Did HF go out with a bang?

[Zeb]

With the closure of the HF Facebook page as well as no evidence anywhere of HF continuing, it seems the theme is finally over. Do you think HF went out with a bang? Or do you think it ended with a Stars-style ending?

 

I think set-wise it ended well. (Way better than Bionicle Stars.) We got minifigure versions of the heroes, MECHS, giant monsters (in comparison to the minifigures), unique & creative designs, Technic functions in sets like Breez's Flea Machine, and lots of cool new parts and also bone pieces in cool new colors.

 

Story-wise, it was kinda disappointing, but that's probably because of the change in animation company, so I'm not too upset. At least we got too see heroes built out of CCBS parts building mechs out of giant CCBS parts.   It's too bad we never got to see the ultimate battle between the Villain Factory & Hero Factory that many were hoping for. Interestingly enough, Lego started developing the new Bionicle back in 2012, when Breakout was out. I have a feeling that may have influenced Lego's decision not to continue with the Von Nebula "Villain Factory" plot, which, unlike the next 2 cliffhangers, actually looked like it would go somewhere. They probably decided to continue with one-year storylines, since they were probably going to end the theme. I won't say Bionicle's return caused the sets to get any worse, because if anything, 2014 is HFs best year, in my opinion.

 

So what do you think?

Edited November 6, 2014 by SuperGeniusCreator

[Cambion]

gotta say, this year's HF sets were actually pretty good - lots of old and new pieces in nice colours, plus those awesome new feet. i did prefer last year's, though. as for the story, it's honestly never been good.

[Aanchir]

I voted Awesome for the sets, and Decent for the storyline. The actual 2014 TV episode was rather lackluster, but the premise of the 2014 storyline was pretty excellent and allowed the sets to be more diverse than ever before. The sets also had brilliantly versatile pieces, as Arc mentioned.

[Van Hohenheim]

I wasn't a big fan of the whole Mechs thing. It seemed, to me at least, that it was a last throw of the dice to cash in on some of the popularity of "giant robots". Regarding the story, it was lackluster at best and totally "why" at worst.

[Sybre]

2014, set-wise, is my favorite year for HF. It was just something fresh and different from the overly similar sets we got in previous years. If we were able to have another wave of these mechs, sign me up. But I know that won't be possible, so I'll be satisfied with what we have.

 

The ending was bland. I dunno if they knew that HF would end this year, but if they did, they should have gone out with a bang. Instead, we got just another day on the job for the Heroes. Nothing too big, except for a genocide, and they all go home. Bland story for a fantastic year for sets.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

While IFB was pretty interesting, it definitely was not ending material, (especially with the way they handled that diplomacy)

 

HF went out, not with a bang. but with more of a "bwop".

[UnderscoreChronix]

Sets: They were okay I guess. The only ones that really stand out to me are Evo XL Machine, Breez Flea Machine, and I guess Queen Beast is okay even if the color scheme is a little all over the place. 

Story: Obvious copy of Pacific Rim. Giant monsters come from below and attack, so Heroes build different mechs to fight them - Near the end, good guys go to Beasts' domain and have a fight there, then a portal thing is there and stuff happens, a guy good almost dies but doesn't, and heroes win. The episode for 2014 was pretty awful too. The animation was great, but pretty much everything else was awful. The story was extremely rushed, and for the voice actors it sounds like they got 2 or 3 people to do the same 'generic action guy' voice for all the characters. (Breez's voice was alright though, at least it's not like Eris from Chima). The characters themselves had no personality whatsoever, and the dialogue was just..... agh, too much cheese! They also completely forgot about the previous plot they had going, with Dark Maker and all. If they had stuck with the old studio and let HF go on for at least 1 more year, I feel we could have seen a much better ending. Perhaps a big final battle with all 9 Heroes against Dark Maker, his minions and Von Nebula. There is much more I could talk about but for the sake of time I'll end my rant there. 

 

 

While IFB was pretty interesting, it definitely was not ending material, (especially with the way they handled that diplomacy)

 

HF went out, not with a bang. but with more of a "bwop".

That sound is spot-on. 

