Ignition 2006 Discussion

Some (or most) would know that Eljay thinks that 2006 was a lame marketing scheme complete with rap, glow-in-the-teeth dark, light-up eyes and swords, clone sets, chain link fences, rain, 6 villains with the same personality, gritty adultness, and weird masks. The point of this topic is not to verbally beat Eljay with a 3-wood or to defend based on personal opinion, but to question if this year was that great. Its ups, its downs, its questionable marketing, design, and story/characters shall all be discussed here.

P.S. Eljay is welcome here.

Go to 3:08 for evidence.

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Iā€™ll say this - I donā€™t hate 2006. I actually really like it and have a lot of fond memories from those sets and that story. But looking back, Iā€™ve gotta say it feels over-rated to me. It wasnā€™t bad, by no means, but its legacy (and yeah, to a degree, its more dedicated fans) annoy me to a degree. =P

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The Piraka were not all the same.
Reidak was dumber.
Harlan was sneaker
Zaktan was smarter
Thok was more sadistic
Avak was more technical
And Vezok was angry that his intelligence was ripped from him

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When Eljay argues that, he means that they all act similar. They all try to kill each other whenever they feel like it, only 1.5 had interesting backstories, and felt like the same person. Also, you misspelled Hakann.

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Autocorrect on Hakann

But yeah, youā€™re right.

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Iā€™m going to guess that was auto-correct, and you meant Hakann was a sneaker.

He was a shoe.

Anyway, 2006 is where the story really began. At last, the Toa were beginning their mission to save Mata Nui. So it was a turning point in the story, and am okay year, though I prefer 07.
BBBB55

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It is very fan-based, but it was very Watchmen movie-ish. It was like ā€œIt did all of this well but failed here, so is it good or bad?ā€ I prepared this topic to dive into ā€œThe Grey Seaā€, to hold our breath and struggle back to the service with a verdict. I actually really do like 2006, as it was my intro year. Btw, I posted a question on TTV Questions & Answers about the Zaktan set a few days ago, but was surprised to get no response though I mentioned 3 different people. It might be at the very bottom.

The biggest issue with 06 is how it handled pacing.
The first half of the year is an annoying back and forth. Matoran close to defeat. Axxon. Axxon? Taken down by Brutaka. Toa Nuva come to save everything. Gets defeated by Brutaka. They try to capture tension, but straddle the fence too much for a good plot.
This made the interesting parts of the year forced in near the end. Piraka origin was detailed in the great Legacy of Evil, the race for the mask of life was thrilling. We had Vezon. Brutaka and Axxon had the real duel we were promised. But all of it happened too close to the end.

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2006 was definitely a HUGE turning point for Bionicle. The biggest change setwise was the death of gears, and the birth of the Piraka/Inika style of building. Personally, I didnā€™t mind the change. I always favored articulation and posability over gear functions, and despite the sameness of the sets to follow, I kinda liked the cookie-cutter builds. I was able to create armies, literal armies of Bionicle figures with the Piraka and Inika builds, something I had never been able to do in earlier years. Yes, I actually like the Praka/Inika builds, despite all their flaws. Also, the glow-in-the-dark and light up stuff were cool gimmicks, but Iā€™m glad they were only the main feature for this one year. Concerning the Inika masks/heads, yeah. They were weird, and I wouldā€™ve preferred Toa Metru style masks and heads, but at the same time I do like the fact that LEGO was willing to try something different, if only for one year.

As far as advertising and promotion, yeah the Piraka Rap was a, strange, choice to say the least. The Ad featuring the Inika attacking a chain link fence in the rain set to ā€œMove Alongā€ was cool in my opinion.

Storywise, I like how definitively unique each Bionicle year is. 2005 had some dark moments, and 2007 was definitely not as ā€œgrittyā€ or ā€œadultā€ as 2006 (again, my own opinion). The stuff that people usually complain about when it comes to the 2006 story are valid complaints, but they also help to set this year apart. The tone of future years were influenced by 2006, but they were not the same tone as 2006.

Hereā€™s what 2006 got me to remember most: We got to see the Toa Nuva defeated, which upped the stakes. We got new insight into the Bionicle universe and lore, which was to be expected. We got six different villains, and were introduced to them and their backstory in the beginning of the year, which I consider to be a major plus when compared to Sidorak/Roodaka and the backstory we got on them (almost zero for Sidorak). For what they were, I liked the Pirakaā€™s characters, at least at the time. I liked the tragic(at the time) character of Brutaka, and his dynamic with Axxon.

In closing, I like 2006 more than most. But most of the things I like, I like because they only happened in 2006. Everyone (yes, even Eljay) has valid points to dislike 2006, whether in part or in whole. 2006 is not as good or as bad as it could have been.

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@Eljay I was exaggerating to make you look like a villainous hater, only to question whether you are right. This way, fans would flock towards you and bow down to you. Really, itā€™s just a simple marketing scheme to prepare for your rule, your highness.

