Why G2 Didn't Catch an Audience | BIONICLE Deep Dive 

The Matoran were the Heart of Metru Nui. The Okotans really needed more depth and development to make the world feel lived in and give our heroes something to fight for

Other things to consider with G2's failure include: 1) Launching it at the same time as the Ninjago reboot, which has been cannibalising other Lego themes ever since its rebirth, with most themes only getting 2.5 years now as opposed to 3. 2) Bionicle was relaunched during a massive expansion Lego did after the first Lego Movie, as they expected the massive boost they got from it to last. It didn't. A _lot_ of things had to be scaled back very quickly, and Bionicle was likely one of them. But yeah mostly the "No marketing, no story, audience is millennials and Gen Z kids who don't have money" thing. Like fuck, it took us months to even get _names_ for the Protectors, and most of the Skull Villains never got that.

G2 had no creative vision behind it. Everyone knows that Bionicle was what saved Lego from bankruptcy in the early 2000s, but what's less discussed is how awful the early concepts were. It was originally going to be called "Boneheads of Voodoo Island" and the characters were going to be named after their appendages. Claw, Blade, Axe, Hook, Flame, and Kick. It wasn't until some people who had real vision for what the toy line could be stepped up and gave it some gravity. They drew on Polynesian culture to make the world feel mystical and rich with its own mythology (a little too much because Lego faced legal action because of it -- that's why a bunch of matoran characters had their names changed). And of course, there's the anecdote about one of the creators drawing on his experience with cancer treatment, and how he imagined the medication he took contained tiny warriors that would battle the cancer. The creative minds behind the project turned the Boneheads into the Toa, and turned Voodoo Island into Mata Nui. G2 needed that. It needed a strong creative force backing it and it didn't have one. That's why the monsters were called "Skull Spiders." That's why instead of Turaga, we got Protectors. When the new line of toa came out, they were "Uniters" instead of "Toa Nuva." At its core, G2 was Boneheads of Voodoo Island.

Bionicle is a franchise that honestly should not have stayed in the realms of toys. It should have expanded as a story driven franchise and have the toylines become just a part of the marketing, like with Transformers, Gundam, or Star Wars. It also should not just have stayed as a storyline made for kids, but have stories or universes for different age groups. But sadly, Lego didnt knew what to do with a franchise like this, rich with potential and they squandered their chances. They were also notoriously clingy of their own IPs. Ironically, the Lego company that champions creativity and imagination, stifled the creativity of the franchise. Had it expanded beyond what we had, then the G1 and G2 toylines getting cancelled would not have been the end of Bionicle, but just one of the chapters in Bionicle´s larger history.

G2 had many problems. Taking away Pohatu's pixar-mom-hips was one of them.

21:21 "Nothing under the surface" is the perfect way to sum up G2. There was just this constant feeling of "Why should I care?" and "Yeah, aaand?", as we were just waiting for some glimpse of depth reminiscent of the way G1 handled things. But it was just hollow. Ultimately, G2 just didn't have that creative spark that G1 had. With G1, LEGO basically got some creative people, put them in a room and said "We want a good story to sell toys for, come up with something cool", and then Thompson, Swinnerton, & Faber entered some sort of mad creative frenzy, but with G2 they just said "Give us something that looks like this, but don't make it too complex" while pointing at G1. Resulting in the empty facsimile that G2 was. It was the completely wrong lesson to learn from G1. Instead of simplifying everything to make it more like its other IPs, LEGO should realize that BIONICLE's success stemmed largely from how different it was from the way it usually handled things, and that really they were the ones holding it back. They should have given creative license to an external team of writers that developed the world and story for its own sake, and then make toys of whatever that team came up with. That's how they do it with Star Wars and Marvel too. It kind of was that way with G1. But they insisted on keeping G2 small. In video game terms, I think LEGO should have only been BIONICLE's publisher, but not also its developer. They should have created and independent 'studio' for that.

