I can only speak from my own experience, but at my school at least the mask game wasn't really big. Kids would bring the toys to school but did more like, roleplaying with them. As far as I knew, only the Manas were designed around hitting off each other's masks. Heck, when I finally saw the Nui Rama box in like 2007, my mind was blown to see that the other Rahi were designed around dueling. The consensus back in 2002/2003 in my area at least was just that the mask connections weren't very strong and that was it. Maybe my classmates and I were just stupid, but it never occurred to any of us to try to knock each other's masks off.
An interesting parallel between Bionicle and Ninjago is that both franchises started off heavily focused on a game which was kept up with for like a year and then abandoned
Well said, SkyBird. I feel like what made the _Bionicle_ sets so great was that they captured the euphoric joys of battle play functions from _Technic Competition,_ and compressed them down to something as affordable as _Slizers._ And to me, a _Bionicle_ set without Technic-based play functions is like a _Transformers_ toy that doesn't transform. To reiterate on that statement of it being like a "Transformers toy that doesn't transform," what makes a _Transformers_ character design so appealing is how well they can integrate vehicle parts into a robot design. Take the G1 Optimus Prime for instance. One can immediately see parts of a truck's cab being used to create his torso and arms, while the truck's tractor unit forms his legs. This makes it clear that Optimus Prime is a robot that can transform into a truck, and is a perfect example of what makes a _Transformers_ character design so appealing; it's the creative useage and rearrangement of vehicle parts to create a robot. This is why a lot of people don't like the designs in _Transformers: Age of Extinction,_ where the Autobots barely have any noticeable vehicle parts to their designs and transform off-screen, and the Decepticons just straight up don't have a transformation sequence, instead, just transforming via floating CGI particles like they are made of KRE-O bricks. And this all makes designing screen-accurate toys with transformation functions an absolute nightmare for the toy designers at Hasbro. Now, back to _Bionicle,_ I feel like the Technic play functions also result in a rather unique, biomechanical aesthetic for the characters, as described by barry-thechangechecker8179 back in your "Bionicle G2 Has a Character Problem" video. For example, part 32269 on the Toa sets doesn't really serve any purpose other than decorating the gear shaft (at least until the Toa Nuva sets use it for an optional "gear lock"), it still adds to the silhouette to a Toa. Or how the Rahi leaned heavily towards those Technic play functions, leading to their designs looking like robotic animals. I feel like R.R. Slugger said it best that The LEGO Group's move to phase out Technic gear functions, battle play, and an emphasis on masks inevitably made _Bionicle_ feel less like _Bionicle,_ and more like _Galidor_ - a line with simplistic, buildable, generic action figures that a kid could just slap together in a few minutes, and we all know how badly that line bombed. In fact, I remember reading on the TV Tropes "Executive Meddling" Page for toys, it describes that the _Bionicle_ theme's shift towards phasing out Technic play functions might have been done because executives thought that kids didn't care for Technic play functions, and just care for poseable action figures with -choking hazard- projectile launchers. On a similar note, I want to bring up the _Knights Kingdom II_ buildable action figures, and how Nick Anderson describes their biggest flaws compared to the Toa figures from _Bionicle;_ The _Knights Kingdom_ figures do have gear functions, but they are permanently built into the torso. The builder doesn't build the gearbox, The LEGO Group's factory machines already did that, and the gears are stuck in this piece of plastic. Thus, the builder cannot edit the gearboxes to their liking, unlike with the Toa, where they can edit things like attaching a gear to a different arm, or incorporating another gear to have both arms swing. And all of this is a clear demonstration as to why _Bionicle_ works best when it's a LEGO Technic subtheme. That's not to say that _Bionicle_ builds without Technic-based play functions, or _Transformers_ figures that aren't designed to transform are a bad thing, and that there is still an appeal to them; they allow for more detail that may be compromised by accounting for play functions. _Transformers_ has its share of statues and model kits of characters, that while they obviously don't have the ability to transform, are meant to be detailed display models for adults to show off. Meanwhile, I don't disrespect the MOC artists in the _Bionicle_ community for not including Technic functions in their MOCs, as its their decision on whether they want a display piece or a play piece. In fact, I have been searching for a bunch of _Bionicle_ MOCs that do go out of the way and effort to include gear functions, and Tributron is an absolute legend when it comes to making _Bionicle_ MOCs with both form, and function. It's just that I appreciate it when a MOC builder can make a _Bionicle_ MOC that can balance those two aspects. I can fully agree with what you said towards the end; what you loved most about _Bionicle_ as a kid really was the learning experience, learning how to create these amazingly complex mechanisms must have felt absolutely wonderful, and it feels like dumbing down the sets to be simplistic, buildable action figures hurts really hurts the idea of LEGO Sets being a learning experience about construction and engineering as a whole. In the end, what I wish for The LEGO Group to have done with _Bionicle_ back in 2009/2010 would have been to allow it to coexist with _Hero Factory._ Make _Hero Factory_ the buildable action figure line with simple, poseable action figure builds, while _Bioncle_ has action figure builds with complex Technic functions for play.
