Toa Nuva vs. Toa Inika

[derhenson]

Which is your favorite Toa team? As the two main teams in the G1 story, I think they've racked up some comparable achievements. However, as their characters have developed (individually and as teams) they've become very distinct from each other, in their personalities, dynamics, and accomplishments.

Edited January 24, 2015 by derhenson

[Toa Smoke Monster]

At first, I thought this was a topic asking who would win in a fight between the Toa Nuva and Toa Inika.

 

Anyways, I prefer the Toa Mata/Nuva over the Toa Inika/Mahri, but I like both teams a lot. I just like the Nuva more because I see them as the 'main heroes' of Gen 1 Bionicle, since they were the first Toa team and were the main Toa team for the first three years of the story.

[derhenson]

At first, I thought this was a topic asking who would win in a fight between the Toa Nuva and Toa Inika.

Feel free to interpret it that way

Though, currently, the Inika are a member short compared to the Nuva...

Edited January 22, 2015 by derhenson

[Regitnui]

I headcanon Takanuva now hanging out with the Mahri more often than the Nuva, since they were all friends as matoran.

 

So since the Mahri have the only Av-Toa in the universe, they win.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Regitnui

[Pomegranate]

The Toa Nuva are brothers and sister, but the Inika felt like a real family, ya know? They're all super good friends and got along incredibly well from the start, and their journey to Voya Nui through epilogue of Mahri Nui was very dramatic, emotional, I think got me more attached to that team than to the Toa Nuva. They're just fresher and livelier, I think, and their lightning laced bodies and powers, organic masks, and underwater adventures were really cool and unique and I dunno, when I put them up I think I'd have to hand it to the Toa Inika because just being able to live up to match the Toa Nuva this closely is already a feat in itself. While the Toa Nuva have crazy nostalgia on their side, I happen to have equally strong nostalgia tied to the Inika, 'cause when I think of them I think of running up to my best friend in grade school waving a construction paper booklet I made to show him cutouts of the leaked "Toa Igniter", with their incredible light up weapons and transparent limbs, and the revelation that they were the same characters we knew as matoran in Mask of Light and MNOLG and such. Very powerful, joyous memories of discovery. So, yeah, Toa Inika take the cake on this one, but I wanna mention that it's very close! I really did have to think about it. 

[Ford]

I like the Inika/Mahri. Growing up, I connected with the Matoran more than the Toa and Turaga, and the six they chose for the Inika all knew each other well, all having been close friends for several hundred years rather than getting to know each other again immediately after being awakened (well, in terms of the Toa Mata getting to know each other...).

[bonesiii]

I nulled as I don't really buy the premise that one has to be better than the other.

 

their embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Piraka (which the Inika later dealt with handily) showed the Inika to be no mere rookies.

Keep in mind the Nuva were not given tools/abilities that were good matches to the Piraka, and the Inika were. It wasn't really about experience there. No doubt their experiences as Matoran helped, especially for Jaller and Kongu, but the Nuva were in a similar position, having been trained by the best, and having retained that training basically as "muscle memory." Had the Nuva had good tools for the job, they probably would have fared similarly to the Inika. Plus, the Inika were picked for their personalities, presumably, also being good fits for that task (hence it being their destiny and not the Nuva's), which doesn't imply they're better in general for any old task.

[derhenson]

I nulled as I don't really buy the premise that one has to be better than the other.

That wasn't the premise. I nulled as well because I don't have a preference myself, but as the poll shows, quite a few people do.

Edited January 23, 2015 by derhenson

[aldero]

The Toa Inika/Mahri are the definite winners. Why? I'll tell you.

 

Probably the number one reason why is Matoro. Matoro is the greatest, most noble Toa since Lhikan. He never wavered, he never gave up, and he was always loyal. He was not just a translator. Matoro is the hero who saved the entire Matoran Universe.

 

Also, they are just a better team. Since their personalities aren't as polarising (pun intended) as the Toa Nuva's, they can work as a team and overcome any challenge, be it vicious thieves, a light-powered Ignika guardian, former, mutated warlords, the master of darkness, or the death of the Great Spirit. 

[bonesiii]

 

I nulled as I don't really buy the premise that one has to be better than the other.

That wasn't the premise. I nulled as well because I don't have a preference myself, but as the poll shows, quite a few people do.

Then why no middle/unsure option?