[believe victims]

For sets, I voted "Decent". The summer wave annoyed me with its often gappy and underarmored designs, especially the hideous mess that is the Surge and Rocka Combat Machine, but overall it was better than anything else I had seen in Hero Factory, so I have to give it credit for that.

 

Storywise, I said "horrible", because Hero Factory did not go out with a bang, but with the sound of Queen Beast being plunged into acid.

[Gatanui]

I think the minifigures were a really clever idea. Too bad we won't be seeing more of those.

 

Overall, I think Hero Factory had a lot of fine sets. Story-wise though, it had a lot of potential that was wasted. But it was really fun for some time.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

For sets, I voted "Decent". The summer wave annoyed me with its often gappy and underarmored designs, especially the hideous mess that is the Surge and Rocka Combat Machine, but overall it was better than anything else I had seen in Hero Factory, so I have to give it credit for that.

 

Storywise, I said "horrible", because Hero Factory did not go out with a bang, but with the sound of Queen Beast being plunged into acid.

Exactly. I think we all cringed and shook our heads when we realized what Hero Factory had done. C'mon, if they were going to do that at least make most of the heroes go down too!

[xccj]

The sets were good. I mean, they're not my favorite constraction sets ever, but they did something new and pulled it off, The story / TV episode this year was awful on many levels. Since HF never felt like it has enough of an ongoing story to keep me interested, it doesn't bother me that is was lacking when the sets were good, but it didn't even try for a proper ending like Bionicle did, so whatevs.

 

[Zeb]

 

For sets, I voted "Decent". The summer wave annoyed me with its often gappy and underarmored designs, especially the hideous mess that is the Surge and Rocka Combat Machine, but overall it was better than anything else I had seen in Hero Factory, so I have to give it credit for that.

 

Storywise, I said "horrible", because Hero Factory did not go out with a bang, but with the sound of Queen Beast being plunged into acid.

Exactly. I think we all cringed and shook our heads when we realized what Hero Factory had done. C'mon, if they were going to do that at least make most of the heroes go down too!

 

When I first watched it, I saw Breez make peace with the Queen Beast, and I thought that was a nice ending.

 

And then a Jumper stepped on a blaster.  And the ending went from nice to disappointing.

[Aanchir]

They also completely forgot about the previous plot they had going, with Dark Maker and all. If they had stuck with the old studio and let HF go on for at least 1 more year, I feel we could have seen a much better ending. Perhaps a big final battle with all 9 Heroes against Dark Maker, his minions and Von Nebula.

Please can we never ever use the term "dark maker" as if it has any official basis? It's just one of many idiotic hoaxes created around the Hero Factory theme, kind of like the "Empire of Frost" and "Rampant Oceans" storylines from IMDB.

 

Besides that, I wouldn't say they FORGOT about those plot threads, considering that from all appearances they never intended to take them any further in the first place.

[Zeb]

 

They also completely forgot about the previous plot they had going, with Dark Maker and all. If they had stuck with the old studio and let HF go on for at least 1 more year, I feel we could have seen a much better ending. Perhaps a big final battle with all 9 Heroes against Dark Maker, his minions and Von Nebula.

Please can we never ever use the term "dark maker" as if it has any official basis? It's just one of many idiotic hoaxes created around the Hero Factory theme, kind of like the "Empire of Frost" and "Rampant Oceans" storylines from IMDB.

 

Besides that, I wouldn't say they FORGOT about those plot threads, considering that from all appearances they never intended to take them any further in the first place.

 

I think "Dark Maker" is just the commonly accepted fan name for the creator of the Brains. Also, anyone remember Hero Factory "Outlaws"?

[fishers64]

Sets: Good. The minifigs idea was fantastic, and the idea of having non-humanoid HF sets after years of mostly humanoid gets major props from me. Some of the sets were plainly bad though, and I had little interest in the summer wave, so yeah. 

 

Story: There is no redemption for IFB. 

[FrozenFlash]

For the sets, it was awesome. They managed to provide some really good pieces and minifigures.

 

As for the story... well, too many unresolved plot points and Invasion from Below kind of killed the story.

[Guest]

 

 

They also completely forgot about the previous plot they had going, with Dark Maker and all. If they had stuck with the old studio and let HF go on for at least 1 more year, I feel we could have seen a much better ending. Perhaps a big final battle with all 9 Heroes against Dark Maker, his minions and Von Nebula.

