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Best year for Bionicle?


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What do you think was the best year for Bionicle?

 

I think 2001, 'cause there was no extremely complex storyline; it was just the Matoran, Turaga, Toa and Rahi. I think the sets were the best, also. Each set had it's own creative function (for example, on the Toa Mata, if you turned a gear on their back, their arms would swing). Plus that was the year they focused the most on the Matoran. It wasn't just Toa this, Toa that like in all the rest of the years.

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story-wise, I like 2010-onwards. I liked the serials a lot :3 and I also enjoyed the complex storyline, and in 2010 we had (most) of it all.

set-wise, 2008. it was the year I got nearly all of the sets, with the exceptions of all of the vehicles, Antroz, Icarax, and Gorast.

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In terms of story, I think I have to say 2008. It brought about the revelation that so many subtle hints had been leading up to, and had a phenomenal twist ending. It was one of the more convoluted story years to be certain, with a lot of important story developments taking place in the serials or in other supplementary media, rather than in the core media like the comics and chapter books. But at the same time, everything did end up coming together in the end, unlike 2009 and 2010 which had more trouble tying their supplementary stories together in the end. In 2008, we returned to a series of characters who hadn't been in the spotlight in a while, and it was remarkable to see how much they'd grown since their juvenile squabbling in previous appearances. There was a team chemistry that made this perhaps the best year for the Toa Nuva.Sets are a trickier question. Most BIONICLE years had sets that were good for their time, but many don't stand the test of time that well, and some extremely good years for sets had a few duds that really brought them down. I think I'm going to have to say 2007. Sets in 2007 were not without flaws, but most of those flaws came about as a result of an experimental attitude that did away with some of the trends that had become commonplace. 2007 was the first year to really do away with clone builds on a grand scale: the only series with clone builds that year were the Mahri Nui Matoran and Hydruka, which were nevertheless brilliant builds in their own right. As a non-humanoid warrior set, Gadunka helped prove the versatility of parts like the Toa Inika torso, Hydraxon had an elegant sort of simplicity to his design along with a lot of innovation, and Maxilos became the set to most effectively incorporate waist articulation throughout the whole of BIONICLE's run.Now, this isn't to say that 2007 didn't have major flaws. While I love the shape of Kalmah's "squid armor", its very specialized texture makes it very difficult to incorporate into a MOC without it looking out-of-place. All in all, the Barraki introduced a number of parts with similarly-specialized textures, eschewing textures that had been traditional staples of BIONICLE in favor of newer, more specialized ones. At the same time, together with Carapar's armor shells it took an important step forward in that unlike previous thigh armor pieces, it could be used in an assortment of configurations, paving the way for Hero Factory's shell-and-beam system many years later.Color, too, was an issue with some sets. While the two-color blends of the Barraki sets, particularly those incorporating transparent colors, looked brilliantly unique, this was a major limitation as far as MOCs were concerned. Thankfully, MOCists didn't let this hinder them, finding ways to use even the small selection of parts with these two-color blends in unique-looking models.And of course 2007 was the year of unreliable launchers, between the Cordak Blasters which struggled to unload all six rounds at times and the Squid Launchers that required an extraordinary amount of finesse to launch properly. But I hardly think these brought down the quality of these sets.Overall, taking both sets and story into account, I'd have to say 2007 wins out. After the fast-paced 2006 storyline which left little time for characterization, 2007 offered more time for introspection. We got really wonderful moments in the books like when Kongu explains to Jaller his change in attitude since his Matoran days, and Matoro's inner struggle to understand the responsibility he had as the bearer of the Mask of Life, and the most insight into Makuta's twisted psyche that we had gotten since Time Trap. There's a reason why BIONICLE Legends #7 was for a long time my favorite of the BIONICLE books. 2008's story was great, but its sets don't compare to the experimental nature of the 2007 sets: there was a sort of formula that many of the smaller sets tended to follow, and while there were some brilliant and innovative designs like Takanuva and the assorted vehicle sets, there were also some far weaker designs like Icarax or Mutran & Vican. So I think 2007 was perhaps a peak year for BIONICLE with regard to sets and story. This isn't to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy the sets and story of later years, though.

