Worst ever Bionicle design.

[Pencoin]

Looking over my whole collection, I think that most of the Metru stuff is my least favorite. The 03 Titans kind of suck, but there's nothing I like about any of the 04/05 sets. The Toa Metru are -ok-, and that's it. Everything else blew.

I guess that doesn't include the Hagah or Lhikan? Well the Hagah are the best sets made... but the worst? It has to be the Mistika. Awful to the extreme. But if thats to fanboy-ish I'd say Mertutoran. The backs are ugly. Not to good for play either. Only for display.

P.S. 2005 is not as bad as you guys say.

Edited December 20, 2008 by Pencoin

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

I guess that doesn't include the Hagah or Lhikan? Well the Hagah are the best sets made... but the worst? It has to be the Mistika. Awful to the extreme. But if thats to fanboy-ish I'd say Mertutoran. The backs are ugly. Not to good for play either. Only for display.

P.S. 2005 is not as bad as you guys say.

Agreed. The elite Toa of the Metru era are some of noblest looking we've had, and they are molded after what is probably the best Toa design yet. Gears AND possibility, human proportions for those who want it, and fantastic masks. At the time, the colors were exciting too, though they're worn out by now. As for 2005's lineup, the Visorak broke away from clonism and the Rahaga were plain cute. Plus, as you say, it had the Hagah.

EDIT: Oh, and Krika may be a Mistika, but he blows away any other 2008 set. ^_^

-Ikk

Edited December 20, 2008 by Ikki o' Moopyville

[~Wrack'n'Ruin~]

Mata.

Boxes with arms and legs and no knees or elbows. With the rose-coloured glasses off, they're comparable to First Grade Gundams.

[The Dor]

Mata.

Boxes with arms and legs and no knees or elbows. With the rose-coloured glasses off, they're comparable to First Grade Gundams.

I have to agree with Wrack. The original sets really weren't that good. They certainly weren't BAD, but they had the same articulation as sets we got for $5. They certainly wouldn't have made the grade for canister sets. Although I realized as I was buying Skrall and Malum, that the canisters have progressed a lot. And the Matoran / Agori have progressed to almost the same articulation and price of the original canisters. Just thought that was kinda funny.

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Bleh to articulation, it ain't everything. The Mata had some great appearances that matched their elements and personalities, and their pieces were incredibly useful. They had a fun play feature and gave birth to the concept of masks, which was never as awesome as in that year. Every aspect of them contributed to a fierce, mystical, somewhat bizzarre, and primitive yet high-tech look. No sets look cooler than the Mata. =D

EDIT: O yay, I be a knight.

-Ikk

Edited December 21, 2008 by Ikki o' Moopyville

[Brickthing]

I loved the Mata, although I agree about how good they are as sets now. In truth though, what we think of as bad now is not what we thought of as bad then. As LEGO has continued the BIONICLE line, our standards have risen and changed. Also, we usually judge whether a set is good by using previous sets as a relative comparison. There's no denying the the Mata were better than the Throwbots and RoboRiders, so that's why they were so loved and praised. However, they don't come anywhere near the quality and intricacy of today's sets, so their not good any more by today's standards, and the main thing upholding then are those rose-coloured glasses.

[The Dor]

Bleh to articulation, it ain't everything. The Mata had some great appearances that matched their elements and personalities, and their pieces were incredibly useful. They had a fun play feature and gave birth to the concept of masks, which was never as awesome as in that year. Every aspect of them contributed to a fierce, mystical, somewhat bizzarre, and primitive yet high-tech look. No sets look cooler than the Mata. =D

EDIT: O yay, I be a knight.

-Ikk

Hm. Looking at Tahu I see nothing elemental aside from red and firesword. Kopaka has no ice. Lewa has no air. Gali's mask looks like a scuba mask, but claws really don't seem watery to me. Pohatu has tan, and shoes, which I guess could be stony. Onua has claws, which are I guess earthy.

