Why do the Kanohi Nuva exist?

[Toa Azarius]

Before people go crazy, (though I wouldn't see why) I'm asking why do they exist, when you could do the same things with a normal Kanohi. Ok, maybe not fully with a Kaukau, or a Miru, but the other four masks such as the Akaku, or a Kakama, could through either intense training, or through modification to allow for those abilities. But for the sake of the theory, let's go with the training.

 

The best example for me to use would be the two masks that are based around physical attacks/fitness instead of mental/other, which would be the Kakama, and the Pakari. Starting off with the Kakama, it's description says that it let's the user 'move at incredible speeds', just as the description for the Nuva, the only difference being that the Nuva can let you vibrate your atoms to phase through objects, and that you can see where you going much clearer. Now, if the Kakama Nuva was an actual upgrade from the original that can go a little faster, then wouldn't you be able to do the same things with any plain old Kakama? The way I see it, if the Kakama Nuva can supposedly go x amount of times as fast as the normal one, then wouldn't it just take training yourself to go that many times faster? As for being able to see more clearly, that could be fixed either by having their eyes rebuilt to be able to see at high speeds, or by use of adaptive armor (I think)

 

Onto the Pakari, it's the same priniple, but it's also different, because instead of running as fast as you can, your hitting something as hard as you can. The same logic still applies though, if the Pakari Nuva can hit something x times harder than the normal Pakari, then you'd need to train to eventually get to hitting x times harder. You wouldn't be no One Punch Toa, but you'd still be able to hit harder, depend on how hard you would train.

 

The same formula applies to the other four masks, which still begs the question, why did Artahka deliberately waste protodermis of making the Kanohi Nuva, when they weren't even needed in the first place? There are currently two possible answers I can think of:

 

1. Artahka knew it would take a long time for the Toa to continuously level up their masks, and that Makuta could sabotage the training, so he made them as an easy way out of sorts.

 

2. The Lego Team made them because they needed a story for 2003, so they gave us another "find the power up, beat the baddie" copout.

 

Feel free to add to my theory.

[aldero]

Interesting. The way I would put it would be along the lines of that the Toa's capabilities and pre-existing experience are increased x-fold, across the board. The Kanohi themselves act as a central source (at least a crucial aspect) of a Toa's power and capabilities, after all. 

[Lyichir]

Firstly, you're forgetting one of the most specifically distinct powers of the Kanohi Nuva versus the normal Kanohi—they allow the user to not only use their respective power, but share it with those around them. Now, arguably that's not a huge upgrade for the Toa since they all already had their golden masks that let them each use all six of the standard Kanohi powers at will, but nevertheless it is a significant upgrade to the standard masks' power sets.

 

Secondly, the argument that Artakha was "wasting protodermis" on the Kanohi Nuva is a little silly. Someone with Artakha's stature and means presumably had access to any materials he needed—up to and including energized protodermis.

 

Thirdly, from a Doylist standpoint, your explanation number two is absolutely correct. The primary reason why the Kanohi Nuva existed in the story was so that there would be new collectibles for Lego to sell. That justification precedes every post-hoc storyline justification for where the masks came from or why they were hidden around Mata Nui. Then again, you could say the same for just about any actual Bionicle product's role in the story—as always, the sets came first and the story was shaped specifically to give context to those sets.

[Pohaturon]

I don't think "training" really works like that in Bionicle, but correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know, the masks act independently from the wearer's physical abilities, i.e. if an Olympic athlete and someone decidedly less fit would both wear a Kakama and "turn it up to max", they would go the same speed, because it is the mask that determines that.

This means that no form of training would allow a regular Kakama user to achieve the speeds of a Kakama Nuva user.

Same with a Pakari. If both Dwayne Johnson and a 10 year old are wearing a Pakari, and are punching "with" the Pakari, the force of the punch would be identical, and the Pakari Nuva is just stronger.

 

And the others - Hau Nuva has a better shield than Hau, Miru Nuva lets you pseudo-fly while the Miru only levitates - I don't know about the Akaku and Kaukau. What, you breathe underwater... better?

 

Add to that the power sharing feature and you have a decent in-universe explanation.

 

And then there is option two.

 

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

i am pretty sure even with training there is an upper limit to how strong or fast a particular being can be without aid,

 

Pohatu is strong, with good leg muscles, he can probably run pretty well as is, but his mask of speed makes him the fastest.

 

Onua is already fairly strong, but his mask of strength makes him the strongest.

 

and idk bout the spare kanohi nuva but i thought the ones on their faces were unintentional protodermis-based upgrades like the rest of their nuva gear?

 

the nuva fetch quest really was an awkward collectable insertion thing >_>

[Master Inika]

I don't think "training" really works like that in Bionicle, but correct me if I'm wrong. As far as I know, the masks act independently from the wearer's physical abilities, i.e. if an Olympic athlete and someone decidedly less fit would both wear a Kakama and "turn it up to max", they would go the same speed, because it is the mask that determines that.

This means that no form of training would allow a regular Kakama user to achieve the speeds of a Kakama Nuva user.

Same with a Pakari. If both Dwayne Johnson and a 10 year old are wearing a Pakari, and are punching "with" the Pakari, the force of the punch would be identical, and the Pakari Nuva is just stronger.

