[Castle] What do you like best? Generic or Specific?

[Artifex]

I was wondering... What do you like best: A "generic" castle line or a theme-specific one? By "generic" I mean something like the current one: We get factions with soldiers, knights, kings and wizards, but no names. A specific one brings characters like Vladek, Cedric, the Bull, Basil, the Bat Lord, Jayko and even a kingdom like Morcia.

I guess in the long run it doesn't really makes much of a difference for AFOLS, because most people only want nice-looking sets for display, or plenty of parts for MOCing. But specific themes do give us some exclusive minifigures, isn't it?

I don't know about you, but I like to have some kind of background story for each MOC: "These are the ruins of the ancient tower of Lasagabaster, the Mage, in the middle of the Dark Forest where lies the Sword of King Valéryon" or something like that. Maybe that's just me, but I like to believe there's a storyteller in each one of us

[Werlu Ulcur]

But specific themes do give us some exclusive minifigures, isn't it?

MANY here collect minifigs, and also buy the set just because of the minifig (I've done that a lot of times for some licensed themes), so a theme-specific Castle/medieval line would have a more broader audience.

However, what I would really like to see is these "generic" themes (ie,not from a franchise) to have skin-colored minifigs. Yeah, yeah, yellow minifigs are traditional but timers have changed, and so has the hobby. It gets expensive to hunt skin-colored heads and hands on BL for your MOCs.

[Kliq]

Generic all the way! You're right, a lot of us have great imaginations and a passion for storytelling. Let's not limit our fantastic minds by buying into sets that already have a specific setting and character names. The other issue is that with named characters you have repeated minifigures. So now I have an army of this one specific looking character and around the same amount of generic soldiers. I think that if you look back to the less-liked themes, you'll find the majority of them were specific. Knights Kingdom I & II are considered among the poorest Castle themes. I think much of that has to do with the fact that you didn't have ANY generic soldiers on the good guys' side. They all had names and roles.

Obviously you don't have to go with the names that LEGO provides, but the sets still suffer when you don't get a nice variety of generic soldiers.

Edited September 25, 2013 by Kliq

[Fives]

I voted specific. I like having generic castle themes, with the classic King and Princess and Evil Wizard archetypes, but the formula is kinda stale. If LEGO implemented the Ninjago style storytelling to a more medieval-fantasy based theme, they could so very well.

And I'm not saying bring back KK2. No. But having named characters with specific, recognizable differences (weapons, armour, age), along with a good story that branches across multiple waves and numerous different enemy factions would make for a fantastic, original twist on a theme that LEGO has been working on since practically the start.

[SirBlake]

All of my favorite castle sets are generic, most of my least favorite sets are specific, so that's an easy one. An interesting build with good parts and well designed minifigs is all that's needed for a great set.

[Haltiamieli]

I voted for generic, though I find it rather trivial whether the characters (or even places) have names or not - the wizards and the kings from the latest themes have been nameless but that doesn't necessarily make them any less exclusive or individual than Majisto, King Leo, Cedric the Bull or Basil the Bat Lord. Thus far Knights' Kingdom II has been the only Castle-theme where the backstory has really mattered, informing the set design, minifig choices etc.

[Blakstone]

I don't care if Castle has specific characters or not. I just wish they have a specified time period. Crusaders, Forestmen, Vikings. Heck, It would if they have Celtic warriors with woad (blue face paint). Though TLG has not even gone that far. It would add variety to these sets.

Still a Ninjago approach where TLG has media tie-ins to help promote the line would be great. I don't see how they do that without specific characters. The childrens book section at Walmart has LEGO Superheroes and other LEGO themes represented in their young story books. Can you image the lift sales would get if TLG had a Sir Phillip and the Dragon storybook?

[Lordofdragonss]

Generic of course, but not the way Lego does it now. each set should have a different faces. So if you buy a whole line-none of the minifigs should be the same.

That was a problem in Fantasy era, Kigdoms and now in Castle"Dragon era" once again. And they realy need to stop reusing the heads. Many of those we see now are from Fantasy era...

