After the "Golden Era", which years were the best for BIONICLE

[Mandate]

I apologize if I formatted the poll wrong. First time I've used one IIRC. I also apologize if this topic shouldn't exist.

I've seen both love and hate for the later years of BIONICLE, and I'm curious as to what the older fans (the ones that were actually there for them) think of them. So, after 5+ years to weigh the pros and the cons of each year what do you guys think of them?

edit: modified the poll

Edited August 2, 2015 by Mandate

[Master_Data]

Each year had a different tone. 2004 and 2006 were vastly different, but I liked both of them.

I liked the titan sets of 2004 and was disappointed when LEGO veered away from that style.

I didn't like 2005. The flashback wasn't any better and the Toa sets felt like a step down. 2005 also introduced the worst launcher in Bionicle history... I still can't find where my first spinner flew off to.

I loved 2006. The story had the right tone, the characters were a lot more interesting, and the builds were a vast improvement over the 2005 builds. The Titans were decent and LEGO released the largest Bionicle set in its entire run. All in all, 2006 was probably the best year Bionicle ever had.

2007... LEGO tried diversifying the builds but ended up with under-armored, uninteresting builds. And every lime green joint on Mahri Hahli cracked. I missed the Kanohi powers of 2006 and the story was a bit too dark.

2008 was more like 2006. The builds were diverse and still looked good. The Mistika weren't the best, but they were better than the Mahri.

2009's builds were great, but the story wasn't what I wanted. 2010 was the last year, so I didn't really like that either.

Sorry for the rant, but thanks for a poll where I can choose more than one year!

[VBBN]

2006 and 2007 were my favorite. I loved the story, the sets, designs, it was all just awesome. Although really I loved all of the years up to that point, I'm not sure why but from 2008 on I just couldnt get into the sets the same way those years had struck me.

[TwistLaw]

2004 had outstanding sets in the Toa Metru (Lhikan ), also really nice titans. My vote went for this year, especially thanks to the story: a dictatorship in this mysterious city that was able to catch the feeling of early Mata Nui.

I also understand the praise for 2006, a close tie with 2004.

[Kalhiki]

2006. Was the first time in a while it felt fresh while still harkening back to the "golden era." Yeah, okay, Mata Nui was more light-hearted than Voya Nui's dark tone, but the whole "mysterious island" bit is what appealed to me. Plus, it was more organic than Metru Nui's cityscape.

The sets were great, too. Loved the creativity and oftentimes goofiness of the Matoran, the Piraka were creative (first time to use that build. They got to use if before it got old) especially with their spines and other gimmicks, and not to mention the titans. I don't know, 2006 was just a fun year.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

2007 was outstanding in the figure department. Yes, there were some hiccups in the process of moving away from cookie-cutter figures, with fellows like Pridak being very good examples of how not to create a unique build for a canister set, but despite its failings in the first half of the year, the second half truly shined when the designers showed the extent of what could be done with unique builds per character; to this day, the Toa Mahri are my favorite post-2001 wave of heroes, and one of the few waves I've managed to re-assemble in their entirety.

The story, though still a bit woefully grimdark at times, at least provided a fresh setting; the underwater environs were something we'd never seen before, and also had some interesting complications that eventually tied into Mata-Nui's true nature as a giant robot.

Edited August 2, 2015 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Dorek]

I still hold much love for 2007. They nailed the underwater theme. Maybe a bit too much rubber (and ignoring the lime joints fiasco), but fantastic designs, and a lot of diversity despite the introduction of the divisive "Inika build" only the previous year. Plus, the culmination of a great story. 2006 might have felt dark for the sake of being dark, but 2007 built on that appropriately, and gave us a heck of a finale.

I've liked all years of BIONICLE to varying degrees, but 2007 was probably my favorite, at least in terms of post-whatever arbitrary time marker we're using.

[Paleo]

I loved 2007. So much. Perfect execution of the environment. Each villain was unique and had awesomely organic armoring, which was not only amazing piece-wise, but stood out from every other line that had been or would be produced. It felt to my young self like I was looking at something that normally wouldn't have gotten past a prototype stage. Plus, I loved the idea of Matoro being the hero. It was a nice change from the macho-fire-guy-wins-the-day trope that had existed up until then.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I never cared much for the first 3 years. 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 all the way for me. Especially 2004 with the dystopic Metru Nui and one of my favorite Toa teams and 2008 with the climax hitting all the marks for me and one of my favorite twists ever.

