These days, a pirate set seems like an afterthought in a series like creator or a collector's item for nostalgic adults. This 7-minute video displays perfectly what this time period was like.

Great video, the point about "licensed collectables" was eye opening. In fact it made me realise that most of LEGO's (rare) attempts at unlicensed themes are not even that anymore, they are launched with the intention of them becoming their own franchise, like what happened with Ninjago. So many are introduced with a TV show, an app, a game, a line of clothes, etc. It's very sad to see traditional themes, like pirates and castle, being pushed aside in favour of creating "the next Ninjago".

Pirates sets were amazing but another thing that made me love LEGO even more were the catalogs. I used to stare into those 2-3 pages for hours, investigating every small detail. Like this one catalog where they had a tricorne mustache pirate running in a barrel with just the legs and head poking out. That blew 5-year old me's tiny mind PS - amazing video. You definitely get it.

Wow, you really nailed it in explaining why old Legos are so magical, saying they were "toys" and not "licensed collectables". For me it's also the fairly limited types of parts and colors at the time, that force kids to use their imagination a bit more, and give them a more toy-like look.

Captain Redbeard was an icon of my childhood. Having some of the original 1989 sets truly set the tone for a great amount of the scenes and stories I would make in my bedroom. I've never felt that LEGO has been able to match the magic of the original line.

Pirates is probably the only Lego theme where you could take sets from 1991 and sets from 2011 and they’d still look good together. I think the 2009 Pirates wave also still has the same spirit when it comes to great small sets. Kraken Attacken is possibly my favorite $10 set of all time. Loot Island comes with a really unique exclusive ultra specialized base piece which harkens back to the 90s. While I can understand where you’re coming from with Barracuda Bay, it’s still a top 10 set of all time for me and pairs great with 10210 Imperial Flagship!

I do agree that LEGO no longer feels like a toy company but instead a manufacturer of plastic collectibles. Everytime I'm in the lego isle, parent's typically say no to their child when they ask for lego. Lego marks theri sets for children but I feel like they are trying to appeal to adults more buy including an exclusive minifigure or specialized peices and making not appealing for a parent to buy for their children. I wish lego Really did think alot more ofbl the kids and released more unlicensed themes so they can be free with their imagination.

You really put into words something I've felt about Lego. Its a collectible not a toy. When I was a kid when these pirate sets were coming out, I would mail away every week or two from the back of the Lego catalog and get more sets of the pirate/soldier mini figures and gold and weapons and any extra parts. I can barely afford full sets myself now let alone for my kids. My son and I basically make up our own stories with my old sets. I am thankful for that 90's era of pirates. Some of my favorites.

This theme had some great stuff! To this day lego pirates of the caribbean is my favorite lego theme aside from minecraft, and it really seems like the only way it was able to be so good was because lego pirates was here laying the groundwork

Awesome video! I really believe Lego has lost something over the years, and you articulated it really well. There is plenty of value in modern lego, but I think there's equal to greater value in their old design philosophies. The Galaxy Explorer really does stand on its own as a return to form in so many ways. The fact that it had 2 alt builds, just as lavish as the main build, really felt like an alternate dimension where that classic design language never left.

That ending was really poignant. I don't think I had ever fully realized that all of my first sets that ignited my love for Lego in the early 2000s as a young child are two decades old at this point.

One of the things that I loved about Bionicle was the vastness of its world. It encouraged me to seek out the small corners that hadn't been explored, gave me the structure and system upon which to base my own stories, and the freedom to truly build them... even if they weren't necessarily "good," they were my own. It's one of the many things I love about Star Wars, as well. Sure, there's the main story, but that doesn't preclude a different and original story from happening within it. It's an amazing quality of Lego that I'm very glad I got to experience, and one that I hope will be carried into the future as well.

%100 agree, I feel like LEGO is more tailored toward adults, and I've just been noticing less functionality in LEGO sets, and more "displayability" if you will. Great Job Cheesey!!

Out of all the Lego theme's Minecraft is the one theme I'm most in love with even though I grew up with Hero Factory, Mars Mission, and Star Wars when I was younger. It just still has that do what you want creative freedom with it unlike most other themes that I almost feel bad taking apart or doing something different with it then leave it as it is.

