NickonAquaMagna

What you said about TV and books kinda reminds me of the head honcho at 4kids saying kids don't read... but that's just me.

Hey guys, just doing a quick update.

I have two chapters of Nova Orbis' first arc written down, and I'm working on the third. When I finish these, I will link to them in my Deviantart gallery, if that's okay. That's where I upload all of my comics an' whatnot.

In terms of art, it's still in the early stages. I have a good idea of what I want most of the characters to look like, but it's just taking a while to finalize their designs.

However, here's some of what I've whipped up so far.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/356/6/a/bionicle__nova_orbis__various_new_pieces_by_nickinamerica-d6yweld.png

When I design the Toa for this story, I want it to be plausible for them to have a canister set counterpart. You may recognize this leg piece, or that armor piece, but for the most part, I'm also trying to add to those with new pieces.

No, there will not be a character with such a crazy color scheme. These pieces are color-coded so they'll be easier to tell apart.

The yellow armor pieces are just a little something to bulk up figures, kinda like the various shoulder armor in the 2009 sets, and some pieces introduced in Hero Factory's Breakout line. As you can see, they fit over a Toa Metru leg quite snuggly. Probably not an Inika leg, but hey, there could be a different size made for that. This piece was inspired by the armor introduced later on in the Knights Kingdom line of buildable figures.

The bright green head piece was partly inspired by the frankly quite bizarre head piece introduced in Hero Factory's brain attack line. As you can see, it is compatible with both Kanohi masks and Glatorian helmets.

The cobalt foot piece is designed to double as a sort of backpack, both to bulk up the flat Inika build torso and to give a place to store weapons like the Toa Metru did. You can already do this with the Inika feet, to an extent, though haphazardly. This piece is more streamlined and "filled out" and simple-looking than most feet, mainly to fit with the whole theme of the new generation being less mechanical than in the old days.

The dark green stomach piece is also compatible as thigh or shoulder armor, though it wouldn't look quite as good, that way.

Before we get to the other chest armor, notice the Inika backbone piece? Well, I've designed a slightly smaller backbone piece to go with it, so that not all of the Toa look the same in terms of their build (heck, I may also make a "super-sized" backbone piece). It's also more versatile than the normal Inika backbone, as it doesn't already have balls protruding from all sides of it.

The bright blue chest armor is made to be used in, well, a few different ways. Rightside up, is fits into the smaller backbone piece. Upside down, it fits over the Inika backbone. The hole in the center can easily fit a Barraki eyeball, or the classic lego stud, made to look the glowing "heartstones" characters had in the old movies. As you may guess, it can be used for female characters, but that isn't its only use, nor does it have to be used that way.

The orange chest armor is wider than the blue one and made mainly for the Inika build. It can fit over the two Inika chest pieces, but also fits over the blue armor piece, which looks something like ribs when flipped around.

The new hip piece leaves out the kibble that the Toa Metru hip piece had. The lack of the pistons above the hips adds clearance for, say, a Toa Metru chest piece (colored cyan, to the right) to slide over as a sort of crotchplate, or just to bulk the figure up a bit... from the rear. Huh. You can already kinda sorta do this with the Toa Metru hip piece, just to make the build more sound and life-like, but it doesn't feel right. This hip piece also comes in three sizes.

The grey pins with the ball joint on the end would make is a cinch to create a hunchback character, like Onua. Just stick it through the front of the chest piece(s), and bam!

Anyway, that's it. This should give you some idea of what some of the characters in Nova Orbis may look like, as Toa. I'll come up with some new leg pieces, more armor an' whatnot, but that's it for now.

That's it for now!

Feedback is appreciated.

Well, there are things I love throughout all of these years, but you'll see which one is my favorite at the bottom of the list.

2001- The story was simple yet edgy. It was easy to be sucked into and the characters, while simple, were endearing and memorable. The sets were great, both in quanty and quality. The Toa, Turaga, Mctoran, Rahi, and a plethora of combiner models really fleshed out the LIFE of Bionicle's world in a very short span of time. Overall, for a line that needed to make a good first impression, this did more than that.

