It's spiritual cyborg time.

Bionicle's a good example of a huge transmedia franchise that spans toys, comics, movies, it just doesn't stop with 'em. But there's a problem - One little piece of the franchise is so legendarily awesome that it makes everything else seem like a disastrous waste of potential in comparison.

I've heard that sometimes big businesses will scold their creators for making something that's just too good, which 'raises expectations' and ends up being a net loss for the company. An example would be Hasbro getting upset at the makers of the Cybertron series of Transformers games. Well, here's another victim. I love the Mata Nui Online Game so much that I just don't see a point to dealing with any of the other facets of the franchise.

So what's so cool about this free flash game? For one, its appearances mirror the story that it's telling. This game's the afterthought, the secondary flash game to the real PC/console game. In the same way, the story is about the little guys, the ones who stand in the shadow of the great warriors and yet have as much influence in the story if not more. And we all love the tale of the underdog!

Then there's the setting, which is so bizarre and atypical that it's genius. Even ignoring all the nutty reveals that happen later, such as the planet-sized robots and the allegory to cancer, this little island of Mata Nui is rich in mystery and history. I'd find out later in life that it's mostly inspired by Polynesian culture, with a lot of words taken from the Maori language. Despite that, masked cyborgs who pray to a 'spirit robot' and live in a tribal island setting is so darn wacky that the most impressive part is that it's all very coherent, and nothing superfluous is thrown in just for the sake of being weird or unique.

So with all of this mythology and worldbuilding that's been established for Bionicle, how much of it does the game tell you when you start out?

Nothin'! The game doesn't even tell you *who you are*, despite playing as a character who is crucial to the story. You're left to your own curiosity, to explore and pick up pieces of the narrative as you talk to the island's inhabitants. And when you're lucky enough that the explanation is through dialogue, it's using words that mean nothing unless you're already steeped in the lore. What on Earth is a rahi, or a matoran, or Ta-Koro?

There's something to be said about this kind of storytelling, and it's a shame that it's not used very often. The idea here is to have a perfectly fleshed out world where everything makes sense, and to then reveal as few details about it as possible. Because whatever you come up with for explaining the mysteries of the world, it's never going to be as interesting as what the imagination of the player can dream up. You've seen it time and time again - the midichlorians ruined Star Wars by revealing too much about the force, and the less said about how MLP:FIM sucked the magic out of its own setting, the better. Come to think about it, it's the same in the real world. Electricity, magnetism, all that stuff is super cool until your teacher tells you about the physical properties that make it all work and then it becomes mundane.

I suppose that's also why I'm afraid of venturing too far outside of the realm of this game when it comes to Bionicle. I've seen the films, read a few comics and played all the games that came out on PC. None of them come even close to evoking the sheer wonder and curiosity that this game got out of me. The first person perspective helps a ton in immersing you into this world, and it's why it's my preferred style for atmospheric point n' clicks.

The ending must be commented on. It's almost certainly my favourite finale to any game that's been made, so make sure not to spoil it for yourself. Click on the green text below to read about it.

The ending of the Mata Nui Online Game!

After grabbing all your homies - your fellow outcasts from each tribe - and bringing them to the center of the island, you'll meet the enormous and powerful Toa! You overhear them chatting about.. how they're most likely going to die on their quest, and how they're not even sure of what they're really up against. It becomes your job to defend the portal through which the Toa enter to fight the big bad, who turns out to be.. Well, I don't know. It's not even clear if he's evil, or if he's just the spiritual counteraction of everything the island dwellers have done so far. The fight ends with no victor, and the Toa are none the wiser to what just happened. They mysteriously vanish, leaving you behind on your own, and what you find?

Get the hell outta there!!

Phew! What on Earth was that about?? The wise chieftain is here to explain things at least.

He tells you that there's something coming - something far worse than anyone can imagine. Of course he's not going to explain what it is, just that there's not much point in worrying about it. There's nothing we can do, so let's just forget everything and celebrate the peace we have now. Cue the fireworks!

It almost seems like they're trying to see just how ambiguous they can get, not just in terms of emotion but also in storytelling. What a perfect hook for a sequel, which the sequel then never addresses. What, you expected anything here to make sense?

To sum it up, this is the game that taught me what good storytelling and world building is all about. It sort of ruined most fiction for me, such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars where everything's laid out in an obvious battle of good versus evil. On top of that, this game's not one to talk down to its target audience. It's mature in its vocabulary to the point of using old uncommon words which always helps with the ancient mythical feel that Bionicle aims for.

If you want to play this game, make sure to grab Flashpoint! I can't be thankful enough for that software.