Tyrion Archer

Oh, and also this.

Furst is pretty great at naming tracks. If he decides to release the music from the second Coliseum escape, I think he should name it "Let's Hope This Thing Floats". True. The end credits medley also has part of another cue from around that point in the movie. Still, I'm hoping we'll get to hear the remastered versions of the remaining tracks at some point (if they were remastered). It'd be cool if he uploaded them to SoundCloud, but it would be even better if they were released in an EP that also included any tracks left out of the Web of Shadows soundtrack (unless the Web of Shadows release is more complete).

I never thought I’d see the day. An actual, official soundtrack release for Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui. This album is everything I’ve ever wanted. One of the best and most underappreciated film scores of all time is finally accessible as a stand-alone product, and sounds better than ever in its remastered glory. Easily my favorite music album of the year (and this year’s had some pretty great music). I realize that not everyone has gotten around to listening to it yet, but to those of you who have and feel like sharing: Do you have a favorite track or favorite set of tracks from the score? If so, what are they? If you remember some of my posts from a few years ago (back when my username was IAmGroot) you may already know what my favorite track is. It is, of course, “Island of Mata Nui”. I believe this to be one of the most beautiful and epic pieces of film music ever. The whole ending scene is honestly one of my favorite moments in cinematic history primarily because of the score. It’s been one of my most-desired pieces of music from the Bionicle films for years, and here it finally is along with the rest of this amazing soundtrack. But I would be remiss if I didn’t make a few other honorable mentions: “Legends of Metru Nui / Toa Stones” “Faithful Matoran to Mighty Toa” (This track is just…wow) “Follow the Light / Mask of Time” “Lhikan’s Death / Vakama’s Power Found” (So many feels) “Lhikan’s Theme Sketch” (I’m sure we all remember letting the menu loop play over and over again just to listen to this gorgeous little piece) The unused “Kikeinalo” theme is also a fun one. It'll be interesting to hear Nathan Furst's unused Roodaka sketch when Web of Shadows comes out. Feel free to respond with your favorite track or set of tracks. I’m interested to know which particular tracks you were most eager to listen to before they were released and which you enjoy listening to the most now. As a side note, I was slightly jarred when I realized that this release isn’t quite the complete score like the Mask of Light release was. Ultimately, however, I don’t mind too much because all the stuff I really wanted to hear (and more) is included, and there’s not much else missing that can’t be uploaded for streaming (or, preferably, released as an extended play). As far as I know, this is all of the omitted music (excluding whatever else Furst composed that was cut from the film): - The Great Disks montage (everything after Vakama's second vision and before the Coliseum scene) - Escape from Le-Metru and journey to Po-Metru (everything after the Toa evade the Dark Hunters by jumping into the chute and before their arrival in Po-Metru) - Escaping with the Matoran (everything from when they retrieve Matoran capsules to when Matau drives into the water) - A fairly brief section seems to have been cut from "Heart of Metru Nui", unless it just wasn't intended as part of the original track and was edited in for the film. It includes the part where they break into the Coliseum in their vehicle (I forget the name of it) as well as the Toa's exchanges of banter during the drive. - This is really nitpicky, but there’s also a brief choir from the opening theme that plays when Lhikan engraves the three virtues symbol into the Toa stone. Admittedly though, I prefer the bit of music that takes its place on the OST version as it makes the track seem a bit more whole.

Ah well. I'm sure the missing tracks are nothing Furst can't upload to SoundCloud or YouTube. He said the entire score was recovered, so I'm assuming he has them and simply didn't feel they would add much to the album. The music from the Great Disk retrieval montage is also missing, unless I'm much mistaken. Oh, and also everything from the Toa escaping the Coliseum with the Matoran capsules to when Matau takes their vehicle into the water to evade the Vahki. If he posts that one, I hope the title is "Let's Hope This Thing Floats".

Ah well. I'm sure the missing tracks are nothing Furst can't upload to SoundCloud or YouTube. He said the entire score was recovered, so I'm assuming he has them and simply didn't feel they would add much to the album. The music from the Great Disk retrieval montage is also missing, unless I'm much mistaken.

BOOM

Me waiting for the iTunes pre-order to show up...

I love most of the MCU soundtracks, but I agree they're not particularly good at musical continuity. Apart from the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy films, the movies only really drop hints and references to previous character themes from time to time rather than bringing them back in full swing; for example, Iron Man's theme from IM3 when he dons the Hulkbuster armor in Age of Ultron, or Patrick Doyle's Thor theme at the very end of Thor: Ragnarok. I think Nathan Furst would be a great fit for the MCU. A while back I was thinking he could do a great Spider-Man score, and now after having seen Homecoming I kinda wish they'd brought him on board for that. I loved the movie, but Michael Giacchino's score was a bit of a letdown (especially after his amazing Doctor Strange soundtrack). Regardless, the release of Legends of Metru Nui and Web of Shadows is sure to mark the end of a long and arduous era of not having these musical masterpieces available. ^_^

Pahrak was my first as well! I think I got like 3 or 4 copies of him for some reason. Many fond memories of the Bohrok. Also the Droidekas from The Phantom Menace.

He uses them to smoke out of. Why do you think his eyes are so red all the time? Jokes aside, I always assumed they were some kind of breathing device he needed to survive similar to Darth Vader's suit or Bane's mask from The Dark Knight Rises (come to think of it, Sidorak actually sounds kinda like Bane in the movie). It could be they just included them in the set design to make his head look more unique, but the fact that he kept emitting vapor in the movie makes me think there was more to it than that. We can theorize all we want, but we'll probably never know for certain.