None of the elemental themes are exclusive, Jaller Inika's sword, great color scheme, plus great articulation, puts him above Tahu in my book. And Jaller Mahri's extremely fire based color scheme makes him about as elemental, and his cool Arthron is about equal, except for the lack of simplicity, to the Hau, IMO. :\

[Corvus]

The problem is that now everything is bley and silver... Not that I hate silver, but it detracts from the element-yness of the sets. Tahu was red, orange (and some black) and had a flamey sword. Of course, I hated posing the Mata, but I love their look, especially in the comics. The comics (or cartoons....or whatever people call 'em) were vivid and colorful, and I liked the way they were drawn, almost like stone or something.

And then we have the shooter thingies... no elemental power needed whatsoever. Of course, this is varying away from the design of the sets to the themes, but I could argue that the Toa's elemental look is the design.

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

I love the Mahri, but I still prefer the Mata over the Phantistika. Heck, I prefer the Tohunga over the Inika. xD

If it were just rose-colored glasses, I wouldn't love these new fellas as much, though. =D

-Ikk

[JINZONINGEN73]

2 VERY distinct cases of FAIL come to mind.

First, obviously, those godawful Metrutoran.

They were HOLLOW, BACKLESS SHELLS! I never thought something so shitty could have been designed, right after the Mctoran got an awesome upgrade for the movieToran.

So sad... so very, very sad.

The other one that crawls up my butt is THIS guy:

Hey, I just saw a cool guy in a movie.

I want him as a set.

What's this? The Beast Wars Transmetal Megatron-lookin' thing actually looks like THIS in set form?

The HELL?!? It's not even the same colors!

Inexcusable... Even if it didn't have any correlation to a movie character and you removed their official response of, "It was the movie guys' fault! They got too creative on us!", leaving this merely as JUST a set... it's still absolutely ridiculous.

(Heh... looking now at the old pic of the movie dude... the feet look like those newer blade parts... the shins look like those other newer parts... with perhaps the exception of the wings, this could be moced pretty closely nowadays. Unfortunately thogh, integral parts are still not in the right color or ever will be... purple. V__V )

[Wrinkledlion X]

I loved Nihvak's design in that movie, but his colors were eye-searing.

[InnerRayg]

I guess that doesn't include the Hagah or Lhikan? Well the Hagah are the best sets made... but the worst? It has to be the Mistika. Awful to the extreme. But if thats to fanboy-ish I'd say Mertutoran. The backs are ugly. Not to good for play either. Only for display.

P.S. 2005 is not as bad as you guys say.

I've never really considered the Hagah part of 05...they're special, and yeah, they look pretty sweet.

Lhikan's ok, but his swords were awkward. Nothing else is that great. Not awful, but there's nothing I particularly like about any of them, whereas all the others have something special about them I enjoy.

[Nekky]

I couldn't stand the Mistika in the slightest. The Makuta were forgivable, but the Toa were so god awful. They actually broke my stride of buying all of canister set series, and that's surprising.

Nekky <3

[ShaddowCroc]

I never really liked the Hordika. I mean, they looked sorta cool, but they sucked in all truth. Then again, I might just be biased since I hated '05 in general. The Visorak were also weeeiiiird, but I liked them.

EDIT: Or maybe "Ultimate Dume". That set sucked hard.

Edited December 24, 2008 by ShaddowCroc

[Algernon]

Hm. Looking at Tahu I see nothing elemental aside from red and firesword. Kopaka has no ice. Lewa has no air. Gali's mask looks like a scuba mask, but claws really don't seem watery to me. Pohatu has tan, and shoes, which I guess could be stony. Onua has claws, which are I guess earthy.

None of the elemental themes are exclusive, Jaller Inika's sword, great color scheme, plus great articulation, puts him above Tahu in my book. And Jaller Mahri's extremely fire based color scheme makes him about as elemental, and his cool Arthron is about equal, except for the lack of simplicity, to the Hau, IMO. :\

It's in the mask. Tahu's mask really conveys the primitive ferocity of fire, Lewa's mask looks quick and aerodynamic, Onua's mask looks REALLY cool and tribal. It really IS the perfect mix of primitive, high-tech, elemental demigods. And it was way better than the crap we get these days.

