Rumor: Bionicle's return in 2015

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I didn't have much trouble with the Inika build, it was good for poseability and playing, while it never felt repetitive to me because of all the variations in the individual sets. I always saw it as a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it". I completely understand wanting variety, though. Still, there's nothing I despise more than the Avtoran build and having the last sets in 2010 use that build felt like a slap in the face. XD

[Airoski]

I still argue that a Bionicle Continuation would be fairly easy. In the original, new characters and locations were introduced as the storyline went on, even though most of those characters had actually been around the whole time. Thus Lego doesn't need to reintroduce everything in the first year. It would be very easy to start off on Spherus Magna and work from there. Keep in mind, the original Bionicle started off with a whole bunch of amnesiacs running around an island with no idea at all how they got there. 

 

Allow me to demonstrate. Here is a possible way of introducing Bionicle as a continuation to a new audience: "After many years travelling through space, a race of bio-mechanical heroes and the villagers they protect find themselves on a new world, a paradise called Spherus Magna. However, all is not as peaceful as it seems. This new world is fraught with danger, and the new arrivals must make peace with he planet's inhabitants as well before they can combat the evils that await them, and the old enemies that have followed them to this paradise..."  

 

It's entirely reasonable to gloss over the details of Mata Nui being a giant robot and fighting agaisnt Makuta, the other giant robot, because it's no longer important to the story. Makuta is dead, and his legions are vanquished. He wiped out the other makuta himself, and his Rahkshi were destroyed, making that the one and only plot point in the old stroyline that was entirely wrapped up. 

 

Here's some ideas for Bionicle's return: one year could feature the six Elemental Lords and Baterra as the main villains, and the next could bring back the Shadowed One, Dark Hunters and Barraki as the next set of villains, since they were allied at the end of the story. There's also the Golden Being and Marednar to contend with, which could also make for intriguing story arcs. 

 

My point is that there's plenty of material to make a continuation an entirely viable option, and it would be a shame to see all of this material thrown away in favour of a reboot or retelling that could easily be spoiled for new fans by one quick Google search. 

 

I'm hoping for a continuation of some kind, but only time will tell what's really going to happen. 

 

I'd prefer a continuation too, if only to avoid having two canons in my head like the Evangelion movies. I've never really liked remakes.

 

I don't think having the Element Lords, Barraki or Dark Hunters as villains is a good idea, mind. To fully understand them, you'd need a knowledge of the previous Bionicle stories. I'd prefer new villains so new fans don't have to pick up any story 'baggage'. A subtle nod or two for the old fans would be a good thing, though.

 

The best way to start fresh but keep the same canon would be a time jump into the future, when the events of the old story have faded into myth. That way you can reference the events, without requiring new fans to possess detailed knowledge of them.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Airoski

[LimeFlavouredLibertarian24]

What I'd like to if Bionicle returned in 2015 wouldn't be a reboot, but it wouldn't be a continuation, it would show what happend in the Bionicle Universe(Spherus Magna) 5 years after Makuta's head was smashed into the moon and the reason why is because Bionicle was discontinued for 5 years, so why not show the storyline 5 years into the future

[Nato G]

What I'd like to if Bionicle returned in 2015 wouldn't be a reboot, but it wouldn't be a continuation, it would show what happend in the Bionicle Universe(Spherus Magna) 5 years after Makuta's head was smashed into the moon and the reason why is because Bionicle was discontinued for 5 years, so why not show the storyline 5 years into the future

 

Because the Dark Hunters, Barraki, Skrall remnant and pretty much every other villain left over from Bionicle's ten years were grouping together in the Bara Magna desert. Plus the Element Lords. Plus the Baterra. Plus Velika. If they skipped forward five years to the eventual ending of that war, almost everyone would be dead. There wouldn't be much story left five years into Bionicle's future.

 

Although, I suppose that would be one way to get rid of all of the excess characters...

 

 

 

I don't think having the Element Lords, Barraki or Dark Hunters as villains is a good idea, mind. To fully understand them, you'd need a knowledge of the previous Bionicle stories. I'd prefer new villains so new fans don't have to pick up any story 'baggage'. A subtle nod or two for the old fans would be a good thing, though.

 

The best way to start fresh but keep the same canon would be a time jump into the future, when the events of the old story have faded into myth. That way you can reference the events, without requiring new fans to possess detailed knowledge of them.