The main problem for me is that they no longer support continuity. It seems like it's just another catsle theme, not new faction like in the 80'.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Lordofdragonss

[Kliq]

I voted for generic, though I find it rather trivial whether the characters (or even places) have names or not - the wizards and the kings from the latest themes have been nameless but that doesn't necessarily make them any less exclusive or individual than Majisto, King Leo, Cedric the Bull or Basil the Bat Lord. Thus far Knights' Kingdom II has been the only Castle-theme where the backstory has really mattered, informing the set design, minifig choices etc.

Having a couple of named figures doesn't really matter. Knights Kingdom I & II was nothing BUT named figures without a single generic soldier, that was disappointing for me.

Generic of course, but not the way Lego does it now. each set should have a different faces. So if you buy a whole line-none of the minifigs should be the same.

That was a problem in Fantasy era, Kigdoms and now in Castle"Dragon era" once again. And they realy need to stop reusing the heads. Many of those we see now are from Fantasy era...

The main problem for me is that they no longer support continuity. It seems like it's just another catsle theme, not new faction like in the 80'.

I don't see the point of this. I'll end up buying 6-10 of a smaller set to build up a small army for one or more of the factions in a Castle line, and there are going to be duplicate faces. In the 'golden age' of LEGO Castle there was nothing but plain smilie faces, so they were all the same. Eventually a couple new expressions appeared to add some variety, but honestly today's Castle sets have some of the greatest variety of faces that LEGO has ever produced.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Kliq

[Piranha]

I would have to vote for generic as well. Having a named knight or king is alright once in awhile, but I tend to prefer the castle themes that have several factions and follow some continuity (not necessarily a defined storyline). This would fulfill the need for diversity. Also distinct unnamed knights are fine like the gold knight from the Fantasy era, which is one of my favorites.

I did hope for Kingdoms to continue with the new Black Falcons and even Forestmen, as a neutral faction. I think civilian and neutral factions are key in a castle theme or any historical theme.

[SerenityInFire]

I voted for generic, but I do think a mix of the two could work very well; having few named characters in a theme that is very broad and allows for the builder to create the narrative.

[Jareth]

I voted "theme Specific" because I liked the fantasy line so much. It gave us a lot of very unique builds. In most "generic" themes, we keep getting the same basic ideas. A large good guy "king's castle" a smaller bad guy castle, a catapult or two and a wagon. Maybe a joust if you're lucky.

Generic themes do not have to be this way. I really liked the mill village raid, and the older castel sets also had blacksmiths, armor shops, battering rams...but I feel there is to much repetition now.

[mpoh98]

Generic! But LOTR is included in Theme-specific, then both.

[SheepEater]

Specific... as long as specific stands for Lord of the Rings.

[kermit]

To me the story behind a set is of little importance although it helps to enhance the set. As long as the sets are great that is all that matters. For example sets that are detailed and has some substance to it. So whether generic or theme based it comes down to the quality of the particular sets for me.

[TanTile]

Being new to the theme I would have to say Generic! I have been doing Reviews on my Blog atm see below... and I am loving it! I hope LEGO continue with this theme,

because I would love some different colored dragons like they did in the past that i sadly missed out on...

[Rook]

I enjoy the specific factions because it gives unique pieces but I'm also a huge fan of doing large scale MOCs so if when the time comes do a Mega Castle MOC I'm sure I'd love the generic.

[Phyre]

Generic is good because you can create your own storylines and develop a universe with those sets easier than with the theme-specific sets. However, if LEGO were to do a Castle theme based on, say, classic fairytales, that might have potential to be a very cool theme. But for the time being with what Castle lines have been released so far, I voted generic.

[Tyrant]

I voted for Generic, but I agree with SerenityInFire that a mix of the two might be possible. Named Kings, Queens, Wizards, etc. are all something we have had in the past so we know they work. If we had more sets (like we could possibly have if the line had a cartoon or something to help push it) then we could add a few named knights, lords/nobles, merchants, etc for each side while still having the nameless legions. I could see an approach more in line with LotR or Star Wars where you have named characters and the massive armies and not just a few named characters from both sides fighting it out.

