Ninjago 2012

[xxlrocka]

Screw Hero Factory. Ninjago is where the action's at.

I think of hero factory having a good plot and good characters, and then I think of ninjago being the thing where you get all the action and suspense. Judging by the trailer that we were given a few posts back, ninjago is action-packed and judging by the bits of the hero factory breakout episode, all the villains have good plans on how to beat the hero, and the hero has a good plan to beat the villain. So, I'm disagreeing with the first sentence, and I'm agreeing with the second.

[pawcanada]

I still wish they could give him a specified element rather than master them all. Considering they only used 2 of the actual four they could easily choose Air or Water for him. Or better yet they could've give one to Nia as well.

Sorry, I meant to reply to Aanchir, I don't know how I can change it. Sorry guys!

I've been thinking that myself, but for some reason I always pictured him as Wood (which is one of the five Chinese Elements). Personally I hate the "Fire, Ice, lightning" trope (please Google as I can't make a link). I LOVE elements in fiction but hate it when they, IMO, are unoriginal and always use Fire, Ice and Lightning without considering the others (Water, my personal favourite is just as destructive IMO but people seem to be unable to see that and often use Ice as a replacement). I could rant for hours on this but in a nut shell, if there's one thing I dislike about Ninjago is the restriction on the elements. Because of this restriction, they can't revive the Grey Ninja design (which I would love to see, especially as a ZX ninja) and make him the Ninja of Metal (another Chinese Element and another personal favourite of mine) or perhaps Wind.

However

I would prefer Ninjago stick to its own small set of elements than try to create a sprawling system of elements that incorporates a bunch from different mythologies. After all, the Tornado of Creation requires "Spinjitzu of all four elements". I'd hate to see them to retcon that to be "Spinjitzu of any four elements" by creating brand-new elements on the same level as the previous four.

I agree with what your saying, I just wish they could have shown some originality on the elements. But I appreciate I may be in the minority with my preferred tastes.

Edited March 19, 2012 by pawcanada

[Aanchir]

I've been thinking that myself, but for some reason I always pictured him as Wood (which is one of the five Chinese Elements). Personally I hate the "Fire, Ice, lightning" trope (please Google as I can't make a link). I LOVE elements in fiction but hate it when they, IMO, are unoriginal and always use Fire, Ice and Lightning without considering the others (Water, my personal favourite is just as destructive IMO but people seem to be unable to see that and often use Ice as a replacement). I could rant for hours on this but in a nut shell, if there's one thing I dislike about Ninjago is the restriction on the elements. Because of this restriction, they can't revive the Grey Ninja design (which I would love to see, especially as a ZX ninja) and make him the Ninja of Metal (another Chinese Element and another personal favourite of mine) or perhaps Wind.

However

I agree with what your saying, I just wish they could have shown some originality on the elements. But I appreciate I may be in the minority with my preferred tastes.

I kind of like the Ninjago elements, because they come close to the classical elements (fire, earth, air, water) without sticking to them exactly. Lightning is a much more impressive effect than air visually (a tornado of air, after all, would just be an ordinary tornado), and having ice instead of water makes for some very interesting effects since you effectively have one Ninja with heat-related powers and one with cold-related powers. Additionally (and probably more importantly), they make for some nice and diverse Ninja colors.

They could potentially introduce a gray ninja as a side character without needing every ninja to have his or her own element, just by assuming that the Ninja Sensei Wu chose were special in their close attunement to one particular element each. In fact, a gray ninja features in the story "The Phantom Ninja" from the book Cole: Ninja of Earth.

Anyway, at least TLG didn't go with red, green, baby blue, and purple again. What elements would those be?

Edited March 19, 2012 by Aanchir

[Lordofdragonss]

snip* baby blue, and purple *snip What elements would those be?

Baby blue- Water for sure and Purple... Could be a poison or plasma! haha

[Flipz]

Because of this restriction, they can't revive the Grey Ninja design (which I would love to see, especially as a ZX ninja) and make him the Ninja of Metal (another Chinese Element and another personal favourite of mine) or perhaps Wind.

