How to start off bionicle?

[Peter Johnson]

I'm new to bionicle. I know of biosector01, but when I go there I just can't find anything to start me off. I watched the mask of light movie, and I know about Toas and Matorans and Mata Nui and all that stuff, but thats pretty much it. Is there anything or anywhere to go to start me off with bionicle?

Or a page on biosector?

[Click]

Well then, welcome to BZP and the story! You may be here a long, long time. :DTo start off, I would just recommend the Timeline page so you can get a grasp of the storyline. The great part about BS01 is that if you are unfamiliar with a character, creature, event, etc., they usually have a link to that thing's page. Enjoy!

[SarracenianKaijin]

Play Mata Nui Online Game.

 

No seriously, play Mata Nui Online Game.

 

And ignore everything that came after 2008.

Edited August 15, 2013 by SarracenianKaijin

[fishers64]

There's three "ways in" that I know of.

 

1) Mata Nui Online Game

 

2) Bionicle Comic #1

 

3) Bionicle Chronicles #1 Tale of the Toa

 

I recommend #1, since IMO that's the most enjoyable way to start. Then choose 2 or 3 and follow the books or comics straight through the story in order.

[Bfahome]

I recommend the comics as a starting point, as they'll give you a brief, if not necessarily thorough, summary of the plot.

 

BS01 has links to PDF or SWF versions on each comic's wiki page.

 

From there you can look into getting the books, which will give you a look into some of the side-journeys and more complicated parts of the story.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Bfahome

[Kanakalackin]

I started in early 04, so I had to work in two directions. In the backwards direction, I started with comic #1, and read Tale of the Toa (by C. A. Hapka). After that, I kept reading the comics and books all the way up to 2010. The serials and podcasts don't hurt either, but expect major cliffhangers.

[Van Hohenheim]

what I did to get it all in my head was the "random page" button at BS01. It allowed me to find random stuff to read up on and encode within my memory.

[Art Vandelay]

I think it would be best for you to experience BIONICLE from 2001-2003 in its entirety to really fall in love with it. So I will write you a guide to experiencing the entire 2001-2003 storyline.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Guide to BIONICLE from 2001-2003

 

 

 

2001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1. Like others said, I would HIGHLY recommend playing the Mata Nui Online Game to start out with. You will be hooked on BIONICLE after playing it. It was my first taste of the storyline as well. Don't jump right in to BS01, it will ruin it for you once you start reading ahead.

 

You can download the Mata Nui Online Game from the BioMedia Project. Here is a link: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/games/ You can also play it right from the BMP site.

 

2. Next, read the comics up to #3. You can read these online at the BioMedia Project as well. Here is the link to that: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/pictures/

 

3. Then read Tale of the Toa. There is no online source to read it, so you'll have to pick it up from Amazon or eBay.

 

After you have done those three things, I bet you'll want to continue on to the 2002 storyline.

 

2002

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1. I would recommend first watching the Bohrok Online Animations. (At the BioMedia Project as well: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/videos/)

 

2. Then read the comics up to #8.

 

3. Then read Chronicles #2, Beware the Bohrok.

 

2003

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yay! You've finished up 2002! Now on to 2003!

 

1. Start off with the Bohrok Kal Online Animations. Like all previous media, you can find these at the BioMedia Project.

 

2. Then read the comics up to #12.

 

3. Then read Chronicles #3, Makuta's Revenge.

 

4. Now, I would recommend playing the second Mata Nui Online Game. You will hear a lot of complaints about how buggy it is and how you can't actually complete the game. Well that was true back in 2003, but this is 2013. You can find a totally bug free version of MNOG II on the BioMedia Project. http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/games/. If you become frustrated with it, don't worry about completing the game. Just try it out and see if you like it.

 

5. Then read Chronicles #4, Tales of the Masks.

 

6. Then read the comics up to #14.

 

7. You've already seen Mask of Light, but I would advise you to watch it again at this point. It will make a lot more sense now.

 

8. Finally, read comic #15.

 

Once you have completed all these things, give yourself a pat on the back. You have completed the 2001-2003 BIONICLE storyline. From here, just continue on and refer to the BioMedia Project and BioSector01 if you have forgotten anything.