I remember being so excited for Journey to One, only to watch it all in one sitting and realize that there were only 4 real episodes to the whole thing. It had a huge "wait, that's it?" factor to it

There's another important issue with the timing of G2's release that I think is worth mentioning: The Force Awakens. The marketing push for that film was immense, I don't think you could've walked into a single store back then without seeing something with Kylo Ren's mask plastered on it. The massive hype of star wars being back in theaters would've easily overshadowed Bionicle's already meager advertising.

I think the problem with G2 was that Lego didn't realize Bionicle is not a line of Lego sets, it's a line of action figures that happen to be made of Lego. And it doesn't take a crazy complicated market analysis to realize that action figures cannot survive without a strong auxiliary media presence to support them. I literally cannot think of a single successful action figure franchise that doesn't at least have a TV show or videogame associated with it. I think Lego took all the wrong lessons from Galidor and thought making a TV show was a risk they should avoid instead of cost of entry in the action figure market.

I love how it went like this Fans: we don’t like ccbs we like Bionicle Lego: ok we’re doing ccbs Fans: ok I’m not buying these then Lego: ok it’s clear bionicle isn’t popular anymore. Let’s cancel the line

That discussion of timing at the start reminds me, as a Transformers fan, how Bionicle Generation 2 failed is kind of similar to what happened with Transformers Generation 2. G2 came out in 1993, only a scant two years after the original G1 finally stopped seeing releases in America in 1991, and six years after the line entered an irreversible decline. That put it in a bad place; the old fans had outgrown the toys but hadn't yet had a nostalgia boom, while potential younger fans weren't invested in what they saw as last year's fad.

You've just summed up everything about G2 and its shortcomings very well! As you pointed out, it had a lot of potential but eventually failed to live up to the hype and the fan expectations due to all things listed prior. Hopefully, Lego has learned their lesson from this, and when they make an official G3 (Still possible IMO.), they won't repeat the same mistakes!

G1 Bionicle started out as having a mythological presentation with these futuristic robots (legends, creation story, layered pantheon, alphabet and language), excellent usage of retro-futurism and presenting an aged detail of darkness and light (stone carvings, ruins). G2 felt too bright and cheaply made in it's presentation by comparison. Not saying G1 was grimdark or anything, but knew how to display an authentic ancient aura instead of a manufactured one. This authentic aura was still there in traces like a binding thread despite using alt rock in the period from 2005-2009, I think the Ghost 3D animations helped.

more Rahi creatures like the big lord of skull spiders trying to keep safe the mask of creation would be neat to keep interesting the first wave of G2 Bionicle. And then the skull villians looking for the mask of creation without a clear intention would be a nice continuity for the plot. Mirroring the G1 Rahi and then bohrok/bohrok-kal themes for the first years of the series (sorry Im not native at english)

I still cant believe its been longer between G2 and now than G1 and G2....

a point i always felt as a key difference in the storytelling was the fact g2 felt like the story was written after the toys were designed. The story had to fit the toys. where as g1 had what i'll call the 'Farshtey Factor', Greg Farshtey, a writer who worked with Lego to design the story both the overarching narrative as well as individual storylines during the design process of the g1 toys

I remember getting a LEGO store catalog right after wave 2 of G2 came out. With all the new Toa designs and the elemental beasts, I expected to see a couple pages dedicated to them, but the only Bionicle in the whole issue was an Elemental Beast in the "Gifts under $20" section. I'd been suspecting LEGO was surpressing G2, and at that point, I knew it was already too late. The sets were so good, it's really disappointing that we didn't get more. Also, I had no idea G2 had any books or Graphic Novels, and I was watching things pretty close when it came out (though I wasn't in any fan communities). I definitely need to check those out!

