The Beauty of Retro Lego Sets...

[@TekoMuto]

Lego

[@Spady_Jorts]

Lego

[@Jacket7133]

Lego

[@NoahgotLEGO]

Mega Bloks

[@cade32X]

Lego

[@inspirationplayz3743]

Lego

[@elig8127]

As impressive as modern Lego is, they're equally as infuriating. Their prices are getting bonkers and they just keep making odd decisions. If nostalgia sells, which it clearly does, why not make more retro remakes that people can just buy whenever? My favorite set will probably always be the 1987 monorail that was handed down to me from my mom. It's in remarkably good condition and can even run on its own, truly a relic from a bygone age.

[@flambo6554]

ahhh yes monorail, such a good line despite the fact that the tracks are worth more than gold by weight

[@maxxor-overworldhero6730]

Holy shite, your Monorail still runs? Isn't that a rarity nowadays?

[@HenritheHorse]

Sadly the monorail parts were made by different company that went under.

[@thefuriousfatty2297]

Lego overall is not much more expensive than it was back then if you adjust for inflation.

[@teddyepstein]

Which monorail? The Futuron one?

[@cursedwanderer1753]

I agree, the more "base" designs give off the feeling "I can do that too!", which is really inspiring for creativity.

[@minacapella8319]

seriously this. the whole point of lego was to encourage creativity back then...

[@LAQuadling]

I completely agree with you about the style and esthetics of modern LEGO. The company doesn't have the same goals with their set designs and it shows. Even though the sets of old were simplistic (maybe even primitive) to today's sets, I love them so much more than anything that's modern. Sure, we can say it's all about "nostalgia", but for me it's about how LEGO was a system of pieces that could be used to create anything. The modern sets look too pristine and polished with all of their specialty pieces making all of those different curves, angles and edges. The older sets were also interested in using color. The sets had fewer colors than modern sets, but they used color to also tell a story.

[@Wind-Waker7272]

True!

[@jimmyrcg4966]

Funny Lego Story when I was small I really wanted the Krusty Krab Lego set and due to a miscommunication with my parents and extended family I got 2 of them They were freaking out talking about who was gonna return there's and I wanted both which confused them I built both and then drew a red number 2 on the sign and my dad still thinks it was the funniest thing I thought I was a genius

[@paperdawn]

Can confirm, that is genius. I had the krusty krab set too actually! I think i still have all the pieces for it!

[@chandlerfox7759]

That IS genuis, friend!! Your younger self was correct in their assumption lol

[@YourInternetHistory676]

Nice reference to the movie !

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

🦀❤💵

[@Roberto0_vr]

Haaa😂

[@Maniac4Bricks]

What's cool about Aquazone as the first underwater theme from LEGO, they didn't have to make it this sci-fi, and yet it carried itself. It could have started as standard boats, jetskis, fishermen and deep sea salvage, but no - they pushed boundaries and said, "this is a futuristic underwater theme where divers harvest crystals to power their underwater dwellings in a time where hydrogen was a limited resource." Like, that's kind of dark for a LEGO theme but made the struggle against foes and wildlife even more suspenseful.

[@Wind-Waker7272]

Do you remember, chrome knives?)

[@Maniac4Bricks]

@@Wind-Waker7272 Yup, and I can still find some that haven't faded. Chrome swords and crystals too!

[@AClassicBrick]

And then, just shortly after they were like "well after Aquazone, everyone will think a standard diving theme could never be exciting, let's prove'em wrong..." And they created LEGO Divers, which was amazing in every way imaginable.

[@Gameprojordan]

Technically they did the same thing with space, atleast when they started using minifigures in their sets. It started out super scifi in the late 1970s, then a "contemporary" space set finally came out in 1990 for the town theme; *Set 1682: Space Shuttle Launch* For the next few years there were a couple more one-off contemporary themed space sets released, but it wouldn't be until 1995 when an entire space subtheme of town called "Launch Command" came out, featuring 5 sets within it

[@EntretuGaming]

I'm only 26 and started being hooked on Lego around the age of 11 but this video is so relatable. These oldies give me so much nostlagia, I can't imagine how it would be if they actually were part of my childhood. I wish I had some of the adventurers of classic space sets. Like you and many Lego fans, I'm frustrated by the lack of unlicensed themes. One of my favorite theme is Atlantis, it's like a undersea wave for Adventurers. The colors scheme of the first phase was just perfect. Now every potential theme gets sucked into City Ninjago or Creator...

