Ninjago 2015

[Takanuinuva]

I don't think Zane is the Titanium Ninja. After all He sacrificed himself to destroy the Overlord. I would rather think he like the Overlord is now trapped in the Digiverse. But rather than get free. He acts as the Ninja's computer. I believe Pixal will be the Titanium Ninja since she has half of Zane's power source. I feel Zane would be more a mentor to Pixal teaching her how to be a Ninja.

[Hythonia]

I'm not personally a fan of the Ninjago stuff, but I've always loved the snake characters. The Temple of Anacondrai is what I'm most excited for by far.

[Amazing Bricks]

I'm loving the new snake/human minifigures. Their headpieces look great. And there is a black mohawk hairpiece in the copter set.

[BFN]

Soo.... what does everyone think the story is now? It looks like something along the lines of humans discovering the Anacondrai remains, as well as one remaining anacondrai, and forming a sort of "cult" around it, learning from the surviving Anacondrai and wearing/using the dead ones' "bones"... At least, I hope that's the case. Those'd be awesome villains. :P

Anyone notice that whereas most of the villains have no prints on them, there's this one guy with red eyes who DOES seem to? Weird...

Is the Yellow/Orange ninja holding a new weapon, or is it just a normal crossbow? I can't tell. Either's better than more swords, though... which I can't believe the ninja are hunting AGAIN...

[Mandate]

I don't think Zane is the Titanium Ninja. After all He sacrificed himself to destroy the Overlord. I would rather think he like the Overlord is now trapped in the Digiverse. But rather than get free. He acts as the Ninja's computer. I believe Pixal will be the Titanium Ninja since she has half of Zane's power source. I feel Zane would be more a mentor to Pixal teaching her how to be a Ninja.

No. It was confirmed in Episode 34 that Zane IS the Titanium Ninja. Not PIXAL. The reason the Overlord couldn't escape the Digiverse was simply because he wanted an ultra-powerful body, not a regular body. He could take control of the body of some Nindroids, the Mechdragon, Cyrus' legchair, etc.

(relatively) Spoiler Free Version: the Titanium Ninja isn't PIXAL.

EDIT: you should put some spoilers on your post. Seriously.

Edited September 15, 2014 by JayWalker

[obsidianheart]

Who dat yellow Ninja?

Edit: Yellow minifigs always look weird to me because Naked.

Edited September 15, 2014 by obsidianheart

[DuckBricks]

Soo.... what does everyone think the story is now? It looks like something along the lines of humans discovering the Anacondrai remains, as well as one remaining anacondrai, and forming a sort of "cult" around it, learning from the surviving Anacondrai and wearing/using the dead ones' "bones"... At least, I hope that's the case. Those'd be awesome villains. :P

Anyone notice that whereas most of the villains have no prints on them, there's this one guy with red eyes who DOES seem to? Weird...

Is the Yellow/Orange ninja holding a new weapon, or is it just a normal crossbow? I can't tell. Either's better than more swords, though... which I can't believe the ninja are hunting AGAIN...

I agree with the cult idea, I like the humans wearing snake masks... Or perhaps they are being controlled, but there isn't any "glowing eyes" effect to show that like Lego usually does...

I don't think Zane is the Titanium Ninja. After all He sacrificed himself to destroy the Overlord. I would rather think he like the Overlord is now trapped in the Digiverse. But rather than get free. He acts as the Ninja's computer. I believe Pixal will be the Titanium Ninja since she has half of Zane's power source. I feel Zane would be more a mentor to Pixal teaching her how to be a Ninja.

I know that this isn't true (as Zane is the Titanium Ninja) I can't help but get a Tee Vee vibe from Alpha team when you said Zane is the Ninja's computer...

[Mandate]

Well, at the end of Episode 34 something very special happened with the snakes and citizens. So perhaps the Serpentine tribes were faking their "going clean". But after what happens happens everyone is back.

[PenPlays]

It looks that our Anacondrai friends are snake skull wearing people, unless of course, the display unit is just as preliminary as the minifigs are.

Thoughts (And let me be clear when I say, Zane is in one of these sets...):

Jungle Trap: About as silly as Ninja Ambush from 2011. Will need to find this one on sale when it comes out.

Lava Falls: Aww. Nice memories are coming back from playing with Boulder Ambush from Knights Kingdom (2) when I was younger. Interesting feature, but it's not that exciting either.

Jay's Electro Mech: We finally have mechs for every Ninja! It appears to have an interesting wing function.

Lloyd's Jungle Raider: The buggy itself is quite nice. It looks like it has weapon storage, which is nice. I'm really hoping that there is consistent variations between the particular style of Anacondrai contained in this set.

