Console Heroes Heads to the PlayStation Era
The collectible diorama maker Console Heroes has expanded beyond its SEGA Genesis roots with a new wave of figures dedicated to the original PlayStation. The lineup pulls from four of Sony’s defining 1990s franchises: Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Twisted Metal, and MediEvil. The release marks the company’s first major step outside the Genesis and Mega Drive catalog it launched with last year, signaling a broader push across console generations.
Console Heroes first broke onto the collectibles scene in 2025 with miniature diorama scenes built around SEGA Genesis icons, leaning into the 16-bit era that helped define mascot-driven console gaming. The original wave covered characters tied to that hardware’s library, and the founders had hinted at further expansions on the Retro Dodo podcast without revealing specifics. The new PlayStation 1 wave is the payoff on that tease, jumping roughly a console generation forward and swapping Genesis sprites for the polygonal heroes of the mid-to-late 1990s.
Why the PS1 Lineup Matters to Retro Collectors
The four franchises on the slate are cornerstones of any retro PlayStation collection. Final Fantasy helped the console punch well above its weight in role-playing games, with the original PlayStation era delivering entries that pushed the genre toward cinematic storytelling and turn-based combat on a global stage. Metal Gear turned the console into a home for stealth design, building on the groundwork of earlier entries with a fully three-dimensional infiltration experience. Twisted Metal defined vehicular combat for a generation of players, its TV-tournament framing putting it alongside later entries such as Twisted Metal: Black in the long-running series’ memory. MediEvil gave Sony one of its earliest homegrown action-adventure mascots, a charmingly spooky romp through a gothic reimagining of medieval England.
For arcade and retro enthusiasts, the appeal of a diorama toy line is straightforward: it freezes a moment from a beloved game into a physical object that can sit on a shelf next to a console collection. The PlayStation 1 era is especially ripe for this treatment because the games sit at the seam between 2D sprite work and full 3D, giving sculptors plenty of texture to work with. Where Genesis dioramas lean on bold pixel silhouettes, PS1 pieces can lean into the chunky polygons and early cinematic flair that defined Sony’s first console.
A Growing Diorama Scene
Console Heroes’ expansion also reflects a wider appetite for licensed diorama-style collectibles in the retro community. Smaller studios have been filling a niche that the major toy makers left largely untouched, producing limited runs of high-detail scenes for fans who already own the games, the soundtracks, and the strategy guides. With the Genesis line establishing the formula and a PlayStation 1 wave now arriving, collectors will be watching closely to see which console generation the company tackles next. For now, the message is clear: the diorama shelf has officially moved past the 16-bit era and into the age of the original PlayStation.
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Source: Retro Dodo