[@hashedpenguy9222]

what do you mean nostalgia you weren't there

[@markofbrick]

I have so much nostalgia for the 90's era sets (and even despite owning many) I still watch many videos on them. They're just so fun to see and talk about. The turning point from vintage to modern I feel is the introduction/transition to curved slopes. Lego only used to have linear slopes, hard edges, but in the 2000's there was a shift into using many curved slopes. Everything has become more smooth / curved, but the rigidity and chunkiness is a huge part of what makes vintage sets have that charming nostalgic aura about them. I'm happy you shouted out RR Slugger too - his content is just great, so much editing and love are put into their videos. My favorite is the iconic Aquazone Sea Lab base (6195). It was the perfect gift for a four year old on christmas. It has everything - raised baseplates, giant transparent pieces, chunky parts. it is just such a good toy. Rather than only a standalone structure, it is immersed in landscape to really set the scene. I appreciate the love for paradisa - pastels are not usually used in lego, and the sets just feel so comfy, they are a favorite of mine too. (Also I may have misheard but I'd label speed champions as a licensed theme as they use real life car brands and even technic is now falling into that trend)

[@mintpalmer]

Monkie Kid was designed specifically for the Chinese market. It isn't even really sold in stores anymore, mostly being available online in the west. They have a lot of crossover in terms of vibe - that's probably why it's not stocked in stores.

[@LrdVnm]

As a kid, my family never really had a lot of money. The biggest sets I got were the Dark Dragon's Den, Forbidden Cove and Bandit's Secret Hide-out, which were amazing but did leave me drooling over sets like the BSB, Temple of Anubis and Royal Knight's Castle. Now that I'm in a way better place financially, I get to fully enjoy what kid-me could only dream about and I'm slowly but surely collecting the sets I always wanted, which, turns out, are a lot. You'll be happy to hear I started my resurgence into LEGO with the Temple a few years ago and I even have five pirate ships adorning my piano. The set I remember most fondly from my youth would have to be Oasis Ambush. It's small, but it has everything it needs and everything it does, it does perfectly.

[@Da_maul]

KZbin's really been sending me down the Lego Rabbithole recently. Anyways. I've always been a huge Bionicle fan, on top of robots just being sick as hell the lore is extremely intricate, mystical and just downright exotic. The Matoran Universe concept and reveal just like, blew my socks off in 2009. With normal System stuff Rock Raiders is definitely my favorite theme, I'm a sucker for lived in, down to earth sci-fi. Exo Force, Alpha Team Operation Deep Sea, & Arctic were also ones I enjoyed quite a bit. Anyways the Lego rantsona is extremely cute, I want to hold their little yellow plastic hand. Will definitely give the rest of this channel a look as well.

[@jaumeroca9612]

I remember when I was a child, like 2009, looking at the police stations, or the big expensive Atlantis sets. I remember that feeling of trying to make my own city, with Lego sets and MOCs. So much fun.

[@PurpleBrickfilms]

Paradisa is the best theme ever made. No more details, just, it’s the utter best.

[@HenritheHorse]

It is pretty underrated. I don't own any of the sets, but I would love to make a 80s Miami style moc with those parts!

[@edgarego5813]

that pink ass vaporwave aesthetic is so DAMN juicy i love it

[@Bionickpunk]

@@edgarego5813 It aged like fine wine cause of the new trends towards 80s dream liminal aesthetics

[@fryncyaryorvjink2140]

I feel like I can taste it just looking at the pictures, lol. Same as it tasted back in the 90s. Never had any of them, might have to get some

[@LeoMidori]

As a boy my mom would've discouraged my interest in them, but a friend of mine had that poolside set. I think there's a sense of class, sophistication, fun and chill vibes of leisure in it that makes them extremely appealing. Sure there's pink and some extra female figures in it, but it's just so dang immaculately themed a world that you can't help but want to relax along with everybody. Or have a strange Space or Castle crossover. :D

[@GermanPeter]

Of course I'm loaded with nostalgia for these older sets, but my problem with the newer ones is that I wouldn't even want to play with them? Like, just imagine smashing your figures around on a set like the Monkey Kid ones. Everything's gonna break off! And you'd have to either pause and immediately re-attach the pieces, or do it later when you've completely forgotten where everything goes. What a nightmare, honestly. That's a big problem I actually had with the Star Wars sets when I still played with Lego, all the antenna and guns just kept breaking off during play. Not a fan. I was however a fan of the Lego train sets, being a train fanatic and all. Would love to own some of them again, like 4559, but they go for a fortune these days, it sucks.

[@Zack-zv1qs]

the glow in the dark ghost is engraved in my mind

[@TastyBusiness]

As a kid, the Paradisa sets were desirable even to the boys because of one thing they had in spades over other town sets: food. So many food pieces. Also, I''m convinced that Time Cruisers was just LEGO's excuse to put a bunch of leftover parts into a big set. Still loved them all the same. I'm super jelly of your pizzeria set, those are hard to find.