Eehh, I wouldnā€™t know since I kinda started in the second half. I get where your coming from though, but what do you mean by ā€œAxxon. Axxon?ā€

When Eljay said fans thought ā€œso gritty and adult, I wanna be part of thatā€, I realized that 2006 also had Lego Batman, which added those thoughts. (for me at least)

Yeah, I wish the mask were more compatible and less wobbly on the heads, but Iā€™m still amazed that the lime eyes worked nicely with all the Toa. I think though that Konguā€™s Kanohi Suletu should have been stripped of most of the reptilian scales and been more metallic.

Knowing Lego and the color red, they probably made some.

Also, weird that the most popular color of Bionicle and Ninjago is red, which is the main color of the fire element. Lego is encouraging arsonists.

60088 Fire Starter Set

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TLDR; 2006 is flawed due to marketing but schway due to cool storyline, revolutionary sets, and cool characters.

First off, the marketing in 2006 was stupid. Thereā€™s very little debate on that front. People that like it most likely enjoy it for the sole purpose of making fun of how awful it was. I know thatā€™s why I do. The Piraka Rap was garbage, Free the Band was an atrocity, and the Move Along ad is pretty hilarious in hindsight.

However, thereā€™s signficantly more to the year than how it was advertised.

The story was top-notch, and one of my favorites that BIONICLE has offered. High-stakes scenarios that up-the-ante of the overall conflict, interesting incorporation of characters (Turaga, Matoran, Toa Nuva, Legacy of Evil), surprising plot twists (Toa Nuva getting defeated, Inikaā€™s creation, etc.), and a plethora of cool characters such as Axonn and Brutaka. The year also built the general BIONICLE world quite a bit, with the introduction of the realm of Karzahni, the Order of Mata Nui, and basically the entirety of Legacy of Evil.

The Piraka were good villains. Completely independent of whether you think the Barraki were better or whatnot, the Piraka fulfilled their roles excellently. They were interesting because while their personalities are (arguably) similar, they were able to portray a wide range of character traits as a unit. They could be fearsome opponents to the Toa, funny when they were bantering with each other, unpredictable due to their backstabbing nature, dark because of their sadism and intentions, and even a little sympathetic when you think of the reality of Zaktanā€™s transformation. They were also a first for BIONICLE in that they were an entire wave of six (seven if counting Vezon) characters that were all distinct characters rather than clone sets. Because of that fact, they are, IMO, more interesting and unique characters than basically any villain from the first 5 years except for maybe Makuta (although I would argue that Makutaā€™s true character depth only came later on in BIONICLEā€™s lifespan; beforehand, he was really just generic black-and-red evil dude #43214324). They were effective villains, when all was said and done, and they did their job pretty well.

I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Matoran from the original trilogy return as prominent characters and take up the mantle of Toa. It was a very interesting twist in what could have potentially been just another standard Toa Nuva operation. When I was younger, I just thought it was really cool that we got a whole new team of Toa who were interesting characters that WERENā€™T featured in flashbacks (I hated flashbacks, which is why 04 and 05 rank so low in my list of favorites. Mostly 05 though, because of how inconsequential it was. 04 isnā€™t that bad because it legitimately had an impact on the larger storyline). I do somewhat feel that the creation of the Inika somewhat undermined the ā€œYou donā€™t have to be a Toa to be a heroā€ message that was circulating amongst the Matoran and Voyatoran who, by the way, were also awesome characters that added a lot to the year, but if forced to choose I would definitely keep the Inika.

2006 also had a plethora of fun and creative games; I may be wrong in saying this, but I believe it had the most games out of any BIONICLE year? Like, say what you will about VNOG from a game design perspective, but it was certainly a unique and inspired take on the ā€œOnline Gameā€ formula, and itā€™s very evident that a lot of work went into its design. Itā€™s a heck of a lot better than 2007ā€™s garbage games.

From a set design perspective? The year was revolutionary. Universally loved? Definitely not. The ā– ā– ā– ā– ā–  from function-based construction to more poseable ā€œaction figuresā€ was definitely controversial, for very good reason. Thereā€™s no denying, though, that 2006 was a very innovative year that changed BIONICLE AND general constraction design basically forever, be it for good or bad. Iā€™m in the probable minority that vastly preferred the Inika build to the function-based constructions of 01-05 for sheer poseability factor, although the fragile pieces somewhat killed my enjoyment.

BASICALLY, no, 2006 wasnā€™t perfect. Its marketing was questionable at best, some aspects of it couldā€™ve been done better, and letā€™s be honest, the artwork for the comics was pretty lackluster. That being said, I think itā€™s an incredibly strong year and while Iā€™m hesitant to say that itā€™s my favorite BIONICLE yearā€¦ I canā€™t really think of another year that eclipses it in my mind. The only one that would even come close and possibly be better objectively is, admittedly, 2007. I think the Ignition Trilogy is BIONICLEā€™s strongest point in time from a storytelling perspective, which is why both 2007 and 2008 also rank highly in my list.

