Astérix and the Great Rescue (8-bit)

For the Sega Mega Drive game, see Astérix and the Great Rescue (Mega Drive).

n/a

Master System Game Gear
Astérix and the Great Rescue
System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (EU) Sega of America (US)
Developer: Core Design
Distributor: Sega-Ozisoft (AU) Ecofilmes (PT) Tec Toy (BR)
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: English Français Deutsch Español Italiano
Release Date RRP Code EU 1994-09 9032 PT 1994 MSJ9032 UK 1994-09 9032 AU 1994 FAST03SEC BR 199x 028490 US 1994 2520 EU 1994 2520 UK 1994-09 2520 BR 1994

Astérix and the Great Rescue is a platforming game developed by Core Design and published by Sega in 1994 for the Sega Master System (Europe and Brazil only) and Sega Game Gear.

Story

Gaul is almost completely occupied by the Roman Empire; the only plot of land remaining is the small town where Astérix and his friend Obélix live. While the town has been able to stalemate the Romans in the surrounding areas, the Romans managed to capture and imprison the village druid, Getafix (Panoramix in French), and their pet dog, Dogmatix (Idéfix in French), in Rome. Astérix and Obélix must set off to Rome to free them.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling platformer where players control the Gaulish warriors Astérix and Obélix. Both heroes have different strengths and weaknesses, and the levels are designed so that the player must switch between them regularly to overcome certain obstacles. Astérix can fit into smaller spaces and take advantage of special items that give him unique abilities. Obélix can use his strength to push large objects, squash enemies, and wind up more powerful punches. Most levels require finding keys, pushing buttons, or finding items in order to pass barriers.

Astérix and Obélix move with or . They jump with . They attack enemies by punching with , which can only be done while standing (not while jumping). Some enemies carry shields and cannot be effectively punched from the front. The player can switch between Astérix and Obélix at any time (while standing on the ground) by pressing +.

Both characters share a health bar in the top-left corner of the screen that turns from green to red when they take damage. Health is not restored between levels. They lose a life when they run out of health and must restart the level from the beginning if they have extra lives left. The game ends if the player runs out of lives but can be continued a limited number of times. There is also a password system for continuing at the start of a level. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard).

Playable characters

	Astérix
	Astérix is the smaller and faster of the two characters. He can fit into smaller spaces that Obélix cannot. He can duck with and move while ducking with or , which can be used to cram into especially tight passages. He cannot attack while ducking. Astérix can use special items by holding . The current special item is shown in the top-left corner of the screen, and the player can switch between the four special items by pressing +. Special items can only be used a limited number of times, but their uses can be replenished by finding Potions.
	Obélix
	Obélix is the larger and stronger of the two characters. His punches can knock out enemies in one hit that would take two hits for Astérix. He can push heavy objects by walking into them. He can squash enemies by holding in midair. This can be used against shielded enemies, enemies that are too low or too high to punch (such as rats and birds), and destructible blocks. He bounces off the enemy, which can be used to jump further or higher. Obélix can charge the "Mega Punch" meter in the top-left corner of the screen by holding ; releasing when the meter turns green delivers a Mega Punch. His Mega Punches can destroy shielded enemies and blocks that cannot be destroyed by regular punches.

Items

	Coin
	Worth 50 points.
	Money Bag
	Worth 100 points.
	Chicken
	Restores 2 health bar segments. Worth 100 points.
	Chalice
	Fully restores the health bar. Worth 100 points.
	Potion
	Gives Astérix uses of a special item or ends the level.
	Key
	Lets Astérix or Obélix unlock a door.
	Sickle
	Makes Astérix or Obélix invincible temporarily. Worth 100 points.
	Mega Bomb
	Grants Astérix or Obélix superhuman strength temporarily. They are invulnerable, move faster, jump farther, and can defeat enemies by running into them in this state.
	Extra Life
	Gives the player an extra life. Worth 500 points.

Special items

Astérix can use special items after collecting a Potion. Each special item has a limited number of uses, but Potions reappear for special items that are necessary for completing the level.

	Fire Bomb
	Throws a bomb that can destroy enemies (including shielded enemies) or destructible blocks.
	Cloud
	Throws a bomb that explodes into a temporary cloud platform.
	Disguise
	Disguises Astérix as a bush, letting him walk past enemies without being harmed. Can be canceled by pressing .
	Levitation
	Makes Astérix levitate for a duration to reach higher places or fly over harmful obstacles (such as spikes or flames). Can be canceled by pressing .

Levels

Each level is broken into multiple sub-levels. The last sub-level is always a boss encounter.

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	Password: 11111
Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126	Roman Encampment
	Password: 40732
Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126	The Forest
	Password: 23554
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	Password: 02174
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	Password: 98613

Production credits

• Coding: Martin Gibbins
• Grafix and Design: Richard Morton
• Music and SFX: Nathan McCree
• Additional Code: Sean Dunlevy
• Additional Grafx: Adrian Mannion
• Produced by: Ken Lockley
• Game Testers: Jason Cumberbatch, Darren Lloyd, Ola Sanusi, Stefano Cresci, Sean James

Source:

In-game credits

File:Asterix and the Great Rescue SMS credits.pdf

Magazine articles

Main article: Astérix and the Great Rescue (8-bit)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Master System print advert in Hobby Consolas (ES) #36: "Septiembre 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Game Gear print advert in Hobby Consolas (ES) #38: "Noviembre 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Artwork

• 

Physical scans

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 74 Joypad (FR) PAL 89 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 79 Player One (FR) PAL 83 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 72 Sega Power (UK) PAL 84 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 74 Todo Sega (ES) 83

	80
Based on 8 reviews

Astérix and the Great Rescue (8-bit)

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, PT
Cover

Master System, PT (Purple)
Cover
File:Asterix And The Great Rescue Tectoy PT-BR.pdf Manual

Master System, ES (Gift Set)
Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Cover
Cart Asterix: El Golpe De Menhir

Master System, AU
Cover

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Consoles + (FR) 85 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 58 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 50 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 73 Joypad (FR) PAL 89 Mega Force (FR) PAL 90 Player One (FR) 91 Play Time (DE) 64 Todo Sega (ES) 80

	76
Based on 9 reviews

Astérix and the Great Rescue (8-bit)

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, ES (Gift Set)
Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: /usr/bin/convert: Permission denied Error code: 126 Cover
Cart Asterix: El Golpe De Menhir

Game Gear, BR

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 f9b7d26b MD5 36bd5fe2e4d1620f5a43ea610c458c86 SHA-1 5e409247f6a611437380b7a9f0e3cccab5dd1987	512kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 328c5cc8 MD5 2446abf366b4d28e88fd9431e84ac63f SHA-1 6083f57bc33c761ebf06b7c7512d1ee10bf619c8	512kB		Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 78208b40 MD5 21d000eba49fa3528eac46a2f9adc3a7 SHA-1 821a0f9087001831fb9828fe2ef193877f960db6	512kB		Cartridge (US)
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-03-16					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-03-15					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-03-03					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-02-22					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-02-16					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1994-01-25					Page

References

Astérix games for Sega systems
	Astérix (1991) | Astérix and the Secret Mission (1993) | Astérix and the Great Rescue (1994)
	Astérix and the Secret Mission (1994) | Astérix and the Great Rescue (1994)
	Astérix and the Great Rescue (1993) | Astérix and the Power of the Gods (1995)