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I mildly disagree with the comments about 2007. Between the lime green parts that broke and the launchers that didn't work, not the best year for sets. I agree that Into the Darkness was a fairly good podcast, but that's one shadow on an otherwise bleh story year. I also liked the Gali Nuva blog and the online content for that year, but the story felt like a wash-out for some reason, with so much emphasis on characters that I just could not get why they were important.

 

2006 felt like that as well. Both of those years felt like a detour from the main story and chasing rabbit trails because they were.

 

In my opinion, the best year for sets and story for Bionicle was 2008. I mean, seriously, flying sets. Vehicle sets for the Technic crowd. A return to the original story, the original characters, and the original point. The side threads and serials for that year actually had something to do with the emerging plot, instead of just satisfying old fans quandaries so the main story could be about something completely unrelated. And the twist, which was the icing on the cake. :)

 

I could make the argument that 2004 or 2005 had better story, but 2008 had better sets, so if we are combining the two, 2008 wins IMO.

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2006 would be my choice. For the first time in BIONICLE, the villains of the year were characters rather than a horde of nameless machines or monsters, like the Bohrok, Vahki, and Visorak. The Piraka as sets were also very distinctive with their grins and light-up heads, and they also introduced the Inika/Piraka build, which was probably one of the best building formats until Hero Factory, although they were rather overused in later years. And their presence also allowed a book that, for the first time, focused on the villains of the story year, and is a frontrunner for the best BIONICLE Legends book, BL#4: Legacy of Evil.

 

 

2006 was also refreshing. Metru Nui, while loved by many, grew tiring in 2005, leaving many, specifically me, wanting to return to Mata Nui as quick as possible. Voya Nui returned us to an environment that was unfriendly and mysterious, without being ugly, like the web-covered Metru Nui. And while the Toa Nuva themselves did not return for the entire year, we were given the next best thing in the Toa Inika, which featured matoran we remembered from all of the Flash animations and Mata Nui Online Games from 2001-2003. The story was rather easy to follow once the Inika arrived on Voya Nui--a simple story of heroes and thieves hunting for the MacGuffin of Life. 2006 also brought BIONICLE Heroes, which, while ridiculously easy, was also fun and had some terrific music.

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2008 for me was brilliant. In terms of story I really liked where it was, and how it ended. In terms of sets, it made a brilliant departure from the play sets for Vehicles, which were brilliant, and it had Takanuva, the best titan set ever, totally unrivalled.

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2001 was the best from a nostalgic perspective, and I don't think any later media matched the MNOLG for atmosphere, visuals, music and immersion. I can't imagine just how much more I would've appreciated this year had I known the extent to which later years would depart from its style and quality.

 

2004 had the best story, following the Metru as they were thrust into the position of heroes with no preparation, and had to figure out their new powers whilst slowly piecing together the puzzle of the shadow infiltrating the heart of their society. The ending was wonderfully bittersweet, with the Matoran escaping Makuta's plot but losing Lhikan and their home.

 

I largely lost interest in Bionicle from about 2006 onwards as the sets became increasingly ugly and reliant on gimmicks, and the storyline became impossible to follow, due to it being isolated in the books (which were unavailable in my area).

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My vote easily hits 2003. While 2001 had amazing sets, (Come on guys, five titans?) and a great opening story. Six heroes just kinda arrive on this island for Mata Nui know's why and have to help the locals defeat a nearly all-powerful enemy. 2002 was also nice, with the Titans looking rather nice. But 2003 had the perfect mix of canisters and Titans. The Bohrok-Kal gave us a familiar enemy ramped into fiends with immense power, and then the even more dangerous, more alien Rahkshi, essentially portions of the Makuta himself. The Titans had two Rahi which were rather appealing and Jala and Takua's rebuilt forms. Then we had the final hero, Takanuva, the Toa of Light. But the set that made that year great was really Makuta. I remember getting it 50% off as a little kid.