 

 

I don't agree with this, mostly. The Barraki and TSO could just be passed off as "evil warlords from the old universe" or something along those lines, and the Baterra, Element Lords and Marendar were barely introduced in the old story, so bringing them in wouldn't require any real background knowledge either. A continuation is entirely plausible, if they pull it off right. 

[Jakura Nuva]

 

What I'd like to if Bionicle returned in 2015 wouldn't be a reboot, but it wouldn't be a continuation, it would show what happend in the Bionicle Universe(Spherus Magna) 5 years after Makuta's head was smashed into the moon and the reason why is because Bionicle was discontinued for 5 years, so why not show the storyline 5 years into the future

 

Because the Dark Hunters, Barraki, Skrall remnant and pretty much every other villain left over from Bionicle's ten years were grouping together in the Bara Magna desert. Plus the Element Lords. Plus the Baterra. Plus Velika. If they skipped forward five years to the eventual ending of that war, almost everyone would be dead. There wouldn't be much story left five years into Bionicle's future.

 

Although, I suppose that would be one way to get rid of all of the excess characters...

 

 

I don't think having the Element Lords, Barraki or Dark Hunters as villains is a good idea, mind. To fully understand them, you'd need a knowledge of the previous Bionicle stories. I'd prefer new villains so new fans don't have to pick up any story 'baggage'. A subtle nod or two for the old fans would be a good thing, though.

 

The best way to start fresh but keep the same canon would be a time jump into the future, when the events of the old story have faded into myth. That way you can reference the events, without requiring new fans to possess detailed knowledge of them.

 

 

I don't agree with this, mostly. The Barraki and TSO could just be passed off as "evil warlords from the old universe" or something along those lines, and the Baterra, Element Lords and Marendar were barely introduced in the old story, so bringing them in wouldn't require any real background knowledge either. A continuation is entirely plausible, if they pull it off right. 

 

 

I agree. I don't think it'd really be that difficult to do.

[toa kopaka4372]

Also, keep in mind that in general LEGO doesn't seem to hard reboots. BIONICLE already had a reboot during its original run, the 2009 one, except that one was a "soft" reboot since it was still connected to what came before. Heck, Ninjago was revived this year under the title "Ninjago:Rebooted" and yet its pretty much just a continuation of what came before.

 

I still think its going to come down to either a total reboot or a timeskip.

[Jakura Nuva]

Also, keep in mind that in general LEGO doesn't seem to hard reboots. BIONICLE already had a reboot during its original run, the 2009 one, except that one was a "soft" reboot since it was still connected to what came before. Heck, Ninjago was revived this year under the title "Ninjago:Rebooted" and yet its pretty much just a continuation of what came before.

 

I still think its going to come down to either a total reboot or a timeskip.

 

I'd be fine with a timeskip or soft reboot.

[Airoski]

 

What I'd like to if Bionicle returned in 2015 wouldn't be a reboot, but it wouldn't be a continuation, it would show what happend in the Bionicle Universe(Spherus Magna) 5 years after Makuta's head was smashed into the moon and the reason why is because Bionicle was discontinued for 5 years, so why not show the storyline 5 years into the future

 

Because the Dark Hunters, Barraki, Skrall remnant and pretty much every other villain left over from Bionicle's ten years were grouping together in the Bara Magna desert. Plus the Element Lords. Plus the Baterra. Plus Velika. If they skipped forward five years to the eventual ending of that war, almost everyone would be dead. There wouldn't be much story left five years into Bionicle's future.

 

Although, I suppose that would be one way to get rid of all of the excess characters...

 

 

I don't think having the Element Lords, Barraki or Dark Hunters as villains is a good idea, mind. To fully understand them, you'd need a knowledge of the previous Bionicle stories. I'd prefer new villains so new fans don't have to pick up any story 'baggage'. A subtle nod or two for the old fans would be a good thing, though.

 

The best way to start fresh but keep the same canon would be a time jump into the future, when the events of the old story have faded into myth. That way you can reference the events, without requiring new fans to possess detailed knowledge of them.

 

 

I don't agree with this, mostly. The Barraki and TSO could just be passed off as "evil warlords from the old universe" or something along those lines, and the Baterra, Element Lords and Marendar were barely introduced in the old story, so bringing them in wouldn't require any real background knowledge either. A continuation is entirely plausible, if they pull it off right. 