 

Another thing I would recommend is to watch all the CGI animated character videos for the Toa. You can find all of these on the BioMedia Project.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Trydeltix

[PDPsi HAN]

Quite the comprehensive post Trydeltix.

 

I also recommend the comics as they are easier to digest and don't take a lot of time to understand.

[Art Vandelay]

Thanks. A new fan to BIONICLE is always great to see, so I figured I should be as comprehensive as possible when telling him how to get started with it.

[Gatanui]

And ignore everything that came after 2008.

No.-Gata

[Kanakalackin]

And ignore everything that came after 2008.

 

Absolutely not!

 

You see, that's when the story finally started to unfold. But that's all that I'll tell you.

[Art Vandelay]

And ignore everything that came after 2008.

 

No. Like the others said, do not ignore everything that came after 2008. Bad idea. It may have been more complicated at that point, but those years are an absolutely essential part of the BIONICLE storyline.

[Katuko]

What came after '08 was the Bara Magna stuff. While it is true that some important parts of storyline took place there, it is not the best to dive into before the rest has been digested. So many characters are in play (several returning from previous years), with so many small stories, and not all of them ever finished.Do follow the 2008+ storyline, but follow the rest in order first.

[Peter Johnson]

OK thanks guys. That helped a bunch

I think it would be best for you to experience BIONICLE from 2001-2003 in its entirety to really fall in love with it. So I will write you a guide to experiencing the entire 2001-2003 storyline.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Guide to BIONICLE from 2001-2003

 

 

 

2001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1. Like others said, I would HIGHLY recommend playing the Mata Nui Online Game to start out with. You will be hooked on BIONICLE after playing it. It was my first taste of the storyline as well. Don't jump right in to BS01, it will ruin it for you once you start reading ahead.

 

You can download the Mata Nui Online Game from the BioMedia Project. Here is a link: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/games/ You can also play it right from the BMP site.

 

2. Next, read the comics up to #3. You can read these online at the BioMedia Project as well. Here is the link to that: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/pictures/

 

3. Then read Tale of the Toa. There is no online source to read it, so you'll have to pick it up from Amazon or eBay.

 

After you have done those three things, I bet you'll want to continue on to the 2002 storyline.

 

2002

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1. I would recommend first watching the Bohrok Online Animations. (At the BioMedia Project as well: http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/videos/)

 

2. Then read the comics up to #8.

 

3. Then read Chronicles #2, Beware the Bohrok.

 

2003

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yay! You've finished up 2002! Now on to 2003!

 

1. Start off with the Bohrok Kal Online Animations. Like all previous media, you can find these at the BioMedia Project.

 

2. Then read the comics up to #12.

 

3. Then read Chronicles #3, Makuta's Revenge.

 

4. Now, I would recommend playing the second Mata Nui Online Game. You will hear a lot of complaints about how buggy it is and how you can't actually complete the game. Well that was true back in 2003, but this is 2013. You can find a totally bug free version of MNOG II on the BioMedia Project. http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/games/. If you become frustrated with it, don't worry about completing the game. Just try it out and see if you like it.

 

5. Then read Chronicles #4, Tales of the Masks.

 

6. Then read the comics up to #14.

 

7. You've already seen Mask of Light, but I would advise you to watch it again at this point. It will make a lot more sense now.

 

8. Finally, read comic #15.

 

Once you have completed all these things, give yourself a pat on the back. You have completed the 2001-2003 BIONICLE storyline. From here, just continue on and refer to the BioMedia Project and BioSector01 if you have forgotten anything.

 

Another thing I would recommend is to watch all the CGI animated character videos for the Toa. You can find all of these on the BioMedia Project.

By the way the comics on biomedia, I dont think they have the third one when I looked of the mata nui series...I think its called. I didn't see it...

[The True Zedd of BZPower]

Do yourself a favor and just play MNOG and read the comics. The Hapka books are terrible and you're better off only reading Greg material.Of course reading the Hapka stuff makes everything after that seem even better by comparison, so that's one way to do things.

