Defenders of Dynatron City | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Lucasfilm Games |
Publisher(s) | JVC Musical Industries |
Designer(s) | Gary Winnick |
Composer(s) | George Sanger, David Warhol |
Platform(s) | NES |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Action |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 14/40[1] |
GamePro | 12.5/20[2] |
Nintendo Power | 11.3/20[3] |
Total! | 37%[4] |
VideoGames & Computer Entertainment | 6/10[5] |
N-Force | 39%[6] |
Defenders of Dynatron City is a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by JVC Musical Industries and Lucasfilm Games (later, LucasArts) in August 1992.[7] The designer of the game was Gary Winnick.[8] This was Winnick's first project as sole designer. He was previously the co-designer of Maniac Mansion, alongside Ron Gilbert. It was supported by a short-lived media franchise consisting of an animated TV pilot and a six-issues comic book series.
The game centers on a team of superheroes who protect a futuristic metropolis from Dr. Mayhem and his robotic henchmen. The Defenders are:
The game won praise in its preproduction by many video game magazines for the creation of an original superhero team. However, when the game was released it was widely panned by video game critics for, among other things, having a notoriously poor hit detection that required extremely precise aim for attacks to hit enemies.[9]
The animated pilot was produced by DIC Animation City and was aired on the Fox Kids block on February 22, 1992.[10][11] It featured the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Tim Curry. Originally, Doctor Mayhem was voiced by Christopher Walken. Steve Purcell recalled that the producers at the last minute replaced him with a more cartooney voice.[12] It failed to be picked up as a series, but was subsequently released on VHS.[13][14] No DVD or digital download release has surfaced as of yet.
The comic book adaptation was published Marvel Comics. Written by Steve Purcell and penciled by Frank Cirocco, it ran for six monthly issues, dated from February through July 1992.[15]