I don’t think kids dislike bad guys, they just like hero’s a bit more. I remember some of my favorite sets as a kid were villain builds, and even though I preferred the hero’s, I still wanted enough villains to make it a good fight, or even an unfair one that’s in the villains favor
I am young, I like the old sets and themes, especially chima did well on this, nexo knights did halfway, but modern ninjago messed things up. the thing is: I hate dreamz and the shark ship is ugly
I love how the alien ships don't have an actual glass cover for the cockpit, just those cool scary fangs. Makes the ships almost feel bio-engineered. I really love the concept of bio-punk tech in sci-fi. Especially for the villains. Forcibly evolving a life form to only exist as a tool or weapon is so macabre and intimidating. Like even if you're a hero who doesn't kill you have to hurt something anyway to win. And worse, if you lose you can only imagine what the enemy will do to you.
The martians being used as living batteries is a level of horror I never expected from Lego. Then again Mars Mission is from the same era as the Barraki and Pridak's "markings."
The White/Black/Orange colour scheme really was a genius pick. It's also well complemented with trans orange and trans blue. Heck, even the Black/Lime colour scheme is great, with the red and trans neon green complements. I might not like how the vehicles look, but I sure can learn a lot from the different features the sets offer, and the unique design the vehicles have.
The Mars Mission flash game is one of the reasons I LOVE RTS games, like that was my gateway into the genre alongside RUclips videos of Dawn of War and Supreme Commander.
Same here! CrystAlien Conflict was definitely a gateway drug to other RTS games for me. Playing Red Alert 1 really did make me realize just how much inspiration the flash game's devs took from classic C&C.
@@BerixMaster2010 It's amazing how something as simple as a flash game for a toy brand can get someone into a genre like Real Time Strategy, I gotta say I miss CrystAlien Conflict. Sure it's simplistic but it's genuinely one of the best flash RTS games and I wish we had more like it. Man, imagine if Lego made a theme that is just Mars Mission 2 and made another RTS game for the theme that is heavily inspired by Red Alert 2 or Tib Sun... And on the topic of Command and Conquer, Tempest Rising feels like a Command and Conquer game and I for one am thankful for the resurgence of RTS games in recent years.
@@joserafael9913 I don't believe they're telling the truth, but the CrystAlien Redux Project exists in a playable state, and they do have a level editor.
I loved “big” sets as a kid. I used a lot of these sets as inspiration while building my own stuff. I thought the ship within a ship concept was so cool and I added that feature to everything I built for a while
I agree that not everything has to be connected, but what if it were? I did a bunch of research and made a LEGO timeline with every original theme... Mars Mission ended up immediately following several alien invasions, alien activity, and natural disasters (first contact in Life on Mars, dinosaur attacks destroying a city, earthquakes from Power Miners, alien life in meteors in the Arctic, a temporarily successful alien invasion briefly mentioned in a newspaper in Hero Factory, of course multiple attempts in Alien Conquest, and most hilariously a message from Planet Slizer that said "join us" right before their planet blew up). Almost all of these naturally line up right before Mars Mission. So I determined that Mars Mission took place after Earth's fearful reaction to all of this - their genocide of the Martians. Astronauts go there to scout for remaining life and crystals (during the same energy crisis as Power Miners, caused by the dino attack), and they find the newly crash-landed aliens as they build a temporary colony. The xenophobic humans freak out, jump to conclusions, think they're stealing the Biodium crystals, and go to war.
The Martians being wiped out by the humans instead of the crystaliens is a take I haven't heard before, interesting thought... and makes sense that the humans weren't just there for mining... you don't just rebuild a steel drill into laser cannons and missile launchers, no matter how much they try to sell you that story. I appreciate that you called the crystals Biodium. a lot people use "Brickonium" because of some magazines (specifically refering to Rock Raiders, I think), which I think is a stupid name. the LoM Biodium sounds so much better.
The 2000’s is by far my favorite LEGO era. Alpha Team, Life on Mars, Studios, Fantasy Era Castle, Vikings, Mars Mission, Aqua Raiders, Dino Attack, and Power Miners. So much variety, without even mentioning Bionicle, technic, and licensed themes!
An interesting detail about Lego Battles is that it establishes Commander Cold as the Mastermind behind the human mission here, which seems to tie the human faction here to the one seen in Ice Planet 2002.
@@NickonPlanetRipple I didn't even realise that was Commander Cold when playing the game, but Brickipedia claims it's the same character. That kind of reminds me of how Lego Atlantis and Lego Power Miners had a common character.
This theme was what really got me into LEGO as a long term fan, Space in general has always been one of my favorite themes so this one has a definite nostalgia factor for me! As for the Mars Mission Lore it was actually even more complex since the Mars Mission Flash Player RTS Game (NOT the same as LEGO Battles) as well as some Tech Specs style comics from LEGO Club and BrickMaster Magazine implied that the Aliens actually had biological technology that was part of their ships which has always made me wonder if they where somehow tied to Bionicle, the Alien Commander especially seemed to have a very Bionicle type feel in its mask design so maybe they are connected somehow? The Humans also had a much more near future feel, like this was more advanced then Life On Mars but not as advanced as other LEGO Space themes where humans are already an interplanetary civilization with history, in my head cannon I always believed that the Mars Mission crew may have been an early version of the same company that later became the Rock Raiders so it was short of like a LEGO Space Prequel of shorts. As for the resemblance between the Life On Mars Martians and the Mars Mission Aliens it was always my belief that Crystalien hive mind didn't actually have an absolute form and would instead try to mimic and copy other life forms it encountered when it grew new new Crystalien Drones to match them, this seems to be even more apparent when we see the Alien Commander having a more human like form after the humans arrive.
