Bionicle 2016 Set Names Discovered

[Bonkle]

 

 

I would rather have the same team of heroes for five years (with yearly costume changes/upgrades) than to put the main characters on a bus as soon as they start to show any signs of character development. Bionicle's repeated cycle of replacing its entire main cast was not an ideal to aspire to.

Yes, but with the reboot, there is no story. There is no development. I would be totally fine with never seeing Tahu again, because I have his 2015 toy. I can make up my own stories.

We haven't even had it for a year. You shouldn't make such completely negative predictions when all we have are names.

 

Ok, if we do get a story, we still don't need 5 Tahu toys. Give me new sets and keep the old ones in the story.

[Pahrak Model ZX]

But…there is story.  There are plenty of good reasons to keep the same team around, especially if we’re looking at the story aspect of things.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and considering how many people cite the rotating cast of G1 as a flaw, it stands to reason Lego will try something different for G2.

 

Not to say the concerns of buying the same character over and over don’t matter, but I think Lego provides a unique way to reduce that concern since each wave introduces new pieces and each iteration of a character can still look and feel very different and, well, worth the money.  That’s purely subjective, of course, but it’s still something to take into consideration.

[Lyichir]

 

I would rather have the same team of heroes for five years (with yearly costume changes/upgrades) than to put the main characters on a bus as soon as they start to show any signs of character development. Bionicle's repeated cycle of replacing its entire main cast was not an ideal to aspire to.

Yes, but with the reboot, there is no story. There is no development. I would be totally fine with never seeing Tahu again, because I have his 2015 toy. I can make up my own stories.

 

The 2015 Toa started out with more interesting characterization in their bios alone than the one-note Toa Mata got in ten years. And we haven't even had a single book yet! I've already grown to love the new Toa and the absolute last thing I want is for them to be replaced with a team of brand-new characters right when we start getting used to them and getting to know them better.

 

 

 

 

I would rather have the same team of heroes for five years (with yearly costume changes/upgrades) than to put the main characters on a bus as soon as they start to show any signs of character development. Bionicle's repeated cycle of replacing its entire main cast was not an ideal to aspire to.

Yes, but with the reboot, there is no story. There is no development. I would be totally fine with never seeing Tahu again, because I have his 2015 toy. I can make up my own stories.

 

We haven't even had it for a year. You shouldn't make such completely negative predictions when all we have are names.

 

Ok, if we do get a story, we still don't need 5 Tahu toys. Give me new sets and keep the old ones in the story.

 

And this? This isn't going to happen. The nature of a merchandise-driven story is that it focuses primarily on characters who can be obtained as toys. And while you might have four or five Tahus by the fifth year, a person who gets into the theme that year will want to be able to buy one too. The result is that if Tahu stopped appearing in sets, even if he didn't stop appearing in the story outright, he'd have to almost necessarily be relegated to a background or supporting role, like the Toa Mata were in the classic story. That's still a less-than-ideal situation that takes the heroes people have grown fond of and sidelines them for no reason other than a failure to make them interesting.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Lyichir

[Xarok]

Kopaka dies

RIP in peace

[Bonkle]

 

 

I would rather have the same team of heroes for five years (with yearly costume changes/upgrades) than to put the main characters on a bus as soon as they start to show any signs of character development. Bionicle's repeated cycle of replacing its entire main cast was not an ideal to aspire to.

Yes, but with the reboot, there is no story. There is no development. I would be totally fine with never seeing Tahu again, because I have his 2015 toy. I can make up my own stories.

 

The 2015 Toa started out with more interesting characterization in their bios alone than the one-note Toa Mata got in ten years. And we haven't even had a single book yet! I've already grown to love the new Toa and the absolute last thing I want is for them to be replaced with a team of brand-new characters right when we start getting used to them and getting to know them better.

 

I totally agree with what you said. I don't want them to be replaced, I just don't want more toys of the same people.

[Pahrak Model ZX]

Well, with a toy line, they kind of have to keep producing new toys for whoever stays in the story.  They're not going to keep producing the 15 sets once they start making 16 sets--it just wouldn't be efficient.  If they want to keep the Toa in the story, they're going to need a reason to release new toys of them every year (or two, maybe?).

