Masters of the Universe: The Power of He-Man FAQ Last updated June 4, 2011 ========================== || TABLE OF CONTENTS: || || 1. Legalese || || 2. Existentialism || || 3. Characters || || 4. Plot || || 5. Wind Raider Level|| || 6. Grayskull Level || || 7. Lives || || 8. Acknowledgments || || 9. Contact || ========================== -------------------------- -- 1. LEGALESE ----------- -------------------------- This FAQ isn't copyrighted, nor are any FAQs I write. Go ahead and sell printed copies for $5 if you want to. -------------------------- -- 2. EXISTENTIALISM ----- -------------------------- "The power of He-Man," huh? In this game, he has no power! You fly around bombing your villain who just respawns instantly so you can swordfight with him and have him escape immediately so you can do it all over again! Utter futility. No matter what you do, you can never capture Skeletor. Why even try? -------------------------- -- 3. CHARACTERS --------- -------------------------- > HE-MAN: Our dashing hero. Identifiable by his rippling muscles and neatly combed hair. > SKELETOR: Our loathsome villain. Identifiable by his purple attire and glowering skull. Note that Skeletor is faster, more durable, a better swordsman, a better magician, and more wily than He-Man. Between the two of us, I think you bet on the losing horse. -------------------------- -- 4. PLOT --------------- -------------------------- "Ha ha ha," cackled Skeletor as he raced through the forest. "You'll never catch me, He-Man!" He-Man rode his Wind Raider, hot in pursuit of the villain. "I will!" he shouted, deploying a bomb. Time slowed down. One seconds. Two seconds. Sweat beaded on He-Man's forehead. A direct hit. Skeletor exploded into ashes and bits of charred skull. "Ee hee hee!" shouted Skeletor. "I'm back!" He ran through the forest once more, taunting He-Man at every step. "How can this be? Is he immune to my bombs? Well — there's only one solution to this," He-Man said as he deployed another bomb. After thirty miles of bombing Skeletor, He-Man arrived at Castle Grayskull, where he knew he would meet up... with... Skeletor. The two had an epic swordfight! Alas, Skeletor escaped, causing He-Man to get back in his Wind Raider and fly thirty more miles to... Castle Grayskull, where he knew he would find Skeletor, who... had just fled Castle Grayskull...? He-Man readied his thumb on the bomb release control, waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally defeat Skeletor once and for all. -------------------------- -- 5. WIND RAIDER LEVEL -- -------------------------- You begin the game in your Wind Raider. :: Goal :: YOU BEAT THE LEVEL BY FLYING 30 MILES TO THE RIGHT. Flying to the left can help you dodge fireballs or shoot stuff behind you, but use it very sparingly as it takes up gas (and more gas at the end of the level equals more points). :: Display :: > The number next to the heart is how many lives you have. > The number next to the M is how many miles you have left to go. When this reaches zero, you have won and will move onto the Grayskull level. > The number next to the G is how much gas you have left. The longer you fly, the lower this gets. If it reaches 0 before you have traveled 30 miles, it's curtains for you. Curtains. > The red number is how many fireballs you have killed. > The blue number is how many Skeletors you have killed. :: Controls :: > The disc moves your ship. > The top shoulder button fires a laser straight forward. > The bottom shoulder button drops a bomb. > The 12 numpad buttons cause He-Man to wiggle his toes (does not affect gameplay). :: Points :: > Fireball destroyed: 500 points. - Can be destroyed with a laser OR a bomb. - In later levels, some fireballs require multiple hits. They are worth the same 500 points though. > Skeletor bombed: 1,000 points. > Fuel remaining at end of level: 1,000 points per gallon. :: Difficulty :: > Level 1: Few fireballs; each takes only 1 hit. > Level 2: More fireballs; some take 2 hits. > Level 3: More fireballs; some take 3 hits. > Level 4: So many fireballs!; some take 6 hits! :: Strategy :: Shooting and dodging fireballs is the most important thing in terms of survival. Bombing Skeletor gives you a lot of points, but it in no way affects your chances of completing the level. If you're flying to the right (which you should be), time your bomb so that it lands to the right of Skeletor. It will send a trail of... napalm? stretching to the left which will hit Skeletor pretty soon. You can have one weapon on the screen at a time. If you drop a bomb, you must wait until it hits something before you can drop another bomb OR FIRE A LASER. Bombs drop slowly, so try not to be too high above your target, because it will take up weapon time while it falls. If you are only slightly above your target, holding down the bomb button will replicate something very similar to rapid fire. This is indispensable in the later levels when fireballs sometimes take multiple hits. Master this. The same is true of lasers: holding down the button will create rapid fire, but you have to be near your target for it to work that way. Your vehicle gets exactly one mile per gallon, which aside from being grossly inefficient can help you calculate your pacing. If you have 20 miles left, you had better have more than 20 gallons left. In fact, if you ever have fewer gallons left than miles, the game will just make the calculation for you and crash your ship. Don't lag behind! -------------------------- -- 6. GRAYSKULL LEVEL ---- -------------------------- You've reached Castle Grayskull! Hop out of that Wind Raider and pursue Skeletor on foot! Don't forget to bring your sword in case the opportunity for combat presents itself! :: Goal :: Touch Skeletor. This will launch the game into an intense battle cutscene, after which... wait a minute... !!!