Xboxtravis

Tarakava, Pahrak-Va, Gahlok-Va, Gahlok Kal and Dalu in a Bricklink purchase last month. 

Yeah MNOG is just hugely important to the 2001 story. 

A few of the things that helped set up 2001 that worked in its favor:

• A unique setting with a sense of mystery
• Unique toy design and collectible aspect
• Unique art and advertising

The reason I mention those things in particular... is they are all things the 2015 reboot also had to a sense. But while the 2015 reboot felt shallow, 2001 got a surprising amount of depth thanks to MNOG. Remember MNOG was not always intended to be the flagship, the Legend of Mata Nui with its Toa focused gameplay was. But now that we have Legend of Mata Nui rebuilt and able to play... its pretty obvious that it is a super flimsy story in world building other than just being able to see the locations in 3D it really has no strong character interaction. 

The key to MNOG though is putting your character not in the role of a Toa, but back in the shoes of Takua returning from Tales of the Tohunga. Yes its not immediately obvious that you are playing as Takua in MNOG (its not really even made clear until the end of the game actually), but playing as a "normal guy" actually helps to ground the world in a way the Toa focused media never could. As such when Takua talks to other Matoran its not the hero worshiping tone the Toa get while talking to the Matoran, but instead a bit of a personal one on one talk because Takua and the other Matoran are more or less peers. Its a quick insight into how the world works, who inhabits it, what the heroes are fighting for, and what the goals are. Finally when Takua joins the Toa in their final battle against Makuta as a witness on the sidelines, its both incredibly important to offer what that scene looked like from the view of a "common person" watching from afar; and foreshadowing Takua's future role as the Seventh Toa. 

Basically Takua plays a role pretty similar to Bilbo, Frodo and the other hobbits of Tolkein work. He is the common man, thrust into adventure almost not entirely by choice but by circumstance. He has no super powers, no extreme fighting skills, and has to instead rely on his guile and intelligence to survive. His personality is enough of a blank slate for a child to project themselves into, I think all of us especially after playing MNOG feel like we are Takua in a sense similar to other blank slate video game characters such as Master Chief or Chell. But seeing Takua's actions, it hints at a noble but surprisingly cunning and inventive mind. When the Chronicler's Company forms too, we see that up close in other Matoran. The Chronicler's Company is not the "A-team" of Matoran, other than Macku and Hafu none of the characters in the group got a physical set form until 2003 and even then several never were released. But, it again pays off the world building. We see Takua's little band of misfits going along and using creative problem solving to solve challenges and obstacles in their path, then all fighting heroically to the end at Kini-Nui to buy the Toa below a few more seconds of time. Its cool, and as a story telling device I find it almost more compelling than the Toa action we got in that same year (although it also enhances the Toa action by clarifying who the Toa were fighting for).

When G2 gets knocked for being shallow... I think that is a big factor why. The 2001 Toa didn't have much more personality than their 2015 counterparts did. But what really fleshed out the original 2001 world were those side characters, the Matoran and Turaga that MNOG in particular highlighted and fleshed out. Having the sense that there is a world beyond the story, be it the Husi's at market, the flute players in Le-Koro or the miners toiling in Onu-Koro just makes the world feel alive. In a few quick minutes in MNOG you can get a lay of who the characters are, what the world is like and how the Matoran live their daily lives. Bionicle past 2005 or so never really fleshed it out again that well (Metru-Nui barely gets a pass, since the tourist guidebook written for 2004 does a lot of work to try and make Metru-Nui feel more alive). Voya-Nui, Mahri-Nui, Karda-Nui, etc. were really all more set pieces... cool with a few vital NPC's but nothing to explore and learn beyond the initial scene. Okoto in the reboot hit the same issues, we didn't learn until it was to late what life was like on Okoto; and by the time we had enough worldbuilding to start to flesh out the place the line was cancelled again. 

