Bionicle

Bionicle was really suffering a humongous case of seasonal rot. It was already 2 or 3 years beyond its life expectancy. I mean, 10 years is more than what any other non-Star Wars LEGO theme could aspire to. Also, it was getting dry in the idea department in regards to toys, and sales dropped. At the end, LEGO's objective is to sell toys.

Hero Factory's first season was a suspiciously similar substitute. But since the second one, the build system is drastically different.

edited 1st May '12 4:35:39 PM by nairoxev

Bionicle's seasonal rot started in 2007 with the Toa Mahri (While 2005 was bad, its problems were not perpetuated). 2008 was horrifically bad, with overuse of Inika builds, grey pieces, overpriced simple builds, etc; the only cool sets were the air motorcycles. 2009 started out... Decent? The toys were bad, but at least they were colorful, and there was news of a movie! Then it all got thrown out the window when the plot shat itself because Greg couldn't possibly tie up all the plot threads, especially since he wouldn't stop making them.

If it had to die, let it die.

My favorite year of Bionicle is 2001. A lot of it is nostalgia, sure, but pretty much all of the 2001 sets still hold up very well today, as do the 2002 sets. 2001 also had 'The Mata Nui Online Game, which is the most awesome Bionicle-related thing ever.

edited 3rd May '12 5:14:12 PM by Scardoll

Ya, true enough. Though personally, my favorite year was probably 2004, mainly because they had kneeeees finally.

edited 3rd May '12 5:54:46 PM by HibernoBrony

I agree with both of the above.

Another thing: I really wish that the Toa hadn't changed into the Toa Nuva. The original Toa Mata designs were amazing; each one was full of character. Just look at Tahu.

• Tahu's primary colors are red and orange, making him look like his element of fire. His weapon is a bright red sword of fire, the simplest expression of his power. His mask is simple, yet the eye slits, the heavy brow, and mouth hole suggest an intense or even shouting face.

Then compare to Tahu Nuva.

• Tahu Nuva's primary colors are red, orange, and silver, with silver covering much of the red. His weapons are a pair of silver blades with fire running along the inside that can be combined into a surfboard. His mask is overly complex, with wrinkles and ridges all over, and is overly broad, losing the furrowed brow of the original face.

See the difference? One is simple and devoted only to one primary aesthetic, while the other adds separate elements that don't really gel with the original design. Worse, the effect made the toa look more like each other; each one had silver armor, silver shoulder pads, and silver weapons. Gali lost much of her feminine build and her neat transparent mask, Pohatu gained a set of handheld weapons "just cus'", and Onua's most recognizable feature, his claws, were completely replaced. The toa ended up being much more same-y.

It's also the reason why I prefer the original Bohrok over the Bohrok Kal (Which I think most people would agree were crap). And this is one of the reasons why 2007's Barraki were pretty cool; they were all individuals with unique aesthetics, and the only one who really suffered was Pridak (Because of his giant chin).

edited 10th May '12 7:48:57 PM by Scardoll

Ya, I've long thought that the Toa Nuva were a bit Dork Age-y in comparison to the originals (especially the masks). I guess that's why Tahu got reverted to his original form for the Bionicle Stars line.

edited 10th May '12 7:56:54 PM by HibernoBrony

I don't mind the Toa Nuva after their conception in storyline; Gali's nova blast is one of the best story moments in the franchise for me. It's just that their transformation into the Nuva is completely pointless in the grand scheme of things, and it makes them look uglier.

At least they look better than the Mitsi-DEAR GOD GALI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE!!??

Okay, so I guess I missaid that. What I meant was that they specifically looked a bit Dork Age-y in comparison to the originals. The story for them I didn't really have any problems with.

But if we're going to talk Mistika, I have to say that I thought Gali got the least of it compared to Onua and Tahu.

Hateful Complaining

I'm trying to think of the worst upgrade among the Toa Phantoka and the Toa Mitsika. Pohatu is the one that really made me angry when I first got the set. His legs are stubby and weak, his weapons were about as floppy and intimidating as a hackysack, and orange, while a fine color, looks disgusting when combined with that much grey. The only good part is the mask, which feels like the original Pohatu's mask and looks like something you'd wear when traveling at high speeds (You know, since it's the mask of speed?).

Onua's new mask was good-looking and the shield was a fitting idea, but his build... Good God, he looks anorexic. No wonder he needs a mask of strength. And the red fins look completely out of place.

Kopaka's new mask looked pretty damn good, but his airplane fins were silly, and Y NO SHIELD+SWORD LEGO??!! Seriously, along with the telescope mask eye, that's one of the most memorable aspects of his design.

Tahu... I like some of the ideas. I think his mask looks decent, although it sadly looks nothing like the old one. The jet fins look really good. But what idiot thought that a guy with the mask of shielding needed a shield as his weapon? And then there's the dumb looking leg fins.

Lewa is boring as hell. Too much grey. Boring Inika build. Too boring to comment on.

And finally, there's Gali. She has gigantic gorilla arms, a wide torso (That really looks like it should have been swapped with poor Onua's), and despite her torso being wide, it's also comically short. Then we get to the mask, which would look good one someone who was not Gali, and then we get to the bunny ears, which need to go die in a fire. And you know what's the worse thing? She has feet jets. Hell, I would have accepted her as a decent Pohatu if colored orange and given his mask, since at least she has something on her feet.