I personally wasn't a pirates guy, but I understand why they're popular. Personally though the series I want brought back and done with a modern take is something western. Either play it straight and actually try to be fair to native peoples asking permission and seeing what they'd want included, or just make a fantasy wild west theme or steampunk theme.

In the 90's my sister and I had the pirates attack our castles! The sets were great and, as you noted, consistent in design and look. We also had some Islanders sets and I loved the stone statues so much.

I’m too young to have played with the old pirate sets but a little game called Lego Battles had me in love with the pirates, imperials, and islanders

Love this video Cheesey! You have a lot of wise words about the nature of the company then versus now. 👍

Damn this video is too real. I always think about this. LEGO moved away from the good times. Imagination and the charm of sets and themes are really important to me. I like the non licenced LEGO sets more because of this. Caring about the minifigs you have, because you went on an imaginational adventure with them is probably the most sad part of it. Discontinued themes feels like your LEGO worlds are going away and wont return again for you or people like you when you were younger.

I think about exactly what you were talking about in this video all of the time! I grew up in the late 80s/early 90s and had some castle sets. My sister and I played with those sets/minifigs constantly. We made up our own stories, built our own versions, and had a blast! These days, LEGO just makes too many sets over and over and too many licensed themes. Imagination just kind of goes to the wayside and I think that's what it should all be about. I am just a beginner MOC builder, but enjoy that so much more than using instructions.

Oh wow, what a nostalgia trip! I got the original Black Seas Barracuda in 89 and it was pirates all the way from that point on. I got several but not all sets, my last one being one of the smaller sets with the native islanders later on. There also was an audio cassette series (in Germany) for Lego Pirates that I must've listened to a million times 😂 Such a great time to play with Lego... Sometimes I would meet with a friend and bring my best pirate ship (a frankstein'd construction with parts from like four sets) and we'd duke it out on the floor with his pirates and soldiers, or vice versa. I remember being excited about Lego-centered exhibitions or small local cons because you could see unique MOCs and gather some fresh ideas - since there was no internet at home. Wanted to rebuilt my old Barracuda for years now to put it on a shelf, thank you for prompting me to actually do it 😊

Nicely put, I agree with everything. Even the city sets are being shoehorned into prepackaged stories rather than letting them be whatever kids want them to be

Could not agree more man. I was born into the Clone Wars 2008-2015 lines and that pretty much dominated my interests for lego. I look back at the sheer amount of pirate sets and knights sets with tears, I have only joes started to collect newer pirates and Knight sets but it would be so cool to see the rerun of affordable and high quality amounts of these sets. Loved the video as always

I really love the floppy arm skeleton but its biggest flaw is that it's always a dead guy it can never be used as a reanimated skeleton because his arms are just too floppy

Wow I was JUST looking into pirates for a personal project (and some small hyper fixation) and you come out with this! Alarmingly prescient (and convenient!) release schedule!

After returning home from the Lego store today with some Minifigures, my 6 year old son asked me today why I love Legos so much? They are so cool, I said. And be thankful I'm still a kid at heart!

I have such fond memories of the Pirate theme, it made up the majority of my first Lego sets. I can still remember opening 6234 Renegade's Raft in the car of the way home, seeing that shark trapped in that plastic bag, poor thing, I had to free him you know ;-) I think I just about had the whole raft built by the time we got home. What you said about accessibility in this theme is so true, most of my pirate sets were the cheapest of the range. I had set 6232 Skeleton Crew, 6237 Pirates Plunder, 6252 Sea Mates, 6245 Harbor Sentry and 6235 Buried Treasure. Our family weren't very wealthy, so these smaller sets were not only a good introduction to building Lego, but still offered a wide range of minifigs. And to sweeten the deal you'd get neat little things like sharks, skeletons, a cannon that fires, treasure chests with gold or a boat that can float on water if your careful enough. I think the most expensive set I owned as a kid was 6248 Volcano Island. But what a set it was! You had your big skull face to ward off anyone, which slides open to reveal hidden treasure and, get this, a skeleton that jumps out of the volcano too spook anyone caught off guard! Such joy! I use to drool over the bigger sets in my lego catalog, I loved the boats and the ones on a raised base plate! Like 6273 Rock Island Refuge, or 6276 Eldorado Fortress! Lego Pirates was truly one of their best themes, one that really inspired my imagination as a child. And come to think of it, if there's one minifig that represents Lego for me in my mind, it's Captain Red Beard. I really wish they'd do some more sets inspired by the original, it's too good of a theme to go to waste.

