The Pagemaster
From Sega Retro
The Pagemaster is a Sega Mega Drive action platform game developed by Probe Software and published by Fox Interactive. Based on the titular 1994 fantasy film The Pagemaster, it was first released in the United States and Europe in November 1994.[2][3]
Contents
Story
After taking shelter in a magical library, ten-year-old Richard Tyler finds himself caught in the worlds of classic literature.
Gameplay
The game is a platformer. Players control Richard Tyler through a selection of literature genre-themed levels. Enemies include bats, flying books, giant hands, ghosts, and pirates. Richard moves with and and crouches with . He jumps with or . Most enemies can be defeated by jumping on top of them. He can pick up some objects with when standing in front of them. While holding an object, he can throw it with or set it down with or . Objects can be used as steps to reach higher areas but do not harm enemies.
Each world has a map, depicted as a large open book, from which the player can select a level. Completing a level unlocks the next level down the line. The maps have branching paths. It is not necessary to complete every level to proceed to the next world or complete the game. The goal of each level is to reach the exit book at the end, though some levels are special objectives, such as defeating a boss or collecting items, that must be completed before the exit is open. Several library cards are hidden in each world; collecting all of them unlocks the good ending. Some levels have multiple exits, one of which unlocks a hidden level.
Richard can collect items throughout the levels that enhance his abilities. Some of the items give him a special attack, which is performed with . Projectile attacks have unlimited supply. These items also act as hit points; when he is injured by an enemy or hazard, he loses the item. He can only have one weapon item at a time. It grows legs and runs away, but Richard can chase it and reacquire it if he is fast enough. If Richard is hurt and does not have an item, he loses a life and returns to the map screen.
Items
Keys, Coins, and Eggs | |
---|---|
Collect 100 to earn an extra life. | |
Magic Shoes | |
Gives Richard a higher jump and the ability to jump off walls, which can be used reach hidden areas. | |
Sticky Hands | |
Gives Richard the ability to climb across ceilings by sticking to them. | |
Bag of Eyeballs | |
Gives Richard a projectile attack with . Eyeballs bounce off floors. Found in Horror World. | |
Pirate Sword | |
Gives Richard a sword that he can slash with . Found in Adventure World. | |
Magic Dust | |
Gives Richard a projectile attack with . It can be charged up to a larger attack by holding . Found in Fantasy World. | |
Helmet | |
Makes Richard temporarily invulnerable. | |
Bonus Token | |
Plays a bonus level after the current level is completed. | |
Library Card | |
Collect all of the library cards for the good ending. | |
Pagemaster Hat | |
Checkpoint where Richard restarts the level after losing a life. | |
Extra Life | |
Gives the player an extra life. | |
Exit Book | |
Touch to complete the level. |
Worlds
Horror World | |
---|---|
This world contains 13 levels (plus 1 hidden level) and 3 library cards. | |
Adventure World | |
This world contains 11 levels (plus 1 hidden level) and 5 library cards. | |
Fantasy World | |
This world contains 12 levels (plus 1 hidden level) and 3 library cards. |
Bonus Level
The player plays a bonus level after finding a bonus token item in a level. Richard flies through the level on a book from a 3D perspective. The player can move him with the D-pad. He can fold the book that he is riding with to squeeze through narrow passages. He has a magic dust meter that goes down over time; collecting items replenishes the meter. Colliding with a pillar or running out of magic dust causes Richard to fall off the book and restart the level. The player has three chances to complete the level. The player receives extra lives for successfully completing the level.
Production credits
- Software: Paul Carruthers
- Bonus Game: Christoffer Nilsson
- Producer: Tony Beckwith
- Graphic Artists: Phil Hip Williams, Mark Knowles, Jason Green, Lloyd Baker, Terry Ford, Mark Frazer, Hayon Dalton, Blizzard
- Animators: Darren Goodacre, Emil Sergiev, Jason McDonald, Dimitri Baralov
- Mapping: Nick Baynes
- Additional Maps: Mark Viccary, Mark Hill, Tony Beckwith, Andy McCarthy
- Music and Sound Effects: Steve Collett, Nick Stroud
- QA Manager: Tim Bradstock
- QA Dept: James Stewart, Nick McGee, Ben Oreilly, Mark Viccary
- Compression: Rob Northern, Nick Pelling
- Fox Interactive Liason: Scott Marcus
Versions
The Pagemaster was released simultaneously on the Mega Drive and Super NES in late 1994 (with a simplified version appearing on the Game Boy). By and large, both console versions are the same, however while the Super NES uses more colours, the Mega Drive version runs with a 320x224 screen resolution (versus 256x224). As the art was not optimised for the Super NES, this means graphics are "fatter" than perhaps originally intended, and less of the play area is visible at any one time.
The Mega Drive version features more animations, while the SNES uses an extra background layer (which is drawn in front of regular play, and can in some respects be seen as a disadvantage as is more likely to obscure the player's view. Bonus stages use the SNES' "mode 7" graphics mode, which offer a smoother gameplay experience than on the Mega Drive, which uses pre-scaled sprites, similar to early Mega Drive titles such as Space Harrier II and Super Thunder Blade.
There are also subtle changes in presentation. The Mega Drive is a fraction quicker to enter levels and shows the words "Game On" at the start of every stage, while the Super NES announces the levels' names.
Localised names
Language | Localised Name | English Translation |
---|---|---|
English (US) | The Pagemaster | The Pagemaster |
Spanish | El Guardián de las Palabras | The Guardian of Words |
Magazine articles
- Main article: The Pagemaster/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
70 | |
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Based on 22 reviews |
Technical information
- Main article: The Pagemaster/Technical information.
References
- ↑ http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Atod
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Press release: 1994-11-15: YOU'VE NEVER CHECKED OUT A LIBRARY LIKE THIS: 'THE PAGEMASTER'
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mean Machines Sega, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-30), page 80
- ↑ Mega, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-30), page 50
- ↑ Sega Megazone, "March 1995" (AU; 1995-0x-xx), page 25
- ↑ File:Pagemaster MD credits.pdf
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 13
- ↑ GamePro, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 238
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 172
- ↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 17
- ↑ Consoles +, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 108
- ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 151
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 42
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 346
- ↑ GamePro, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 60
- ↑ MAN!AC, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 72
- ↑ Mega, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-30), page 22
- ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-12-02), page 90
- ↑ Mega Fun, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-21), page 40
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 130
- ↑ Play Time, "1/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 102
- ↑ Power Up!, "Saturday, December 17, 1994" (UK; 1994-12-17), page 1
- ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 3, Februari 1995" (NL; 1995-01-25), page 36
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 96
- ↑ Sega Power, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-17), page 75
- ↑ Sega Pro, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-01), page 42
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Abril 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 48
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 20
- ↑ Video Games, "2/95" (DE; 1995-01-18), page 99
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