[Zeb]

Despite the Toa Mata/Nuva being so nostalgic (which is funny, because I didn't get into Bionicle until it ended, so technically Tahu would be the only nostalgic Toa to me, and yet I feel nostalgic thinking about 2001, even though I wouldn't remember anything from 2001 even if I was somehow interested in Bionicle (or even Lego in general) back then.), I think the Toa Inika/Mahri were the best from a storyline perspective.

[Latrodectus]

I felt the Mata just had more diversity of personalities. I can tell you each Toa's distinct personality without a problem. None of them felt redundant. You had great dynamics like Pohatu and Kopaka that had characters bounce off each other. There were some problems like the over-emphasis on conflict, but at least each one was memorable. 

 

The Inika had distinct personalities as Matoran and I loved them as Matoran, but I almost feel like they melded together too much after becoming Toa. I can tell you their personalities as Matoran, but I have trouble telling you about them as Toa without referencing the stuff they did as Matoran. There's Matoro's great self-doubt and arc... And that's about it. Hahli particularly felt like a missed opportunity considering she was the main character of the second Mata Nui Online game and Metru Nui's chronicler. There has to be something interesting you can glean from that, but instead she's just generic McHero. 

Edited January 23, 2015 by Latrodectus

[fishers64]

I nulled because I honestly couldn't decide. I like 'em both.

 

Comparing them gets into headache territory - there's literally infinite aspects to compare. They're both very good Toa teams. 

[derhenson]

 

 

I nulled as I don't really buy the premise that one has to be better than the other.

 

That wasn't the premise. I nulled as well because I don't have a preference myself, but as the poll shows, quite a few people do.

Then why no middle/unsure option?

I added one and it took away all the votes, so people are gonna have to recast them.

[Takuta-Nui]

The Toa Nuva are brothers and sister, but the Inika felt like a real family, ya know? They're all super good friends and got along incredibly well from the start, and their journey to Voya Nui through epilogue of Mahri Nui was very dramatic, emotional, I think got me more attached to that team than to the Toa Nuva. They're just fresher and livelier, I think, and their lightning laced bodies and powers, organic masks, and underwater adventures were really cool and unique and I dunno, when I put them up I think I'd have to hand it to the Toa Inika because just being able to live up to match the Toa Nuva this closely is already a feat in itself. While the Toa Nuva have crazy nostalgia on their side, I happen to have equally strong nostalgia tied to the Inika, 'cause when I think of them I think of running up to my best friend in grade school waving a construction paper booklet I made to show him cutouts of the leaked "Toa Igniter", with their incredible light up weapons and transparent limbs, and the revelation that they were the same characters we knew as matoran in Mask of Light and MNOLG and such. Very powerful, joyous memories of discovery. So, yeah, Toa Inika take the cake on this one, but I wanna mention that it's very close! I really did have to think about it. 

You summed up my feeling about it very well. It isn't that they were better Toa, but it's almost as if the storywriters (and set designers of course) were able to take everything they had learned from the previous generations of Toa and write a new team that was as cool and compelling as they wanted. I feel they succeeded without denigrating the Nuva - in fact, the story twist of having the Nuva completely demolished by the Piraka served well to emphasize just how much the odds were against the Inika, making the reader more invested in their mission.

 

However, I'm thinking specifically of the Voya Nui arc. That obviously was when the Inika were meant to shine, so comparing them to the Nuva in the same year isn't fair. Comparing to 2003, however, when they were newly Nuva-ized and had to face the Bohrok-Kal and Rahkshi, I would give them a lot of points too. They finally figured out their team dynamics, resolved rivalries, and were able to work together to beat down their opponents and let the Toa of Light emerge.

[Owlexander]

Why not both? *audience applause*

[bohrokmaster]

Both (Nuva and Inika)

Edited January 23, 2015 by bohrokmaster

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

This is a tough question I don't know if I can answer! I love both teams a lot. I'll have to think on it...

 

I mean, nostalgia is obviously a powerful factor for the Mata/Nuva team, but the way the Inika/Mahri team meshed was quite endearing. Plus, their journey was a lot more dramatic and tragic and I felt more for that team of six than I ever did for the Toa Nuva.

 

But the Toa Nuva are really cool too...

 

Hmmmm

 

-NotS

[DuplexBeGreat]

I prefer the Mahri simply because their sets are far more enjoyable.  No double-handed weapons, not as much silver...

[aldero]

I prefer the Mahri simply because their sets are far more enjoyable.  No double-handed weapons, not as much silver...