 

The story was the first time we really witnessed a dark element applied. The Toa Nuva were in a Do-or-Die situation against the Kal and the Rahkshi. If it were re-written to fit the more recent writing style of Greg F, i think 03's story would be as deep and as dark as 08's or 07's.

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2004 had the best story by far, with a most innovative plot and the greatest characterization ever seen in Bionicle.

 

Set-wise, I'll have to say 2003 or 2006. 2003 had the Rahkshi that were awesome, as well as some cool titans and the new Matoran build. In 2006 the light effects and the color combinations were brilliant.

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Story-wise, I'd say either '04 or '08. Set-wise, I think I'll go with either 2001 or 2004.

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I only got into Bionicle in '04, and while I now obviously know a bit about previous years, it's hard for me to say any of them is my favorite since I never actually experienced them. With that in mind, I'd definitely say 2006. I absolutely loved the Piraka and Voya Nui, have read some of those books countless times, etc. The sets were also pretty great that year.

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2003 is probably my favorite year. Between the newly introduced novelizations and the Mask of Light movie, it seemed that there were suddenly so many more great stories to tell (Quests for the Masks is still one of my favorite books). The sets were fantastic (Rahkshi FTW) and it had a really great ending that left you eager to see what new fascinating stories would be told.

 

2004 gets a close second for similar reasons.

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I loved 01-03, but the story really REALLY grabbed my attention in 04 and 05 for the Metru Nui arc and Hordika story. Finding out the background of Toa and how the storyline starts to open up to an bigger universe


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personally, my favourite was 2006 because of the piraka; to this day there still my favourite villains of all time, just because of how unique each character is and the chemistry between all of them is amazing, and some rivalry's are worse than others eg Avak, Hakann group together to scheme against Zaktan all the time and Zaktan most of the time puts them down by using threats and even attacking them, while Vezok was too paranoid to make alliances and Thok prefers to work alone and Reidak... I don't know he just is too impatient I suppose

Also the matoran resistance team was so underestimated because they were matoran but in the end using their teamwork and tactics they outsmarted most of the piraka which is really cool and has a lot of moral behind it that you don't have to be a Toa to save the day and that you should never underestimate your enemies :)

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My favorite year would probably be 2006. The Piraka were great villains, and the Toa Nuva were brought back into the story for a little while. It also had the introduction of Axonn, one of my favorite characters in the storyline. The story itself was great too.

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What do you think was the best year for Bionicle?

 

I think 2001, 'cause there was no extremely complex storyline; it was just the Matoran, Turaga, Toa and Rahi. I think the sets were the best, also. Each set had it's own creative function (for example, on the Toa Mata, if you turned a gear on their back, their arms would swing). Plus that was the year they focused the most on the Matoran. It wasn't just Toa this, Toa that like in all the rest of the years.

I too like the simplicity that was provided in the beginning story line in '01, I especially agree with your point about the extreme amount of focus that the Toa got in all the the other years, as has been said, you don't need to be a Toa of be a Hero.

However, I do like the Serials so I guess that makes it tough to choose. Maybe '01 because of the memories :inlove: :shrugs:

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Set-wise, I would have to say 2008, fairly easy decision.

 

As for story, whoo-boy, that's a tough one. Part of me wants to say 2001, just for the pure nostalgia, but another is clamoring for 2004 (yes, I know that's an unpopular opinion), and 2008 also begs mention.

 

Ultimately, if I had to pick one, I'd probably go with 2008. Probably the high point of Bionicle in its later years.

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For me it's 2001, easily. What made BIONICLE special was the air of mystery and wonder - the magic of this island filled with dangerous beasts and cool villages. I think that Mata Nui is easily the best looking and most interesting of all the islands, and in 2001 it was totally new. Mata Nui Online Game I did a fantastic job of fleshing out the island and story. 2001 had some of the best comics - I'm a fan of the early style over the others. Likewise, for artwork and animations, I feel that 2001 was the best - the 2005 and 2006 animations don't come close to those of the first three years. The storyline was simple, with a lot of room for your imagination. Oh, and the Rahi are by far the best villains we've had. Lastly, they show ordinary Matoran being heroes, instead of letting Toa do the work for them.

