Rahi Beast, Encyclopedia Updated or World?

[Boidoh]

I've been debating which guide I should get. Help me out...

[believe victims]

Depends on what you want. Encyclopedia is comprehensive but shallow, Rahi Beasts is interesting but IMO only about 25% of the models inside are noteworthy, and I've not read World in a long time, but I remember it being decently in-depth but it was also written after the point I considered the beginning of Bionicle's spiral downwards so I can't recommend it in good faith.

[John Smith]

Not to be "that guy," but do you have the Dark Hunters guide? If not, I would recommend it above all of these, because it's written from the perspective of The Shadowed One, which is glorious. If you have it or don't want it though, I would reccomend either Rahi Beasts or World (as Lucina pointed out, the Encyclopedia is shallow; it's like an abridged version of BS01, and it's not written from an in-universe perspective). Rahi Beasts is written from Rahaga Norik's POV and has neat pics of MOCs; World is written from the POV of Helryx, and has some neat artwork from Stuart Sayger (the comic artist from '06-'07). Get whichever sounds most appealing to you!

 

Edit: I totally forgot about Makuta's Guide To the Universe. That one takes the cake.

Edited September 15, 2014 by John Smith

[Pomegranate]

I agree with John Smith, the Dark Hunters guide is my personal favorite. I've read the Encyclopedia and it was pretty bleh, and while Rahi Beasts has a lot of really neat models, World is a much more interesting read and has very nice illustrations of a lot of different islands that are important in Bionicle. I guess I'd say with the last two you're choosing between cool stuff to look at and cool stuff to read. Hope that helps!

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

World, if you are going with those three. It had a lot of original artwork, and the it was quite in depth about the expanded universe and everything. It was a good book since it really did, well, expand the Bionicle World.

 

-NotS

[randomreviewerbros]

Well i have all of those and personally i think the best is the updated encyclopedia, it provides information on all things in the BIONICLE universe and it is very detailed i believe

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I would recommend World over the updated encyclopedia. I haven't read either in a while, but I do remember World having some really cool drawings in it that were new to Bionicle at the time. The updated encyclopedia doesn't have any new drawings or pictures, if I remember it correctly. 

[John Smith]

Well i have all of those and personally i think the best is the updated encyclopedia, it provides information on all things in the BIONICLE universe and it is very detailed i believe

 

It's not a bad book by any means (my copy is quite well-worn), but at this point in time, I don't see how it's any better than BS01 (which, much like the Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, has the advantage of being slightly cheaper. ) But if you can make a case for it, I'd love to hear it! It's been a few years since I've cracked it open.

[randomreviewerbros]

 

Well i have all of those and personally i think the best is the updated encyclopedia, it provides information on all things in the BIONICLE universe and it is very detailed i believe

 

It's not a bad book by any means (my copy is quite well-worn)

Yeah lol so is mine, its pretty beat up

But anyways i think its a great book because it makes it easy to browse through the pages in alphabetical order, but its true that BS01 pretty much has the same info, i just think its great to have it in a hand held paperback book

You should take a read of it again when you can

Edited September 15, 2014 by randomreviewerbros

[John Smith]

 

 

Well i have all of those and personally i think the best is the updated encyclopedia, it provides information on all things in the BIONICLE universe and it is very detailed i believe

 

It's not a bad book by any means (my copy is quite well-worn)

Yeah lol so is mine, its pretty beat up

But anyways i think its a great book because it makes it easy to browse through the pages in alphabetical order, but its true that BS01 pretty much has the same info, i just think its great to have it in a hand held paperback book

You should take a read of it again when you can

 

 

Well, I took a look at it. I think it mostly comes down to how much you value having a physical resource. I don't have much of a preference either way, so I'm better off with BS01 because it's easy for me to access/use. But now I can can see how not everyone would think the same way.

[randomreviewerbros]

 

 

 

Well i have all of those and personally i think the best is the updated encyclopedia, it provides information on all things in the BIONICLE universe and it is very detailed i believe

 

It's not a bad book by any means (my copy is quite well-worn)

Yeah lol so is mine, its pretty beat up

But anyways i think its a great book because it makes it easy to browse through the pages in alphabetical order, but its true that BS01 pretty much has the same info, i just think its great to have it in a hand held paperback book

You should take a read of it again when you can

 

 

Well, I took a look at it. I think it mostly comes down to how much you value having a physical resource. I don't have much of a preference either way, so I'm better off with BS01 because it's easy for me to access/use. But now I can can see how not everyone would think the same way.

 

Yeah nice, i do look at BS01 often its a pretty nice and fairly easy to use site, especially love clicking on the featured page on their front page

[Cambion]

if you're looking for a good read, don't go with Encyclopedia Updated. it's nice for reference, but that's about it - and only up through 2007. i'd go with World if i were you, as it's written from an interesting perspective and has a ton of neat backstory. Rahi Beasts and Dark Hunters are alright, but most of the models in them are nothing to look at.

[Lyichir]

I've been debating which guide I should get. Help me out...

None of the above. Get Makuta's Guide to the Universe: more polished and featuring more new info that's actually relevant to the main story than any other guidebook.

 

If you already have that one and still want more, Rahi Beasts and the Dark Hunters guide at the very least have good pictures of MOCs and information that's not sourced from other material. The encyclopedias are fairly useless as almost all of their information is from other story material and Biosector01 does a better job of compiling it anyway.

[Sybre]

The Dark Hunters guide features an amazing concept and I like it much better than Rahi Beasts. Get Dark Hunters if you can.

[Boidoh]

I have no guides...

 

 

So I'm guessing it is between the Dark Hunter's one, Rahi Beasts, World and Makuta's Guide to the Universe

[fishers64]

Get Makuta's guide to the Universe. Just remember that the map of the MU in there is only semi-canon.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

My top choice would be Makuta's Guide to the Universe. That thing is fascinating. It's chock-full of detail and chronicles the first eight years of Bionicle. The layout is well-done, the writing is superb (aside from the huge error in the Federation of Fear excerpt) and the map of the Matoran Universe is just cool to look at.

 

I have the hardcover version of both that and Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna, and together they look great. AMEET knows how to design books - that's certain.

[Kaxix]

All of them are quite old so, as some members have already suggested, I'd recommend you the latest ones (Makuta's guide and Mata Nui's guide).

The encyclopedia is still an impressive book, but it is like reading a dictionary. If it is that what you are looking for, then that's a good choice too, but if I understand well your request, then choose one of the guides.

Bionicle: World is quite interesting, but it has a lot of general information that is not updated if you read it today.

[Boidoh]

Get Makuta's guide to the Universe. Just remember that the map of the MU in there is only semi-canon.

Why semi?

[fishers64]

 

Get Makuta's guide to the Universe. Just remember that the map of the MU in there is only semi-canon.

Why semi?

 

Because the Voya Nui on the map is too big.

[Boidoh]

Only because of that?

 

*edit*

 

*jaw drops on the floor*

 

The cheapest one is 30 USD,so I guess that is out of the question now...

Edited September 15, 2014 by Boidoh

[toa kopaka4372]

No love for Rahi Beasts? The models in it are awesome and the sheer creativity and variety of the Rahi mentioned inside make it more than worth it. The Metru Nui Guide is brilliant as well, both really go into their respective topics with a level of detail and depth that wasn't possible in the novels.

 

Makuta's Guide to the Universe and Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna are both must-reads, though. Some seriously great stuff in those two.

[25K Now!]

Dark Hunters is great, but yeah, grab Makuta's Guide.

[Sumiki]

Makuta's Guide and World are both worth your while. The others are rather bland.