 

 

Sure, it's plausible just from the perspective of plot. But if Lego want to Sell More Toys!^TM I think it'd be best to give the story a fresher start. Just look at the Barraki. To fully understand them, you'd be better off if you knew that they were warlords, that they were imprisoned in The Pit, that they probably resent Toa for opposing them, that they were mutated, that Mantax betrayed them, ect. There's a lot of baggage.

 

I also think a story would be more interesting to follow if you don't already know the villains. Then throughout the course of the new story, you can build up a picture of who these characters are from the actions they take. I'd regard that as an important selling point of any story.

[Jakura Nuva]

I also think a story would be more interesting to follow if you don't already know the villains. Then throughout the course of the new story, you can build up a picture of who these characters are from the actions they take. I'd regard that as an important selling point of any story.

 

This is true. There's nothing like the mystery of a new villain to further develop the plot

[Aanchir]

I just felt that Bionicle builds had a lot more options and customisation points. I know we won't be getting the old system back, but I'd like to see the CCBS tweaked a little to be more reminiscent of the old system. The armour used with the CCBS, depending on what sized plates you use, can severely inhibit the range of motion a build has, and the armour has a lot less detail. That's what I really liked about Bionicle: the attention to detail, which has been sorely lacking in the later HF sets.

 

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that Bionicle sets looked more like robots than the actual robots in HF?

Only if you have a very narrow idea of what a robot looks like. The Toa have lots of exposed mechanical details like pistons and such. They have a "clockwork" look like you might see in a steampunk universe. But a lot of real-life robots and machines, such as ASIMO and Robonaut, have much smoother, cleaner-looking designs. Even a car or plane generally has a smooth, streamlined body made of metal plates, with the mechanical innards hidden underneath.

[Jakura Nuva]

 

I just felt that Bionicle builds had a lot more options and customisation points. I know we won't be getting the old system back, but I'd like to see the CCBS tweaked a little to be more reminiscent of the old system. The armour used with the CCBS, depending on what sized plates you use, can severely inhibit the range of motion a build has, and the armour has a lot less detail. That's what I really liked about Bionicle: the attention to detail, which has been sorely lacking in the later HF sets.

 

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that Bionicle sets looked more like robots than the actual robots in HF?

Only if you have a very narrow idea of what a robot looks like. The Toa have lots of exposed mechanical details like pistons and such. They have a "clockwork" look like you might see in a steampunk universe. But a lot of real-life robots and machines, such as ASIMO and Robonaut, have much smoother, cleaner-looking designs. Even a car or plane generally has a smooth, streamlined body made of metal plates, with the mechanical innards hidden underneath.

 

 

I was thinking the exact same thing! I thought that the Bionicle Universe inhabitants seemed much more organic than the HF ones, and you make a good comparison here.

[LimeFlavouredLibertarian24]

 

 

I just felt that Bionicle builds had a lot more options and customisation points. I know we won't be getting the old system back, but I'd like to see the CCBS tweaked a little to be more reminiscent of the old system. The armour used with the CCBS, depending on what sized plates you use, can severely inhibit the range of motion a build has, and the armour has a lot less detail. That's what I really liked about Bionicle: the attention to detail, which has been sorely lacking in the later HF sets.

 

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that Bionicle sets looked more like robots than the actual robots in HF?

Only if you have a very narrow idea of what a robot looks like. The Toa have lots of exposed mechanical details like pistons and such. They have a "clockwork" look like you might see in a steampunk universe. But a lot of real-life robots and machines, such as ASIMO and Robonaut, have much smoother, cleaner-looking designs. Even a car or plane generally has a smooth, streamlined body made of metal plates, with the mechanical innards hidden underneath.

 

 

I was thinking the exact same thing! I thought that the Bionicle Universe inhabitants seemed much more organic than the HF ones, and you make a good comparison here.

 

I agree with you about Bionicle being to customize mainly because you able to attach Technic pins and axels and nearly every weapon had an area to put/attach Technic pins and/or axels

[Pomegranate]

I don't think there's any reason to aknowledge the past at all, they could just say "Here are our heroes, they have superpowers and had many adventures together." This basically applies to anything from the past that they bring up, all they have to do is explain what/who it is now rather than have any obligation to give a whole backstory. All we need to know about the characters is if they're good or bad, and if there's any past details that come up in the course of the story, they'll come up and be explained. After all, everything is starting anew on Spherus Magna, we saw that in the post-cancellation serials, everyone had a new purpose and new alliances.