My aunt would buy me a $10 set every Christmas and I didnt even follow the story, i just thought they looked cool and were the best thing she could get me in a supermarket. Then G2 comes in with every set being titan, only available in high end toy stores and there were no villians that would be a challenge for the toa. I think they should have released smaller sets, maybe in 3v3 sets like Phantoka and Mistika. Overengineered plastic guzzling toys doomed it from the start.

Couldn't agree more. For a long time, I stupidly thought that the lack of a (good) tv show was no big deal. Now I realize I was so wrong. I was completely out of touch with how things work irl. It's not just that other Lego original IPs like Ninjago are constantly advertised through good series, but it's normal for other franchises too, just look at how many times the Transformers get rebooted with different series. Plus JtO is literally the... well "Netflix adaptation" of Bionicle, in the worst way possible. And no, G2 didn't even need the same level of complexity as G1, which had its own plethora of problems. Again, look at how even the best Transformers shows still present themselves with a simple but effective formula that involves good guys vs bad guys, without however sounding too dumbed down like the G2 animations and JtO.

The only thing I remember from that animation is that it did not feel like Bionicle. It sounded like "another American cartoon I've seen already".

LEGO also played it too safe compared to the original line. G1 had dark themes, tackling death, abuse, and loneliness. The first few lines were colorful and bright. Wasn't until the Visorak line did the franchise take a much darker tone. Bionicle grew with its audience, as most kids that played with the original Toa were now age 10 to 12. After the Visorak, the dark theme stayed. The Barraki and Pirahka imo were TERRIFYING in the lore and appearance. G2 didn't have that growth, nor did it get the chance to

While the toys were great another issue is the fact that unlike other themes at the time it’s not as obvious what the basic idea is from just seeing the toys.

The first g2 sets looked good. But I didn't like what they did to pohatu. They made him another copy of kopaka.

