2007 Bionicle

[Kynok]

And thats not a problem because to us at least, 2007 is looking to be worse then 2006 :P

You mean to you, not us. I love the 2006 storyline and, so far, I'm liking the 2007 one, too.

And why, might I ask, are you still following the BIONICLE stroyline if you hate it sooo dang much?

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Pretty much the same reason as many other old-schoolers, including me -- the world of fanfiction. *sweet* I enjoy building up Mata Nui adventures with the Matoran and Toa, exploring the world MNOG hinted at, and expanding with mask powers, characters, and whatnot. After all, that's what Bionicle was invented for, was it not?

Just a note, I enjoy reading this debate so much more than those on BZP. No Greg, no 5 year olds (at least not stupid ones), and just friendly stuff. ^_^

-Ikk

[Zane]

I thingk that it is a pretty good move.I meen it would be fun to have pridak and a matoran,and have pridak hold the matoran by the arms off the ground,then throw the mataran to the ground then stab it with its sword(blood)then pick up the matoran body and stab its jaws in to the dead matorans chest(blood)(Im violint MUHAHAHAHAHAHA evilgrin.gif evilgrin.gif evilgrin.gif bounce1a.gif)but that would be fun right?

I give up.

-Ikk

That was after pages of long explanations. Just found it amusing....so yeah.

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Yep, that was quite discouraging... and actually, that's proof Bionicle does indeed have bad influence nowadays, as it attracts the wrong kids. Not the ones you'll see grow up to be sophisticated debates on forums such as EB or BZP, or develop their MOCing or storytelling skills. The drones, as BR put it.

-Ikk

[Kynok]

I give up.

-Ikk

That was after pages of long explanations. Just found it amusing....so yeah.

lol That is pretty funny.

I've been with BIONICLE since 2001 and I do agree that the storyline has lost alot of touch. And I see that making fanfiction is a great and fun thing to do. But I guess the thing I hate seeing is people caring too much about BIONICLE and how original the storyline goes. Its not Star Treck for goodness sakes. As much as I don't want to say this, BIONICLE is a toyline. Its sappose to apeal to kids. Not guys from ages 17-to however old Jinzo is :P. Its not made to be comlicated. It feels thats what everyone is looking for. We just need to take a reality check and look at the "Age 7-16" label on the box.

[Lord Admiral Helden Ravensdorn]

Yer missing the point.

2001, with such things as the MNOLG I, appealed to all ages.

2006-7, with greg at the helm, takes what was the glory of old bionicle and punts it into the mud.

[Ecto]

You guys, I wholeheartedly agree that BIONICLE has lost it's touch. I will, however, stick with it to the (most likely bloody) end. If, however, BIONICLE loses it completely, and we have humans and whatnot in the story, then It's over. For the final time, Greg HAS BEEN with BIONICLE since the beginning.

2007 is looking up. To me at least.

[Kynok]

Yer missing the point.

2001, with such things as the MNOLG I, appealed to all ages.

2006-7, with greg at the helm, takes what was the glory of old bionicle and punts it into the mud.

Ah, I see what your saying. I agree with that a little. But I believe the thing truely killing BIONICLE is not Greg, but these crap promotions such as Save the Band. If anything, Greg is trying to keep some adult intrest in the storyline. But it's kinda hard with only a fan site like BZP and the children books he's writing now. If LEGO were to give him more freedom (like let him write a REAL novel), then I'm sure life with BIONICLE would be a bit better...

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

For the final time, Greg HAS BEEN with BIONICLE since the beginning.

Besides the fact that he was but one of many writers of the universe the first three years, after which he took over the entire line -- Greg came in AFTER Bionicle was invented. The ideas were not layed out by him anymore than they were by C.A. Hapka. Sure, he played some role in the beginning, but nothing compared to now.

Heck, half of the fanbase probably did not even know the comics existed wayback.

-Ikk

[KMOI]

Um guys, the Nuva aren't dead. They won't be for at least another year, either, since Greg said they will play a (possibly large) part in 2007. So, unless you meant their death in a figurative sense, your rambiling about the Nuva isn't completly justified since they will be coming back and fighting later in the story.

