It's a cool line, but I don't pruchase it because the story isn't as interesting, and the reason I started on Bionicle in the first place was actually because of the technic design it had back then and because the Mata Nui setting was as magical as the wonderful land of Oz.

Merida

It's a cool line, but I don't pruchase it because the story isn't as interesting, and the reason I started on Bionicle in the first place was actually because of the technic design it had back then and because the Mata Nui setting was as magical as the wonderful land of Oz.

 

Merida

Sure, stories a cool thing, but I don't think it should be the decider on buying a toy. You should buy it, based on whether you would have fun with it or not. I didn't follow the Bionicle story really much at all when I was younger, and I built up a nice collection. I made my own story. Really, all a story does in a way is limit you imagination.

I tolerate it. I but sets every now and again. Did so yesterday, but when I hate on it, it's usually for reasons outside of "It replaced Bionicle". Sort of.

Okay, there are elements of "it replaced Bionicle", but with good reason. When the 2010 sets came out, they were obviously a terrible step backwards for Lego. The sets were ugly, stunted, even the friggin' titans, the £15 sets had no elbow articulation which is just completely horrible design given that had been implemented into Bionicle in 2004. The story is painfully simple and I feel it just treats kids like they're stupid, especially when contrasted with the richer and more diverse Bionicle. Even in its earlier days, the story was a lot more interesting than Hero Factory. The villains were better thought out than "I just wanna be bad because I can be".

But yeah. it's not bad. I consider Witch Doctor to be one of Lego's best designed action figures, but when thinks do get awkward, it's cringingly so.

I kind of felt relieved when Bionicle ended. There was no longer any pressure for me to try and catch up with the storyline, which I had stopped following closely in about 2006 due to the mood shift in the story style. So when LEGO rolled out Hero Factory, I didn't really give it much of a glance. Some of the sets are cool, but it's not my thing anymore. I was 12 when Bionicle started, and I loved buying the sets and playing and building with them for a few years after that. When Hero Factory came out, I was 21 and yeah, my interests were much different by then.

I feel like the hate for Hero Factory is somewhat misdirected. LEGO didn't end Bionicle just so they could start Hero Factory, it's just the next Technic line they decided to roll out. There were Technic lines before Bionicle, too. It's still unfortunate for Hero Factory that it had to be the line that succeeded Bionicle, so people have pointed their hatred at it.

Hero Factory is a fantastic line and a worthy successor to Bionicle, at least in terms of set design and quality. In particular, the new building elements introduced with the Hero Factory 2.0 sets are glorious.

That said, obviously HF's storyline can't match Bionicle's, of course, but there is something to be said for a straightforward plot that isn't burdened by a massive, bloated storyline as a whole.

~B~

The HF sets are actually pretty cool. The pieces that they come with are nice. I believe that it's really underrated though. I don't know why people decide to hate it just because it "replaced" Bionicle.

I definitely don't hate Hero Factory. The sets are great; I'm grateful for the slew of new pieces they've provided. The storyline, however, is far too simplistic for me to enjoy -- there's nothing that makes me think. Whereas Bionicle was mysterious, intriguing, and vast, Hero Factory is simplistic and awfully straightforward.

That said, I find Hero Factory's story passable if only because it was obviously written for an audience younger than I am, and I can understand the troubles of writing for young'uns.

I like that it's different from BIONICLE, but still has a lot of the elements that made BIONICLE cool. Fresh set ideas, a lot of interesting media used to promote it, etc. It's just been fun watching it develop, and it does have some fantastic sets.

I like that it's different from BIONICLE, but still has a lot of the elements that made BIONICLE cool. Fresh set ideas, a lot of interesting media used to promote it, etc. It's just been fun watching it develop, and it does have some fantastic sets.

Do you have picture of the latest gen of them all. I want to see what the newer ones look like

The story is painfully simple and I feel it just treats kids like they're stupid, especially when contrasted with the richer and more diverse Bionicle. Even in its earlier days, the story was a lot more interesting than Hero Factory. The villains were better thought out than "I just wanna be bad because I can be".

