I can't believe I never found this before now! I am a big fan of MOTU and old school games like Barbarian. I have played it through to completion a few times and had a lot of fun. Is it just my imagination, or is there a difference in the characters' abilities, such as reach and speed? If not, that makes sense, too, since games like Barbarian did not have much like that. But I am curious to know if there are any differences other than the characters' looks?
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Thanks! No, all enemies have the same abilities, but, as the AI improves as you progress, it can react a bit faster and better. It's funny to get this question now, as a couple days ago I was thinking about a possible "16-bit" style version and one feature I was considering was exactly different damage/speed/reach for different weapons.
That would be an amazing game! Despite the popularity of Masters of Universe, the best video games of the franchise seem to be just a couple of fan games. There is this quality game of yours and also the OpenBor game. I am more a fan of the original figures and the barbarian-style lore that came with them and the MOTU comics, rather than the cartoon, so I prefer this one to the OpenBor game. The OpenBor game is cool, but clearly based more on the cartoon than the more barbaric original toy lore. So if there was a version of your game, 16-bit style or otherwise, but with character stat differences, that would be the ultimate MOTU game by far. I do love the retro-simplicity of the current version's graphics, though. Either way it would be cool, but if you used an engine that allowed character stats but even used these same graphics, that would be awesome. I am blown away by how cool the sprite art in this game is.
I am the same, I liked the cartoon but was more into the toys and the style of the mini comic book that came with them. One idea that couldn't make in this version due to pico space limitation but I'd like to include in a remake is "make your own character" by mixing parts from all the characters. Like with the toys you could swap arms and armors.
The funny thing is, that is how many of the most interesting "official" action figures were created. Such as Stinkor being a repainted Mer-Man with Zodac's armor recolored, and Moss Man being a green Beast Man with flocked fur added. And Roboto, Man-E-Faces, and Trap Jaw all having the same legs in different colors. There are so many other examples.
If you still collect figures and like making customs, you should try the 2-inch Mega Construx Masters of the Universe figures. They are very detailed and posable for their size, and usually come in many parts that can be easily separated, so they are great for making custom characters.
I am going to keep an eye on your profile to see if you ever get a chance to make an updated MOTU game with character abilities and any other things you want to add. It's amazing that you were able to make such a cool game with such limited old-school software. Character abilities or any other improvements would put it really over the top. Although there is a lot of old-school charm in the Pico version. The place I work closed a bit early tonight, so I think I will relax by chopping off some evil MOTU warriors' heads right now!