I said I WANT them dead. Alright? I said I WANT them dead. For the sole reason because I want Greg to stop messing around with their powers and personalities. I'd go so far as to say that he's taken everything the story team had built up for the Toa and used it as his personal toilet paper.

Oh, and don't worry about trying to sell 2007 to me. I'm definately going to pick up some sets!

And I second Ikki's ideas. So what if Greg was on the team in the beginning? He sure didn't have the kind of power he has over the storyline back then as he does now. When it comes to Bionicle nowadays, he's the head honcho when it comes to the storyline. As for the possibility of a book with no boundaries, I'd rather have the entire original team (Including C. A. Hapka) do it together. That mystery and intrigue that Vader mentioned was really what dragged me over to Bionicle in the first place. Heck, if the Metru-Nui storyline was what introduced Bionicle to me, I'd NEVER touch Bionicle, except when the sets are good. Because to me, Bionicle became daringly close to another kind of Power Rangers. Y'know, everyone looks the same, but everyone's typecasted into personalities? And endless villians? And massive backstory plot points that actually collide with long standing facts? I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be similar to the Power Rangers, but it sure gives you an idea of who they're aiming for. The "visual" orientated crowd.

Speaking of the old comics, I'm sure one of these new, brash fans (Like the Pridak-gore enthusist) would just toss them out, saying:

"omgz, kopaka iz tlaking toooo much!!11one WHARE IZ DUH ACTIIONS?!?". ;-)

EDIT: I just came back and I just realized I may have made a fatal error. By visual crowd, I mean they hope get fans of video games who don't know what Bionicle is to buy into the whole mythos. I don't mean that EVERYONE who likes Voya Nui or any of the recent lines are younger, video game players.

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Well said! *crowd goes berzerk*

I personally enjoyed the 2004 part of Metru Nui quite a lot, maybe due to the mysteries it seemed shrouded in, with little hints here and there to greater revelations. It also went behind the legends of Lhii, the creations of Kanohi Masks, the Vahi, the Turaga's tools, the treason of Makuta, and more good stuff. It was especially good after the massive let-down that was MOL.

'twas more when 2005 came along with its endless number of islands, Toa, Dark Hunters, species, just to name a few. Made it feel like the entire focus on Metru Nui and Mata Nui was less important, as it was but one of many places. This was even more emphasized here in 2006.

Greg was at his peak of storytelling in 2004, IMO. Now he is forcing unneeded violence, cheesy dialogue, and an overload of stereotypish characters into his stories. I still don't get why every last combiner has to get screen time instead of just a nice, little bio somewhere on Bionicle.com or in the mags. Doesn't help it much when there in Greg's world pretty much are only two character types, good and evil. It would've been much better to have just one Piraka instead of six to cover that personality.

Also, an amusing thing is how Greg strictly forbids the slightest use of silly humor, religion or feelings between characters of the opposite sex (IE, love), yet comes up with all sort of arguments for why to include blood, guns, slaughter, and what else he spontaneously comes to think of. All while the fans are hailing LEGO for being oh so mature. Ironic. :-|

Even more ironic is the off-topic-ness of this thread. :-D

To be frank, I'll get the lot of the 2007 small sets, and then probably Ehlek. Pridak has those awesome white double joints, but the rest of him is quite a letdown, I'll say. Not sure the other Barraki are good enough to be bought, but we'll see... they could have useful parts hidden in the current pics we've seen.

-Ikk

[Kynok]

Even more ironic is the off-topic-ness of this thread. :-D

-Ikk

Oh I love this thread *hugs*.

I guess I can see what you guys are saying. There's just too much for Greg to handle that he tries to fit it all in, creating one big, huge mess. Mabey it is time LEGO finds a new BIONILCE writer... Fat chance...

[Darkness Falls]

That's basically what Bionicle has become: Power Rangers. Every year, there's another group of six different-colored heroes that take on some baddies...

Personally, I'm quite done with the storyline. When I first heard about the Piraka and saw the pics, I was like, "Aw, sweet! These corrupted heroes are actually trying to steal a all-powerful mask... AWESOME!" And since Greg had stated this storyline arc would be more like the '01-'03, I geared up for some Toa-esque creatures with slightly Makuta-like morals.