Great analysis as always Skybird. I tend to enjoy your videos discussing early Bionicle as my interest declined beyond 04. When it comes to functions, I feel Bionicle really nailed it when they was Technic based at it's roots. The mask game component is so cool and it created a hierarchy of sets and their powers. If you have a Tarakava you knee you had a powerful Bionicle. Like you mentioned, where 01 was purely about the Kanohi mask game, we saw a shift with the 02 theme. The Bohrok saga was interesting, it introduced in effect the Bionicle equivalent of a xenomorph/tyranid species that had somehow convergently evolved it's own mask system the Krana. As noted in previous comments I am a major fan of the 01 Rahi and 02 Bahrag. They just captured that perfect blend/aesthetic of Technic and Bionicle mixed with function. I recently built a Boxor set which like you Skybird, I had slept on but soon realised how simply awesome this set was in its functionality mixed with a new Bohrok theme in build. However, one set that I just recently bought on Ebay and built this was which really blew my mind was the exo-toa!. Now not only does it capture that quintessential early Bionicle bulky Technic aesthetic, it also has such an amazing unique function. Unlike 01 where all the Titwn sets where Villians, the Exo Toa is in effect the counterpart set to the Bahrag, with its hook arm specifically made to disable the Bahrags chest! So not only is the Bahrag functional as a duelling set, we had a sister set which can enter the battle. Not only that, but as someone who has built/rebuilt my Bahrag a few times now, it became noticeable that the exo-toa building journey gave me a sense of familiarity. I am certain the team/individual who designed the Bahrag was also responsible for the Exo Toa. There was a clear distinct sense the Bahrag and Exo toa were sister sets and somewhat symbiotic. On top of this, the exo Toa shared similar elements such as the technic panels, dark grey, the leg build and more so the recoloured Pahrak claw in silver which is an exclusive colour of this part, just like the bahrags use of the Pahrak claw in blue/red (feet). Building the exo toa as an adult it gave me a true sense of gratitude to how much thought those early bionicle sets had, not just function but aesthetic. I think if you like one set, you need to have the other displayed with it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the exo toas relationship with the Bahrag some day 🙂👍
It's funny how I feel this sense of nastolgia for an era of Lego I was barely a part of. Like I was only 1 when bionicle started and didn't get into it until the failed reboot, yet 2001-02 is my favourite era of bionicle. I miss when Lego would do built in games with their themes, I've said it before but the original Ninjago 2010 Spinners game is what got me, and a lot of other ninjago fans into ninjago,. Even legends of chima had their own set of games with the Speedorz. Favourite canister set function? That's a tough one, a lot of canister sets share the same function. I guess the Bohrok I hate how overpowered they are in the game but I'd be lying if I said the function to headbutt everything wasn't fun.
I liked the function in that early canister sets and titans....Makutas hip joint function is weird but fun but my faves are Krekka Nidhiki and Nivawk, it just fun to play with them. After I build Nidhiki I was surprised how often I changed him in flight mode and back and the claw function is cool too.
For the mask game specifically, while I am too young to have been able to engage in it myself, at least story wise, while the consequences of losing a mask don’t really go away, the impetus for the toa to need to knock off masks goes away, namely the infected masks. For 2002 and 2003, the mask game then become mostly a measurement system for a character’s power, backing up the story with gameplay, culminating in 2003s axle connections, impossible (or very hard) to knock off. By 2004, with the jump in time period for the story, the mask game becomes too distant of a concept to really bother carrying over, given the story they told for metru nui.