 

I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one. The light-up weapons of the Inika were awesome, and they had a nice diversity of mask powers and colours.

 

The double-handed weapons and silver armour were great in my opinion, but that only applies to the 2002 Toa Nuva. The Phantoka/Mistika is where I'm going to have to agree...

Edited January 24, 2015 by Professor Turnip

[DuplexBeGreat]

When I said double-handed weapons, I meant a single weapon that has to be held by two hands, a la Gali Mistika.  I did not mean weapons that were duplicated and had one in each hand, a la Tahu Nuva.  Those I'm fine with.

[Banana Gunz]

No team is really "better" but I've always had more fun with the Inika. They were as cool as toa as they were as matoran and I really grew up on them. My first experiences with Bionicle were with the Mata, but the Inika were the ones that I got more exposure to and used to. I've always loved their characters, especially Matoro, my favorite character in all of Bionicle. They were just so interesting and cool to me! The Nuva are close though and I have some real sweet childhood memories with seeing them in MNOG their designs on the internet.

[Sir Kohran]

It's not surprising that many here favour the Inika, because at this point those of us who became fans in the first era are now rather few in number. But the fact that the Mata and Nuva were the characters whom I found Bionicle with will always put them higher than a group of characters that only appeared for two years (that were one story section stretched out) much further down the line. Plus I have a lingering bitterness about how they usurped what was for some time meant to be the Nuva's return.

[ALVIS]

Really, it's no contest -- both of them are soundly defeated by the Toa Metru.

 

But since they weren't an option, I voted for the Toa Nuva. Although I vastly preferred the Ignition saga to any of the years spent on Mata Nui, I will always have a soft spot for the first sets/characters that introduced me to BIONICLE. (The Toa Mata are also, incidentally, the only Toa team that I ever completely collected.) They didn't undergo very much character development, but that's fine by me, because I'm of the opinion that their personalities were nearly perfect to begin with.

[Danska: Shadow Master]

Got to be the Nuva for me. They were the ones I first knew and engaged with and honestly, I just like them more. Each one has a strong, distinct personality which represents the element they wield. They also had bright, vibrant colour schemes which again, represented their element very well. Something that bugs me about most Toa post-2003 is that, rather than looking at them and going "that looks like a Toa of fire!" you'd know they were a Toa of fire because they were mostly red, and that would be the only indicator. So in short, I like the Mata/Nuva because they truly felt like representitives of their element, rather than beings who happened to be able to use a particular elemental power.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Being that my span of Bionicle knowledge spans the first 3-ish years where it was Toa Mata/Nuva I don't think I could reply to the poll without some form of bias based on this. I don't know anything really about the other team other than they were supposedly the Matoran from McDonalds.

[DuplexBeGreat]

I don't know anything really about the other team other than they were supposedly the Matoran from McDonalds.

Minus Macku and Onepu.

 

Also, "supposedly?"  What does that mean?

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Well it means I have no first hand personal knowledge of the fact. I am going on what others have stated. being that I have only seen a couple of the movies, (and not sure how they tied in if at all), the first online game off lego.com and just my own interpritations of the sets I had. I have not dove deep into each movie or read any of the books or comics so yeah... The only knowledge I have and you have already debunked by stating that two of them were not even Toa. Was that the original Matoran were this new Toa team...

[fishers64]

Really, it's no contest -- both of them are soundly defeated by the Toa Metru.

This gives me a picture of the Toa Metru fighting the combined forces of the Inika and the Nuva. 

 

Although I do strongly agree with what you were really trying to say, I must admit that the odds of the Toa Metru against either of those teams in battle are not particularly high. 

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Kind of makes me wonder why the Toa Metru weren't included in this poll. The story spanned three generations of Toa, which is really cool if you think about it.

 

-NotS

[derhenson]

Kind of makes me wonder why the Toa Metru weren't included in this poll. The story spanned three generations of Toa, which is really cool if you think about it.

 

-NotS

When I made the poll I had forgotten, for a moment, about the Hordika arc. With that, the Metru spanned as many main story years as the Inika so, really, they should have been included.

 

My bad.