Please can we never ever use the term "dark maker" as if it has any official basis? It's just one of many idiotic hoaxes created around the Hero Factory theme, kind of like the "Empire of Frost" and "Rampant Oceans" storylines from IMDB.

 

Besides that, I wouldn't say they FORGOT about those plot threads, considering that from all appearances they never intended to take them any further in the first place.

 

I think "Dark Maker" is just the commonly accepted fan name for the creator of the Brains. Also, anyone remember Hero Factory "Outlaws"?

 

 

Outlaws? YES. JUST YES.

For those of you who don't know: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130420093038/lego/images/6/64/23.jpg

Edited November 7, 2014 by Gukko Lord

[Sybre]

 

 

 

They also completely forgot about the previous plot they had going, with Dark Maker and all. If they had stuck with the old studio and let HF go on for at least 1 more year, I feel we could have seen a much better ending. Perhaps a big final battle with all 9 Heroes against Dark Maker, his minions and Von Nebula.

Please can we never ever use the term "dark maker" as if it has any official basis? It's just one of many idiotic hoaxes created around the Hero Factory theme, kind of like the "Empire of Frost" and "Rampant Oceans" storylines from IMDB.

 

Besides that, I wouldn't say they FORGOT about those plot threads, considering that from all appearances they never intended to take them any further in the first place.

 

I think "Dark Maker" is just the commonly accepted fan name for the creator of the Brains. Also, anyone remember Hero Factory "Outlaws"?

 

 

Outlaws? YES. JUST YES.

For those of you who don't know: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130420093038/lego/images/6/64/23.jpg

 

*looks at the revolvers*

 

Now, that one would have gone in and out with a bang!

[fishers64]

Hey, that actually fits with the HF theme. Could have been a cool villain. 

[Click]

The sets were actually pretty cool. It's something Lego hadn't tried since the '07 Bionicle playsets and Exo-Force, and it was much better executed than the playsets. It was pretty cool to have robots inside bigger robots fighting bigger monsters, and I liked the little video we got, but I can't say it went out with a bang. The only bit of story we got came just before the later sets were even on shelves, and then we got nothing. No sequel (not that it opened up room for a sequel) and no word giving more depth than five minutes. There was so much potential for it, but the one video we got was relatively low on action.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

All I can say is that at least HF got a proper final wave.

 

-NotS

[ShadowBionics]

In terms of sets, I think the idea was pretty good. Granted I did not buy any of them, but they seemed interesting and the idea was nice.

 

In terms of story... why even bother...? There was so much potential built up from previous years and now it seems like like it has all gone to waste and there will be loose ends that'll never be resolved. Who's the creepy masked guy who unleashed the brains? Is Von Nebula really alive like we all thought he was? And if he is, what is he going to do with the Hero Factory Plans (assuming that was him)? Might as well call this the Predacons Rising to the Hero Factory series. Don't know what I mean? Lucky you. That movie was a let down to a somewhat flawed but great series with so much potential that went unrealized. Kind of like Bionicle 2010...

[UnderscoreChronix]

In terms of sets, I think the idea was pretty good. Granted I did not buy any of them, but they seemed interesting and the idea was nice.

 

In terms of story... why even bother...? There was so much potential built up from previous years and now it seems like like it has all gone to waste and there will be loose ends that'll never be resolved. Who's the creepy masked guy who unleashed the brains? Is Von Nebula really alive like we all thought he was? And if he is, what is he going to do with the Hero Factory Plans (assuming that was him)? Might as well call this the Predacons Rising to the Hero Factory series. Don't know what I mean? Lucky you. That movie was a let down to a somewhat flawed but great series with so much potential that went unrealized. Kind of like Bionicle 2010...

I liked Predacons Rising. 

[Ford]

Boring for the sets and horrible for the storyline.

Boring sets because they just felt lackluster and very detached from constraction. Sure, beasts and battle machines are cool, but the sets looked too System to me, being minifig scale and all. The parts selection was okay, though, but if I were still a ten year old or younger, I would disassemble these sets in a heartbeat.