These old themes really are classics. They're before my time, but they're GOOD. They're open-ended, they let you do whatever you want and encourage play and creativity, rather than modern lego.

This is, without doubt, the best Lego channel on KZfaq. Not debatable 🙌

Really miss this theme 😢😢

I remember back in 2008 I started buying old pirate Lego on eBay, parts of sets, job lots mystery boxes, little bits here and there. All because I found the black seas barracuda ship in my Grandma’s house while she was moving home.

The imperial flagship was the coolest ship when I was a kid, but I didnt have the room. That bad boy is like $1,000 new now. At least I got brickbeards bounty.

The Buccaneers set reminds me so much of those small sets, with maybe one or two minifigures and a small build, you'd get from more distant relatives for your birthday or Christmas.

I have fond memories of my lego pirates. I still have them in a big tub that I’ve recently began sharing with my own children. As a 9 yr old, any bit of allowance I would rush to the store and pick up the cheapest pirate set. I actively collected from 1994-1998.

Wow! Caleb you knocked it out of the park with this one. Everything you said here is spot on, and you certainly brought back the nostalgia I have for those good ol’ days of simple consistent themes that offered a sense of adventure compared to the mostly curated lego story lines of today. I would love to see TLG go back to long running themes of pirates, castle, and classic space again so that my kids could also enjoy hours of being completely lost in their own storytelling that I don’t see them currently do with their lego

Thanks for this great video. I grew up during the golden era and I miss those themes so much. Nowadays I mostly buy old sets from Bricklink and parts from BL and Lego Pick a Brick for MOCs. Sometimes I buy new sets like the Galaxy Explorer and the Blacktron Cruiser. If Lego would reintroduce the classic themes they would make tons of money from me and many others.

Thank you for sharing your video about LEGO's long lost treasure, Pirates! It's great to see LEGO enthusiasts exploring the history of the brand and its various themes over the years. The Pirates theme was definitely a favorite of mine growing up, and it's fascinating to see how it evolved over time and how it still holds a special place in the hearts of LEGO fans. Thank you for taking us on a trip down memory lane and sharing your passion for LEGO with us!

I wish they’d still make sets like this. Nice and abstract, respectful of family budgets, full of character.

I love your editing in this video. the little brick built tv is such a sweet addition to give the video more charm. i grew up with the lego pirate theme from 2008, which i enjoyed quite a lot! wouldve been nice to see it getting some love too. (i understand that this was a more nostalgic "back to the beginning video" ofc tho)

These videos are so good! The amount of info you pack into one video is fantastic! It's really temping me to abandon collecting new sets and try and find as much of the classics as I can. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

I just Love the old catalogues the stop motion ads etc it screams so much „Lego“ even tho I never grew up with classic Lego pirates (being born in 2003) but I still adore the love that was put into the themes. That’s what I also loved about the 2008-2012 city era with the adventures of Max in the Lego club Stop motion shorts

The floppy skeleton stands with all my iconic figures, and when I set up a battlefield between them, he’s always the one being walloped into the air, or smacked by a massive hammer.

Wealth, fame, and power. There once was a man who obtained it all - The Pirate King, Redbeard. His last words at the execution stand sent people from all over the world out to sea. " My wealth and treasure? It can be yours if you want it! Search for it! I left everything in that one place." Men now set sail for the caribbeans in search of Lego Piece. The world has entered a Great Pirate Era!

I agree with everything said in this video! Modern Lego is just licensed stuff and Ninjago, which just isn't my thing. Any unlicensed theme they make has to be something weird like DOTS or Vidiyo. Where are all the cool ideas they were able to come up with just a few years ago? While themes from the 2010's might not be as beloved as all these classic themes, at least they were interesting ideas with great sets. I also agree that everything is just too large - I LOVE the Barracuda Bay set, but mine just has to sit in it's box most of the time because I don't have the space to have it permanently displayed. I prefer the Galaxy Explorer over the castle because it's not bigger just to be big, it stays at a relatively affordable price, while still being just as cool in my opinion. Can't wait to build that one, I got it on sale not long ago. Also, I really like that you're trying some different video styles, even if Minecraft will always be more popular. Keep up the amazing work :D

I feel incredibly blessed that my mom and granny had good taste in LEGO sets. They got me the Imperial trading post set, an imperial ship and a bunch of smaller Pirate sets. Luckily I still have them all.

