Around the turn of the millennium, Japanese electronics company TDK entered the crowded and bustling video game market. With no franchises to call their own, they turned to the dubious world of licensed properties, with sights set on the upcoming PS2, Xbox and GameCube, along with the Game Boy Advance – the current home of hastily produced licensed products.
Initially, TDK found success with Shrek. The very first Shrek tie-in was a timed Xbox exclusive, in return receiving an additional marketing push during the Xbox’s launch period. The PS1’s Shrek: Treasure Hunt was another minor hit, releasing in 2002 and able to capitalise on the younger demographic of the ageing console. Other licensed games were met with mixed results, both critically and commercially, with the likes of Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey, Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis, and Muppets Party Cruise failing to make an impact.
Just four years after entering the market, Take-Two – a competitor within the licensed tie-in market at the time – swallowed up TDK and took control of some of their licenses. This deal left a few games on the chopping block, one of which was Savage Entertainment’s He-Man: Defender of Grayskull. Based on the currently airing CGI series, this was the second He-Man game TDK sought to release after the GBA’s reasonable isometric adventure He-Man: Power of Grayskull, originally planned for PS2, GameCube and Xbox in 2003.
Despite being close to release, with reports of Nintendo Power even reviewing the GameCube version, Defender of Grayskull lingered in gaming purgatory for a couple of years, seemingly unable to find a new publisher. It wasn’t until 2005, two years after its proposed release, that a buyer was finally found. To say the new publisher was a surprise would be an understatement. UK outfit Midas – best known for localising smaller, obscure, Japanese games and releasing them as budget titles – acquired the rights to release the PS2 version in Europe. This meant that the Xbox and GameCube versions never saw the light of day, although in the years that have passed, a prototype of the Xbox version has been found. This also meant that US gamers never received Defender of Grayskull in any form, despite it being developed on US soil.
Considering Nintendo Power allegedly awarded the GameCube version a dismal 1.9 review score, it isn’t hard to explain the two-year hiatus. Nobody wanted to put their name to this. We can only assume that by the time it reached Midas, the price was so low that it was almost guaranteed to make a quick buck. Despite most of Midas’ games launching at the £9.99 price point, this was priced at £19.99, either as a means of making it seem a touch more premium or to cover the additional licensing costs.
This gloomy third-person hack ‘n slash saw He-Man summoned to Snake Mountain by Skeletor; a clever rouse to leave Castle Grayskull left undefended. With He-Man absent, Skeletor then launched an attack on Eternia, leaving the well-meaning warrior to battle his way out of Snake Mountain and back to Grayskull. This journey takes him through key locations of the show, including Evergreen Forest, using Battle Cat riding sections to break up the action before the inevitable battle against ‘ol bony bonce. The cast of the 2002 show reprised their roles, with the cut-scenes being one of the few positives, mimicking the style and tone of the series. To say the gameplay is rough isn’t off the mark, with the stilted animation and abundance of bugs suggesting a few more months of development was ideally needed. Even typical interactions such as activating switches felt finicky, requiring you to stand on precise spots. Muddy visuals let the package down further, looking out of date for 2005.
Even though some critics kept the low price in mind, reviews were not kind. 3/10 appears to be the average score, with a couple of more generous 5/10s handed out. The consensus was that the license alone was doing a lot of heavy lifting, in that He-Man fans may enjoy seeing which villains surface as bosses. That’s about all it had going for it. We awarded it a 3/10 back in February 2005, although the review itself has been lost to time – which is probably for the best. If memory serves, we noted that the striking cover art was the best feature. American He-Man fans certainly didn’t miss out on much. Today, it’s commonly found on eBay, with prices in the £10 ballpark, and it’s mostly only of interest to diehard fans. The popularity of the franchise is one thing that hasn’t waned in the years that have followed.