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Parts of Darkness: One man's journey into the madness and mystery of Legends of Chima


thoroakenfelder

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Those ravens seem smart people targeting shiny things.

This reminds me of bionicle a weak tv series trying to save a line. The problem I have is this if I give this to a kid they cannot instantly tell good guy from bad guy as oppose to Ninjago where its obvious as you showed the Chi concept thing is hard to understand where as Ninjago to start with focused on golden weapons (shiny) so the kid knew what the sides were fighting over giving them an instant knowledge which is what Kids want as oppose to something they have to look up. They are identical with a play element added with the spinner from the start but these have slowly been killed off and it is more set based. The other point is that the foe has changed in Ninjago meaning kids want the new enemy or Ninja from skeletons to snakes to ghosts to pirates with a bad color scheme

From my TFOL perspective the Ninjago line contains ninjas and has some sets that would attract an AFOL as oppose to Chima it also contains some unique elements and some good Japanese architecture in some buildings.

Great review I would consider therapy now after that TV series

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I finally was able to delete all 40 episodes or so off the DVR.  My son didn't even complain.  Now I'm trying to disassemble a few sets and put them away, although he's still attached to his Chi Temple and Ice Stronghold.  I made money from my Chima purchases.  Some sets I wish I still had, or purchased more.

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The only fault of the line I can agree with was the poorly executed television series. The designs for the characters and their respective vehicles were good, the underlying premise supporting their world was interesting, all this setting the stage for something greater than unfortunately it turned out to be. The stories were barely chains of events happening haphazardly and the inhabitants had less depth than an empty shot glass.

I will admit some of my judgment on the TV show stems from my own ideals of how it could have been instead of what it was. I suppose looking across what they had laid out, to me there felt to be much potential in something closer to the maturity of Bionicle (the original with issues of DC comics alongside the releases). Now I do not mean 'dark', just simply smart with a little edge. Though I am unsure of what LEGO's true inspiration was for Chima, perhaps they should have looked harder at an older animated series that got it right called Thundercats. By today's standards the animation can be stiff and maybe 'dirty' but the characters and worlds were fleshed out. A few odd moments to be sure yet altogether well done.

Well, I think I have ranted enough about the show. Anyway the minifigures are great even if, yes, you cannot see the expressions under that "head helmet" of theirs making the double-sided printing seem more pointless on their own at least. These characters have made cool critters filling my fantasy world. Haha. I still have yet to find a use for the actual Speedor wheel assembly however several random ideas have popped up in thy mind.

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  • 1 month later...

Nice story, @thoroakenfelder. Funny and interesting to read. :) 

Now the question I have is ... Will Nexo Knights fare a better fate than Chima? At least with Nexo Knights the good guys and the bad guys are easily distinguishable, both in looks and in use of colour. I also think the NK theme has more general appeal than the Chima theme. I haven't watched any Nexo Knights TV-series though, and I have no idea how kids these days pick up this theme. Do they like it as much as Ninjago?

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2 hours ago, Haay said:

Nice story, @thoroakenfelder. Funny and interesting to read. :) 

Now the question I have is ... Will Nexo Knights fare a better fate than Chima? At least with Nexo Knights the good guys and the bad guys are easily distinguishable, both in looks and in use of colour. I also think the NK theme has more general appeal than the Chima theme. I haven't watched any Nexo Knights TV-series though, and I have no idea how kids these days pick up this theme. Do they like it as much as Ninjago?

My kids only exposure to the nexo knights cartoon so far has been in the legoland 4d cinema, and it was actually kind of terrifying to them. I don't know if that has impacted their interest in the toys, but they both would rather talk about ninjago.

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19 minutes ago, thoroakenfelder said:

My kids only exposure to the nexo knights cartoon so far has been in the legoland 4d cinema, and it was actually kind of terrifying to them. I don't know if that has impacted their interest in the toys, but they both would rather talk about ninjago.

My son really likes the Nexo Knights game on his tablet, but since he discovered you can scan the entire catalog of shields directly from the internet, he doesn't need the sets. Only ones he has are 2 freebies: the Royal Guard and Ultimate Lavaria. I do think he has his eyes on a set or two for purchase - have to wait until he publishes his Christmas wish list.

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7 minutes ago, Phil B said:

My son really likes the Nexo Knights game on his tablet, but since he discovered you can scan the entire catalog of shields directly from the internet, he doesn't need the sets. Only ones he has are 2 freebies: the Royal Guard and Ultimate Lavaria. I do think he has his eyes on a set or two for purchase - have to wait until he publishes his Christmas wish list.

When Lego outsmart themselves.....

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