History VideoGame / Bionicle

* AdaptationalVillainy: Despite being a very heroic member of the Order of Mata Nui in the canonical storyline, Axonn appears as boss character working with Reidak in ''BIONICLE Heroes'' for no apparent reason.

The first ''BIONICLE'' game was ''Quest for the Toa'', released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2001. In this game, a Matoran embarks on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Turaga and bring the Toa Stones to Kini-Nui, where they will summon the Toa Mata. This game marks the debut of the recurring character Takua, who is the default canon protagonist of the game; however, the game gives players the option to customize their Matoran's colors. It was originally titled ''Tales of the Tohunga'', but after a letter of complaint against the LEGO Group for appropriation of Māori words and culture, its title was changed to ''Quest for the Toa'' or simply ''LEGO BIONICLE'' in later releases.

In 2006, ''BIONICLE'' saw another major multi-platform release: ''BIONICLE Heroes'', developed by Creator/TravellersTales, who had previously worked with LEGO on the massively-successful ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars'' games. ''BIONICLE Heroes'' is a very loose adaptation of the 2006 storyline, starring the Toa Inika as they battle the Piraka to obtain the Kanohi Ignika and save Voya Nui. The PC and console versions are a ThirdPersonShooter, while the Game Boy Advance version uses a ThreeQuartersView camera angle and the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version is a FirstPersonShooter (notable for being the only LEGO game to receive a [[UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard T rating]]).

** ''The Game'' is a typical Third-Person Action-Adventure game on console and PC, with an extremely simplified version of the Bohrok and Mask of Light story arcs. The UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version is similar, but features all thirteen Toa, has more levels, and does not even bother with a plot.
** ''BIONICLE Heroes'' is an AlwaysOverTheShoulder ThirdPersonShooter on consoles and PC, with a [[ExcusePlot barely coherent]] version of the Voya Nui story arc. The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version is a FirstPersonShooter about an [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] silver Matoran-turned-Toa rescuing the Toa Inika, who have been captured by the Piraka and [[BigBad Makuta]]. The GBA version is a mixture of the two formulas above; a TopDownView Shooter about a silver Toa (who can transform into any of the Toa Mata, and later Nuva and Inika) rescuing the Inika from Vezon.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* InNameOnly: ''BIONICLE Heroes'' has its characters named after their toy counterparts and they also look like them more or less, but apart from that, the settings, the story, the personalities and powers are completely made-up. This was deliberate on the creator's part -- the original story didn't lend itself to an easily manageable video game and didn't have much in the way of {{Mooks}}... although they could have tried to include some of the main characters' more video game-y abilities or at least made sure that their own ideas didn't ''directly'' contradict the source canon.

* OffModel:
** In ''The Legend of Mata Nui'', the hunchback Onua suddenly becomes tall after the Toa descend underground in the cutscene leading up to the final battle... and one of his fingers also gets stuck pointing forward. Then, the Golden Masks worn by all of the Toa start randomly reverting back to their pre-golden colors in various shots. Given that the game is unfinished, it's unknown if these would have been corrected before release.
** In ''Matoran Adventures'', all Matoran wear the Kanohi Hau and all Turaga wear the Kanohi Rau. All Bohrok carry Fire Shields. The Bahrag are depicted with Muaka's head and neck.
** ''BIONICLE: The Game'' has quite a few:
*** Some shots in the opening animation show Gali in her updated Nuva form, even though she only becomes a Nuva after the second level. At the end of said clip, Tahu is also wielding one of his Nuva swords.
*** There are cutscenes where Pohatu's eyes randomly disappear, and at one point, part of the back of Onua's head is missing.
*** Due to being {{palette swap}}s, the Bohrok-Kal carry the tools of the regular Bohrok instead of their own.
*** The Ta-Matoran, who should be red and yellow, are for some reason colored green. Beta versions of the game had them in the correct colors.
*** In another literal case of using the wrong model, the snake-like Kraata slug is represented by a Krana in the game.
*** On (at least) the PC version, Turaga Nokama's model shows off some peculiar changes. She looks normal in cutscenes, but during gameplay and in the game's extras, her texturing is a complete mess, with a terrifying red splotch replacing her blue face, and the bones of her CGI model's armature are also visible.
** In ''Maze of Shadows'', all Bohrok carry Stone Shields. Nui-Rama also have an odd blend of their orange and green color schemes.
** In ''BIONICLE Heroes'', each Piraka has two long arms in the intro cutscene even though their sets have one long arm and one short arm. In the game proper, all Piraka (except Vezon) use the two-toed foot design, and all Toa Inika use the sleek armor, long arm, and toed foot designs, even though their respective sets show more variance. When Vezon is a playable character, he uses the same design as the rest of the Piraka despite having a unique and set-accurate model as a boss.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Despite being a very heroic member of the Order of Mata Nui in the canonical storyline, Axonn is a villain in ''BIONICLE Heroes'' for no apparent reason.

