I talk about a lot of stuff on my blog, Pokemon, SpongeBob, basically a lot of things and where I stand. Now onto a subject I don’t talk too much about here - Bionicle.
Bionicle is my favorite Lego franchise of all time. In fact, there was a time when it was my top interest. While the Lego sets were fine and fun, the backstory is what made Bionicle more interesting than the other Lego franchises (not just for the year it was introduced, but for almost all of them). I also liked talking about how it progressed over time. Just today, I looked at a few perspectives from Bionicle fans on what was the best and worst years for Bionicle. I even saw a video series on what years G1 (2001 to 2010 Bionicle sets) were at their best and when they were at their worst. Coming to a general consensus, here are some information I can grasp based on the sets (or toys), comics, story, and other interesting information:
Now if I were to give my opinions on when Bionicle was at the best, I don’t care too much about the books or about the comics, so I’m only gonna judge based on the Lego sets. I didn’t even get most of them most of the time it was out, I didn’t have as much money. My family was poor, and I didn’t do as much to earn money. But I did get enough sets to come up with a proper ranking. And at least I collected all of the 2001 sets at least once.
Bionicle is my favorite Lego franchise of all time. In fact, there was a time when it was my top interest. While the Lego sets were fine and fun, the backstory is what made Bionicle more interesting than the other Lego franchises (not just for the year it was introduced, but for almost all of them). I also liked talking about how it progressed over time. Just today, I looked at a few perspectives from Bionicle fans on what was the best and worst years for Bionicle. I even saw a video series on what years G1 (2001 to 2010 Bionicle sets) were at their best and when they were at their worst. Coming to a general consensus, here are some information I can grasp based on the sets (or toys), comics, story, and other interesting information:
- 2001 and 2004 were objectively the best years for Bionicle. Even without the nostalgia factor, Lego did a good job on the sets. The former introduced the series, the sets were quite interesting, and it had the Mata Nui Online Game (which not only had a good plot, but the gameplay was fantastic, at least for some puzzle adventure that’s more suited for iOS and Android these days). The latter was good when it came to its worldbuilding, and it retained the original quality as it went to a new age since the winter of 2004.
- On the other hand, 2009 and 2010 were objectively the worst years for Bionicle. By this point, Bionicle did not feel like what it used to feel like at its roots. The story got too cheesy, the sets were lame, and people felt like it was a bad end to Bionicle. Even that critic I just watched from on YouTube said that 2008 was when Bionicle truly ended (it actually ended for good in 2016), based on plots.
- The Toa Nuva weren’t as popular as their un-evolved forms because they were a repeat of the original Toa, and their design wasn’t as good.
- Fans liked the idea of making the original Turagas into Toa, but not the original top ranking Matorans as Toa. Despite that, 2006 was pretty popular among Bionicle fans.
- G2 (2015 to 2016) were more loved than the worst of G1, but were more average in comparison.
Now if I were to give my opinions on when Bionicle was at the best, I don’t care too much about the books or about the comics, so I’m only gonna judge based on the Lego sets. I didn’t even get most of them most of the time it was out, I didn’t have as much money. My family was poor, and I didn’t do as much to earn money. But I did get enough sets to come up with a proper ranking. And at least I collected all of the 2001 sets at least once.
- #1 - 2001: Throwing nostalgia and the Mata Nui Online Game (which I do love) aside, 2001 was the peak year for Bionicle when it comes to the toy sets. What makes old better than new isn’t generation bias. It’s the difference between old and new. Here, they had more pieces, more moveability (like when you rotate the gear move the arms), masks you can knock off easily (which made separate sets like little games), and separate building instructions to make a combo set. All of the 2001 titans (which are called Rahi, the creatures in Bionicle) came with two beasts of the same species and instructions to make an even bigger titan using the same pieces. The Toa (the guardians) looked a lot better. They also had 12 different masks, each coming in six different colors. These sets are so good that I hope Lego can re-release them. But if they are to do that, they must re-make the molds that made the pieces. Also, they’ll have to make them limited edition since they don’t do re-releases.
- #2 - 2002: The ones released that year was a mixed bag compared to the previous one. But they are at least a lot better than what the series has become after 2004. The Toa Nuva were repeats, and did not look as good. The Bohrok Va were kinda lame. But the Bohrok and the 2002 titans were great. The whole concept of a forwards-moving head from pushing one trigger was cool. Not only that, you can wrap the Bohrok in ball form. And as long as the titans have a cool function like how the 2001 Rahi did, they are great. I hope to see these sets get re-released as well.
- #3 - 2003: This was the end of the Golden Age for Bionicle. The last of the Mata Nui sets were the Bohrok Kal, Rahkshi (however it’s spelled), the Makuta, Takanuva, two new Rahi with a Matorans included, and six other Matorans. The first half of the year centered on the “sequel” to the Bohrok invasion. The second half, was on the Mask of Light story. The Bionicle sets released in the second half were amazing and a great finisher to the Mata Nui collection (2001 to 2003). Would I like a re-release? Yes.
- #4 - 2004: This was when they went to the new age. I didn’t like these as much, but the quality hasn’t declined, and the concept was the same. What they had more of was disc-throwers, which was exclusive to the 2001 Matoran sets given out by McDonald’s. Even the titans kept their original quality compared to the 2001 titans. Very fine year.
- #5 - 2015: This was when the series rebooted. After its end in 2010, it came back, in new forms. Despite having completely different pieces, the concept was the same as 2001, and with an additonal concep they had in the first half of 2008.
- #6 - 2016: Not as good, and I didn’t stay here for too long. This was basically the real end of Bionicle. Whatever they were basing the new sets off of was unprofitable, and it wasn’t as popular among the younger ones at the time like the older sets were.
- #7 - 2005: This was when they started going downhill on the sets. The Toa looked deformed compared to their 2004 counterparts. The disc-launcher concept was quite cool though. And the actual Lego sets too.
- #8 - 2006: One thing people did not talk too much about when they talked about the 2006 sets was the light concept, something that appeals to me more. I like light-up Lego pieces. I like lights in general. The idea of putting lights in the Bionicle sets was a great idea. But here’s the new problem. They have abandoned the old concept they used in 2001. There are less pieces, less moveability, more shooters, and no way you can knock off the masks. This is why the older sets are better. But this gets more praise because of the lights, which I didn’t see any comment from Bionicle fans on.
- #9 - 2008: Like said above, the fact that they replaced moveability with shooters is what ruined it. Not the shooter part, but the moveability part. But at least the first half had this concept where you can combine two sets.
- #10 - 2007: Same as above, but they had very weird shooters. If you don’t care about the ball joints or the shooters, then the sets are basically studs not worth collecting. Plus, I didn’t like the underwater theme as much.
- #11 - 2009: By this point, Bionicle is basically dead. The sets aren’t cool, and the looks aren’t as attractive. But since I hardly collected these sets due to how bad they have gotten, I can’t judge fairly.
- #12 - 2010: Same as above. Enough said.
