Was 2008 the Worst Year of Bionicle?

[Nekchir]

A lot of people think 2008 was the begging of the worst era for Bionicle. Why is that? Was it due to the poor storyline? Introduction of heavy silver?

[Mesonak]

Honestly 2005 is probably my least favorite year so there's that.

Lots of people don't like 2008 (myself included) for the Av-Toran build, silver overload, and the Phantoka/Mistika not looking good/like their past incarnations. Other than that, it was a fairly solid year.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Mesonak

[Umbra-Manis]

I don't think any year that has the Axalara can be considered the worst. I find 2010 and 2005 inferior.

[TwistLaw]

2005 was on of the best year for titans and villains (the Visorak were just the cutest), but probably the worst as far as Toa are concerned.

2008, on the other hand, had the worst wave of all times: the Mistika. Plus that terrible plastic.

Boxed sets were cool though!

[TheGreatSpirit]

First we had the 2006 profit thread, now we have this... inb4 2008 was worst year thread.

Now you guys are just messing with me

Welp, I might as well make a 2009 thread while we're at it.

Edited August 21, 2015 by TheGreatSpirit

[Mandate]

2005 was on of the best year for titans and villains (the Visorak were just the cutest), but probably the worst as far as Toa are concerned.

Worst as far as Toa are concerned? Jeesh, the Hagah get no love from anyone

2008, on the other hand, had the worst wave of all times: the Mistika.

The Hordika would like a word with you.

Plus that terrible plastic.

The plastic was not the problem. The molds were the problem.

[Lord-Vorahk]

Worst as far as Toa are concerned? Jeesh, the Hagah get no love from anyone

Weird, considering that they basically polished the Metru build and they were pretty damn good in their own right.

In any case, I think 2008 was actually one of my favourite years. Dem vehicles, dat Takanuva, dat Icarax. I didn't like 2009 on the other hand. I found the sets to be "Meh" (Skrall and Strakk were innovative, but it made the Skrall really unintimidating, and Strakk's proportions and armour weird for a Bonkle set), I hated the new heads, and the story and characters had no real draw. Especially since the Reign of Shadows would've been much better as the main line story.

[MakutaOfWar]

I had a lot of fun, personally, with the 2008 sets. And Tahu and Kopaka are still amazing to me. If I had to guess, hm, I'd say 2010 was the worst;

1. The sets, do people even remember the sets?!

2. The story ending was kind of 'abrupt'. Sure, and awesome giant robot fight, but from my knowledge the last time I read the last two comics the fight wasn't even really emphasized on was it? And Teridax died when a piece of Aqua Magna hit his head...

3. That was the end of the figure line.

Just my thoughts.

[Pate-keetongu]

I never liked the 2009 "Half-reboot" story-wise, but at least the sets were a lot better than in 2008; The weapons and color schemes were a lot more element-oriented and, well, interesting.

When it comes to 2008 sets, I think the Makuta sets were cool, diverse and interesting. The Toa, on other hand, weren't. In addition to being very far-fetched from the original Nuva designs, they had pretty much the worst weapons ever (Except Lewa and Pohatu, probably) and very basic builds. I neither liked the Av-Matoran with their low piece counts and high price tags. And then there was the plague of poor ball sockets...

Never liked Hordika, but visorak were alright, Hagah were excellent and the titan sets better than average, except for their strange lack of hands.

[xX_TChalla_Xx]

I personally believe that BIONICLE Generation One could have ended right then and there. Mysteries were unveiled, heroes reached their max potential (besides Tahu) and Mata Nui was risen. Honestly, after 2008 I felt like the story went downhill. It was being dragged out for too long.

[DuckBricks]

I never liked the 2009 "Half-reboot" story-wise, but at least the sets were a lot better than in 2008; The weapons and color schemes were a lot more element-oriented and, well, interesting.

When it comes to 2008 sets, I think the Makuta sets were cool, diverse and interesting. The Toa, on other hand, weren't. In addition to being very far-fetched from the original Nuva designs, they had pretty much the worst weapons ever (Except Lewa and Pohatu, probably) and very basic builds. I neither liked the Av-Matoran with their low piece counts and high price tags. And then there was the plague of poor ball sockets...

Never liked Hordika, but visorak were alright, Hagah were excellent and the titan sets better than average, except for their strange lack of hands.

I actually really liked most of the Hordika weapons (sans Nokama's, which was too big and frankly, quite ugly and obstrusive). The builds? Eh, not so much. On unarticulated arm was not good, but the other geared arm may have been better if it wasn't so... Flat...