* StockSubtitle: ''BIONICLE Heroes'' uses the classic "Heroes" subtitle.

The first ''BIONICLE'' game was ''Quest for the Toa'', released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2001. In this game, a Matoran embarks on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Turaga and bring the Toa Stones to Kini-Nui, where they will summon the Toa Mata. This game marks the debut of the recurring character Takua, who is the default canon protagonist of the game; however, the game gives players the option to customize their Matoran's colors. It was originally titled ''Tales of the Tohunga'', but after a lawsuit against the LEGO Group for appropriation of Māori words and culture, its title was changed to ''Quest for the Toa'' or simply ''LEGO BIONICLE'' in later releases.

* NamedInTheSequel: The player character in the GBA game ''Quest for the Toa'' was originally a FeaturelessProtagonist but was given a CanonName (Takua)at the very end of the WebGame the ''Mata Nui Online Game'', which acts as a direct sequel to ''Quest for the Toa''. Takua would go on to become one of the most important characters in the franchise.

* ThirdPersonShooter: {{Enforced|Trope}} with the PC and console versions of ''BIONICLE Heroes''. It [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q0rXCT80gI started]] as a FirstPersonShooter, but this was changed due to concerns that it would be [[UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingsBoard rated T or M]], which would've been too high for a Franchise/{{LEGO}} game (ironically, this didn't stop the DS version, which received a T rating). According to developers, they decided to go for this camera angle because the ''BIONICLE'' character models have a high level of detail that they felt would be wasted if players did not get to see them up-close all the time.

In 2006, ''BIONICLE'' saw another major multi-platform release: ''BIONICLE Heroes'', developed by Creator/TravellersTales, who had previously worked with LEGO on the massively-successful ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars'' games. ''BIONICLE Heroes'' is a very loose adaptation of the 2006 storyline, starring the Toa Inika as they battle the Piraka to obtain the Kanohi Ignika and save Voya Nui. The PC and console versions are a ThirdPersonShooter, while the Game Boy Advance version uses a ThreeQuartersView camera angle and the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version is a FirstPersonShooter (notable for being the only LEGO game to receive a [[UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingsBoard T rating]]).