@@NickonPlanetRipple humanity won the war and got the energy they needed, so they got the funds to go explore the far reaches of space and the weapons and tech of the defeated enemy to build a police force to control it
Honestly, I really like the idea of both the humans and aliens dueling each other over the crystals as the story. Especially if it had a twist like, both sides are fully convinced that it's "Us or them" once they get the crystals so they have to gain the crystals before the other side does out of fear of possible invasion upon victory. Also a story that combines Life on Mars and Mars Mission where the humans and Native Martians are buddies fighting off a horde of alien invaders would be neat, too. Also holy cow is that shot of a Crystalien leering out of the darkness one of the creepiest things I think I've seen LEGO do this side of the Barraki.....
I was absolutely obsessed with Mars Mission as a kid when it came out. I never really cared too much about the conflict-centric nature of the theme (I was never really that interested in playing with my Lego as much as building stuff with it). My interest mainly stemmed from the striking aesthetics of the theme. Something about the combination of shape language and color schemes was like crack to my young autistic brain. I was disappointed by your initial take on the theme, so it's great that you've given it another look to talk about the interesting aspects of one of my most nostalgic themes. I'll always have a soft spot for Mars Mission. Even though most of my Lego has been packed away for the foreseeable future, I still managed to fit a few of those white and orange war machines in among all the Star Wars stuff on my shelf.
Aah, yep!!! Me too, I never made the stories they expected me to and instead I recombined the parts into my own designs and came up with my own stories. Lots of Aquanauts & UFOs & Insectoids & Rock Raiders & Life on Mars because I'm from that era, but if I was born a bit later I'm sure I would've done the same with Mars Mission and enjoyed the orange and white palette to no end.
The aliens in Mars Mission not being Martians could be a reference to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where John Carter informs the League that the aliens who attacked Earth in War of the Worlds weren’t Martians, but other aliens who invaded Mars first before moving on to Earth.
I know it's based on multiple franchises but Lego Dimensions would be an interesting episode to cover with it's concept and also about the toys to life trend as a whole
I got into Lego near the end of 2008, and as such I missed out on a lot of Mars Mission. My only real exposure to it was this old video on the Power Functions section of Lego’s website where a guy was modifying the Crystal Reaper to give it working treads (And maybe a couple other things iirc). It was a really chill, cool video and despite having no previous interest in Mars Mission, the Crystal Reaper quickly became one of my all time most wanted sets thanks to that video. And looking back on it made me nostalgic for a time where Lego actually tried to incorporate/encourage power functions outside of Mindstorms, train sets, and the odd Technic set.
I've never owned a (proper) Mars Mission set irl, so i was completely unaware that the aliens had rainbow effects on their stickers. That's pretty sweet!
I didn't care about it much compared to Aqua Raiders and Fantasy Castle at the time, but Lego Battles on the nintendo DS made me like these factions a lot. Though speaking of Fantasy Castle: I LOVED the bad guys in that one. The Troll Warship and Troll Mountain Fortress are probably some of my favorites of the whole theme.
Mars Mission isn't perfect, but it was my first introduction to lego space themes, and will always be my personal favorite. There were so many visually striking vehicles, and later I realized quite a few were references to previous space themes. You already touched on the references to life on Mars, but the Hypersonic operations craft is a reference to Ice planet's deep freeze defender, and the armored drilling unit looks a whole lot like the M-tron mega core magnetizer. I'm still waiting for lego to take another crack at a full on space theme, there's a whole lot if untapped potential that we've only gotten a few glimpses of over the last decade.
As someone who has made a speculative evolution project about lifeforms on Mars, I adore Lego‘s two Mars themes and even put some references to them in it.
I think this may be the highest praise possible: You've actually made me somewhat appreciate this theme...! I always found it, maybe "reprehensible" is too strong a word, but after growing up with Life On Mars this theme felt like a bit of a gut-punch. Weird, non-articulated aliens, lots of weapons, and garish colours (though I liked the aliens' colour scheme). But now... Yeah. It seems to have been alright! Also hard agree on More Villain Builds! I love that the Dreamzzz Flagship model is for the villains!
Yeah I feel the same way, re: the turn for the worse vibes-wise after Life on Mars. But I can't deny Mars Mission sets have some cool shit going on just design-wise even though I don't like the lore
Man, I don't know how you do it, but your Lego videos are so compelling to me, your coverage of themes isn't necessarily super duper in-depth, but your insight is fascinating.
@@NickonPlanetRipple I remember that, but the transition was very gradual so your improvement over time isn't always recognised. However, there is something to be said fro my enjoyment of your ramblings...
I've always loved the color aesthetics of this theme. The orange and white of humanity contrasted with the black and green of the aliens. And you nailed how the design mentality of the sets further emphasizes that. It's one of my favorite Space themes
6:50, yeah I don’t like that theory either, it hurts to imagine the LoM Martians facing such a grim fate. If I *had* to cram all of LEGO into one storyline/universe this theme would’ve been like an in-universe movie like the Legoland equivalent to “Independence Day”. There’s so many ways to imagine this sorta thing, I think that’s one of the best parts of LEGO. It’s just like the old tagline on the Life on Mars boxes, Just Imagine…
I remember this theme very vividly despite never owning any sets or even lego as it came out. Was 2 of the 6 major campaigns from lego battles with space police 3 supplementing each faction’s sub-faction. And one of the great things about lego battles was the villain campaigns which each focused on the villain’s less nefarious than perceived motives. For the aliens, their motive was much the same as the humans really. Both groups were stranded on mars and trying to power their colony’s mothership.
i think liking bad guys isn't a majority thing - it's about whether or not the kid has felt like an outcast. it was my reason for being obsessed with every random villain i saw in anything, scouring them for any interesting stuff to justify my attention and looking elsewhere when they usually turned out more underdeveloped than the heroes; and i know the same applies to a lot of people. either you go for them because they're different and that's cool, or you go with heroes because difference doesn't interest you enough. in some cases its about empathising enough with being an outcast to the point of enjoying villains for revelling in it with style
I remember playing the Flash RTS web game for Mars Mission a lot when it came out. That’s how I interpreted the story. Humans coming to a planet for resources while another alien race was trying to pillage it as well. What I find interesting is that the aliens had their own base equivalent to the humans base but it was never made into a set. Wish it was because I’m shocked that so many human focused sets were made. I found out that the game is still playable somehow. It’s a blast from the past and makes me want to find a more fleshed out game like it.
