Nato G

Well, Lego doesn't always go out of its way to advertise new themes, which might have been why it was barely advertised in 2001? But that TV idea is awesome. I'd love it if that happened. All aboard, the hype train is leaving the station!

Sorry, yeah, I was trying to make a similar point, but I guess it didn't come across so well. What I meant was that because Bionicle did turn out so well, and wasn't a mess like one would normally expect of a rushed, desperate theme, that it wasn't a result of mere desperation.

"Desperate men make mistakes", and Bionicle sure wasn't a mistake.

Yeah, those themes are "good", but I would argue that Bionicle qualified as "great". No other theme that I know of has lasted a decade, and has had such an in-depth, complex and meaningful storyline to it. Bionicle was unique.

People make claims like that every time a leak happens, and it's not true at all. The truth is there's not much the LEGO Group can do to prevent leaks. The LEGO Group needs to send images to business partners, external contractors, and retailers in order to launch any new product. So yes, the images are being intentionally released — but they're not supposed to be released to the public. That only happens when one of those contractors, business partners, or retailers happens to have an employee with ties to the LEGO fan community and shares the image with them. And unless the employee who broke their non-disclosure agreement and showed the image to the public can be identified, it's not like the LEGO Group or their direct employer can stop them from doing it again. Okay, I didn't realise that. I was working under the assumption that all of these images were leaked by the same person. After the first wave of images came out, I remember reading a few posts on this topic from people who claimed they knew the person behind the leaks, so I assumed that Lego must know who they were as well. On the plus side, if there really is nothing Lego can do to stop it from happening, it means that, just like you said, we'll probably be seeing more leaked images before any kind of official announcement. Yay!

I think it will be announced with the rest of the new 2015 lines. How long until that happens?

I think it's already a forgone conclusion for the majority of the community here that Bionicle will be making its long-awaited return. The only thinking we don't actually have is genuine confirmation from Lego itself. This is actually kind of annoying me, to be honest, because I think Lego has an obligation to its community to address these rumours in some way or another. If the original leaked image really did come from within Lego, then surely they would have done something to stop it from happening again. Except it has happened again. For me, this means that Lego is letting these images be leaked, perhaps to get an idea of what the community response may be.

Which would be completely idiotic, because if they had actual legitimate leaked images of a new constraction theme there'd be no point editing them like that. As a new theme it'd generate no shortage of hype on its own. I think BIONICLE's return is basically guaranteed by now. It's astonishing the logical leaps some people are making just to avoid getting their hopes up. I know what you mean. Which would be completely idiotic, because if they had actual legitimate leaked images of a new constraction theme there'd be no point editing them like that. As a new theme it'd generate no shortage of hype on its own. I think BIONICLE's return is basically guaranteed by now. It's astonishing the logical leaps some people are making just to avoid getting their hopes up. The only thing that mkes me hesitent, is the fact that they used the old logo. Although it could just be a placeholder until they develop a new one, it would seem like they would create a new logo. Or perhaps they're keeping the old logo to bring in the old fans?

Just read something on the Lego forum where a guy said he recognised some new parts on the leaked images because they'd just been revealed on some of next year's sets at Comic Con, meaning the leaked images can't just be MOCs, because no one had access to the new parts. Makes you wonder, doesn't it...

With each year of Bionicle, we were presented with a new wave of antagonists, while keeping some (if not all), of the heroes, and it was all part of the overall storyline. HF was always a bit too simplistic for me. It felt like a bit of an insult to Bionicle's legacy. Where Bionicle had a brilliant, complex, intriguing story, HF was as simplistic as a lot of other Lego themes. It lacked what made its predecessor great. I want the return of Bionicle to still have the same feel as the original, the depth, the mystery, heroes who I could sympathise with, villains who were actually EVIL, not just for the sake of fulfilling a role, but because they had genuine wants and needs. Bionicle created this whole other alternate universe that I could understand and enjoy being part of. I'd prefer a continuation from where the original left off, but anything that keeps those same characters, and that same sense of belonging for me would be welcome. And yes, this is ten-year-old-Bionicle-fan-boy me talking here... He's an old friend of mine who I have missed dearly.

Sorry, I should have put in a paragraph spacing between those two ideas. I would like to see some of the guns come back, but the bringing back what made it great was meant to be separate idea. I'm not entirely certain what it was that made Bionicle great, to be honest. It just had a certain unique flair to it that is distinctly lacking in HF, and I'd like to see that come back. It was discernable in the sets, the story and, well ,everything about Bionicle really, and I'd like to see that make a return. I don't want the new Bionicle to look and feel exactly like HF with Bionicle masks. I realise I'm rambling here and probably not making a whole lot of sense, but... meh, whatever.