I really don't get why this is a valid complaint about HF. Bionicle was an exception, not in any way the rule. Most LEGO lines are even worse in their simplicity than HF, yet it's the only line that gets a large amount of storybashing. (Space Police was almost exactly the same thing with an almost nonexistant storyline, but people loved it) So yeah, if you're complaining about HF's story, it's because it replaced Bionicle and so you feel the need to compare them. (Besides the villains in 2001 were animals)

I'm sorry but as a writer and a Lego fan, Hero Factory lacks something that SHOULD be there.

Any ideas? The plot.

Yea sure we had a small plot to the themes to EXPLAIN why they were designed but the stories themselves weren't whole, and when they had a backstory, it was like 2/3 times from the last 3 lines (not breakout) where it was like "oh he was a member but he became evil," or it seemed like it. It made me wonder, why? Now With Doctor HAD a decent backstory, but it was fully developed, by that I mean it was just, quaza....powerful resource. It could have been great but the way they portrayed it, wasn't very good.

Now on one hand, the sets are decent, however not complicated, which most themes are. It was simple when Lego began the building block phase, and it became more complex, which was awesome. However...this doesnt feel right. Yea BIONICLE wasn't as complex as it was in about 2005, but it should be more complex and not so hollow.

Yea it will be improved later on, but now...I have lost hope in it, mainly in its story. If this movie happens, I WANT a good story, then maybe I could be interested.

The stories have potential, but wasn't well thought out, if you have characters that became evil, or villain back stories, think a bit more instead of making them do enigmatic that's it like, "we no zip except either he met a heir before or was a hero but became corrupt or something,"

That's just my opinion, and truly, my only reason for not liking it.

I like that it's different from BIONICLE, but still has a lot of the elements that made BIONICLE cool. Fresh set ideas, a lot of interesting media used to promote it, etc. It's just been fun watching it develop, and it does have some fantastic sets.

Do you have picture of the latest gen of them all. I want to see what the newer ones look like

If you go to shop.lego.com (specific link here), you can see the latest Breakout wave, which is even more interesting than the first.

I'm sorry but as a writer and a Lego fan, Hero Factory lacks something that SHOULD be there.

 

Any ideas? The plot.

 

Yea sure we had a small plot to the themes to EXPLAIN why they were designed but the stories themselves weren't whole, and when they had a backstory, it was like 2/3 times from the last 3 lines (not breakout) where it was like "oh he was a member but he became evil," or it seemed like it. It made me wonder, why? Now With Doctor HAD a decent backstory, but it was fully developed, by that I mean it was just, quaza....powerful resource. It could have been great but the way they portrayed it, wasn't very good.

 

Now on one hand, the sets are decent, however not complicated, which most themes are. It was simple when Lego began the building block phase, and it became more complex, which was awesome. However...this doesnt feel right. Yea BIONICLE wasn't as complex as it was in about 2005, but it should be more complex and not so hollow.

 

Yea it will be improved later on, but now...I have lost hope in it, mainly in its story. If this movie happens, I WANT a good story, then maybe I could be interested.

 

The stories have potential, but wasn't well thought out, if you have characters that became evil, or villain back stories, think a bit more instead of making them do enigmatic that's it like, "we no zip except either he met a heir before or was a hero but became corrupt or something,"

 

That's just my opinion, and truly, my only reason for not liking it.

What I can glean from your statement is that you basically just want it to be more BIONICLE, and you want it to be targeted towards your age group. More complicated doesn't necessarily equal better, and this line is just different overall. Obviously the plot isn't particularly mentally engaging, nor does it have the intricacies of BIONICLE, but again: difference. That's why I like it.

2010 was good and all for the HF sets (the villains were top-notch) but it was definitely harboring way too much lingering sentiment towards BIONICLE, and the new building style definitely helped it come into its own.