-Mesonak

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this topic kinda makes no sense
eljay isnt right, eljay just has an opinion
we all do
a more sensible title would be
ā€œIs 06 overrated?ā€
but imo, it kinda is
I love 06, I really do
its super nostalgic
but 07-08 are much better.

DONT MAKE FUN OF MY WAIFU
YOU MALE CIS WHITE SC-
ahem.

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(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

Title changed as an opinion isnā€™t right or wrong (as Droo_Da_Drag0n_CallahXXX specified) and OP specified it wasnā€™t to ā€˜verbally beat Eljayā€™

Topic moved because its just a 2006 discussion as its more related to that rather than PandemicPanda


As for thoughts;

  • Never got into the story/lore of that year, other than the general
    idea of Makuta and the Protodermis Vat.
  • I liked the sets, though disliked the idea of them all essentially
    being clone sets with variations, the titans were some of the better
    sets of the year,
  • As for the Piraka rap, Iā€™d heard worse before 2006 so i honestly
    didnā€™t mind the rap as much, it kinda suited the rebellious nature of
    the Piraka that was portrayed in the adverts.
  • Liked several of the games though never played VNOG so never got
    interested in the game side as much, though loved Piraka Attack

I guess I should have kept looking for the right category.

Except for Irnaak and Umbra. Very sub-par sets, but good additions to the story. I really wish they actually made the Reidak & Vezok fusion as a set.

Also, wrong punctuation.

Even Will Smith could have sounded more threatening. That Digi-rap is awful, but that is kind of scraping the bottom of the infinite barrel.

Sadly Inika Island Investigation is full of glitches that break the game now.

Its alright, not a staff member, just how i see it from my POV as a user. PandemicPanda to me normally seems to be staff stuff either posted by staff or directly about them. while this seems more along the lines of a discussion. Though if one of the staff have a different view they may move it back :stuck_out_tongue:

Personally liked Brutaka, not sure why. Irnaak was interesting but i donā€™t really count him because heā€™s just a straight-up combo model with a unique head.

It was a ā€˜,ā€™ instead of a ā€˜.ā€™ :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

I never likened the song to being threatening, just something rebellious. The song didnā€™t need to portray the idea of the Piraka being threatening because their design kind of did that, or at least i thought it didā€¦ They had face skulls :stuck_out_tongue:

Rap music was associated at the time, at least from personal experience, with the idea of a rebellious nature. Similar to how Rock music is also associated with the typical teenager rebellious phase, which was what Bionicle used prior and since. At the time was just Lego realising that something else was being associated with teenagers and wanting to try and appeal by using it also :slight_smile:

Iā€™m guessing someone has probably fixed some of the glitches, unfortunately that has happened with a lot of Bionicle games though. Just something that we have to deal with for older games.

Could try Biosector01?

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By threatening I meant bad-a.

Yeah and WB games Montreal is good at fixing glitches. /s

But, I would pick up an item to put it in my inventory and it would stay with the cursor, so every time I moved the mouse the item would follow the cursor and the Piraka would attack me. Every time I hit ā€˜Replayā€™, the Piraka would immediately attack me over and over.

Truth be told, the Bionicle website in the winter of '06 confused me. I was thinking the Bionicle world had reached a time similar to ours. I thought the Piraka were quite literally gangsters. -_-

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Yes, marketing was garbage at ā€¦garbage, and had that confusing use of real life objects like a couch and a tinyā€¦walking camera?? The Inika were good, though sadly had generic but fun weapons and masks about as compatible with other pieces as Jeff Ross and an actual career. Sadly, gears and similar functions were done away with. If only the 2015 gearbox/building system combo was made back then.

Glatorian Arena was the only good game after 2006.

What year is?

I heard a conversation in an old podcast when Kahi said that we donā€™t want villains that are to easy to sympathize with, cause then they are not really villains anymore. The Barraki were a little to far to that side. So like Eljay said, Barraki are better characters but Piraka are better villains. If only there was Pirrakiā€¦

Well, I liked the plainer disjointed creepy feel of the artwork gave it a more otherworldly, even grittier feel.

Btw, I heard the recent podcast (#162) and though it was pretty lackluster, and I heard a mention of this topic and your response. I actually read it way before the boards shut down. Thank you, I thought this day would never come, though it was just a small mention. You DO NOT have to apologize for not saying my name. It was probably that you couldnā€™t remember and I just put the pronunciation on my profile a few days ago.

I donā€™t really even know if you were referring to me. :smile:

Hereā€™s my question.

What happened in Ignition issue 6??

Itā€™s a web comic that I canā€™t find!!! I have every issue of the Bionicle comics except that!