I think you're overthinking it a bit. The first purpose of all of the functions ever is the same as the mask game itself. That is fun and novelty. It's just cool to flip button or twist a knob and have the model do something. Learning is a neat side effect that provides the builder with a sense of accomplishment AFTER they have built the set, but I don't think that was ever a selling point.
Oh yes definitely, playing with intuitive functions was always satisfying and went a long way to my enjoyment of the franchise as a child, it really had something for everyone
as someone who started in the mahri line, the functions never really mattered much for me. the blasters were cool, but they weren’t a huge factor either honestly.
I liked a lot of the Rahi functions, a lot of their functions were really fun, and were the ones I played with a lot, some for the Bohrok. The functions on the Toa never really did it for me, and I was honestly kinda glad when the stopped doing them on Toa sets.
I never cared about the mask game, and only thought of the early masks' low friction as annoying, but the functions were cool. I think 2004 was more about leaning into the poseable toy aspect and reducing that which compromised it, and then they overcompensated in 2005 when they didn't like that theory for whatever reason, and decided to make that year experimental. Not only that, but...developed to the utmost. I can't say that anything Rhotuka is unexplored by 2005. Clearly projectiles were a fondness of theirs, perhaps because it means less molds, and you can easily unite characters by them, and consign them to obe limb at a time? But they started with them, went back to them in metru, went back in rhotuka, went back again and again, but the hordika was the tine for experimenting with the pretty bulky rhotuka system with different attack angles, and ripcords, they used ripcords, which, remember Beyblade! It was popular about this time! Lego is no stranger to taking on other ideas, yea, toa teams are basically super sentai/power rangers, hopping on this trend was quite sensible. The Hordika, are, not just in lore, but in function, just muddled up Metru where they put the projectile and the gear in swapped places. Either cos it was easier to develop or cos it sold well, the trend towards poseable action figures continued then further. The Zamor launcher. Now, the launcher aasembly is quite concise, easy to put on, and easy to manufacture for. What's the theory development? Ammo clip, that's all. And, Piraka and Inika were different waves i think, don't recall how exactly this was done, but could easily see Inika clips being an energency response to the annoyance of storage and reload. But yes! The sphere! Useful to have one of those, so easy to make, to mass produce! To then use for many purposes. That left a function or gimmick slot, something you put in a circle on the box. The light up eyes, weapons, removable box masks, and glow in the dark heads. And the ineffectiveness of these gimmicks, and the response to Axonn and Brutaka who had no, gimmicks, but did have designs that reinforced the system itself using new pistons, Axonn's flexible fingers, now the system itself was being built on, and... Well, i know it's easy to look upon ourselves now and say that our perspectives of purselves in the past were tainted or we didn't know at the time, but i think the universal fondness for Axonn and Brutaka, the kind of fondness for Vezon, and the complete "Who?"ness for Umbra, who had two light up swords, roller skates, and light up eyes, i think would've translated to sales. And all of that is why i think the Mahri and Barraki had to be unique, far more unique than anything before. Because, oh, there's a good point, back to the gears, it's hard to sell new sets with gears in because they're so, well, systematic. Kid already has the old gears, can probably do decent of stuff new gears could do. But, in any case, Mahri, Barraki, unique, but still, their launchers. Barraki, squid launcher, it's terrible, but, you can see why they went for it. It, and one bullet, is two pieces. It's small, so you don't have to dedicate a lot of packaging space to it, it's flexible as is its ammo, and they kinda just stuck the ammo all over the body for storage and cos it looks cool. It's also, like the rhotuka, based on something kids already know! That means, lots of kids will be able to engage with it easily cos they're at the skill floor. If only it worked... Then, the mahri blaster, also small-ish bullets means you get more if them, but you lose more of them, so you put more in, so you can jack up the parts count, a very important metric for the consumer at this time. It's, eh, functional enough, but a bit sticky, a bit low powered, and storing the ammo on the body creates a cool and unique look that absolutely must not be done in that exact way again because it's so visually distinct. So, these launchers, not exactly stellar reviews, but there's things to be gotten from them, including the fact that they're self-contained assemblies. Rhotuka is three parts that are all non-interactive outside of each other, you lose one in a toybox, it's worthless. Disk launchers could overflex, get