ye, some of the alien bases would have been nice to have. but most of them are easy enough to replicate if you have a few spare motherships lying around. Human structures were a lot more... illegal, they used the lower half of the pump in some cases... Which playable version do you mean? redux or b1er0l14m's remake? Personally I prefer the latter, it just adds so much new stuff. (I may be biased due to being friends with some of the people involved though xD)
I'm glad you gave this one another shot and have found things to enjoy in it. I was one of those kids who was born too late to experience Life on Mars, but just in time to enjoy Mars Mission. It's one of the few themes where I've collected most of the sets, and I absolutely love the continuity between ship designs. One interesting aspect to this theme you didn't touch on was the web game Crystalien Conflict, an RTS where you could play as the humans OR the crystaliens. There were several cheat codes and secret levels too, my favorite of which let you easily convert the opposing side to yours and let you build up human and alien forces in peace before eventually completing the clear condition.
Yeah, many, MANY people have have praised that game in my comments sections and DMs over the years, and I know some would feel let down that I didn't talk about it in this video either, but.... what was I supposed to do? Play it? I'm just not an RTS guy. >shrugs< I only touched upon Lego Battles because I liked the cutscenes.
I really liked how you got to play as both. Really gives you the vibe that there's no real good guy or bad guy, just 2 sides that want the same resource
Loved these, its crazy how lego space never really had a bad sub theme, unlike castle and town. Next, you should rewind lego city / town from 1978- present.
Great video as always. When I was younger, it was very hard to be interested in these sets. Gone was the sympathetic and unique portrayal of Alien/Human relations and interesting colors of the earlier Life on Mars, and absent was the unique and varied character and spaceship designs of Space Police III which would come soon after. The humans and aliens are just so devoid of any personality or interesting features whatsoever. What these sets did have, though, was an absolutely great attention to color schemes, very good integration of System and Bionicle parts, and a wide variety of vehicle concepts, all very different from each other. These are all traits which older fans of Lego seem to love; I think this subtheme is, as a whole, going to become quite desirable in upcoming years.
I'm so happy you decided to revisit this theme since I remember collecting a TON of these sets. My personal favorite set (aside from the Crystal Reaper) was the MT-21 Mobile Mining Unit. Mainly because it's so...basic. It wasn't a war machine, it was just a cozy research vehicle with a single missle attachment that honestly looked more like a signal flare than anything else. I remember playing with it and pretending that this poor astronaut had been separated from the rest of his squad and he just had to hunker down while he was stuck in a massive dust storm. I even remember having an alien menacingly hover around before it turned out that he was friendly and the two of them formed a little truce that neither of their superiors knew about. It was strangely wholesome for such a violent theme.
Personally, I always imagined the crystal aliens using swarm tactics with their ships. Which could explain why most of them are small, with a few big ones thrown in too act as heavy support.
6:19 I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the new Dreamzzz theme in the yearly recap. I like it because it feels like there’s something for everyone. I got the Spacebus & Croc Car because I like Lego’s original space stuff as well as Dinosaurs. Also, the minifigures are top notch! My favorite is Izzie because of the amazing sword & satin color hair piece.
I love my ETX Alien Infiltrator. In leu of having the mothership set, it's the flagship of my alien forces. The rainbow stickers, the awesome alien commander, and the dual modes all make for a really fun ship. The trike is also fun to roll around. It being wide but light means it can easily roll a long distance.
Man, I was NUTS about Mars Mission in its heyday - I only ended up having four of the sets, but the Eagle Command Base was one of them! I remembered spending a ridiculous amount of time on the Crystalien Conflict game they put out, and when I tried playing it again as an adult, I found that I apparently still have all of the Lego Magazine cheat codes memorized. If you ever wanted to try the game, I'd highly recommend it. It's a surprisingly robust RTS game, for something given out for free!
I remember thinking the inclusion of Mars Mission in Lego Battles was so cool, especially the way the leaders had inverted colours on their astronaut suits
I always found it weird as a child, the humans having those pods specifically to store the captured enemy aliens. They used them to store gems aswell but these beds being the perfect size for an alien body couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
Man, wasn't expecting MM to get that dark! I love the clever naming you guys gave the alien ships! Definitely reflects the halo unsc/covenant as you pointed out!
I think I liked this theme so much because it was released the same year the Constellation Program was announced so 5th grade me gobbled it up just like every documentary, movie, and book I could find on Mars.
Growing up, I was team aliens, but I didn't realize how much I got shafted in the second wave until now. I got the tripod, but that was about it, especially since that was the biggest alien set that year, rip
Mars Mission was the Lego Space theme for me as a kid, and the only theme I had a complete wave for. I just wish that the aliens where more robust in their construction,any kind of play over the span of the wave’s existence usually ending with them suffering the same fate as battledroid bits. Still one day I might endeavor to make a “remake” of the old command base that doesn’t seem so much like a hollow facade.
Mars Mission was one of my favorite themes as a kid. Even more so because of LEGO Battles on Nintendo DS, where the aliens and humans are playable factions.
Maybe the crystaliens were the Rival faction of Martians that we fended off back in Life on Mars and have developed their Crystalline physique as a result of seclusion?
Mars Mission was my main Lego Space theme. It was my main (non-Bionicle/hero factory) at my dads house. My childhood was filled with orange from Power Miners & Mars mission
I've always enjoyed how far back Lego sets go throughout their themes passing from system, to theme to theme and hopefully eventually it gets its own focused theme like power miners and rock raiders having several sets scattered across other themes, although the space themed things get most of the love
When I was growing up my dad had a friend who worked with the Lego group so we got like almost the entirety of the first wave of Mars Mission for effectively free. I love the general aesthetic of both years, and the alien ships are unique and something we haven't seen for a long time- a neat take on the "flying saucer" trope. I do like the idea that the humans are possibly worse than the aliens here, using up what's left of the resources of earth so they can show the crystaliens what for, trying to convert them into an energy source to fuel their war. The idea that the aliens crashed on Mars, or were driven from their home by something else, is a very interesting idea in how it could twist the usual alien Invasion plot on its head. I like to imagine it and power miners are somewhat related, with humanity becoming this "swarm of locusts" digging up crystals to fuel its own destructive desires. A bit of cosmic horror for a Lego theme.
