LEGO has made a Sega Mega Drive set and our nostalgia is in overdrive

A render of the LEGO Genesis kit. — (Image credit: LEGO)

LEGO has unveiled its latest retro-flavoured kit, which recreates the original version of the Sega Mega Drive. Or, sure, the Sega Genesis for the US folks out there. Its official name is the LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console.

It’s not a 1:1 size replica of the classic 16-bit console, but that also helps keep the price to a pretty reasonable — for LEGO — £34.99.

There are 479 pieces in the set, and a handful of bespoke Genesis-slash-Mega Drive bits let you build it as either the US Genesis or the Mega Drive, which the console was known as in the UK and Sega’s homeland of Japan.

It’s only the original design that’s represented here, though, not the Sega Mega Drive 2 some of your childhood memories may be based around.

The kit includes two controllers, a game cartridge, and the top part of the console can be lifted off to reveal a portrait of Sonic.

A real-life Mega Drive is around 27cm wide. LEGO’s Mega Drive is around 16cm wide, making it closer to the size of one of the retro console revivals that have littered shelves for years now.

Sega’s own effort, the Mega Drive Mini, was released in 2019. While it didn’t pick up quite as much heat as Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition and NES Classic Edition from 2017, it did receive great reviews.

This LEGO take doesn't play games, though.

The LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console will be available from June 1st. And just like the retro console scene, Nintendo got there first with this one. That said, LEGO has been making Sega sets for years. The first was announced in 2021.

A LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System set was released in 2020, and has since been discontinued. But you can still get hold of LEGO’s take on the Nintendo Game Boy. It’s a 421 piece set that costs £54.99.

LEGO recommends the LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console for builders aged 12 years and up.

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Andrew Williams has written about all sorts of stuff for more than a decade — from tech and fitness to entertainment and fashion. He has written for a stack of magazines and websites including Wired, TrustedReviews, TechRadar and Stuff, enjoys going to gigs and painting in his spare time. He's also suspiciously good at poker.