I really don't get why this is a valid complaint about HF. Bionicle was an exception, not in any way the rule. Most LEGO lines are even worse in their simplicity than HF, yet it's the only line that gets a large amount of storybashing. (Space Police was almost exactly the same thing with an almost nonexistant storyline, but people loved it) So yeah, if you're complaining about HF's story, it's because it replaced Bionicle and so you feel the need to compare them. (Besides the villains in 2001 were animals)

Anything that has a poor story with little heart gets my complaints. HF just receives an extra dosage of it because it acts like it should have a great story. It has its own tv show, but the plot is just mindless drivel that you could find anywhere else so it's not doing anything to set itself apart from anything else. Exo-Force is another good example of a line that actually showed thought with its storyline, which shows that Lego is capable of it.

Also, yes they were animals. Animals wearing corrupted Kanohi, being controlled by a mysterious titan who actually had a reason to be "evil". Unlike Von Nebula, who just threw a hissy fit.

Can anyone tell me when the plastic quality started to get better?

2.0 or 3.0?

Axel:

It's more the story I'm complaining about. I mean they made it seem like it was gonnabe epic, the cover was awesome, but the article wasn't good.

Forgive my bad metaphor, but what I'm saying is it is similar to Banjo and Kazooie, and there disappointing sequel Nuts and Bolts. Now I know hero factory is no where near on the same line as BIONICLE, but my true complaint is the plot. Everything else like sets are good, but back stories, plots, stories have nothing good to them.

If I wanted it to be like Bionicle, I would have said, "it should be xyz, like in Bionicle" but I'm not am I?

I'm saying I'm disappointed in the story as a whole, if they can clean that up, I'll get into it more.

Marluxia:

I agree so much.

Can anyone tell me when the plastic quality started to get better?

2.0 or 3.0?

It has nothing to do with the plastic, which is actually the same as that used for ultra-breakable transparent parts like the Glatorian head. The secret is in the engineering. Post-2.0 joints have been redesigned. They no longer fit a technic rod through the ball cup, like the old ones did, but in exchange they are far more durable. Just keep in mind that some older parts which are still used still have not been remolded to have the newer, more durable joints, and even those which have been remolded do not always consistently use the newer style.

As for my opinion on Hero Factory, it's refreshingly simple after Bionicle, in both sets and story. The parts generally have a smoother, cleaner aesthetic, like an iPod, as opposed to Bionicle's more mechanical appearance. And the 2.0 shift to using ball joints as the primary attachment method makes MOCing easier. With only two Bionicle sets, a MOCist could easily run into issues whereby they ran out of essential technic connectors to attach armor plating to their model. But Hero Factory uses technic connectors sparingly, favoring ball joint, ball snap, and ball cup connections that lower the barrier to entry into MOCing communities. Now even amateur MOCs, while maybe not being the most creative or innovative, can still look quite attractive.

In terms of story, Hero Factory does have its struggles. The lack of a strong writing team leads to inconsistent or just poor characterization, and often underdeveloped plotlines. But what it lacks in characterization and plot development, it makes up for in worldbuilding.

The concept of a factory that builds general-purpose heroes opens up the universe to all sorts of stories and characters, without having nearly as many limiting rules as Bionicle had. I can't count the number of times I tried to design a Bionicle character, but had to radically redesign them as future storylines made their backstories totally incompatible with canon. With Hero Factory, the kinds of Heroes you could design and the missions they could go on were limited only by your imagination. The universe of Hero Factory is not contained like Bionicle's was, but rather is boundless, so creating a new planet for Heroes to explore is easy. Characters are easier to design as well, since the mass-produced nature of Heroes, as well as the implementation of elemental powers as individual to characters or weapons rather than constant to the universe, removes many of the limitations fans of Bionicle had on designing their own Toa. Lego took full advantage of the freedom the new theme offered in its first year, with web content like the Hero Factory hotline and Hero Factory FM which worried less about adhering to any canon than about generating engaging, often humorous situations that fostered creative interpretation of the universe which had been established.

So no, it's not Bionicle, and not all Bionicle fans can be expected to like it. But as its own entity, it has its own unique appeal.