Last few years, Lego Group undergone some sort of transformation. Some things are as clear to company as two classic 2×4 mosaic bricks snapped together; adults love these things as much as kids.
This realization has spawned a new category of Lego, occasionally labeled “adult-friendly”: packaged in sleek black boxes, with mouth-watering piece counts and prices, these sets are more for the young at heart, while Not young people. Brilliantly, this realization coincides with Lego’s realization that video game franchises are worth their time, too.
These two transformations of LEGO have brought some fun sets for kids, such as the Minecraft, Mario and Sonic series. But scattered around these versions are larger, more complex adult suits – Mario 64? Block, Lego NES and Atari, sets based on Horizon Zero Dawn, and Bowser’s giant model. And today, LEGO has unleashed some of its best gaming nostalgia yet.
Now, to be fair, regular readers of iGamesNews will know that I love Lego, and I love arcades. So, admittedly, I’m probably at the center of this audience Venn diagram. But seriously, look at it. This is the LEGO Pac-Man Arcade, set 10323.
It’s a decently sized model, a little over 30cm high, 25cm wide and 17cm deep. But, really, what makes this package so impressive is its feature set.
Much of the fun here is similar to the Mario 64 Mystery Block set’s cute, intricate dioramas and great folding mechanism, but the difference here is that the form factor is directly in line with the Pac-Rule: The Original Arcade Cabinet.
Honestly, this little thing is perfect. Apparently, the original cabinet was full-sized; this has been given tabletop proportions, which means the more boring bottom half of the cabinet is missing. But that top half — what a top half. In this LEGO set, it’s packed full of bonus features.
When I say rewards, what I’m really trying to say is twofold. One, they’re fun to look at and play with — but second, and perhaps more importantly, they’re fun to build.
Many of these touches are minimal. Anyone with a penchant for 80’s and 90’s arcade machines will remember the subtle red glow from the white LEDs behind the translucent red plastic coin tray, which has been lovingly reproduced on this cabinet. One of Lego’s light-up bricks is hidden in the set, and its coin slot glows in real life when you press the real-life Pac-Man start but ton.
The arcade stick itself is tactile rather than static; you can tilt it and move it into place, pretending you’re playing a game. On top of the cupboard, a giant brick Pac-Man and two ghosts can be flipped with a switch – this turns the hunter into the hunted, flips the trio around, and makes the ghost blue, like the energy The projectile is consumed the same. Even the high score panel can be switched between four different options.
However, the crowning achievement of the set is the game board. The maze itself was created using a large number of printed board pieces, behind it some rather uncommon technical elements and a whole new part were used to create a moving element for the maze.
The LEGO NES comes with a TV that rolls part of Mario’s iconic 1-1. Here, when the crank on the side of the cabinet is turned, Pac-Man and the four ghosts can actually go around at least part of the Pac-Man’s maze—making the game appear to be in motion.
In reality, the characters are just running a couple of closed loops, about halfway through the game’s traditional play area, but it’s engaging–toy-finding–and a party trick. The mechanism is also a fascinating build, it’s built separately from the rest of the cabinet and then snaps neatly into place.
The set also includes a small LEGO minifigure scale cabinet, a lady playing with it, a gum machine and stool – a little representation of an 80s arcade. It’s hidden inside the set, but you can easily remove it for individual display. Really, this is the cheekiest part of the series; I reckon a lot of people will buy this to get a city-sized arcade cabinet, but the only way to get it is to buy it as part of a more expensive set.
However, I love this set. Though priced at £229.99/$269.99, its 2,651-piece quantity isn’t by any means this horrible value – and it looks cute. I had a great time with the build and this is the set I will be showing off prominently.
In fact, Pac-Man’s popularity may have been the biggest hit to the machine. You can buy a real, playable tabletop Pac-Man Replica from Arcade1Up for less than this brick set. You can get a three-quarter size cabinet that you can actually stand on and play for a similar price. But it’s also fair to say that half the fun of LEGO is building it, displaying it, and knowing—unlikely—that this amazing thing is built with little plastic bricks.
So yes, I love it. Probably the best review I can give it is to say it got my mind racing: what about the Street Fighter 2 cabinet? Or Donkey Kong? I’ll be buying more of these, for my sins – it’s always a sign of their success.