Anacondrai Crusher: This one seems to be a real let down. It's a two-wheeler, stone-colored snake car. It's like a fatter Overborg Attack but with less metal-looking stuff. I'm gonna need a sale to buy this guy.

Anacondrai Copter Attack: It definitely appears to be a swamp jet of some sort. I'm liking the nontraditional style of having the cockpit on the side. But just who the heck is this yellow ninja?

Boulder Blaster: Despite having the name of a Power Miners set, I really like this set. Very interesting look. It's function looks like it will be delicate, especially around the middle.

Titanium Dragon: "Let's put as many of these wing pieces onto one set as we possibly can!" I can just hear the designers saying that. It's too hard to say much about this set, as the angle is just really odd. Sure it's got a brick-built face, but there's so much to be desired here. The minifigs are a must have! I'm just a little curious as to who the minifig in black is.

The Anacondrai Temple: This isn't the first Ninjago Temple that I've glared at oddly. I think that, much like the Temple of Light, I'll need to see this set in the flesh before I get it. It is good looking aesthetically, and includes a very interesting looking Serpentine minifig.

Mobile Ninja Base: This is very clearly a Nya vehicle. It's unlike any other mobile base I've seen. It seems to have several functions that involve transforming the vehicle (my favorite kind of set function). There are just so many reasons to get his set. Looks, the minifigs, white Pythor. This one is gonna be hard to resist when it finally hits the shelves.

I'm kinda sad that we're back to red boxes. Not that much of a problem though. We certainly have some mysteries that are unsolved story-wise. It also looks like we're back to having multiple Ninja variants (sleeveless and masked)!

[Mandate]

Well, 'spose I should do a "pre-review" as well lol.

Anacondrai Copter Attack: Looks like a nice helicopter, but the turbines look too small for a VTOL of that size. The skeletons with the curved necks are a stark reminder to the Anacondrai's fate. Looks very streamlined, but I'm curious as to where it's launching that net from. Underneath, probably. But whether it is a "mouth" function or a new cannon (the traditional net cannon is waaaay too big to hide), or a brick-built function is yet to be seen. The tan color works so well with the ancient, Mayan/Aztec/Incan theme the old Serpentine ruins have. It really looks like a Chopper from South America. Keetorange ninja is odd. That's definitely a placeholder. After the yellow spaceman incident/s (although I think LEGO has moved past that, didn't they redo that figure recently WITH yellow hips?) it would be very odd to have an all-yellow character again. Methinks this is going to be PIXAL, but I'm open to letting a new ninja join. Hoverboard is really cool!

Anacondrai Crusher: Better version of Overborg Attack with the lovely Anacondrai theme. It's an atrocity in the best way possible, and the bone engine gives me Turbo Shredder vibes. Curious as to where the flick fires launch from, clearly from inside the mouth but how do they fire? Hopefully not a "rod push" again. Skeleton tail is genius, but the little catapult (why are there so many in this wave?) is underwhelming, and as much as I love having actual buildings for once I would have loved a mini-vehicle. That Bone Sword in the "follower" (let's just call the weird jungle people that, please)'s hand is a bit odd. It'll probably grow on me, as most of the sets have already.

Lava Falls: My glowing praise for this set can only be summed up with a YouTube video. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Simply put, I love this little thing already. It reminds me of my first LEGO set "Tygurah's Roar". The rickety rope bridge's collapse function is fantastic. While the rock face is fairly uninspired, placing the black in amongst the grey was a good idea. The mini-shrine is cool, and it's shared in Jungle Trap as well. Overall, looking forward to this set very much. It's cheap, and that basically means that I'll be able to get it no matter what

Jungle Raider: Simply put, this set looks pretty good. Lloyd's first actual vehicle that wasn't a Mech or bike (dragons don't count, neither does Ultrasonic), and it's beautiful. The build looks pretty uninspired, we've seen the technique before in Nuckal's ATV, and we've seen dozens of the Serpentine Shrines. I'll probably be buying this one.

Ninja Mobile Raider Base: Looks good. I don't really like the way they did the wheels, the visibility of the "shell" in the Power Miner wheel is offputting. I don't really like this set very much, it looks good but the sides are far too smooth. The cow-catcher at the front looks out of place, and the Shrine is very basic. I'll get this one just for white Pythor.

Enter the Serpent: Am I the only one reminded of BFNNC by this? Actually, a lot of sets are similar in layout so I'm not going to complain. The gong functions looks neat, and so does the Purple Macaroni in large. (please don't tell me it's going to be a giant purple Great Devourer this time, as awesome as getting that many purple parts would be). Not much I can say about this set. I might skip it unless I can get it easily.

