For those who are too young, in the early-2000’s LEGO was struggling. They weren’t suffering per se, but they were creatively stagnant. Recognizing that much of their user-base was pre-teen boys, they decided to market specific brands to them. They tried various “edgier” lines, but none stuck around as long as Bionicle. Whether by design or accident, LEGO had something brilliant, with a line that ran for a decade.
The premise screams high-fantasy. Inspired by Polynesian folklore, it centres around an island, Mata Nui, being attacked by Makuta. Using cursed masks, Makuta has infected the insect-like Rahi and unleashed them on the villagers, or Matoran. Desperate to be free from this, the Turaga, or Matoran elders, send out a distress signal to 6 legendary warriors, known as the Toa. The Toa wash up on Mata Nui in pods, band together and free the villagers on the island.
I remember loving this line when it debuted. I was the perfect age, 10, and my brothers and I would play with these toys when we had downtime. The objective wasn’t complicated-first person to displace the opponent’s mask wins-but the stories and head-canon lore more than compensated. Essentially, Bionicle was cool. And it had enough creativity to be a worthwhile Chanukah gift for several years.
This line was the shot in the arm LEGO needed, even winning awards. Aside from being fun to build, the toys could be merged to create more interesting ones. Like the Transformers line, Bionicle was more than meets the eye, spinning off into other mediums with books, comics, movies and video games. Being the sucker that I was, I ended up owning two for my Game Boy Advance. So let’s discuss them.
LEGO Bionicle: Quest for the Toa released in 2001, and it was among the first games I owned for the handheld. It focuses on Takua, a Matoran chronicler, travelling around Mata Nui to help each village send a distress signal to the Toa. The game’s meant for young children. It almost feels like “baby’s first isometric RPG”, even containing its shallowness. It’s also buggy and glitchy, with stiff controls that feel better-suited to an analogue stick. For what it was, however, I mostly enjoyed it.
The most-notable part was that you could customize your avatar. Takua normally has a blue mask, red shirt and yellow pants, but you don’t have to stop there. You can change his colour completely, and you can give him a nickname. Being uncreative, however, I kept him the standard colour and named him “Whitly”. Even 11 year-old me had a brand…
The game itself isn’t complicated. Controls aside, it’s more of an adventure story with light RPG elements. Each village also has a mini-game you need to play at least once, and getting in first place for all of them gives you a reward. Not that I knew that, since the kayak race in Ga-Koro was next to impossible to steer in. I could beat every other mini-game and get in first place, but that gives me nightmares even now.
Upon completing a village, including the mini-game, finding the Turaga elder and acquiring the special stone to activate the Vuata Maca Tree, you could traverse the over-world to the next village. When you completed all 6, you beat the game. It sounds repetitive, and the isometric design made navigating rather tedious, but once you got the hang of everything it wasn’t terrible. I remember enjoying freezing lava to make little islands, or knocking villagers off of their companions in the Le-Koro mini-game. It’s not a long experience, but you could do worse.
The most-notable part was that you could customize your avatar. Takua normally has a blue mask, red shirt and yellow pants, but you don’t have to stop there. You can change his colour completely, and you can give him a nickname. Being uncreative, however, I kept him the standard colour and named him “Whitly”. Even 11 year-old me had a brand…
The game itself isn’t complicated. Controls aside, it’s more of an adventure story with light RPG elements. Each village also has a mini-game you need to play at least once, and getting in first place for all of them gives you a reward. Not that I knew that, since the kayak race in Ga-Koro was next to impossible to steer in. I could beat every other mini-game and get in first place, but that gives me nightmares even now.
Upon completing a village, including the mini-game, finding the Turaga elder and acquiring the special stone to activate the Vuata Maca Tree, you could traverse the over-world to the next village. When you completed all 6, you beat the game. It sounds repetitive, and the isometric design made navigating rather tedious, but once you got the hang of everything it wasn’t terrible. I remember enjoying freezing lava to make little islands, or knocking villagers off of their companions in the Le-Koro mini-game. It’s not a long experience, but you could do worse.
The other game I received was Bionicle: Matoran Adventures in 2002. This was during the height of “The Bohrok Saga”, the first of the lines Bionicle came up with to sell new toys. The Bohrok were big, round-like insects who could curl into balls and run you over, and beating them required breaking the covers on their heads and knocking off their masks. This game also came out right as I was at the tail end of liking Bionicle, so while I enjoyed this title, much more than the previous one, I also never went further.