 

I wouldn't worry too much, they probably tackled the story thing first.

[toa kopaka4372]

Of it is a total reboot, I wonder how BS01 would handle it. Maybe leave everything the same and just add a section for 'Generation 2' or something? Similar to how they do the alternate dimensions.

 

All I know is that having two canons to keep in mind would really be a bother

[Pomegranate]

Maybe they'll pull an Abrams? Literally split if off from the original timeline and go from there, shoving in a character or two from the original? If they do a reboot, it would probably just be called "The Reboot". Personally I'd go with Rebooticle

[Jakura Nuva]

I don't think there's any reason to aknowledge the past at all, they could just say "Here are our heroes, they have superpowers and had many adventures together." This basically applies to anything from the past that they bring up, all they have to do is explain what/who it is now rather than have any obligation to give a whole backstory. All we need to know about the characters is if they're good or bad, and if there's any past details that come up in the course of the story, they'll come up and be explained. After all, everything is starting anew on Spherus Magna, we saw that in the post-cancellation serials, everyone had a new purpose and new alliances.

 

I wouldn't worry too much, they probably tackled the story thing first.

 

This is basically what I've been using as support for continuation.

I actually think that this on the front page of BZP could be sufficient as an introduction:

 

In a time before time, the Great Spirit descended from the heavens, re-awoken from the long slumber cast upon him by his dark brother. After their battle that had spanned and scarred many worlds, the Great Spirit sought to undo the damage that had been done. So, using the last of his power, he united these worlds, melding them together into one glorious new paradise so that all those who had suffered would be able to rebuild their lives, together.

[Blastcage]

 

I just felt that Bionicle builds had a lot more options and customisation points. I know we won't be getting the old system back, but I'd like to see the CCBS tweaked a little to be more reminiscent of the old system. The armour used with the CCBS, depending on what sized plates you use, can severely inhibit the range of motion a build has, and the armour has a lot less detail. That's what I really liked about Bionicle: the attention to detail, which has been sorely lacking in the later HF sets.

 

Also, does anyone else find it ironic that Bionicle sets looked more like robots than the actual robots in HF?

Only if you have a very narrow idea of what a robot looks like. The Toa have lots of exposed mechanical details like pistons and such. They have a "clockwork" look like you might see in a steampunk universe. But a lot of real-life robots and machines, such as ASIMO and Robonaut, have much smoother, cleaner-looking designs. Even a car or plane generally has a smooth, streamlined body made of metal plates, with the mechanical innards hidden underneath.

 

 

Pistons and whatnot is also characteristic of Terminator endoskeletons and Transformers. But then again, the Jeagers from Pacific Rim are fairly smooth. So it's really up to personal interpretation. 

 

Anyone here a Bleach fan? Perhaps Bionicle could reboot similarly to what Bleach did after the Arrancar arc. There was a 17-month timeskip, and then we got the Fullbringer arc, which initially didn't require knowledge of the 2 previous arcs to understand. Although the current arc is tying up loose ends and whatnot. Maybe we'll see a similar approach with Bionicle. Eases people into it at first, then explains things and gives throwbacks/nods for older fans.

[Wazdakka]

Well, one thing that just hit me was that Bionicle sold the best during 2001-2003...so what better way to return it than following in the most profitable years' footsteps?

[Pomegranate]

Well, one thing that just hit me was that Bionicle sold the best during 2001-2003...so what better way to return it than following in the most profitable years' footsteps?

We need a third batch of recolored Bohrok, that's what would do it

 

I'm really worried about the prices for the new sets; aren't the basic sets (not titans or whatever) like in the $14ish range nowadays? I haven't looked at HF in stores for years so I'm not 100% sure, but I know that they're definitely more expensive than canisters in the early 2000s

 

Although if there's fewer sets overall, it would probably not be that big a deal.

 

I'm hoping for tiny sets like matoran and turaga, I always loves those. Even in like, 2006, they were still super neat

[Makaru]

Aanchir established this a few pages back; Accounting for inflation, the price per piece ratio for Bionicle 2001 is pretty much the same as the ratio for Hero Factory.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Makaru

[Jakura Nuva]

 

Well, one thing that just hit me was that Bionicle sold the best during 2001-2003...so what better way to return it than following in the most profitable years' footsteps?