2002- The story ws... okay. It introduced us to elements that we couldn't comprehend at the time, yet would brilliantly come into play in later years. When the Bohrok say "clean it all", they're essentially trying to wash Mata Nui's face. But hey, there was no way for us to know that at the time. In terms of sets, the Bohrok were VERY cool and innovative, still some of the coolest villain sets to this day. The "titan" sets were cool, and the Toa Nuva at the end of the year were just great.

2003 was... eh. There are things I love about this year, but I just think some things were kind of out there. However, in terms of SETS, it was a great year. The Rahkshi were, like, the coolest things ever at the time, and some still kinda sorta include the Toa Nuva since there were released SOOOOOOOO late in 2002... in which case, yeah, more great sets.

2004... we'll get to that in a little bit.

2005- This year had some small things that I feel were necessary, but on the whole, I don't like this year that much... in terms of story or sets. While this did stand out ats the darkest year up to that point, a lot of things felt more than a little forced. As for the sets, the Visorahk were pretty cool, but the titans were just okay and the Toa hordika were... blegh.

2006- Now THIS was a great year. The story were really going somewhere, now. The scope of the universe was expanding at a downright explosive rate, and there was this crazy feeling that we really were venturing into new territory and couldn't be prepared for ANYTHING that would come our way, which would only INTENSIFY throughout the next two years as they continue to relentlessly build up more and more momentum. The Piraka, as some have said, were actual CHARACTERS, and while the story was, at times, even darker than 2005, there was still that good sense of adventure that had kind been missing in recent years. Having a bunch of characters we were familiar with from "the good ol' days" return didn't hurt, that's for sure. The sets were pretty great, all around. Axxon and Brutaka were REALLY cool, the Piraka were... also cool, and the Inika... oh, how we all went crazy for the Inika at the time. Not since the Rahkshi were sets so popular.

2007- This is where things, while still expanding, were starting to come together again, here and there. The tone was perhaps the darkest it ever got, mainly due to the setting, and the villains. I love the whole concept of the Barraki, of them being these ultra-uber bad dudes who'd been exhiled to and lurking in the darkest corner of the world this whole time, all the while these other stories had been going on. The situation was as tense as it would ever be, and there was no way to know how things were going to turn out. At this point, things were kinda getting out of hand, enough to turn some people away, but seeing Makuta enter the fray again helped ground the story so that old fans would stick around to find out what he'd do next, and just what he's really been up to all along, and Gali Nuva's blog also helped, showing that even after their crushing defeat in the previous year, our old heroes were still there... and probably always would be. I feel that, at this point in Bionicle's life, such elements were needed. The Barraki were great sets and... well, the Toa Mahri kinda suffered, but were still okay. The Titans were awesome, especially Maxillos (Makuta), still to this day being one of the greatest Bionicle sets in general, and the only one who could shrug.

2008- The story was great, with a sense of finality as everything came crashing together, building up to that epic revelation, not to mention the coolest setting we'd seen in a long, long time. Seeing old favorites finally return after all their side-questing in the previous year was wonderful, and having other Makuta featured as the main villains, well, it would be difficult to top that. In terms of sets, I think the first wave as solid. While I wish the Toa were more colorful, their builds, while basic, were very strong and heroic looking... like these really were the Toa in the absolute prime. The Makuta were FANTASTIC, all looking powerful, and surprisingly unique despite using the same torso. However, the second wave was REEEEALLY week. Takanuva was an amazing set, and most of the vehicles were great builds... however, the canister sets of the summer wave were just so underwhelming and... kind of hard to look at, compared to the winter wave. The Makuta was much less powerful looking, though Krika was still decent, and the Toa... yeah, buy this point, it felt like they'd completely run out of ideas. They weren't even using the overrused Inika build, then... they'd downgraded to a more Piraka-esque build, and not only were the summer wave Toa EVEN LESS colorful than the winter wave Toa, but their weaponry was less inspired and the masks were downright ugly. Overall, they were just... unappealing. I got every single canister set in the winter wave... yet I skipped the entire summer wave, saving my money for Takanuva, Jetrax T6, and Axalara T9. It was money well spent. Overall, still a great year with a strong start and a strong finish, though it got a little weak around the middle.