It's worth pointing out that there has been a canonical grey ninja in the Ninjago theme, in LEGO Universe (which is set an unsecified length of time after the main storyline). His name is Neido, and he's a Ninja of Imagination. In-game, he uses the same Spinjitsu style as Sensei Wu, which is interesting as well.

Anyway, at least TLG didn't go with red, green, baby blue, and purple again. What elements would those be?

When was this? What theme? And more importantly, how can I get the parts from those sets?

[pawcanada]

I kind of like the Ninjago elements, because they come close to the classical elements (fire, earth, air, water) without sticking to them exactly. Lightning is a much more impressive effect than air visually (a tornado of air, after all, would just be an ordinary tornado), and having ice instead of water makes for some very interesting effects since you effectively have one Ninja with heat-related powers and one with cold-related powers. Additionally (and probably more importantly), they make for some nice and diverse Ninja colors.

See I personally disagree about Ice > Water and Thunder > Air. Please don't take this the wrong way but such an opinion is what I mean by "lazy writing", i.e. people not researching the potential of the element and therefore, due to them not realising how strong it can be they go for an "easier" element. For example, as mentioned Water is my favourite of the Classical/Greek elements. When highly pressurised it can either push someone back or cut like a blade, you can trap someone in a sphere of water and a tidal wave can crush and destroy. Instead they went for the easier option of using Ice.

But I respect my opinion comes from me supporting what I consider to be "under dog" elements in fiction. I understand not everyone feels the same way about this trope and generally don't mind it as much as I do. "Your mileage may vary" as the saying goes.

[LEGOman273]

See I personally disagree about Ice > Water and Thunder > Air. Please don't take this the wrong way but such an opinion is what I mean by "lazy writing", i.e. people not researching the potential of the element and therefore, due to them not realising how strong it can be they go for an "easier" element. For example, as mentioned Water is my favourite of the Classical/Greek elements. When highly pressurised it can either push someone back or cut like a blade, you can trap someone in a sphere of water and a tidal wave can crush and destroy. Instead they went for the easier option of using Ice.

But I respect my opinion comes from me supporting what I consider to be "under dog" elements in fiction. I understand not everyone feels the same way about this trope and generally don't mind it as much as I do. "Your mileage may vary" as the saying goes.

You can trap people in a sphere of water? How does it stay intact?

Also, I don't think that it is lazy writing. Bionicle had beings with water elemental powers. Lightning is a nice change from ten years of water.

Edited March 19, 2012 by LEGOman273

[Aanchir]

See I personally disagree about Ice > Water and Thunder > Air. Please don't take this the wrong way but such an opinion is what I mean by "lazy writing", i.e. people not researching the potential of the element and therefore, due to them not realising how strong it can be they go for an "easier" element. For example, as mentioned Water is my favourite of the Classical/Greek elements. When highly pressurised it can either push someone back or cut like a blade, you can trap someone in a sphere of water and a tidal wave can crush and destroy. Instead they went for the easier option of using Ice.

But I respect my opinion comes from me supporting what I consider to be "under dog" elements in fiction. I understand not everyone feels the same way about this trope and generally don't mind it as much as I do. "Your mileage may vary" as the saying goes.

I don't think ice is better than water or lightning is better than air; I just think that they make for cooler-looking Spinjitzu. A tornado of air is just a tornado, and a tornado of water... OK, that's sorta cool, but I think Zane's blizzard-like Spinjitzu looks pretty awesome in its own right.

Yes, water and air are excellent elements. As an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan I couldn't help but realize that. But as I see it, if Ninjago is going to use elements of its own rather than an existing elemental system, I think they chose some pretty diverse and cool-looking ones.

[akunthita]

As far as I know Ninjago is using those elements because they spell out as LIFE.

Lightning + Ice + Fire + Earth.

I don't think ice is better than water or lightning is better than air; I just think that they make for cooler-looking Spinjitzu. A tornado of air is just a tornado, and a tornado of water... OK, that's sorta cool, but I think Zane's blizzard-like Spinjitzu looks pretty awesome in its own right.