[Crazycrownieguy]

I voted for generic, but I would like to think that a mix of the two could work, so maybe have a few named characters, like the main good guys, and the main bad guys, and then have a bunch of generic soldiers. But that is just my opinion

[wesker]

Theme specific - though not to the extent of Knights Kingdom where we only had named heroes and no generic troops. Growing up with Castle and Space I really enjoyed the diversity of factions that Lego gave us, and that diversity would show in the different designs for each set. Because of that the line always felt fresh and exciting. When I look at the latest Castle wave, all I see is a recolour of the Kingdoms sets from a few years back.

[Rogue Angel]

There is a lot of hate for Knights Kingdom 1 and 2 (specific) but they gave us 8 new factions, 8! And these include some of my favorite shields to date. This is much better than rehashing lions and dragons over and over and over again. I never follow Lego's official story for castle sets, so I'm more concerned about torsos, shields and weapons. The one benefit to a two faction line is getting multiple soldiers prints of one faction. In my mind, CMFs and LotR have done more castle than any recent theme other than the Fantasy theme (dwarves, trolls, etc) and the Dragon/Lion theme with MMV, Raid and Joust.

[AmperZand]

I voted "generic" but actually, it's not something I feel strongly about. Apart from themes based on literature/films, I don't really follow TLGs stories and use Lego themes generically.

However, what I would really like to see is these "generic" themes (ie,not from a franchise) to have skin-colored minifigs. Yeah, yeah, yellow minifigs are traditional but timers have changed, and so has the hobby. It gets expensive to hunt skin-colored heads and hands on BL for your MOCs.

I don't want to threadjack but I completely disagree. Yellowies are true to the LEGO brand. Fleshies are an abomination originally introduced because someone couldn't get their head around the idea that yellow represents all human skin tones in the LEGO universe.

[naf]

I voted generic, although it seems the castle theme has always had factions. I grew up in the 80's, so I had black knights, falcons, crusaders, etc. However, these were generic enough that they could represent anything, and there were no named or special figures. I think this is better since it doesn't force you into a specific story, and you can use your imagination to come up with your own kingdom.

I think the recently retired Kingdom's line did a good job of balancing generic castle with a theme. There was definitely a theme with the Lion kingdom vs. the Dragon kingdom, and there were special king and queen figures (in fact he doesn't even have a name that I know of,he's just referred to as the Lion King), but other than that it reminded me of the old 80's castle factions. It's sad that Lego decided to kill the theme, I hope they come up with something similar in the near future.

[WaysofSorting]

I think it's a tough question - I voted specific because when the Castles lean toward that direction I'm happier- but it's hard to articulate why.

I agree - I too grew up in the 80s and my all time favorite faction is the "Black Falcons" (though mine are now in space - but that's not germane to this discussion...) and the wolfpack, dragon riders, forestmen - they all have their places too. Are they specific or Generic? If they count as Generic, I answered incorrectly.

The argument in my mind is that when the Castle theme sways to Generic (I feel like it is right now) they sway it too far and it gets watered down...like the demographic is "younger" or at least more basic than say, Ninjago or Chima.

I think this makes sense...that Castle in a way is more generic by its nature as it fills a different, more traditional, product niche - the one that exists in the higher-priced "educational" toy stores that people without kids go to buy gifts for their friends' children's birthdays. Castle fits there because anyone walking into the store will see it and recognize it and be comfortable knowing what they are getting. They don't have to ask the clerk what a speedorz is or why the fat troll is blue and one big piece. And if a kid likes knights...well, you get the idea.

I think a question that is more appropriate, is how specific do we want the Archetypes? Is the castle line populated by heroes or by warring armies of no-named soldiers? Are there wizards and kings and elves or farmers and blacksmiths and jesters? Are they dirty and "realistic", or clean and idealized?

Each line has had its mix of each. I really like the current green/black dragon motif...but the sets themselves sort of don't speak to me. I liked it better when there was a leaning of the line towards battling Necromancy or Orcs or Dwarves. But I can see how the current line fits a role better than those.

Right now by keeping Castle Generic, it keeps Castle from stepping into the toes of LOTR. Once the Hobbit and LOTR are finished, though, I could see them making more specific a theme out of it again...

Either way, I like my Castle figs with Yellow skin and forever will.