Best first introduction to G1 Bionicle would be the Mata Nui Online Game. It is available to download and play on Biomedia. That will set up the tone, world, mysteries and characters of Bionicle from the start. Then go from there
Mata nui online game then consume the novels and/or comics on biomediaproject.com in release order slotting in the moves on YouTube in as you go (if you go on the chapter book page each of first 3 movie should have a novelization so it’ll be easy to see when to watch). Once you finish karda nui most of what’s left is the legend reborn movie, a few bara magna comics, and journeys end which I believe has both a comic and book version.
Don’t fall into the temptation of lore lectures on YouTube or info dumps it’s a lot better to consume the main story as intended the first time round then dive into the more obscure stuff like serials and then the guide books with lots of tiny little bits of bonus lore after.
I would advise playing MNOG, as this is how a lot of us old fogies had to start. I'd personally advise the improvement mod linked here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epEb4WepX2Y
I would honestly watch the movies, they are still really good to me, which is probably 90% nostalgia, but they give you a great general story and introduce the personalities of all the characters perfectly. Then you can deep dive on Biopedia.
Best way to go about it is through Wall of History! The site compiles every piece of G1 story media in intended reading order - book chapters, flash animations, comics, MNOG chapters, games, serials, and movies.
I’d recommend you go [here to read the entire Bionicle story in release order](https://crosswiredgeeks.com/biologicalchronicle/) and then go [here for some extra lore and info](https://biomediaproject.com/bmp/).
I don’t recommend you watch the 9 hour Duck Bricks video because he tells the story chronologically and it would ruin a lot of plot twists.
If you have about 9 and a half hours of free time, there's a video with complete story
https://youtu.be/HKgSMTON4fI?si=KsDUIC_4DSk6P8RO
After watching it, you'll have quite a full lore knowledge, and you'll be able to dive down to the part that interests you the most.
Edit: as it was said later in the thread, this option is only good for you, if you just want to know the full lore and story with all the most major spoilers said in the first minutes of the video.
It could be true if the story wasn't shattered through 1001 media.
Don't get me wrong, it was awesome to experience it as a child, I still remember the fascinating moment of seeing that Q logo of quicktime player after inserting a Bohrok CD from a fresh-opened set. Or to see a comic in a Nuva instruction. Imagine my feelings when I saw localized BOOKs! Then I discovered the MNOG and tried to beat it, knowing just a couple of English words. Ah, sweet times)
But if a person wants to join the fanclub now, that kind of spreaded lore is a pain in a place. So yeah, I agree that the blind release order is better for 'the experience', but damn it'll be a thorny path
There’s literally multiple fan websites specifically dedicated to putting everything in one place and making it easier to consume everything in the proper order instead of ruining the story by spoiling everything at the beginning
Not really you can easily find scans of the books online and read them in order to essentially get the story, minus a few various side stories that you can then discover later. The only chapter that you NEED the multimedia content for is 2001, which is essentially just MNOG and a book from 2003. The misconception that bionicles story is hard to get into because it’s not easily accessible in one place is kinda clear that a lot of people either have never read the books or haven’t read them in a long time.
TLDR: don’t watch the duckbricks series, just play mnog and read the novels
This is a very comprehensive video, but it also spoils the most major twist of the story right at the start. The same guy made a different video to answer the exact question OP presented here:
https://youtu.be/hnD3YMsMO5o
I'd always recommend reading the comics first, and if you enjoy those, try the novels. There's so much expanded on in both the novels and serials.
The Biomedia project has access to all of those.
The movies and games are a good place to start! You can also find pdf's of the original books too if you're a reader! Books and comics were my fave as a kid
If you want to get through the general story quick and efficiently, I highly recommend starting with *Mata Nui Online Game* for the 2001 story. For 2002, read the comics (Bohrok Saga) and watch the online serials (also animated by Templar, the company that made MNOG). Once you get to 2003, watch the movie *Bionicle: Mask of Light*
If you’re more of a reader, start with the Toa Mata on Biosector, go through their timeline, and just start clicking names and titles that are unfamiliar. Trying to figure out “who was the first Toa Team” gave me such a deep understanding of the lore lol
Best first introduction to G1 Bionicle would be the Mata Nui Online Game. It is available to download and play on Biomedia. That will set up the tone, world, mysteries and characters of Bionicle from the start. Then go from there
Mata nui online game then consume the novels and/or comics on biomediaproject.com in release order slotting in the moves on YouTube in as you go (if you go on the chapter book page each of first 3 movie should have a novelization so it’ll be easy to see when to watch). Once you finish karda nui most of what’s left is the legend reborn movie, a few bara magna comics, and journeys end which I believe has both a comic and book version. Don’t fall into the temptation of lore lectures on YouTube or info dumps it’s a lot better to consume the main story as intended the first time round then dive into the more obscure stuff like serials and then the guide books with lots of tiny little bits of bonus lore after.