* DummiedOut:
** ''The Legend of Mata Nui'':
*** Given that the alpha v0.006 build is very unfinished, there are plenty of game files that are unused in the game itself. For a more traditional example of this trope, three unused sound files for Kopaka's level (dcsnowwind.wav, Iceman.wav, and Melting.wav) are clearly temp tracks that were left in the game data. Each one is a recording of a man's voice ("[[UnsoundEffect Snowy wind!]]", "Come here, Kopaka... I'm going to kill you... Kopaka...", and "Oh, no! I'm melting!"), complete with {{corpsing}} and someone coughing in the background.
*** The beta build still contains the sound files for removed cutscenes from the alpha build, such as Onua meeting Nobua; Onua using the Kanohi Pakari to push blocks; Onua entering Onu-Koro; the full-length version of Pohatu riding a Kane-Ra; and each Toa performing their respective Takara dance. There is also audio for what seems to be an alternate version of Makuta splitting apart the Toa Kaita, and [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/436496766146314241/444685878867263528/image.png unused text]] for Makuta's level.
*** Both builds contain audio for cutscenes of Gali diving and Pohatu meeting Kopaka, neither of which appear in finished form in either build. Modders even managed to get [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKnFnSSe-yg a working version of the latter.]]
** About a third of the content of ''The Game'' was removed before release, including two levels that were heavily advertised in promos. These, or at least their bare models, can partially be accessed from (at least) the [=PS2=] version of the game with some coding. By searching through the game files of other releases, all of the original six Toa's character models can also be exported, even though only two ended up being playable in the game. You can also find some HUD logos that weren't used.

* ScaryStingingSwarm: Nui-Kopen in ''The Game'' are giant enemy wasps that [[AsteroidsMonster split into smaller wasps when fired upon]].

* BeeAfraid: Nui-Kopen in ''The Game'' are giant enemy wasps that [[AsteroidsMonster split into smaller wasps when fired upon]].

The first ''BIONICLE'' game was ''Quest for the Toa'', released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2001. In this game, a Matoran embarks on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Turaga and bring the Toa Stones to Kini-Nui, where they will summon the Toa Mata. This game marks the debut of the recurring character Takua, who is the default canon protagonist of the game; however, the game gives players the option to customize their Matoran's colors. It was originally titled ''Tales of the Tohunga'', but after a lawsuit against the LEGO Group for appropriation of Maori words and culture, its title was changed to ''Quest for the Toa'' or simply ''LEGO BIONICLE'' in later releases.

* {{Vaporware}}: ''The Legend of Mata Nui'' was to be released in September 2001, as part of LEGO's multi-media promotional push for their then-new toy franchise. It was advertised with screenshots, concept art and the intro video in catalogs, magazines, LEGO instruction booklets and on promo [=CDs=], and LEGO even forbid their writer from concluding the story in the comic series, because they wanted to tell it via the game. It never came out, although a number of beta disks are still floating around, and a decade after its cancellation, some gameplay footage was released on Website/YouTube. The likely reasons for its canning are the bugs (the first level cannot be completed, for one), general gameplay and design issues, and probably the lack of budget and a rushed schedule which the infamous Maori lawsuit[[note]]some Maori people were giving LEGO legal trouble for making money off words from their language[[/note]] had a large hand in. Allegedly, the game also had trouble running on most [=PCs=] of the time. For years, fans have tried to acquire the beta disks from their owners, even contacting the current right-holder of the game, to no avail... until an early alpha build was finally leaked onto [=BioMedia=] Project in February 2018, followed by the last known beta build in May 2018.

* ThreeQuartersView: The Game Boy Advance version of ''BIONICLE Heroes'' uses a camera angle which looks down upon the world but characters and objects can be seen from the profile, similar to a 2D ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game.

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: Aside from rare appearances by Hikaki dragon-lizards, dragons were never really a part of the ''BIONICLE'' mythos in 2001. Still, the fact that they're so awesome is probably the reason why the Fire Elemental in ''The Legend of Mata Nui'' appears with a very dragon-like design.

* ThreeQuartersView: The Game Boy Advance version of ''BIONICLE Heroes'' uses a camera angle which looks down upon the world but characters and objects can be seen from the profile, similar to a 2D ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In the Piraka Playground from ''BIONICLE Heroes'', there’s an activity for the Piraka that involves shooting range. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndi54WgWYho Go to 3:49 and try to listen what Hakann says when Vezok knocks him unconscious with the gun after the former disrupts the latter.]] [[{{Mondegreen}} Coincidence?]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles I THINK NOT!]]

!!''BIONICLE'' videogames provide examples of: