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Is Bionicle Heroes any good?


VakamaHordika147

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I liked it as a kid. It's not terribly challenging and there's something satisfying about shooting Visorak and Bohrok and whatever until they explode into Lego pieces. Wonderful energetic music. The levels are generally all well-designed; you never quite felt like one level was copy-pasted from another, and I think the hidden Toa canisters offer enough replay value. And of course there's a good does of TT slapstick humor to lighten the mood.

 

 

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As far as gameplay it's fairly flat, it's a very pared-down shooter where you don't need to worry about ammo or even reloading.  You're unlikely to ever actually die, given how forgiving it is with dropping health and since you'd have to lose all six masks.  It is fun to explore the areas to find all the little hidden pockets, though even then the mini-map is going to show you most of those anyway.

 

So overall not terribly engaging but still a fun romp though the various areas full of BIONICLE goodness.

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I have fond memories of the game. I'm not a huge gamer honestly, but I enjoyed Bionicle Heroes.

 

Heroes had nothing to do with the story, but it was cool how it incorporated basically all the old villains/titans into a single game. I also thought the game was like they took the great things about Lego Star Wars and applied it to Bionicle (great things being humor, fun, and cool maps/scenery). The collectibles in the game as well make it more fun to replay. I want to say I got 85% of the way through or something like that? It was easier for me to acquire most of the collectibles in this game as opposed to Lego Star Wars (which I'm at around 70% and can't seem to progress any further).

 

All in all, I'd give Bionicle Heros a quality/10 (quality out of 10) rating

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The last time I wrote a long post about BIONICLE Heroes on BZPower, the forums got hacked later that night and my post was deleted in the aftermath.  Let's hope I have better luck this time...

BIONICLE Heroes has a lot going for it.  You may certainly find it cathartic to demolish your way past waves and waves of Bohrok, Visorak, and Vahki, which could be just as mindlessly addictive as munching on junk food snacks.  There is some replayability in the form of certain collectibles that cannot be collected until Vezon and Fenrakk are defeated and all the Toa Inika have been upgraded, so completionists will find some longevity.  The graphics are rather nice for the time, with the large environments giving Voya Nui a similar scale of mystery and history as the island of Mata Nui, and so many objects in the game can be built with LEGO, BIONICLE, and Technic pieces from your own collection.  If you find slapstick to be funny, the cutscenes will give you plenty of laughs.  The soundtrack is simply fantastic, with each zone having its distinct musical style so that you're bound to find at least one you'll enjoy.

Honestly, what's the one major problem with the game?  It's the game itself.

It's a third-person shooter, which means the whole game is focused on combat and shooting.  In this genre, a major source of challenge is being able to accurately aim at your enemies so you can shoot them.  This game strips away that challenge by having the Toa automatically aim and lock onto a particular on-screen enemy or object, indicated by the green line of sight.  The result is that you're just mindlessly pressing the shoot button over and over while the Toa does all the work of actually aiming.  Think about how aimbots are considered cheating in online multiplayer games, and then realize that this entire game has an aimbot that can never be turned off.

To be fair, you have games like Metroid Prime where you can lock onto enemies to keep them at the center of the screen and make aiming much easier.  But, Metroid Prime is classified as a "first-person adventure" game, not a first-person shooter... the combat is not the main focus of this game.  Besides, the lock-on is manual, not automatic; the player doesn't let the game do all the work for them.  Additionally, in the Metroid Prime games released for the Wii (Corruption and Trilogy), the lock-on only keeps the enemy on the center of the screen... it's still up to the player to actually aim at the enemy.  Last, but certainly not least... even with the lock-on, Metroid Prime still offers a significant challenge.

BIONICLE Heroes doesn't offer that challenge.  Enemies don't deal a lot of damage per hit, you can fully heal yourself by picking up a Kanohi mask, and your only penalty for losing all your health is losing your current Toa Inika.  You can even take advantage of the latter two, since you can switch to a Toa whose mask is nearby, lose that Toa, and then immediately regain that Toa upon collecting his/her mask.

But the worst offender of all is Hero Mode.  As soon as you collect a certain number of Technic pieces, Hero Mode is automatically activated.  Your Toa turns golden, your health is fully replenished, a shockwave damages all enemies within a certain radius, the music switches to one particular track, your attacks receive a huge boost in strength, and you are complete invincible.  This lasts until you activate a Golden Constraction.  In Piraka boss battles, this may happen right away... but in the levels themselves, you'll fill up your Hero Mode meter LONG before finding a Golden Constraction, because enemies and destructible objects drop a lot of Technic pieces.