People complain about articulation; need I remind them how much of a step UP the Mata were from anything LEGO had done before? The formula improved as the years went by, but there was never a better jump in quality than the Mata. Okay, fine, the Metru had more articulation, and I'll agree they're superior in that respect; but they still don't reach the huge aesthetic leap the Mata made from the Roboriders and Throwbots.

[Zarkan]

Gali Mistika, hands down. She is easily the worst canister set ever, in every spectrum (looks, character similarity, colors, piece selection, etc.). I'm only buying her because I need a base for my MOC of what the new Gali should have looked like.

It's in the mask. Tahu's mask really conveys the primitive ferocity of fire, Lewa's mask looks quick and aerodynamic, Onua's mask looks REALLY cool and tribal. It really IS the perfect mix of primitive, high-tech, elemental demigods. And it was way better than the crap we get these days.

People complain about articulation; need I remind them how much of a step UP the Mata were from anything LEGO had done before? The formula improved as the years went by, but there was never a better jump in quality than the Mata. Okay, fine, the Metru had more articulation, and I'll agree they're superior in that respect; but they still don't reach the huge aesthetic leap the Mata made from the Roboriders and Throwbots.

While I agree with you about the Miru and the Pakari, I must disagree about the Hau. Sure, it's an awesome mask, but in the wake of newer masks like the Arthron and Malum's helmet, I don't feel that the Hau is the end all to fire masks anymore. While the newer masks are far more jagged and ferocious looking, with tons of slants, indents, and swirled colors that resemble fire, the Hau is too simple looking and clean to convey the fire element just as well.

Also, aesthetics and articulation are totally different things. The Mata were an enormous jump up in looks, but their articulation was no better than the articulation of TLC's first technic robot line, the Slizers. And until 2006, they both had the extremely restrictive gear functions that finally have stopped plaguing poseability and articulation. Besides, with the arival of the Glatorian and Agori, we now have had an enormous leap foward from the aesthetics slump of 2008 - although, I seem to remembe that you were the only one completely against the new line, so that probably doesn't mean anything to you.

[dviddy]

the Hau is too simple looking and clean to convey the fire element just as well.

Man I miss the original Kanohi. All other Kanohi have been suck compared to the beautiful aesthetics the 2001 Kanohi possessed.

[Tim Bit]

Classics are the best!

They had 70+ pieces for $9.99

Now there 60- pieces for $12.99

The old ones also have a more bare but neet body.

The new ones look good but bulky.

The parts on the old ones were smaller and better.

The new ones have massive pieces.

I know you disagree but be reasonable, the original is the best.

[Algernon]

Gali Mistika, hands down. She is easily the worst canister set ever, in every spectrum (looks, character similarity, colors, piece selection, etc.). I'm only buying her because I need a base for my MOC of what the new Gali should have looked like.

While I agree with you about the Miru and the Pakari, I must disagree about the Hau. Sure, it's an awesome mask, but in the wake of newer masks like the Arthron and Malum's helmet, I don't feel that the Hau is the end all to fire masks anymore. While the newer masks are far more jagged and ferocious looking, with tons of slants, indents, and swirled colors that resemble fire, the Hau is too simple looking and clean to convey the fire element just as well.

Also, aesthetics and articulation are totally different things. The Mata were an enormous jump up in looks, but their articulation was no better than the articulation of TLC's first technic robot line, the Slizers. And until 2006, they both had the extremely restrictive gear functions that finally have stopped plaguing poseability and articulation. Besides, with the arival of the Glatorian and Agori, we now have had an enormous leap foward from the aesthetics slump of 2008 - although, I seem to remembe that you were the only one completely against the new line, so that probably doesn't mean anything to you.

