't think this will make it, though. Nintendo has been liscening with K'nex (which is an American company), but even if Nintendo is willing to liscence, I doubt Lego would produce this while LotR is making its run. Cartoony Nintendo castle or realistic Tolkien, which will sell better?

[Bruce N H]

Hey,

I'm shifting this over to Castle Customs. The LEGO Castle Sets forum is for actual sets. Unless and until LEGO gives the green light to a Cuusoo idea and produces a real set, it remains as essentially a MOC, or in this case pretty much a custom (though there are MOCs as part of this particular Cuusoo submission as well). I suppose Cuusoo suggestions could also go in Dear LEGO, if you are framing this more as 'LEGO, please produce set X'.

Bruce