Hero Mode strips away any semblance of challenge from the game.  You'll spend the majority of your gameplay completely invincible with just one song playing on loop ad nauseam (which is all that it takes to turn an exciting song into an ear-grating annoyance).  You know what's even worse?  As I said, this is automatically activated.  You have no choice in the matter... well, actually, you do.  The only way to avoid Hero Mode is to deliberately avoid picking up Technic pieces.  After blowing a bunch of enemies to smithereens and having their pieces litter the floor in front of you, you need to sit there and wait for them to fade away before progressing.  That's not fun.

What's particularly surprising is that the game wasn't always like this.  The PC demo, available for download before the game was released, has a different version of Hero Mode.  You still fill up the meter just as fast, and you still get all the perks of invincibility and such, but... it's only temporary.  Using Hero Mode drains the Hero Mode meter, and once it's down to zero, you're back to normal.  Therefore, instead of being automatically activating Hero Mode, filling the meter gives you the option to manually activate Hero Mode.  This is a small difference with profound impact.  It changes Hero Mode from "thing that makes the majority of the game way too easy" to "temporary power-up to be used only when you need it".  This is so much better... why did they change it before release?

The result is that BIONICLE Heroes offers no challenge.  It's mindless.  I can't even call it an experience, because that would imply that I experienced something.  And it's a real shame, because I can tell that a lot was put into the presentation of the game... like I said, the graphics are nice and the soundtrack is amazing.  If TT Games had gone with the LEGO Star Wars style of gameplay, they could've had something fun here.  But in their effort to try a different genre, only to dumb it down for the little kiddies, they lost everything that makes that genre enjoyable to play.

Overall, I give the PC and console versions of BIONICLE Heroes a "junk food" out of 10.  It's tasty and addictive, but lacks substance and satisfaction that a real fulfilling meal would give you.

If you want my advice... play the Nintendo DS version instead.  It's a completely different game.  It's a first-person shooter, which is the most obvious difference... but it strips away almost all of the PC/console versions' problems with difficulty and challenge (or rather, lack thereof).  There is no automatic aiming.  Enemies can and will kill you if you're not careful.  The only way to recover health is to find a few seconds of cover, which is often easier said than done when enemies are firing at you from all over the room.  And Hero Mode?  It's just like in the PC demo, but it doesn't even make you invincible!  The only major criticism of the DS version is that its controls are a little janky... using the touch screen to aim doesn't feel right to me, while using A/B/X/Y to aim feels more comfortable at the sacrifice of precision and accuracy.  But still, if you want a game that actually challenges you and therefore feels satisfying to beat, pick up this version.

I also hear that the Game Boy Advance version is pretty fun, though I haven't played that one myself so I can't vouch for it one way or the other.

Edited by PeabodySam
Fixed post formatting.
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just play the ds version

I did! It’s really good! It’s basically Metroid Prime Hunters with Bionicle.

The last time I wrote a long post about BIONICLE Heroes on BZPower, the forums got hacked later that night and my post was deleted in the aftermath.  Let's hope I have better luck this time...

 

BIONICLE Heroes has a lot going for it.  You may certainly find it cathartic to demolish your way past waves and waves of Bohrok, Visorak, and Vahki, which could be just as mindlessly addictive as munching on junk food snacks.  There is some replayability in the form of certain collectibles that cannot be collected until Vezon and Fenrakk are defeated and all the Toa Inika have been upgraded, so completionists will find some longevity.  The graphics are rather nice for the time, with the large environments giving Voya Nui a similar scale of mystery and history as the island of Mata Nui, and so many objects in the game can be built with LEGO, BIONICLE, and Technic pieces from your own collection.  If you find slapstick to be funny, the cutscenes will give you plenty of laughs.  The soundtrack is simply fantastic, with each zone having its distinct musical style so that you're bound to find at least one you'll enjoy.

 

Honestly, what's the one major problem with the game?  It's the game itself.