Edited August 6, 2015 by Pahrak #0579

[Makaru]

I totally agree with what you said. I don't want them to be replaced, I just don't want more toys of the same people.

 

Then we have a problem, as the story exists purely to drive the product.

[Aanchir]

 

You do realize this is technically no earlier than we got the Toa Nuva, right? Bionicle came out in the second half of 2001 whereas the reboot started at the beginning of the year.

 

(Launch) 2001 Summer wave --> 2002 Winter wave --> 2002 Summer wave (When the Nuva came out.)

(Launch) 2015 Winter wave --> 2015 Summer wave --> 2016 Winter wave (Uniters.)

I get that part- all I'm saying is in Ninjago practically anytime anything major happens there is another set of costumes. I'm all for Toa upgrades, just not every other wave.

 

 

If you want to keep the Toa as the main characters of the story, you have to keep them on shelves.

 

If you want to keep the heroes on shelves, you can't release more than one wave of sets in between different versions of the heroes.

 

Stores need to clear out old stock to make room for new stock. If LEGO released a new wave of villains this year instead of the Toa, that would mean eleven villain sets on store shelves and no Toa sets at all.

 

In Ninjago, it could perhaps be argued that LEGO could keep releasing the same versions of the ninja with new vehicles and enemies instead of making new ninja costumes each wave. But in Bionicle, where the characters ARE the sets rather than just a small part of the sets, re-releasing the Toa in the same costumes as before would still require them to take the place of new characters.

 

Ok, if we do get a story, we still don't need 5 Tahu toys. Give me new sets and keep the old ones in the story.

 

Not really an option for a merchandise-driven franchise. If Tahu and his teammates were no longer available as sets, then they would not be able to remain the main characters of the story, because they'd just be pulling the spotlight away from the characters that are actually keeping the franchise profitable. Demote them to secondary characters and you risk alienating the people who liked them as characters and wanted to see them do more than run errands for the new main characters.

 

Plus, what would you have instead of Tahu and his team? New villains? Then you'd have kids frustrated that none of the story's main heroes are available for them to buy without paying inflated aftermarket prices. New heroes and/or supporting characters? Then each year you'd end up with less and less "screen time" per character, which means less and less room to develop ANY of the characters.

 

You're right that we (as fans) don't need new versions of Tahu after we already have the first. But new fans need some version of Tahu. A lot of the time, the new versions are for the people who DON'T already have one, same as new LEGO City fire stations and police stations. Keeping the first batch of Toa sets in production is not an option because retailers don't want to waste shelf space on older products. I know it can be frustrating, but this is the nature of any merchandise-driven franchise. Still, nobody's stopping you from just buying every other wave, or from only keeping one version of each Toa built and using the rest as parts fodder.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Aanchir

[fishers64]

I think the designs of the Toa will change in order to allow them to connect with their animals or with each other. 

 

Plus also, it's a balance. We ditch the protectors of last wave for all-new creature designs. So the all-new crowd gets what they want, and the story can stick with its main characters and promote them as sets. 

 

Personally I'm looking forward to the creature sets - I might pass on the Toa since I already have a full set of them. Jury is out on Umak and Kopaka's combo. Depends on the design - and the price. 

[Zidonaro]

Kopaka unfortunately slipped, but this time it was fatal. RIP.

[NickonAquaMagna]

I'm looking forward to seeing those new animals. I'll bet they'll make great companion pieces for the Protectors.

[Votuko]

Looks like all the Great Uniter jokes were used up before I got here. (It'll take a while to get used to Uniter being a positive title...) Flameo, I guess.

 

It seems a bit odd to emphasise uniting the elements, as in each element individually, when the premise of The Legend is that the elements should not be united with each other. I'd have thought that that could cause some confusion to younger fans.

I was going to make a joke about how Kopaka died because he accidentally united Ice with Melted Ice, breaking the one-element rule and exploding in a slushy mess but I shan't.

 

Regarding getting a new version of the Toa every year; I don't mind it as long as the new version looks different enough to the old version. (Give the six Toa released each year of G1 the same name each time and I don't think it would put anyone off buying the new ones each year.)

[Bfahome]

I wonder if Kopaka's going to be the leader this time.  That would be interesting.