[@Maniac4Bricks]

For a long time, I held that my favorite LEGO set ever was 6242 Soldier's Fort - a set I enjoyed so much, I memorized the set number, that's rare. A Pirates set from 2009, this had lots of options for play around an imperial port from a jail cell, a palm tree with buried treasure, a weapons station, and a guard tower with a moving crane - and it only cost $50! Not to mention the 2 pirates and monkey who can break into the fort and thwart the guards and cannons and crocodile and escape with loot. This set packed alot of options as well as being semi-modular: you can shift around the order of the structures in multiple ways, and it was easy to see how to build more on top of it for an even larger naval force. I also enjoyed the stickers adding more life to the prison with a day counter and spider webs, or the wanted poster near the armory - I even used another Pirates set, 8396, Soldier's Arsenal, to add more flourish to the base - and LEGO didn't even advertise that combination! For $3.49, you get an extra soldier and a weapons rack that can easily integrate with the fort, or since the parts are basic enough, encourage you to build your own with more depth. I also enjoyed 7037 Tower Raid, with a similar prison break scenario centered around a military guard tower - gee, do I have a type. Released in Fantasy Era Castle in 2008, this set offers a bunch of figures to play with, but a more limited variety even at $30, as you had a tower with 4 floors matching against a siege vehicle with battering ram. It was cool when the two models combined, but it lacked alot of unique play scenarios. Fantasy Era is my favorite Castle line as it offers a wide range of world building, some that was only *hinted* in magazines like elves and sea serpents but never built as sets - not that I can't build my own! Nowadays, I wanna say Ninjago City or Galaxy Explorer are some of my favorite sets ever, but they do lack that "less is more" mentality that mid-2000's and earlier sets offered. They're both good sets and surprised me numerous times in building techniques, but I get less enjoyment out of them after they're built, what do they do now? They really beg me to do more with them, as well as other themes like Monkie Kid, but lately I've had a couple story ideas I wanna illustrate/photograph that aren't even about these themes, or very loose parts from them. Instead, I wanna explore more of Mars and what kind of civilization the humans and Martians can co-create. I wanna have a fantasy world fueled by music that conjures magical spells. But I also wanna expand my laid-back shore town, finally get a campground and hiking trail through nature while also being a vacation spot.

[@benjamindelnat9448]

“They got caught up with if they could add more detail, but never stopped to ask if they should.” I’ve heard no one talk about this, because everyone talks about piece counts and price per piece but with the shift to overly detailed mocks, and axing baseplates I’m sure you’d see the ounce per dollar for sets steadily going down. The packaging has shrunk as well accordingly.

[@tossedcookies8288]

I miss town so much! That’s why I collected almost all of them in my adult years. 80s early 90s LEGO imo were the golden years of LEGO.

[@robohime1169]

As someone who grew up with Bionicle I feel like the story is part of what inspired so much creativity from me. I remember taking apart my sets to build my own Toa and Matoran and Rahi and all kinds of OCs that would fit into the universe. It's even inspired my own stories that I write stuff abt and think about now. It is a different kind of creativity and but think that's neat! :) I wish I was creative enough as a kid to come up with anything with brick tubs or more traditional themes but having that universe and story as a jumping board really helped me.

[@jamesvacca8835]

You made a great point about how the simplicity of older sets was better for expansion. As an AFOL with two jobs and many additional hobbies I don’t have the time to get my “expansions” for new sets on par with the instructions. Meanwhile, I rebuilt an old castle set and added an additional floor, a dungeon, and stairwells and it came out great. I have two Lion Knight’s Castles so I can make a big expansion and baring a bridge design I got from rebrickable and altered slightly, I’ve found it difficult to expand the castle more and maintain the same quality.

[@TurbopropPuppy]

LEGO caters way too much to AFOLs these days, and AFOLs, to their complete discredit, are routinely surprised that the children's construction toy company doesn't _exclusively_ cater to them, and absolutely lose their minds in user forums anytime LEGO announces any theme or set that is for kids instead of being some old live-action sitcom millennial nostalgia bait. The Brickset reactions to LEGO Animal Crossing and LEGO Fortnite announcements have been deranged.

[@moistcheezits1101]

My favorite Lego theme is Power miners, not only were they affordable when they released in 2009-2010 but they had a cohesive story along with amazing set design along with most sets encouraging and sometimes giving you instructions to combine the sets to make new super cool creations, such a good theme

[@Maniac4Bricks]

I shook my head *hard* wanting you to rip into the 90-Year sets. And arguably, the 60 Year of the Brick ones had a little stronger case - 5 sets with instructional builds but also encouraged to build your own models. Each set posed a phrase with a blank left open on the box, so *you*, the consumer, can fill in the blank in your own way. Every set featured things at minifigure scale, greater or lesser, and parts of castle, space, city, all colors and shapes, easy to work with and some in inventive ways. I won't forget the frog mouth made from a pirates treasure chest.

[@Inactivechannel-r6]

I love the way the old minifigs look, the simplicity is amazing. And they peaked at the aesthetic of the old ninja sets

[@logicaldojo1901]

Lego Paradisa - memory unlocked! I had Seaside Cabana and it had that perfectly Golden Girls palette to me. It also just fit perfectly into the canon I had for my Lego - above water from Aquazone and the seaside of Town proper. Dang Bellville was a bummer.

[@bryant3596]

I used to play with legos a lot as a kid but what I had the most fun with was the bin of legos at the after school boys & girls club. So many scattered sets. I can at least remember fragments of space and ice planet being mixed in there.

[@Andtherewasguitar]

I remember gushing over the 90s space sets in the catalogue, and then for my 4th birthday I actually got that black and red robot. I wanted the castle sets of the time badly too but my parents couldn't afford them. Then some years later I got the big one out of fright knights. Played with that thing so much. I recognize so many scattered sets throughout the video, and some I actually own myself and played to death with as a kid, knowing every nook and cranny inside out. It's sort of etched into my memory, good memories.