2009- Pretty good. I really liked this year, despite some shortcomings. The story was opening new doors while shedding light on things that, even throughout 2008, were still a mystery, and I did like the setting and culture. Seeing what our old heroes were still up to in the ongoing online serials made the transition to a new setting easier, and the new material was a strong basis for the new setting. In fact, in some ways, it had a very "back to basics" sort of feel. The sets were pretty good, though the quality really varied. I liked that they were, overall, much more colorful than in recent years, and had much more character and flair, and there were even some pretty fun new builds. The weapons were AMAAAAAAAAZING, and in my opinion, some of the most beautiful ever made. In terms of sets in general, though, there were a few bad apples... such as vastus. Still, the sets in general were good, and the vehicles were great.

Overall, I feel that 2009 gets a bad rep that's reeeally hard to justify.

2010, on the other hand... Whatever...

After that, I continued the follow the serials until they were abruptly put on indefinite hiatus.

Overall, 2004 has become my favorite year, just BAAAAARELY up there with 2001. This is where things really took off. The setting was amazingly beautiful, the story was tragic, and the sets were very good. The story was great because we got to see familar characters in a new light, struggling to save what little they could in the time they were given as they LOST THEIR ENTIRE CULTURE. The movie, City of Legends, is perhaps the only Bionicle movie that I'd call a legitimately good film, and not just a fun but goofy kid's flick or toy commercial. In terms of sets, the Toa Metru are some of my favorite Toa ever. They were much more poseable than in previous years, while still retaining what I like to call "slizer engineering", and refining it to its peak. Being both functional and BEAUTIFUL, I see the Toa Metru as the ideal halfway point between the classic Toa Mata build and the later Inika build. The Vahki were pretty cool, the Titans were memorable and fun to build, the Matoran were really cool... overall, just a great year. The quality, engineering, and artistic flair of the sets, along with the emotional weight of the movie, made this the best Bionicle year, in my eyes. I may not quite have felt that way at the time, mainly feeling... confused by the direction this was taking and where it may go from there, but still enticed, noneetheless, and I've only come to appreciate it more in time.

But hey, that's just me.

Woah, this topic wound up featured on the front page? I'm... I'm flattered.

Anyway... some look forward to 2015, hoping that Bionicle will return. While I think it's possible for that to happen someday, I honestly don't think this is that time. But again, as I've said, I just hope that whatever it ends up being, it's something inspired and interesting and immersive and all those wonderful things that begin with the letter i... yeah...

I hope it's something new that smacks you in the face with how cool it is, something to be truly EXCITED about... like back in that day, you know? Whatever name it goes by, if it has the same spirit that made Bionicle so good back in the day... that's all I need. I just hope Lego understands that.

Well, to clear things up, I really just mean something with the same... "wow" factor.

I mean, I'm gonna be honest. I find Hero Factory to be one of the most DULL things ever produced by Lego, in terms of the story. Most of the sets are decent, to me, save the Brain Attack line, but as for the story, something is missing.

With Bionicle, when you bought a toy, that wasn't all you were getting. You also got this huuuuuge world to go with it where everything was so alive and INTERESTING. But with Hero Factory.... I dunno.

I mean... Hero Factory FM was amusing an' all, but come on. I get it that "they're keeping it simple for the kids so it's easier for them to understand", but... that's the problem. The morals are too clear cut, the world is too spic an' span, the villains are too silly, and the story... well, there is no story. There just isn't anything INTERESTING, here.

With the appropriately named Breakout line, it SEEMED like they were finally gonna get the ball rolling. The story was picking up, with the introduction of "anti quaza" and intriguing implications that someone was going to make a "Villain Factory"... perhaps Von Nebula, himself.

