Quick poll for fun, vote if you want, it’ll be open for a month.
So what is the best year from Bionicles first half of exsistence?
Feel free to discuss below and please share why you prefer the year you choose 
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
0 voters
4 Likes
I love 2005, more than most, I think. The Hordika are my favourite Toa collection, and the visorak are really colourful and cool. The film was probably the best one, and the Rahaga had some great recolours. Honestly, the only letdown was the Titans. Keetongu and Roodaka had no hands, just empty stumps, Sidorak’s left arm was floppy and had a fragile blade slapped on the end, Keetongu was hollow and unstable, Sidorak had comically skinny thighs and an empty back, and Roodaka could barely even stand up.
2001 is an extremely close second. My favourite sets are the Turaga, who are arguably more diverse from each other than the Toa.
7 Likes
2002 sold the most sets.
4 Likes
2005 was a heartbreaker on so many levels.
Also: Time Trap
6 Likes
2004 had some of the greatest Toa builds, and as much as the Vahki are disliked or ignored, they look super cool, which is hard to deny.
3 Likes
A split between 2002 and 2004 for me. All these years are super nostalgic of course. I think the reason I like 2002 so much is because of how fondly I remember the Bohrok and Matoran sets. I had the majority of the sets as a kid.
2 Likes
As much as 2001 isn’t my favorite Bionicle year (that would be 2008 for me), out of the early years, 2001 is easily my favorite. The Toa Mata are classics, the Turaga are nice little sets, the Matorans are some of the best Happy Meal toys ever made, and the Rahi are all amazing.
Parts-wise, 2001 also had a high rage of colors that weren’t used afterwards, such as Turqoise, Purple, and Chrome. And of course, the Kanohi Masks still stand to this day as the best collectables LEGO has ever produced.
3 Likes
I have very nostalgic feelings about 2001-2003. With 2004 I really enjoyed the more darker tone (and the Toa Metru are amazing). I am gonna vote for 2005 though because, even though the Toa Hordika lacked as sets. I feel Rhodaka, Sidorak and Keetongu are awesome sets, the Visorak are fun, the combiners are great (mostly)… the Toa Hagah were a cool inclusion. I LOVe the movie (despite their flaws I love all the Bionicle movies… yes, even legend reborn). I love the music.
So overall 2005 for me… but just because I have to decide on one here.
3 Likes
This is a tough one to decide, honestly, as all have their flaws and good sides. 2001 was the ultimate sandbox, and absolutely iconic through and through. 2002 pushed things further and developed the Toa and Matoran a fair amount though crisis. 2003 was a massive landslide of new content, and while the Bohrok-Kal ark is a bit underwhelming, I do have a soft spot for it; meanwhile Mask Of Light managed to overcome its weak points with sheer absolute hype. 2004 was a risky game-changer that massively expanded the scope and set the stage for more, while showing us another side to the now-familiar Turaga. And 2005, while not well-liked by many, told a much more emotionally-fraught story with very personal stakes and focus, with Time Trap excellently weaving everything together into a fitting and cathartic close. Personally, it comes down to 2003 vs 2005 for me, but I’ll have to go with 05 in the end. There’s certainly some jankiness to be had, and I don’t think the criticisms of it are without merit, but they’re also rather overblown IMO, and the year deserves more recognition for what it did right.
5 Likes
When it comes to the “Golden Era” It is easily 2001. The classics are the best. Also I thought 2001 or 2003 sold the most sets as either being the most sucessful year for the theme.
I’ve recently reread some quiet controversial reviews of the Toa Nuva. Some says the design had mixed results.
The Bohrok were cool.
But honestly Imo nothing can best the original mystical feeling of the very first year of Bionicle.
2 Likes
Considering I wasn’t following BIONICLE for any of these years, I’m not sure what to say except that I really like the packaging/aesthetic of 2005.
3 Likes
In all honesty, I don’t like the builds for really any of the toa after nuva, the metru build had oddly connected arms that were loose and floppy, the hordika’s “function” was a geared elbow, the other arm wasn’t even really poseable, and the the inika build felt unsatisfying and flat. In my opinion, the earlier the better, I love technic heavy builds, and some of my favorite sets I own are the manas, the boxor, and the bohrok, they had simple, effective, and robust functions, ensuring a fun build, sturdy connections, and a fun toy.
Despite what I said about the other builds, I love every season of bionicle, I just think that the mata waves were the most fun to play with.
3 Likes