As for the storyline, it was just horrible. We got a 22-minute show where the heroes made all the mistakes they could to make it that long. Then again, it saws just a long commercial for the sets. You could argue that all Lego shows are, but this felt the most apparent to me. The heroes have zero character in this, so we don't care if something bad happens (ager all, it is the end). Not only that, but the show has the worst ending ever. I understand that it was rushed, but it was just bad.

[Guest]

Hey, that actually fits with the HF theme. Could have been a cool villain. 

I think that's supposed to be Furno. 

[Zeb]

Boring for the sets and horrible for the storyline.

Boring sets because they just felt lackluster and very detached from constraction. Sure, beasts and battle machines are cool, but the sets looked too System to me, being minifig scale and all. The parts selection was okay, though, but if I were still a ten year old or younger, I would disassemble these sets in a heartbeat.

As for the storyline, it was just horrible. We got a 22-minute show where the heroes made all the mistakes they could to make it that long. Then again, it saws just a long commercial for the sets. You could argue that all Lego shows are, but this felt the most apparent to me. The heroes have zero character in this, so we don't care if something bad happens (ager all, it is the end). Not only that, but the show has the worst ending ever. I understand that it was rushed, but it was just bad.

I like the System aspect of 2014. It felt like the heroes could finally fit in with my minifigure city. Well, except Nex & Stringer, who got left out and never got their own minifigure versions.

[Banana Gunz]

The sets looked real cool, but they weren't what I was looking for in the last year. I was looking for sets based and emphasizing the individual heroes, rather than just including them as minifigs. (Don't get me wrong, the mech sets were real cool and I loved seeing them.)

 

Story-wise, awful. There was actually a fair bunch of stuff built up to allow for at least a cool ending, and yet it was just cut off and left unused. HF didn't even get a real ending! It was just another random quest/mission. There should've been at least something to finish it off! Aw well, at least we have Bionicle now.

[fishers64]

 

Hey, that actually fits with the HF theme. Could have been a cool villain. 

I think that's supposed to be Furno. 

 

It's Furno's evil twin arch nemesis. 

[Sybre]

 

 

Hey, that actually fits with the HF theme. Could have been a cool villain. 

I think that's supposed to be Furno. 

 

It's Furno's evil twin arch nemesis. 

 

Onruf the Kid.

[Sumiki]

Decent, and Extremely Boring.
 
The sets were really never all that bad. All I care about are their parts and HF always provided a wealth of interesting molds and the occasional new color to boot.
 
The story was always extremely boring and honestly, LEGO's not going to invest in ending a line. BIONICLE's original ending was pathetic, but were it not for Kelly (Binkmeister), it would have been even worse. This isn't a fault on HF or LEGO in general as much as it is a criticism of ending product lines in general.

[Timageness]

I said decent for the sets, because I've pretty much seen every set as parts for Moc-ing. Don't judge.

As for the story, I think it would've been more fitting to the ending of IFB if they changed the series' name to Murder Factory.

[Ballom Nom Nom]

It in general seems to have been a muffled thud more than a bang by any stretch of the imagination.

 

The sets were always pretty good in terms of overall parts, so that was actually decent. I really don't know much about the story beyond that apparently the supposed heroes massacre everyone so that sounds pretty bad though?

 

~B~

[Mesonak]

The final year of sets was pretty well done and featured some fresh takes on the constraction formula and some excellent designs. That being said, for a final wave... it was only "good."

 

Story-wise, the "ending" was atrocious.

 

-Mesonak

[Lenny7092]

I didn't like how Hero Factory ended. There are 2-3 cliffhangers unresolved. There is a Villain Factory being planned to create, the Brains are still there, and there is a Jumper cocoon in the Heroes' Dropship. Plus, there is a live-action movie still being planned. If Hero Factory ends, everything will go unfinished. This is just sad and ridiculous.

This ending is not proper. If it has a proper ending, it should be at least a story about the Heroes fighting against Von Nebula and his Villain Factory, in the movie at best. Stringer and Nex should return in there, too. Now that would be a much better, more proper, and more awesome. Or, if Hero Facotry is really ending this year, then next year, there should a Bionicle-Stars versions of some old characters to wrap the story up properly. I wish the Hero Factory franchise needs more time to do this stuff to end properly, so we could feel more satisfied with the ending. Well, I hate to see Hero Factory ending this year. It's sad to see this.;(

[Aanchir]

Plus, there is a live-action movie still being planned.