"It meant everything to me. It still does." - Vakama I personally think that Bionicle G1 is one of the greatest stories ever written. It had its ups and downs, certainly, but there's something about the world, lore and characters that always draws me in. I think the films failed to represent the intricacies of the story that were explored in the comics, novels and serials (yeah, I know there's only so much you can fit in a movie that's slightly shorter than the most recent Game of Thrones episode), but I love the first three for what they are and have a particular emotional connection to Nathan Furst's scores (which I think are some of the best out there). I collected many of the sets (not all of them, but a lot of them) throughout the G1 days and still keep some of my MOCs on display on some shelves. In a nutshell, Bionicle was one of the best aspects of my youth and I think the story and sets really hold up. I never read or watched any of the G2 story and didn't get any of the sets, but it is unfortunate that it never got a chance to fully develop like G1 did. Regardless, G1 will always have a special place in my heart - and a few gigabytes devoted to its media on my devices.

I like those title choices. The different phases of the story really do fit perfectly into those three parts. In the debate over Book 7's title, I too think "The Pit" is perfect for that volume in the scenario of multiple-word titles. It's just short enough and descriptive enough, and it sounds pretty menacing.

My suggestion for Book 2 would be "Secrets of the Swarms" (not sure if "Secret" is supposed to be plural or not) as it's the most descriptive of the book's content out of those three options you're leaning towards and it would fit well with the others because of that. I also feel it's more iconic than the other two options. I like "Ignition" for Book 7; it's like one of those Game of Thrones episodes where the title foreshadows what happens at the end, like "Baelor" or "The Mountain and the Viper" (though I guess "Downfall" or "Sacrifice" would do the same thing). The only issue with that title is that it wouldn't really fit the naming conventions of the others since it's a bit more vague and less descriptive of the overall story. My personal recommendation for the title would be "The Pit," but if you end up deciding to keep the one-word titles I would definitely stick with "Ignition." As for Book 8, I'd go with "Destiny War." I don't really think it makes sense to call it "The Final Battle." I mean, I guess it's technically the last major battle within the Matoran Universe, but when you think of the real final battle that comes later in "Journey's End," it seems a bit redundant to call it that (at least in my opinion). Otherwise, I think all of those titles work really well (though I do still really like the one-word titles).

Found a minor typo in Book 1, Page 8 (beginning of Chapter 4) in the most recent version: "But he still felt uneasy Aside from his name," It looks like there should be a period right after "But he still felt uneasy."

This has probably been done before, but whatever.

Wow. This is truly amazing. It's one thing to be able to read all the novels again (I didn't buy them when I had the chance and I don't think my library has all of them anymore), but I imagine reading them with all the serials woven in really elevates the experience. I have yet to read it thoroughly, but it looks beautiful and I'm very eager to start binge-reading it when I have the time. I can't imagine how much time and effort this must have taken. And I love how you've created so many different versions to accommodate different preferences. Thank you so much. Out of curiosity, have you considered sending this to BioMedia Project? It would make a great addition to the fan projects section.

This might be my favorite one yet.

I'd go with the Inika-style Zamor sphere launcher. Way too bulky with a lack of ergonomic design, and ammo was always falling out. I honestly preferred the Midak Sky blaster over both versions of the sphere launcher, as it fired the same kind of projectiles and was designed in a way that prevented ammo from falling out. Cordak blaster was always one of my favorites, even if it wasn't particularly reliable. Same goes for the Nynrah Ghost blaster.

I would definitely want it to be an RPG along the lines of The Witcher 3, Skyrim or even Mass Effect, and an open world would be a must-have considering how vast and iconic the Bionicle universe is. CD Projekt RED would be the perfect company to develop it. I would say BioWare would also be a good choice, but as they've sold their souls to EA who have been butchering them ever since, the resulting game might be a less-than-satisfactory product. As for the style of role-playing, I can't decide if I'd want it to be something that gives you a massive amount of freedom like Skyrim (choosing your race and/or faction and basically doing whatever you want after that), or something more linear like The Witcher where you assume the role of a pre-built character and are given a basic main story quest to complete, and how you go about completing it is up to you. That being said, I feel like the only way the latter would make sense would be if it takes place after the re-forming of Spherus Magna (kinda like how the Witcher games are loose continuations of the book series). I'd also want the open world to have a level of detail and response to your actions akin to Grand Theft Auto V (or W3 at the very least). For example, the inhabitants would have complex responses to you doing something like, say, bumping into them (either accidentally or on purpose), and there would be serious consequences for messing with law enforcement (but you could still have a fun time seeing how long you last against them). As for the combat, I'd want it to be a combination of hack n' slash and Mass Effect-, GTA- or Deus Ex-style third person shooting (including a cover system), along with an array of powers depending on what kind of character you're playing as.

Another one I made. Pretty relevant right now considering Nathan Furst's most recent Facebook/Twitter post.

Thank you!

I actually managed to reconstruct that theme a while back using segments from the "Metru Nui Explorer" part of the DVD, and combined it with one of the cues from Furst's archived website to create a fuller theme. It's obviously not the same as whatever official version of the theme Furst created (which is hopefully among those tracks recovered from the drive crash), but for what it's worth, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TRpNev9e8 Enjoy.