G1 focuses more on mechanical beings on an island living as primitive tribes, then going onto being futuristic and 110% sci-fi. G2 should feel like the opposite with a mystical depth to the world revolving around magic and sorcery as it somewhat implied. The inhabitants seem to be more organic especially looking all alike and (as far a I would guess, seeing the children in the shorts) they reproduce. I would do a semi-medieval setting for the inhabitants of the island, given the fact that their are fully structured temples and castles in the shorts and they have "magic". The rest of this comment is just a die hard fan going on and on and on about how G2 could've been written. If you read it, enjoy. Here is roughly how I would structure it: This is a very basic and somewhat vague story but it can easily be fine tuned to be a great story. Year 1: Masters arrive from space as they do but from a single Star, not the multiple planets they all represent in the shorts. The Star will guide them throughout their journey by a mysterious voice (not Ekimu). Along the way the Masters discover "magic" and imbue their masks with unique abilities (MASK POWERS). The skull characters will still exist as they do and do what they do but the only twist is the Lord of Skull Spider's isn't actually the only one and that a "Follower of Makuta" (must be a Protector) is behind the Skull Spiders and Skull characters uprising. Said Protector escapes into the depths of the mountains in the middle of Okoto, and the rest of the story progresses on, Ekimu is brought back, Masters learn that Unity will get them through anything. Year 2: The Masters enter the temple of time and because of their presence the Temple activates and elevates the island of Okoto to reveal that an underground temple almost as big as the island (basically an Atlantis but with a cool Bionicle name). Umarak is imprisoned in the temple and breaks out in a very cool fashion where he monologues to himself about getting revenge on "The Makers" and wears the mask of Telekinesis which he uses to control an army of the Elemental Creatures. Umarak attacks Okoto and declares his revenge on "The Makers" to Ekimu and Makuta, and then retreats after being somewhat overpowered by the Masters. Ekimu equips the Masters with armour that allows them to communicate with the creatures and unite with them for awesome extra powers (GIMMICKS). The Masters chase Umarak back to the Temple below, along the way discovering deserted settlements, very vague history of the world they live in and Umarak's past. Ekimu enters his final form as the Master of Light and aids the other Masters in finding "The Mask of Shadows". Umarak leads the Masters to a Temple door that only Ekimu could enter. Umarak seizes the chance to steal the mask of Shadows and uses it to get his "revenge" and escapes. The creatures try to stop the Masters and Ekimu but are convinced by the Masters to unite and save both homes by stopping Umarak as his plan is to unleash Makuta from his dimensional prison. Of course, the Masters win and stop Umarak but learn from his final cry that "Ekimu and his kind left his people to extinction long ago" hence putting a little more mystery and somewhat distrust in Ekimu. Umarak disappears into his shadows. ("End Credits?" The Protector of Water asks to team up with Umarak to get revenge.) Year 3: Ekimu provides the Masters and Protectors with the "True" history of the world. The rest of the world used to be run by other Masters and Protectors of vast variety of different elements and the world used to be one continent (like the super continent, Pangea, for example). The world became divided by political views and there was a group of Makers who were worshipped as "Great Beings" since all that existed was created by them (Exaggerated). Ekimu is one of them. Ekimu and Makuta were young but immortal, and with the other Makers established the island of Okoto as a safe haven after the outbreak of "The Great War". Makers created weapons to eliminate threats and establish world order after the Masters and Protectors wanted freedom from the Makers' tyranny. With the threat to flood the world, the Makers offered to allow for only 6 tribes to live on Okoto, pitting all the tribes respective Masters against each other until only 6 remained. Umarak is a actually a Master of the Shadow tribe, the Protector was actually the Spirit of a Master of a different element this whole time, the inhabitants of Okoto erased their own history carrying this old knowledge to the grave, the 6 Masters were the 6 surviving Masters from the Great War that won for their tribes and disappeared into the star above, and Makuta created the mask of Ultimate Power originally out of guilt to "unflood" the world. And to top that off, Ekimu betrayed the Makers and left them to the die in the flood. The Masters then proceed to go to Makuta's dimensional prison and free him. The new setting is in that dimensional prison, a recreation of the City of the Makers and upon entering said prison the Masters have their armour changed from "dimensional warping" allowing them to survive Makuta's prison realm. Makuta driven crazy by the mask of Ultimate power created illusions of other Masters from other elements to fight the main 6 Masters. Of course, as always, the main protagonists win because plot and go through an emotional breakthrough with Makuta, getting him to come to his senses and work with his brother Ekimu to repair the damage the Makers caused. Makuta comes back to Okoto just in time to save Ekimu from being assassinated by Umarak the Destroyer and Protector/Master Spirit in their final forms (Final Boss Battles). We learn that out of jealousy to become "Great Makers" it was Ekimu and Makuta's idea for the Makers to flood the world. Out of guilt Ekimu takes Makuta's mask of Ultimate Power and uses it to undo the damage to their world. Ekimu made the great sacrifice and re-established the land of the old world, Makuta wears his mask of Control and helps Okoto as their Maker, Ekimu's mask of Creation is at a memorial temple Makuta created, the Masters go on to protect and help re-explore the world with the Protectors, and all the other established characters get happy endings fitting into this new world. Year 4+: I didn't really think this far ahead like the G2 writers but I guess this year can be more about the star the Masters came from and how its actually an island in the sky with a crystal core beneath it (so it reflects the sun's light and twinkles like a star to everyone on Okoto) and turns out to be a mysterious civilisation that survived the flood. A character on the island above felt bad and sent the Masters to Okoto without any memory and has been the mysterious voice guiding them this whole time. A bigger story will spawn from this with more plot twists and McGuffins and hopefully it ends up lasting around 10yrs. There you go... BIONICLE G2

This has made me realize how much G2 could have benefited from matoran sets. I got into bionicle around the middle of G1 and as a kid I often couldn’t afford the larger toa sets and so most of my heroic characters when I played with bionicles were the smaller sets like the matorans and later the agori . The protectors were a step in the right direction but if they were all we were going to get, then they needed names and characters for people to latch onto. However, If the first wave of G2 also had a few sets even smaller than the protectors representing a villager of each tribe, even if they were basically clone sets with different masks and accessories, it could have not only have helped flesh out the world and culture of the new island, but also given kids a more affordable way to start buying the toys and get into them. This is all easier said than done of course but still it’s something I realized felt missing to me from that first year of sets.