 

It's a third-person shooter, which means the whole game is focused on combat and shooting.  In this genre, a major source of challenge is being able to accurately aim at your enemies so you can shoot them.  This game strips away that challenge by having the Toa automatically aim and lock onto a particular on-screen enemy or object, indicated by the green line of sight.  The result is that you're just mindlessly pressing the shoot button over and over while the Toa does all the work of actually aiming.  Think about how aimbots are considered cheating in online multiplayer games, and then realize that this entire game has an aimbot that can never be turned off.

 

To be fair, you have games like Metroid Prime where you can lock onto enemies to keep them at the center of the screen and make aiming much easier.  But, Metroid Prime is classified as a "first-person adventure" game, not a first-person shooter... the combat is not the main focus of this game.  Besides, the lock-on is manual, not automatic; the player doesn't let the game do all the work for them.  Additionally, in the Metroid Prime games released for the Wii (Corruption and Trilogy), the lock-on only keeps the enemy on the center of the screen... it's still up to the player to actually aim at the enemy.  Last, but certainly not least... even with the lock-on, Metroid Prime still offers a significant challenge.

 

BIONICLE Heroes doesn't offer that challenge.  Enemies don't deal a lot of damage per hit, you can fully heal yourself by picking up a Kanohi mask, and your only penalty for losing all your health is losing your current Toa Inika.  You can even take advantage of the latter two, since you can switch to a Toa whose mask is nearby, lose that Toa, and then immediately regain that Toa upon collecting his/her mask.

 

But the worst offender of all is Hero Mode.  As soon as you collect a certain number of Technic pieces, Hero Mode is automatically activated.  Your Toa turns golden, your health is fully replenished, a shockwave damages all enemies within a certain radius, the music switches to one particular track, your attacks receive a huge boost in strength, and you are complete invincible.  This lasts until you activate a Golden Constraction.  In Piraka boss battles, this may happen right away... but in the levels themselves, you'll fill up your Hero Mode meter LONG before finding a Golden Constraction, because enemies and destructible objects drop a lot of Technic pieces.

 

Hero Mode strips away any semblance of challenge from the game.  You'll spend the majority of your gameplay completely invincible with just one song playing on loop ad nauseam (which is all that it takes to turn an exciting song into an ear-grating annoyance).  You know what's even worse?  As I said, this is automatically activated.  You have no choice in the matter... well, actually, you do.  The only way to avoid Hero Mode is to deliberately avoid picking up Technic pieces.  After blowing a bunch of enemies to smithereens and having their pieces litter the floor in front of you, you need to sit there and wait for them to fade away before progressing.  That's not fun.

 

What's particularly surprising is that the game wasn't always like this.  The PC demo, available for download before the game was released, has a different version of Hero Mode.  You still fill up the meter just as fast, and you still get all the perks of invincibility and such, but... it's only temporary.  Using Hero Mode drains the Hero Mode meter, and once it's down to zero, you're back to normal.  Therefore, instead of being automatically activating Hero Mode, filling the meter gives you the option to manually activate Hero Mode.  This is a small difference with profound impact.  It changes Hero Mode from "thing that makes the majority of the game way too easy" to "temporary power-up to be used only when you need it".  This is so much better... why did they change it before release?

 

The result is that BIONICLE Heroes offers no challenge.  It's mindless.  I can't even call it an experience, because that would imply that I experienced something.  And it's a real shame, because I can tell that a lot was put into the presentation of the game... like I said, the graphics are nice and the soundtrack is amazing.  If TT Games had gone with the LEGO Star Wars style of gameplay, they could've had something fun here.  But in their effort to try a different genre, only to dumb it down for the little kiddies, they lost everything that makes that genre enjoyable to play.

 

Overall, I give the PC and console versions of BIONICLE Heroes a "junk food" out of 10.  It's tasty and addictive, but lacks substance and satisfaction that a real fulfilling meal would give you.

 

If you want my advice... play the Nintendo DS version instead.  It's a completely different game.  It's a first-person shooter, which is the most obvious difference... but it strips away almost all of the PC/console versions' problems with difficulty and challenge (or rather, lack thereof).  There is no automatic aiming.  Enemies can and will kill you if you're not careful.  The only way to recover health is to find a few seconds of cover, which is often easier said than done when enemies are firing at you from all over the room.  And Hero Mode?  It's just like in the PC demo, but it doesn't even make you invincible!  The only major criticism of the DS version is that its controls are a little janky... using the touch screen to aim doesn't feel right to me, while using A/B/X/Y to aim feels more comfortable at the sacrifice of precision and accuracy.  But still, if you want a game that actually challenges you and therefore feels satisfying to beat, pick up this version.