But then, they killed any momentum they might've had by releasing Brain Attack... and now, Invaders From Below.

It's a collection of non-storylines that aren't nearly as compelling as Bionicle was, even in its worst years. And as some stated earlier in this thread, the reason Lego's being so lax with this line is because... well, they can afford to. They very comfortable right now, financially speaking, so they don't need to make some crazy cool story or setting to draw in the fans, because the toys are enough for them to get by. The only way they'll ever make anything truly inspired and, well, GOOD is if, by some chance, they HAVE to make something that could save them in dire straights, like Bionicle did.

Anyway, I'm going to remain optimistic about whatever line they plan to introduce in 2015. Whatever it is, I just hope it's got more substance than Hero Factory.

Again, I like the Hero Factory Toys, to varying degrees, and some would say that should be all you really need, but... I still find it kinda sad that that's all there is to it.

I'm not really sure what the debate you, Primis, and the others here are having is really about (return or not? Or method of handling a return?), having skimmed some of the giant posts earlier

Actually, no. It's about whether or not we'll ever see Lego pour the same passion into a construction figure line as they did with Bionicle, because they sure haven't with Hero Factory. But hey, whatever new line we'll get in 2015 will hopefully be something more interesting than Hero Factory.

Thank you. Sorry to say, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post updates, because I have other things to work on, but I'll try to have a new chapter online every coupla' weeks, if I can. Right now, I'm just looking for support from other diehard Bionicle fans.

Time Trap could EASILY make a movie with a little trimming, so the story is more self contained, which, for the most part, was already a major strength of the book.

Guys... sorry to make this comparison, but when you read something like the Hobbit, are you expected to have read The Silmarillion beforehand, and know about every little thing in the universe before actually getting into the story?

No? Well, that's how some of you make it sound with Bionicle. So what if most of the story is super complicated and hard to understand if you try to process it all at once? Is it really too much to ask someone to just... start at the beginning and slowly work their way up from there? Like, play the MNOG, read one of the early books, and just keep going if that manages to get them hooked?

Aanchir, I kind of understand what you're getting at, but... I just don't see how that's a problem. I don't see how the sheer weirdness of a story like this is somehow a bad thing. It doesn't tell me that Bionicle isn't that good. It just tells me that people are too narrow minded and timid to appreciate such material.

I doubt it. If a big company leaves a product, it's gone for the greater good. Lego simpy won't bring back Bionicle for the sake of the other products, from what I know.

But I'm not talking about bringing Bionicle back. I'm just talking about something that's as... well, good.

Like I've said, the Barraki and some of the other figures were great. I just don't think there was enough of that.

Maybe you didn't feel the same way, but I was always excited when there was a new line with new figures to build. The thing about lego in general is, well, there's just more that you can do with the lego bricks. It's very rare that you see two traditional lego sets that look alike. Unfortunately, Bionicle was never that versatile. I think a better word for the Inika torso would be... "basic". Streamlined, easy to use. Efficient in that way. But I don't need as many Inika backbones as I've got laying around.

Did you guys read the books in 2005?

I read some of them. They had some great moments, like when the Zivon was gobbling up the Visorak. It was such a huge, crazy scene to imagine playing out in a movie or game or something. It was just a really crazy time.

My favorite book would have to be Time Trap, though.

I think that they dropped the ball on 2005 a little. It did seem a little rushed, but I like how Vakama betrayed the group. Added some spice to the story. I also liked the Visorak, but 2005 just felt like there was something missing. I can't put my finger on it. I don't know what it is, but that's just how I feel. To me, 2005 feels like a shadow of BIONICLE's overall potential and seems like a largely forgotten year. Like fishers64 said in the post above this one, it may have been better. I liked the darkness of that year, but it was too simple, I guess. I think that's what's missing, a better plot! The overall basis was okay, it just needed a better story! Think about it. 2001 features a couple plots wrapped into one. Quest for the masks, stopping the Rahi, and defeating Teridax. 2004 was heavy with little storylines within it. That's what made those years even better. Now look at 2005. Just one little plot: stopping the Visorak horde and returning to normal. When you sit on that for a minute, that sounds like a little boring. All of you are hungrier for storylines that lived up to the potential of 2001 & 2004, right? Don't you agree with me?