We need a third batch of recolored Bohrok, that's what would do it

 

I'm really worried about the prices for the new sets; aren't the basic sets (not titans or whatever) like in the $14ish range nowadays? I haven't looked at HF in stores for years so I'm not 100% sure, but I know that they're definitely more expensive than canisters in the early 2000s

 

Although if there's fewer sets overall, it would probably not be that big a deal.

 

I'm hoping for tiny sets like matoran and turaga, I always loves those. Even in like, 2006, they were still super neat

 

 

TTV speculated in their podcast that [a large set] might be $20, but is probably less. Going by that, it's likely that [smaller] sets will be around $10-15.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Makaru

[Aanchir]

Aanchir established this a few pages back; Accounting for inflation, the price per piece ratio for Bionicle 2001 is pretty much the same as the ratio for Hero Factory.

Well, I ought to put a disclaimer there. The price-per-piece is similar, definitely, but the price range of Hero Factory sets is a lot different than the earliest BIONICLE sets. A small Hero Factory set today is $10, fairly close to what a Toa Mata or Toa Nuva would cost in today's money. The only smaller sets are individual polybag sets like 40116. This is very different from the early years of BIONICLE, when there would be a full series of "small sets" as well as impulse-priced collectible packs.

 

If this pricing scheme is backed up by the sales the LEGO Group has seen for constraction sets (which it almost certainly is), then it's unlikely that we'd see "small sets" like in those early days — the smallest sets would tend to be $10, the mid-size sets would be $15, and the large sets would be $20 or more. And that means that if we get Matoran or other smaller characters, then the Toa would probably be at least $15 each.

 

I think that's more of what Pomegranate is worried about than the price-per-piece or value for money. And I sort of agree. I'd LOVE if we could get $5 Matoran and $10 basic Toa (maybe with some Toa priced at $15 for variety's sake, the same way the Brain Attack and Breakout series of Hero Factory had a mix of small and medium-sized heroes and villains). But it's probably very unlikely.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Aanchir

[Pomegranate]

Price per piece ratio isn't that big a deal to me, it's the overall price of the sets I worry about. It's gonna get pricey, I hope they hover towards the $10 end of that scale.

 

*shakes cane* BACK IN MY DAY WE HAD TO GO UP TWO HILLS BAREFOOT IN THE SNOW TO GET THE NEW BIONKLES AND YOU COULD COME HOME WITH THREE NEW SETS FOR A NICKEL AND A FIRM HANDSHAKE

[Airoski]

 

Well, one thing that just hit me was that Bionicle sold the best during 2001-2003...so what better way to return it than following in the most profitable years' footsteps?

We need a third batch of recolored Bohrok, that's what would do it

 

I'm really worried about the prices for the new sets; aren't the basic sets (not titans or whatever) like in the $14ish range nowadays? I haven't looked at HF in stores for years so I'm not 100% sure, but I know that they're definitely more expensive than canisters in the early 2000s

 

Although if there's fewer sets overall, it would probably not be that big a deal.

 

I'm hoping for tiny sets like matoran and turaga, I always loves those. Even in like, 2006, they were still super neat

 

 

>third batch of recoloured Bohrok

 

And I would buy them all on sight

 

Yeah, I think Matoran-scale figures make a great deal of financial sense. When I first got into Bionicle, I didn't get all that much pocket money, so they initially made up the bulk of my collection. I imagine this was the case for a lot of youngsters, and that's probably partly why Lego gave them a lower recommmended age.

 

Luckily, with the (possible) upcoming release in (the year before 2016) of what Makaru may edit out to be the [even smaller figures], it seems probable that Lego's bringing back this size category.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Airoski

[CeeCee]

Well if you think about it, the story we followed could be the back story for the new saga

 

So it would be something like: "In the time before time, we were forced to evacuate our universe by the evil spirit known as The Makuta. The Great Spirit, Mata Nui sacrificed himself so he could save his friends, both new and old. But a new force rose from the shadows and now we must band together as one race to prevent it!"

 

Or something more poetic than that.

[toa kopaka4372]

Well if you think about it, the story we followed could be the back story for the new saga

 

So it would be something like: "In the time before time, we were forced to evacuate our universe by the evil spirit known as The Makuta. The Great Spirit, Mata Nui sacrificed himself so he could save his friends, both new and old. But a new force rose from the shadows and now we must band together as one race to prevent it!"