That's not what I got.

BAM!

Toa Nuva: OWNED.

Piraka: Crazy, power-mad killing machines driven to cruelty for what they need.

Karzahni: CRAZY, because Greg wanted him to be.

SEVENTH PIRAKA: Why not? It seems Takanuva.

Toa Inika: REHASH!

I wasn't too pleased, as you can see. You see, Greg invents these wonderful villains and neutral charcters, but he gives us these stereotypical heroes. NOT FUN!

But when I heard 2007 was going to have the origin of the Krana... wait, does this sound like deja vu?

So, long story short... Greg makes this world lousy. Happy? Good. You've gotten it off your chests, so that's it.

See, I remember back in the day when you popped in that little minidisk, and the shadowy bionicle theme would play... you'd type in the mask code, and then... CGI video rocked your world for thirty seconds. Whatever happened to them...? That was what made me love Bionicle. That guy's words still echo in my head...

"For together... they are strong."

*sigh*

BACK TO THE SETS!

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

Oh I love this thread *hugs*.

I guess I can see what you guys are saying. There's just too much for Greg to handle that he tries to fit it all in, creating one big, huge mess. Mabey it is time LEGO finds a new BIONILCE writer... Fat chance...

Won't be happening as long as Bionicle stays as succesful as it is now. I mean, take a peak at BZP, they basically treat him like a god, so I doubt anything's going to change soon.

Though, of course, the intelligence of that can be questioned, being that the vast majority of BZP's members writes 'u' instead of 'you'. :-/

-Ikk

[Kahgarak]

he's taken everything the story team had built up for the Toa and used it as his personal toilet paper.

:-P That is just plain hilarious. :-P

[Dino_Bot]

*shrug*

I give up on debating and arguing Bionicle. For me, at least, Bionicle is now officially DEAD. More specifically, poor set design and Greg Farshtey have killed it.

*sigh*

GregF did kill Bionicle. But the sets are still ok. I just built Kardas, and I'm...amazed. Speechless. Its fricking beautiful.

[Ikki o' Moopyville]

The Barraki are shaping up to be somewhat better sets than this year's canister sets, so the future looks brighter in those aspects than it has since 2004. Which is, of course, a great thing.

BTW, giving up any BZP arguing -- see here why. :-/

-Ikk

[Zane]

I want to just scream, but that'd be off-topic.

Oddly, while Ghost are still working on Bionicle, there's still an essence of true Bionicle within. It's a strange way of thinking, though. Anyways, I'm not too bothered with the storyline. What happens in the storyline (excessive fights, weak characterizations) is what gets me. Along with stupid big pieces in sets like the Piraka torso, which make them seem like sets with specialized parts that snap together....

[JINZONINGEN73]

I'll be the first to agree that anyone old enough to wipe themselves is probably out of the target audience for these (ok, maybe a bit higher than that), but as was said... 2001 in both story and set was attractive enough for any age group.

The mute-charactered ambience of the MNOLG is something that shouldn't have been forgotten.

Lego characters represented in video form are always cooler when they don't talk... and the writers must then use their brains to convey what's happening and why.

Bionicle might clash with Earth? The hell? I like it from a cross-marketing standpoint... Lego could sell both System minifig sets while tied in with Technic Bionicle sets. In a way, they already are, what with the multitude of aquatic theme in 2007.

Though I'm not sure that'd be a very good idea in the long run. Bionicle coming to Earth seems like an "ending" story, something everything else leads up to the climax of.

Of course, this HAS been a pretty long-running Lego line. The ending of Bionicle has been on the lips of the executives more than once, yet every year it has returned. I've heard higher-ups say "Blah blah will be the last year of Bionicle" at least twice now. But it never is.

Anyway, if there is a MataNui/Earth storyline, it'd be funny. The minifig characters wouldn't even have to actually interact with them... merely be "searching" for weird undersea anomalies lol.

Ew... if they did make contact... it would be one hell of a way to end Bionicle, making way for a Technic/System hybrid line. You know, more than Exo-Force already is. :-D

This whole "blood" thing is silly. No kid is going to lose it over seeing that, unless they're mentally handicapped in some way or have been blocked from the real world a little too long by an over-protective mommy and daddy.