Well said. I was lucky enough to have been just the right age when the Pirates theme started in 1989, and all these years later those are still my favorite sets in my collection.

Awesome video Cheesey! Entire video is spot on. From 6:00 mins plus, you hit the major theme 1000%. Couldn’t agree more.

I would like to say rest in piece (pun intended) to your 1x2 reddish brown brick that holds the silver stud on your custom TV.

Thank you for taking me down this memory lane. Pirates was my first set series when I was a kid. I kept getting excited seeing the sets I had and others I wanted be mentioned and shown! Thank you.

I really appreciate how different this video is from your norm. Really enjoyed this different, more reflective, style. Editing felt really top notch too. Definitely leaves you with something to think about

I didn't grow up with this theme, but by golly this video has me in tears. All the classic themes I missed cause being born later, I've always enjoyed the classic town and system sets

Thank you so much for mentioning Knight's Kingdom 2! Lord Vladek is still one of my favorite villains of all time! And he's related to Ogel, the main villain of Lego Alpha Team!

My favourite set ever is the pirates range. The catalogues with the pirate action scenes made you want to make up your own stories.

Growing up with Lego in the early 00's, I was lucky to inherit my older cousin's lego collection from the 80's and 90's. While I enjoyed the new releases a lot, there was something really magical about Lego Pirates, Space and Castle from that era. With releases like the new Galaxy Explorer and such, I hope we'll eventually see a homage to themes like Rock Raider and M-Tron

I mostly got my sets in very late 90's and earlier 00's but I always loved flipping through some older catalogues with these and other sets of the times. I think even as a young kid I could sense the "soul" in them.

As an AFOL who was part of the target market at the time, Pirates changed the game for everything LEGO that came after it. Introducing unique head printings that deviated from the traditional smiley face being the biggest shift which the entire brand immediately adopted. I'd dare say Pirates was what encouraged the company to branch into more creative subthemes for Space and Castle, and stretch further into themes like Aquazone and Rock Raiders, looking for the next concept to ignite the imaginations of children and adults alike. Kind of hard to do in 2023 where the once biggest proponent of LEGO, the imagination, has ceased to exist in favour of licensed products, however is alive and well amongst the MOC fanbase.

My oldest memory I have is going to Legoland in Billund with my parents as a 5 year old in 1993. I remember everything about the trip. Coming all the way from South Africa, it was a massive deal at the time! Billund is an incredibly tiny town that I imagine only exists today because of Lego. We walked from the airport to our guesthouse and on the way I found two minifigures on the side of the pavement on the lawn - that totally blew my 5 year old brain! Lego on the side of the road?? What is this magical place?? Looking back now I can only assume that some kid was in tears knowing he lost his lego somewhere on the way home from Legoland. We spent a couple nights as a guesthouse and then one night inside the park at the official hotel. In the dining hall each table had a different countries flag made out of Lego of course, so we sat at the South African table. Shortly after we arrived back home, South Africa became a democratic country and changed the flag, so my dad sent Lego a sticker of the 'new' flag along with some other pictures of it and in return Lego sent a thank you card along with the 'old' flag made out of Lego. It's a bit of a faux pas to have any 'old' South African flags today, but its something that is still on display in my old room at my dads house. While at the park I specifically remember going on the Pirate ride multiple times. There were sharks swimming around us, skeletons and treasure in the cave, a waterfall, and a shipwreck on the island. I was a bit young for Tecnic, but my dad spent some time at the Tecnic station building various bits and pieces while I went on other rides with my mom. Now that I think of it, I think my dad had more fun than I did! :) At the official store inside the park, my parents bought me a Pirate boat! My mom suggested we keep the box closed till we got back home to South Africa but my dad insisted we build it as soon as we got back to the hotel room. We built it and played with it for a while and then it fell on the floor and shattered into hundreds of pieces - I started crying and my mom starting shouting at my dad - great memories! :) - After a bit of googling, I think it was set 6268 - Renegade Runner. I've been living in the USA for 10 years now and have unfortunately only seen my Dad 4 times in those 10 years, with one of those occasions being when my mom passed away unexpectedly in 2015. I miss both of them considerably but I'm fortunate for modern technology that I'm able to chat regularly with my dad via Whatsapp. I became a dad in 2020 and before my wife gave birth to my son I started getting into Lego again and buying as much bulk Lego as I could find. Wasn't really looking for specific sets or anything, mainly just trying to get as much bang for my buck with the idea of introducing my son (and now daughter into it). My kids are into Duplo at the moment, but my son is slowly starting to understand the concept of Lego, although he's definitely more a fan of taking things apart than building them. Funnily enough, today in the mail I actually received two Lego sets that I'm giving to my son for his 3rd bday next month on behalf of my dad, one features a helicopter as they were talking about helicopters on the phone the other day (60242 + 60243). He's also a big fan of ambulances, firetrucks and police cards at the moment - pretty much anything with a siren! :) Lego was a huge part of my childhood. While I did have lots of pirate pieces, I don't particularly remember being hardcore into any type of theme in particular, it was more of just being a bonding experience with my dad and building random things that I remember fondly. I'm also very fortunate that my dad kept every single piece of Lego from my childhood, laminated all the instructions and kept all the boxes intact, sometimes to the dismay of my mom, I think that's the best investment my parents ever made! :) I'm working on a plan to try and get this Lego back in my possession in the near future. Thanks for the nostalgia blast and memories!

