As much as I bang on about the N64 on a daily basis, the PS1 will always hold a special place in my heart alongside Ninty's iconic machine. I loved the PS1 growing up, and all the memories I had playing Spyro, Crash, and Star Wars: Episode 1 on Sony's first console.
After the Arrival of the LEGO NES, I thought we might be seeing the PS1 joining the fray sooner rather than later; it's just as legendary for Sony as the NES is for Nintendo, after all. Still, it's been left to the LEGO Ideas community to bring this one to life, with designer MoniBricks coming up with an 852-piece marvel that captures the spirit of the original PlayStation perfectly. The shape, the buttons, the internal gubbins–it even has a working disc tray!
The design of this LEGO PS1 is perfect, right down to the grills on the sides. With plug-in controllers and memory cards as well as the green power on LED, this thing oozes nostalgia and takes me back to the days of playing Metal Gear Solid with my mates. As I said above, the disc tray actually opens up too, though I wouldn't recommend putting your discs in this one like the working LEGO PS1 I reported on - this one is purely for playing or displaying.
Still, when you take the top shell off, you can see the inner workings of the console just like in the original, including chips and all of the electronic components used to power the PS1 like the optical reader, motherboard (albeit a simpler version), and the console's processor. It's a perfect example of great attention to detail, and you can tell MoniBricks has been a lifelong fan of this console to put so much effort into bringing it wholly to life in brick form.
'The PS1 marked the start of 3D gaming and brought unforgettable soundtracks and legendary titles,' says MoniBricks, 'that’s why I see it as a truly timeless object: it didn’t just make history — it still lives on in the hearts of players. I think it can become a perfect Lego set because it welcomes the approval of everyone, young and old, gamers and non-gamers, because it represents the childhood of all of us.
The controllers have received some mixed views from fans in the comments section of the project, however. Some people are saying that they're brilliant representations, while others have been offering the advice that they could do with a little more work. Designing anything out of LEGO to this scale is difficult, and while MoniBricks has said that it took them a while to get the controller to this design, I do think they could be a little more rounded in places to capture that original style of the PS1 controller. Still, it wouldn't stop me from picking one up from a shop and proudly displaying it in my office, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Moni Bricks says that the PS1 has accompanied them, as well as all of its predecessors, throughout their life, something I can also attest to. As I sit and play God of War on my PS5, I think back to those early days of playing Crash and thinking that it couldn't get any better than that. This project celebrates one of gaming's most important machines, and I really hope it becomes a reality!
With almost 3,000 votes in 5 days and 572 days left to get to the next milestone of 5K supporters, the future is looking bright for MoniBricks and this project. Head to the official LEGO Ideas page to back this design and to keep up to date with its progress!