I was born in 2004, so I have some vague recollection of these sets I think. I never had any but we had one of the glow-in-the-dark green aliens. I remember that as a kid (and still today) that whenever I saw any Lego ad I wanted the sets themselves, sure, but what I wanted more were the places they were using the set in the tv ad: a large city with a bay, a rocky moon surface to drive vehicles on, a sprawling ocean to use with pirate ships and the list goes on.
CrystAlien Conflict (the excellent Flash RTS for Mars Mission) establishes that the CrystAlien's first contact with humans is them investigating a mining operation and accidentally blowing up a human crystal harvester. This leads into full-scale war as the CrystAliens push to remove what they see as a threat to their economy, in essence. They need the crystals to survive, and the Alien campaign of that game really sells the humans as not being particularly good. So does the human campaign, frankly. There's points where you do some really underhanded stuff to obtain victory, all because of how valuable those crystals are. I think I like the approach that neither side is really good, they're just factions fighting over resources, like so many wars in history.
I spent countless hours playing the game for this theme on the Lego website as a kid. I don't remember if I actually had any of the sets, but I loved the theme and the game
Mars Mission's flash game was weirdly in depth for a website game for kids. I wish there was a freeplay and multiplayer mode so you could finish the full starcraft-lite experience
im so glad you’re still making these, and i’m especially glad you’re feeling inspired ! i love how open and reflective you are in this series, both about the topics and your changing opinions on them, and your own experience creating each video. i think i watched the entire series three or four times throughout college LOL
3:42 to this day, that's the case of many here in Southamerica, but in a positive way, as a kid I loved each set cause it had it's own story and having another was like a crossover😅
I remember this theme. Have some of the sets. I also remember one of the lego magazine had a cryptic message from the aliens. When solved, it says that the aliens were not from Mars but wanted the red planet and crystals all to themselves and to beware of them. Something like that anyway. I don’t think I have magazine anymore since it has been years.
I missed out on this theme, but looking back on it and Alpha Team as well as other themes at the time, they utilized Bionicle pieces in awesome ways. Those Toa Mata arms used as joints for those huge wheels, Whenua's staff as a drill, a Zamor sphere launcher in one set, it's awesome. Makes me wish Lego still made those parts.
I loved Mars Mission as a kid since it was the first lego set I was ever given. I got a taste of it with a tiny human ship and just wanted the rest of the sets. I still have dreams of finding a set in stores somehow lmao
“Attention all forces, we have a legion of Sporks inbound. I repeat, a legion of Sporks!”
Crysaliens be like: THE SPORK BATTALION SHALL DESTROY ALL
Not gonna lie, the idea of the humans using the aliens as an alternate power source is definitely a much darker but interesting idea for the theme.
I don’t think kids dislike bad guys, they just like hero’s a bit more. I remember some of my favorite sets as a kid were villain builds, and even though I preferred the hero’s, I still wanted enough villains to make it a good fight, or even an unfair one that’s in the villains favor
Yeah, I loved the trolls in Fantasy Castle a ton. the Troll Warship and Troll Mountain Fortress were probably my favorite sets in the line by far.
bad guys get all the best aesthetics, even if we don't realise it when we're young.
The mech dragon from 2014 was amazing.
yeah when i was a kid i always thought that the bad guys were so much cooler, specifically with the decepticons
Nah I definitely preferred and still prefer villains. Dreamzzz epitomises that sentiment.
"It's mostly older weirdos like me, that want stuff like a giant evil nightmare shark ship" I'm with you Nick, great video as always
True
Im still quite young but i also want a giant evil nightmare shark ship
@@Enzo2-s7v same lol.
I am young, I like the old sets and themes, especially chima did well on this, nexo knights did halfway, but modern ninjago messed things up. the thing is: I hate dreamz and the shark ship is ugly
0:42 'but i gave it another shot'
*pans to massive collection*
Ladies and gentlemen a microcosm of the lego collector experience
And I've already sold the whole lot since filming!
@@NickonPlanetRipple oof I would have kept em all I love the mars mission theme lol.
The like 4 seconds of silence is so good lol
I love how the alien ships don't have an actual glass cover for the cockpit, just those cool scary fangs. Makes the ships almost feel bio-engineered.
I really love the concept of bio-punk tech in sci-fi. Especially for the villains. Forcibly evolving a life form to only exist as a tool or weapon is so macabre and intimidating. Like even if you're a hero who doesn't kill you have to hurt something anyway to win. And worse, if you lose you can only imagine what the enemy will do to you.
The Lego Magazine where they introduced this theme implied the Alien ships were that way, full of bones and organic sacs.
Half Life 2 Combine be like
The martians being used as living batteries is a level of horror I never expected from Lego.
Then again Mars Mission is from the same era as the Barraki and Pridak's "markings."
Finally someone talks about that fantastic lego battles game that adds so much more character to villians of the time. it is genuinely great
I'm playing it right now! :D
Love the battles games
I have lego battles and lego battles ninjago I do wish there were more made tho.
Fantastic episode, Nick! ❤
Great job showing Mars Mission some love, despite what the haters may say about it! 😊
That's me! I used to BE one of the haters, lol.
Wait people didn’t like it? I thought it was awesome, the aliens reminded me of the scrall, and as a huge bionicle fan I loved it
The White/Black/Orange colour scheme really was a genius pick. It's also well complemented with trans orange and trans blue.
Heck, even the Black/Lime colour scheme is great, with the red and trans neon green complements.
I might not like how the vehicles look, but I sure can learn a lot from the different features the sets offer, and the unique design the vehicles have.
The Mars Mission flash game is one of the reasons I LOVE RTS games, like that was my gateway into the genre alongside RUclips videos of Dawn of War and Supreme Commander.