I fall in the camp of somebody who really liked G2 for the most part. I have said the story before but I'll sum it up again, I was living abroad in Argentina from 2013-2015. As such, I missed out completely about the G2 announcement in 2014 and the hype machine being built for it. Literally my first interaction with G2 was in July 2015, entering the Lego store the day after I had returned from Argentina. I had been in South America two days prior, flown between two hemispheres and bounced from Atlanta Georgia to my home in Utah and was in the Lego store after all that with no clue what I was about to see. I literally turned the corner and there they were... Tahu, Gali, Pohatu, Kopaka, Onua and Lewa... all of them back on shelves staring at me. The last time I had bought any Bionicle set was the Barraki in 2007, but on that day I left the store with Tahu and the Protector of Water. It took a bit, but it soon had me hooked and I got all the Toa Masters, all the Protectors, most of my MOCs are Protector like builds based on G1 Matoran, I have most of the 2015 villains... in fact excluding Skull Skorpio and the Villain Polybag I almost have all the retail sets of 2015 now. 

In short... I was a Bionicle fan as a kid because of G1's launch in 2001. I am a Bionicle fan as an adult because of its return with G2 in 2015. 

As such, I really honestly can't despair the thought of another reboot because I know the impact the last one had on me. Do I think there are things Lego would need to do better on with a G3? Of course... Okoto had paper thin world building compared to Mata-Nui and it showed. I think Lego had underestimated the impact stuff like MNOG and the Comics had in helping G1 sale and how the lack of such detailed media for G2 (until the novels and comics started coming out literally months before cancellation) hobbled the line's growth. Also Okoto lacked a sense of mystery the original island had... a massive robot underneath the island there was not.

Are kids really different these days? I personally think kids are much the same as we were... its just the media around them that has changed. G1 was lucky to hit in the right spot, when other franchises like Pokemon were encouraging a "collect them all" attitude. The internet was still a novelty in 2001, as such bionicle.com and MNOG were unique and fascinating by virtue of being online. Lego if they wanted to launch a successful G3 would have to pay attention to what kids are in tune to now (I'm 26 years old, I can hardly pretend I know what that is anymore). I figure Ninjago spiritually has a lot of the same tropes and themes as Bionicle, so maybe Lego needs to better blend Ninjago's success lessons with what they learned in G1 to make a successful Bionicle return. 

Of course there is one unspoken option for Bionicle's return... a limited one. Maybe at the end of the day, Bionicle now occupies the same spot in Lego history as Classic Space, Pirates, Castle, etc. A treasured memory for a prior generation that is meant to be homaged and not brought back in full. We kind of are already seeing this happen... its well known by now that Takanuva was in early drafts for The Lego Movie 2. We have had Onua and the Legends of Mata Nui game cameo in a Hidden Side set. Sokoda's Ideas project seems like a viable contender for a one off set in honor of Bionicle... much like how the Mech Suit honored Classic Space, Barracuda Bay for classic Pirates, and how today's Haunted House 18+ reveal has tributes to Adventurers and Alpha Team. Even Ninjago City and the Docks managed to sneak in Bionicle, Exo-Force, Junkbot and even Galidor references. Maybe G3 isn't going to be a full on theme revival, but instead these ongoing limited tributes scattered here and there or a few small one off sets similar to Ninjago Legacy to make sure Tahu and Crew pop up on shelves every few generations. Lego constantly loves to play homage to old ideas... and maybe just maybe because of that the Legend of the Bionicle is not quite over yet. 

Well most of the long shots were used in advertising media, while the close ups came from Legends of Metru Nui and Web of Shadows. I just chalk it up to the fact that advertising was done mostly by Lego and Advanced (with a bit from Templar Studios), while the films were done through Creative Capers and Miramax... so they were different art teams working on it and came up with their own visual interpretation of how the structure looks. The DC comics design from 2004-05 also leans heavily into the film style compared to the skyline version. When we finally see the Coliseum again outside of the Metru Nui arc, its in the Ignition comics and like Turaga Dume's design it seems the comic book artist also took inspiration for the structure based off the film design and not the advertising design. 

9 hours ago, Laval- Master of Energy said:

Long story short: I'm opposed to the contests. The Bionicle community already has enough problems and does not need more.