A Bionicle Epic chronicling the life journey of Icthilos,the "cold-hearted" Toa of Ice, who, after forsaking the Toa code and setting out on a vengeful quest agaisnt the Dark Hunters who wiped out the rest of his Toa team, struggles for survival on the newly reformed Spherus Magna. The review topic for this story can be found here: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/13921-review-topic-chronicles-of-the-cold-hearted/ Chronicles of the Cold Hearted Part 1 – New World “Well, we’re out. Now what?” Takadox asked mockingly, glaring across the boat at Icthilos, who was still trying to get water out of his ear. Above them, the mighty, several-million-foot tall form of the Mata Nui robot, now ruled by Makuta, rocketed into the sky. Debris still rained down into the oceans of Aqua Magna, sending up huge plumes of water than then cascaded back down, re-flooding the boat that the pair of them had only just managed to bail out. “I said…” Takadox began again, impatience twisting his features, his voice muffled slightly by the breathing apparatus covering his pincered mouth. “I heard you,” Icthilos replied distractedly, “I just don’t care about what you’re saying.” “For a Toa, you’re really quite rude, you know that? You have some serious attitude problems.” Takadox said conceitedly, folding his multi-joined arms and glaring at him with his bulbous red eyes. Icthilos didn’t meet his gaze. He’d seen the hypnosis ability that Takadox was capable of, when he’d ordered their Matoran guide to drown himself after it had become clear that there weren’t enough provisions left for all three of them, and he didn’t want to let Takadox try to do something similar to him. “You can talk about attitude,” Icthilos countered, “as I recall, you sold out your allies to the Makuta. You see where your efforts got everyone.” He pointed to the receding form of the robot. “You aren’t seriously blaming me for this?!” Takadox exploded angrily. “That’s low, even for you. And from what I’ve seen so far, you’re pretty low.” “I’m so low, in fact, that your insults really don’t effect me.” Icthilos scowled, “Or maybe I’m still ignoring you.” Before Takadox could come up with a comeback, a chunk of something indiscernible spiralled downwards and ploughed into the water nearby, generating a wave that buffeted the boat, threatening to capsize it. “Remind me why I agreed to this!” Takadox spat, unfolding his arms and grabbing onto the sides of the boat to avoid getting tipped out. “You were desperate.” Icthilos replied evenly, reflecting on the events that had led up to this. Chasing up some rumours he’d heard on Metru Nui about a tunnel network that had once led from the surface island of Mata Nui to the submerged interior of the robot, he’d tracked down a Po-Matoran who’d been willing to lead him through them in the hopes of escaping the “Makutaverse”. He’d discretely let rumours circulate about his plan, in the hopes that others may join him, but the only one who’d shown up was Takadox, fleeing from those who wanted him dead. Strangely enough, there were a lot of people who wanted Takadox dead. The journey had been a success, and they’d made it out through some orifice in the face of the robot – the nose maybe, or perhaps the mouth – but after falling all the way to the surface below, the boat had nearly been destroyed, and most of the food and provisions had been lost. It had only been thanks to the gallons of water raining down from the sky, and Icthilos’ own ice powers that they’d survived the fall at all. It had been then that Takadox had persuaded the terrified, desperate Matoran to commit suicide, and while he certainly hadn’t agreed with the idea, Icthilos had let it happen. He owed no loyalty to the Matoran anymore. He owed loyalty to no one. “So, you know my story…” Takadox tried to change the subject, “but I know nothing about you. You’re a rogue Toa of Ice, that much is obvious, but Toa don’t go rogue without reason. What’s yours? And, come to think of it, why are your Toa tools built into your armour?” “My team were wiped out by Dark Hunters and I couldn’t do anything to help them.” Icthilos sighed. It seemed he might be stuck with Takadox for a while, so there was no point in trying to keep secrets from him. “I lost my weapon; it was shattered in the battle, and couldn’t channel enough of my power without it to be of any use. I barely escaped with my life, and they all lost theirs. I found some friendly Nyrah Ghosts and had my sword and shield built into gauntlets that I could wear over my armour, so that I wouldn’t lose them again. One day, I intend to destroy the Dark Hunters, all of them, for what happened to my team.” “Wow, that’s