Honestly... I NEVER liked seeing Vakama betray the others. Even the first time I watched it, on the day it was released, that movie just left a bad taste in my mouth, like "That would never happen."

I still like SOME things about the movie, but the whole Vakama thing is just.. unnatural. In Greg's recent interview with TTV, he said something very enlightening. "You can't make a character do something they don't want to do".

In other words, it was EXTREMELY out of character for Vakama to "turn". He's just such a pure soul that he shouldn't be any more likely to be corrupted than the rest of the group. The higher-ups MADE Greg take that direction, even though he protested against it. Up to that point, he'd written Vakama in a way that just made his later actions make no sense at all, because it wasn't something Vakama would do.

I think they wanted to draw in Star Wars fans because Revenge of the Sith was released that year, which also featured a protagonist turning to the.. well, you know.

The thing is... spicing things up doesn't make a story actually GOOD. So... sorry, but I don't agree.

Are you asking what would happen if the entire Web of Shadows storyline was cut, or just the movie?

Its entire story, though mainly the movie. Supposedly, Greg never wanted to take Bionicle in that direction.

The thing I take issue with a lot of Inika torso complaints is that for some people, if seemed that the only thing that would seem "new" were sets made from new pieces. That's not how LEGO is supposed to work. New pieces are fine, but not when they're being used for variety alone. For this reason, I actually greatly disliked the Phantoka Makuta torso. It was NEW, but it was also big and clunky -- basically an Inika torso that was drastically inferior when it came to versatility. Other than its one intended function, the launching of Tridax Pods, it did not create a lot of new building opportunities. In contrast, the builds I really admire are ones that instead use existing parts in creative new ways, like the custom torso designs of Furno Jet Machine from Hero Factory or Strakk and Kiina from BIONICLE.

It just gets kinda tiresome to go through the motions of attatching a hip piece to a backbone piece, slappting a chestplate over it and calling it a day... you know?

One thing I find sad is that there WAS a point where Hero Factory finally started to get some momentum. The Breakout line's story ended with implications that someone wanted to make a "villain" factory. THAT sounded interesting. As shallow as Hero Factory is, there was a point where it was finally going somewhere!

.... but then they killed any momentum that might've had and are going back to endless non-storylines.

And with Chima... geez. I don't get why Lego just keeps shooting themselves in the foot, these days. They're playing it waaaay too safe.

I'd say Ninjago is just the right balance of playfulness and substance. Why they can't do the same for Hero Factory or Chima, I have no idea.

I'm pretty sure the S&T forum is for talking about stuff in the storyline itself, not theoretical Ignition movies... (although for what it's worth, I've got to agree that an Ignition movie would be freakin' awesome, I've always wanted to see that.)

Maybe try the Media forum?

Oh, sorry. My mistake. Yeah, I guess this just isn't concrete enough to be in this forum. Is there a way for me to move this there, or do I have to delete this thread and repost it?

Oh great... I just realized I mispelled "if" in the title. What do I do?

Sorry I'm late to the party, but this is something I've wanted to say for a while.

In the end, as happened with the Inika build, it gets to a point where I feel like I've already built this figure 30 times. No matter how many new shoulderpads were designed to dress them up with, the figures just started to get old, after a while.

Looking back at the early years, with each line like the Rahkshi and Toa Metru, yeah, figures like that were clones of each other, but at least they were a new kind of figure. It just became a simple matter of picking your favorite color.

When the Inika were first released, fans thought they were AMAZING. We loved the Inika because, well... they were a new kind of figure, at the time. That made them interesting. In 2007, the Barraki were really cool because, while they weren't a new set of clones as we'd seen in past years, they were interesting because of how much they mixed things up. The Toa Mahri were... okay, but not as innovative as the Barraki.