Yes, there's more mindless violence now, but it's not a terrible attempt to keep the fans who grew up with Bionicle still as paying customers.

And I'm gonna' have to probably boot anybody down the stairs who says they wish things were still as foofy as the Toa Nuva era. You know, the he-got-scratched-offscreen, let's-play-hockey-instead-of-fight, he's-dead-but-not-really-LOL, look-at-my-tool-which-is-really-a-weapon retardation.

Don't even go into defending the horrible new limb pieces the Toa Nuva sets themselves introduced. Great, we got armor...but on bastardize 2001 guys with USELESS masks and hollow, gouged out leg pieces.

If Lego were still making intelligence-insulting CRAP movies like Mask of Light and CRAP sets like the Toa Nuva all the way here in 2006, I'd have abandoned things long ago, buying just a System set here and there.

Edited November 15, 2006 by JINZONINGEN 73

[JINZONINGEN73]

Yep, that was quite discouraging... and actually, that's proof Bionicle does indeed have bad influence nowadays, as it attracts the wrong kids. Not the ones you'll see grow up to be sophisticated debates on forums such as EB or BZP, or develop their MOCing or storytelling skills. The drones, as BR put it.

Now that's just a silly generalization.

It's like saying anyone who finds violent things fun, or doesn't crave 6 sets each year who only differ in head, color and weapon = someone unintelligent or uncreative. lol

In a mild defense of Greg, it's entirely possible that any complaints people have with him could be due to disgustingly short deadlines by his bosses. I'd love to sit and call him stupid for plopping out horridly stereotypical characters, but it could be all that's possible on short notice, and likely with bosses also adding their own arcs and whatnot right up to the last minute that need to be hurriedly written in.

If what Greg's described in regards to treatment of the set builders is anything like how they treat him, then it's no wonder the story comes out as it does.

Of course, I could be totally wrong, with him having a large amount of freedom over direction & the time to implement his vision. But I'm not about to sit through topics on either of the sites he appears on to find out. My brain probably would be badly damaged by the posts of the insanely young before I'd find that one post he might answer that in.

Edited November 15, 2006 by JINZONINGEN 73

[Kahgarak]

About the blood thing,i personally think it adds up to the realism.

I mean,Pridak is a humanoid shark,it makes sense for him to eat fish (including the organic ones,with red blood).And maybe he uses his tool for the hunt...? ;-)

If kids don't like it,they shouldn't buy it.Simple as that. :-|

[Kynok]

If they are under water, wouldn't the blood wash off his face? o_O

[KMOI]

I agree with Jinz on the whole hollow leg thing. Heck, even the Toa Nuva's legs in the comic they were introduced weren't as hollow! And even in the latter comics, they kinda filled it in, making it seem like the knight's leg padding.

As for the "don't but it if you don't like it" business, that's just a load of phooey. I like the design of the Pridak, but that blood wash seems so utterly unnessesary. And besides, it's what the blood MEANS that's important, not just that part of the set as red on it.

If they are under water, wouldn't the blood wash off his face? o_O

My god. He's right. OH NOEZ, PHYSICZ!! *wacko*

[Ecto]

Um... I've seen the light.

Greg pretty much called a member of BZP "stupid" when he said, "Basic Earth Physics, Viruses are alive."

No, they're not.

[Darkness Falls]

Care to metaphorically crap on Greg some more?

Okay, go right ahead.

Personally, I've given up on the Bionicle Storyline. You can make a storyline that suits you perfectly if you never read a bit of info on the story.

It's not that I HATE Greg because of what he's doing, I just don't like what he's doing. It seems he has this lovely BACK story for the universe, but every year he has to create something new. A guy runs out sooner or later.

Basically, 2006, to me, seemed like a rehash of the Mask of Life storyline. I know it sounds stupid, but come on: Six pure evil creatures trying to get a Mask of extreme power? Seventh Figure has the mask? Underground lair? And the Mask of Life pretty much owns the Mask of Light, power-wise. I think Greg was trying to outdo the story before...

But enough of that, seriously... let's get back on topic, please?