Mata Nui Online Game

The Mata Nui Online Game is an adventure game set in the Bionicle universe.

The game was developed by New York based Templar Studios for LEGO. It was released for free episodically on the web in 2001. It was made with Adobe Flash, and having relatively high production values for a web game of its time. The game proved to be an effective vehicle for telling the story of (and marketing) the then new Bionicle toy line.

Due to being a Flash based game, it is difficult to play on modern browsers, and the official site has gone down multiple times over the years. There are fan efforts that enable the playing of the game on modern operating systems.

Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle was later released as a sequel.

• Ambiguous Robots: The characters are biomechanical, and are susceptible to things like disease.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: At the start of the game Turaga Whenua is being accosted by three tahunga for resources he simply does not have.
• Divided We Fall: Jala holds this view, stating that while Ta-Koro is willing to oppose the Rahi, if the other cities of Mata-Nui don’t band together, they will fall even with the help of the heroic Toa.
• Elemental Powers: These are possessed by the Toa.
• Fantastic Light Source: The light stones serve as this for the Tohunga. A plot element at the start is that they are scarce, leading many to use inferior mundane candles instead.
• Flaming Sword: Tahu wields one, letting him slash through the primitive trap set by Jala.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The discontinuation of the Bionicle series, and later the discontinuation of flash itself, has not been kind to the game.
• Lava Adds Awesome: Jala mentions that the people of Ta-Koro often surf on the lava rapids as a sport.
• Lethal Lava Land: The area around Ta-Koro, though the charred forest is said to have been verdant until just before the start of the game.
• Licensed Game: Among the first for Bionicle.
• Lily Pad Platform: Used to seastead by Ga-Koro. Platforms are used to form public spaces, and as also as sites for hosting buildings.
• Scenery Porn: Very detailed and vivid for a flash game.
• Shifting Sand Land: The deserts of Po-Wahi.
• Sundial Waypoint: A quest involves tracking down a Gnomon for an ancient and forgotten sundial, then casting artificial light to reveal its secrets.
• Tree-Top Town: Le-Koro is nestled amongst the trees, with bridges connecting various platforms.
• The War Room: Jala works in one at the gates of Ta-Koro, complete with a large map of Mata Nui.