Remember the Voya Nui Online Game?

[Goondunka]

 Hello folks. I've recently gone through the Biomediaproject page and played the Voya Nui Online Game (VNOG), and I kinda enjoyed it. Only kinda, because it wasn't all that fun, but it was a Bionicle experience, which can hardly be trumped, now that I think about it. Either way, with me having completed the game, I wandered about YouTube, wanting to get more content related to it in my veins, but I found that there really wasn't much, other than some Playthroughs.

 When compared to the Mata Nui Online Game(s), that's really lackluster. Why is that so? Is it because VNOG focused more on action, rather than storytelling, or was it just a lot less popular, or is there another reason?

 In addition to those questions, what were your thoughts on that game? Was it more on the good side, more on the bad side or was it kinda mediocre? Do you feel like talking about it, or reminiscing, or is it really unremarkable?

[Aderia]

I love VNOG ^ _^ I think part of the reason is that I was too young to figure out how to play MNOG or the sequel when they were big, but when VNOG came out, I was in the right age bracket and was more into Bionicle, and able to navigate websites more on my own. Like, elementary (8-10 yrs) versus middle school (11-14) age difference. So that said, I can't speak to any comparison between the two.

In VNOG, I did really like the exploration and figuring out the map on Voya Nui. Also, the mission in VNOG, freeing slaves from tyranny, always felt compelling. I also liked the ability to choose what stats to invest in as you increased your Toa's level. I also remember liking the music, hearing it again definitely brings on some nostalgia for me Obviously it's a tiny blip in the cosmos of all that is video games, but in retrospect, I think it was appropriate for the target audience of the day, and aided immensely by the contemporary sets and other media that were being published concurrently. 

[Goondunka]

6 hours ago, Aderia said:

I love VNOG ^ _^ I think part of the reason is that I was too young to figure out how to play MNOG or the sequel when they were big, but when VNOG came out, I was in the right age bracket and was more into Bionicle, and able to navigate websites more on my own. Like, elementary (8-10 yrs) versus middle school (11-14) age difference. So that said, I can't speak to any comparison between the two.

In VNOG, I did really like the exploration and figuring out the map on Voya Nui. Also, the mission in VNOG, freeing slaves from tyranny, always felt compelling. I also liked the ability to choose what stats to invest in as you increased your Toa's level. I also remember liking the music, hearing it again definitely brings on some nostalgia for me Obviously it's a tiny blip in the cosmos of all that is video games, but in retrospect, I think it was appropriate for the target audience of the day, and aided immensely by the contemporary sets and other media that were being published concurrently. 

That first part of what you said here is really neat and I think it makes a lot of sense. VNOG was a lot of people's first foray into online Bionicle content, and as far as I can tell, the big craze for Bionicle had died off (a little bit, at least) so maybe it was just more accessible for kids, which are the target audience for Bionicles...

 Thank you for your reply here; I'll say that I also really enjoyed exploring Voya Nui and that the music was really nice.

[TERIDAX941]

Oh I loved it as well! My story is very similar to Aderia's where I was old enough to access BIONICLE.com more or less on my own and was able to play VNOG very easily and it was just about my skill level. It was always fun rounding a corner and finding a piraka waiting for you, and getting smashed by them until you got stronger and were able to take them down later! The Rahi used were very cool and inventive (shore turtles anyone?) and exploring Voya Nui was cool and mysterious.

I didn't try out MNOG II til a little later, and when I did I actually got stuck somewhere (I think Le-Koro?) and I had to reset my progress and that kinda killed it for me

 

[confused piraka]

I'm thinking about trying all the games but installing voya nui in pariticur is so hard

[Goondunka]

7 hours ago, TERIDAX941 said:

Oh I loved it as well! My story is very similar to Aderia's where I was old enough to access BIONICLE.com more or less on my own and was able to play VNOG very easily and it was just about my skill level. It was always fun rounding a corner and finding a piraka waiting for you, and getting smashed by them until you got stronger and were able to take them down later! The Rahi used were very cool and inventive (shore turtles anyone?) and exploring Voya Nui was cool and mysterious.

I didn't try out MNOG II til a little later, and when I did I actually got stuck somewhere (I think Le-Koro?) and I had to reset my progress and that kinda killed it for me

 

Big McThankies for the reply; I agree that the rahi were really cool and inventive - I myself am most fond of the Lava Apes - but the shore turtles are a real magical thing. I'd say that I'm surprised you'd get stuck on MNOG II, but, then again, I myself got stuck somewhere on VNOG (as a wee child unable to really understand that reading the text of the quests was important). Either way, I'm hoping you didn't just leave it off!