 

I also hear that the Game Boy Advance version is pretty fun, though I haven't played that one myself so I can't vouch for it one way or the other.

Sorry I quoted your whole post. In case you couldn’t tell I’m new here so I don’t know how to quote a small portion.

Anyway I have played the GBA version. It’s fun but it’s really repetitive. The whole game you’ll be shooting things and almost nothing else. Again it’s fun but really shallow. Good if you like action oriented games, but I would recommend the DS version over it. Also I’ve heard in the Wii version you actually have to aim at enemies, but I don’t know for sure.

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Sorry I quoted your whole post. In case you couldn’t tell I’m new here so I don’t know how to quote a small portion.

Anyway I have played the GBA version. It’s fun but it’s really repetitive. The whole game you’ll be shooting things and almost nothing else. Again it’s fun but really shallow. Good if you like action oriented games, but I would recommend the DS version over it. Also I’ve heard in the Wii version you actually have to aim at enemies, but I don’t know for sure.

you can just delete what you don't want to quote in the post editor

 

anyhow, i'd describe home console Heroes as a decent celebration of the series? dang near every major character gets some representation, it has that early Tt Lego game charm, though the base gameplay is rather lackluster and while there are some good tracks, don't think for one second that you won't be listening to the Hero Mode song for at least half of your playtime.

 

i had the wii version, and yes it used wiimote pointing controls a la metroid prime 3/trilogy. honestly wasn't that bad. biggest complaint i have is that it gave me headaches.

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I played the Game Boy Advance version a lot as a kid. I don't do much handheld gaming these days, but I definitely remember it being one of the funner GBA titles in my collection. It focuses less on adapting the story in an accurate way and more on the fun elements of other LEGO games by Traveller's Tales (puzzle solving, level design, etc). I've heard good things about the DS version but never played it myself.

 

I did try the PC version at one point but I didn't get very far. Reading this thread is kinda making me want to give it another try! I just wish I could get it on Steam. :(

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I played the Game Boy Advance version a lot as a kid. I don't do much handheld gaming these days, but I definitely remember it being one of the funner GBA titles in my collection. It focuses less on adapting the story in an accurate way and more on the fun elements of other LEGO games by Traveller's Tales (puzzle solving, level design, etc). I've heard good things about the DS version but never played it myself.

 

I did try the PC version at one point but I didn't get very far. Reading this thread is kinda making me want to give it another try! I just wish I could get it on Steam. :(

Oh man, I forgot the GBA version even though I played the heck out of it as a kid. I could never find one of the glyphs, but it was actually not bad. Sadly, it seems to be broken on emulators.

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I played the Game Boy Advance version a lot as a kid. I don't do much handheld gaming these days, but I definitely remember it being one of the funner GBA titles in my collection. It focuses less on adapting the story in an accurate way and more on the fun elements of other LEGO games by Traveller's Tales (puzzle solving, level design, etc). I've heard good things about the DS version but never played it myself.

 

I did try the PC version at one point but I didn't get very far. Reading this thread is kinda making me want to give it another try! I just wish I could get it on Steam. :(

Oh man, I forgot the GBA version even though I played the heck out of it as a kid. I could never find one of the glyphs, but it was actually not bad. Sadly, it seems to be broken on emulators.

Really?  I think I've done a nearly complete playthrough via emulator before.  Granted I didn't go back and try and find all the secret codes, but I'm pretty sure it's playable.

 

Maybe I should give it another shot.  The controls were simple enough and the concept was fun, but I remember enemies constantly piling in on me and it devolving into bullet [heck] pretty quick.  Also, forever curse Visorak that dart out of the way of your shots.  Never could take those guys down easily.

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its good but the hero music gets boring and annoying after a while

 

i actually only got it a couple of months ago for only £3.99

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Well, Bionicle Heroes is my favorite Bionicle game, and it is the only good game in Bionicle’s history (Even though that it got mixed to negative reviews, like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, which shared the same release date as Bionicle Heroes, but BH has better reviews). I played and enjoyed the game (I got the PlayStation 2 version, and my mom was obsessed with playing the game for a while). Well, here’s my pros and cons about the game:

Pros:

1. You shoot at stuff.

2. The game uses stuff from 2001 to 2006. It’s nostalgia. (probably to celebrate Bionicle’s 5th anniversary). You get to use weapons from Toa Inika and other Toa teams before them. You get to fight to fight against villains from storylines before the 2006 storyline.