I'm gonna have to strongly disagree about the Hau. Keep in mind that in 2001 they were still trying to (somewhat) convey a tribal, primitive look- something that's been all but forgotten since then. Sure, we get a few nice mask designs here and there, but do any of them have the right feel? Yes and no. In the Hau's cause, it feels primitive and mysterious, and just a tad ferocious, very aligned to the 2001 mood. It has gaps in the face that resemble war paint- a wonderful aesthetic addition. The "O-face" works well for 2001, since it does give it a slightly more mysterious feel. No, it's not completely over-the-top wild and untamed, but it's a good balance of restrained ferocity and primitive myth. Much more thought out than recent mask designs.

Saying that the Glatorian are more aesthetically elegant than the Mistika is like saying a potato is tastier than a rock; true, but it's not saying much. And for the record, I love the 2009 line. The designs are finally primitive and elegant again, conveying the right mood, and the elemental theme is in full force rather than playing backseat to a "scuba" or "flying" setting. It's more 2001 than we've had since... well, 2001. And I'm digging it. I don't know where you heard I was against it, unless I misunderstand you.

[hewkii9]

They had 70+ pieces for $9.99

Now there 60- pieces for $12.99

Erm where were these 70+ piece canister sets exactly? Cause I think I missed out on them!

[Wrinkledlion X]

The most pieces in a canister set to date has been Tahu Mistika, with 73 pieces. After him are other sets from 2008.

On average (Not counting Pohatu), the Toa Mata had 33 pieces. Pohatu included it's an average of 36.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Gunnar

[MercenaryXero]

The canister sets really set themselves up for a downturn in 2006, adopting the Inika and Piraka builds as bases for almost every can set since. The trade-off in eradicating "clone sets" seems to be the loss of any and all new construction styles, with the exception of the '08 Makuta. That along with colorschemes that can't seem to decide whether they represent an element or a color or whatever else they categorize things by nowadays.

[Zarkan]

I'm gonna have to strongly disagree about the Hau. Keep in mind that in 2001 they were still trying to (somewhat) convey a tribal, primitive look- something that's been all but forgotten since then. Sure, we get a few nice mask designs here and there, but do any of them have the right feel? Yes and no. In the Hau's cause, it feels primitive and mysterious, and just a tad ferocious, very aligned to the 2001 mood. It has gaps in the face that resemble war paint- a wonderful aesthetic addition. The "O-face" works well for 2001, since it does give it a slightly more mysterious feel. No, it's not completely over-the-top wild and untamed, but it's a good balance of restrained ferocity and primitive myth. Much more thought out than recent mask designs.

Saying that the Glatorian are more aesthetically elegant than the Mistika is like saying a potato is tastier than a rock; true, but it's not saying much. And for the record, I love the 2009 line. The designs are finally primitive and elegant again, conveying the right mood, and the elemental theme is in full force rather than playing backseat to a "scuba" or "flying" setting. It's more 2001 than we've had since... well, 2001. And I'm digging it. I don't know where you heard I was against it, unless I misunderstand you.

On the first, I guess it's just a matter of taste again. On the second, I agree somewhat, but I don't think they were actually trying to achieve an elegant look - the look of 2009 is far more primative and ferocious, which fits in with what we know about the storyline so far. The Toa Mata were powerful but noble heroes, while the Glatorian are savage, agressive gladiators.

Oh, and I guess I just remembered wrong. Sorry about that.

[KinGanon]

Quite frankly everything after Bohrok

Yeah I know I'm probably going to get stoned but thats the truth(especially Gadunka)

[Algernon]

On the first, I guess it's just a matter of taste again. On the second, I agree somewhat, but I don't think they were actually trying to achieve an elegant look - the look of 2009 is far more primative and ferocious, which fits in with what we know about the storyline so far. The Toa Mata were powerful but noble heroes, while the Glatorian are savage, agressive gladiators.

Oh, and I guess I just remembered wrong. Sorry about that.

Fair enough. Oh, and when I said elegant, I meant that the designs were better aesthetically, not attempting to achieve an elegant feel (and you're quite right, Glatorian are far more ferocious than any Toa).

And call me crazy but I'm not at all interested in the storyline further than the setting. Lately the writing in Bionicle has been anything but it's strong point.

It's all good. :)