[Bionicle Guru]

Well, I'm relieved to see Kopaka is not going the Matoro route and facing his destiny before next year's roll-out. The emphasis on him by placing him in what should be a larger set is long overdue. I always wanted Kopaka to be more in the limelight. Poor guy couldn't even get the Jetrax T6 all to himself thanks to Antroz.

 

 

I would much rather see a core group of characters evolve and have character growth, something Old Bionicle sorely missed.

 

Did I imagine following a completely different BIONICLE myth? The Toa Nuva definitely could be considered the "core group" of the first BIONICLE line. They were the main heroes from 2001 through 2003, and then they return to the foreground in 2008 after consistently coming up in the books and web serials in the two years prior to that. Granted, things went quite askew with the translocation to Bara Magna in 2009 and the truncated ending to the story in 2010 (not to mention the Metru Nui and Voya/Mahri Nui hiati), but it was never lost on me that they were undoubtedly the central characters of that universe, as far as we, the consumers, were concerned.

 

And character growth? Everybody likes to remember pre-2008, the Toa Nuva were just a squabbling, dysfunctional family that only got together when absolutely necessary and then parting ways, fussin' and a-feudin' in no time. But that is a poor, almost revisionist way to portray them. That is really only true of them from their transformation to Nuva in late 2002 to the end of the Mask of Light movie in Fall of 2003. You can summarize their development as follows.

• 2001: We are introduced to the Toa Mata, memories wiped (great stand-ins for the audience) who just discovered Mata Nui, its inhabitants, and their mission. While unsure of their past, they feel the power within them, and embark on their own quests. Some form alliances (Kopaka and Pohatu; Gali and Lewa), but in the quest for the masks, they understand and easily give into the urge to go it alone, often to their own detriment (i.e. Lewa gets infected). After finding them all and confronting Makuta and his guardians, they get a literal lesson in the power of unity through the Kaita and the simultaneous use of their powers against Makuta himself. Triumphant, they stand united to protect all Koro and Matoran.
• 2002: As a team, they investigate the Bohrok. Together, they stave them off, but upon understanding the need to collect the Krana, split up into small groups. They still run into problems (i.e. Lewa is Krana'd!), but help from each other saves them and is appreciated. At this stage, the Toa genuinely appreciate working and fighting with each other. Only after the Exo-Toa discovery and transformation into Toa Nuva is when we see the seeds of division. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the Toa get a taste of that once they realize their new forms allow them to defend just their respective Koro without the need of other Toa. Coupled with the fact that the team's leader was already a natural hothead, that arrogance will spread easily through the group, enflaming dormant annoyances between them. Comic #9, "Divided We Fall" featured the results of that, as well as hinting at the consequences for their actions
• 2003: Separate, the Toa Nuva are blindsided by the Bohrok-Kal. Powerless, they begrudgingly unite to track down the Kal and stop them from freeing the Bahrag. During this time, there is no reconcilliation, no discussion on the fact that, hey, maybe we need to stick together like we used to and stop bickering over unimportant boasts. It is important to note that this quest is actually pretty selfish. Sure, stopping the Kal will stop another Bohrok invasion of the island, but the Toa really just want their powers back for their sake, on their terms. I'm sure the Turaga the whole time were seeing echoes of their own experiences as Toa Metru during this time. Regardless, once they get their powers back, the Nuva are back to their isolationist ways. This is where we find them when another unexpected threat rises up, the return of Makuta and his Rahkshi. Again, we see in the comics and the movie that the Toa Nuva are not seeing the whole "unity" concept as worthwhile, but aside from the search for a Seventh Toa, the events of Mask of Light serve to finally make the Toa face the truth; that they need to work together again, or they will never achieve their destiny. That's why Tahu had to be the one this time to be infected. As their leader, he was the greatest proponent of keeping to your own village. But after being cured, he sees the light (pun? lol) and the other Toa* follow suit.

 

So, in summary, in the first three years, we get a bunch of clueless, but powerful heroes who discover how to work together, but as they gain more power through Kanohi and protodermis, they eventually get all big-headed and decide to go their own ways. But events on the island force them to face the fact that unity is their strength. They may still have their gripes with each other, but they are a team; a family.