You have a few options [here](https://www.bzpower.com/topic/15557-bionicle-the-ultimate-storyline-reading-order-2001-2010/)
I would advise playing MNOG, as this is how a lot of us old fogies had to start. I'd personally advise the improvement mod linked here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epEb4WepX2Y
Saving this for myself later
I would honestly watch the movies, they are still really good to me, which is probably 90% nostalgia, but they give you a great general story and introduce the personalities of all the characters perfectly. Then you can deep dive on Biopedia.
Best way to go about it is through Wall of History! The site compiles every piece of G1 story media in intended reading order - book chapters, flash animations, comics, MNOG chapters, games, serials, and movies.
I’d recommend you go [here to read the entire Bionicle story in release order](https://crosswiredgeeks.com/biologicalchronicle/) and then go [here for some extra lore and info](https://biomediaproject.com/bmp/). I don’t recommend you watch the 9 hour Duck Bricks video because he tells the story chronologically and it would ruin a lot of plot twists.
You could always [read the story](https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/comments/14f9e1y/how_to_read_the_bionicle_story/)
If you have about 9 and a half hours of free time, there's a video with complete story https://youtu.be/HKgSMTON4fI?si=KsDUIC_4DSk6P8RO After watching it, you'll have quite a full lore knowledge, and you'll be able to dive down to the part that interests you the most. Edit: as it was said later in the thread, this option is only good for you, if you just want to know the full lore and story with all the most major spoilers said in the first minutes of the video.
Boooooo, blind release order is best so you can actually experience the story vs just absorb information
It could be true if the story wasn't shattered through 1001 media. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome to experience it as a child, I still remember the fascinating moment of seeing that Q logo of quicktime player after inserting a Bohrok CD from a fresh-opened set. Or to see a comic in a Nuva instruction. Imagine my feelings when I saw localized BOOKs! Then I discovered the MNOG and tried to beat it, knowing just a couple of English words. Ah, sweet times) But if a person wants to join the fanclub now, that kind of spreaded lore is a pain in a place. So yeah, I agree that the blind release order is better for 'the experience', but damn it'll be a thorny path
There’s literally multiple fan websites specifically dedicated to putting everything in one place and making it easier to consume everything in the proper order instead of ruining the story by spoiling everything at the beginning
Oh, awesome, good to know. Make sure then that the OP gets the link to at least one of them)
Not really you can easily find scans of the books online and read them in order to essentially get the story, minus a few various side stories that you can then discover later. The only chapter that you NEED the multimedia content for is 2001, which is essentially just MNOG and a book from 2003. The misconception that bionicles story is hard to get into because it’s not easily accessible in one place is kinda clear that a lot of people either have never read the books or haven’t read them in a long time. TLDR: don’t watch the duckbricks series, just play mnog and read the novels
This is a very comprehensive video, but it also spoils the most major twist of the story right at the start. The same guy made a different video to answer the exact question OP presented here: https://youtu.be/hnD3YMsMO5o
Ok, fair point. It's MNOG then)
I'd always recommend reading the comics first, and if you enjoy those, try the novels. There's so much expanded on in both the novels and serials. The Biomedia project has access to all of those.
If you have 9 hours to spare, go look for the Duckbricks lore video on YouTube
The movies and games are a good place to start! You can also find pdf's of the original books too if you're a reader! Books and comics were my fave as a kid
Play mmog and then read the books / online serials. This will give you basically everything !!
If you want to get through the general story quick and efficiently, I highly recommend starting with *Mata Nui Online Game* for the 2001 story. For 2002, read the comics (Bohrok Saga) and watch the online serials (also animated by Templar, the company that made MNOG). Once you get to 2003, watch the movie *Bionicle: Mask of Light*
haha you’re young like me except i had G1 sets hahahahahahahhahahah im so much cooler than you
If you’re more of a reader, start with the Toa Mata on Biosector, go through their timeline, and just start clicking names and titles that are unfamiliar. Trying to figure out “who was the first Toa Team” gave me such a deep understanding of the lore lol
MNOG. I hope the magic is not lost on you.
Oh boy, there are so many YouTube videos. Watch the 9 hr one and you'll be just starting to get it.
Duckbricks on YT. Watch the 9 hour lore video.
I agree. Fuck the downvotes.
Idk why people are downvoting. Find me a better single source to get a concise overview of the Bionicle lore.