Anyway, you take on the role of a generic Matoran and traverse through the different villages, all while fighting the invading Bohrok. Along the way, you collect mask pieces, find the Turaga elder and complete the in-village objective. These objectives aren’t difficult, even as the levels get longer, but it’s fun. The game’s a standard platformer, but it controls somewhat fluidly. If anything, it’s my favourite piece of Bionicle merchandise I still own. That’s saying something.
There are four boss fights throughout the game that are split up among the 6 levels. The first two are in the 1st and 3rd levels, with the final two in the 6th level. Unlike the Bohrok, these bosses have health gages, requiring timing your attacks to hit them. It’s a shame you can’t use the Turaga, since the character-swapping mechanic could’ve led to some interesting mechanics. Then again, maybe it would’ve been too easy?
The best part, aside from three difficulty settings, is the score. The GBA library was often criticized for not taking advantage of the handheld’s sound chip, but this game is one of the few exceptions. Not only does each level have a fitting track, taking advantage of the different levels’ environments, but they’re all catchy. I haven’t played this game in years, yet I still find myself occasionally humming its tunes. If you don’t believe me, have a listen!
Anyway, you take on the role of a generic Matoran and traverse through the different villages, all while fighting the invading Bohrok. Along the way, you collect mask pieces, find the Turaga elder and complete the in-village objective. These objectives aren’t difficult, even as the levels get longer, but it’s fun. The game’s a standard platformer, but it controls somewhat fluidly. If anything, it’s my favourite piece of Bionicle merchandise I still own. That’s saying something.
There are four boss fights throughout the game that are split up among the 6 levels. The first two are in the 1st and 3rd levels, with the final two in the 6th level. Unlike the Bohrok, these bosses have health gages, requiring timing your attacks to hit them. It’s a shame you can’t use the Turaga, since the character-swapping mechanic could’ve led to some interesting mechanics. Then again, maybe it would’ve been too easy?
The best part, aside from three difficulty settings, is the score. The GBA library was often criticized for not taking advantage of the handheld’s sound chip, but this game is one of the few exceptions. Not only does each level have a fitting track, taking advantage of the different levels’ environments, but they’re all catchy. I haven’t played this game in years, yet I still find myself occasionally humming its tunes. If you don’t believe me, have a listen!
The downside to this game, once again, is its length. Bionicle: Matoran Adventures isn’t long, but that’d be offset if you could unlock new sections with each mask. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. If you want to 100% this game, which isn’t hard, you need to play through the same levels 6 times. Joy!
Fortunately, wonkiness and all, it’s still fun. I remember whizzing through the levels in several hours, which speaks to its craft. Bionicle: Matoran Adventures isn’t well-known amongst the Bionicle fanbase, and it isn’t “great” either, but almost everyone I’ve spoken to about it remembers it somewhat fondly. I even convinced someone on ScrewAttack to give it a second chance, and they liked it more on replay. That’s a testament to this cartridge, and I suggest tracking it down if possible.
That’s all I have to say. I know there were long-running comics from DC, but I never got into them due to financial limitations. Yet what little I enjoyed of my 2-years with Bionicle helped me get through some rough patches, and I have LEGO to thank with their out-of-the-box thinking. Even if they used Polynesian lore for cynical marketing reasons, they put a lot of thought into what could’ve been a cheap cash-grab. I owe them for that.
If only LEGO would acknowledge these toys retroactively. But I can keep dreaming, right?
Fortunately, wonkiness and all, it’s still fun. I remember whizzing through the levels in several hours, which speaks to its craft. Bionicle: Matoran Adventures isn’t well-known amongst the Bionicle fanbase, and it isn’t “great” either, but almost everyone I’ve spoken to about it remembers it somewhat fondly. I even convinced someone on ScrewAttack to give it a second chance, and they liked it more on replay. That’s a testament to this cartridge, and I suggest tracking it down if possible.
That’s all I have to say. I know there were long-running comics from DC, but I never got into them due to financial limitations. Yet what little I enjoyed of my 2-years with Bionicle helped me get through some rough patches, and I have LEGO to thank with their out-of-the-box thinking. Even if they used Polynesian lore for cynical marketing reasons, they put a lot of thought into what could’ve been a cheap cash-grab. I owe them for that.
If only LEGO would acknowledge these toys retroactively. But I can keep dreaming, right?
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