Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[bacem]

The baby protector is adorable and Tahu is a badass. That is all.

I don't see baby protector on any of the videos, but i did see lots of normal villagers there. Are those what you're referring to?

[toatali]

The Temple of Time!?

Has anyone checked any of the toy stores in London? I would, but am too lazy :P

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I was referring to the one in the back when Tahu arrives (it's not a baby but it looks like a young protector).

Random thoughts that I posted on BZP:

-I'm suspecting time travel shenanigans (no, I'm not saying these are the Toa from G1, I'm just saying I think they traveled through time in G2's universe to get to Okoto).

-Gali used Aqua Jet! It's not very effective...

-Lewa and PoJ are gonna get spidered up soon.

-Onua's voice is pretty cool but I'm only digging his voice and PoF's (and obviously narrator when he's just narrating). I imagined the rest differently, though I suppose this can be a Protector telling these stories as legends so I guess that's fine. I kinda want a proper TV show with proper voice actors, though.

-I knew that was gonna be the set form of PoF under that cloak.

-I really hope we get a game to explore the settings (especially the Temple of Time and the shrines), or at least a book like Bionicle World where we can see it in detail.

-The animation is awesome, and the expressions are really well done in my opinion.

-I'm glad the Toa's flaws don't seem to be flanderized right from the get-go, since only Kopaka shows clumsiness by trippping.

[MightySlickPancake]

The voices seems different in each video, Kopaka talked different in both videos he was in, which is a little strange imho. However as I am british I adore these voices, I would love to see yorkshire and scotish accents for future characters and a female voice for gali.

[mysteriouspi]

Just watched all nine of them.

The story videos--the second one in particular--seem a bit goofy, what with Tahu accidentally fighting the skull spiders. Although admittedly, Kopaka's "I didn't slip" was rather humorous. The content of those first three doesn't bode well for the characters becoming well-developed, but we will see.

Interesting that the skull spiders don't seem bent on fighitng the villagers themselves: in the first video, it looks like the spiders are invading the villages but only to find the Golden Masks (which of course are not there).

Also interesting how the protectors found Ekimu. Seems to contradict what we learned in the NYCC video. Perhaps they are mistaken...

In regards to the Toa's animations, since they all say roughly the same thing there is little story to be learned. We do see how they fight, however. Seems the same person is narrating all these videos, hence Gali "being male." Dat accent on Pohatu tho.

[Nekchir]

I don't see baby protector on any of the videos, but i did see lots of normal villagers there. Are those what you're referring to?

There's a baby villager in the 1st, and second video.

[Dorek]

Haven't watched em all yet, but stooooooked.

[SuperGeniusCreator]

Guys... look...

THE VAHI IS A ROCK NOW. (It also appears in "The Arrival as another rock)

Definitely not a coincidence that the Vahi appears in every main animation so far except "Quest for the Golden Masks"

Edited December 16, 2014 by SuperGeniusCreator

[Chro]

Not a coincidence, of course - it's an intentional easter egg. :P

[Dorek]

Guys... look...

THE VAHI IS A ROCK NOW. (It also appears in "The Arrival as another rock)

Oh, dip! Didn't catch that one. Nice eye!

It's an easter egg, yeah, but it's a remarkably coincidental easter egg, since we have the Temple of Time... (totally hoping for a BioShock Infinite style twist; there's always a mask, there's always a Toa)

Anyway, watched all nine. I liked the humor, personally, because it's just so at odds with the dour and serious Protectors, which is exactly what it needs to be; when it comes down to it, these Toa will step up to the plate, but they're also amnesiacs tasked with saving the world. A little bit of "wtf" goes a long way.

The animation is just superb here, and I love the little touches; baby Protector, the golden Protector Mask they put on Ekimu, the fact that the Toa actually swap masks instead of overlaying them... it shows an incredible amount of love for the story and the craft, which has me immensely hopeful for the future.

[SuperGeniusCreator]

Not a coincidence, of course - it's an intentional easter egg. :P

3 TIMES, though? It may not be pointing to soft reboot or whatever, but it's definitely pointing to something. Didn't that guy at NYCC say the Mask of Time in the reboot would be a full mask or something? That confirms the existence of a Mask of Time in the new reboot. Whether it is the Vahi or not I don't know or really care that much, but I think this is foreshadowing to something. The whole Temple of Time thing is definitely keeping the story open to softish or iron hard reboot, that's for sure, and it seems inevitable that a mask controlling time will eventually show up. I don't see why they would have a Vahi easter egg 3 times now unless it was hidden foreshadowing to something. Maybe at one point Tahu ends up having to put on the Mask of Time to save the day and stop the Skull Spiders like the original Tahu did to the Bohrok-Kal.