The thing that really irks me is... Gali was my first Bionicle. I got her from Denmark before the line was even released in the United States. It's just irksome how they couldn't seem to make an awesome Gali toy after the first.

Gushing about awesome sets

Okay, so now that I'm done with the complaining, I really wanted to say: Titan sets have almost always been awesome, and were almost worth the loss of the Rahi (Which were the best Bionicle sets ever). My favorite 20 dollar set is probably Gadunka; he's very unique, he's extremely well articulated, and he balances like a champ. Oh, and he looks freaking beast picking up Matoran and holding them up to his open mouth (Because articulated fingers are awesome). Yeah, he has zero story importance, but does that matter when is every delicious B-movie cliche in a kickass figure?

Plus, that large blue piece that serves as his head is incredible for moc-ing.

EDIT: Okay, if Gali Mitsika looked like this◊ instead, I would be eternally happy and never complain again. I love MOC-ers.

edited 11th May '12 4:50:46 PM by Scardoll

The mistika-phantoka were designed as a different Toa team and then LEGO decided that in order to stop losing they have to appeal to nostalgy and decided to make them the original team. (I mean, this is the only logical explanation for this non-sense, isn't it?

Ow titans.

I love how the existence of Titans nullifies just about all the prejudicial rants aimed at Bionicle. From lack of originality, to all sets are the same and finally "no complicated construction involved".

I stopped caring about LEGO when I became an immature teenager some time after the first Bionicle years. Then I returned back to its last year after I grew up. I could not get most of the titans... But I was lucky, because I was able to find many of them second hand.

Best titans? I would say the exo toa, keetongu, Brutaka and Axxon are all too awesome. I like Tuma because of how great its build works, it is really the final evolution of titan set articulation. Although this build was polished and finalized later when Rotor from hero factory appeared. I also have Kardas, and well, I love how it is sooo large.

edited 11th May '12 5:24:50 PM by nairoxev

Actually, thinking back, my favorite titan (If you can call it one) is the Boxer from 2002. Insanely complex for its size, insanely fun to play with, and it looks great. Plus, it had a great part in the storyline, with how Nuparu constructed it IN A CAVE WITH A BOHROK AND SOME SCRAPS.

edited 11th May '12 5:32:22 PM by Scardoll

I kind of drifted away after the Mahri so I don't know what most of the Titans mentioned are but the Boxor rocked. I remembered the Flash episode where Nuparu created it being the best thing ever but I think my Nostalgia Filter is making up details.

Axonn was also pretty cool because he had actual hands with fingers.

We got any MOC-ers here? Since half of my giant bin of Lego parts was sold, I've been trying to sort my collection while figuring out how to make Bionicle-figure-like bodies without those specialized pieces. I did have a few successes with unique color schemes that I photographed a while back, but I've disassembled them now and don't want to rely as heavily on Throwbot parts this time.

Gotta disagree with this one. The 06-08 story arc was the peak of Bionicle, writing wise at least. Especially after the mediocrity of 2005 (whose mediocrity was a shame, as 04 was such a great year). Sure, the Toa sets in 08 were pretty crappy, but 07's Mahri had pretty cool designs, which is a shame that I only bought the two crappy ones (Nuparu and Matoro). 09's sets were pretty awesome too, but the movie kinda sucked.

I found the Mahri decent in some ways, horrible in others. Jaller and Matoro were my two favorites; I like the construction of Matoro's chest section and his mask, and Jaller just looks amazing and has the best accessory ever ("Go, pet battle crab! Avenge me!"). Hahli would be better if she didn't have a huge and awkward looking claw to break the symmetry and if she didn't have lime green bits that broke like talc.

Also, Hewkii was by far the worst. Like, by far. His proportions are terrible, his colors are an eyesore (Bright yellow with black and red highlights, yay!), he has very little poseability, and his body has no armor while his head is just one big armor plate, making him look like he threw a bucket on his head. Pretty much everybody who's purchased him agrees that he's the worst.

I actually kinda liked Kongu's dual cordak blasters, and his mask looks cool, but the set just doesn't work as a toa of air.

Nuparu... Urk. I barely even remember him.

So yeah, Jaller Mahri was probably the best Mahri set. He looks incredible, he has a great color scheme, his weapon looks natural (A big sword with no frills), and he comes with the most fuck-awesome accessory ever.

edited 14th Jun '12 4:04:02 PM by Scardoll

Hey, guess what?

I'm gonna guess that was about Velika being a Great Being

Wow, that was... Something.

"Velika is Greg Farshtey's favorite Matoran."

You don't say.

edited 28th Aug '12 10:43:56 PM by HibernoBrony

Hey, guess what else?

That.... That's actually a pretty cool idea and far more interesting than most of the fan theories I've heard for the Red Star. No complaints there, other than it possibly being a cheap cop-out to bring back dead characters.

...

Why did the Red Star strike the Inika with lightning again? Was that ever explained?

edited 20th Sep '12 8:42:23 PM by Scardoll

Heh, it just strikes me how out of touche with current plot developments like that I am, considering how active I am on some Bionicle fansites.

For some reason, I cannot access anything in BZ Power. I cannot read the forums, set reviews, guides, nothing. Apparently, I'm not alone.

edited 26th Feb '13 6:34:20 PM by Noah1

As for Hero Factory, the story is insanely childish and cliche (then again this is LEGO).

But the sets are amazing, because they have variety.

Oh my god YES. I wish I could afford a bunch of HF sets with the new building system to build some big beast.