2008, like the year before it, had a really strong start. The Makuta were unique, like the Barraki, AND, they were, to an extent, NEW. The three Toa we got in that line... they weren't that new, but they were still pretty cool. The Mistika line was kind fo a step down. Takanuva was a great set, but the Makuta were decent at best, and the Toa were just... hard to look at. This is where it began to feel like they'd run out of ideas.

In 2009, things got better. The sets were more colorful and had a stronger identity to them. There were low points, like Vastus and Tarix, but there were also more creative builds such as Skrall and Kiina. What made most of the characters stand apart from each other, more than anything else, though... was their shoulderpads. That's pretty sad.

As for Hero Factory, I've completely skipped over the Brain Attack line. Didn't get a single figure this year. HOWEVER, I DO have my sights on Furno's mech next year.

You know why? Because it's NEW! ...kinda

I think Hero Factory's new building system is great... but I would like to see something new, or at least a new torso build and some new armor plating. There's a lot that can be done with this line, and I don't think they're really making the most of it.

Again, though... as taxing as it may be for the Lego Company to make truly new figures, it's such a thrill to have a brand new kind of figure that you didn't already build last year. Can anyone be blamed for wanting that?

The man himself, Greg Frashtey, has stated that he resents the whole Web of Shadows storyline. Apparently, the Metru Nui arc was supposed to end after one year, but after putting so much work into crafting the setting, the rest of the team wanted to stay there a while longer, to make the most of their work before moving on to a new setting... so they added this non-story that, while okay, was reeeeeally forced.

THAT SAID, I'd say it was still worth it for Time Trap. That book is where Bionicle, as we know it now, really took off.

I'm sure some of you have heard that they'd originally planned to reveal the Mata Nui robot resting beneath the island from the very beginning, possibly at the end of the first year, before realizing how much more they could add to the line and to the story. Needless to say, Bionicle has gone through a lot of changes over the years, but the drama surrounding Web of Shadows is the most interesting to me, because I feel this was a pivotal point in Bionicle's run.

In the early years, they got a contract for three movies. Only three. Some have wondered why they didn't make more for such a long time, but here's how I think things could've gone differently. See... I think three movies may have been all they needed.

I think the plan was to change things up with the first movie while introducing elements that would come into play later on. Metru Nui's story arc, if contained in that one movie, would provide backstory for a lot of things. and then, the third movie... well, without Web of Shadows in the way, there's only one place to go to, isn't there?

Just imagine a movie that begins in Metru Nui, with the city being rebuilt by the Matoran, and the characters from the first movie interacting with characters like Turaga Dume. Imagine hearing Scott Mcniel as Tahu again, along with the rest of that crew. Imagine seeing them take on the Piraka, or a similar villain, and being defeated, only for Jaller and the others to come save the day.

Granted, if given the same treatment as City of Legends, we may see big chunks of the story of the Bionicle Legends novels chopped out, but I can still imagine enough of the essentials being there.

One scene I would've loved to see would feature Jaller being forced to give up his Kanohi Hau and replace it with Kanohi Calix in Karzahni. Just picture him reflecting on the history of the mask, and showing how ashamed he feels to disgrace the memory of one of the greatest Toa who ever lived, only to BECOME a Toa, himself, shortly after, and resolve to live up to the name of his friends and Toa who came before him.

There are soooo many cool things like that they could've done to end the trilogy if only they'd been able to move on. I mean, 1st movie- Mask of Light, second movie- Mask of Time, 3rd movie- Mask of Life... kinda seeing a pattern of stories that center around some mask or other. Kinda fits, really.

I think, if such a movie came to be, it may have very well ended with the Mask of Life being used to revive Mata Nui. Maybe not wake him, but then again... yeah, maybe. Maybe Makuta would eventually reform from his antidermis as the movie went on, and take on the Toa one last time.

