Every obscure Easter Egg in the latest Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO sets

30/07/202430/07/2024 Matthew Loffhagen 380 Views 0 Comments

LEGO Sonic is somehow getting even nerdier in August, thanks to a collection of Easter Eggs intended for only the hardest of hardcore Sonic the Hedgehog fans.

The latest wave of LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog sets contain some particularly obscure references to the blue blur’s past. These are likely to fly over the heads of many LEGO fans, but for those in the know, they’re an indication of just how much attention to detail has gone into recreating Sonic’s world in LEGO form.

76998 Knuckles and the Master Emerald Shrine

Release: August 1, 2024 Price: £29.99 / $34.99 / €34.99 Pieces: 325 Minifigures: 2 LEGO: Order now

76998 Knuckles and the Master Emerald Shrine is an odd set as it involves constructing a shrine for a feature that isn’t actually in the box. Anyone looking to place the actual Master Emerald on the top of their shrine will need to also purchase 76996 Knuckles’ Guardian Mech.

The set comes with Knuckles, Amy Rose (along with her Piko Hammer) and an Egg Robo, which originally debuted in Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the SEGA Mega Drive in the early ‘90s.

One odd inclusion in the set is a vineyard, filled with purple grapes that Amy can launch at the Egg Robo as a projectile. This is actually an impressively obscure reference to Knuckles’ canonical love of grapes, which dates back to the original instruction manual for Sonic 3.

This love of grapes has turned up occasionally over the years (such as in the Paramount+ Knuckles series) but regardless, it’s an admirable choice to take up so much real estate in this set with a reference that the vast majority of builders aren’t going to understand.

76997 Tails’ Adventure Boat

Release: August 1, 2024 Price: £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99 Pieces: 393 Minifigures: 2 LEGO: Order now

Even the name of this set, 76997 Tails’ Adventure Boat, is a nod to bygone days of Sonic the Hedgehog media. It is a reference to the SEGA Game Gear game Tails Adventure, which debuted in 1995. The game involves Tails exploring the world in his own homemade submarine, named the Sea Fox.

While the eponymous boat from 76997 Tails’ Adventure Boat is not a direct match to the Sea Fox, the sides of the boat feature printed elements that read SEA FOX II EST 1992. It’s a reference that will fly over the heads of all but the most dedicated of Sonic fans.

Interestingly, the date on the element, 1992, refers not to the video game Tails Adventure, and instead to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the game in which Tails first debuted. Fans can quibble over the specifics of the timeline here if the Sea Fox II predates the original Sea Fox, but that’s a minor issue.

The inclusion of a life jacket for Sonic is one of the more obvious references across these sets: canonically, Sonic can’t swim, a weakness that appears at some point in a large number of Sonic the Hedgehog games. When the character appears in LEGO Dimensions, instead of swimming like most characters, if Sonic touches water, he is shown floating on his back while wearing this very same orange life jacket.

Perhaps not quite as obscure as a reference to Tails Adventure, this set also contains a fascinating printed piece that shows a screen of the 1993 video game Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.

This was a reskin of an established Tetris-like puzzle game, Puyo Pop, and its dubious connection to the Sonic franchise has been referenced not only in the Sonic movies (Robotnik’s assistant agent stone works at the Mean Bean café) but also in the nostalgia-laced game Sonic Mania, which requires the player to beat Robotnik at a round of Mean Bean matching in lieu of a boss fight at the end of one level.

The inclusion of a hot dog in this set is a nod to Sonic’s love of chili dogs from early DIC Saturday morning cartoons, a character trait that has slowly bled into official canon in games like Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight.

76999 Super Sonic vs. Egg Drillster

Release: August 1, 2024 Price: £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 Pieces: 590 Minifigures: 3 LEGO: Order now

76999 Super Sonic vs. Egg Drillster may not be as rich with obscure references as the other sets in this wave, but there are still a few secrets hidden away (in some cases literally) inside the build.

This set marks the minifigure debut of Super Sonic. While both Super Sonic and Shadow feature similar flicked up spines on the backs of their heads, the LEGO Group has created a brand new element for Super Sonic rather than recolouring the head used for Shadow.

Shadow’s desk features a photo of him with a blonde girl – this is Maria, an important character from his backstory as explored in the game Sonic Adventure 2. She’s also expected to have a prominent and similar role in the upcoming Sonic 3 film.

Robotnik’s vehicle in this set is the Egg Drillster, one of his most iconic creations from the video games. The Egg Drillster is the first boss fight in Sonic 2 for the SEGA Mega Drive.

Perhaps the most well-hidden of all Easter Eggs within this set is a literal egg, hidden deep inside the Egg Drillster. This is entirely covered up by parts and it’s difficult to take them off again to access the egg, so this adds an unexpected surprise to the building process.

These three LEGO sets feel like they have been deliberately designed to please Sonic the Hedgehog fans who love an obscure reference. While the sets themselves feel a bit sparse, particularly in terms of terrain, the impressive construction of the various mechs, vehicles and badniks go a long way to making these sets enjoyable for everyone, and anyone ensconced in the Sonic fandom will get a particular kick out of the little touches.

LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog August 2024 sets

LEGO set	Price	Pieces	Release date
76997 Tails’ Adventure Boat	£49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99	393	August 1, 2024
76998 Knuckles and the Master Emerald Shrine	£29.99 / $34.99 / €34.99	325	August 1, 2024
76999 Super Sonic vs. Egg Drillster	£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99	590	August 1, 2024

These sets were provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Matthew Loffhagen: When I was a kid, my bus ride home from school featured a daily stop at LEGOLAND Windsor. The bus drove all the way up to the front gate, let eager tourists on and off, then drove back out of the park and on its merry way. Maybe if I’d got on a different bus every afternoon I’d have ended up with a proper job, but then, there’s no way of knowing for sure.