After months of rumors and speculation, Lego has fully unveiled its brick-built recreation of the Nintendo Game Boy. Set to release October 1, just in time for the holiday season, the Lego Game Boy is available to preorder for $60 at Amazon and the Lego Store. The 421-piece replica is almost exactly the same size as the handheld that quickly became a worldwide sensation when it hit store shelves in Japan and North America in 1989. The Lego Game Boy looks awesome, and it has multiple interactive features that are sure to make Nintendo fans nostalgic for that wonderful era of handheld gaming.
Part of Lego’s display model series geared toward adult builders and collectors, the Game Boy building kit was announced back in January, but we’re getting our first official look at the highly anticipated release as part of Lego’s San Diego Comic-Con reveals. The Game Boy is tied with the Super Mario Piranha Plant as the most affordable display model in the Lego Nintendo lineup. It will be the eighth Nintendo-themed kit designed for adults since the pair kicked off their partnership with a replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
$60 | Releases October 1
Lego’s Game Boy looks like an authentic ode to the Game Boy DMG, all the way down to the font of “Dot Matrix with Stereo Sound” on the screen lens and the colors of the A/B buttons, D-pad, and Start/Select buttons. The switches and dials on the top and sides of handheld are located right where you’d expect them: power switch on the top left, contrast wheel on the left side next to the battery indicator light, volume dial across from it on the right, and the 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom.
Along with the Game Boy itself and a buildable stand, the set includes replica Game Paks (cartridges) of two timeless classics: Super Mario Land (1989) and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993). The cartridges can be loaded into the Game Pak slot just like a real Game Boy. You can display the other cartridge on a second buildable stand.
The Game Boy doesn’t have any electronics, so it won’t interact with Lego Super Mario figures, but it does have a cool trick that makes it appear like a functioning Game Boy. The set comes with three swappable lenticular screens: the boot screen that greets you each time you flip the power switch, a still from World 1-1 of Super Mario Land, and the cutscene in Link’s Awakening where you sit next to Marin on a log and have a pretty strange (one-sided) conversation. Tilting the Game Boy creates the illusion of movement, so the the Nintendo logo slides down the screen just like the real boot sequence; Mario moves across the side-scrolling level; and the memorable Link’s Awakening cutscene (briefly) comes to life.
The completed build measures 5.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches, which is indeed very close to the dimensions of the actual Game Boy (5.8 x 3.5 x 1.3 inches).
The Lego Game Boy’s interactive features such as loading carts and displaying scenes from actual games is reminiscent of the Lego Nintendo Entertainment System. Released back in August 2020 to launch Lego’s partnership with Nintendo, the 2,646-piece set included the console with a functional top loader, a Super Mario Bros. cartridge, a wired NES controller, and a CRT TV with a stand. There’s a crank on the side of the TV that moves Mario through a side-scrolling level. Even five years later, the NES is arguably the coolest gaming-related Lego set.
Unfortunately, the Lego NES was officially retired late last year, and it’s sold out at almost every major retailer–except for Amazon. A couple months back we noticed Amazon restocked the discontinued set but for a higher price. Amazon is selling the Lego NES for $60 above the MSRP before it was retired. Even with the Lego NES now going for $330 (was $270), we wouldn’t be surprised to see this sell out due to the Game Boy’s looming arrival. These two sets would naturally look great displayed next to each other.
Here’s the full list of Lego Nintendo display models. The most recent addition to the lineup is the 1,972-piece Mario Kart set with a large buildable Mario and his famous red kart. It launched in May on the Lego Store for $170 and arrived at major retailers earlier this month. Check out our Mario & Standard Kart review for more details on this charming display piece.
While you wait for the Lego Game Boy to arrive, you could warm-up by building the 540-piece Piranha Plant from Super Mario Bros. It’s the only Lego Nintendo display model with a discount right now. Most of the sets below almost never receive discounts, but the Piranha Plant is an outlier. in this regard.
The Lego Game Boy is one of several exciting SDCC reveals. Batman fans will soon be able to build a massive model of the infamous Arkham Asylum psychiatric hospital. Releasing September 12, the 2,953-piece Batman: Arkham Asylum set is aimed at adults and retails for $300. It includes 16 minifigures and 65 stickers featuring Batman lore. Lego is celebrating the upcoming final season of Stranger Things with a BrickHeadz collection containing buildable figures of Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will. Lego BrickHeadz Stranger Things launches October 1 for $40. Fans of Wicked will be pleased to hear Lego’s collection of Wicked building sets will more than double in size when six new sets arrive September 1.
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