In the end, while I'm glad to have Time Trap, along with Roodaka,Keetongu, the Shdaowed one, the true depth of Makuta Teridax as a character, and all the material that would be expanded upon in the years following 2005, I still can't help wondering how things would've gone if that last movie had been different.

What I mean by this is... will we ever see Lego pour the same passion and, well, budget into a toy line that could make it take off the way Bionicle did way back when, at least when it comes to construction figures?

Let's think about just how much Bionicle had going on when it began. Okay, so... you have the six main figures. All right, so we have our main heroes. Then you have the Turaga. Okay, now we have a source of exposition and myth-building, along with there now being twice as many masks as before. Then you have the "McToran". Okay, looking good! now the place feels populated. Then you have not only the main Rahi sets... but their combiner models. All right! That'll flesh things out a bit.

But then, on top of the actual sets, there were the comics, the CDs that came with the figures, AND probably most important of all... The Mata Nui Online game. In my opinion, this is what made Bionicle what it was. The guys at Templar studios not only made a fun game, but they managed to squeeze soooooo much lore into it, and they did a great job fleshing out the LIFE on the island, really giving Bionicle its identity. I must again refer to the McToran, who came in so many crazy color combinations that you were always meeting new faces. And some time later, came another very important contribution... the master builder 15-in-1 rahi set. This was a potluck of all the animals that appeared in the MNOG, along with a bunch of new ones, and this, along with all the previous Rahi, their combiners, the Toa, The Turaga, and the Matoran just made Bionicle EXPLODE. It was more than just a toy line, it was ALIVE. And in the years that followed, we'd see other stunning places like Metru Nui come to be, but I don't think such things would've been as likely to pass if Bionicle didn't begin the way it did.

Now, looking back... I don't think I've ever seen Lego produce anything else with that much life in it.

Well, to be fair, they do seem to have put a lot of passion into Legends of Chima... at least in terms of its world, if not the writing >shudder<... but in terms of buildable figures, well... I think you can see where this is going.

Okay, so, Bionicle- Toa, Turaga, Matoran, and a huge whopping pile of Rahi.

Hero Factory- Heroes, Villains, a hover ship, and a motorbike.

...Compared to the former, the launch of the latter was kind of a step down.

Granted, there was also a Hero Factory game, but all you really do in it is just shoot stuff over and over and over until the game itself loops. Aaaand then there's also the show, but... come on.

Iook, I don't want to give anybody the wrong idea. I don't hate Hero Factory. In fact, I really LIKE it as a toy line (most of the time. Brain Attack was.... ugh), but I could say the same thing about Bionicle. I could say the same thing about the Slizers, and the Roboriders. No matter what name they go by, I'll probably always enjoy Lego's construction figures. But none of them will resonate with me the way Bionicle did. And that's not just nostalgia talking. When you bought a Bionicle toy, you were also getting this whoooooole world to go along with it. It was an ADVENTURE! Compared to it, Hero Factory's world seems so small despite spanning almost as many planets as a Ratchet n' Clank game.

What I think made Bionicle resonate with kids of the time more than the Slizers did, and Hero Factory does now, is that it had a strong BASE. It had a great foundation to build upon, and that's why it sold, and GREW, as explosively as it did. Let's say it didn't have that... let's say it was just the six heroes, a few Rahi, no story, and that's it. Sure, the toys would've been cool, but the line wouldn't resonate like it did. It would be the same as the Slizers, Hero Factory and so on. Nifty toys, but that's it.

For some reason, the guys at lego just don't seem to have the same drive for the toys they're making now that they did at the turn of the millenium. I guess Bionicle was the sort of thing that could only happen once, and that's what makes it so enduring. That said, I think it's pretty safe to say Hero Factory won't go on forever. And whenever it goes, I hope Lego doesn't give up on buildable figures altogether. Not only that, but I hope to one day see them produce something that once again has that PASSION and life injected into it, something that really leaves a mark. And contrary to the title of this thread, I don't want it to be a Bionicle clone... just something that could stand as strongly as it did.