[@GyroCoder]

I feel like the recent lunar mission subtheme (which is under City for some reason incomprehensible to me) is really good and sorta recaptures that reconfigurable aspect of the 90s sets. Like 60350 and 60349 and 60348 and all those. I think that does a pretty good job of recapturing the "themed, but also build your own" vibe of things like Rock Raiders or Insectoids or what-have-you

[@Maniac4Bricks]

12:14 I too would stare at catalog images of these sets, and even nowadays I know there's a limited baseplate to house its functions, as a kid it was a world of possibilities. The set 2996 Lost Tomb always made me wonder if there was more than meets the eye, and while I learned later that it was a facade, I easily can adapt it into one of these other sets as a full tomb just like in the real Egyptian pyramids with branching passageways.

[@LSparkzwz]

The city theme was my favourite, as a kid I got a fire station and a F1 pitstop, I really loved how simple the sets were because it'd let your imagination personalize the set as you wanted, even if you were a kid. I always wanted to build a full city but yeah, money. Modern sets look cool, honestly impressed by some of the sets shown in this video, like the monkie kids ones. But at the same time they feel too busy and leave little room for imagination. Also I'm a fan of studs showing in buildings instead of flat and detailed surfaces.

[@hab0272]

90's lego had a lot of iconic themes. I'ds love to see new or re-imagined sets within these classic themes. There's a lot of focus on novelty but some ideas are timeless like the bricks themselves

[@Blake_Stone]

Apparently in the late 90s LEGO had made a series of boneheaded decisions at an executive level (think Galidor), and the company was on the verge of disaster when the Star Wars contract came in and saved the day. Of course this shaped every future decision and now 20+ years later LEGO is heavily reliant on licensed deals for its bread and butter lines. Having said that, there's a lot of great things being done across LEGO these days and the amount of parts, colours and variety available is astonishing, in some ways it's never been better. There have always been amazing artists and designers working for the company even if the company itself is (like most of them) run by boneheads so the art succeeds in spite of commerce. But yeah there's a simplistic charm to old LEGO where they had far far fewer pieces and techniques and colours to work with. Just look at those old LEGO catalogues, they were a work of art in themselves, I used to collect them and spend hours dreaming of owning all those sets...

[@garrettgarrett9365]

My favorite Lego set as a kid was the black seas barracuda. I stared at that set for 3 years in the Lego catalogs, begging for it, and letting it be known that it was the only thing that I wanted for my birthday or Christmas. And after three years, I got it!

[@thechris2477]

I definitely agree how the older sets seemed much more possible to add to. These newer sets are so detailed that it’s honestly hard to add stuff that looks cohesive with everything. The most I did when I was younger was add more guns and weapons to my Star Wars ships (specifically my republic gunship). I was into the early ninjago and was really into Bionicle but I was still really young when they came out and had a love for it once it was discontinued. Hero factory was also my jam but mainly because Bionicle wasn’t around lol.

[@aekenes2128]

Wow that intro literally defines me as an individual lol. Went to Legoland a couple of weeks ago with the family and it reignited my interest in legos. Made me want to buy some of the old sets I grew up with and display them in my office. After seeing how expensive they were I thought “well maybe the newer sets will be cheaper”. Only to realize that anything Lego new or old is ridiculously expensive. Just kinda of sucks as anyone getting into the hobby now can’t even afford it. I agree with this whole video. The older sets have a feeling like you can add more to them while the new sets while cool looking don’t have that same vibe about them.

[@SMCwasTaken]

I think the Lego Creator theme Captures the nature of Old Legos perfectly

[@danielludwig647]

My parents started me on stuff like Aquazone, Ninja, and the wild west themes. I kinda miss those old toys, because they *were* truly a little more generic and flexible in how you built and played. Any theme “lore” was the sort of thing you could write on the back of a postcard at most, and springboard ideas from there. Nowadays it feels like themes need to be licensed IP-related or a whole milkable multimedia phenomenon (lookin’ at you Ninjago), which feels constraining. There was a sort of joy in the earlier, looser themes that they only occasionally recapture. But eh, maybe I’m just being nostalgic. I’m sure kids love the new stuff just fine.

[@thatoneguyfromhs4944]

Your lil avatar is too cute, and the way you went through the timeline of Lego and all the old, nostalgic theme's that a lot of us weren't even around to experience was so nice and well done 😌

[@IntergalacticDustBunny]

I had (still have) a bunch of the classic space theme sets from my childhood and a few of the town sets, I've been piecing them back together slowly (replacing lost pieces and such). I always loved the feel of the classic sets, very Space: 1999 meets 2001 A Space Odyssey, I'm really impressed with what they managed to do with that line without resorting to the generic "Good Guy vs. Bad Guy" trope that was standard in toys then.