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!!! ...after which Skeletor will escape, and make you chase him a second and then third time. Then he escapes again because He-Man is a losery sword fighter and can never defeat Skeletor when he has the chance and won't even take sword fighting lessons like any respectable hero would do. Some master of the universe! ///// END SPOILER ///// :: Display :: > The number on the left is your remaining time. - This timer counts for ALL THREE GRAYSKULL LEVELS. Don't get cocky when you finish the first level with seconds to spare. What it means is you will only have seconds to beat the next Grayskull level (which you won't). > The number on the right is your score. :: Controls :: > The disc moves He-Man. > The shoulder buttons deploy He-Man's shield. - Hold down the button to keep out the shield. - You can't move while your shield's out. - Grants invulnerability to the stuff Skeletor throws at you. > The 12 numpad buttons trigger He-Man's memories of home (does not affect gameplay). :: Points :: > Block something with your shield: 50 points > Touch Skeletor: 10,000 points on Stage 1; 15,000 points on Stage 2; 20,000 points on Stage 3. > Catch the giant sword thing: 1,000 points on Stage 1; 1,500 points on Stage 2; 2,000 points on Stage 3 (note: also grants you five extra seconds). > Remaining time after third stage: 200 points per second on lower skill levels; 400 at higher skill levels. > Touch Skeletor without having deployed your shield throughout the entire screen: 10,000 points (although this is basically impossible on any skill level other than the lowest). :: Difficulty :: Each of the three stages will send you back farther when you get hit. Each difficulty level has more stuff that Skeletor throws at you. Once you get really high up, there are these red things that can send you back THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE SCREEN. Aaaahhhh, nooooo! After that, there are purple and green things that can actually destroy your shield. Skeletor is a very treacherous foe. :: Strategy :: Weave and dodge through the debris. When you absolutely cannot dodge something, bring out the shield and block it. (Well, obviously.) This game utilizes the directional disc's capabilities surprisingly well. He- Man is capable of running at many, many different angles. ALMOST TOO MANY.... Getting hit does not affect your life, but it sends you backwards, which hurts your time. And you do not want to run out of time. Although it's tempting to just move across the screen without varying your altitude too much... don't. Vary your altitude. That's because Skeletor follows you up and down. So if you don't move up and down too much, neither will he, and that causes his stuff to be very concentrated and hard to wade through. However: if you do move up and down a lot, so will he, and that makes his stuff easier to navigate. When you've gotten pretty far to the right, and the time comes to touch Skeletor, I recommend trying to touch him from either above or below. The reason is that if you touch him coming straight forward, he has the possibility of firing stuff at you at the last possible instant, giving you no chance to dodge or block it. On the lower levels, it is aggravating and a waste of time; on the higher levels, when the penalties are stiffer, it could prove your undoing. IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME: A tornado appears and carries you to your Wind Raider! That was... unexpected.... -------------------------- -- 7. LIVES -------------- -------------------------- You lose lives on the Wind Raider screen by hitting a fireball or running out of gas. You do not lose lives on the Grayskull levels. They're there for points and flashy cutscenes only. Every 100,000 points you score earns you an extra life. -------------------------- -- 8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- -------------------------- I acknowledge Connie Goldman. I had to look it up, but she did the graphics for this game. And the graphics ARE COMPLETELY AMAZING. Frankly, watching He-Man chase Skeletor through the wooded path to Castle Grayskull is a bigger reward than the points you get for doing so. Joshua Jeffe did a pretty good job with the sound. Adds kind of an epic feel to everything. Rick Koenig... Ray Kaestner... decent programming. Pretty solid game you made. But Connie's the real hero. -------------------------- -- 9. CONTACT ----------- -------------------------- I love email! I can be reached for any reason at cottonrhetoric@gmail.com — Cotton