deep.” Takadox said mockingly, peering about at the endless blue expanse lapping around them. “There’s no landmasses on this planet.” He said pointedly, ripping off his breathing mask. “I might go for a little swim.” He managed to wheeze, before diving over the side. Icthilos watched the creep from the deep swim away beneath the boat, and sighed to himself. A few centuries ago, he never would have dreamed that he would be consorting with the likes of him. But then again, he never would have dreamed that the entire universe was actually contained within a giant robot, or that Makuta would somehow take control of said robot. How time changed one’s perceptions of what was possible… * * * Hovering in the water deep below the boat, Takadox seethed with anger. He was used to being in control, manipulating every situation and individual to suit his purposes, yet here he was relying on some vengeful rogue Toa, stuck on a largely unfamiliar planet with little to know hope of escape. He was about as far as one could be from controlling the situation. He swum downwards, enjoying the freedom of being able to go where he wished, at least for now. Sooner or later, he would have to return to the boat and formulate a plan. The small amount of food they still had wouldn’t last forever, and he had no idea where to find more on this planet. They needed to make what little they had last for as long as possible. Maybe if Icthilos were to meet with some kind of unfortunate accident? But Takadox knew he would need some kind of weapon to stand even a slim chance of success, and right now, he had nothing. Something glittered in the silt and mud below him, and kicked down to get a better look. It was their dead Matoran guide, who’d sunk like the stone whose element he represented. But what was that in his pack? Takadox dug through it and found a long jagged knife. Perfect. Tucking it into the back of his armour, where it hopefully wouldn’t be noticed, Takadox began the journey back up towards the surface. Now he just needed to wait until the right moment. * * * Time passed, and it was Takadox, more attuned to the tides and currents of the water, who was the first to realise that something was happening. The giant planet in the distance was moving towards them. “No.” Icthilos leant forwards where he sat, frowning at the encroaching celestial mass. “We’re getting closer to it.” Sure enough, Aqua Magna was moving inexorably closer to Bara Magna. And Bota Magna, hovering in the distant beyond Bara Magna, silhouetted by glowing stars, was moving too, it seemed. But how? Why? Almost as soon as it began, the movement slowed, and stopped, and the planets began to drift once more. “Well…” Takadox said hesitantly after a moment, “that was…” A shuddering shockwave rocked the planet, and it began to move once more, much faster, plummeting from the sky towards where, they now saw, the Makuta robot was facing off against another, slightly smaller machine. “What’s going on?!” Takadox shrieked, completely losing it. This situation was so far beyond his control it defied belief. One giant robot had been a chilling revelation, but now there were two of them? And they were fighting? The smaller robot was clearly losing, and now stood, head down and shoulders hunched, smoke pouring from ragged tears in its battered, dusty armour. Then, abruptly, it lurched forward, shoving Makuta backwards, right into the path of a planetary fragment that must have broken off one of the falling celestial bodies. The impact rocked Makuta’s stolen body, and his head crumpled in an explosion of divine white light. It fell, and the planet below was rocked by the impact. And then the two planets slammed into Bara Magna, and the world rocked once more. Icthilos threw his head down as the ocean churned beneath them, and bit back a curse as Takadox went flying, soaring past his head. When the waters settled and Icthilos brought himself to open his eyes, he was confronted by the sight of a wave of golden energy that washed over the newly reformed planet, healing it. Takadox, bobbing in the water nearby, tore off his breath mask as his body began to change, healing the mutations that the pit had cursed him with. Icthilos helped him back on board, and the pair of them stared out across the ocean to see, surprisingly, a shoreline now in sight. “What just happened?” Takadox croaked, examining his new/old body. “I have no idea, but I think it’s time we found out.” Icthilos declared, digging one of the oars out from under the seat and tossing it to Takadox. He took the other for himself, and together, the two outcasts set off towards the shore of the new world. To be continued…