[Mendicant]

I was disappointed in 2008, but only because it was so far removed from the aesthetic I had come to know. There were many things I loved about 2008; I did love all of the sets, as I bought several, but the Toa were not the Toa I had known. I always imagined them as a separate team. But the villains were some of the best.

[GK733]

I actually really liked most of the Hordika weapons (sans Nokama's, which was too big and frankly, quite ugly and obstrusive). The builds? Eh, not so much. On unarticulated arm was not good, but the other geared arm may have been better if it wasn't so... Flat...

It's kinda funny because Hordika actually had some friction on their geared arm due to the blue pin.

[VBBN]

Well, 2010 was a complete waste of time, what better way to end Bionicle than to give us the more av-toran builds that were crap from the start, but I don't even know if it constitutes a year of Bionicle.

As far as years go, I would say 2005 was the worst, but i think it was more that I couldn't get into the story at all.

I actually didn't mind 2008- I loved the Makuta builds, the large flying refrigerators, and while not very Nuva-like, I did like some of the Toa.

[Dorek]

Well, 2010 was a complete waste of time, what better way to end Bionicle than to give us the more av-toran builds that were crap from the start, but I don't even know if it constitutes a year of Bionicle.

Better than nothing at all, which was the more likely alternative.

I think the Nuva not looking like their old selves was probably the most damning factor of 2008, and the overly simplified Av-Matoran, but I really liked the year. All of the titans were on-point, the designs were fresh, and it had giant awesome vehicles.

[arc]

Maybe not the worst, but definitely not high on the list. The vehicles were awesome, but the canisters... not so much. I have some that I like, (lewa and krika specifically) but other than that I really don't care for the rest too much.

[Shakar]

Not the worst (I don't know which one I'd give that award to), but it sits pretty low on my list. The Phantoka Makuta were really cool, Toa Ignika was awesome and I'm biased towards Lewa. But the other Toa were very bland and too different from their old forms (with only a few elements being actually good, like Kopaka's wings, Onua's shield and his "that's a Kraahkan, sweetie" mask), the Mistika Makuta had very weak designs, the Avtoran were terrible aside from their masks, and while they were very well designed sets I didn't care for the Vehicles very much. Also, there were only two Titans.

Ah shoot, I edited the wrong post.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Shakar

[Frozen Assasin]

Actually, the Toa designs get better when you realise that those sets were originally going to be Mari (with/without Matoro). As such - this is my version of the lineup -

Lewa Phantoka - Hali

Pohatu Phantoka - Nuparu (based on the fact that his prototype was black).

Kopaka Phantoka - Matoro (or some-one similar...Kopeke ?)/Kongu

Tahu Mistika - Jaller

Gali Mistika - Hewki/Kongu

Onua Mistika - Kongu/Hewki/Matoro.

[ZORK64]

I liked 2008, except for the weak sockets. Though I probably should mention that I'm more of a MOCist and don't care much for the story.

What were the Hagah again?

I didn't care much for the Toa Metru and Hordika, to be frank. And the Inika had weird heads.

[bidiminished]

I think 2008 was the best year for parts, bar the brittle sockets. We got over 20 unique masks, and the makuta looked good although the swamp ones were severely overpriced (back then they were 20 AUD for only 40,51 and 54 pieces)

[MarkSurge9411]

I'd say that goes to 2010. 2008, although it isn't apperant, had quite a good number of fans. 2010, on the other hand, was hated by a good majority of people.

Of course, worst year is subjective, depending on what you like.

1. The sets, do people even remember the sets?!

I'm trying to forget them, not remember them.:P

[YellowCorvette]

Not the worst, but not the best. The big sets like 2008 Takanuva are awesome, but the canister sets are very bland and boring.

[Kman860]

2010 was the worst year. 1. Because the crappy "small scale design, and 2. Because the true Bionicle series ended. I think I almost cried when I found out.

[Kingslayer]

I think 2008 was fine but there were some dodgey sets that really bring it down. Namely the Toa Mistika and Bitil. Other than that I actually thought it was okay, though a little samey to the past two years.

[xboxtravis7992]

Actually, the Toa designs get better when you realise that those sets were originally going to be Mari (with/without Matoro).

The designs definitely look like Mahri more than Toa Nuva. I stopped buying Bionicle back in 2007, and didn't buy a new set until this year. It helps that the Toa look like reboots of their original forms this year.

Edited October 5, 2015 by xboxtravis7992