[Latrodectus]

Got to be the Nuva for me. They were the ones I first knew and engaged with and honestly, I just like them more. Each one has a strong, distinct personality which represents the element they wield. They also had bright, vibrant colour schemes which again, represented their element very well. Something that bugs me about most Toa post-2003 is that, rather than looking at them and going "that looks like a Toa of fire!" you'd know they were a Toa of fire because they were mostly red, and that would be the only indicator. So in short, I like the Mata/Nuva because they truly felt like representitives of their element, rather than beings who happened to be able to use a particular elemental power.

I disagree. While 2008 obviously had a terrible color scheme for Tahu, every other year did pretty well at demonstrating what element the Toa of Fire represented; Vakama had a flame-designed disc launcher as a Metru and translucent flame weapons as a Hordika, Jaller had trans-orange pieces with a fire-designed sword as an Inika and an awesome orange and dark red color scheme as a Mahri.

[DuplexBeGreat]

I disagree. While 2008 obviously had a terrible color scheme for Tahu, every other year did pretty well at demonstrating what element the Toa of Fire represented; Vakama had a flame-designed disc launcher as a Metru and translucent flame weapons as a Hordika, Jaller had trans-orange pieces with a fire-designed sword as an Inika and an awesome orange and dark red color scheme as a Mahri.

Yeah, Fire did a pretty good job of it, but look at Hahli.  In her Inika form, there's nothing watery about her other than her color, and in her Mahri form, she had wings.

[ALVIS]

 

Really, it's no contest -- both of them are soundly defeated by the Toa Metru.

This gives me a picture of the Toa Metru fighting the combined forces of the Inika and the Nuva. 

 

Although I do strongly agree with what you were really trying to say, I must admit that the odds of the Toa Metru against either of those teams in battle are not particularly high. 

 

 

Well, that's true: in terms of direct power level, both the Toa Nuva and the Toa Inika are substantially stronger than the Toa Metru. My preference for the Toa Metru, as I'm sure you anticipated, is derived from their unique and appealing personalities, dynamics, and characterization.

 

However, here's something to consider: the Toa Metru often won their battles by deducing and exploiting their enemy's weaknesses, and/or by setting creative traps and ambushes, whereas the Toa Nuva and Toa Inika often just fought the enemy head-on. Given the right circumstances, the Toa Metru might be able to defeat those Toa through guile and ingenuity alone. Still, there are a lot of variables to be considered, so it's hard to say who would actually win.

[Archon~]

I think that we've witnessed Toa Inika/Mahri's + Takanuva's development throughout the whole story. Like they all had interesting personalities as Matoran, and these Matoran grew into hardened warriors and were changed by their experiences. Idk, they just seem more relatable. I was never too much of a fan of the Toa Nuva honestly. They were too... Flat.

As a comparison, I see the Toa Nuva as classical heros (think Superman: perfect, noble, brave, "royal"), while the Toa Inika/Mahri/Takanuva are modern heroes ( think Spiderman: ordinary, casual, rose up to heroism under special circumstances). This makes the Mahri relatable, and IMO I feel that they are more or less the main characters.

[Tatterdemalion]

If we're comparing the Nuva and the Inika, the Inika would get my vote. Better characterization and better sets, not to mention that I really enjoyed the 2006 arc. However, the Mata would be pretty equal with them. The color and classic sets, not to mention the excellent setting of 2001 are tied with 2006 as my favorite years. I've never liked the Mahri.

[MrMan289]

Sorry Kopaka, your matoran friend Matoro JUST BEAT YOU

[Sir Kohran]

Kind of makes me wonder why the Toa Metru weren't included in this poll. The story spanned three generations of Toa, which is really cool if you think about it.

 

If the Inika had taken over from the Nuva full time after the Metru Nui flashback, I'd agree, even if I'd have missed the Nuva. But instead, the jostling between the Nuva, Inika and Takanuva to be in the main character spotlight made the story for the Ignition years a bit messy, in my opinion.

[Tamarutoe]

their embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Piraka (which the Inika later dealt with handily) showed the Inika to be no mere rookies.

I'm pretty sure Greg called the defeat a fluke... Or maybe it was the Makuta.

 

I still went with the Inika though. So much more interesting.

[derhenson]

If we're comparing the Nuva and the Inika, the Inika would get my vote. Better characterization and better sets, not to mention that I really enjoyed the 2006 arc. However, the Mata would be pretty equal with them. The color and classic sets, not to mention the excellent setting of 2001 are tied with 2006 as my favorite years. I've never liked the Mahri.

The poll deals with the characters themselves and not the sets. Otherwise I would have placed it in "Bionicle Discussion".