http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/13919-chronicles-of-the-cold-hearted/ The review topic for my Bionicle Epic "Chronicles of the Cold Hearted". Feedback/criticism/suggestions/ideas are all welcome.

Is this before or after he became a giant robot? Actually, I don't think it would matter either way.

My turn: Any Toa of magnetism, electricity or gravity versus pretty much any HF character I think you can all see where this is going.

If you're a Bionicle diehard like me, the result of this fight is probably already a forgone conclusion, but in a fight between Bionicle and Hero Factory, who would come out on top? Feel free to discuss any matchups you want, but I'm voting Bionicle all the way.

Ever since I first started listening to the Sahmad's Tale podcast, I've always sympathised with his character, and his tribe in general. So I'd probably want to be him, or perhaps an iron Glatorian from his tribe, if there actually are any.

I understand they'll likely be keeping the same building system, what I meant is if they could make some new armour pieces and stuff reminiscent of the original Bionicle. HF has been getting progressively shoddier these past few years; they keep reusing the same parts without making much that's new. Bionicle had a certain... flair, I guess, especially leading up to 2009, where all of characters were very unique with their own personalised body shape, armour, etc. HF basically uses the same body for everything, as far as I know (I gave in to despair and stopped buying the sets, so I can't be certain). In a revived Bionicle, I'd like to see some of the classic projectile weapons brought back: midak skyblasters, nyrah ghostblasters, thornax launchers and all the other fun stuff. More vehicles and mounts like we encountered on Karda Nui and Bara Magna would be nice to see as well. I've also found that they tend to cut corners with the HF sets, making the limbs shorter then covering then up with bulky armour, reducing the maneuverability of the sets. Yes, it's more versatile, but it has a far reduced range of motion. Bionicles had longer, lankier limbs, which made them a lot more maneuverable and pose-able. HF sets are built like armoured robot tanks, which fits with their storyline, but that's not what Bionicle was like, so something needs to change if they want it to be reminiscent of the original. If they're going to bring back Bionicle,they need to bring back what made it great to begin with. Rant Over.

2009-2010 was supposed to have a more complex storyline, with the Baterra, and the element lords, and probably more besides that, but most of the story got cut short by Lego. That's why it felt rushed. And yeah, I'd hate it if they simplified the storyline and made it a HF remake. The depth and complexity of the Bionicle storyline was something I really liked about it. But I also hope they change the building system to be less like HF and more like the old Bionicle. I don't want just HF sets with Bionicle masks. Except the prequels were made after the original story. I understand the point you're trying to make, but the reason you don't need to watch the star wars prequels to understand the original trilogy is there was no plan for a trilogy series to begin with. they would have been in real trouble if they made a set of movies you had to watch movies that wouldnt be released until twenty years later to understand it. it's not impossible for it to come back as a continuation, no, but if you're making a decision as far as making a line as accessible as possible for a new audience, a reboot is more likely to draw in new fans than a continuation. That's a fair point, but I think people have already raised the main issues with a reboot in previous posts on this topic. One quick google search would completely ruin all of the surprises. So I think it'll either be a stylised continuation, or a complete rewrite rather than just a rebooted remake.

See, I still disagree that it's impossible for Bionicle to come back as a continuation. If done right, it could be made to work. It's like watching the original Star Wars trilogy without ever seeing the prequel. It's all about what information is considered important. You don't need to see the prequel to understand the original. It would all depend on what story points they choose to continue, and which ones they choose to condense or drop altogether. It can be done. EDIT: I just hope if it is a continuation they stop adding more characters and do something about getting rid of some of the others. I think part of the problem for why Bionicle got so convoluted was the Toa no-kill policy, which led to most villains from every year surviving and needing their own story to explain what happened to them afterwards. I'd prefer it if the revived theme continued where the old left off, and started reintroducing the old villains, then dealing with them in some kind of more permanent way. The villains were great; my favourite part of Bionicle, in truth, but if hardly of them ever get properly defeated, it becomes problematic. To be honest, this is just me wanting to see all of my favourite villains get remade, like the Barraki without their mutations, and the Golden Being as a set, and TSO as an actual set rather than a combination model. But it would also be nice to see some decent combination models.

And... where are you getting this information? I'm pretty sure Lego hasn't said anything about this yet. Yes, what I believe was said was "a new constraction theme would be coming out in 2015". The word "new" can be taken a lot of different ways. I interpret it to mean "new" as in "not Hero Factory", not "new" as in "a new theme altogether." I was half-convinced. Good going there. But don't do it again. Although good job. But don't do it again. @NatoGreavesy The citation leads to a Eurobricks dead link. :-/ Does it? I was wondering why it didn't work. Thanks. When I checked that page a few days ago, it said "a new constraction theme is rumoured to be coming out in 2015", but when I checked it today, it said the thing about Bionicle instead. What I meant about the reference was that I couldn't find a reason supporting the sudden change. It is a community site, so maybe someone just changed it, or maybe they know something we don't.

Okay, if all of the awful jokes are over with and the trolling is finished, can we focus on news regarding this rumour. Please? Speaking of which, it seems that Brickipedia has decided that the rumours are enough confirmation for them. http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/2015 All it says is that "After being discontinued in 2010, BIONICLE sets will be released", but there seems to be no other references to back this up.

I legitimately felt my heart break when I read this... I felt all of my hopes and dreams fall away and I completely died on the inside... at least until I got to that end bit. That was cruel, but funny. Well done.

Wow... Just wow. I knew someone would start circulating fake images sooner or later, but they could have at least tried a little harder. But if you compare those obvious fakes to the images that have been leaked so far, it's pretty apparent that if these leaks are fake someone put way too much effort into it. Hence why I stand by my statement that the original leaked images are legit, and that Bionicle will indeed be making a return at long last.

Okay, I guess all we can do now is wait. With the sheer amount of leaks and such, I'm ready to jump aboard the hype train, but it's kind of difficult to discuss anything because of the leaks policy. All we can do is wait for some kind of official statement from Lego.