 

I enjoy the later storylines a lot, especially the serials, and I love the 2009 sets, but nothing beats 2001 for me. I enjoy the 2006 games a lot, and they beat any other year, but MNOG I tops them all for me.

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Well, there are things I love throughout all of these years, but you'll see which one is my favorite at the bottom of the list.

 

2001- The story was simple yet edgy. It was easy to be sucked into and the characters, while simple, were endearing and memorable. The sets were great, both in quanty and quality. The Toa, Turaga, Mctoran, Rahi, and a plethora of combiner models really fleshed out the LIFE of Bionicle's world in a very short span of time. Overall, for a line that needed to make a good first impression, this did more than that.

 

2002- The story ws... okay. It introduced us to elements that we couldn't comprehend at the time, yet would brilliantly come into play in later years. When the Bohrok say "clean it all", they're essentially trying to wash Mata Nui's face. But hey, there was no way for us to know that at the time. In terms of sets, the Bohrok were VERY cool and innovative, still some of the coolest villain sets to this day. The "titan" sets were cool, and the Toa Nuva at the end of the year were just great.

 

2003 was... eh. There are things I love about this year, but I just think some things were kind of out there. However, in terms of SETS, it was a great year. The Rahkshi were, like, the coolest things ever at the time, and some still kinda sorta include the Toa Nuva since there were released SOOOOOOOO late in 2002... in which case, yeah, more great sets.

 

2004... we'll get to that in a little bit.

 

2005- This year had some small things that I feel were necessary, but on the whole, I don't like this year that much... in terms of story or sets. While this did stand out ats the darkest year up to that point, a lot of things felt more than a little forced. As for the sets, the Visorahk were pretty cool, but the titans were just okay and the Toa hordika were... blegh.

 

2006- Now THIS was a great year. The story were really going somewhere, now. The scope of the universe was expanding at a downright explosive rate, and there was this crazy feeling that we really were venturing into new territory and couldn't be prepared for ANYTHING that would come our way, which would only INTENSIFY throughout the next two years as they continue to relentlessly build up more and more momentum. The Piraka, as some have said, were actual CHARACTERS, and while the story was, at times, even darker than 2005, there was still that good sense of adventure that had kind been missing in recent years. Having a bunch of characters we were familiar with from "the good ol' days" return didn't hurt, that's for sure. The sets were pretty great, all around. Axxon and Brutaka were REALLY cool, the Piraka were... also cool, and the Inika... oh, how we all went crazy for the Inika at the time. Not since the Rahkshi were sets so popular.

 

2007- This is where things, while still expanding, were starting to come together again, here and there. The tone was perhaps the darkest it ever got, mainly due to the setting, and the villains. I love the whole concept of the Barraki, of them being these ultra-uber bad dudes who'd been exhiled to and lurking in the darkest corner of the world this whole time, all the while these other stories had been going on. The situation was as tense as it would ever be, and there was no way to know how things were going to turn out. At this point, things were kinda getting out of hand, enough to turn some people away, but seeing Makuta enter the fray again helped ground the story so that old fans would stick around to find out what he'd do next, and just what he's really been up to all along, and Gali Nuva's blog also helped, showing that even after their crushing defeat in the previous year, our old heroes were still there... and probably always would be. I feel that, at this point in Bionicle's life, such elements were needed. The Barraki were great sets and... well, the Toa Mahri kinda suffered, but were still okay. The Titans were awesome, especially Maxillos (Makuta), still to this day being one of the greatest Bionicle sets in general, and the only one who could shrug.

