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The Metru Nui Saga could have used a MNOG style game.


Zidonaro

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One of the reasons the original saga is so loved is undoubtedly because of MNOG, and to a certain extent, MNOG II. It was MNOG that really immersed the player into the world of Bionicle and Mata Nui. The Island was vast, and full of different and diverse environments. Exploration was top notch. Even today, fan works still adapt appearances of the island based on these two games. 2004 and 2005 had nothing of this, and I think it's a shame. It was harder to immerse yourself into a world that didn't have much visual and exploration as its predecessor. I mean, sure, the Toa Metru CD was nice little adventure, but nothing in comparison with MNOG. 

Maybe not in the exact style as MNOG, but an exploration adventure game of some sort. Exploring the Great Falls of Ga-Metru, or visiting the Great Furnace in Ta-Metru. Maybe walk by the Sculpture Fields of Po-Metru, seeing all the great statues the carvers have made. I would have loved playing that PS2 Metru Nui game. I'm sure it would be a big contribution to the Metru Nui immersion! 

Come to think of it, world building was slowly dying out as the years went by. Voya Nui had VNOG. Mahri Nui and Karda Nui had nothing. Bara Magna had that pretty boring 3D fighting game and that's it. I think it's a shame, because Immersion was Bionicle strongest point in the begining.

Edited by Zidonaro
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I agree one hundred percent. 2004 did have those Vahki flash animations that were the same style as MNOG, so a game like that might have worked. Maybe a game that starts during the Morbuzakh saga and carried on into the end of 2005. 

Frankly, I feel like ever year (at least up until 2006) could have used a MNOG-esque game; maybe not all the same graphically and gameplay-wise of course, but I think they would have been great additions to the experience. Oh well...

Also RIP Metru Nui PS2 game. Too bad it was never finished.

Edited by Bambi
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I know, it's such a shame!

For me, MNOLG and the Templar flash animations were peak Bionicle. Nothing in the franchise ever captured the feeling of walking through an alien world quite like they did. That mood of unknown, ancient things lurking just below the surface and out of sight... so good. By contrast, the movies felt much more on-the-nose and lacking in subtlety-- so much of the appeal of MNOLG was in lingering on a particular screen for a while, soaking in the desolation of the desert or the grandeur of the Great Mines. The point-and-click nature of the game was brilliant for establishing mood, because there was no pressure to play the game quickly. The movies, in contrast, had to rush through plot points, and there wasn't much room for that meditative element.

If Templar had kept making games, I can see the franchise retaining its mystical vibe for a lot longer. The supernatural and mysterious elements never truly left the storyline, after all-- the writing just got faster paced and more comic book-y, so those mysterious elements didn't have as much room to breathe. I bet Templar would have kept dropping hints about the Big Mystery, for one, like they did in Onu-Koro with the protodermis layer.

Imagine-- standing atop a knowledge tower in Ko-Metru, hearing the sound of distant wind... watching the frost blow by in sparkling clouds. The feeling of stillness and mystery. You don't know it, but these crystal structures contain a fraction of the mind of Mata Nui. As you gaze into the crystal, you catch fragments of the great spirit's thoughts-- images of past and future flicker across the mirrorlike surface, rippling enigmas, offering nothing but more questions about the nature of this universe.......

Also a variation of this would probably be playing:

 

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On one hand, I worry after MNOG II that a Metru-NOG would have ended up similarly bloated and hard to play in the dial-up era with lots of meaningless fetch quests. BUT, if that MNOG I magic could have been captured, I really think Metru-Nui would have been a much more fleshed out environment. Its odd how cool of a concept Metru-Nui was, and how little of it we actually got to see compared to the really fleshed out world Mata-Nui was (unfortunately I think Voya/Karda/Mahri all suffer MORE from that, it feels like the new environments were skin deep in the later years). 

The one thing Metru-Nui had going for it lore-wise was the Metru-Nui: City of Legends book and the other books set in the city. But a couple books really lack the same visual power as a game like MNOG has. Although I really really really like the book we did get, and only wish there was more of it. 

 

Edited by Xboxtravis
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52641688958_d61c0bc049_w(1).jpg.c0871df0de376218d7ca2bc4f409e17d.jpg

All aboard the hype train!

 

 

 

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I agree, Metru Nui really could've used a game like that. I never really felt as much of a connection to Metru Nui as I did to Mata Nui. Part of that might have been just that I preferred the idyllic island setting or the clear elemental themes, but I can't help but think part of it is due to it not being explorable in game format.

On a related note, I've always thought the later years could've used story year animations like the ones from 2001-2003. I didn't get into Bionicle until 2006, and those animations were my first introduction to the story. They were really well made, and a nice way to get caught up in a time before I was able to find and read all the books and comics.

I really need a better signature.

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