To me there's simply nothing better than 80s and 90s lego pirates and castle. I can't fully explain the nolstagia they hold for me (as I wasn't even alive when most of them came out) but there's just something special about the theme, a magic that to me is lost in the newer, ultra-detailed, ultra-realistic sets. I hope one day LEGO would maybe do a "classics" line and bring back classic sets or new sets in the old building style. One can dream...

The simplicity of it all is what made pirates (and kingdoms, mars mission, etc) so memorable and fun. They encouraged ones own imagination through the sets as built and what they would inspire us to build in the process. Even just focusing on the minifigures by themselves, they were so interchangeable in terms of their parts and accessories to where I was excited to get another buccaneer pack for a birthday or something - mean that I now had more, unique looking crew members for the Barracuda - and nowadays that feels like something "discouraged" given that everything is a licensed theme. I do genuinely miss that magic and simplicity some of the older original themes. Hell I still play around with old castle and kingdom things, they're wonderful for experiencing the joy of creation.

Wow, thanks. Very poignant and right in the feels! Well done, I am right there with you. Opening the latest Lego catalogue made me reminisce about the old themes of the 90s (I didn't even know they were called themes:)), themes I used to play with then. Like with pirates right there. And you captured it perfectly, I feel 100% the same. The freedom to build, rebuild and make your own stories again and again was...well unmatched. And feels missing from today's licensed products and IPs. Well you've said it all, no need to repeat. Having said that, in the short time of the last few weeks where engage my mind with Lego again, I see some hope. I think Lego do see the allure of the golden age with the sets that you mention. Let's be grateful for those right? Without them, we'd be left SW and Ninjago only right?

I got that Buccaneers pack when it came out, and I still have most, if not all, of the figures! I do miss those minifigure packs from the 80s and 90s! For less than $10, you could get five or six minifigures and accessories--and they usually came with at least one figure from each current faction of their respective theme. They were sometimes a cheap way to get figures usually only included in larger sets. If I recall, the Pirate minifig packs were about the only small sets to include Captain Redbeard--and that red Armada leader was a more premium figure as well.

As someone who didn't grow up with this Era of lego you explained it better than someone who did

Something about this video radiates childlike wonder. Maybe it's just reminding me of playing with Lego from the 80s-2000s during my own childhood, but the simple charm of these old Lego sets just ignites your imagination as a kid. Sure, the smaller color palette, selection of parts, and simpler designs back in the day mean there's less room for detail if you're really obsessed with making models, but as a toy it made it easier to build something cohesive with just a set or two. With more sets, it was easier to sort them by color and get fancy with it. Nowadays it seems like often when I see kids playing with Lego, it's only the really young kids that take the sets apart and try to build something else, and it tends to be a garbled mess. Then as they get older they just leave the sets together and give up on making their own creations, eventually giving the Lego away. Heck, even in the Lego community, it feels like as recently as 2019 the Lego community was mostly composed of people building custom creations, and during and after the pandemic it's been flooded with people mostly interested in collecting official sets. While I like all the possibilities modern Lego gives us, sometimes I do wish we could return to simpler times.