Maybe this is just me... but what problems? I am 26 years old, I have been in this fandom since 2001 for 15 years and have seen quite a few ups and downs in the community. Yes website traffic to a place like BZPower is a lot slower than it was in say 2004-06 during the "golden years," but is that really a surprise? So much social media has moved away from forums to places like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit; not to mention that most of the OG fandom are all adults now. Some people believe it or not, move on from their childhood interests; they have jobs and kids and mortgages to pay. We're just the weird ones who still are hanging around wanting to reminisce about our favorite old Lego toys. 

And yeah in 2020, I think this fandom is actually in a really strong position right now. The moccing, fan art and fan fiction community is still swinging strong. Places like Maskposting can see a dozen or more posts a day, which is extremely active for a Facebook group. One of our forum admins was on a nationally televised competition show where he competed against other teams for the title of Lego Master. Not to mention Faber's teases for whatever he is planning, and incredibly ambitious fan products like fan video games. Millennial nostalgia has bit Bionicle hard, and if anything I feel like we are seeing more people coming back to this fandom right now than those leaving. A bit of extra cash to burn from from adult jobs certainly helps in the Bricklink and used Lego market too to get Bionicle sets and pieces to fans enthusiastic to relive a part of their childhood. 

So I just can't see how a few canonization contests are going to be the dividing wedge that somehow kills this fandom. Somehow Star Wars survived Ewoks, The Prequels, The Sequels and the Holiday Special and is still chugging along despite all that; divided fandom or not. Trek fandom somehow survived the cancellation of The Original Series, Star Trek: Enterprise and Nemesis; and now its back in full swing once again. Marvel somehow managed to survive Spider-Man: One More Day, and DC survived Batman and Robin. I just really can't wrap my head around how a few photos of characters added to a fan wiki that one guy at Lego set "sure, that's canon" is going to be the dividing wedge in this fandom when other fandoms have clearly survived much worse, arguably our fandom has already survived much worse. 

And that's why I already have built a Helryx moc and am considering my ideas for Artakha. I don't think throwing a few mocs into a contest is going to be the dividing wedge in this fandom; if anything its the bit of fun I need to distract myself from my college education which is dragging due to the switch to online classes, the global pandemic going on outside my doors, and the killer hornets buzzing around now. Even if my Helryx moc gets beat down and looses in the competition, I honestly don't feel like anything is lost. In fact I already have seen a few Helryx mocs floating around that make me think wow that's better than mine! But there is no hard feelings lost because at the end of the day this competition got me to sit down for a bit and play with some Lego's and flex my creative muscle offering a brief nostalgic respite from a chaotic world and this struggle called 'adulting.'

My Toa Helryx MOC for the upcoming canonization contest over at TTV. I have been working on her on and off ever since the contest was first announced. A few things of note with my design:

• CCBS and Simplicity I am sure there are going to be a lot more complex MOCs in the contest. I expect it in fact. However I decided to stick to what I am used to which is primarily CCBS. I figured I can justify this for a few reasons. First, Helryx is described according to her articles in BioSector01 as being both similar to the Toa Mata yet unlike any Toa seen elsewhere. As such the smooth lines of CCBS maker her look foreign to the G1 style, while the voodoo ball on her chest and the Miru Nuva call back to the 2001-2002 sets. The silver armoring is again meant to be a tribute to the Toa Nuva and their distinct armor; all while highlighting Helryx's role as a warrior. If there is one thing I do think I failed to capture though... is the weathered surface that Helryx is described with in canon. 
• Lime there are four primary colors in this MOC, classic Lego blue (Mata Blue), silver, black and lime. There are a few shades of both light and dark bluish grays, and a bit of gunmetal gray on the mace with some transparent neon green and neon orange on the model; but they are few and far between. I wanted to make those four primary colors stand out, the bright blue again a call back to the Toa Mata, the silver as already stated to the Nuva, and lime a call back to Toa Hahli. I kept the transparent colors at a minimum, since the many transparent CCBS shells seem more fitting the style of G2 than it does G1 which tended to have solid colors.
• A Warrior to the End Helryx as Leader of the Order of Mata Nui does not live the traditional Toa Code. As such, she kills in battle and I wanted her deadliness to be apparent. She has her Mace and Shield which are already established in canon. The shield takes an influence from the Wakandan shields Captain America wields in Avengers: Infinity War. As such its a small shield, fast and agile, with the ability to double as a weapon itself with its forward facing prongs. She also has throwing darts on her right wrist, and a small dagger on her left thigh.
• Sillouhette With broad shoulders, a thin waist, and average proportional limbs I wanted Helrrx to feel familiar to the Toa Mata style. 
   

