The best video game Lego sets

The Sega vs. Nintendo feud that dominated the ‘90s might be slightly less intense these days, but if you’re a Lego fan with an allegiance to the former, you can let everyone know with this Sonic the Hedgehog set. The included Blue Blur minifig can be positioned anywhere on this brick-built recreation of Green Hill Zone, the most recognisable Sonic level of them all, complete with a bridge loop, a lever-activated spring, and several golden rings. Dr. Eggman is buildable too, as well as his Eggmobile. A must-have for all the Mega Drive heads.

Mario Lego dominates shelf space in every Lego store, but it’s the plumber’s nuisance of a nemesis that is the star of arguably the best Nintendo-related build so far. The 2,807-piece The Mighty Bowser really earns its name, standing at over 32cm tall and even coming with its own display stand. King Koopa is fully posable once built, features snapping jaws, and can launch fireballs from his mouth, which is of course bad news for Mario - and quite possibly your other half.

Chances are your real-life NES is either gathering dust in the attic somewhere, or was flogged in a car boot sale years ago, but thanks to Lego, you can display a perfect replica in your living room and let everyone know your retro credentials. This incredible set comes in two parts: you’ve got the legendary console itself, with its unmistakable two-tone grey colourway and boxy design, complete with a life-sized controller that plugs into a port on the front; and a 1980s-style TV on which you recreate the opening level of Super Mario Bros., which actually scrolls as you move Mario with the buildable handle. Amazing stuff.

Given how successful Nintendo’s collaboration with Lego has been, it was only a matter of time before Sony started imagining how the many mascots of PlayStation might get the plastic brick treatment. The first of these sets is the awe-inspiring Tallneck from the Horizon series. Designed for adults and standing at 34cm high, this is one you’ll want to have on display. It also comes with an Aloy minfigure and a buildable Watcher robot.

Another mind-bogglingly clever invention - this one celebrating perhaps the only video game character as famous as Mario - the 2,651-piece PAC-MAN Arcade is based on a real 80s cabinet, and while it’s not a functional game, you will build a mechanical maze that is surely the next best thing. And if one PAC-MAN arcade machine wasn’t enough, there’s also a miniature scene of a minifigure playing the iconic game to build, which is stored away inside the big version.

Launched to coincide with Atari’s 50th anniversary, this is the build for the gamers who have been plugging in joysticks since day one. If you had an Atari 2600, this brickified replica will be instantly familiar, as will the three cartridges that actually slot into the console, each coming with its own buildable 3D vignette.

Mario might have been the first gaming mascot to get the Lego treatment, but Sonic has beaten him to the company’s fun BrickHeadz range. Numerous characters from the worlds of Disney, Marvel and Star Wars have been recreated as chunky BrickHeadz models, but if you were a Sega kid, how can you not add the world’s most famous hedgehog to your collection?

When it’s closed up, this tribute to the most iconic 3D platformer of them all isn’t as interesting to look at as some of the other sets in this list. Flip it open, though, and you’ll find four wonderfully detailed miniature builds, each based on a level from the N64 game. Princess Peach’s Castle naturally sits at the heart of it all, but you’ll also build Bob-omb Battlefield, Cool, Cool Mountain and Lethal Lava Land, as well as hidden sections that hide underneath. We also really like the tiny eyeless Mario microfigure that you can place anywhere you like on the finished article.

Thanks to Seth Rogen’s typically Seth Rogen-y turn as Donkey Kong in this year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo's original ape is back in the limelight, with a new game in the long-running series also a constant feature in the rumour mill. And DK is also the newest addition to Lego’s ever-expanding Super Mario line. The Donkey Kong’s Tree House Expansion Set can be added to an existing Starter Course (also in this list) and comes with buildable Cranky and Donkey Kong figures.

There are now countless extension sets that make up the Lego Mario line, including the new Donkey Kong one mentioned elsewhere in this list. But if you have a youngster who wants to start their own collection, the Adventures with Mario Starter course is where to begin. It comes with an interactive Lego Mario figure that can be moved about on a suitably gamified re-buildable course, with enemies to overcome and seven action bricks that trigger different reactions from the plumber. A nifty app includes step-by-step building guides.