Same here! CrystAlien Conflict was definitely a gateway drug to other RTS games for me. Playing Red Alert 1 really did make me realize just how much inspiration the flash game's devs took from classic C&C.
@@BerixMaster2010 It's amazing how something as simple as a flash game for a toy brand can get someone into a genre like Real Time Strategy, I gotta say I miss CrystAlien Conflict. Sure it's simplistic but it's genuinely one of the best flash RTS games and I wish we had more like it.
Man, imagine if Lego made a theme that is just Mars Mission 2 and made another RTS game for the theme that is heavily inspired by Red Alert 2 or Tib Sun... And on the topic of Command and Conquer, Tempest Rising feels like a Command and Conquer game and I for one am thankful for the resurgence of RTS games in recent years.
@@kabob0077 I remade that game with a level editor and multiplayer.
@@B1er0l14m where
@@joserafael9913 I don't believe they're telling the truth, but the CrystAlien Redux Project exists in a playable state, and they do have a level editor.
I loved “big” sets as a kid. I used a lot of these sets as inspiration while building my own stuff. I thought the ship within a ship concept was so cool and I added that feature to everything I built for a while
I agree that not everything has to be connected, but what if it were? I did a bunch of research and made a LEGO timeline with every original theme...
Mars Mission ended up immediately following several alien invasions, alien activity, and natural disasters (first contact in Life on Mars, dinosaur attacks destroying a city, earthquakes from Power Miners, alien life in meteors in the Arctic, a temporarily successful alien invasion briefly mentioned in a newspaper in Hero Factory, of course multiple attempts in Alien Conquest, and most hilariously a message from Planet Slizer that said "join us" right before their planet blew up). Almost all of these naturally line up right before Mars Mission.
So I determined that Mars Mission took place after Earth's fearful reaction to all of this - their genocide of the Martians. Astronauts go there to scout for remaining life and crystals (during the same energy crisis as Power Miners, caused by the dino attack), and they find the newly crash-landed aliens as they build a temporary colony. The xenophobic humans freak out, jump to conclusions, think they're stealing the Biodium crystals, and go to war.
The Martians being wiped out by the humans instead of the crystaliens is a take I haven't heard before, interesting thought... and makes sense that the humans weren't just there for mining... you don't just rebuild a steel drill into laser cannons and missile launchers, no matter how much they try to sell you that story.
I appreciate that you called the crystals Biodium. a lot people use "Brickonium" because of some magazines (specifically refering to Rock Raiders, I think), which I think is a stupid name. the LoM Biodium sounds so much better.
mega props for remembering the 'in universe' name of the crystals@@Vomarsk
The 2000’s is by far my favorite LEGO era. Alpha Team, Life on Mars, Studios, Fantasy Era Castle, Vikings, Mars Mission, Aqua Raiders, Dino Attack, and Power Miners. So much variety, without even mentioning Bionicle, technic, and licensed themes!
Don't forget Atlantis and Knights Kingdom II. Those were good themes as well.
Also Exo-Force.
@@dedalionarts6077 Of course!
@@UsernamehereCustoms YES!
There’s just something about the 2000’s lego themes that’s just gone now.
An interesting detail about Lego Battles is that it establishes Commander Cold as the Mastermind behind the human mission here, which seems to tie the human faction here to the one seen in Ice Planet 2002.
Well, damn. That's a trip and a half.
@@NickonPlanetRipple I didn't even realise that was Commander Cold when playing the game, but Brickipedia claims it's the same character. That kind of reminds me of how Lego Atlantis and Lego Power Miners had a common character.
Mars mission was one of my first favorites!
Same here
I even used to watch stop-motion of these bad boys
This theme was what really got me into LEGO as a long term fan, Space in general has always been one of my favorite themes so this one has a definite nostalgia factor for me!
As for the Mars Mission Lore it was actually even more complex since the Mars Mission Flash Player RTS Game (NOT the same as LEGO Battles) as well as some Tech Specs style comics from LEGO Club and BrickMaster Magazine implied that the Aliens actually had biological technology that was part of their ships which has always made me wonder if they where somehow tied to Bionicle, the Alien Commander especially seemed to have a very Bionicle type feel in its mask design so maybe they are connected somehow?
The Humans also had a much more near future feel, like this was more advanced then Life On Mars but not as advanced as other LEGO Space themes where humans are already an interplanetary civilization with history, in my head cannon I always believed that the Mars Mission crew may have been an early version of the same company that later became the Rock Raiders so it was short of like a LEGO Space Prequel of shorts.
As for the resemblance between the Life On Mars Martians and the Mars Mission Aliens it was always my belief that Crystalien hive mind didn't actually have an absolute form and would instead try to mimic and copy other life forms it encountered when it grew new new Crystalien Drones to match them, this seems to be even more apparent when we see the Alien Commander having a more human like form after the humans arrive.
Interestingly, the Mars Mission logo is just a variation of the Classic Space/Futuron Logo.
@@NickonPlanetRipple humanity won the war and got the energy they needed, so they got the funds to go explore the far reaches of space and the weapons and tech of the defeated enemy to build a police force to control it
Honestly, I really like the idea of both the humans and aliens dueling each other over the crystals as the story. Especially if it had a twist like, both sides are fully convinced that it's "Us or them" once they get the crystals so they have to gain the crystals before the other side does out of fear of possible invasion upon victory. Also a story that combines Life on Mars and Mars Mission where the humans and Native Martians are buddies fighting off a horde of alien invaders would be neat, too.
Also holy cow is that shot of a Crystalien leering out of the darkness one of the creepiest things I think I've seen LEGO do this side of the Barraki.....
It’s nice to see you’ve had a 180° on Mars Mission. Plus I’m glad someone else actually played Lego Battles. Very Dapper!
Haven't played it, I'm afraid. Just watched some clips to get the gist of the story.
I have a copy of lego battles its seen better days but its a fun small game!