3. Toa with unique abilities to solve puzzles.

4. Having more toughness on your Toa’s health by buying it. Plus, you get to have that invinicible golden form.

5. It’s a Traveller’s Tales Lego game, and it’s very different from other traditional TT Lego games. That is because the characters are constraction, and I love constraction.

6. The humor

7. The characters looking like ther sets, and have hands with fingers. The Piraka have opening mouths.

8. Collecting canisters with neat past stuff.

 

Cons:

1. The glitches, and there are a bunch of them.

2. Fenrakk never became the Kardas Dragon.

3. Vezon never in the Piraka Playground.

4. Vezon replacing the Piraka, so you couldn’t play the Piraka again.

5. The Piraka all have two-toed feet.

6. Avak’s eyes look different.

7. The Toa Inika all have the same feet and arms as Jaller.

8. The descriptions on the Bohrok are wrong.

9. The introductory cutscene does not match all other cutscenes. No Matoran other than Balta are shown.

 

So, there you have it. It’s too bad that the game never got a sequel about the Barraki storyline as I hoped. I mean, I read in a news report in 2007 about there being a new video game. I hoped it would be Bionicle Heroes 2, but it’s just that silly tower defense game called Bionicle Defenders. I don’t know why we didn’t get a sequel since the game is very enjoyable and cool, but I think it is because of the mixed-to-negative reviews.:(

 

Well, let’s all hope for a modernized remaster in the future.

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I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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I've been trying to find the disc for this game. And I actually found the box, but the disc wasn't inside it... Well, I guess the journey must continue then...

I got it for $5 at my local GameStop. It’s a very cheap game so you could probably get it again for a low cost.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've played through every version except the one for Mobile Phone (good luck tracking that one down). Out of all of them, the GBA version is my favorite. The soundtrack is top-notch, and the gameplay is pretty satisfying. The Wii version was fun, but not all that deep. The DS version didn't leave much of an impact on me one way or the other, but if you like the concept of a Bionicle FPS, it's not a bad investment.

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I haven't played it for ages so I can't say how it holds up today, but I think it's safe to say it's probably the nearest any Bionicle console game got to being very good.

 

​It's a shame the game is largely non-canon; I guess the fact that the 2006 story only had seven bad individuals instead of the huge swarms seen in other years required bringing in the swarm villains from other years to provide enough enemies to make for busy enough levels, at cost to the story.

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It's a ok game It was decent but it is mostly average now since hero mode makes it too easy with automatic activation. The shooting is fun but and it is very annoying that vezon becomes a generic placeholder for the piraka whenever a piraka is needed to unlock objects.

 

Also generic grunts and shouts from absolutely every character makes the game seem weird including Hahli doing male victory grunts if you defeat a levels last boss with her.

 

(Personally wouldnt play it on ps2 though. I've gotten so used to how good ps4 os that i'd rather own it on XBOX 360 since its controller is better than ps2)

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  • 1 month later...

I never grew up with it as a kid i only got it used about a year and a half ago. but i had fun with it, it was nothing groundbreaking but it got a few good laughs out of me. also messing with the Piraka in the piraka playground was fun. 

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There's a petition to remaster it for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch. So far there's 296 votes and it has to get to 500 votes. We need this to happen, I really want to blast Bohrok on my Switch.

 

You might have a good chance if the game was really famous and successful by itself, but...well...it wasn't. :P

 

Its only notable aspect is/was the Bionicle connection, but that doesn't do much with Bionicle gone.

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The "main" version, meaning the one on PC and the major consoles, has some nice ideas, a fantastic soundtrack (of which you'll barely hear anything because the accursed hero mode 10 second music loop will be on constantly...), a great atmosphere and some questionable solutions. If you can get past the obvious lore issues of how the karzahni some of these characters are even alive and on Voya Nui, there is fun to be had. It isn't a visual masterpiece, but I personally really liked how the game looked - not in terms of graphical fidelity, but in terms of style and presentation. 

 

Hero mode is a major drawback, but just about the only one. This is one of those games that has fundamental design flaws, but endears itself in other ways.

 

The other version I have played is the DS one, which I must say is one of my favorite games on that platform. It's an entirely different game than the main release, and also plays fast and loose with the lore, but is immense amounts of fun.

 

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