I am quite the He-Man fan. I enjoyed the old series as well as the new. I love the corny, sometimes self-contradicting messages at the end of the episodes. I had many of the toys as a youth. Though I must confess I only had Battle Armor Skeletor and not the original. I do however have an Orko shirt that my loving wife purchased for me knowing how much of a fan that I am. So it should come as no surprise that when “He-Man: The Most Powerful Game In The Universe” was announced, this 33 year old shell of a man became temporarily possessed by a six year old boy.
Here are the words of a 33 year old man, tempered by the thoughts of that six year old boy.
Story
He-Man is the raddest fictional character to ever live. In He-Man: The Most Powerful Game In The Universe (HM:TMPGITU), it is already assumed that you know how badass He-Man is and what a punk Skeletor is. There are no details surrounding origins or motives here. Simply, you are the raddest, most awesomest dude alive and you need to kick Skeletor’s butt. Skeletor doesn’t like having his butt kicked up and down Eternia every week, so he devises a plot to capture He-Man inside an iOS app and defeat him there. Yes, in the game, you are in a game. And so begins the self-referencing antics.
Gameplay
You play as He-Man, and the controls are all touchscreen swipes and taps. I played on an iPad, which made for a nice HD experience. But man, that thing is uncomfortable to hold like a gamepad.
Movement, either left or right, is done by sliding and holding your left thumb in the left corner of the screen in the direction you want He-Man to walk. Attacking is done primarily with the right corner of the screen and tapping to swing your sword. Jumping is done by swiping the right thumb up, and you can double jump by doing the same motion while you are in the air.
The controls are plenty responsive, and I feel like developer Glitchsoft did everything they could to make it feel right, while still allowing for a wide variety of attacks and moves. Unfortunately, these types of games always feel just a little like a square peg on mobile platforms, if for no other reason than they cry to be played on a gamepad. But lack of a controller aside, HM:TMPGITU controls well, but not perfect. I took issue with the lack of my characters ability to turn in mid jump. This resulted in me getting hit in the back more than normal. If only He-Man’s muscly back were enough to inflict damage to his enemies when struck with it, then I could have kept my combo multiplier up.
Oh yeah, you are rewarded for keeping an unbroken chain of hits on your enemies, build up your combo meter and it effects the amount of gems you get when enemies are vanquished.
Why would you need gems? Because they are collected and spent to unlock special moves and power ups. Did you want to be able to fly up and easily attack those pesky airborne enemies? There’s a power up for that. Spin around in a circle with sword out? There’s a power up for that. In fact, most of the coolest and most helpful moves are locked away until you earn enough in-game monies to unlock them. The most powerful power up is calling down lightning and supercharging your power sword. This allows defeating even bosses with little difficulty.
Another cool feature is the inclusion of many of the cast of the original He-Man series. Man-At-Arms is called in as a power up and allows you to shoot projectiles from his gun-arm. Orko appears whenever your health is fully depleted and since is magic his iffy at best, you never know what will result. You may score some gems, a free continue, or you may DIE!!! The levels are short, so a full restart is rarely frustrating.
Graphics
I like the blend of faithful to the series and artistic license used for the characters. All of the primary characters are instantly recognizable. The downside to this artistic vision? He-Man himself has little stumpy legs. Fans of the series are familiar with the short legs of the action figures. This may be a parody of that feature, but it really makes our hero look ridiculous.
Animations are smooth. Characters are detailed. Levels are varied in backgrounds and interactive elements. Overall, a great visual package. We really need a leg stretcher though.
Sound
Where is the main theme?! I really expected to hear it and I don’t know if it’s due to some licensing issue or something, but I missed it at the title screen. Instead, you get music in the style of the He-Man theme. I realize that it’s something that only fans will notice, but this game is for fans.
The sound effects and voices are fantastic selections though, the sampling on some of the cuts is a little raw, even for a mobile game. It was heart warming to hear relevant samples of He-Man and cast pop up throughout the game.
By The Power…
Unlockable moves, several worlds to visit, familiar characters to battle against and along side. He-Man: The Most Powerful Game In The Universe is quite the bang for the buck it costs. A few minor gripes like the iPad’s inherent virtual controls damage the experience ever so slightly. Still, you will find hours of playtime with some great characters, and fan or no fan of the series, if you like iPad action games, you will be entertained.
Four and a Half out of Five