[Just A Dot]

Bear through the dreadful Hapka books, and try to make sense of how the comics and books fit together. All the movies sucked, so don't feel the need to watch those unless you want to hear the fantastic soundtracks they had. Read all of 2009, but remember that the Bara Magna related stuff is pretty bad, but needed to understand everything.

[Sumiki]

You should only get into 2009 if you've fully comprehended everything that happened from 2001-2008. 2009 makes use of a bunch of returning characters from nearly every year, and it can be really confusing if you don't have (at least most of) the '01-'08 material internalized.

[Art Vandelay]

The Hapka books may be inferior to Greg's stuff, but they aren't so bad that they aren't worth reading. They're well worth reading if you want to better understand 2001-2003. Also, Greg wrote Tales of the Masks.

[Gatanui]

You should only get into 2009 if you've fully comprehended everything that happened from 2001-2008. 2009 makes use of a bunch of returning characters from nearly every year, and it can be really confusing if you don't have (at least most of) the '01-'08 material internalized.

I feel that's rather 2010, unless you meant the 2009-2010 story arch in general. I too would recommend to get through the 2001-2008 story first, though.-Gata

[Hitoshura]

And ignore everything that came after 2008.

No. That's when everything starts to make sense.

[Peter Johnson]

Ok, I read comics 1 and 2...But they didn't have number 3

Edited August 20, 2013 by MrPerson

[Art Vandelay]

http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/files/gfx/Comics/Mata%20Nui%20Saga/Comic03/pdf_comic_03.pdf

 

It's under #1.

[Toatapio Nuva]

I just want to add to the "don't follow the story after 2008" vs. "absolutely follow the story after 2008" debate.

 

A big reason for why I would not recommend the story after that is because... well... the quality of the story drops so dramatically. While it explains some things about the previous storyline, the facts are very cluttered and the entire saga fails and ends in a cliffhanger, until two additional comics in the end tie up loose ends in a most horrific fashion. The original Bionicle story was planned by the story team up until 2008, so the ending of 2008 is really the original intentional ending to Bionicle. Lego just tried to continue it after that because they thought they could get more profit from it, but that failed. The result is a half-made, cheesy and quite unimaginative story only meant to promote the toys. And believe me, although the original story was also meant for promotion, it had a lot more effort put into it and the story actually surpassed the sets. The quality is much better during the original years (minus the post-2006 online serials, which I advise you to skip completely).

 

Still, I know you will WANT to learn about the post-2008 storyline after you are finished with the first eight year. But be warned: you will be in for a disappointment.

 

Surprisingly, I would recommend watching BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn movie to get acquainted with the 2009 storyline. Any other source material is just utterly confusing or only deals with insignificant subplots. Even the comics do a poor job in describing the story. The movie is the only thing that does a decent job in telling the story of that arc. However, the movie itself sucks, so be warned again. Oh, and it ends at a cliffhanger, after which there are three comics you can read to find out how they ended Bionicle as abruptly as possible.

 

Oh, and a thing about the first three movies: Don't believe anyone who says that they aren't good. They are SPECTACULAR, especially in the feeling they manage to convey. Especially the second one. Don't expect clear and easy-to-understand endings in any of them, though. It's the beginnings and the middle story that really shine in those movies.

 

Anyways, have fun. Bionicle is an amazing storyline and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Edited August 23, 2013 by Toatapio Nuva

[Gatanui]

