Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (2024)

October 7, 2024 | Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (1) 3

Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (2)

LEGO Gaming Correspondent

Kieron Verbrugge

Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (3)

Accompanied by the tagline of “FEARLESS,” 2024 is, in fact, the Year of Shadow the Hedgehog – at least according to SEGA. So while LEGO’s Sonic the Hedgehog theme continues to pump out sets of general interest to fans, Shadow’s dominating presence in the upcoming third Sonic feature film as well as a co-starring role in the Sonic X Shadow Generations video game means it only makes sense that he gets his own adult LEGO set.

Enter 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog, a set that I certainly didn’t expect when it was first announced. Rather than craft a level diorama from any of Shadow’s video game appearances, similar to the Green Hill Zone set, or go for something more ambitious like the Dark Rider motorcycle, here we have… a bust of Shadow’s scowling visage. It’s an interesting choice.

Running at US$69.99 / AU$99.99 / £59.99, this one’s certainly been contentious among both LEGO and Sonic the Hedgehog fans as it comes across like an odd design to go for as well as a curious pick for the very first Sonic character to get the bust treatment and, admittedly, it doesn’t present all that well in product photos.

Check out the global pricing and regional product pages below:

If you’re planning on purchasing or pre-ordering this set, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. We may earn a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work we do on the blog! Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for review.

77000 Shadow the Hedgehog Set Details

Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (4)

77000 Shadow the Hedgehog

Set Number

77000

Set Name

Shadow the Hedgehog

Minifigures

None

Retail Price

US $69.99 / AU $99.99 / £59.99

Theme

Sonic the Hedgehog

Release Date

1 October 2024

LEGO Designer

Aron Gerencsér

I’ll admit, I was initially one of the skeptics when it came to this set. I’m a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan, with the original game on the SEGA Master System being one of my very first video games growing up. I don’t mind Shadow as a character, and even (at least partially unironically) enjoyed his solo outing on the PS2/Xbox/GameCube in 2005, but as posited above there had to have been better ideas for his standalone set.

Thing is, I’m also willing to admit when I’m wrong, and after spending the couple of hours it took to put together the 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog set, I actually quite like it. It’s still a bit strange in concept, but if that’s not perfectly emblematic of the legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog as a franchise, I don’t know what is.

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Surprisingly, this set has been my first experience with LEGO’s newer sustainable paper bags, so there was already an element of novelty there when I emptied out the box contents to see the opaque numbered bags. The sole bit of plastic packaging inside houses a printed curve panel element for Shadow’s forehead which also features some printed red colouring. The manual, as expected, begins with some history of the character, though the sparse two-page section is maybe a little light on content. A timeline of video game/media appearances or something similar would’ve been a welcome addition.

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Heading into the build itself and Bag 1 sees the assembly of the plinth that’ll hold Shadow’s head up like the world’s weirdest hunting trophy. It’s a fairly basic construction coloured in fitting hues of grey and red, but there are a couple of interesting details. Firstly, the inner of the column gets filled with three of the same yellow flotation ring pieces that get used in the other Sonic sets to represent the games’ collectible rings. There’s also an exclusive printed element here with a plaque that goes onto the front side of the column with a hinge to create a bit of an angle, and it looks quite good.

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Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (8)

Bags 2 through to 4 are where the bulk of Shadow’s head and face come together, and there’s actually a lot more complexity here than I was expecting, owing to the challenge of crafting a believable shape for the brooding hedgehog’s noggin.

This section was far more fun than I was expecting, with a lot of differently-coloured pieces (which are hidden by the end, of course) and some interesting techniques used to create those unique lines and keep it all relatively solid.

There are more fun easter eggs here, too, including a green gem representing a Chaos Emerald where you’d expect to find Shadow’s brain. The character in games and media canonically uses Chaos Emeralds to amplify his innate powers, but I also like to think that specifically positioning it here is a bit of nod to his chaotic antihero nature.

