Best/Worst HF Years

Only from one angle; it looks like he’s wearing a paper plate in every other angle

There are always exceptions, you know.

ROTR was the worst we got from HF, IMO. The sets were underwhelming, and brought almost nothing new to the table. And the “build your own hero” gimmick was limited due to the specialized parts. The technic vehicles were great, though.

IFB had some solid sets, I have to say. That being said, the sets were pretty staggered during release, and the budget for the theme was severely cut. You may not like the IFB episode, but you should be fortunate it was even made. This year also took away the “build your own hero” gimmick almost completely, which disappointed me.

OOF’s sets weren’t anything great, but the year introduced the CCBS System, which has flourished since then. The theme also made itself a short living identity with the “build your own hero” gimmick.

BA was an underrated year, IMO. While the villains were extremely uninspired and bare, the heroes saw some of their best forms. And this year really took trans. colors to a new level. Also, Dragonbolt.

SP is enjoyable for using the CCBS System in wacky and creative ways. The animal concept was really unique, and this wave had one of HF’s most iconic sets, Witch Doctor.

Breakout is a little overrated at times, but I think it had the best balance of sets. Most of the heroes and villains were good, and the colors were very vibrant. This also included one of the best vehicles from the theme, which is Speeda Demon and his bike.

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Hero Factory certainly had its highs and lows. Most people agree that Invasion from Belw is the worst the series had to offer, and I agree (Though I ironically enjoy the casual genocide of the jumpers). But usually, Breakout is touted as the best of the line. I used to agree, but after some thought, I’ve come around to Ordeal of Fire instead. And because it’s past midnight and I have nothing better to do, I’m here to say why.

First off, the main villain. HF is known for its cliché villains: the dumb brute, the cackling maniac, etc. The Fire Villains certainly fall into this, with the exception of Fire Lord. He’s probably the best villain HF got, with a different personality and sensible, interesting motivation and backstory.

Second, it was very dark, for HF. Literally, half the episode takes place at night. Okay, jokes aside, the whole tone was dark and serious, albeit with a fair bit of humor here and there. Heck, one of the villains loses a hand at one point!

Third, the story makes sense. The heroes show up to stop these new villains… and get their butts handed to them. So they get a risky new upgrade (creatively called “Upgrade”), spend a few minutes testing it – nowhere near enough time to get used to it – and go back into battle. And, predictably, they once again get their butts handed to them.
So they call for back-up, and get the only two heroes who already have the upgrade, Evo and Nex. Despite being rookies, Evo and Nex somehow manage to take down the villains even Alpha Team couldn’t defeat, right? Nope! HF neatly dodges that trope. Evo and Nex don’t defeat the villains, but help the heroes. Evo distracts/confuses the villains, while Nex frees Furno and Breez. Then, the heroes work together to defeat the villains, yet they still can’t defeat Fire Lord. And then Surge (who sacrificed himself earlier to save the other heroes) returns and saves the day, and reveals what he’s been up to during this time.

Now, I’ll admit this episode had its faults. The Tanker Station workers have some really bad acting, Breez decides to be a cliché “look at me, I’m a girl” throughout the episode, and a few odd moments (like Drilldozer standing still for several seconds for no reason at one point). Typical stuff for HF. But it still manages to stand as the best HF had to offer.

I give this episode an 8/10. Any other thoughts?

This has been a random review by Willess. Tune in next time when I talk about something else. Maybe. I dunno.

~W12~

12 Likes

u r wrong, but I won’t give any reasons why :stuck_out_tongue:

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These are some very good points! Honestly I’d put breakout neck and neck with this one tho

Brain attack is the worst year not for the reasons stated. The sets were awesome, in my opinion. They got all bulked up with about half a ton of armor, which was to help them combat…tiny brains.

In all serious though, that year should have played on the rivalry between Rocka and Furno and done a “Civil War”-type storyline, where half of Hero Factory fights the other, while the Unnamed Bad Guy who did that one thing and vanished in official canon pulls the strings of the war from his secret lair.

But that’s just my two cents. (Actual best year was 3.0 because Rocka XL.)

Thought I’d give a couple cents here perhaps it’ll be even more than two!

Story-wise:
6. Brain attack. The whole mind-control idea, and not hurting people because they’re innocents being mind controlled is very cliche. Plus the villain was left untouched.
5. IFB. A generally unappealing story, IFB is considered the worst by most fans. The only reason it isn’t number six is that it left an interesting question: are the heroes really the good guys? They massacred a whole species and didn’t shed a robo tear.
4. Savage Planet. While SP was reminiscent of Bionicle in some ways, I think the torch to have been long passed to HF. I did enjoy WD, but other than that it hardly appealed to me.
3. Ordeal of Fire. OoF was awesome to me. While some cliches were incorporated, they avoided some. I think Surge dying would’ve been interesting, but who would’ve swooped in to save the day?
2. RotR. Man, was RotR a big part of my childhood. My first constraction sets being Stormer and Stringer 1.0, I have sentimental attachments to this one, but it was pretty well written. For example, the question of “how loyal are these heroes?” was raised when Von Nebula was announced to have been one.

  1. Breakout. Breakout was just awesome. Heroes hunting all over the galaxy for these villains who have escaped, the actual breakout having been a mere distraction. One setback was present to me: Splitface.

Set rankings will come later. It’s 10 PM and I’m workin on the farm tomorrow. Lates

  • Rise of the Rookies
  • Ordeal of Fire
  • Savage Planet
  • Breakout
  • Brain Attack
  • Invasion from Below

0 voters

I know a lot of you consider HF not to be the best theme, but it had it best wave as well. Vote which has the best one!