Yes, water and air are excellent elements. As an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan I couldn't help but realize that. But as I see it, if Ninjago is going to use elements of its own rather than an existing elemental system, I think they chose some pretty diverse and cool-looking ones.

Edited March 20, 2012 by akunthita

[Lordofdragonss]

As far as I know Ninjago is using those elements because they spell out as LIFE.

Lightning + Ice + Fire + Earth.

[Lyichir]

When was this? What theme? And more importantly, how can I get the parts from those sets?

It wasn't for ninja, so don't get your hopes up. Aanchir was referring to the colors used for the four main knights in Knight's Kingdom II, and for the hair colors of the main characters in Exo-Force. Imagine if LEGO had used those same four colors for the ninja in Ninjago! While it'd be cool to have ninja gear in crazy colors like that, I'm fairly happy with the colors (and elements) that we got.

[MakutaNocturn]

Back to the HF vs Ninjago topic.

I think that Ninjas are really REALLY BETTER than Hero Factory (of course, Bionicle is the best! :D ). HF is so stupid... so childish... Every year there is a guy that says "YOU STUUUPID HEROES! I AM SO COOOOL AND I'VE GOT MY SUPER EXTREMLY COOL STUFF! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME! EAT BRICKS MORONS!" And after few seconds the main villian is lieing on the ground with handcuffs... God, I don't wanna live in this world... Hero Factory are more like some stupid cartoons like Ben 10 etc. which made kids' brains melted. It's typical situation in Poland than every year children are getting more and more imbecile.

Now, small comparison. Ninjago is a more creative theme. There are not a lot of characters (it's a 2 year :P) but Lego is trying to make the story more "wider".

For example. We know the past of our Ninjas (not all but we know), we know the story of small Wu and Garmadon. Many, MANY THINGS! And what about HF? "Super ultra heroes have got super cores which give them super powers."

Don't be angry but I think that Hero Factory is like American Hamburger. The fats from the burger are like the commercialism in HF. ITS FULLL OF IT!

~ Makuta Nocturn

Edited March 20, 2012 by MakutaNocturn

[Amset-Rah]

Back to the HF vs Ninjago topic.

I think that Ninjas are really REALLY BETTER than Hero Factory (of course, Bionicle is the best! :D ). HF is so stupid... so childish... Every year there is a guy that says "YOU STUUUPID HEROES! I AM SO COOOOL AND I'VE GOT MY SUPER EXTREMLY COOL STUFF! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME! EAT BRICKS MORONS!" And after few seconds the main villian is lieing on the ground with handcuffs... God, I don't wanna live in this world... Hero Factory are more like some stupid cartoons like Ben 10 etc. which made kids' brains melted. It's typical situation in Poland than every year children are getting more and more imbecile.

Now, small comparison. Ninjago is a more creative theme. There are not a lot of characters (it's a 2 year :P) but Lego is trying to make the story more "wider".

For example. We know the past of our Ninjas (not all but we know), we know the story of small Wu and Garmadon. Many, MANY THINGS! And what about HF? "Super ultra heroes have got super cores which give them super powers."

Don't be angry but I think that Hero Factory is like American Hamburger. The fats from the burger are like the commercialism in HF. ITS FULLL OF IT!

~ Makuta Nocturn

I couldn't agree more. I'm not a huge fan of either, but Ninjago at least has some good sets, characters, and a decent TV show to its name. Hero Factory looks like a half baked Bionicle clone.

[xxlrocka]

Back to the HF vs Ninjago topic.

I think that Ninjas are really REALLY BETTER than Hero Factory (of course, Bionicle is the best! :D ). HF is so stupid... so childish... Every year there is a guy that says "YOU STUUUPID HEROES! I AM SO COOOOL AND I'VE GOT MY SUPER EXTREMLY COOL STUFF! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME! EAT BRICKS MORONS!" And after few seconds the main villian is lieing on the ground with handcuffs... God, I don't wanna live in this world... Hero Factory are more like some stupid cartoons like Ben 10 etc. which made kids' brains melted. It's typical situation in Poland than every year children are getting more and more imbecile.