Fantastic review/analysis! So glad I looked you up from that castle debate with Brad :)

Respectful counter point to your claims in the ending: LEGO has not lost the imagination they had in the 90s. They've just added to it. Out of the 965 sets released in 2022, sure a lot of them are licensed recreations from pop culture, or collectibles aimed at adults. BUT I'm sure you could find at least 146 of them that maintain the freedom of imagination that 1989 pirates had. The Creator 3 in 1s in particular definitely maintain that charm.

This was a great video my friend! I built a Jurrasic Park set yesterday and I noticed I have more fun buildong on my own vs instructions. Im making a starwars MOC rn and I added a few dinosaurs to the mix telking my own story vs one laid out for me!

So we are not talking about the new great video style? Fantastic small builds that improved the nostalgic video. Great new badge! Keep building

Yeahhhhh you raise really solid points here!! To me the flavors of lego to me that just appealed in such a wild way were the early lego videogames? Even if they were all very licensed, you could tell what the lego flavor being added to the equation WAS. It was goofy, it was slapstick, and I miss it a lot tbh!

Loved the video. Pirates was a good theme, I was born in 1998 and the only pirates sets I own were kraken attacks and a small cannon set from the same era. I gotten my brothers 2 original pirates sets one a islanders set and a small blue coats station with a jail cell. My hot take is that the license sets can be played like the non licensed when you don’t focus on the shows or games whatever, have the ninjago characters helped the avengers and justice league? No but that’s not gonna stop me from doing that. Star Wars and friends? It’s issues sometimes relays on us for creating just like all those years ago, it’s just now we’re grown up and can’t seem to play and imagine like we used to. Like the unaware customer wouldn’t know about the ninjago shows till they’d watch it or bionicle with their movies. Maybe we could original concepts again that don’t have a merchandise show or a collectible, but I sadly doubt it. If we did it’ll be a really short run like Pharos quest or monster fighters.

They need to make One Piece Lego sets. The best-selling manga/comic of all time + one of the most iconic lego themes = profit

I got a big pirate island set one Christmas. I came downstairs to find my parents had already built it during the night, so I could "play with it right away" and "wouldn't cry" if it was "too hard" to build. I cried. Also I don't know if it was a UK thing, but I had story books that called the pirate captain Captain Roger.

Really loved this video!! Would love to see more videos like this from you for other similar themes

Love this video! The voice over though out the whole video giving enough knowledge, at the right time was integrated perfectly. Also really like the classic ads in the start.

This video was awesome! You nailed it!

Lego Pirates is a great example of the lost simplicity of Lego

Those original pirate sets were definitely my favorite toys in the world for at least five years while growing up. Though I did eventually take the two ships apart to make a full rigged ship of the line with two gundecks which then had to rule the seas all alone.

I loved the pirates one. My first pirate set was the 2 English soldiers in the boat. The killing creativity I def see in modern lego... I had so much fun with the Antarctica and submarine ranges due to their flexibility.

The classic pirates minifigures are indeed something special. Nondescript and generic with that classic lego charm, while still having unique personality with more varying face prints and body parts than previous figures. I find the graphical style from 1989-2004ish to be uniquely charming.

Holy wow, the video production quality is amazing!! I'm loving the new style!

so true about licenced plastic collectibles! or even buildable sculptures. you can't play with it, you can't rebuild it. and so true about current kids and 20 years in future, i just can't believe todays lego will be that nostalgic as it from 20 years ago.

I agree with your point about the most important thing with Lego when at least when it comes to children is it being a tool for imagination, my earliest memory of playing with Lego’s is me making an entire world with it having little to no care about the established property the characters were from it was all about the story I was making in my own head, which I have no idea how I managed to do that with Lego Cars 2 tho lol

I realized I had the green torso from a random haul! Never knew what sets he came from, so thank you!

I bought El Dorado fortress in 1993 so many fond memories with that set. Still my favourite of all time.

I loved looking at the diorama photos they made for the Lego catalogues back in this era

I miss these sets. Always have been my favorite.

I STILL build pirate ships :-) Pirates was the defining theme of my youth and I collect and display them to this very day. Blue Imperials forever!