Basically, these easter eggs ARE easter eggs, but I think they're pointing toward a Mask of Time sub-plot. They probably aren't going to go the route of connecting Gen 1 to Gen 2, but I'm betting that a Mask of Time will come into play in the new story somewhere...

EDIT: Also, I agree, Dorek. But that Gali voice is going to weird me out for a long time. Anyone else think the PoF's son is the next Takua?

Edited December 16, 2014 by SuperGeniusCreator

[mysteriouspi]

...the fact that the Toa actually swap masks instead of overlaying them...

Yes. This is awesome. No more masks on masks! That really bugged me in the first two Bionicle movies.

Nice catch, SuperGeniusCreator! Very interesting. Especially since the design we've seen in the animations almost exactly matches the Gen 1 mask... (Not implying anything, I am simply intrigued by this since the Toa's masks are different from Gen 1)

[DraikNova]

Wow. These are pretty good. I like the bit about the comets, it seems like a nice reference to that bit of the toa mythos about their stars. Also, tiny protector is adorable. I mean, it looks like a deformed squid-thing. The narrator's voice is kind of silly-sounding though. You could make a sandwich out of the cheese dripping off his voice when he says "evil" at the end of the first video.

Also, Tahu's facial expression after he steps out of the comet-thingy looks so much like a fan video. Really, the goal seems to be to make every second character in these animations adorable. Also, yay, they kept the term toa!

Edited December 16, 2014 by DraikNova

[Kalhiki]

These are fantastic. A nice balance of story, action, and humor. The Protector disrobing made me laugh. He's an old man that becomes a fierce warrior when he takes his cloak off! Awesome!

The Temple of Time (and Vahi Easter eggs) are intriguing. Not really too focused on the Vahi, but I wonder if the Temple will be more prominent later. Definitely seems to be the new Kini-Nui.

The Toa's amnesia is also interesting. They (or Tahu, at least) seem to know how to fight, yet they know nothing about their history. Wonder where that'll go.

Oh, and AUSTRALIAN POHATU CONFIRMED, OMG!

[Shakar]

Just watched them all and I have to say I love the animation, the colours, the backgrounds (the Region of Earth is gorgeous!) and the Toa' fighting style (very intense and creative). The narrator is good, though I'd really like to see a different VA for each character..

The Temple of Time tidbit is by far the most interesting part, though. Seems like that NYCC rumour about the Toa' arrival being linked to time was true! I guess they can go anywhere from here- keep their origin a mystery, explain it while keeping G1 and G2 separate..or drop a plot twist to link G1 and G2.

And, somewhat trivial but neat: that gold/tr. light blue Protector mask the Protectors put on Ekimu looks really cool and useful. Maybe his (not yet confirmed, but you know) set features it? The gold Protector mask has been shown so often at this point that I can't help but wonder if we'll get it in a set, and this seems like a good candidate.

Also interesting how the protectors found Ekimu. Seems to contradict what we learned in the NYCC video. Perhaps they are mistaken...

I don't see the contradiction, all we knew from the first video is that Ekimu was knocked unconscious and the MoCr was lost. This one adds that the Protectors found him and he (somehow...unconsciously...) whispered the Prophecy. Unless you're talking about the "lifeless" tidbit, I think you can say that about a comatose or sleeping body as well, it doesn't necessarily mean dead.

Oh man, I completely forgot about spoiler tags for a moment. If I had known I would have gone into so much detail... I'll be posting my revamps once they get done in a separate topic, and I'll save a rundown of the minute details for then.

On the Protectors, I also dislike the spinny weapons. For PoI I made an arm blaster (that replaces his forearm) with the shield attached to it, and for PoE I am hoping to get a second copy so he can have a full mace. Can I also say that I quite like Dark Bley bones for brighter colors like the ones Gali and Lewa will be sporting, and I wish that we had the torso in dark grey. (We only have the one with the extra shoulder balls in dark bley.)

For LOSS, funnily enough the revamp is based off of Scarox. No, not that atrocious standard set, but a more spider-esque revamp I made of him. The main structure involves two of the large torso beams with one flipped so that the 'neck' ball is over the 'crotch' ball of the other one. This gives you eight balls to attach the legs and plenty of points to attach armor to the main body. I have the revamp almost entirely done- all I need is the chestplate from the stock LOSS set. I will definitely still be getting the whole set because he makes a great Technic parts pack either way.

