Highlights
- LEGO and Nintendo's collaboration on themed sets was a match made in gaming heaven, but there's room for more like LEGO Mario or Kirby.
- A LEGO Donkey Kong game could perfectly capture the franchise's humor and colorful aesthetic in a traditional platformer format.
- A LEGO Pokemon puzzle game could offer a fun twist, combining environmental puzzles with Pokemon abilities in a LEGO-themed Kanto region.
Some collaborations seem so perfect that when they're announced, it makes people wonder what took so long. One such announcement came in 2020 when LEGO and Nintendo revealed that LEGO would be releasing various Nintendo-themed sets; it was a match made in gaming heaven.
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In the years since, LEGO has released sets based on the Mario, Zelda, and Animal Crossing franchises, but both companies are missing a trick. The LEGO Group doesn't just put its name on plastic blocks; it has video games too. There's already LEGO Fortnite and LEGO 2K Drive. Why not LEGO Mario or LEGO Kirby, too? With their kid-friendly focus and use of bright colors, a gaming collaboration between the two companies looks like a no-brainer. LEGO has already proven itself with some of the best Marvel Avengers games; Nintendo doesn't have anything to lose.
7 Donkey Kong
A Barrel Load Of Fun
He might not be as popular as Mario, but there are a lot of great Donkey Kong games. It's easy to see how one of them could be a LEGO-themed game. The Donkey Kong franchise's zany sense of humor and bright color palette would fit in with LEGO's style perfectly.
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Gameplay-wise, a LEGO Donkey Kong game could be a traditional platformer, either a 2D side-scroller or 3D. LEGO games usually feature character swapping, something that's also a staple of Donkey Kong games. LEGO's destructible environments also seem like a great match for a big ape who is known for smashing things and making a mess. Rather than collecting LEGO studs, perhaps the player could collect little LEGO bananas.
6 Pokemon
Gotta Build Em' All
The Pokemon franchise has been around since 1996. There are a lot of Pokemon games, some of which are pretty weird. While the traditional Pokemon turn-based battling gameplay certainly wouldn't translate well into LEGO, there are other options.
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A LEGO Pokemon puzzle game could be a sound option. Traditionally, LEGO games are full of environmental puzzles that only certain characters' abilities can solve. Pokemon games are full of Pokemon with special abilities. A game where the player travels through a LEGO-themed Kanto, catching LEGO Pokemon, battling in real-time, and solving puzzles using Pokemon skills would be a lot of fun.
5 Animal Crossing
Build Your Own Village
A LEGO Animal Crossing game could be really easy to make. Nintendo/LEGO could keep most of the gameplay the same, slap on a LEGO-themed coat of paint, and simply call it a day. It's a series where players move to an island, build a home, and then customize it while collecting and crafting items. That's a great match for a franchise centered around building things with bricks.
The LEGO branding could offer a ton of customization options, too, with themes centered around classic or popular LEGO sets. Alongside the usual Animal Crossing characters, LEGO could include villagers from these sets or even other franchises they've worked with (although licensing would be a nightmare). Animal Crossing's characters would also make excellent mini-figures. A LEGO Animal Crossing game would be an excellent Nintendo Switch game for casual gamers.
4 Pikmin
LEGO Returns To Real-Time Strategy
In 2009, LEGO and TT Games released LEGO Battles for the Nintendo DS. It's the only real-time LEGO strategy game to have ever been made. Which is why LEGO and Pikmin would make such a good pairing.
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Pikmin is a real-time strategy/puzzle game where the player controls Pikmin and uses them to gather resources, defeat enemies, and solve environmental puzzles. Pikmin are also tiny, almost mini-figure size. In a Pikmin LEGO game, the player could guide these little creatures around full-scale LEGO sets, using their abilities to solve puzzles. There could even be levels where we commanded LEGO figures instead of Pikmin or used Pikmin to fight off LEGO figures.
3 Kirby
Kirby In A Lego World
LEGO games tend to be aimed at children, and the Kirby games are some of the best platforming games for kids. Throw in the fact that lots of adult gamers grew up playing Kirby, and all of a sudden, a Kirby LEGO game looks like an easy sell.
A LEGO Kirby game could have everyone's favorite pink puff ball navigate worlds based around iconic LEGO sets, with the enemies being based on mini-figs. This setup would work well with Kirby's usual inhalation and copy abilities. Breathe in a LEGO knight, get a sword ability, inhale a Lego Spaceman, gain a jetpack, etc. Kirby games are usually set in colorful and whimsical worlds, so LEGO sets would fit right in. The only potential problem would be that LEGO has spent years encouraging kids not to swallow LEGO pieces, while a Kirby game would likely do the opposite. That sounds like a job for Nintendo's lawyers, though.
2 The Legend Of Zelda
An Emphasis On Building
Initially, a Legend of the Zelda and LEGO video game collaboration sounds like it might be the hardest to pull off. Ignoring the environmental puzzles, there's not much crossover between the usual Zelda gameplay and that of the LEGO games. That's where Tears of the Kingdom's Ultrahand and Fuse abilities come in. They'd be really easy to translate into a LEGO game.
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Lego Fortnite is one of the best casual survival games, and a LEGO Zelda game would have a lot in common with it. Link could build vehicles, weapons, and tools out of Lego pieces, much like he does in Tears of the Kingdom, with combat being slightly simplified. In recent years, the Legend of Zelda games have become increasingly aimed at adults; a LEGO version would let children rejoin the party. If LEGO Horizon Adventures can work, so can LEGO Zelda.
1 Mario
A Perfect Match
Considering all the excitement around LEGO's Mario sets, a LEGO Mario game seems like a no-brainer at this point. We already have Mario sports games, racing games, RPGs, and puzzle games. Why not a LEGO one?
Mario and Luigi running around a LEGO mushroom kingdom is a premise that sells itself. Nintendo could even base the levels around the many LEGO Mario sets currently being sold. Most Mario games feature a unique gameplay mechanic, and in LEGO Mario, it would obviously be building. Mario and Luigi could explore the map, looking for blocks to build an exit or solve an environmental puzzle. In what would be one of the best LEGO games for CO-Op, we could even swap between the Mario franchise's countless characters. The appeal of both LEGO and Mario is ageless, meaning a LEGO Mario game would sell to pretty much everyone.
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