 

And the others - Hau Nuva has a better shield than Hau, Miru Nuva lets you pseudo-fly while the Miru only levitates - I don't know about the Akaku and Kaukau. What, you breathe underwater... better?

 

Add to that the power sharing feature and you have a decent in-universe explanation.

 

And then there is option two.

 

I was going to post something like this. For Strength/Speed, the regular versions of those masks increase the attribute above any level you can get by training, and the Nuva versions increase them even higher. For the others (half speculation and half BS01):

 

Shielding: Neither version creates a perfect shield (Tahu Nuva gets thrown, within his shield, across Ta-Koro in Mask of Light), so I assume the Nuva version can withstand an even more powerful attack without moving.

 

Water Breathing: According to BS01, the regular version only lets you breathe water, and only temporarily. The Nuva version lets you breathe water for as long as you want, and also withstand intense water pressure.

 

X-Ray Vision: Nuva version can see through illusions; regular can't. (BS01)

 

Miru: Eh... I got nothing. It's more streamlined?

 

Anyway, hope this help.

[Ghidora131]

Miru: Eh... I got nothing. It's more streamlined?

 

Anyway, hope this help.

 

If I recall, solely based upon reading the books, it increases the speed at which Lewa can "levitate", and has lots more pointy parts.

[Infrared]

Another thing is that in general, weak beings can use weak masks, but they can't use strong masks even partially. Take the Rau: the Noble Rau can translate written language, the Great Rau can translate written and spoken language. If Turaga Nokama puts on a Noble Rau, she can translate written language. If she puts on a Great Rau, she can't translate anything: even though she has a "Noble" power level, she can't tap the "Noble" aspect of the Great mask (translating written language), since it is still a Great mask that's too powerful for her.

 

We don't know why specifically Great masks are too powerful for Turaga, but they are. Kanohi are kind of like software I guess. You can try running a new program on an old computer, but it might not work as expected. Maybe it'll run slowly or crash the computer--which is to say, maybe Turaga technically can use Great Masks, but it'll harm or kill them. To prevent this, the developers might stop the program from running on old systems--the Great Beings prevented Turaga from using Great Kanohi, even though Turaga technically do have enough power to use them. Or maybe the program uses new technology that the old computer doesn't support, so the program simply can't run. In which case, Turaga are too weak for Great Kanohi, plain and simple.

 

I think Kanohi Nuva run on the same principle. A Great Kanohi Nuva is a step up from a Great Kanohi. This means ordinary Toa are not powerful enough to access any of the powers in the Kanohi Nuva. Why? We don't know for sure. Regardless, the Toa Mata had to use ordinary Kanohi. When they became Toa Nuva, of course they could use more powerful Kanohi Nuva.

 

tl;dr: As others have stated above, you can't "train up" Kanohi. So why didn't the Toa Mata just wear the powerful Kanohi Nuva from the get go? Kanohi Nuva are so powerful that the Toa Mata couldn't access the Kanohi Nuva's powers at all. Once they became Toa Nuva, they were strong enough to use the masks.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Infrared

[halowwe]

they existed as the toa transformed could have been some type of signal perhaps. for the Masks across the island to change. if any.

[Pohaturon]

they existed as the toa transformed could have been some type of signal perhaps. for the Masks across the island to change. if any.

 

I'm pretty sure Arthaka made the Kanohi Nuva, and either he or a buddy of his hid them around the island long before the Toa Mata arrived. I might remember incorrectly though.

 

How they didn't accidentally find them during their first mask-hunt, and how they miraculously did after their transformation, however, is beyond me.

 

[MrSciFiGuy]

I'm sure the main reason was the collectible issue, and then a simple story addition of Artakha putting the masks on the island was added

[Master Inika]

Yes, if I recall correctly, the (admittedly unlikely) reason given was that Artakha was aware when the Toa Mata were transformed, and quickly created the Kanohi Nuva and transported them to Mata Nui.

[Toa of Ice - 1987]

there is a simple reason in my opinion. After Artakha learned about the toa evolving, he was probbly quick to theorize that the toa nuva would not have their goledn masks any more, so he ordered the spare nuva masks to be created the as a emergency supply masks if any of the nuva would need to go a solo mission alone or ever got separated.

Edited July 5, 2016 by necross hordika

[Zidonaro]

Plot Convenience.

[Pohaturon]

Wait, didn't Arthaka already know that the Toa Mata would eventually go through transformation into the Nuva, and made the masks in advance?

 

[Toa of Ice - 1987]

Wait, didn't Arthaka already know that the Toa Mata would eventually go through transformation into the Nuva, and made the masks in advance?

 

I doubt he had a ability to read a persons or pre-program the fate/destiny of the mata

[Wiriamu]

The real world application has been discussed thoroughly; from an in-universe standpoint, it seems like a nifty means of increasing the Nuva understanding of unity. Basically, each Toa would face the limits of having to switch between masks as an individual, whereas when they work alongside the other five all six powers are accessible to them at once. If they weren't so Makuta bone-headed they'd get that it shows them they are truly at their most powerful when they are six working as one.