Vakama is a Toa of Fire. He was the last of 6 Matoran to be visited by Lhikan, and was the only one to see his downfall-he was also saved by Lhikan's quick thinking. Vakama, along with five other Matoran, was transformed into a Toa by the Toa stones. He alone was reluctant about being a Toa, believing himself to be just a Matoran in Toa Armor. He deposited a Toa stone on Mata Nui after his first trip there, and all 6 of the Toa's stones on the island were gathered by Takua, it summoned the 6 Toa Mata (but that's another story). On the trip back, Vakama and his party faced an entity of Protodermis and Karzanhi, the original prototype of the Morbuzak. He then returned to Metru Nui, and was transformed into a Toa Hordika by Visorak Venom. He joined the horde as a commander, but Matau turned him good again-he then helped them defeat Roodaka, and caused the Visorak horde to scatter. He was later transformed back into a Toa by Keetongu, and used all of his powers to awaken the Matoran, becoming a Turaga in the process.
8601 Front
Vakama is a well-designed Toa. He has no major flaws-however, his arms are on the skinny side. The set is far from perfect-however, the switch to Darker colors and the new parts fit into this set very well.
8601 Back
On Vakama's backside there is a Disk Launcher. It allows him to fly, but it can also be used as a weapon.
8601 Launcher
Vakama's Disk Launcher is superb-in my opinion, it is the best of the Toa Metru's weapons. It is shaped like a disk launcher, but has flames from either side. The weapon is silver, something which started with the Toa Nuva and continued through 2009 (although the weapons were not always silver-sometimes they were a different metallic color, and in 2009 some were a mix, some were a solid nonmetallic color).
Vakama comes with a Collectible-a Disk. In 2004, the main collectibles were Disks. He has a unique disk. Unfortunately, none of the other Toa came with collectibles in this time (the masks no longer are counted as collectibles, as they were not bought in packs).
The design of this set is pretty basic. It has a gear function, a trait of earlier BIONICLE sets. It doesn't really suit him though. The feet and legs are pretty sturdy and look good, while the arms aren't bad-but they could be better.
Overall
Pros
-Dark Red
-Mask and Disk
-Disk Launcher
Cons
-Weak-looking arms
-Gears
-Mask not a collectible
Design-3.5/5
Colors-4.5/5
Parts-4/5
Playability-4/5
Value for Price-3.5/5
Overall-3.9-A decent set, although it could be better.