When Lego first brought out Star Wars models, each one had alternate builds and a comic strip in the instructions encouraging creative play. It's seems like sets are now marketed as a cross between Airfix/Revel kits and Kenner play sets.

Woah! I love this new video style you brought up here.

as someone who did grow up with lego pirates, i really wish they'd bring them back. heck, perhaps do like with the city theme (which now includes safari/exploration stuff, undersea stuff, and space stuff), roll the castle and pirates theme (and perhaps bits of western and adventurers) into a general "fantasy" theme, and just release a few sets for each theme each year. "crew builder" sets with the various factions would sell well i think (like the star wars battlepacks), and that little sailboat from the old imperial port shows you can make some pretty good budget sets that would still be fun. perhaps set up some of the islands and larger 'port' sets in a way similar to the city block sets, so you can plug them together to make larger playsets.

I'm still surprised Lego hasn't done more series like the older ones, most series nowadays all focus too much on detailing certain parts yet leave almost no room for creativity in trying to make your own scenes and such. I guess ones of the main things at fault could probably be the abundance of sets based on already existing media, and barely any original Lego themes, let alone any that aren't based on a show or a movie. I really wish Lego would step back a bit and produce more sets akin to the older sets, just like Pirates, or castle, or i guess as a newer(-ish?) example, Agents. I wouldn't say that the new sets are bad in any way, but honestly in my eyes, it feels like creativity and (somewhat) play-wise, newer Lego sets just aren't that good when i compare them to my older Lego sets that i own. Perhaps that's why i always hunt for older sets instead of newer ones. And thanks for sparking my interest in yet another retired Lego series, my wallet is gonna cry...

What you said at the end. I feel is still there with lego minecraft somewhat. But mainly because of minecraft itself being very similar i concept to the older lego themes. I do really think that older lego themes like pirates could work really well as 4+ juniors themes. Like a classic space 4+ theme. Maybe even combine that with some life on mars.

I grew up in the golden era. I remember seeing an ad in a Lego box, previewing the sets coming out in the next year. The Pirates theme electrified my imagination. Up to that point, I enjoyed Space and Castle very much, but Pirates was Lego’s masterpiece. Also remember when Lego dove into licensing with Star Wars. It was very cool, but I’ve wondered if that was a mistake. While Lego’s profits surely have soared since, I don’t think the brand is better for it. I think this is evident when people recognize how cool the sets of the late 80s and the 90s were. Those were good sets in a true golden era.

Y'know, I usually watch just the Lego Minecraft videos, but I'm really glad I watched this one! These videos do a good job at some surface level retrospective insight on older Lego themes.

In a way, this imagination-freedom that someone can have by buying a minifigure with nothing but a shallow name to it is to this day in the Minifigure series, although some may be tougher to come by than others. And about the nostalgic stuff, I do. I was born in 2002, my first lego set was a 4Juniors set with that awful JackStone figure style, and then had a Power Miners set (that tiny one) and a Clone Wars walker battle pack. And recently as an adult, these boxes, the simplicity of pieces; everything reminds me of a good time that unfortunately I don't have enough to grasp a harder memory. But still was great. Specially Chima. It's 10 years old in 2023, and I remember it as if it was today!

I really enjoyed this simple but impactful video

Daughter stuffed ziplock bagS of Barracuda Bay into her suitcase for Christmas 2023 and I built it in January. Already carefully placed in it's own "enormous" tote for safekeeping because of its size. Couldn't find Blackbeard: Son-in-law kept it out for Zoom background/ working from home during covid. So I STILL haven't seen a pegleg pirate yet!

At long last the video we didn’t know we needed.

I love your analysis and feel the same. LEGO of the past just has that charm the new sets/lines don’t have, while they are more detailed. The old sets had a unique charm! Also nice updated profile picture :)

That hosptial set can't be the last time we saw a floippy armed skeleton, cause I have one which was icnluded in the "Shark temple" set from the first Atlantis wave, it came with a printed diving helmet that had a tridant on it and a transparent diving mask.

Showing my age but I remember when Lego Pirates came on the scene. I was only 4 but can vividly remember being at Legoland in Denmark & me & my older older siblings got some of the big sets. In fact, my very first set was an original set of Pirate Mini Figures which included a Woman Pirate. To a wee boy at the time, I don't know why but that just seemed unusually cool at the time.