Yeah, I find spoiler tags to be really useful when your post ends up being too long. I use it to hide long paragraphs one might find annoying to scroll down through or to hide long-winded digressions not everyone might be interested in.

I think that my mods to the Protector weapons would be mostly about replacing some fire parts for small blades (I'd definitely do it on PoJ).

Sounds cool, never thought about that technique. Even though I'm not interested in the character and set myself, I'm looking forward to your revamped LOSS!

I don't see how having a circular saw or a drill that actually spins is all that gimmicky. Wouldn't you expect those kinds of tools to actually spin? At least if they're brick-built — I can see how a single-piece tool like Turaga Matau's Kau Kau Staff or Turaga Whenua's Drillstaff would not be expected to spin.

It's not the fact that they spin, it's how they look and work. PoI's weapon is called an "ice saw blade" but the saw blade is perpendicular to its wielder, so it looks like a spinning shield with an awkward handle. PoE's weapon is a drill using a mace half, so it looks more incomplete rather than a "star drill" (which, at least to me, sounds like a coverup for "the budget didn't allow us to put a full mace in the set, so we came up with this"- not that I can blame them really). I just don't think they look good or functional, especially considering the weapons they're supposed to represent.

Spinning weapons annoy me because of this- they often ruin the weapons designs and don't work that well (and those yellow bits, eeeh). That's why I call them gimmicks. The sets already have a very good function (the blasters) so I don't see the need to add another (half baked) play function which only ends up looking awkward and odd.

[arc]

The animation is really great, I just wish they were longer than a minute or two each. And pohatu is definitely my favorite from this series, his voice is just perfect.

Also, baby protector is just adorable. I love his face after tahu steps out.

[Kingslayer]

I think its safe to say I dislike the voices for every single Toa. Onua and Tahu are okay although most of them sound the same to me which isnt great. He didnt even try for Gali XD

I love the animation and the story looks promising. I'll stay tuned if only to laugh at how awkward the romance scenes will sound between Tahu and Gali

Edited December 16, 2014 by Kingslayer

[TheLastToaofLight]

Comedy and fast paced seems to be how this story is being told. This is a reboot.

I wonder why there are so many hidden Vahi. Shall the Vahi be destined for a reboot?

[Aanchir]

It's not the fact that they spin, it's how they look and work. PoI's weapon is called an "ice saw blade" but the saw blade is perpendicular to its wielder, so it looks like a spinning shield with an awkward handle.

I don't know, I think that's a fairly reasonable way for him to hold it, as it reduces the risk of him cutting himself with it. I interpreted it as being used to cut downward from his hand, which is probably the safest way for him to use a saw blade that size anyway. If you wanted it to cut parallel to the hand and arm, though, it's as simple as rotating the connector that attaches it to his hand ninety degrees.

PoE's weapon is a drill using a mace half, so it looks more incomplete rather than a "star drill" (which, at least to me, sounds like a coverup for "the budget didn't allow us to put a full mace in the set, so we came up with this"- not that I can blame them really).

I guess I just don't see it that way. To me it looks like the cutter head from a roadheader, and it never even crossed my mind that the designers might have ever meant for the set to have a mace. Seems to me like they were looking for a creative way to build a drill for the set and happened upon the mace piece.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Aanchir

[Chro]

I think its safe to say I dislike the voices for every single Toa. Onua and Tahu are okay although most of them sound the same to me which isnt great. He didnt even try for Gali XD

I completely agree. Way disappointed with the voices.

[TheGreatSpirit]

Another Vahi has been found

[Tazakk]

So we can expect one Vahi per episode, then.

[Aanchir]

I think its safe to say I dislike the voices for every single Toa. Onua and Tahu are okay although most of them sound the same to me which isnt great. He didnt even try for Gali XD

Gali was one of the ones where it was most obvious to me that he was trying. He uses a distinctly lighter and higher-pitched voice (with more ups and downs in pitch) for her lines than for any of the other Toa's. Pohatu's voice also sounds WAY different than all the others.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Aanchir

[Kalhiki]

I don't mind the voices simply because I know they're all voiced by the same guy. One person can only do so much (unless your Troy Baker or something). It's kinda like someone reading the story from a book and putting different voices to the characters, which I quite enjoy.

I'm just happy he gave Pohatu an Australian accent.

[Transparency for Effect]

Yes. This is awesome. No more masks on masks! That really bugged me in the first two Bionicle movies.

I'm assuming it may have been because they were trying to hide the Matoran/Toa maskless faces for whatever reason.