This toy is considered a very rare collector’s item today.
You could have found them sold in catalogues like Argos and Index, or on store shelves like Woolworths, for £5.99 to £9.99 in the UK during the early 90s.
Here’s another instance where the toys were released before the airing of the cartoon. I was gifted the LCD portable game before the animation release in 1991. From a child’s perspective at the time, it was somewhat perplexing since the artwork was so captivating and mysterious. There was only this game, no internet, and no way to get answers. Who were these characters? Even the name Dark Water was also intriguing.
The show was syndicated, which was unusual for cartoons in the 1980s and 90s. That should not have been too much of a problem, but I found it really confusing as the show was transmitted out of sequence, which made it extremely hard to follow the plot. So I tried to rent VHS tapes to fill in what I missed. My local rental video shop was primarily stocked with imported products from the United States. Because they didn’t have all of the available episodes, plus the voice actors were different on these imported copies. It created extra confusion, & frustration that soured my interest in the show.
I believe that high fantasy is the reason I enjoyed it more than my friends during my childhood. My friends were more interested in science fiction, but I found shows like Masters of the Universe, Dungeons & Dragons, and Dark Water more interesting. Only eight of the thirteen Treasures of Rule were gathered by Ren and his team when the program was unexpectedly cancelled after twenty-one episodes.
I don’t recall anyone possessing the action figurines that Hasbro made for the UK. Why do I think none of my friends owned these figures? “Turtlemania” & other figures were more popular, such as WWF & Power Rangers. During this year, I was eleven years old, and like many children my age, I was undergoing a metamorphosis. From actual physical toys to video games, the 16-bit console war had also begun. My younger brothers continued to be interested in action figures. These electronic portable games met the need to play while on the go without having to spend a lot of money on Game Boys or later Game Gears. Instead of being enjoyable to play, they were utterly naff and a boring endurance test.
Game Play
Unfortunately, I can’t remember anything about the gameplay. This game must have sucked, and trying to find images or reviews of someone playing this game seems to be also impossible. Perhaps this is the source of my inability to recall this game. I was so frustrated with the TV show that I guess subconsciously, my mind decided to bury the gaming experience. My only hazy recollection of the game wasn’t the gameplay, but the buttons were really clumsy. Most Tiger-style games back then had a standard cross pad for directional control. This game used triangles, and I vaguely recall it being unplayable.