 

2008- The story was great, with a sense of finality as everything came crashing together, building up to that epic revelation, not to mention the coolest setting we'd seen in a long, long time. Seeing old favorites finally return after all their side-questing in the previous year was wonderful, and having other Makuta featured as the main villains, well, it would be difficult to top that. In terms of sets, I think the first wave as solid. While I wish the Toa were more colorful, their builds, while basic, were very strong and heroic looking... like these really were the Toa in the absolute prime. The Makuta were FANTASTIC, all looking powerful, and surprisingly unique despite using the same torso. However, the second wave was REEEEALLY week. Takanuva was an amazing set, and most of the vehicles were great builds... however, the canister sets of the summer wave were just so underwhelming and... kind of hard to look at, compared to the winter wave. The Makuta was much less powerful looking, though Krika was still decent, and the Toa... yeah, buy this point, it felt like they'd completely run out of ideas. They weren't even using the overrused Inika build, then... they'd downgraded to a more Piraka-esque build, and not only were the summer wave Toa EVEN LESS colorful than the winter wave Toa, but their weaponry was less inspired and the masks were downright ugly. Overall, they were just... unappealing. I got every single canister set in the winter wave... yet I skipped the entire summer wave, saving my money for Takanuva, Jetrax T6, and Axalara T9. It was money well spent. Overall, still a great year with a strong start and a strong finish, though it got a little weak around the middle.

 

2009- Pretty good. I really liked this year, despite some shortcomings. The story was opening new doors while shedding light on things that, even throughout 2008, were still a mystery, and I did like the setting and culture. Seeing what our old heroes were still up to in the ongoing online serials made the transition to a new setting easier, and the new material was a strong basis for the new setting. In fact, in some ways, it had a very "back to basics" sort of feel. The sets were pretty good, though the quality really varied. I liked that they were, overall, much more colorful than in recent years, and had much more character and flair, and there were even some pretty fun new builds. The weapons were AMAAAAAAAAZING, and in my opinion, some of the most beautiful ever made. In terms of sets in general, though, there were a few bad apples... such as vastus. Still, the sets in general were good, and the vehicles were great.

 

Overall, I feel that 2009 gets a bad rep that's reeeally hard to justify.

 

2010, on the other hand... Whatever...

 

After that, I continued the follow the serials until they were abruptly put on indefinite hiatus.

 

 

 

Overall, 2004 has become my favorite year, just BAAAAARELY up there with 2001. This is where things really took off. The setting was amazingly beautiful, the story was tragic, and the sets were very good. The story was great because we got to see familar characters in a new light, struggling to save what little they could in the time they were given as they LOST THEIR ENTIRE CULTURE. The movie, City of Legends, is perhaps the only Bionicle movie that I'd call a legitimately good film, and not just a fun but goofy kid's flick or toy commercial. In terms of sets, the Toa Metru are some of my favorite Toa ever. They were much more poseable than in previous years, while still retaining what I like to call "slizer engineering", and refining it to its peak. Being both functional and BEAUTIFUL, I see the Toa Metru as the ideal halfway point between the classic Toa Mata build and the later Inika build. The Vahki were pretty cool, the Titans were memorable and fun to build, the Matoran were really cool... overall, just a great year. The quality, engineering, and artistic flair of the sets, along with the emotional weight of the movie, made this the best Bionicle year, in my eyes. I may not quite have felt that way at the time, mainly feeling... confused by the direction this was taking and where it may go from there, but still enticed, noneetheless, and I've only come to appreciate it more in time.

 

But hey, that's just me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For the sets themselves, I would probably say either 2001 (I loved the large Rahi sets) - though there were other highlight years such as 2005 when they introduced the playsets. For the story and personally overall I would say 2004 (and indreictly 2003), the huge shift from Mata Nui to a new location, new characters and lore was very exciting and the story and sets of 2003 led into that perfectly. The two movies certainly helped with the hype and there were some really cool characters made into sets throughout those times (Takanuva, Makuta, and the Dark Hunters). The final year was quite good too with all the nostalgia callbacks and what not though I was unfortunately not able to complete my collection of the sets - still looking to do that. :P

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2006 because We've had Six Monstrous Villains,The Toa Nuva where defeated and held homage,The Matoran of Mata/Metru Nui that become the Toa Inika,2 Members of The Order,1 Server of The Order,1 Crazy clone of Vezok riding on a Giant 4-legged Spider,6 amazing combing models,While the Piraka had a Wed Site and a Rap Theme,the Toa Inika had AAR Song as their theme,Also a Non-Cannon Video Game that is very fun to play.

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