Titanium Dragon: I have to agree with Penkid on this. The angle it's shot from takes away one of the wings, and obscures so much of the body. The tail looks far too spindly. The overall look is really... underwhelming. The change for Zane is annoying, but the artwork for the *map *mat *roll *whatever that thing is shows Zane in white, and with a yellow face, so all hope is not lost yet . The Shrine is fairly unique (though I could draw some comparisons to 2010 again) but I'm wondering what the golden key is for.

Overall, looks very bad. I'm hoping it changes a lot between now and release, because otherwise I'll be skipping it unless I have no other choice for getting Zane.

Jungle Trap: For the smallest set, it doesn't look too bad. I can guess as to how the swords swing back and forth, but overall this isn't too shabby. I'll definitely be getting this simply for its price.

Electro Mech: Lacks a lot of details. Dare I say it, this thing needs stickers. It looks very bare. The cop-out on the digitigrade legs is annoying, and the little turret is too... thin. The wing function looks great. I'll be getting this set first, probably for Christmas if I can find it.

Boulder Blaster: Last, but certainly the least. Boulder Blaster is a gigantic mixed bag for me. It features a great amount of the "tap missiles" but it's definitely the weakest point in this wave of sets. If it's cheap like the Earth Driller, I'll be getting it. Let's hope it's a case of Garmatron/Destructoid.

Dissapointing to see that it's a "Kai" year again. Overall the wave looks pretty good, but I think I'll be skipping a few of these.

[Cagast]

See what i told you? cole has his flying vehicle.

[Peppermint_M]

Snake Cultists, yay. I love maching Ninjago with Adventurers and this makes it even tastier!

[DuckBricks]

Well, 'spose I should do a "pre-review" as well lol.

Electro Mech: Lacks a lot of details. Dare I say it, this thing needs stickers. It looks very bare.

Don't forget that these are just prelims and it could get stickers later on in the design process...

[LegendsOfNinjago]

I am deeply interested in the double suite year again. Well, better start saving now...

[DuckBricks]

I am deeply interested in the double suite year again. Well, better start saving now...

I just hope it isn't like the last time when we had ZX and Kendo, as the Kendo suits were just reusing the design from the previous year...

[Dorayaki]

Abit dissapointing that the new wave wouldn't use a new color representing other ninjas besides Kai, Zane or Lloyd. But since the box arts are still under working, maybe it could change at last.

So it feels like the people who also understand elemental powers are elves some jungle outlaws. Nice to see another set for Samurai Nya but bored to see Garmadon without Misako once again.

I think Zane would be back at last, and that doesn't say he can't change back from Titanium Ninja to white?

[PenPlays]

I've just noticed that on the top of the box art for the Titanium dragon, the minifig in all black is fighting alongside the new Anacondrai character.

[JasonEffex]

Here are my thoughts on these images:

Anocondrai Crusher: I’m loving how these new snake vehicles look, the added bones are a nice addition. Although the function is the same as Overborg Attack, I can’t help but feel that having the larger rotating blades would look so much cooler! It looks like the flick missiles fire from inside the mouth, speaking of things that fire, that catapult looks a little small and a bit pointless.

Condrai Copter Attack: Now that looks awesome! The addition of black makes the colours look nicer. Is that a yellow ninja or a keetorange ninja, I can’t tell? Hoverboard – well that’s different.

Boulder Blaster: This is how I’d expect a jet for Cole to look – big and chunky. How many missiles are on this thing, ten? Sets are looking good so far…

Titanium Dragon: Oh, spoke to soon. I can’t help but notice the red pieces on the front legs that break the colour scheme. That shrine looks nice though, (anyone else noticing the purple spheres that the Anacondrai are launching). Speaking of Anacondrai, are they all generals now, because they all seem to have tails? This kind of reminds me of the preliminary for the Ultra Dragon, and that set turned out to be great, so hopefully this one will to.

Enter the Serpent: Definitely my favourite based on looks, apart from those spring loaded shooters at the base of the stairs, but that doesn’t bother me too much.

Mobile Ninja Base: White Pythor! He and the other villains in the set are some of the few minifigures that actually look finished. I assume the truck will be able to unfold to become a HQ, it almost looks like they put a temple on wheels if you look just above the cockpit, speaking of which – who’s driving?!

Before I move on, I’d like to comment on the set numbers; it’s almost as if they released two waves in one here. Sets 70745 – 70750 all have ninjas in one type of suit while sets 70752 – 70755 feature sleeveless ninjas and golden/green blade weapons that the ninja are collecting.

Jungle Trap: Small but nice, the swords will probably swing back and forth but I can’t tell for sure because of the confidential stamp.

Lava Falls: That is a creative function, a few tweaks to how it looks and I’d buy it straight away.

ElectroMech: I agree with JayWalker here, this needs some stickers. Other than that, the wings look cool. To me, this mech is better than both Kai’s and Cole’s from previous years.