[@kristof2997]

Dude lego is gonna be my forever fixation that's for sure. I love the knights sets and making a kingdom atm

[@kristof2997]

Also, i have the fire breathing fortress 😎

[@ThatTarkur]

Bionicle was always my main go to but the aftermarket have not been kind to it. From sellers who don't know or care enough to sell any of it to hyper focused collectors that buy up a ton of it to flip it for a profit. To unreasonable prices on masks that was made in the millions. To niche parts having a prominent roll in many contest winning or alt builds which just drives prices through the roof. Its not easy being a bionicle fan these days. And I see the similar but not always the same issues with older themes. I love the older lego aesthetic but sometimes the most interesting sets cost more than most new sets

[@Wind-Waker7272]

"Golden"parts even more costy.. Its not actual gold but they don't really care

[@Bionickpunk]

This is why I never bothered collecting all the Bionicle sets and masks, mostly cause its impossible due to the unique or extremely rare contest masks. Only bothered with certain character and their upgrades, along with certain group of sets. Pretty content to get the few sets I always wanted, might get additional sockets if the ones on the sets crack, and stop there.

[@strollingonfire6232]

When I was younger I always stared and drooled over the 70404 “King’s Castle” while playing with my childhood favorite Lego set, “Race For The Stolen Treasure” from Indiana Jones!

[@kara5929]

I used to look at those lego books that had all the sets for a theme with them for hours upon hours imaging how I would play with them and stuff, I had the first book for lego starwars, and ninjago. Also very cool video

[@sIowdragon]

this is exactly the video i needed to get my partners into lego, amazing analysis! also dont let weird people in the comments gaslight you, your voice is really pretty as is!

[@digitalunity]

Alternative word to battlements, "Crenellations." I find it a more fun word to say EDIT: Oooh, favorite sets... Well, I know as an adult I am constantly kicking myself for not being interested in Life on Mars as a kid, that theme rocks! But I also know that I had a few sets that contributed a bit to the problem we have today of LEGO being a middle man merchandizing company. I was and still in some ways am big into Star Wars, and when I was younger I ended up with a few really good Star Wars sets. I recall having an MTT and a hailfire droid... As it stands, what I wouldn't give to have LEGO go back to making things targeted toward kids imaginations. You're absolutely right that their modern sets are definitely more design pieces, but what LEGO needs is to go back to printing a new piece every 5 minutes because they need a whacky shape on a budget. Guard rails, molded base plates, that one car chassis from adventurers, the whole lot! I'd kill for a new space theme in the old, classic way that LEGO used to make things...

[@yeeoof1995]

shame the space theme will never come to appear for a long while, star wars is too big

[@ryanelliott71698]

14:50 yeah that’s how I feel about modern lego. Waaaaaay too many licensed themes. No original ones anymore. Now on one hand I can get it. It’s strategically cheaper to license than put in a lot of work for a theme that might go bust after 1 wave. But as someone who grew up with lego in the 2000’s I still miss the days when we’d get like a new original theme every year.

[@LeoMidori]

I feel so spoiled growing up in the 90's... we had a new Space theme EVERY year, with a couple new sets coming out for the old ones, a new Castle theme every year or two, Pirates, and an abundance of City and aquatic theming of some sort. I loved Star Wars as a kid, but I absolutely see it as the beginning to the end of my interest in Lego as a brand.

I just discovered that they released some remakes of old sets. and as I was a pirate guy, the new Barracuda and the new Eldorado fortress was a no brainer for me. I spent 2 days building the Barracuda and another 5 mocing it to my own liking and building new islands and stories from the leftover pieces combining them with their 30 year old counterparts. They fit so well. And I didn't even open the fortress yet. They are stunning and awesome, but they are one offs. They are nostalgia pieces, sometimes you get a new release in every 2-3 years, sometimes don't. So you can't just go buy a new pirate set or polybag for your kid every now and then to let them play and build something. The new castle sets are also amazing, but they are big and expensive too. The only thing that is continuous and you can always find a new small addition to the set and still not limited by a franchise I think is the city sets. And I love them, colorful, cheerful, simple as hell yet still very clever. Also the new city space line this year is amazing, hope they will continue releasing them for years to come.

[@alexandercolefield9523]

I actually grew up with a lot of classic sets my dad got when he was a kid, he threw them all in one big grey bin mixed and told me and my sister to have at it.

[@DMARrecords]

I didn't even know about the blacktron set because of the fact it's a "bonus" set.

[@jaynederp5236]

that Lego Island soundtrack is fire

[@nekokicker]

First off your lil Lego OC is 10/10 cute!!! Also though I loved the time cruisers comic from the Lego magazines.

[@Pxwjxb]

My golden era of LEGO was Power Miners, Tiny Turbos, Indiana Jones, and the first two waves of Ninjago. And while those themes were my childhood, nothing seemed to compare to the colorful creativity of the 90’s. The new sets seem so over-designed and void of what made the older sets so fun. I think they’re definitely better than the old stuff but I don’t know, something about that era is so captivating to me.