 

I won't insult anybody's BIONICLE knowledge any further by recapping 2006 and 2008, but I do want to point out a few important events in the character development of the Nuva. In light of what happened in 2003, we see the Nuva in early 2006 heading to Voya Nui and running into the Piraka. This is a big moment for them, and I'm sad it was only told in the book, but it is a great example of how the Toa Nuva had changed from early 2003. They work together very well against the Piraka, combining powers and making strategies to counter the fearsome ex-Dark Hunters, but unfortunately, they are simply outmatched. The Piraka embody division, greed, and arrogance, and they literally tear the Nuva apart. It's sad to see Onua make his last stand, observing his fallen comrades around him, before falling before the Piraka as well. But that is how it should be. It's a lesson to us in the real world that sometimes, even when you have a great team, it just may not be as strong or ruthless as another group of individuals. You may not always succeed, even with the help of your friends and family, but you don't forsake those bonds. Like Tahu said long ago (it seems), "when wisdom and valor fail, all that remains is faith. And that can overcome all."

 

Finally, when we see the Nuva in the flesh (or plastic) in 2008, all those lessons have congealed to make for some very familiar, but developed characters. Kopaka is still a thinker and a bit aloof, but he recognizes and appreciates Pohatu's friendship with him. They are an odd couple, but neither would have it any other way. Tahu knows when to charge head-long into battle, and when to stop and think. Lewa is still carefree and humorous, but he doesn't let that blind him anymore to danger lurking in the shadows or just around the corner. He is wary, Tahu is pragmatic, and Kopaka is a friend. Greg Farshtey did a really nice job in the novels that year getting inside the Toa Nuvas' heads, showing how much they had changed, even though we as readers had not really spent a lot of consistent time with them in several years. The comics echoed this as well, and we even got backstory into where the Toa came from and a flashback to their early days training with Hydraxon. It allowed us to appreciate how far the Mata had come and make a full circle to their story. Through their duty, the Toa Nuva found unity. And with those two virtues combined, they discovered their destiny. I can't think how BIONICLE could've worked without them and what they went through over the years.

 

I'd continue with my thoughts on how such development can proceed (or has/has not proceeded already) in this new BIONICLE story, but I've already gone off-topic long enough, heheh.

 

*Some Toa, like Gali and Onua, always seemed to be more level-headed and understood the need to work together. But it seems neither had the capacity to convince the other Toa of this. One has to assume they were merely outvoted by the rest, or found it easier to not resist and add more contention to the mix, though Gali can clearly be seen to protest many times (Comic #9, Mask of Light: The Movie).

[believe victims]

re: "why would I buy a new Tahu when I already have one?": This is not uncommon in action figure franchises. Do I as an individual need a million different Optimus Primes? No, but Optimus Prime is a main character in nearly all Transformers media, so they need to keep him on the shelves. At least with the nature of Bionicle, we can be sure to have a new figure for Tahu, instead of the exact same mold with slightly different colors.

 

The needs of the market must outweigh the needs of an individual buyer. LEGO doesn't care how many Tahus you own; Tahu sells, so you get Tahu. If Tahu stops selling, they'll stop making Tahu... which means they will also stop advertising him, and he will stop being a protagonist.

 

Welcome to the world of toy-driven storylines.

[fishers64]

I always thought that Gali and Kopaka were the "paragons" of the team and any flaws applied to them didn't really stick. Gali's worst problem was her frustration over the fact that she was right, every single time. Kopaka's biggest problem seemed to be that nobody recognized how well he could kick enemies' tails, leading him to withdraw. As for Onua, his flaw seemed to be not being brave enough to speak up...but that flaw never really caused any problems. 

 

I do agree with a lot of BGuru's post though. 

 

Someone pointed out that the bios for the G2 Toa have the most developed characters in them. To this, I say that we haven't seen that in story at all, still. None of the animations have shown any of the itemized flaws having an impact, with the exception of Kopaka and maybe Lewa. It's all well and good to have a nice arena-methody character description, but it doesn't work if you don't incorporate that into the actual story. 

[believe victims]

Kopaka's biggest problem seemed to be that nobody recognized how well he could kick enemies' tails, leading him to withdraw.