Now, small comparison. Ninjago is a more creative theme. There are not a lot of characters (it's a 2 year :P) but Lego is trying to make the story more "wider".

For example. We know the past of our Ninjas (not all but we know), we know the story of small Wu and Garmadon. Many, MANY THINGS! And what about HF? "Super ultra heroes have got super cores which give them super powers."

Don't be angry but I think that Hero Factory is like American Hamburger. The fats from the burger are like the commercialism in HF. ITS FULLL OF IT!

~ Makuta Nocturn

Okay, now I have completely gotten myself confused. Oh, and the heroes in HF do have cores, but they don't have super powers. End of.

[Poison Ivy]

Hmmmm, this discussion of whether HF or Ninjago is better isn't off topic at all, now is it?

Come on, though. Seriously, if you feel that strongly about it, make a thread. Not to mini-mod, but this thread is for the discussion of 2012 Ninjago sets only, not which-theme-is-better rants.

[MakutaNocturn]

OK. Let's go back to the topic.

I've got small theory about Pythor's stuff. It can control Great Devourer :p What do you think? If GD listents to our Serpentines learders, somebody will have to control it/him/her whatever the gender of our epic snake is. Hypnobrai are probably too small for such a problems.

Edited March 20, 2012 by MakutaNocturn

[krystalKING]

Has anyone noticed the symbol on the back of the staffs? Its the Greek symbol for Omega, which is the last letter in the Greek alphabet and has a value of 800.

PS its on the back of the cobras head.

[Jouster]

I've seen ALL of the episodes. Brace yourselves, spoilers are coming

- Nuckal dressed up as a mexican (he's wearing a sombrero)

-The Great Devourer eats Pythor (It seems that the Devourer will start eating everything including the serpentine)

-The way LEGO included the 4 headed dragon felt a bit..rushed. I mean, it comes out of nowhere and starts attacking the Devourer.

-The Ultra Sonic Raider is badass.

-Zane almost gets killed by the Devourer

-Garmadon kills the devourer using the 4 golden weapons

-Garmadon dies

-The ninja will make the Devourer eat it's own tail, thus immobilizing it

-Episodes 12 and 13 are actually called "Rise of the Great Devourer" and "Day of the Great Devourer"

-Other stuff happens, like the Serpentine bus fight, Sensei Wu vs. Pythor, etc.

[Perry the Platypus]

Great new episode. It is now no real spoiler that the Green Ninja is Lloyd. Cant wait for the figure in the summer.

I love the way Garmadon tricks Kai throughout the episode, including the activities he does (brushing teeth, eating condensed evil, playing video game etc.). I enjoyed the emotional depth between Lloyd and his father. Kai unlocks hsi full potential, and the Serpentine collect the third staff. I rate this episode a 9.5/10.

[Captain Potato Salad]

This was by far the best episode yet. Not entirely sure if this counts as a spoiler but...

My wish came true about a Ninja using the element "Air"! I was even happier that it was Jay considering he is my favorite of them all. That shows that they are getting stronger and can branch out towards similar elements and people can be happy that they don't complicate the 4 they use for the tornado of creation.

[Omicron Squad Leader]

Relating to episodes 12 & 13:

I watched the finale. It was... underwhelming to say the least.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Omicron Squad Leader

[MakutaNocturn]

HOLY S...NAKE! That was freaking awesome! It is the best theme of last 2-3 years! My God... this scene with

building destruction in episode 13 was perfect. The only thing I don't like is that I don't know if Garmadon is dead. I was so sad when I saw Lloyd after killing the great devourer :<

[xxlrocka]

Something is wrong with my computer...it won't let me view spoilers!

[CM4Sci]

EDIT: Confirmed to be a photoshopped Lego Battles image.

Sorry. :(

EDIT 2: Original image -

-Sci

Edited March 22, 2012 by CM4S

[just2good]

<.<

>.>

Season 3 image! (Kinda bad, kinda big, but whatever)

-Sci

Yes!

Ninjas Vs. Pirates! Can't wait 'til some sets of this are released!