Jungle Raider: My second favourite of the wave, I just love how Lloyd’s green vehicles look, I also like buggy vehicles like this one. Also, green spring loaded shooters.

Overall, I’m liking how this wave looks so far. No doubt that many of the things I’ve criticized will be fixed by the time these are released. I am definitely looking forward to this!

[DuckBricks]

I've just noticed that on the top of the box art for the Titanium dragon, the minifig in all black is fighting alongside the new Anacondrai character.

Huh... perhaps this is the new guy with elemental powers?

My guess is that the Anacondrai have some ability to grant elemental powers to humans as long as they serve the Anacondrai....

[Mandate]

Huh... perhaps this is the new guy with elemental powers?

My guess is that the Anacondrai have some ability to grant elemental powers to humans as long as they serve the Anacondrai....

We still don't know who has the elemental powers yet. Lloyd, Zane, Kai and Cole have theirs (Zane is ambiguous, and I won't explain why). The statement was "the ninja discover they are not the only ones with elemental powers". We've only seen one new snake thus far, the other General. Apparently he's Arcturus. I don't remember most of Episode 32, so it'd be good if someone could confirm this. Keeto-Ninja is just a placeholder. It's not a "human" (so to speak) version of Zane, and there's no printing to hint at anything. The black figure in Titanium Dragon could be Cyrus Borg, actually. It would make sense to keep him as a character, considering Jay hasn't invented anything since Episode 5. Regarding Borg's disability, Solomon Blaze has a brace around his leg. But at the moment Borg is the only secondary/tertiary character with black hair, and I wouldn't mind him playing a part in the action.

Oh, and can I please point something out? Look at the Mobile Ninja HQ set. Look at Pythor. Look at the staff. Look at the trans purple round 1x1

[Cagast]

Also did you see that special artwork with all sets in one? It shows kai with ZX mask and japanese letter on it. And all ninjas have green blades.

[Vector Prime]

We've only seen one new snake thus far, the other General. Apparently he's Arcturus. I don't remember most of Episode 32, so it'd be good if someone could confirm this.

Not sure where the idea that the other snake is Arcturus came from since Arcturus lived a long time ago and was just briefly mentioned as a posible solution to the codename. Though I suppose it is posible.

[DuckBricks]

We still don't know who has the elemental powers yet. Lloyd, Zane, Kai and Cole have theirs (Zane is ambiguous, and I won't explain why). The statement was "the ninja discover they are not the only ones with elemental powers". We've only seen one new snake thus far, the other General. Apparently he's Arcturus. I don't remember most of Episode 32, so it'd be good if someone could confirm this. Keeto-Ninja is just a placeholder. It's not a "human" (so to speak) version of Zane, and there's no printing to hint at anything. The black figure in Titanium Dragon could be Cyrus Borg, actually. It would make sense to keep him as a character, considering Jay hasn't invented anything since Episode 5. Regarding Borg's disability, Solomon Blaze has a brace around his leg. But at the moment Borg is the only secondary/tertiary character with black hair, and I wouldn't mind him playing a part in the action.

Oh, and can I please point something out? Look at the Mobile Ninja HQ set. Look at Pythor. Look at the staff. Look at the trans purple round 1x1

I was just speculating... :)

We have actually had trans purple round 1x1s in the Ender World of the Minecraft Mini series...

[Lind Whisperer]

We still don't know who has the elemental powers yet. Lloyd, Zane, Kai and Cole have theirs (Zane is ambiguous, and I won't explain why). The statement was "the ninja discover they are not the only ones with elemental powers"

Did they actually ever say "you're the only four(five if you count Nya, or three if you don't count either her or Zane) minifigures with elemental powers?" Because all I remember, was Wu saying "You have the fire inside of you."

Regarding Borg's disability, Solomon Blaze has a brace around his leg.

True, but he still can walk around fine, in all media appearances. Cyrus is the first minifigure to be fully disabled in his legs. And I think it's kind of cool the way they did it. He doesn't let it get in the way of his work, and he doesn't comment on it all of the time, like a lot of fictional characters are written as doing. He just deals with it like he was a real person. I was impressed.

[Ardelon]

Compared to this years sets, I find these new sets much more interesting. Unlike say Ultra Agents where the reverse is true. Even though Im not much of a fan of action vehicles these all look more or less good. Though the location-based set "Enter the Serpentine" is the cream of the crop.

I wonder if the "snake-cultists" are really humans or preliminary stand-ins for snakes with legs. And I also wonder what these new blades do. Looks like theres a set of four blades/weapons for everything...

As for the elemental powers, I prefer Dorayakis suggestion that the run into the Elves...

Edited September 16, 2014 by Ardelon