LEGO Fun to Build
| LEGO Fun to Build | |
|---|---|
 Front cover | |
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Producer(s) | Akemi Kamata[1]: 6 |
| Platform(s) | Kids Computer Pico |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Edutainment |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
LEGO Fun to Build[note 1] is a 1995 educational children's game developed and published by Sega. Released exclusively in Japan for the Kids Computer Pico, it is the first official LEGO video game ever released, predating LEGO Island by nearly two years.
Gameplay
LEGO Fun to Build is an activity center game. thing. Control with stylus and stuff.[3]: 4 It has four sections: Town, Aquazone, Castle, and Space, each accessed by turning pages in the Storyware cartridge. The Pico book.
Pages:
| Header text | Header text |
|---|---|
| File:Fun to Build p1 title.png | The game's title screen. It features no activities. |
| File:Fun to Build p2 Town.png | Town (街シリ一ズ) |
| File:Fun to Build p3 Aquazone.png | Aquazone (アクアゾーン) |
| File:Fun to Build p4 Castle.png | Castle (お城シリ一ズ) |
| File:Fun to Build p5 Space.png | Space (宇宙シリーズ) |
| File:Fun to Build p6 Building.png | Building games (組み立て遊び) |
Minigames
| Header text | Header text |
|---|---|
| File:Fun to Build p2 Racing 1v3.png | Racing game (レースゲーム)
The Racing game is accessed by selecting and assembling the Speedboat from the picture book. The player selects one of four vehicles and races three CPU opponents. If the player finishes in the top two they advance to the finals in a one-on-one race.[3]: 10 |
| File:Fun to Build p2 Pizza driving.png | Pizza delivery game (ピザ配達ゲーム) [3]: 11 |
| File:Fun to Build p3 Crystal grab.png | Aqua Crystal Exploration Vessel game (アクアクリスタル探査艇ゲーム) [3]: 14 |
| File:Fun to Build p3 Submarine game.png | Aqua Mini Submarine game (アクアミニサブマリンゲーム) [3]: 15 |
| File:Fun to Build p4 Maze Knight drawbridge.png | Castle maze game (お城迷路ゲーム) [3]: 18–19 |
| File:Fun to Build p5 Ice game.png | Ice Planet Mogul game (アイスプラネットモーグルゲーム) [3]: 22 |
| File:Fun to Build p5 Falcon game.png | Twin Falcon game (ツインファルコンゲーム) [3]: 23 |
Development and release
LEGO Fun to Build was developed at Sega Enterprises for the educational Kids Computer Pico console (known internationally as the Sega Pico).[1]: 1 The game was designed for children between the ages of three and six. Akemi Kamata headed the game's production. Kamata thought that a game featuring LEGO bricks would work well on the Pico, believing that LEGO naturally fostered creativity. She later said about it, "I thought that if I could make my favorite LEGO bricks that could be played with interactively through a TV, children's dreams would spread."[1]: 5–6 Much of the game's graphics are based on 1995 art assets from the marketing agency Advance; the game's box art and Storyware pages also use photographs from these assets.[4] Development was completed during October 1995,[5] and the game was released in Japan in December 1995.[2]
Prototype versions
In March 2008, two early builds of Fun to Build were released on the video game preservation website Hidden Palace. The builds were part of a collection of Pico prototype EPROMs supplied by video game hardware developer Kevin "Kevtris" Horton.[6] The ROM headers of both prototypes label them as Crayon Shin-chan no Oekaki Note, a Pico game developed by Bandai based on the Crayon Shin-chan manga; the two prototypes were mislabeled as prototypes of this game on Hidden Palace as a result.[7][8] The Crayon Shin-chan game's header date of January 1995[9] is also copied in both Fun to Build prototypes, obscuring their actual build dates.[7][8]
Legacy
Despite being the first LEGO video game, Fun to Build has remained obscure compared to later titles such as LEGO Island, and little is known about its development. In November 2020, the LEGO Group launched the podcast Bits N' Bricks to celebrate the 25th anniversary of LEGO video games, based on the release of Fun to Build. The game was only briefly discussed in episode 17, however, where Akemi Kamata was revealed to be its producer. Journalist Brian Crecente, one of the podcast's co-hosts, contacted Kamata and learned about her involvement in the game, though Kamata did not appear as a guest participant on the podcast.[1]: 5–6
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Crecente, Brian; Vincent, Ethan (31 March 2021). "Episode 17 – LEGO Video Games and Digital Play" (PDF). Bits N' Bricks (Podcast). Participants: Niels B. Christiansen, Julia Goldin, and Sean McEvoy. The LEGO Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2024. Audio version via YouTube.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "From Bricks to Bits: The LEGO Group Celebrates 25 Years of LEGO Video Games" (Press release). Billund: The LEGO Group. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 LEGO Fun to Build ガイドブック [LEGO Fun to Build Guidebook] (PDF) (in 日本語). Sega Enterprises Ltd. 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2024.
- ↑ emily/Pereki (2 January 2015). "The entire game is based almost exclusively on 1995 art assets from Advance". Rock Raiders United (Comment in topic "LEGO Fun to Build: The first LEGO game?"). Archived from the original on 19 January 2019.
- ↑ Sega (December 1995). LEGO Fun to Build (Sega Pico). File/code: ROM header, offset 00000100.
SEGA PICO – (C)SEGA 1995.OCT – LEGO—FUN TO BUILD – LEGO—FUN TO BUILD – HPC-6032-00
- ↑ "Ecco 2, Nightmare Circus, X-Perts..." Hidden Palace. March 30, 2008. Archived from the original on 2024-09-16.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Crayon Shinchan Oekaki Note (Prototype A)". Hidden Palace. Archived from the original on 2024-09-16.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Crayon Shinchan Oekaki Note (Prototype C)". Hidden Palace. Archived from the original on 2024-09-16.
- ↑ Bandai (January 1995). Crayon Shin-chan no o-Ekaki Nōte (Sega Pico). File/code: ROM header, offset 00000100.
SEGA PICO – (C)T-1331995.JAN – CRAYON SHINCHAN – OEKAKI NOTE – T-133080-00
External links
- Lego Fun to Build at Sega Retro
- LEGO Fun to Build at MobyGames