[@Gemkeeper]

I cackled aloud when you said ✨️Johnny Thunderrrrrr✨️

[@stages_of_mania]

Shout out to second grade me who got the $50 firefighter boat set as a gift and absolutely *demolished* it and warped it into something different cuz oh idk, kids be kids and just like to have fun with their toys

[@absolutetrash4278]

I was born in 2007 and even i agree with you on this. Vintage, classic sets are just so nice, and its honestly really hard to put my finger on why, considering i have no connection to these sets. There's just some sort of charm to them, and you did a really good job at describing that.

[@Friggityfrag7]

I’ve always wanted a 4558 metroliner ever since I saw it in Brickfilms in the early 2000s. Got it a couple years ago and it remains the crown jewel of my collection

[@samuelpierce2.088]

The LEGO theme that I have the strongest nostalgic attachment to is the Racers line from 2003 to 2013. The slick, semi-futuristic designs of all the vehicles just reached out and grabbed the brain of kid me and wouldn’t let go. Whether it was the bigger Power Racers sets that featured powerful pullback motors, or the bite-sized Tiny Turbos that crammed a lot of detail into a super compact form (and you could often get two or more with one of the bigger track-based sets), there was something for everyone.

[@thedipermontshow]

I gotta agree with you, i wasn't old enough to play with old system but i've always wanted to try, i haven't got any luck getting sets just up recently when i bought by 2.50 bucks a Gears set 001 from 1965. But alas, i guess that i shall keep looking for more. The old lego boxes are pure art. (As a graphic designer i fell in love with the old lego photos for sets, specially mid 60's)

[@SchandorfTeal]

If you wanna play the Rock Raiders game there is an Awesome fan remake of it called Manic Miners

[@benparker1822]

My favorite Lego Set? The one that got the most use were a couple linked ones, actually: The smaller Space Police mk 1 Cruiser with the detachable jail cell, was one. The other was the Black Knights Sea Serpent supplemented with The Black Knight mini figure and accessories micro kit. The biggest reason for the Sea Serpent is that it I could use it to have exploratory adventures with the few Black Knights Castle sets I had. And, I picked up some odd sets to expand their exploration, like some of the smaller Wild West Indian sets, and other Lego Castle sets from other, later themes. And, the Mk 1 Space Police Cruiser was just a cool, sleek space ship with similar encounter potential, with all the colors I enjoyed as a kid: Red and Blue.

[@quirkhopper404]

I think my favorite memory of Lego as a kid was having a Harry Potter set for the Forbidden forest. You were supposed to make like a cave or hut or something, but since i lost the instructions, i just made a stone spaceship being driven by people with pumpkins for heads. Almost glad i lost the booklet

[@nutherefurlong]

Loved the Galaxy Explorer... as someone who grew up with (the middle of) the original three. The price for what they gave you was very generous, and the features were great. It did feel advanced compared to the original, since the original sets were sort of just a plate with a box on top, but it was sort of a combination of elements that made it magical and they managed to do that, too. I wish the set had been more popular than it seemed to be, but I'm happy it exists. Main thing I miss about old sets was because they had a more brickbuilt quality they were more versatile as sets you could just add to the pile. They seem to be getting back to that, but I fell out of Lego for a long time because there was this trend of over-specialized pieces for a while that took up a lot of space but didn't have much versatility. There's a bit of that still, and Basic sets often seem to be more vertical than horizontal, limiting building potential for me, but at least there seems to be a bit more versatility again.

[@MJ-uk6lu]

I dunno, but I have looked at Rebrickable and what kind of sets were available in early 00s and I'm blown away with what kind of unimaginative trash we used to put up with. Nowadays set are still affordable, have so many more colors, character and random new elements, that just make Lego a ton of fun. Oddly enough I kinda love the vibe of 70s and 80s Lego, when everything was really blocky and simple, but honestly I wouldn't trade that for what we have now. So many people complain now about Lego prices, but but I think that those big sets put Lego to the next level and there are so many nice cheap sets. I think that we may be in actual golden era and not even realize that and that's a shame.

[@plastictoyface]

Great video! Completely miss the charm of these old sets that allowed you to imagine outside the lines

[@Pqag]

I’m so so glad that when I told my dad I wanted Lego, he went on eBay and bought me boxes of old Lego. I occasionally got a new set here or there but that classic stuff was the bulk of my collection. I got a couple of huge boxes of other kids old stuff! Some of the bricks were really old, some were very strange and clearly build for some specific purpose, and there were just lots of different bricks of all sorts! I would pour through those boxes trying to work out what different very specific bricks could be used for, and they would inspire me to build all sorts of different things. I loved it so much. So many stories, so many creations, so much fun. When I got new sets, it was like adding to this whole world I had. New characters and new parts. I got a submarine? Well now I can build crazy new spaceships when I want to play that game, or use the torso or head to create a unique character in my action movie games. They invited creativity and opened new concepts to explore. My little brother is about 10 years younger than me, and by the time he was old enough to play with lego, most of my collection had been given away. He never really got into Lego as much as I did. The lego he got was all from new sets, and the sets he had were such finely detailed things, far more intricate than the things he could ever hope to build himself. He had lego starwars sets and Harry Potter ones, as well as a load of other sets. He had a lot of Lego too, but half of it was from films or other existing story’s, so he never wanted to take them apart and make new things. At the time when I was about 17 I really didn’t understand this. I remembered playing with Lego in a completely different way, but of course what I had was a completely different toy. General Grievous’ ship looks like what it looks like, and if it doesn’t it’s not his ship, so why change it? Besides, you’re playing with it alongside other starwars lego, so you WANT General Grievous’ ship. It’s not that you can’t be creative, it’s just that you are almost incentivised not to be by the product itself. And that’s sad. Anyway thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it and it got all these ideas flooding to the top of my head, you really got me thinking about it and solidify these long dormant memories. Honestly really great video I loved it :) Ps. if you read all this then thank you, I love you :) Pps, I remember fawning over those sets in the catalogs too! I’ve never felt a greater sense of longing in my life than when looking at those huge pirate ships