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In Bag 4 we get not one but two more printed pieces – one being Shadow’s smirking mouth on one of the tan curved pieces used to represent his jaw area. The other is the first and smallest of his red-and-black spines. There’s also one more easter egg here in the form of a red crab, a familiar sight to Sonic fans (though usually a bit more… robotic) that sits tucked away inside a section of the back of Shadow’s skull.

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Bags 5 and 6 are mostly about building out the bulk of Shadow’s spines, although the fifth kicks off with one of this build’s more striking and creatively-engineered features – his big ol’ eyes. Using some unique printed pupil/iris plates along with a smattering of red tiles on top of two half-circle plates, the eyes sit nicely inside cutouts created in the head build. The spines are nice and solid, each made up of two sections and using plenty of bigger, curved pieces to give the desired effect. They slot into the head with axles and connectors, and pushing them firmly into Shadow’s head definitely feels like a test of the rest of the model’s sturdiness – and it passes nicely.

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Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (12)

Until now, the top of Shadow’s cranium has been completely exposed, which probably isn’t going to help him win any fights against his enemies. Thankfully the seventh and final bag adds the top of his head, along with his ears, nose and one final spine. The sculpted plate thatmakes his forehead and helps give him his iconic scowl is the biggest piece in this set, and like the bottom and top spines has a printed red detail on it. The unfortunate thing about this and the other printed pieces is the red ends up being a slightly different hue to the pure red pieces used elsewhere, giving it a bit of a mismatch that’s not super noticeable at a glance but is still a little disappointing.

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Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (14)

The very final element that goes onto this bust of Shadow the Hedgehog is the brooding anti-hero’s snout, which is one of those bits that just doesn’t look quite right in product photos but comes out much better in person. It’s a little girthier than fans would know from Shadow’s actual design but it works with the chunkier overall dimensions of this model.

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Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (16)
Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (17)

What I liked:

  • Shadow’s face is well-sculpted and makes for an interesting build
  • Good number of exclusive and printed elements with no stickers
  • Some fun easter eggs for fans to pick up on
  • A fairly agreeable price point
  • Looks much better than the official product photos

What I didn’t like:

  • Printed red elements don’t quite match the other red pieces
  • Instruction booklet could’ve had more fanfare
  • It’s hard to know who this is for
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Final Thoughts:

Even as a blue-blooded Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I was ready to really dislike this set. But after building it and putting it on my shelf alongside the Green Hill Zone set (still one of my favourite gaming sets), I have to admit that it’s really grown on me. In fact, I’d now be quite pleased if LEGO and SEGA announced more busts for the other core Sonic characters – except maybe for Big the Cat.

It’s unfortunate that this is one of those sets that just doesn’t present well in official photos and product imagery, because in-person it’s actually quite attractive. It’s got a pretty unique profile and a lot of depth, which don’t translate all that well to a static image, but viewing it first-hand is a whole different experience.

The price point and overall niche appeal of the Shadow the Hedgehog set still means it won’t be super popular with general LEGO enthusiasts or casual Sonic fans, but for those with an affinity for the character or enough curiosity there’s actually a fairly fun build here with some cute easter eggs and a final product that’ll look great next to LEGO’s other busts like Spider-Man and Darth Vader.

Final Score

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4

Build

A genuinely fun build with lots of interesting colours and techniques that end up nicely hidden under the well-sculpted bust

3

Display Value

Looks quite good as a finished build and isn’t overly large, though it’ll display better with other LEGO busts than other Sonic sets

4

Real Value

Decent per-brick value and uses exclusive/printed elements over stickers

2

Innovation

Overall an odd choice to celebrate the character with the first and so far only Sonic-themed bust

3

Keepability

It’s got somewhat niche fan or LEGO collector appeal, but it’s compact enough to sit nicely in a bookcase or on a display shelf

Audience rating

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How would you rate this set?

77000 Shadow the Hedgehog is available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store. In Australia, it’s available from Target where it’s on sale until 9 October.

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Review: LEGO 77000 Shadow the Hedgehog - Jay's Brick Blog (2024)
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