No, there's not. Those plans never went anywhere. For all we know, they might never have gone anywhere even if the theme had not been ending. The only thing that was originally reported was that Universal was "in talks" to create a Hero Factory movie. If they had actually secured the rights to create one we would have heard about it years ago.

 

Perhaps the LEGO Group answered no as soon as they recognized the idea of a live-action Hero Factory movie as a transparent attempt to cash in on the success of the Transformers movies, and not as an indication that Universal actually had any respect for the property.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Aanchir

[Zeb]

 

Plus, there is a live-action movie still being planned.

No, there's not. Those plans never went anywhere. For all we know, they might never have gone anywhere even if the theme had not been ending. The only thing that was originally reported was that Universal was "in talks" to create a Hero Factory movie. If they had actually secured the rights to create one we would have heard about it years ago.

 

Perhaps the LEGO Group answered no as soon as they recognized the idea of a live-action Hero Factory movie as a transparent attempt to cash in on the success of the Transformers movies, and not as an indication that Universal actually had any respect for the property.

 

Also, didn't those talks start about 2012? And according to what some employees have said, Bionicle 2015 has been in development since about 2012, so that may also have been a reason why those talks never went anywhere.

 

You know, it would be cool if they made a Bionicle theatrical movie, in the Lego Movie style, perhaps? I mean, with all these spin-offs & sequels coming, it seems like a Bionicle theatrical movie isn't too far-fetched an idea.

[Aanchir]

 

 

Plus, there is a live-action movie still being planned.

No, there's not. Those plans never went anywhere. For all we know, they might never have gone anywhere even if the theme had not been ending. The only thing that was originally reported was that Universal was "in talks" to create a Hero Factory movie. If they had actually secured the rights to create one we would have heard about it years ago.

 

Perhaps the LEGO Group answered no as soon as they recognized the idea of a live-action Hero Factory movie as a transparent attempt to cash in on the success of the Transformers movies, and not as an indication that Universal actually had any respect for the property.

 

Also, didn't those talks start about 2012? And according to what some employees have said, Bionicle 2015 has been in development since about 2012, so that may also have been a reason why those talks never went anywhere.

 

You know, it would be cool if they made a Bionicle theatrical movie, in the Lego Movie style, perhaps? I mean, with all these spin-offs & sequels coming, it seems like a Bionicle theatrical movie isn't too far-fetched an idea.

 

Using the same visual style as The LEGO Movie would not work, but I'm guessing that's not what you mean.

 

A BIONICLE theatrical film could definitely be cool, and the LEGO Group now has the clout and the reputation that they might be able to accomplish this, provided both BIONICLE and the next few LEGO theatrical films remain successful.

 

At the same time, there are definitely some issues that might crop up. For instance, the Ninjago movie will be the proving ground for whether the LEGO Group will be able to successfully make a theatrical film of a theme that already has an ongoing storyline. If it turns out that they can't, then it might be hard for a BIONICLE theatrical film to remain in continuity with the main story. The development time might just be too much compared to what it would be for a direct-to-DVD film, TV series, or web series. And the LEGO Group probably wouldn't want to confuse fans by having multiple ongoing continuities the way Transformers does.

[Zidonaro]

Yeah let's invade innocent creatures home and make a genocide, 10/10 story, "heroes"

[son of the shadows]

Set wise the idea of having mechs for the team was good, but only executed well for two (Evo and Rocka) while the rest were gappy very badly. Plus the Minifigs of them is nice with the spider things (since I never got the Visorak minifigs in 2005.........)

 

I didn't even pay attention to the story cause it seemed too dull to look up and read.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

Setwise, I'd say awesome. They were some of the most creative in HF and, while I'm not sure if they were the best sendoff, they were certainly great.

 

Storywise, good God that was horrifying. Suddenly Von Nebula making a villain factory doesn't sound too bad.

 

 

 

(jk it still does but seriously what the heck heroes?)