[BBBeavarr]

2004-5 were fine, but my favorite years were 2006-2007 all the way. 2006 was the point at which Lego really started getting creative with the builds. The piraka were creepily adorable, and the Inika were completely rad. I also have a HUGE love for the Mahri, as they were the only lineup for which I ever got all of the characters. I loved how each Mahri character had elements in common, but they were all so different.

Lego really fell off the wagon in 2009. The Glatorian builds were decent at best, but the story devolved and ground to a halt, and the whole theme just felt like it lost something. It seemed like Lego got really lazy in the shooter department because they just held on to the Thornax launcher pieces for years - all the way into Hero Factory. And I think we can all agree that the Stars figures were a terrible way to end.

[One Very Agile Cat]

2004, it was just great. It had all the mystique and worldbuilding of G1 in a brand new setting, with brand new Toa. The designs were an excellent contrast to 2001-2003, they were dark, swapped the elemental secondary colour for a uniform grey, and they were more porportionate and posable than ever. The aesthetic was also more detailed, the Toa's masks were exxcellently designed, and the story was a great turn. It felt way more mature but just as intelligent and full of heart as the first years. It was the first time Bionicle really leapt forward, yet I still consider it part of the original golden age.

2006/2007 were the second greatest years, thanks to the Inika build. Again, very stark tonal contrast, the story had reinvented itself yet again, and things actually felt really at stake in 2007. It's only real black mark was lime green joints. It's the closest I ever came to going all-in on a year. After that things became a big stagnant. The Nuva were basically the Mahri, the villains ranged from excellent to forgettable, the story felt a bit re-hashy, and the sets were all breaking thanks to the horrible new joint moulds. Then Glatorian happened, and aside from the return to multiple bright colours, it felt just totally blah. I got almost every Glatorian and almost every one of them is parts fodder now. Regardless, I'm quite happy to see 2007 in the lead, even if it's not my first choice.

Edited August 2, 2015 by One Very Agile Cat

[Hidronax]

I really can't decide, I liked 2004, 2007 (second wave) and 2008 (first wave). All I can say is that I didn't like 2006 as much as the other years. Also, I believe there was some unused potential in the 2007 storyline, wish the mission of the Toa Mahri was more like an 'expedition' (and lasted more than 1 day).

[One Very Agile Cat]

Yeah, if the Mahri had spent more time underwater, which I always thought they did until I went back and read that it was a pretty shortlived adventure, I feel like it would've held more weight. (then again the sense of urgency would've been lost so maybe not?)

[Hidronax]

I like thinking that they had at least 3 days of time before the death of Mata Nui, it introduces a lot of new problems like "Where to sleep? Where will we be safe?" or "It's getting dark, we should return to the base camp", or "Matoro didn't return tonight. Will he be alright?"

[Bbrink1996]

2008 was my favorite year besides the first years. The Phantoka Toa and Makuta are some of my favorite characters and I liked the story.

[arc]

I'm thinking 2006. The piraka will always be my favorite, and the titans we're awesome. Same with 2007, (maxilos is one of the best titans ever) and I quite like the barakki and mahri.

8 I wasn't a fan of, I liked a few sets, but WAY to much grey and silver. They just looked boring. (Also cracking parts)

If it weren't for the breaking pieces I would've voted 9 too, I actually really like most glatorian builds. And the abundance of titans and vehicles was cool.

[Fulcrumfan91]

After G1....I have to admit that I did not appreciate 2004 as much as I do now.

2004 had excellent projectile weapons, really good story, best Toa since the Mata, and pretty dark villains. That was a fantastic year for Bionicle.

2005.....was not good. I still like Keetongu, but other than him, a huge meh for me.

2006....honestly, really good year for Bionicle, but I never quite got into it. I remember the Piraka commercials, and thinking that they were odd....but it was 2007 that really brought me back into Bionicle. 2006 had an interesting story, excellent figures, as well as titans. However, 2007's very dark story, mixed with that awesome, awesome, awesome Barraki/Mahri commercial, sealed the deal for my return, albeit short return into Bionicle.

2008-2010.....I couldn't get into the 2008 sets. Just didn't like them. I did not like Glatorian at all, and the last year was probably the worst in Bionicle ever.