DrJoeystein

Can we all agree on how amazingly jaw-dropping that Tahu concept art is? The bottom-right mask is just...I have no words for how awesome that is (and everything else in that slide). It looks like something straight out of a gritty, live action sci-fi movie!

I'd say moderate. I have never met anyone outside of BZPower who has genuine "fanboyism" (if you will ) for Bionicle like I do. I mention it to a couple of people and inquire if they've ever heard of it, but that's about it. Mostly because the people I've asked about it only had a couple of sets and never really cared about Bionicle, so those conversations go nowhere. I've only expressed my secret, deep knowledge and love of Bionicle to close friends who know about my insanely huge collection of sets, comic books, novels, and so forth...but they don't really care. I just want to talk about it sometimes for the heck of it (ha ha).

I was in class today frantically refreshing my Facebook feed, Twitter feed, and the Bionicle Reddit page as all this information came pouring out. I knew what was coming from the leaks (couldn't resist!), but I was nevertheless surprised by a lot of revelations today. I'll admit that I was disappointed about a couple of things. The story being a "soft reboot" and not involving Mr. Farshtey is definitely the biggest one, and up until I found out a bit more, I actually thought it was going to be set in Artakha's realm when the original Toa were training under Hydraxon (my Bionicle knowledge is rusty, so correct me if I'm wrong!). From the updated Bionicle page, they have their original personalities back (e.g. Tahu is stubborn and hot-headed again unlike his current wise, humble self in the original story), the concept art looked like the world was a fallen, heaven-like realm, there's the whole thing with the Mask of Creation belonging to Artakha, and - this was one of the best indicators - I forgot that Jovan was called a "Master" of magnetism, so since the new Toa are "Masters," well, you can see why I thought the story was going to continue! Alas, that is not so. Although I think Lego is making a bad decision by ignoring the wealth of lore and possibilities they could've drawn from the existing story. I mean, seriously, you could just make a story set 1000 years or so after Bara Magna was restored that pleases the hardcore story fans by tying back to other stuff while being separated enough from the backstory and lore so that others don't need to read up on anything to understand what's going on. But if they end up making this a multiverse thing with this Bionicle story being one of the many universes tied to the established universe, that would be all kinds of epic right there (a crossover event or two in the future books, anyone?). However, rebooting the story has its postive factors and merits. The new creative team doesn't have to worry about all the baggage of being true to the established story and adhering to it, which could have stifled creativity to some degree. Secondly, as someone who is well versed in the storyline but has forgotten a lot of stuff, it's strangely relieving that I can look at Bionicle with fresh eyes...in a way, it's like I'm in a strange alternate universe situation that's like, "What if Bionicle turned out this way and was never released when I was a kid?" Might not make sense (ha ha), but what I mean is that the premise is similar to the 2001 version and reuses character names and concepts; I like how the new team is drawing from what's already done to give old fans things to recognize while also giving them and new audiences a surprise that will intrigue all of us: a new beginning. Man, I saw some of the things they said and showed about respecting what has made Bionicle great (concept art that harks back to original sets, they put a picture up of MNOLG, etc.) and how they're really trying to build on that while doing something excitingly unique. That's so cool! I'm a bit worried about some of the banal details in the cartoon trailer (The Mask of Ultimate Power...really?) and the Hero Factory vibe I got from watching it (please don't be corny and kiddish like Hero Factory...sorry to be blunt, but that's what I think ) , but I can dig the art style in it and the setting for the island, which looks marvelous in some shots. As for the sets, I'm a bit put off by their bulkiness and large single pieces (like on the chest). Gali, Lewa, and Onua also look so-so. But man, I'll admit that some of their aspects are awesome (Lewa's axes and Onua's hammers for the win), and can I be backed up when I say that Tahu, Kopaka, and Pohatu look AMAZING in nearly every way? I may be a bigger fan of the smaller pieces used for Bionicle sets in the past, but hey, the huge armor and weapons work for the new sets; I'll definitely be making these the first Lego sets I've purchased since a couple of years ago! Man...my wallet is not ready. Anyway, I should probably stop my rant there. Probably didn't make sense in a couple of places. It's just been so long since I've talked about Bionicle, so I have a lot to say about it since no one outside of BZPower cares about it as much as I do! Oh, and I have to leave this here for humorous purposes. As soon as I saw Onua, I had to make this...

Just as long as Greg Farshtey is involved to some capacity and the original story is adhered to, I'm good. From what everyone has been saying here, 2015 seems to be shaping up to cover a prequel or future story of sorts that expands on the established Bionicle storyline (since the Mask of Creation is something Artakha wore/wears!), which would be fantastic (a flat-out reboot wouldn't seem right). But if I had it my way, I hope that Mr. Farshtey is going to be one of the head writers supervising the books, comics (we can hope!), etc. Either way, I loved and read all the main novels that C.A. Hapka, Greg, and others wrote, so I'll definitely read more of them if Lego decides to start publishing more!

As a fan of Bionicle from its inception in 2001 to its end in 2010, I can confidently say that I haven’t forgotten it once in the past five years. I have just about every set, I’ve read every single book and comic that I could manage, and remained a devout member to this website for years during that time. You could say I'm a BZPower veteran! But I haven’t been among these forums for years. Devoted my time to other things. During that time I finished high school and am currently attending college to earn a major in Interactive Game and Media Design. Found out I wanted to be a video game journalist about three years ago, especially since my primary hobby became video games after 2010 and when I discovered my talent for writing. I read, write, and talk about video games all the time and currently write for a website called Push Square. It’s awesome, hard work. Never forgot about Bionicle though. Every now and then I’d look around at all of my sets, flip through the comics, and sit back with intense nostalgia thinking about all that Bionicle taught me with its story and the friends I came to know through it. It honestly was a significant influence on my life, and I have Greg Farshtey to thank for being one of the very few people who instigated my love for writing. I haven’t purchased a Lego set in years due to their expensive nature, but I swore I would do it all over again if Bionicle were ever to be resurrected. That day has finally come, and I couldn’t be happier or more surprised...even if it was a badly kept secret for the past month. Welcome back, Bionicle! And hello again, BZPower! Tahu-of-Terror DrJoeystein

Bionicle was the only Lego product line I stuck with from beginning to end. The sets were fantastic, the story was deep, the comics were fun, and it was plain awesome. As soon as Hero Factory came out, I "quit" Lego, so to speak. I don't buy any sets of any kind anymore to their expensive prices. However, I'd make an exception for Bionicle. The problem is that Lego might ruin Bionicle's legacy with a reboot, so do I want it back? I want to say yes...but deep down, I say no as well.