I decided to dust off my old Flickr account for this, you can find more photos of Helryx over there: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96380166@N07/albums/72157714181205403

For some reason this just reminds me of all those "Portals Edits" that floated around on YouTube the last year with "all the heroes" or "all the villains."

Honestly, I am sure Makuta and crew would be mostly... confused walking through some random portal to find a bunch of squishy meat bags duking it out all over some glowing space rocks. 

1 hour ago, Sir Kohran said:

So why does the end of the 2004 film wrap up the Metru Nui story? Why doesn't it lead into the 2005 story in any way?

I think there was some contract agreement that was making it iffy if there was going to be a third film or not. So they chose to wrap up with the happy ending instead of a dark cliffhanger instead. 

I never got any of the Mahri, I got all the Inika. They're good... but very much clone sets and the rubber masks are a bit odd. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd say the Mahri were the better wave. But if you want to be a completionist, the Inika are still good. 

I mean if you want to tell the whole story you need every set. That is what stories based on toylines tend to do, gotta sell them all! 

But if you want just the highlights? I'd say examples of the main Toa teams and key Matoran (Toa Mata, Takua, Hahli, Jaller in the early years for example) and the key villains (Makuta, Bohrok, Rahkshi etc.) and you really are already on the way to completing the key story beats. Really the only gaps I can see in your collection are in 2009 where Ackar and Kiina would round out the cast, the finished Toa Mahri team with Kongu, the 2004 titans and the entirety of G2 since those are the most expensive sets on Bricklink and pain to collect after the fact. 

I mean I already have minifigures of Holdo and Jar Jar... so bring it. 

23 minutes ago, Sir Keksalot said:

...some mainstay licensed theme will die off eventually, or a gap will form in things Lego can make viable products out of, and that'll allow something original to fill the void.

I mean look at Harry Potter. There was a solid few years with zero Harry Potter sets between Deathly Hallows 2 and the IP's return in Lego Dimensions. It's not that Lego ever lost the Potter license, it's just they stopped producing it for a while, so it certainly can and has happened in Lego already. 

Speaking of Lego Star Wars, I doubt it is going to really slow down anytime soon. Between Disney-Lucasfilm's two partners for Star Wars toys Hasbro and Lego; Lego has been the more... consistent... performer between the two these last few years. Its as simple as the product they turn out, action figures are very character based; where as Lego focuses on playsets and vehicles. Even back with Force Awakens when the Disney era of films was at its most hyped and well received; Hasbro already had a lot of shelf warmers out. I think Constable Zuvio's action figure has become somewhat of a meme among Star Wars collectors because he sat on shelves for years, and hardly sold at all. 

A trip to my local Wal-Mart is pretty telling, Hasbro's Star Wars section has been almost edged out by Marvel, DC, and Fortnite action figures. There are more WWE figures for crying out loud than Star Wars in the local action figure aisle these days! They really only have a few Star Wars action figures, maybe a toy lightsaber or two, and a single vehicle set at a time in Wal-Mart regularly. In comparison the Lego Star Wars stuff is fully stocked with nearly the entire product range, is constantly getting in new product and selling new product. I think Lego is better able to weather the fan debates in Star Wars because Lego has always been about the vehicles and play sets. Sure somebody might hate Rise of Skywalker, but its hard to deny that the new Falcon set is nice, or the A-Wing is a neat $30 set. Not a lot of people saw Solo, but that doesn't matter when the Lego sets such as the Imperial train heist are so unique and cool looking. In comparison, if people don't like the film characters there ain't nothing Hasbro can do to sell those Constable Zuvio, Admiral Holdo and Jar Jar Binks action figures, especially since $20 is a common price for a Black Series figure these days. In comparison, no Lego fan is going to complain if Jar Jar is say packaged into an awesome MTT set, or Holdo in a Resistance base playset because the individual character is not the main draw for a Lego set. For the price of one Black Series action figure, I can get a simple battlepack from Lego with four Mandalorian minifigures and have enough left over to grab a polybag or Collectible Minifigure too.

