If ever there was a licensed property that would lend itself to becoming a video game, Highlander was it! You’ve got a collection of immortals who challenge each other to sword fights to the death (by beheading, no less!), over the course of centuries, until there can be only one. What more could you ask for?
The original film came out in 1986 and told the story of Connor MacLeod (played by Christopher Lambert). While it didn’t do very well in its initial release, it slowly developed a cult following. And it managed to inspire a sequel in 1991, Highlander 2: The Quickening. A TV series followed in 1992, starring Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod, a fellow clansman to Connor, who makes an appearance in the pilot. The series was pretty popular and lasted for six seasons. Its last episode aired in May 1998.
Meanwhile, the film series continued Connor’s story with a third entry, Highlander: The Final Dimension in 1994. Then Connor and Duncan both appeared in the film Highlander: Endgame (2000) and Duncan got his own TV movie in 2007 with Highlander: The Source. There was also an anime movie in 2007, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance. It’s probably best not to mention Highlander: The Raven, a short lived series that ran one season after Highlander: The Series was over.
So where were all the Highlander video games during this time? Well, few and far between. In 1986, right on the coattails of the original film, Ocean Software released a Highlander video game for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers. It was roundly panned.
In 1995, Highlander: Last of the MacLeods was released for the Atari Jaguar system. It was based on an animated Highlander Series that ran between September 1994 and January 1996, while the live action Highlander series was at its highest popularity. Last of the MacLeods was more of an adventure game than an action game, and although it used motion capture and full motion animated video sequences, the graphics were considered crude and the combat controls left much to be desired.
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