 

We've been reading completely different Kopakas; I always saw Kopaka's biggest flaw being his own pride, which prevented him from accepting help from others even when he could not succeed otherwise. It was his belief that he was better than the others that lead to him being withdrawn, not the other's refusal to accept it.

[Toa Imrukii]

 

We always got Toa every wave in G1, and there were new outfits for all three teams (twice for the Mata/Nuva), which people didn't seem to have problems with at the time. I'd be much happier with new outfits exclusively for the standard six rather than a cast herd of Toa being introduced, to be honest.

 

Exactly. The alternative to having new versions of the Toa every year is writing them out of the story entirely. Or at least shunting them to the sidelines, which isn't much better, especially if it means you're just going to shove these unfamiliar characters back into the spotlight a few years later to confuse new fans.

 

There's a reason Ninjago keeps introducing new versions of its main characters: because they're the main characters.

 

but unfortunately these creatures seem to be working WITH the Toa instead of against them as like the Rahi from 2001.

 

Why is that unfortunate? I think it's awesome. I've been wanting animal companions for the Toa for YEARS (the only example we got in G1 was Toa Mahri Jaller's Hahnah Crab). Besides, it's entirely possible that the Toa will still have to find and tame these creatures before they agree to be their allies. Gotta catch 'em all and whatnot.

 

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

Edited August 6, 2015 by AidanBionicle1

[dotcom]

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

Well, as has been mentioned, it's entirely possible that the creatures will play antagonistic roles at the beginning, and will only become allies of the Toa after some trial or other.

Edited August 6, 2015 by farmstink buttlass

[Toa Imrukii]

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

Well, as has been mentioned, it's entirely possible that the creatures will play antagonistic roles at the beginning, and will only become allies of the Toa after some trial or other.

 

 

That is what we thought of the protectors originally so...

[believe victims]

 

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

Well, as has been mentioned, it's entirely possible that the creatures will play antagonistic roles at the beginning, and will only become allies of the Toa after some trial or other.

 

 

That is what we thought of the protectors originally so...

 

 

The Protectors weren't animals.

 

That, and a hypothesis being wrong in one instance does not disqualify it from being right in a completely separate instance.

[Toa Imrukii]

 

 

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

Well, as has been mentioned, it's entirely possible that the creatures will play antagonistic roles at the beginning, and will only become allies of the Toa after some trial or other.

 

 

That is what we thought of the protectors originally so...

 

 

The Protectors weren't animals.

 

That, and a hypothesis being wrong in one instance does not disqualify it from being right in a completely separate instance.

 

 

No, what I'm saying is that we thought that the protectors might have been the enemy's at the very beginning but that turned out to be incorrect.

[believe victims]

Yes, I know. Hence my statement that a hypothesis being wrong once doesn't mean it will be wrong under different circumstances. These aren't humanoids as far as we can tell, they're animals. Animals are often cast in antagonistic roles, even if they eventually end up as protagonists. It would not be unusual for the Creatures to start off in opposition to the Toa, but then be "tamed". Heck, given that this time around the Toa are Uniters, it would make perfect sense.

[Mendicant]

Kopaka is available in the Winter Wave!

 

Removed by request of LEGO. -B6

 

Searching this up on Lego Shop brings up a Product Not Yet Available Page. This was confirmed on the Sciurus Workshop Youtube channel.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Black Six

[Jobber]

Yes, I know. Hence my statement that a hypothesis being wrong once doesn't mean it will be wrong under different circumstances. These aren't humanoids as far as we can tell, they're animals. Animals are often cast in antagonistic roles, even if they eventually end up as protagonists. It would not be unusual for the Creatures to start off in opposition to the Toa, but then be "tamed". Heck, given that this time around the Toa are Uniters, it would make perfect sense.

I'm living a meme.

[Bonkle]

Apparently, Brickset had to take down their list of a ton of 2016 sets, not just BIONICLE. I wonder why we haven't been hit yet.

[dviddy]

Apparently, Brickset had to take down their list of a ton of 2016 sets, not just BIONICLE. I wonder why we haven't been hit yet.

Because that list and this list have very different origins.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

If Umarak isn't all australian-like i'll sue.

 

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

 

Bionicle, if you hadn't noticed, has never had six heroes and villains in the same wave.