 

Or something more poetic than that.

Yeah, I'm hoping for something along those lines. 

[Aanchir]

Another thing I ought to mention about price is that Hero Factory has also seen a lot fewer sets at higher price points than BIONICLE did in many years. In 2014, for instance, there have been four $10 sets, seven $15 sets, a $20 set, two $25 sets, and a $35 set. This is somewhat consistent with what we've seen for several years now. The only Hero Factory set that was ever more expensive than $35 was 7160 Drop Ship in the theme's debut wave, which cost $50 retail.

 

Of course, part of the reason for this might be that there simply haven't been as many sets per wave in the Hero Factory theme as there were in 2010. In the second half of 2010, when Hero Factory debuted, there were fifteen sets total, whereas in 2013 and 2014 there have only been fifteen regular retail sets in the entire year.

 

This is fairly normal for new themes, so when BIONICLE comes back it's entirely possible we'll see a lot more sets in its debut wave than what we've been seeing in individual Hero Factory waves. Still, I do not expect any extremely big sets in the debut wave, which will probably be a relief to some collectors worried about how expensive the new theme might be.

 

Just for comparison's sake, collecting all five Rahi sets in 2001 would have cost $260 (that'd be nearly 350 dollars today)! Add in the Toa, Turaga, and Matoran, and 2001 BIONICLE carried a price tag of $326 ($437 today)! And how about the collectibles? Gaining the masks you lacked at $2 per pack of two would bring the total cost for the year to $384 (515 dollars today)! This is not even counting the $15 power pack!

 

In contrast, this year's Hero Factory sets only cost $250 total. Even if the full BIONICLE range next year costs twice as much as this year's Hero Factory lineup, it won't be as expensive as 2001 BIONICLE was.

 

EDIT: Just out of curiosity, I went to check how many pieces you'd get by buying the whole 2001 BIONICLE range for $399. Turns out, you'd get exactly 2488, not counting extras. The full 2014 Hero Factory range gets you 1560 pieces for $250. This is roughly the same price-per-piece in both cases (about 16 cents), though when you factor for inflation Hero Factory naturally has a lower price-per-piece.

 

It's not entirely a fair comparison, though, because at least $10 of the Power Pack's value is in the CD, and a lot of the Manas's value is certainly in the specialized electronic remote control and motor units. Deduct those two sets, and BIONICLE 2001 offered 2022 pieces for $294 — a better price per piece, before adjustment (14.5 cents per piece), though after adjusting for inflation the 2014 Hero Factory sets still come out on top, since BIONICLE's price per piece rises to 19.5 cents.

 

Pardon the tangent. Math is fun!

Edited August 7, 2014 by Aanchir

[Wazdakka]

I don't think this question is important enough to have it's own topic, but it's kind of relevant to the rumoring: Why on Earth did Lego start giving us bigger and more expensive standard canister sets?

[Pomegranate]

Well the prices went up with the cost of plastic manufacturing, and they got bigger cause they just sorta... Got bigger gradually

[Aanchir]

I don't think this question is important enough to have it's own topic, but it's kind of relevant to the rumoring: Why on Earth did Lego start giving us bigger and more expensive standard canister sets?

A part of it is inflation and rising production and distribution costs (price of oil, price of steel, etc), but another part of it is probably just that the LEGO Group found that a higher median price meant better sales for the entire range — even if the smallest sets in the range continued to have stronger sales numbers than the larger ones. Edited August 7, 2014 by Aanchir

[Pomegranate]

I think by 2008 the small sets were roughly the same price as the 2001 canisters, so it was a definite gain even if the small sets got more attention from consumers. I'm not 100% on the numbers, but I distinctly remember 13 year old me picking up Shadow matoran from Target and thinking about the fact that they were roughly the same price as 2001 canisters

[Boidoh]

Is it just me, or are the expensive HF sets a bit on the small side?

And when was the last time the Midak Skyblaster piece used? And the Zamor Sphere piece.

[Aanchir]

Is it just me, or are the expensive HF sets a bit on the small side?

And when was the last time the Midak Skyblaster piece used? And the Zamor Sphere piece.

I don't know what you mean by "small". Evo XL Machine is about the same size as Makuta from 2003. Same goes for Dragon Bolt and the Gukko (when you subtract Jaller's pieces, at any rate). Factoring for inflation (and subtracting the $4 cost of Jaller from the Gukko set), these models are roughly equivalent in both price and piece count.