I was absolutely obsessed with Mars Mission as a kid when it came out. I never really cared too much about the conflict-centric nature of the theme (I was never really that interested in playing with my Lego as much as building stuff with it). My interest mainly stemmed from the striking aesthetics of the theme. Something about the combination of shape language and color schemes was like crack to my young autistic brain.
I was disappointed by your initial take on the theme, so it's great that you've given it another look to talk about the interesting aspects of one of my most nostalgic themes.
I'll always have a soft spot for Mars Mission. Even though most of my Lego has been packed away for the foreseeable future, I still managed to fit a few of those white and orange war machines in among all the Star Wars stuff on my shelf.
Aah, yep!!! Me too, I never made the stories they expected me to and instead I recombined the parts into my own designs and came up with my own stories. Lots of Aquanauts & UFOs & Insectoids & Rock Raiders & Life on Mars because I'm from that era, but if I was born a bit later I'm sure I would've done the same with Mars Mission and enjoyed the orange and white palette to no end.
The aliens in Mars Mission not being Martians could be a reference to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where John Carter informs the League that the aliens who attacked Earth in War of the Worlds weren’t Martians, but other aliens who invaded Mars first before moving on to Earth.
I know it's based on multiple franchises but Lego Dimensions would be an interesting episode to cover with it's concept and also about the toys to life trend as a whole
The Recon Dropship may be one of the best lego builds of all time
the mars mission theme goes so incredibly hard, it's insane
I got into Lego near the end of 2008, and as such I missed out on a lot of Mars Mission. My only real exposure to it was this old video on the Power Functions section of Lego’s website where a guy was modifying the Crystal Reaper to give it working treads (And maybe a couple other things iirc). It was a really chill, cool video and despite having no previous interest in Mars Mission, the Crystal Reaper quickly became one of my all time most wanted sets thanks to that video. And looking back on it made me nostalgic for a time where Lego actually tried to incorporate/encourage power functions outside of Mindstorms, train sets, and the odd Technic set.
Unironically the “Spork” ship was my favorite ship of the whole line. Never got the full set so I ended up just using parts I had to get close to it.
I've never owned a (proper) Mars Mission set irl, so i was completely unaware that the aliens had rainbow effects on their stickers. That's pretty sweet!
only 2nd wave have it. But it's cool that all basic aliens can glow
Nick from Planet Ripple is finally on Planet Mars
6:12 TBH, I always liked playing with the bad guys because they usually had cooler designs
I really wish we'd get more civilian space sets. Kinda like what they're doing with City. I wanna build a Space Colony, not a military outpost
I didn't care about it much compared to Aqua Raiders and Fantasy Castle at the time, but Lego Battles on the nintendo DS made me like these factions a lot.
Though speaking of Fantasy Castle: I LOVED the bad guys in that one. The Troll Warship and Troll Mountain Fortress are probably some of my favorites of the whole theme.
Mars Mission isn't perfect, but it was my first introduction to lego space themes, and will always be my personal favorite. There were so many visually striking vehicles, and later I realized quite a few were references to previous space themes. You already touched on the references to life on Mars, but the Hypersonic operations craft is a reference to Ice planet's deep freeze defender, and the armored drilling unit looks a whole lot like the M-tron mega core magnetizer. I'm still waiting for lego to take another crack at a full on space theme, there's a whole lot if untapped potential that we've only gotten a few glimpses of over the last decade.
As someone who has made a speculative evolution project about lifeforms on Mars, I adore Lego‘s two Mars themes and even put some references to them in it.
I’ve found you. :3
My headcannon was that the aliens needed those crystals to keep themselves alive
That would make sense. How else could their very bodies be good alternative? Because they eat the stuff.
I think this may be the highest praise possible: You've actually made me somewhat appreciate this theme...! I always found it, maybe "reprehensible" is too strong a word, but after growing up with Life On Mars this theme felt like a bit of a gut-punch. Weird, non-articulated aliens, lots of weapons, and garish colours (though I liked the aliens' colour scheme).
But now... Yeah. It seems to have been alright! Also hard agree on More Villain Builds! I love that the Dreamzzz Flagship model is for the villains!
LITERALLY a Flagship in this case.
Yeah I feel the same way, re: the turn for the worse vibes-wise after Life on Mars.
But I can't deny Mars Mission sets have some cool shit going on just design-wise even though I don't like the lore
"Kids don't like bad guys."
My younger self would have a fair few things to say about that.
I mean, I liked bad guys as a kid too, but that just means I was an edgy tryhard compared to today's kids.
Man, I don't know how you do it, but your Lego videos are so compelling to me, your coverage of themes isn't necessarily super duper in-depth, but your insight is fascinating.
I try to keep them concise. I used to be MUCH more plodding and rambly.
@@NickonPlanetRipple I remember that, but the transition was very gradual so your improvement over time isn't always recognised. However, there is something to be said fro my enjoyment of your ramblings...
I've always loved the color aesthetics of this theme. The orange and white of humanity contrasted with the black and green of the aliens.
And you nailed how the design mentality of the sets further emphasizes that. It's one of my favorite Space themes
6:50, yeah I don’t like that theory either, it hurts to imagine the LoM Martians facing such a grim fate. If I *had* to cram all of LEGO into one storyline/universe this theme would’ve been like an in-universe movie like the Legoland equivalent to “Independence Day”. There’s so many ways to imagine this sorta thing, I think that’s one of the best parts of LEGO. It’s just like the old tagline on the Life on Mars boxes, Just Imagine…
Just Imagine . o O
I remember this theme very vividly despite never owning any sets or even lego as it came out. Was 2 of the 6 major campaigns from lego battles with space police 3 supplementing each faction’s sub-faction. And one of the great things about lego battles was the villain campaigns which each focused on the villain’s less nefarious than perceived motives. For the aliens, their motive was much the same as the humans really. Both groups were stranded on mars and trying to power their colony’s mothership.
i think liking bad guys isn't a majority thing - it's about whether or not the kid has felt like an outcast. it was my reason for being obsessed with every random villain i saw in anything, scouring them for any interesting stuff to justify my attention and looking elsewhere when they usually turned out more underdeveloped than the heroes; and i know the same applies to a lot of people. either you go for them because they're different and that's cool, or you go with heroes because difference doesn't interest you enough. in some cases its about empathising enough with being an outcast to the point of enjoying villains for revelling in it with style
I remember playing the Flash RTS web game for Mars Mission a lot when it came out. That’s how I interpreted the story. Humans coming to a planet for resources while another alien race was trying to pillage it as well.