 

that would either involve making the small sets the villains (pathetic villain-to-hero scaling, would need more swarm waves + no villagers/elders that year.) or, six medium sets in one half-year, which has, again, never ever happened.

[Lenny7092]

It's great and interesting that we got the names from the 2016 sets, but where are Kopaka and his Ice Creature counterpart? I hope Kopaka wouldn't die in the battle in the City of the Mask Makers. That would be devastating if that would happen.

 

There are some things that I suffered not having certain characters as sets lately:

2013: Hero Factory - not Stringer or Nex, no monster counterparts for them, no Brain-making mastermind

2014: Still no Stringer or Nex

2015: No Skull foes for Tahu or Gali and no gold-transparent-color-blended masks for them

I hope 2016 won't make the same mistake as these years. Hopefully, Kopaka and Ice Creature counterpart would come out as sets in 2016.

 

I hope that the creatures might be either G2's own Rahi or Bohrok, because when it comes to a second year of Bionicle, there are Bohrok. It happened on G1, so I hope the same goes to G2.

 

The Hunter, I am not sure, but it sounds like he could hunt for something or someone, probably the Creatures.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Lenny7092

[Bonkle]

If Umarak isn't all australian-like i'll sue.

 

 

It's unfortunate because I don't want the waves to all run the same 

 

6 toa

 

6 helpers

 

1 enemy

 

and 5 enemy sets in the summer.

 

I don't like that, I want 6 heroes and 6 villains in the beginning and 3 heroes and 3 villains in the summer if anything. (plus or minus a set in either the winter or the summer)

 

Bionicle, if you hadn't noticed, has never had six heroes and villains in the same wave.

 

that would either involve making the small sets the villains (pathetic villain-to-hero scaling, would need more swarm waves + no villagers/elders that year.) or, six medium sets in one half-year, which has, again, never ever happened.

But we already have that stone guy.... POHATU AS UMURAK CONFIRMED

[IXRollOutIX]

Hopefully, Kopaka and Ice Creature counterpart would come out as sets in 2016.

 

 

Why do people keep missing that Kopaka IS in fact included in this wave. Maybe the news post should be updated?

[Ektris]

Complete names right off the bat?

 

Neat.

 

Very, very neat.

 

Also intrigued by what the creatures will be. Always loved me a good Rahi before.

 

~|ET|~

[Toa Zaz]

Actual names!!!       Sure as @#$% beats the generic placeholder-sounding names from before.

 

My concern is that if they're going to redo the Toa, they can't really do new and interesting designs without a LOT of new and specialized pieces, which Lego seems very unwilling and cheap to do as of late. They've already made very "definitive" forms of the Toa in the first wave what with making them look very large and powerful and combining elements from their Mata and Nuva incarnations, so an upgrade would be hard though not impossible. CCBS is already generic enough as it is to some degree, almost like clone builds but on a far larger scale, and I'm worried we're going to be getting 5 Tahus that are virtually identical, which would be kind of lame.

 

Now, sticking with the same team at least story-wise (back when Bionicle had a substantial story  ) made sense and was successful back in gen. 1. But I don't want Hero Factory syndrome where we're stuck with the same cast and it gets really stale. I think I would have preferred new Toa  or else a villain wave like the Bohrok with the 2015 Masters still involved in the plot. But these Toa could look really cool, we'll see.

 

My other concern is that, due to this wave being identical in layout to winter 2015 and that we've still got two more powerful masks to collect so the next two years will presumably revolve around a mask hunt just like 2015, that we're going to get 3 complete cookie-cutter waves and premises with some generic mindless villains or something again, rather than anything even remotely creative like new stakes or drama. Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year, be it the location or the adversary or both, and was more interesting for it.

[believe victims]

But I don't want Hero Factory syndrome where we're stuck with the same cast and it gets really stale.

 

Hero Factory syndrome? Why not call it Harry Potter syndrome? Teen Titans syndrome? Lord of the Rings syndrome? Sherlock Holmes syndrome? The list of stories that stuck with the same core cast of characters throughout goes on, and on, and on. Almost like it's good storytelling or something.

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

[Bonkle]

 

But I don't want Hero Factory syndrome where we're stuck with the same cast and it gets really stale.

