Nukatha

Basically everything I love about Bionicle came from the fact that Greg was highly accessible on this site for the majority of its run. In a sense, it would be like if Tolkien were alive today and available to answer all of the questions that fans had about the lore. Oh, you're asking about the Blue Wizards? Here's a short paragraph about what happened to them. Greg was given an incredible amount of creative freedom, and kept the world incredibly coherent at all times, even working in several weird decisions by the set designers/execs as smoothly as possible. Well, that and the first year, 2001, they managed to put together what was likely the most well-thought out and beautiful cross-platform multimedia campaign possible for the time. The Game Boy Advance game ends at the exact place that MNOLG begins. the comics drew you into the story, they had the McToran very close to launch, high quality CG animations, the pack-in mini-CDs, a full range of sets at varying pricepoints (with the absolute GENIUS decision to make the main heroes at the low end, with the Rahi being the more expensive, so that money wasn't the limiting factor to having the Toa). Hot dang that product development and marketing department deserves an astonishing amount of credit for a job well done. The took everything that failed about Slizer/Throwbots and RoboRiders and threw it out, replacing it with near perfection.

Faber and Farshtey having such a limit amount of impact were both issues to me. I greatly enjoyed G2's takes on the Mata, and the return of gear functions, but 20-something me couldn't stay interested without such a solid story/universe as G1. Cautious optimism as always.

This is probably the biggest BIONICLE-related developement of the past year.

I've seen a lot of comments expressing wishes that it were a continuation of the old story, but even Greg himself said years ago that if he were in charge of Bionicle's return he wouldn't do it as a continuation due to what a burden ten years of backstory would be for new fans. It's kind of weird to me that so many people who think the Bionicle story was/would be strongest under his direction aren't prepared to take him at his word on that matter. It kind of reminds me of how Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd both loved the idea of an all-female Ghostbusters movie and thought the women who were cast were extremely funny and talented, and yet hundreds of Internet dudebros still somehow managed to ramble on and on about how the new Ghostbusters would be lame, unfunny, and disrespectful to the comic genius of the original cast. "Yeah, such-and-such was a brilliant and irreplaceable part of this beloved franchise, but what do they know about what's best for it?" I don't mean this to equate your ambivalence about Bionicle G2 to the nerd rage of a bunch of cynical whiners. But it's just interesting how often fans of a franchise think extremely highly of its creators, and ignore or dismiss when those creators would rather see a new and different take on it than a continuation of their own previous work. After a little bit of soul-searching, let me revise that: I miss Greg. I miss having a story told to the fans directly by the storyteller. An author who on a daily basis answered EVERY piece of fanmail and story questions people sent to him. I miss looking forward to online serials every month. Greg could have very competently worked on the G2 story. It could have been a completely separate universe, built from scratch, but with Greg writing it it, the characters would have retained their personalities that I knew for over a decade. Whether or not LEGO will ever admit it, Greg was THE reason for the staying power of G1. The original team behind MNOLG, the canister CDs, and 3D animation were the hook, but the stories and characters are what we stayed for.

Without Greg continuing the original story, I couldn't stay interested. I bought Onua, but that was it.

$40 for ~200 parts remains a very poor cost/part ratio for any LEGO set.

Not to be too much of a downer, but as this new wave of Bionicle keeps coming, I'm realizing that I'm not so much a Bionicle fan as a Farshtey fan. I'm not sure if I can keep up with a new story without Greg.

To be fair, it was the only one crafted by an MU inhabitant, and dones so under very stressful conditions. I'd say Vakama did as well as he could have.

My poor wallet! Heroscape, Stargate and Bionicle all ended at about the same time. I wonder if that's why Greg recently answered some questions on the lego forums.

Wait so, there's a Bionicle reference? What is it so I know what to look for?

Since someone cares, I'll post mine here. Over 100,000 years ago, during the construction of Mata Nui, Heremus, after having completed the Baterra project, felt that an improved version would assist in keeping order in the universe being created. Taking the data of the Baterra, Heremus made major modifications. The Baterra would no longer be robotic, but would be biological, similar to the Matoran and other species already designed. An actual mind was added. For better or for worse, the being would have its own thoughts and ideas, but always retain the goal of keeping order and safety in the giant robot (assuming nothing tampered with the base code). Heremus gave the ‘Bio-Baterra’ the ability to use Kanohi, unfortunately requiring the removal of the original cloaking ability (though this was easily remedied with a Huna). Heremus altered the tools so that they were removable, could be converted to weapons other than blades, and capable of channeling the elemental powers integrated into the Toa. Finally, they were given the ability to take the form of creatures or beings instead of objects. In order to keep the project under the radar of his peers, only a small number were produced. The first, later known as Krahka, believed herself to be too powerful and lived in seclusion for millennia. Most others perished in conflicts with the Makuta and Dark Hunters, leading Krahka to believe that she was the last. Of specific note is one ‘Bio-Baterra’ who came to be known as ‘Defender’ to the few that knew him well. Defender was the only Bio-Baterra to have been a member of the Hand of Artakha. He played a major part in the preservation of the MU throughout its construction, and became known as one of the Hand’s most versatile members (for obvious reasons). Following the Hand’s disbandment, he was offered a high-ranking position in the Order of Mata Nui. However, after seeing the unintentional damage caused by the Hand at many times, he declined, opting to work alone. In the thousands of years that followed, Defender took up countless identities with the goal of protecting Matoran. He would patrol every inhabited island as regularly as possible. On a number of occasions he came across villages of Matoran that required defense, be it from Dark Hunters, Visorak, or nature. To keep his identity secure, Defender would appear as a Toa of the village’s element. After succeeding in his goal and getting the Matoran back on their feet, he would assume the form of a Turaga (coincidentally, a real Toa often showed up during this time). He would later fake his death and move on to other places. At one time he was holding the persona of a Toa of Fire on the Northern Continent when a Barraki’s army attacked. Defender transformed into a monstrous 8-limbed winged beast. His Hau made him virtually indestructible, and the entire force fled after Defender froze a soldier in a Toa seal. It was from this event that the myth of a ‘Toa Nui’ was born.

Brutaka: I expected that he would take a position back on the 'good' side. And he and MoMN may get to finish their little duel. Spiriah: Reconciliation for the Makuta! Granted, he is only acting in his own interest, but at least he is on the OoMN's side. And Brutaka should keep him in line. Vezon: HECK YES!!! He needs some tool though, otherwise he is lacking in abilities. The personality will be like a twisted Lewa. Roodaka: Her reasoning still makes sense, wanting to be on the winning team and all. Just like all the others, she has her faults, but considering how her island was just repaired to perfection, and the Hagah are helping her species, it really is her only real choice to avoid being killed. Caraper and Takadox: I want to know how they can breath air again. They must be greatful for that. Anyways, these two will indeed make a strange addition. However, they never were explicitly evil, heck they even attacked the BoM before. This are about to get interesting.