What I find interesting is that the aliens had their own base equivalent to the humans base but it was never made into a set. Wish it was because I’m shocked that so many human focused sets were made.
I found out that the game is still playable somehow. It’s a blast from the past and makes me want to find a more fleshed out game like it.
That game definitely made a big impression on me as a kid, I wouldn't be surprised if it was what got me in to strategy games.
ye, some of the alien bases would have been nice to have. but most of them are easy enough to replicate if you have a few spare motherships lying around. Human structures were a lot more... illegal, they used the lower half of the pump in some cases...
Which playable version do you mean? redux or b1er0l14m's remake? Personally I prefer the latter, it just adds so much new stuff. (I may be biased due to being friends with some of the people involved though xD)
@@Vomarsk there's those but also flashpoint.
that Ratchet & Clank music is so nostalgic 0w0
I'm glad you gave this one another shot and have found things to enjoy in it. I was one of those kids who was born too late to experience Life on Mars, but just in time to enjoy Mars Mission. It's one of the few themes where I've collected most of the sets, and I absolutely love the continuity between ship designs. One interesting aspect to this theme you didn't touch on was the web game Crystalien Conflict, an RTS where you could play as the humans OR the crystaliens. There were several cheat codes and secret levels too, my favorite of which let you easily convert the opposing side to yours and let you build up human and alien forces in peace before eventually completing the clear condition.
Yeah, many, MANY people have have praised that game in my comments sections and DMs over the years, and I know some would feel let down that I didn't talk about it in this video either, but.... what was I supposed to do? Play it? I'm just not an RTS guy. >shrugs< I only touched upon Lego Battles because I liked the cutscenes.
I really liked how you got to play as both. Really gives you the vibe that there's no real good guy or bad guy, just 2 sides that want the same resource
"We'll call them.. Crystaliens."
This truly is an Elden Ring moment.
Loved these, its crazy how lego space never really had a bad sub theme, unlike castle and town. Next, you should rewind lego city / town from 1978- present.
After power miners this is one of the best lego series i ever had. The online game was just great and the perfect way to enjoy the theme.
Great video as always. When I was younger, it was very hard to be interested in these sets. Gone was the sympathetic and unique portrayal of Alien/Human relations and interesting colors of the earlier Life on Mars, and absent was the unique and varied character and spaceship designs of Space Police III which would come soon after. The humans and aliens are just so devoid of any personality or interesting features whatsoever.
What these sets did have, though, was an absolutely great attention to color schemes, very good integration of System and Bionicle parts, and a wide variety of vehicle concepts, all very different from each other. These are all traits which older fans of Lego seem to love; I think this subtheme is, as a whole, going to become quite desirable in upcoming years.
I'm so happy you decided to revisit this theme since I remember collecting a TON of these sets. My personal favorite set (aside from the Crystal Reaper) was the MT-21 Mobile Mining Unit. Mainly because it's so...basic. It wasn't a war machine, it was just a cozy research vehicle with a single missle attachment that honestly looked more like a signal flare than anything else. I remember playing with it and pretending that this poor astronaut had been separated from the rest of his squad and he just had to hunker down while he was stuck in a massive dust storm. I even remember having an alien menacingly hover around before it turned out that he was friendly and the two of them formed a little truce that neither of their superiors knew about. It was strangely wholesome for such a violent theme.
Personally, I always imagined the crystal aliens using swarm tactics with their ships. Which could explain why most of them are small, with a few big ones thrown in too act as heavy support.
The Crysts sounds like a fitting species name for a bio-technologically advanced hive mind.
8:50 Good nostalgia with CrystAlien Conflict, like an offline kid-friendly Starcraft.
Mars mission was GOATed I had so many sets my favorite series
together with atlantis and powerminers the holy trinity of my LEGO childhood
Sooo many memories. Still my favorite theme, and the RTS video game was my first video game. You really hit the nail on the head with the villains.
6:19 I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the new Dreamzzz theme in the yearly recap. I like it because it feels like there’s something for everyone. I got the Spacebus & Croc Car because I like Lego’s original space stuff as well as Dinosaurs. Also, the minifigures are top notch! My favorite is Izzie because of the amazing sword & satin color hair piece.
I love my ETX Alien Infiltrator. In leu of having the mothership set, it's the flagship of my alien forces. The rainbow stickers, the awesome alien commander, and the dual modes all make for a really fun ship. The trike is also fun to roll around. It being wide but light means it can easily roll a long distance.
4:37 It's like the Astronauts got some reinforcements with proper combat gear, as opposed to modified mining equipment.
Man, I was NUTS about Mars Mission in its heyday - I only ended up having four of the sets, but the Eagle Command Base was one of them!
I remembered spending a ridiculous amount of time on the Crystalien Conflict game they put out, and when I tried playing it again as an adult, I found that I apparently still have all of the Lego Magazine cheat codes memorized.
If you ever wanted to try the game, I'd highly recommend it. It's a surprisingly robust RTS game, for something given out for free!
Oh wow, I never noticed the Alien power source being the alien... wow.
I love seeing Lego Rewind notifications pop up, and I’m so happy that this series is still continuing!
I remember thinking the inclusion of Mars Mission in Lego Battles was so cool, especially the way the leaders had inverted colours on their astronaut suits
I always found it weird as a child, the humans having those pods specifically to store the captured enemy aliens. They used them to store gems aswell but these beds being the perfect size for an alien body couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
"Kicks all kinds of asteroid"
That's a very iconic pun!
Man, wasn't expecting MM to get that dark! I love the clever naming you guys gave the alien ships! Definitely reflects the halo unsc/covenant as you pointed out!