 

Hero Factory syndrome? Why not call it Harry Potter syndrome? Teen Titans syndrome? Lord of the Rings syndrome? Sherlock Holmes syndrome? The list of stories that stuck with the same core cast of characters throughout goes on, and on, and on. Almost like it's good storytelling or something.

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

 

But that's different. You wouldn't move away from Harry in a series about him and his quest, but in the magical land of BIONICLE where heroes fight villains, we can get more than one team. It's not called Tahu and Friends.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Bonkle

[fishers64]

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

 

I remember something about a hypothesis not applying in a different instance. The Bohrok and the Bohrok-Kal were identical, sure, but by the time the Mask of Light movie came around, 2003 was a whole lot different from 2002. 

 

I'm not sure what other villains you could be thinking of. I always thought the Piraka, the Barraki, and the Makuta of 2008 were very different villain teams, if that's what you're talking about. Especially setwise. Storywise, the Piraka and the Barraki had very different personalities and backstory, while the Makuta were completely different and about an entirely different goal. And that's not counting the vast changes of scenery between 2006 - 2008. 

[Bonkle]

 

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

 

I remember something about a hypothesis not applying in a different instance. The Bohrok and the Bohrok-Kal were identical, sure, but by the time the Mask of Light movie came around, 2003 was a whole lot different from 2002. 

 

I'm not sure what other villains you could be thinking of. I always thought the Piraka, the Barraki, and the Makuta of 2008 were very different villain teams, if that's what you're talking about. Especially setwise. Storywise, the Piraka and the Barraki had very different personalities and backstory, while the Makuta were completely different and about an entirely different goal. And that's not counting the vast changes of scenery between 2006 - 2008. 

 

Sick burn.

[believe victims]

 

 

But I don't want Hero Factory syndrome where we're stuck with the same cast and it gets really stale.

 

Hero Factory syndrome? Why not call it Harry Potter syndrome? Teen Titans syndrome? Lord of the Rings syndrome? Sherlock Holmes syndrome? The list of stories that stuck with the same core cast of characters throughout goes on, and on, and on. Almost like it's good storytelling or something.

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

 

But that's different. You wouldn't move away from Harry in a series about him and his quest, but in the magical land of BIONICLE where heroes fight villains, we can get more than one team. It's not called Tahu and Friends.

 

 

A series doesn't need to be named after the protagonists to be about them. See Transformers Prime, or Scrubs, or The X-Files. Point is, this time around, it seems clear to me we're looking at an actual core set of protagonists, not the constant switching that lead to the needless complication that killed G1.

 

I remember something about a hypothesis not applying in a different instance.

 

Oh, sure if you ignore all the context behind what I said, this makes perfect sense.

 

But fine, sure, the Mask of Light thing differentiated the year a bit. And, well, next year's villains are definitely shaping up to be a very different plot from the skull villains, because, well, we have animals, and some kind of hunter who will presumably be hunting them, and the Toa seem to be playing some kind of role of uniting. Regardless, their point about the GLORIOUS DIVERSITY OF G1 falls flat with a little critical thinking.

 

Point is, even if it wasn't a little early to proclaim next year a copy of this year, what we've seen so far certainly doesn't point to that being the case any more than G1 ever was.

[fishers64]

 

 

 

Old Bionicle changed things up significantly every year

 

Old Bionicle released literally the exact same villains two years in a row.

 

I remember something about a hypothesis not applying in a different instance. The Bohrok and the Bohrok-Kal were identical, sure, but by the time the Mask of Light movie came around, 2003 was a whole lot different from 2002. 

 

I'm not sure what other villains you could be thinking of. I always thought the Piraka, the Barraki, and the Makuta of 2008 were very different villain teams, if that's what you're talking about. Especially setwise. Storywise, the Piraka and the Barraki had very different personalities and backstory, while the Makuta were completely different and about an entirely different goal. And that's not counting the vast changes of scenery between 2006 - 2008. 

 

Sick burn.

 

Nah, more like a set of catches. It's actually a pretty crummy defense from me - I should have asked her what villain sets she was referring to first. My bad. 

 

My point was that releasing identical villains doesn't mean that Bionicle didn't change the game each time, and I made it kinda clumsily. Sorry about that. 

[Bonkle]

I'm throwing in the towel. Agree to disagree.