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He-Man: Power of Grayskull
Thirteen levels, a talking tiger, and collision detection that had its own agenda.
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PRESS START
An Introduction To Today’s Game
The new Masters of the Universe film was fun. I was a huge He-Man as a kid and had most of the toys. So the film delivering a fun 2 hours was exactly what I needed and it got me thinking of the old He-Man games.
This newsletter isn’t just about showcasing the classic retro games. It’s to showcase the games that time forgot. Not every game was perfect. But I still feel there’s value in showcasing the games that had faults too.
This game is very much the latter.
There's a version of the He-Man game that could have been great.
You ride Battle Cat through a forest. You smash skeleton soldiers with a glowing sword. You shout the words that defined a generation of children pretending to be barbarian princes in their living rooms.
He-Man: Power of Grayskull on the Game Boy Advance has all of that in it. It also has collision detection that seems personally offended by the concept of fairness. Like most things worth talking about, it's a little bit of both.
BEHIND THE PIXELS
Let’s Dive Into The Game
He-Man: Power of Grayskull is an isometric action game developed by Taniko and published by TDK Mediactive, released in October 2002 for the Game Boy Advance.
It was built to accompany Mattel's simultaneous relaunch of the Masters of the Universe toy line and a new animated series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami block that same year.
The game puts you in control of He-Man across 13 levels, starting at Castle Grayskull and working your way toward a final confrontation at Snake Mountain.
The goal, mission by mission, is to rescue captured friends including Man-At-Arms and Cringer while cutting through Skeletor's forces and tracking down keys that unlock each stage's boss arena.
The isometric perspective pulls from the same design tradition as Diablo II, tilting the camera to create a sense of depth while you hack through enemies from above.
He-Man has his Power Sword for close combat and can find power-ups at shrines scattered across each level that temporarily boost his strength, defense, or energy. Enemies don't need to be cleared entirely.
Certain ones drop keys that open bone doors, so there's a loose puzzle layer underneath what is otherwise a straightforward combat loop.
The boss encounters show the most design ambition. Mer-Man, for example, requires draining water from his entire level before he becomes vulnerable. It's a clever wrinkle.
Several levels break into auto-scrolling mounted sequences where He-Man rides Battle Cat or Battle Hawk through enemy territory in what essentially becomes a side-scrolling shooter.
These moments are quick, punchy, and a welcome change of pace from the ground combat. The game also opens with a wave defense setup where enemies pour from portals you have to destroy before they breach the castle gates.
That concept, genuinely interesting on its own, never appears again.
The audio was composed by Allister Brimble and leans into a medieval tone that fits the Eternia setting.
The opening voice clip, Adam transforming into He-Man with the full "By the power of Grayskull" call, is the clear highlight. Outside of that, the sound is functional but thin.
The visuals are similarly flat. The isometric field blends together quickly due to a limited color palette, and character sprites are small and choppy. The technical piece that really defines the experience is the collision detection, which was broken at launch and remains broken today.
Platforms you visually land on will drop you through. Sword attacks connect or miss with little logic behind it. For a game that otherwise has some genuinely interesting ideas in it, the execution makes it harder to appreciate them than it should be.
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GAME INFORMATION
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WHERE TO PLAY
The original copy or emulation will be your best bet in playing the original version.
Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)
Loose: $22
Complete: $94
New/Sealed: $100
COVER ART
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GAME OVER
Why You Should Play This
He-Man: Power of Grayskull is a short game. An hour and a half on a focused run, maybe three if you're hunting everything.
That brevity is actually an argument in its favor in 2026. The broken collision detection is real, but it's manageable in small doses. The mounted sequences on Battle Cat are fun every time. The boss puzzles are worth seeing at least once. And the opening transformation sequence still delivers.
If you have a working GBA cartridge, a flashcart, or access to a reliable emulator, this is a one-evening game that won't overstay its welcome.
It won't change what you think about the franchise and it won't become a favorite. But for anyone who grew up with He-Man in any form, watching Prince Adam raise that sword one more time on a tiny screen has a pull that's hard to fully explain.
By the power of Grayskull, it is what it is. And sometimes that's enough.
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RETRO HARDWARE
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