Lego puts out the better product than Hasbro, and it shows. The fact Lego Star Wars is consistently one of their highest performing lines right up there with Friends, Ninjago, and City is telling. In comparison all those articles you see about "Are Star Wars Toys Not Selling Enough Anymore?" are almost exclusively focused on Hasbro and their action figure line.  

Ehhh, I really am not bothered by licensed themes that much. Other than Star Wars, Superheroes, Minecraft and  Harry Potter; none of them are evergreen. I.E. a lot are just flash in the pan for a year or two like Angry Birds, Ghostbusters, etc. that just last a few years. 

Looking at the current 2020 lineup, we have non-licensed:

• Creator/Creator Expert
• Architecture
• Classic
• City
• Dots
• Friends
• Ninjago
• Hidden Side
• Technic
• The rumored LEAF theme (Monkey Kid?)

Although Speed Champions is technically a licensed theme since Lego has to license to use the brands of real life car makers, I would still consider it to sort of fall in non-licensed since we have no major characters in it like Star Wars and its not based on a particular story... its just a car model. As for the "original action themes" we have Ninjago, Hidden Side, and LEAF all on deck this year; and three-four action themes per year seems pretty standard for Lego in most of my lifetime (A few sample years to highlight... in 2004 Bionicle, Racers, Castle and Alpha Team were the only non-licensed action themes that year. 2008 was Bionicle, Exo Force, Racers and Castle. 2013 Ninjago, Hero Factory, Legends of Chima). 

Of course not to mention Ideas. Yes it has produced plenty a licensed set (Wall-E, Ghostbusters, Minecraft, FRIENDS, Back to the Future, etc.) but so many are unique original ideas. The pop-up book, ship in a bottle, Barracuda Bay, the Saturn V and ISS, the fishing store and the tree house! Its amazing to see some of the unique stuff coming to market thanks to Ideas. 

So yeah licensed themes are pretty dominant right now, but I really can't say they have detracted much from the number of original themes Lego normally does. Yes looking back as a whole its easy to think of "wow look at all the original stuff Lego used to do!" if we start clumping different eras together, I know Knights Kingdom II, Throwbots & Roboriders, Western, Life on Mars, Alpha Team, Exo Force, Pirates, Power Miners & Rock Raiders, Galidor and of course Bionicle all come quickly to my mind... but I have to pause and realize those themes all released over a span of 8-9 years or so. Not only that... but some of them *cough* Galidor, Jack Stone *cough* were absolute turkeys. Taking the time to look at it year by year, I honestly feel that while Lego has more licenses, their original in house IP's have not slown down at all. 

If anything, licenses are good for the brand as a whole. It attracts people who might not pick up a more generic Lego set by enticing them with their favorite characters, and hopefully their experience with the product is good and they want to come back for more. My first sets were other than a single Town rocket and one Rock Raiders vehicle, all Star Wars. In short, I don't think I wouldn't have discovered Bionicle, Exo Force, Life on Mars, and even Galidor... had I not already been getting Lego because they had Star Wars sets. 

I mean really my only wish lists for Lego right now are a) Bionicle Gen 3 or a new Constraction theme (but that seems unlikely at this point), and b) a dedicated return of a Trains theme or at least an expansion of Lego Trains available under Creator Expert and City. I think "a" is wishful thinking at this point, but "b" has a solid chance of happening now since Lego has actively redesigned some old Train elements to be easier to produce and manufacture. 

