LEGO Zelda: The Great Deku Tree Set Review: Worthy of the Legend

The partnership between LEGO and Nintendo has paid off in several interesting ways over the last few years. LEGO has predominantly focused on sets based on Mario as well as Animal Crossing , but the company's focus is starting to expand to The Legend of Zelda . There have been a lot of beloved games released in the near 40 year history of the series, and in an inspired move, LEGO decided to create one set focused on two different games. The concept is pretty unique, as it gives Zelda fans an opportunity to choose which game they'd like the set to represent. The Great Deku Tree LEGO set can be built to look the way it does in either Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild.

For those on the fence about which build to select, buyers have a significant amount of time to make a decision. The instructions for the Great Deku Tree set play out like a Choose Your Own Adventure book; everyone starts out the same way, but eventually the book has builders go to a set page based on their choice. This doesn't happen until nine bags into the set, which took me around four hours. During those four hours, the set tasks you with putting together all of the included Minifigs, the base of the tree, and some elements of the set that will exist regardless of your choice. If you decide you want to make the Breath of the Wild set, you'll still have a LEGO version of Link's Kokiri Forest treehouse from Ocarina of Time . If you opt to make the Ocarina of Time set, you'll still have a diorama of the Master Sword's location from Breath of the Wild .

What's nice about these little pieces from the games is that they would both make great sets on their own. Link's treehouse has all kinds of neat details, from a Hookshot Link can wield, to a little version of Navi the fairy. It's small and simple, but it's a nice recreation of the N64 location. The Master Sword area also looks great on its own, with some lush greenery, and a stand that bears a strong resemblance to the Triforce. However, the one difference between this piece and the Treehouse is that, if you plan on building the Breath of the Wild set, it connects to the rest of the Great Deku Tree.

LEGO is known for putting a lot of detail into its sets, and the Great Deku Tree is no exception. There are so many nods to both games, including a Gossip Stone in the Ocarina of Time build, and even a little Sheikah Slate from Breath of the Wild . The set only includes four Minifigs (which does feel kind of light for a set this expensive), but buyers will be able to build Link's friends and enemies from both games, from Skulltulas and Koroks, to Deku Babas. Seeing all these familiar characters really made me feel nostalgic, and eager to revisit both games.

Given the cost of the set, it should come as no surprise that either build will take a good chunk of time to complete. I'm a relatively experienced LEGO builder and it took me just under eight and a half hours to complete one version of the Great Deku Tree (I went with the Ocarina of Time build). For the most part, the build is pretty painless, and the instructions do a nice job laying things out. That said, I do wish that the instructions made it a bit easier to deconstruct one build and swap to another. There doesn't seem to be an easy path to do so without painstakingly taking each piece off until you get back to the initial decision point.

Outside of that design flaw, the other big complaint I have about this set is that the price point is going to scare off a lot of fans. While the Great Deku Tree set is absolutely worth the price for fans that can afford it, I hope LEGO isn't planning to use sales as a gauge to decide whether to make additional Zelda sets. As I put this set together, I couldn't help but think about all the other great sets we could get based on the series, like a Loftwing from Skyward Sword , or the King of Red Lions from The Wind Waker . The Zelda franchise has so many terrific entries, and it would be a crime to not see more done with it.

Still, if The Great Deku Tree is the only Zelda LEGO set we ever get, it's an incredible option. So much care went into building something that feels faithful to the brand, and the fact that they were able to channel two very different games for one set is really impressive. It doesn't feel like any compromises were made to honor both of these games, and that's a great feat of engineering. If you started as a Zelda fan with Breath of the Wild , you're not going to feel short changed with the final build, and that can also be said for Ocarina of Time fans that might not be as fond of Link's more recent adventures. Personally, as a Zelda fan of more than two decades, I really enjoyed my time with this build, and it's hard to imagine any Zelda fan not getting the same satisfaction. If you can afford it, the Great Deku Tree LEGO set should be a must-own part of your collection.

The Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree set was released on September 1st and you can pick it up now through the LEGO shop priced at $299.99. This set was provided by LEGO for the purpose of this review.