[Goondunka]

7 hours ago, confused piraka said:

I'm thinking about trying all the games but installing voya nui in pariticur is so hard

Huh, that's weird. If I recall correctly, all you need to do is download the installer from Biomediaproject, them use the installer to install it, and voila, it's done. Either way, I'd say go for it and play 'em all; OR, alternatively, watch playthroughs on YouTube

[Daler99]

Oh man, I loved VNOG so much.  I got into BIONICLE in 2005, so I didn’t play MNOG or MNOG 2 until later on, but I played VNOG as it was coming out.  I didn’t ever complete the game (maybe that’s a goal for next year?), but I remember playing it for hours and hours.  So many happy evenings exploring the island and completing (tons and tons of) fetch-quests (and other quests too lol).  The art style for the game was so unique for BIONICLE, and I loved it.  

[Goondunka]

1 hour ago, Daler99 said:

Oh man, I loved VNOG so much.  I got into BIONICLE in 2005, so I didn’t play MNOG or MNOG 2 until later on, but I played VNOG as it was coming out.  I didn’t ever complete the game (maybe that’s a goal for next year?), but I remember playing it for hours and hours.  So many happy evenings exploring the island and completing (tons and tons of) fetch-quests (and other quests too lol).  The art style for the game was so unique for BIONICLE, and I loved it.  

I had that same experience (almost) with getting into Bionicle a bit later on, as well as having trouble getting through the game the first time I played it. I'd agree that the art was astoundingly unique, and I'd say that made the experience of exploring even more pleasant - after all, finding something new, which new thing looks good, is real neat.

Thanks for replying to the thread! Merry Christmas if you celebrate!

[(-Kopaka Toa of Ice-)]

i tried it but it seemed too complex and generic for a online game. I've seen footage of the Vezon boss....But holy voya nui the battle system is very slow when bosses just have a lot of health. They were just lazy and call him "You're attacked by a seventh piraka"

Edited January 14, 2023 by (-Kopaka Toa of Ice-)

[TahnokTrapper]

I played it not long ago, found it to be both extremely frustrating and extremely boring. It's my least favourite of the three online games, honestly. The gameplay is not that fun (there is too much running back and forth), there's only two music tracks and the story is not even canon. Exploring Voya Nui would've been fun... if you didn't keep getting ambushed by Rahi. 

[The Toa of Music]

It's an alright game.

[Citrus]

I just finished playing it for the first time today, and, wow, was it rough. I mean really rough. This game was way worse than I remembered. The gameplay concept isn't bad; the turn-based action RPG formula works. For me, the game fails on these fronts:

1. Lack of polish: There are a ton of typos everywhere. The earth and stone elements of all objects are reversed. The only piece of placeholder dialog is "I'm too busy, little Toa! Come back later." (Which is not only a bit patronizing, but also just thematically wrong in a lot of places, like when the slave Matoran say it before you rescue them. Wouldn't they want to be rescued ASAP?)
2. Not enough explanation: The game doesn't do a great job of teaching game mechanics. You don't get to see your elemental strengths and weaknesses before you select your character, and how attack buffs and debuffs work isn't explained at all. There's a good bit of depth to the game mechanics, but all of it left up to the player to figure out on their own, which can be pretty frustrating. MNOG and MNOG II, on the other hand, had much simpler mechanics, but even then they were either intuitive or explained well within the games.
3. Too many fetch quests: Progression is constantly locked behind menial fetch quests that don't relate to or affect the narrative at all. What's worse is most of them demand extremely long treks across the map, which is made even more tedious by the lack of fast-travel. Without console commands to jump back and forth between quest locations, the game would've felt much more of a chore than a game.
4. Boring combat: You only ever control one character, which drastically reduces the depth battle. Once you master the ability to separate enemies before engaging them, you've basically figured out the whole game. And it only becomes easier as you level up. A few bosses are a bit tricky, and using the right gear for them is pretty much essential, but given the lack of information in the game itself (point 2), stumbling upon the winning combination feels less rewarding and more like blind luck.
5. Random progression: Aside from a few a fixed items that the game gives you, all the gear you get is random. I picked Hahli to play the game, but I didn't received any high-level water gear to take advantage of her buffs during my playthrough. I had to grind for water shards to be able to make any water weapons at all. And it also doesn't help that Balta's menu doesn't explain any weapon's stats or effects before you have to pay for them.

I was pretty disappointed overall, but at least my curiosity was finally sated after so many years. If you haven't played it yet, maybe give it a try for 30 minutes or so, and then put it away, knowing that you basically maxed out everything the game has to offer.

[(-Kopaka Toa of Ice-)]

oops didn't notice my earlier post, moderators delete this

Edited June 27, 2023 by (-Kopaka Toa of Ice-)