On 4/21/2020 at 10:30 AM, Alexander123 said:

I also recall seeing once cards that came with Russian versions of the novels that had stock Star Trek images in the background, so there would be pictures of the Kaitas with planets and the Constitution class Enterprise in the background.

... so that is why Mata Nui is played by Michael Dorn.

46 minutes ago, Laval- Master of Energy said:

I seem to recall a commercial for the Intel Pentium 4 (that came with that 2003 game). Something about a "Bionic Man..."

I was surprised to find out Makooti is something a real professional advertising agency came up with. I always assumed that Makooti was just a dumb meme like Voriki that had lasted a long time in the fandom; then I finally found that commercial on YouTube and was shocked to see that origin for the meme:
 

Okay here is one more to add onto this... this is not my misconception, but one I see a lot out there: "G2 is a simulation." Like... what? I don't know where that came from, it just seems like a fan theory that somehow ascended to canon for some people. In general I see a lot of people confusing G1-G2 connections theories as canon, ignoring the fact the only official canon on it is purposefully vague and left for the viewer's imagination. 

Its bad enough G2 had relatively lower stakes and felt anti-climactic. Touting "its all some simulation the G1 Toa went through while training with the Order of Mata Nui" sucks G2 of any drama it had left. I.E. in that fan theory it turns G2 into a holodeck, something that "turns-off" as soon as the Toa walk off stage. And why people continue to treat it as canon when there is no canon to support it is beyond me. 

I guess originally the Free the Band promotion was going to feature Fallout Boy, but a scandal at the time caused the quick switch to The All American Rejects. Its such an odd promotion, because while not canon to Bionicle its really the only official media to have real humans interacting in any form with Bionicle characters. It seems bizarre to think that the first thing the Piraka would do if they got into the real world... wouldn't be a heist of Fort Knox, stealing nuclear launch codes, starting wars in unstable regions... but instead kidnapping a recognizable alternative rock band from the mid 2000's. It kind of moves the Piraka's "stealing the mask that controls all life in the universe" scheme in canon, to something that feels like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Like even Pinky and the Brain had better schemes (okay they did kidnap The Beatles once in an early Animaniacs episode... but that is off topic) Its probably for the best we never saw Free the Band again, I don't want to know what freeing The White Stripes from the Barraki, or saving My Chemical Romance from the Skrall would have been like...  

I've already started ordering parts for Helryx and brainstorming her build. I know the idea of a contest 10 years after G1's cancellation doesn't enthuse everybody; but personally I really have come to dig the idea. Its a shot in the arm the community can use; and while I have hopes for whatever Faber is planning for #14B2020... that type of project is frankly out of our hands. We can't control something like #14B2020. But a contest like this, with Greg's blessing is in the fandom's hands; and it gives me perfect MOC inspiration fodder. I'd rather have a fandom hyped for this contest, arguing about if it, getting excited and rooting for favorite designs, etc... than a fandom that has nothing else to do than re-hash the same nostalgic beats we have had since 2010; while praying Faber's one man crusade accomplishes something. Besides I think it was ultimately a smart move to cut off to only focus on canon pre-existing characters who we lack visual media for. If this was a canonization contest for new story, I'd be concerned; and as Greg has already hinted he actually can't accept new story material anymore since Lego's legal teams aren't approving Bionicle names anymore. But new visuals are fair game. Even if say, Lego were to reboot G1 in the future and someday declare the contest winners non-canon; well c'est la vida. 

Plus it gives me something to do while this quarantine stretches out longer and longer. Heck even for a looser in this contest, I will be able to look back on say my Helryx MOC and say that was my contribution. I look back on the MOCs I build as a kid for the Dark Hunters book and the 2006 BBC contest with similar attitudes, even though neither MOC won anything in either contest they were entered in. I can still flip through the Dark Hunters book and say "I remember building a model for this contest!" 

Heck for nostalgia's sake, my BBC 2006 model to highlight how those memories still stick all these years later. Yes it was a loosing model, but dang I was proud of that thing as a 12 year old; just as how I hope to be proud at a stab at Helryx at 26. 

If you haven't seen it yet, the Bionicle Jam footage from Legoland California is a trip. 

