Lego Island is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed and published by Mindscape, and released for Microsoft Windows, worldwide, on September 26, 1997. The game is the first entry in the Lego Islandseries, and the first Lego video game to be released outside Japan, following 1995's Lego Fun to Build. It was followed in 2001 by and in 2002 by Island Xtreme Stunts.
Gameplay
Lego Island is a nonlinear videogame played from a first-person perspective. The player can choose to roam around and customize the island, build vehicles with the help of a mechanic called Bill Ding, or complete a series of missions including pizza delivery, jet ski racing, and catching an escaped prisoner known as the Brickster. It features five playable characters—protagonist Pepper Roni, his caretakers Mama and Papa Brickolini, and police officers Laura and Nick Brick—who each have their own unique abilities. There are also Easter eggs.
Plot
While there is no necessary objective to Lego Island, a special mission will occur if the player has built the police helicopter and is playing as Pepper Roni. Pepper's caretakers, Mama and Papa Brickolini, who run and own the Pizzeria, receive a call from the island's jail. Mistaking the caller for police officer Nick Brick, Pepper is sent to deliver a pizza to the jail, which allows the Brickster to escape from his cell by using the pizza's fumes to melt the lock. He escapes in the police helicopter and steals the power brick from the top of the Information Center before heading to the residential area on other side of the island. If the helicopter is not built, the Brickster will not be able to escape and will reject the pizza. Once the Brickster escapes, Nick and Laura Brick, the Infomaniac, and Papa and Mama Brickolini discover what happened and Pepper then embarks on a mission to recapture him. After Pepper, Nick, and Laura reach the residential area, they discover that the Brickster has stolen the ambulance from the hospital and is planning to disassemble the town with a laser gun powered by the stolen power brick. Pepper chases after the Brickster, collecting individual helicopter brick pieces that the Brickster drops while he stops in random areas to disassemble any buildings and plants that are nearby. Should Pepper catch up to the Brickster while he is doing this, he will quickly move. After obtaining five pieces, the Brickster quickly heads for a cave entrance where he drops one more helicopter piece and disappears into the cave. After the Brickster has gone into hiding, Pepper searches around the island for the remaining four pieces of the helicopter. Any of the previous six helicopter pieces that Pepper didn't collect earlier can still be picked up. Once all ten pieces are recovered, the Infomaniac sends Pepper to rebuild the stolen helicopter. Alternatively, if the Pizzeria, Information Center, and Police Station are the only remaining buildings and all five pieces are not collected, the Brickster will instead dissemble the Pizzeria and the player immediately skips to the part where they must rebuild the helicopter. Once the helicopter is rebuilt, the Infomaniac, Nick, and Laura advise Pepper to use it to help them catch the Brickster using pizzas to slow him down and donuts to speed up Nick and Laura before the Brickster, now driving a stolen police motorcycle, can disassemble the remaining buildings. Two different endings can occur, depending on whether the player succeeds or not. If all the buildings have been disassembled, it will trigger the ending that shows the Brickster standing on the power brick, gloating about his victory with pieces of buildings scattered all around him. However, the Infomaniac then reassures the player that they can rebuild the island and the Brickster will be returned to his cell. The other ending unlocks if the Brickster is reached by the police, leading to the Brickster being caught and thrown back in jail, the power brick returning at the top of the Information Center, and everyone celebrating Pepper's success. The Infomaniac thanks the player, who is once again free to roam around the island.
Development
In 1996, The Lego Group invested roughly in the development of video games featuring its Lego line of toys. The Lego Group, as well as other toy manufacturers, at the time tried to gain a foothold in the video game industry. Lego Island was developed by American software house Mindscape, using Microsoft's DirectX technology, which enabled the team to design 3D environments. The game was announced on January 27, 1996, with the game's world, based upon the "Town" theme from the Lego System line, being named Lego Town. The game was formally re-announced one year later, under the name Adventures on Lego Island. Following the release date's announcement in September 1997, at E3 1997, Lego Island was released worldwide on September 26, 1997. Originally, the game was set to be the first in a six-game series, with another game titled Beneath the LEGO Phanta Sea, as well as an archeology-focused game called Dig. Creative director Wesley J. "Wes" Jenkins later went on to work with The Lego Group on a pilot episode for a Lego-based television series featuring Lego Island characters. Jenkins died on September 24, 2017, at 2:13 CST.
Reception
In the United States, the game sold over 909,000 copies between 1997 and 1999, making it the 15th bestselling computer game of that period. It was the country's 11th bestselling computer game in 1997, with 323,085 units sold and almost $12 million earned in revenue. In 1998, it reached eighth place on the United States' chart for the January–November 1998 period. It ultimately placed seventh for the full year, with 404,858 sales. Its revenue in 1998 alone was over $10.2 million. The following year, it dropped to the 15th position on the annual sales charts, with 309,698 units sold. The success of Lego Island revived Mindscape's business, which was in trouble at the time. In 2016, Digital Spy ranked Lego Island as the 14th best Lego game in a list of 15.
Awards
Lego Island won the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 1997 "Family/Kids Entertainment Title of the Year" award. It also won the "Best Kid Title of the Year" award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It won several awards from family publications, including Family PC's top-rated virtual toy award, Family Life's "Critic's Choice" award, and Home PC's kid testers' "Reviewer's Choice" stamp of approval.