I really liked the sets for G2, unfortunately I only ever got 2 figures because they were expensive for us at the time, specially in latinamerica, and we also don't visit US stores often. So yeah, it was a slow burn to see them go and never getting that Pohatu...

Now that I think of it, the fact that it’s development started in 2013 made sense. Hero factory really got screwed over even worse than 2010 bionicle. It had a lot of big problems. For starters, a very basic story which although good lacked extra details to really invest new fans. Another massive problem is Ninjago. Bionicle is about a bunch of elemental heroes. So is Ninjago. I definitely simplified this but Ninjago has 5 years of lore and was in the middle of its popular 2015 wave ‘possession’ with Nexo Knights starting around the same time. So competition, lack of advertising for some parts of the theme, and missing a few more books, a full series, or even a game or two. Another thing we needed in year 1 or 2 was one or two missing figures. The younger, mask making Makuta figure, and the series finale, lord of darkness Makuta. I really wanted one, but couldn’t get the MAIN VILLAIN. Think about that. That’s like if Ninjago never had a Garmadon minifigure, or if Star Wars never got a dearth Vader figure. One of the most important characters in the series, books, 2015 animations, and the lore as a whole was missing!

hit the nail on the head for me at 2:37 , i was at that exact age

alot of complexity in g1 was really good i loved things like seeing the island from the eyes of matoran in MNOG, exploring its world , meeting its people and seeing how diffrent tribes lived.

I also think the focus on comedy and the collectable item formula made it too similar to Ninjago, which Lego may have pushed for since it looked like a safer bet, but kids wouldn't want a Ninjago when there is already one, I think the more serious and mysterious approach of the og Bionicle would have worked better to make it stand out among the other Lego lines

What you said about the problems with targeting the age group of original Bionicle fans really hit the nail on the head for me. When G2 came out, I wanted all the sets desperately, but because I was only 17 and was still going to school, I didn’t have anywhere near enough money to support it as well as I could. I bought a handful of sets in 2015 and could afford even less in 2016. Seeing it get canceled again after just two years seriously broke my heart.

So, as a fan who started in G1 and fell out during G1, and ultimately didn't get into G2. What I'm getting from this and Duckbricks's series is that G1 left us on a strong note, but had notes for future mysteries to come...and the biggest mystery G2 left us with was whether or not there was a connection to G1...

I thought about a different version of g2 lore: There was a great dark evil enity named "insert name" that started killing the great beings. The great beings sealed him in the island of takoa. They left the planet leaving matorans behind but then "instert name" broke out and the great beings created the first toa. The toas resealed "instert name" but he corrupted their souls making them tyrants. The matorans sealed them too in the underworld where they became the skull villains. Later makuta mask explosion caused them to be frees from their prison and wanting to get the mask of creation so they can create an eternal empire but this is the plan of "insert name" to free himself who also was whispering to makuta how to create the ultimate mask. The skull villains created the skull spiders and they started marching towards ekimu grave ravaging any villages that were in their way. Seeing this the great beings created a new set of toa(tahu and rest of them). So a race against time start for the to get the masks of power and to get to ekimu grave. Meanwhile the skull villains try to stand in their whenever they can. Then the rest of the 2015 animations happen just with more complex actions and stories. Then when the toas reach the forge there is an entire army of skull spiders but for some reason let them go through. And then the finally battle happens with a flashback scene where they tease the skull grinder was a toa of fire with the skull villains fleeing . And when ekimu fixes the toa the skull spider lord suddenly tries to steal the mask of creation but ekimu prevents it then suddenly a huge shadow appear saying "you maybe won this battle brother but you havent won the war" . Ekimu and the toa realise that makuta is alive This is where my fanfict is currently. What do you think?