1 hour ago, That Matoran with a Vahi said:

I think there's actually some support for that in canon! In one of the Bohrok comics (comic #6 overall, I think?), when Pohatu and Gali are running from the Tahnok after their only-partially-successful trap, Pohatu points out that in the canyons they're passing through "the Matoran used to live in the caves above -- before the Bohrok drove them away". We never see evidence of that... anywhere else really, as far as I can recall, but it shows there is a precedent for Matoran living away from the main village.

Also, though non-canon, Bionicle: the Game also shows plenty of seemingly uninhabited Matoran huts scattered throughout their various Wahis, which could support this, too ^^

I guess doing the math (forgive me for using imperial system for this guys); the Island of Mata Nui has about what, 1000 Matoran for each village? Landmass wise, I noticed that Mata Nui is a bit smaller than say the State of Utah or Colorado. Using my homestate Utah as an example, we have a population density of 33.2-37.8 people per square mile. If we plopped all of Mata Nui's population into Utah (six Toa, six Turaga, 6000 Matoran) we get 0.071 Matoran per square mile. In comparison the population density of Wyoming one of the most empty states in the union, is a 5.8 people per square mile. So I guess it makes sense that Mata Nui can support a massive rural population outside of the main villages, its so large and expansive it could easily fit those thousands.

But it does raise a question, if Metru Nui had the same exact population how the heck do you have a metropolis city with just 6000 people? At approximately 828 square miles, Metru Nui is a 7.26 population density per square mile; which is still rural Wyoming type population sizes... I guess we could assume that large swaths of Metru Nui were industries and factories which filled up the city, but its still hard to believe a city that large runs off a population smaller than most rural cities... again why I can't help but wonder if Metru Nui had more Matoran in it than the Toa Metru could rescue. 

On 4/14/2020 at 9:38 AM, Presto said:

Metru Nui had a larger population than Mata Nui (I just assumed the city had a bigger pop. than the island and not everyone made it)

This is still my head canon. It just... makes sense. I know its debatable since Mask of Light showed that the population of three villages filling up a massive arena, but the world we see in MNOG, MNOG II and other early media just has... such a smaller population. Like its hard to imagine that for each village we saw in MNOG there was 980+ Matoran in each hiding off screen that we never saw. 

But yeah, I always head canon'd it that the Toa Metru did have to leave a portion of Matoran behind. It does create a plot hole though in "how did the Matoran wake up without the Toa Metru there to sacrifice their powers?" but that could always be retconned away in the same logic in how Dume woke up... somehow their spheres failed and they woke up naturally without the Toa's aid... but that creates another plothole in that now we have Matoran running around Metru-Nui with Dume and the Rahaga before the Mata Nui population returned... So I guess canonically it makes sense that the entire population of Metru Nui made it to Mata Nui, but it still feels wrong because the villages of Mata Nui were so... sparse. Maybe there were a lot of Matoran like Midak living in isolated rural homesteads to explain the discrepancy, large parts of a Wahi's population lived in isolated homesteads away from the village "capitols." 

I gotta be honest... the mid moment when their families visited the set was pretty emotional too. Great to get all the contestants back on stage during the finale to. I imagine most of the contestants were kept in Southern California until the finale aired? Would be curious to learn more about how that worked. 

Begin rant of how MNOG II is almost unplayable by design compared to the beautiful simplicity of the original MNOG... stupid Kohlii matches...

Although as already stated, the BMP versions are basically the most glitch free and cleaned up versions out there due to community work. I am curious as to what will be done to keep the games running though now that Flash is being phased out. 

Thomas isn't an 0-8-0, you should be ashamed! Rejected for technical inaccuracy! 

Being serious, I love the creepy vibes from this thing and the smooth build. 

Two waves still come to mind all these years later, both launch waves; 2001 and 2015's first waves! 2001 for being with an air of mystery as to not knowing what Bionicle even was, and the journey of discovery in learning about this new world. 2015 in the shear shock at seeing Bionicle back, and how it had improved in the 14 years since it had been first introduced.