 

Additionally, Witch Doctor is about the same size as Takanuva, with over 60 more pieces and a lower price after adjusting for inflation.

 

I haven't owned Jet Rocka or any of this summer's Hero Factory sets, so I can't really compare those, but I haven't really noticed any difference in size between any large Hero Factory sets and BIONICLE sets of similar value. The biggest BIONICLE sets were definitely much larger than the largest Hero Factory sets, but also much more expensive.

 

The Zamor Sphere and Zamor Sphere launcher are both still in production, used in CHI Fluminox, CHI Sir Fangar, and Mindstorms EV3. The Midak Skyblaster hasn't appeared in sets since 2010, when it was used for Drop Ship, Construct-A-Zurg, Desert of Destruction. I will not miss it. It was powerful, but also extremely large and specialized.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Aanchir

[Sardrox: Will of Makuta]

I don't think the Midak has been used since 08. Zamor spheres are still in use. I know the 1st Zamor launcher was in a recebr Mind storms set, and the Thornax has been replaced in 2011.

Dat ninja though.

Edited August 8, 2014 by MakutaSardrox123

[Boidoh]

Maybe it's just the pictures, but that $35 IfB set looks kinda small...

[Aanchir]

Maybe it's just the pictures, but that $35 IfB set looks kinda small...

It includes two figures, though. That's what you have to keep in mind.

 

I do not own the set myself, but its piece count and weight are both similar to the Nui-Jaga from 2001 according to Bricklink, and that's a set that cost $35 way back in 2001 (factoring for inflation, today it would cost about 47 dollars).

Edited August 7, 2014 by Aanchir

[Tahu3.0]

yea how prices for lego have gone up

[Nato G]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: a continuation is entirely doable. 

 

Personally, I've been waiting five years to find out what happens next with all of the new Spherus Magna storylines, and if they did away with all of that in favour of a reboot or retelling, my disappointment would know no bounds...

 

The writers can easily reintroduce old characters without having to go into all of their backstory, in the same way that the Star Wars EU describing every planet character and species isn't required to understand the films, the 10,000 years of background for every character in Bionicle isn't truly needed to make new fans understand the old characters. I don't fully know half of it myself, and I can still make perfect sense of the story as a whole. 

 

The Spherus Magna saga is an entirely new beginning. Old stories and allegiances are largely irrelevant now, and the entire Mata Nui/Makuta dichotomy is in the past as well, since all of the Makuta are gone (with the possible exception of Miserix, since we don't know if he got blown up or not).

 

I think that the leftover material, story threads and characters from the original storyline is enough to fuel future story arcs for several years without the need to introduce even more characters in a retelling or distant future reboot or whatever. 

 

Thus I still firmly believe that Bionicle 2015 should, and likely will, be a continuation. 

Edited August 8, 2014 by NatoGreavesy

[Zidonaro]

Well if you think about it, the story we followed could be the back story for the new saga

 

So it would be something like: "In the time before time, we were forced to evacuate our universe by the evil spirit known as The Makuta. The Great Spirit, Mata Nui sacrificed himself so he could save his friends, both new and old. But a new force rose from the shadows and now we must band together as one race to prevent it!"

 

Or something more poetic than that.

 

If this was the storyline for the first year, I would be totally nostalgic about it 

 

Have we already discussed collectibles here ? Do you guys want it ? How would be the collectibles ?(masks, disks, etc?) 

Edited August 8, 2014 by HoloTheWise

[Pomegranate]

Maaaassssskkkkkssss for sure They're the best collectibles, 'cause you can MOC with em and make a unique identities for your characters 'cause their masks aren't the same shape and color as already released full sets. Collectible ammo was really neat too, though, especially Kanoka and Zamors, 'cause having all those different colors and designs is really neat and again gives variety to building.

If the collectibles just rely on, like, gathering codes off stuff like the Rhotuka... that's just about the most disappointing thing the world. 

I really don't think the new Bionicle stuff is gonna have any dedicated collectible feature o it, but I think they might pull out something like the 2010 Stars sets' Golden Armor, where you can collect stuff that you know is included in other sets to have one cool thing when you get all the rest. I'm half and half on that, 'cause while it's super cool to be able to have a new set of golden armor for a character and know how to get it all, buying full sets costs money and also the random aspect of blind collecting is what's the most fun bout opening something new