5:39 the laser guns and jet packs didn't help i mean. original bionicle. robots on a primative island. it had an exotic feel to it. they might be robots. but they fighting with swords, axes, spinning disks but this...jet packs? lasers? guns? it didnt feel fitting to what they fighting

i agree that the story was very watered down. there wasn't nothing there, but there wasn't enough of something to really keep me engaged. not on the story side, CCBS was very limiting in build potential when all they give you are parts that go from ball to socket without any places to attach rods or pins to. i find this to be my biggest issue with G2 as you can only really build one way with the pieces given and it makes building custom kaita with some sets to being frustrating and unstable

Bionicle needs a new line similar to “Transformers Generations” (and its sublines). New, standardized renditions of every character that are merely representations of the original story and not a new generation per se. The GWP building style would work but I would prefer CCBS.

I agree that G1 had a lot of depth but started getting too complex, while G2 had a shortage of both. I was so sad to see that the villagers all just stand in the background and look exactly the same. The matorans are my favorite part of G1, and I love exploring their world and meeting them in MNOG. The toa's struggles are important but I want to care about what they're fighting for too! There was nothing to get attached to in G2 except for the toa, but they didn't have much going on either. The animated shorts were a fun style, too bad only one guy did all the voices. The style of the Netflix show wasn't my favorite. I would love a bionicle reboot that does new takes and designs on beloved characters, and has new concepts while referencing some older ideas for old fans to be excited about (or even subverting their expectations). Some things in G1 definitely needed to be refined better, and the series would probably be cool as a show like ninjago, with some supplemental material for things that aren't crucial for the plot for mega-fans to enjoy. This is already a long comment but I was also reminded of what I recently saw someone say about the MCU. how it keeps increasing in complexity, but is losing its heart since some of the favorite characters are gone now.

It seems like the only effort put into Bionicle G2 was its sets and that's it. They couldn't even make a full fledged TV show for it. Not to mention how barebones the story and world was. Why couldn't they have fleshed out Okoto more, maybe see the life of the average Okotan just like they did Matoran in 2001

They just had to reintroduce those themes and factions that you mentioned again, just in a more familiar but not in a "you should know this already" way

I really love the 2016 sets. In my opinion they are the best sets bionicle ever had. They Looked great, with amazing posability, Cool Uniter Function and the Masks looked so nice and streamline.

I was 14 around the time of bionicle G2 I knew the old bionicle line ended several years before even if I did know about it I was in the phase where “buying toys was seen as immature”

A part of me would've liked the idea if we got the toa and their stories in waves, and during that wave, we learn about their journey for the golden mask. So, wave one would obviously be Tahu. Give us a set of Tahu, the protector of fire, a matoran, a rahi and one of the skull warriors as a final opponent to earn the mask. Dont even show us the other toa for the whole of Tahu's story. Get us invested in him as a character, and his quest to get the golden mask, then take it to the centre of the island, and when he finally goes to the centre of the island, he finds the other toa getting there at the same time as him. I know it'd be crazy for lego to do it like this, but it would get us invested in Tahu as a character, and let us learn about his part of the island and his people. Then we get a wave like that for each toa so LEGO has the time to show us this world for us to actually care

I did my part trying to keep them alive. Bought all the sets I could on my wage and allowance, plus holiday/birthday money. Wasn't enough 😔

Honestly all they had to do was retail the story, but make it more simple and easier to follow, and give us the toa designs in the new building system. Like the groundwork was already established. They went too far in another direction alienating the old fans. And not giving enough story for new fans to be invested, because they assumed the fans they were marketing for already knew about it. That's actually a huge problem with a lot of reboots, they assume you already know the story, because it's a reboot, but then they don't try to appeal to the old fans who already know the story so they leave the new fans confused with why they should care about the conflict.