[@Sam__Playz]

While I wasn’t alive when most of the the older retro sets were released, even today I enjoy playing with older sets then I do newer, and my favourite theme is the western, from 1996.

[@LydCal999]

Your lego avatar is adorable

[@For891]

I couldn’t agree with your take on lego any more. RR slugger catching fire out here

[@Nadiki]

Haha yes the R.R. Slugger cult is spreading

[@JakeWassell]

Im kind of a sucker for 2000's to early mid 2010's Lego City sets, something about that era is fun for me, brings me back to my youth

[@gregorius9251]

17:13 "You must build a snake truck." This sentace made me laugh

[@someguy3330]

As someone who grew up in the 2000s when I tried to make moks it was hard to replicate the complexity of the sets not impossible but took a lot of time, also didn’t help that I had a lot of variations in colour pieces from random sets over the years and all my pieces being in one unorganised pile.

[@StlBill]

The best gift from Santa I ever got was the Legorado Civil War Fort…it was so freaking cool.

[@thehatfox]

What a fantastic nostalgiafest! Rocky River Retreat was real favourite of mine, it might look a simple set but the river cabin and bridge sparked hours of fun. I always called that sunglasses minifigure a particular name, Max something? I can't rember now, not sure if he ever had an official name. I loved Castle and Aquanauts too. The sets I lusted after were the Lego Trains, I always wanted a train set. I agree about the change in Lego direction, modern Lego feels more like model kits with a specific end goal, rather than an open-ended construction kits with a vague theme. That's not a bad thing either - model kits are great, and the level of detail in modern Lego is impressive. But it would be nice to have a bit more of the creativity-focused "old" Lego too.

[@yuotueb]

People have all kinds of arguments why previous sets were "objectively better"... and I don't doubt that some of them have merit. But it's also quite obvious that everybody thinks that about exactly those sets that they had (or pined for ) as a kid. It's obvious that personal nostalgia plays a gigantic part here, and in fact makes it hard to objectively evaluate the pros and cons of past vs. current sets.

[@BrightNightmares]

I love the Ape Escape 1 music in the background. Fantastic game with fantastic music. Edit: The rock raiders game is amazing. Theres a fan remake of the Rock Raiders game called Manic Miners too, but i haven't tried it myself.

[@NinaFelwitch]

Retro Lego has so much more LEGO-Feeling than modern Lego. It has a very special kind of charme. It was more blocky, more LEGO-like. Big pieces. And no license attached to it. One of the best parts were these books that you could get with miscellaneous instructions and stickers in it. Old LEGO was like "Here are bricks, now build whatever you can immagine". Modern LEGO is like "Here is a display piece for 300 bucks. To touch, just look".

[@hinkali_v_chetverg]

this video feels so nice. like, I don't know anything about this phase of lego - I was born in 2008 and my childhood was made from sets like Legends of Chima or SpiderMan, but all these atmosphere of super old sets, with this stupid (in a good way) yellow smily heads... it's just feels good (sorry for my english, it's not my native language and I'm not really good in that)

[@latemammoth]

these sentiments about these older sets compared to stuff coming out now is something i've subconsciously had going for a while but never explained so well. especially with star wars

[@edmundolastra3279]

I could be wrong, but I feel like the sharks first appeared in some of the pirate sets. Aquazone was one of the first times I saw the octopus mold tho

[@AGENT666.]

Most of the sets in my collection are 2007-2014 Star Wars but I love pretty much anything else from that time. SpongeBob, City, Atlantis, Pharaoh's Quest, Monster Fighters, Marvel Superheroes, Toy Story, Castle, and Pirates. Those are the golden years of Lego if you ask me.

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

Back in the day we made our own Star Wars and Star Trek models from the lego that we had, it was cool.

[@Leila2206]

great video! started as a kiddo in 1985 i love and collect vintage lego and i prefer space and aqua, bit castle and city, because of the houses. not really into pirates. but the old sets were the best. the more, i loved my mixes, only brics, windows, doors, slopes and i have done every day something new. nowdays you can not really be creative with sets, the only way, IMHO is to buy a bulk or a starter kit of lego, to do more.