I just want to add to the "don't follow the story after 2008" vs. "absolutely follow the story after 2008" debate. A big reason for why I would not recommend the story after that is because... well... the quality of the story drops so dramatically. While it explains some things about the previous storyline, the facts are very cluttered and the entire saga fails and ends in a cliffhanger, until two additional comics in the end tie up loose ends in a most horrific fashion. The original Bionicle story was planned by the story team up until 2008, so the ending of 2008 is really the original intentional ending to Bionicle. Lego just tried to continue it after that because they thought they could get more profit from it, but that failed. The result is a half-made, cheesy and quite unimaginative story only meant to promote the toys. And believe me, although the original story was also meant for promotion, it had a lot more effort put into it and the story actually surpassed the sets. The quality is much better during the original years (minus the post-2006 online serials, which I advise you to skip completely). Still, I know you will WANT to learn about the post-2008 storyline after you are finished with the first eight year. But be warned: you will be in for a disappointment. Surprisingly, I would recommend watching BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn movie to get acquainted with the 2009 storyline. Any other source material is just utterly confusing or only deals with insignificant subplots. Even the comics do a poor job in describing the story. The movie is the only thing that does a decent job in telling the story of that arc. However, the movie itself sucks, so be warned again. Oh, and it ends at a cliffhanger, after which there are three comics you can read to find out how they ended Bionicle as abruptly as possible. Oh, and a thing about the first three movies: Don't believe anyone who says that they aren't good. They are SPECTACULAR, especially in the feeling they manage to convey. Especially the second one. Don't expect clear and easy-to-understand endings in any of them, though. It's the beginnings and the middle story that really shine in those movies. Anyways, have fun. Bionicle is an amazing storyline and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Sorry, but not all what you say is true. Feel free to correct me, but as far as I know, BIONICLE was originally planned until 2011 (that is, after it was decided to let it continue past 2001), with 2008 featuring the Toa Mahri once more and 2009-2011 featuring the Toa Nuva. It was decided at some point (2006 or 2007?) to feature the Toa Nuva in 2008 and to have the Bara Magna story going from 2009-2011, though unfortunately it ended rushed and unexpectedly in 2010 already. LEGO did NOT just try to continue the story only to make more profit more than they did in previous years, rather they "re-booted" the series in 2009 to attract new fans into the story and "save" BIONICLE from financial failure.Quite frankly, I don't see what was so bad about the 2009 story. It's more developed than the 2001 story, though I will admit it lacked the great sense of mistery the early years had. The reason it feels sort of underdeveloped compared to the years before is the lack of almost any books going in-depth and also simply the fact that it wasn't building up to a big finale like 2007 and 2008 did but started a new story. And while the 2010 ending was very rushed and not as good as it should have been (though given the circumstances, there wasn't much more the story team could do and the Mata Nui Saga on BIONICLE.com was a great way of telling the story the online website had been lacking for a long time. Ironically 2006, which I consider one of the best years of BIONICLE, was by far the worst at conveying the story in any media outside books and comics), I feel the Bara Magna saga was a huge enrichment for the series for introducing us to an entirely new and big world of BIONICLE and it had far more potential than could be used (though we will never know if it actually would have been fully used).Not sure what's supposed to be so bad about the post-2006 serials either, though most likely part of the enjoyment simply came from the excitement of having a new chapter regularly more than from the story itself, though I don't remember it being bad by any means (a few serials got kind of tedious, though).And after watching MoL again a few weeks ago I thought it was pretty bad, but whatever. LoMN is definitely the best of them, though, and the musical scores for all are amazing.So I suggest you just forget everything we said and simply read the story. Given how the Matoran Universe saga was much much more deeply developed than the Bara Magna story, yes, you are most likely going to prefer the 2001-2008 saga (I certainly do, but I also enjoyed the 2009 story and I like it more than the 2003 Bohrok-Kal story for example). And when you read the 2010 story, keep in mind the circumstances.-Gata Edited August 23, 2013 by Gatanui

[Aanchir]

I'm going to echo what a lot of people have said and suggest you start with the Mata Nui Online Game. It was one of the best methods of story delivery the LEGO Group had back in those days and is a good way to learn the basics of the first year of BIONICLE (what's a Toa, what's a Turaga, who is the Makuta, etc).Other 2001 story information is basically non-essential, in my opinion. Cathy Hapka's "Tale of the Toa", an adaptation of the 2001 story written in 2003, is perhaps the most thorough, describing a lot of the Quest for the Masks and giving a slightly more canon version of that year's final battle, but I think anyone who has played through the Mata Nui Online Game should be well-equipped to pick up with the story in 2002, starting with the Bohrok War.At that point, the comics become the chief means of story delivery, but I also encourage you to watch the seven Year Two animations which are an excellent follow-up to the Mata Nui Online Game and continue to tell the story from the Matoran villagers' perspective.