Overall 7.2 Graphics 6 Sound 9 Addictive 7 Story 1 Depth 4 Difficulty 4
7.4
Bionicle Matoran Adventures (not)Nostalgic Review Mesouse
To start this off, I just want to mention that this is the first game I ever owned a physical copy of, meaning I technically hold a certain level of bias. In order to maintain an air of professionalism, I will attempt to shed my bias and submit an honest, fair review.
Bionicle: Matoran Adventures is an action-adventure platformer with exploration elements later on, released in 2002 by Electronic Arts and The LEGO Group, for the Game Boy Advance. The player assumes the role of a Matoran (the Bionicle equivalent of a child) seeking the help of the Turaga (the Bionicle equivalent of a village elder) to take down the evil Makuta and save the island of Mata Nui.
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Graphics:
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Characters:
Given the technical limitations, the characters' art is fairly faithful to their real-life, Lego counterparts. The Matoran, especially, have excellent models, though there seems to be a problem of consistency, being that every playable Matoran wears the same mask on their sprite despite there being a whole menu upon starting a New Game to
select a Matoran, each represented by the mask they wear. The characters appear to be fairly simplistic compared to others on the GBA,
Backgrounds:
Each level's background is designed with the level's theme in mind, though most of them are fairly simplistic. The boss levels, however, lack a background, which helps to shift the focus on the enemy towering over you.
Animations:
The animation in this game is minimal. From the Player Character looking at the screen briefly to the Bohrok doing their silly little dance when they're giving the player a chance to attack. The Po-Wahi level background has a unique animation, giving it a very hot, unbearable feel with its heat distortion effect, which makes it into a much more believable desert level.
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Sound:
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Music:
From the moment the game starts, you're assaulted with amazing music with an almost indescribable feel to it. As with the backgrounds, each song is composed to the theme of each level. The first level is the perfect example for this, incorporating tribal drum beats, a rhythmic "ahh" sound set to the beat, and a droning sound akin to hordes of jungle insects, all leading up to a brilliant piano melody and a kickin' bass line to set the tone.
Sound Effects:
As with the animation, the sound effects in this game are fairly minimal. One thing worth noting is that the jumping sound is the same as the sound made when your character looks at the camera while idle. Most of the sounds in the game have a mechanical theme, as would be expected from a game about bio mechanical beings.
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Addictiveness:
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Matoran Adventures Is nothing like the other Bionicle games, in that it provides no real reason to come back to it aside from the Lego charm. There's nothing more worth saying on the subject.
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Story:
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From what I could gather, what little story this game has is weak, loosely based around the original Bionicle mythos involving makuta and evil minions and such.
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Depth:
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In all honesty, this game has about as much depth as a half-full kiddie pool. The moment you start playing, you're thrown into the middle of the jungle with no story, no tutorial, nothing. Nothing, except the instructions given when the level is loading: "Seek your companion!"
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Difficulty:
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At the main menu, the player is given the option to switch between Normal and Hard difficulties, which only changes the Bohrok found to their more difficult forms. In the Hard difficulty, brown Bohrok are scarce, making red and green common in the beginning levels.
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Summary:
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In summary, Matoran Adventures is a less-than-memorable platforming adventure based on the once-popular Lego theme sets, with a minimal story, and excellent music acting as a saving grace. It didn't sell as well as its other GBA game counterparts, but those of us who grew up playing it will remember the subtle details that made it so enjoyable to them. I give it a 7.4 overall.
Graphics 6 Sound 9 Addictive 7 Story 1 Depth 4 Difficulty 4
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 04-04-15
Review Replies: 3
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