personally, I think the story writers fell into the pit most writers do when making a new world. That pit is the J.J. Abrams favorite; the Mystery box! or better spoken as "We'll explain later". Due to the fledgling toy sales, the story never got time _to_ develop into the explanation, because it was clear during the skeleton phase of G2, that it was already ending. And like you said, it was because there was no "engine" for the story to drive with. Now going back to the biological aspect, I feel like having another GIANT ROBOT destroy Okoto, would have been expected. But instead having say, Okoto be the heart of a great robot would have been a nice twist to the story. Okoto already is kind of heart shaped. but that is wishful thinking. The story for me, as a 14-15 year old at that time was definitely a turn off, but the sets where amazing, and I just WISHED I could have gotten more because they looked AWSOME.. Sadly all I ever got was Pohato from wave 1, and the last Lewa. I really hope that with the new Bionicle tribute that Lego put out recently, we can show Lego that yes, we want bionicle, and we dont really care in what form that takes. just as long as its story is good, and the sets match. Hell, thats how they sold Ninjago, but its clear that, that's where most of Lego's attention still was when developing Boinicle G2. heres to hopping we get a G3.

I got into Bionicle through G2, It absolutely saddens me that I'm one of a few.

if the bionicle story where to ever come back it should be a somewhat short run just to tie up the story. Lego should also not be afraid and pull a Samurai jack. 18+ story and maturity.

why it didnt work for me was just because of the new system. the older bionicles just like.. feel better

Yeah I had no idea there were comics and novels for G2….

Sounds like G2 got solo'ed by Gear 5 Luffy 😎

Honestly lego should come back, but throw away the concept of trying to appeal to new kids. I think they might be a lost cause to getting into bionicle, they should do G1 based 18+ sets that are large and detailed for fans of the original series. Make them lego store exclusive so you dont have to produce as many sets and large 18+ collectors sets remaking the G1 characters in huge detailed models would sell really well to the older fans who grew up with the theme

They could of continued the story after the battle of Makuta Teridex

I caught my bloody audience tho

G2 is hero factory with with a bionicle skin

Yeah the reason G2 turned me off was the over simplified story and characters that seemed really uninteresting. The sets themselves? for the most part were great! But the rest of the mystery and atmosphere that G1 just radiates wasn't there in G2.

I had no idea G2 had books and graphic novels...are they any good? The G1 books and comics are superb

I know this is an older video by now but I have to ask... have you seen Christian Faber's videos about the concepts and pitches he had for G2? It all seems very rough, but it suggests they wanted a more ambitious storyline that might've had more that could hook people in (I mean, time travel as a core plot point???) before they ended up settling on the oversimplified version we ended up with.

Great vid. Agreed, I think G2 failed mostly due it's poor marketing. Plus I think G2 was too reliant on nostalgia. I really liked G2 Lewa, and the season 2 Uniter creature gimmick was fun.

& the last wave being only available in the Lego store or Amazon in the UK

Dude, I didn't even know "Journey to One" existed! Does it still exist in Netflix?

Okotans even look the same. It would help tremendously if they would even be made to look a little different from each other, but no, they are literally side characters in G2, too unimportant to be given not even different names but different faces (masks). I think, the absence of mystery reads even in the character designs. They look cool, but that's it. Lego made them conform to its modern sleek aesthetics so much so G2 felt like Ninjago with robots and without charisma. They look almost overdesigned, and these were only the first two waves. Where would the series go next to make the characters look more visually interesting? They gave all the Toa full golden armor in the first wave, where to go next? Silver armor in the second wave felt like a downgrade.

One positive thing about an simple story, with lack of depth, is that if you are creative enough you can add your own elements to the story and make it as complex as you like

Lego made a huge mistake thinking that now adult g1 fans would buy the hero factory reboot just because it had bionicle in its name

I think it's fun to look at the story but I don't think it's the main reason that G2 did not succeed, as something like that is more of a matter of holding onto fans as opposed to attracting them. I don't think the story is going to matter too much if none of the new fans are intrigued enough to watch it. Personally, I think a lot more of the failure itself can be attributed to the way the series looks and presents itself. Since the beginning, Bionicle clearly marketed itself toward an older audience and the really amazing and mysterious atmosphere of the commercials, I think, is what attracted people in the first place. As much as this stinks to say, I think that even looking at all the footage in this video, G2 very clearly lacked the atmosphere present in the older sets. Everything is a bit too bright, a bit too colorful, and the tone of the animations and advertising in general doesn't differentiate itself or stand out too much. The big kicker is that it looks a bit too similar to other, more successful Lego themes at the time, like Ninjago, creating even more competition. I think if they went for a slightly more muted/darker color scheme like the older sets, and made it a point to make the world more mysterious and atmospheric, it would have had a lot more standing out to it. As it stood, the only thing differentiating it from other stuff you could buy at the Lego Store was the fact that these were buildable figures and not normal sets, and the only people who I think would really care about that distinction were people who were already familiar with that.

they ruined the character personalities as well. I believe that the prices definitely didn't help.

There really wasn’t anything “biological” about the characters and there was not really a good “chronicle”, and without either of those things it’s not really Bionicle

No, you don't need to have a deep and complex story, as long as the characters are well written. Hero factory and Ninjago are proof of it. While yes, Ninjago has a very rich world building, that's only because of how long it's been running for. Lol

Obviously it's because there weren't any Bohrok.

It was a lack of heart from lego that failed the story and sets.

Take marketing ideas from FNAF. Give it a pseudo horror theme market it to kids. Make it about mystery but also action

The first toa sets were really really good, but the villains other than Umarak were kinda lame, and the small sets were just terrible. I mean ONE Protector looks cool, but then all of them look the same and none of them even had names to start with. They really just felt like fusion fodder, and even then they only properly followed through with that for Tahu and Kopaka. Better villain sets and having the small sets actually be characters could have kept G2 going for at least a couple more years

Second

the final animations of G2 did not live up to those concept arts, it is not even as intriguing as a still image

I didn't like the personality swap, is better if they change the name, it will feels like new characters. The figure are great but the story; sound good and interest but the execution was bad. My opinion

The villagers masks being drawn as the same was terrible got really no way to tell em apart. And the animation of the online game of g2 was horrible look at it and tell me what piece's are used. In G1 online game you can build almost every set form visual alone.

Personally, I think Gen 2 failed because their approach was wrong. The builds where complicated for the young fans coming in, and the story was too boring for the old fans. Think like this, not every old fan will be able to buy the toys, but the story will be there forever. As much as the builds are detailed, Gen 1 didn't caught our eyes because of complicated builds, it was the world and the potential. While the story was an easy entry point for newer fans, they probably didn't care as much for it, then saw the price of the sets and say "I prefer ninjago". Some older fans would support by buying the toys, but couldn't care less for the story because it felt so generic. Tl;Dr: They made complicated toys for people who needed simple toys. And a simple story for people who wanted complexity

Simple: it was 2015. All lego cared about was Star Wars

I don’t think they really cared about G2

I like the 2d animation of g2, to me a good beginning. But the show was garbage

I didn't like the look of G2, G1 looked rough with details in the design of every part looking mechanical with bumps and pistons G2 just looked a... flat

I still really like the g2 figures but g2 story is just really bad it was basically all style no substance

I think it was simply too childish and simple

Why on earth are all the matoran So bland and same'ie. I like G1 because it didn't hold your hand or appear to be advertised directly to kids alone. Felt mature in a way. Like they were doing what they were doing and you are just along for the ride

it's like a chinese knock-off, the character designs look too "big"

G2 was too basic and people were tired of CCBS