The name spark for a spaceship is just perfect It’s even shaped similar to a Spork
mars mission was the dark souls of lego space theme altogether.
I think I liked this theme so much because it was released the same year the Constellation Program was announced so 5th grade me gobbled it up just like every documentary, movie, and book I could find on Mars.
Man that shark ship looks sick
It is.
Growing up, I was team aliens, but I didn't realize how much I got shafted in the second wave until now. I got the tripod, but that was about it, especially since that was the biggest alien set that year, rip
Mars Mission was the Lego Space theme for me as a kid, and the only theme I had a complete wave for. I just wish that the aliens where more robust in their construction,any kind of play over the span of the wave’s existence usually ending with them suffering the same fate as battledroid bits.
Still one day I might endeavor to make a “remake” of the old command base that doesn’t seem so much like a hollow facade.
This theme got me into StarCraft, so I owe it my eternal gratitude.
Mars Mission was one of my favorite themes as a kid. Even more so because of LEGO Battles on Nintendo DS, where the aliens and humans are playable factions.
I loved the Mars Mission set series! I always found it very inspiring and cool
Maybe the crystaliens were the Rival faction of Martians that we fended off back in Life on Mars and have developed their Crystalline physique as a result of seclusion?
Mars Mission was my main Lego Space theme. It was my main (non-Bionicle/hero factory) at my dads house. My childhood was filled with orange from Power Miners & Mars mission
the ratchet and clank ost you put on loop genuinely a 10/10 song choice
Bruh hearing gemlik base made me so happy. Two of my favorite things still to this day: R&C and mars mission
I've always enjoyed how far back Lego sets go throughout their themes passing from system, to theme to theme and hopefully eventually it gets its own focused theme like power miners and rock raiders having several sets scattered across other themes, although the space themed things get most of the love
Awesome video Nick! I used to have a couple of these sets! Glad to see the theme get some love!
When I was growing up my dad had a friend who worked with the Lego group so we got like almost the entirety of the first wave of Mars Mission for effectively free.
I love the general aesthetic of both years, and the alien ships are unique and something we haven't seen for a long time- a neat take on the "flying saucer" trope.
I do like the idea that the humans are possibly worse than the aliens here, using up what's left of the resources of earth so they can show the crystaliens what for, trying to convert them into an energy source to fuel their war.
The idea that the aliens crashed on Mars, or were driven from their home by something else, is a very interesting idea in how it could twist the usual alien Invasion plot on its head. I like to imagine it and power miners are somewhat related, with humanity becoming this "swarm of locusts" digging up crystals to fuel its own destructive desires. A bit of cosmic horror for a Lego theme.
This is one of my favorite lego channels it doesn’t make me feel like I’m watching kids content thats just their for views and money
Damn I've been replaying the Ratchet & Clank games and secure the music in this video here got me surprised
Ahhh the Ratchet & Clank music fitting the Lego space themes so well ❤
Maaaaan, mars mission was my childhood, loved that series to death
Life on Mars was the goat!
Mars mission was one of my favourite themes in the 2000’s along with Dino attack and Aqua raiders
This was and always will be my favourite Lego theme.
Mars Mission is my favorite space lego theme I remember getting gifted the Claw Tank Ambush set as a young kid ive loved the line ever since
I was born in 2004, so I have some vague recollection of these sets I think. I never had any but we had one of the glow-in-the-dark green aliens.
I remember that as a kid (and still today) that whenever I saw any Lego ad I wanted the sets themselves, sure, but what I wanted more were the places they were using the set in the tv ad: a large city with a bay, a rocky moon surface to drive vehicles on, a sprawling ocean to use with pirate ships and the list goes on.
I wish I could back in time and buy all the sets you talk about, you make me feel transported to the past when you talk about themes like this.
CrystAlien Conflict (the excellent Flash RTS for Mars Mission) establishes that the CrystAlien's first contact with humans is them investigating a mining operation and accidentally blowing up a human crystal harvester.
This leads into full-scale war as the CrystAliens push to remove what they see as a threat to their economy, in essence. They need the crystals to survive, and the Alien campaign of that game really sells the humans as not being particularly good. So does the human campaign, frankly. There's points where you do some really underhanded stuff to obtain victory, all because of how valuable those crystals are. I think I like the approach that neither side is really good, they're just factions fighting over resources, like so many wars in history.
This already takes me back to the Life On Mars episode.
I spent countless hours playing the game for this theme on the Lego website as a kid. I don't remember if I actually had any of the sets, but I loved the theme and the game
Mars Mission's flash game was weirdly in depth for a website game for kids. I wish there was a freeplay and multiplayer mode so you could finish the full starcraft-lite experience
im so glad you’re still making these, and i’m especially glad you’re feeling inspired ! i love how open and reflective you are in this series, both about the topics and your changing opinions on them, and your own experience creating each video. i think i watched the entire series three or four times throughout college LOL
3:42 to this day, that's the case of many here in Southamerica, but in a positive way, as a kid I loved each set cause it had it's own story and having another was like a crossover😅
I remember this theme. Have some of the sets. I also remember one of the lego magazine had a cryptic message from the aliens. When solved, it says that the aliens were not from Mars but wanted the red planet and crystals all to themselves and to beware of them. Something like that anyway. I don’t think I have magazine anymore since it has been years.
I missed out on this theme, but looking back on it and Alpha Team as well as other themes at the time, they utilized Bionicle pieces in awesome ways. Those Toa Mata arms used as joints for those huge wheels, Whenua's staff as a drill, a Zamor sphere launcher in one set, it's awesome. Makes me wish Lego still made those parts.
Heck, that same giant rover has another Bionicle goody buried within. The core of its entire steering mechanism is a Rahkshi hip piece.
I loved Mars Mission as a kid since it was the first lego set I was ever given. I got a taste of it with a tiny human ship and just wanted the rest of the sets. I still have dreams of finding a set in stores somehow lmao
The best thing about Mars Mission
is that it was finally a Space Theme that wasn't Star Wars.