[@kris220b]

if you want to play the rockraiders game, there is a fan remake called manic miners built from the ground up, HD graphics, new mechanics, 3 campaign variants, custom minifigs for your miners. voiced characters

[@Liboo52]

R.R. Slugger! I must have been recommended this video because I just watched his Rock Raiders Retrospective, and I’m so glad! Loved the video :)

[@GNF54]

LEGO Classic Space goes so fucking hard

[@matthew_thefallen]

The best part of old school Lego, especially from the late 80's and 90's, is the catalogues. I would stay hours and hours looking at them and imagining me playing with sets I would never get or wanted so bad! Yeah, good old times...

[@preachermansam86]

Great to see so many sets that my partner and I still own from back in the day. I don't agree with the argument that newer themes don't have as much room for creative play as the older sets do. Our kid is obsessed with Ninjago and has created his own characters in that world, as well as new stories and lore, along with new builds in that theme all the time. So I don't personally see them as limiting. Sure, they are less of a 'blank canvas' so to speak, but they also provide the tools for building in certain styles that would be harder without those special types of pieces and show kids how that is achieved with the sets themselves.

[@Kendrubbin]

God, I had so many of the Johnny Thunder and Rock Raider sets back in the 90s and early oughts. The designs are so nice, and the little games that came out with the latter were so much fun to kid me, even if I wasn't good at them. I got Chrome Crusher, Set 4970 for my birthday back in '99 and lost my mind haha, absolutely obsessed.

[@isolatedirectorofficial]

I actually have that 90 year anniversary LEGO Galaxy Explorer set! Also the set I really really want to get is the LEGO System 3438 McDonald’s drive-thru set from 1999! I’ve always wanted it! I LOVE LEGO!!!

[@louiscarpenter7144]

I feel a lot of modern Lego is just so soulless. I was raised on the odd 2000-2010 era of sets, and I adored themes like agents and the creativity of the old city sets. Where Lego made a story behind themes, it would encourage you to develop the characters and make the stories, and where there was no story like World City/ older City sets, there were enough resources to build a whole world. It feels a lot less like Lego are putting genuine effort into so many of their sets, like they’re resting on that reputation they built up and sucking the people who miss the days Lego tried dry in the sets that aren’t licensed. There are still banger sets, yes, still sets I adore, but so much of it is missing the imagination, and missing the soul

[@SethRuh]

Big lego fan and just checking you out for this video. Your use of your character and changing the style of them with each topic is a great feature, love it🥰!! keep that up man. Hope your channel grows further and faster!

[@tandy5811]

Gonna be real honest, legos from the 60s/70s have a charm themselves. The limitations of brick shapes at the time make it a much more fun experience to build and just overall experiment If ya' get what I mean.

[@playererror4044]

Favourite as a kid, that award would probably go to (check brickset for the number): 8576: Lehvak-Kal The green Bohrok kal. I had no idea on bionicles real plot or that it was essentially just a re-release of a set from the previous year, I just loved my funny little robot that curled into a ball and had a sort of peck/head smash gimick if you hit the lever on the back. Set I wanted the most as a kid 7317: Aero Tube Hanger from the Life on Mars space theme. I loved seeing it in Lego Racers 2, I loved playing with the one my primary school had, it's just really fun to send the aliens up and down the pipes... and I can say this because at 23 I was finally able to get my hands on a version of it and the fact it didn't dissapoint was so releaving.

[@lemuelbecc]

4:17 Been a while since I heard the smooth sounds of the Cave of Fear.

[@Hotrodimusprime]

Imagine your parents being able to afford a $50 plus set , barley middle class problems

[@videojames290]

Third comment on this video but man, I just miss the Montessori nature of the 20th century sets, how they're just little guys to imagine with. I hear a lot of nostalgia for the themes of my time like Power Miners and Space Police v3, but honestly even that sadden me to no end for how laser-focused they were on combat and conflict. I do not think Lego can ever recapture the unadulterated charm it used to have before they started fetishizing policing.

[@LeoMidori]

I love old Lego but there was plenty of police officers and stations back in the day as well. A favorite of mine when I was young is set 6625 Speed Trackers, and it's absolutely just a cop car and motorbike.

[@videojames290]

@@LeoMidori this is true. I think the difference for me is that the older stuff was more pedestrian, whereas now Lego uses the force more for action hero play scenarios. Up until the 90s they didn't even include designated criminal minifigs, they just gave you some first responders to do whatever you thought they ought to get up to

[@cstick2664]

My favorite lego set of my childhood was the Police Station from 2008. I remember my parents got one to donate to a like a Christmas toys charity for poor kids. Most of December they said I stared at that box in our living room before dropping it off. Little did I know they had gotten a second one for me too! It was just the right blend of big and grand while still a playable toy.

[@MykeTronBuilds]

I was around to just start appreciating the early themed Space factions, and M:Tron was my passion. Too bad those little magnets are so specialized and expensive on the secondary market, in addition to some of the theme-exclusive pieces.

[@dolphin232]

I watched star wars when it first came out and on the way back all I could think about was how to make a Tie fighter out of Lego. Literally all I had was the basic parts. I imagine looking at my younger self it would have looked crude and basic... back then it was just fun. ...and yes the galaxy explorer is .... MEGA ...ACE...BRILL...FAB and a load of other out of date words...