bent out of shape, we all know the properties of soft silver plastic. The Zamor launchers, that tiny hose, the pinaxle connector, the 4 axle, sure you can put other things in place to work it out but that knowledge isn't easily passed on to the consumer. You have to remove the little fiddly bits, and that's what the mahri projectile systems did great. Midak skyblasters took the self-containment theory, and applied it with easy to make Zamor spheres, already still in use. It's the most convenient of all assemblies for everyone...but not when applied to the actual sets, because a fully loaded Midak skyblaster, is a very heavy thing, it droops quite readily in my experience. I feel like they realised this at some point before production, and that's why we got Kopaka holding it in two hands but it was also after Lewa's sword was commissioned, so they couldn't change that that much, and Pohatu is on his shoulder meaning it can't droop that much. This is all amidst the new hand design and it'd be a confusing and rushed tome for everyone, yes. The Makuta assembly, yours is better, but, that one is at least an assembly of four parts; a torso and a ribcage, both bulky enough to be easy to find, two semispheres, trans orange, biggish enough to not be a problem, and two pins, very common. The inside rubber pieces add to the parts count but not the space much, add to the theming and advertising whilst knowing they will fall to the bottom of toyboxes and stay there and...this won't be that much of an issue, they are set dressing, they are played with a few times then the kid won't care as much about refilling their orbs. But, of course, these pieces, eh, limited on interactability outside of one another, we're back to the one ammo system, it is a step backward. The nyrah blasters. Two pieces of ammo, stored on the gun, the ammo is unique meaning you have to buy these for a new interaction, and the gun is two big pieces meaning it's easy to find or reassemble. I hear a lot of success with it, i didn't think it was that great, and the air trigger is comparably temperamental to the cordak blasters. It's also bulky, and, though it's not that heavy, you get two sets just holding on to this as a development of the overcompensation for the weight of the Midak, imo. And the Makuta were not designed with this bulky, mechanical tank cannon in mind, it's just tacked on. Now, the Thornax. It's not small, unique parts; the housing is two big parts that come in every big set so one way or another you should find them easy enough, plus, any axle of length teo or greater. That "greater" does a lot of lifting too as along with the pin hole, and their low size and not too specific aesthetic design makes them a very versatile piece even bwyond launchers, but especially it being an easier to customise launcher of low space, you can focus on design elsewhere, you can slap it on to things with just a mata hand, course they give you a new rubbery projectile to sell you on biying the new thing but it's a zamor launcher, and backwards compatible too with them. And by this point, you can always find another Zamor. The rubber helps it not go rolling under things, it sits readily in the housing, and though they built the whole game, I think it's the smallest and most noncommittal of all the projectile systems, the ribbed housing is quite glatorian without being unusably unique. And yeah, i touched on there's always another Zamor, but i really think that was the theory at this point, thornrax aren't that hard to keep track of, they're black and gold and you can put them on a desk without them rolling away, but, with also respect to the resurgence of midak skyblasters in this year used on vehicles which had the structure and beams to support them properly, Zamor was quite so settled on as a thing to ensure the consumer had lots of by this point. I say Midak was even developed with respect to having many if them from Piraka wave, but either way you've got lots now, and Thornax launchers are great for if you want a full launcher but don't want it weighing you down and quite frankly you're not that fussed about firing it. And if you can't really think of a brand new projectile gimmick to sell to kids, and the kids aren't that fussed about them anyways since the new ammo gets lost and the gun looks stupid or bulky or doesn't work great, you might as well respect the kids' existing inventory with as versatile and unintrusive a gun as possible, that doesn't require lots of new molds for you and confusing machines to out them together, and just make the context for its application fun instead with the thornax game, even as that peters out with the reuse of the launcher system over the years as it proves itself convenient and unobrrusive when that's the most desireable quality, time and again.
Rahi Mask Game Deep Dive: * You need to knock off two masks to defeat the Nui Rama and Nui Jaga (the weakest, so compensated by having higher life points?) * You need to knock off one mask to defeat the Tarakava (standard strength, so standard chances ?) * You need to knock if at least one of the two masks to defeat Kane-Ra and Moo-Moo (strongest, so compensated by giving you .ore chances to disable it?)
