Last Action Hero

For the unreleased Sega Mega-CD game, see Last Action Hero (Mega-CD).

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Mega Drive Game Gear
Last Action Hero
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Sony Imagesoft
Developer: B.I.T.S.
Licensor: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1993-11 T-93066 US 1993-11 T-93048
Non-Sega versions Game Boy Super NES

Last Action Hero is a Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear action game based on the 1993 film of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was only released in North America.

Story

After receiving a magical movie ticket, young Danny Madigan is sucked into a theater screen and into an action movie starring indestructible Los Angeles cop Jack Slater. Jack Slater's archenemy, the ruthless assassin Mr. Benedict, gets a hold of the ticket and transports himself to the real world. Danny and Jack must follow him and stop him.

Gameplay

Mega Drive version

The game is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up played as the movie action hero Jack Slater. The levels initially take place inside Jack Slater's movie world, then transition to the "real" world. Slater moves with and . He crouches with and jumps with . He punches with and kicks with . He can only punch while standing. He can kick while crouching with + but not after jumping, though he can do a jumping split kick with + that hits enemies on both sides of him.

There are two driving levels where Slater is driving a car controlled from an overhead perspective. The car speeds up with or slows down with . It brakes to a complete stop with . The car can jump off ramps or squeeze in between vehicles to avoid running into them.

Slater has a health meter with eight segments. He loses health as he is attacked by enemies and loses a life if he loses all of his health or if time runs out. The game ends if the player runs out of lives. There are no continues.

Items

	Movie Ticket
	Replenishes some of Slater's health meter. This item occasionally falls from the top of the screen.

Levels

	Action Hero Movie
	Inside the School
	Bonneville Car Chase
	Leo's Funeral
	The Car Chase
	Premiere Night
	The Finale

Game Gear version

Pause screen

The game is a side-scrolling platformer. The player controls Jack Slater, the "greatest movie hero of all time," who must leave the movie world to chase a villain who has escaped into the real world. Slater moves with and . He crouches with and jumps with . He punches with and kicks with +. He can only attack when standing, not when crouching or jumping.

Enemies are encountered much less frequently than in the Mega Drive game. Instead, gameplay is focused around collecting movie ticket stubs, which give Slater access to special items that are necessary to proceed in the levels, such as a fire extinguisher that he can use to put out fires or a bomb that he can use to blow up a door. A counter in the upper left corner of the screen shows how many ticket stubs need to be collected to unlock the next item. The counter changes to a different icon when a special item has been unlocked, and Slater can use it with (replacing his punch until the item is successfully used). Explosives such as bombs and mines are planted with +.

There are two driving levels where Slater drives a car, viewed from an overhead perspective. The car steers with and and accelerates by holding .

Slater starts with 7 health hearts, but he can acquire up to 12. He loses a health heart whenever he takes damage from an enemy or a hazard, and he loses a life if he loses all of his health hearts and must restart the level from the beginning. The number of health hearts is carried over between levels. Every level also has a time limit (which replaces the ticket stub counter when the remaining time is low), and Slater loses a life if time runs out. The game ends if the player runs out of lives and cannot be continued. The player can view the number of health hearts possessed, the number of ticket stubs left to collect, the special item (if any), and the time remaining by pausing the game with  START .

Items

	Ticket Stub
	Collect ticket stubs to unlock a special item. A ticket stub sways back and forth in the air, so it may not be accessible in one position but may move into a position where Slater can reach it.
	Heart
	Restores some of Slater's health hearts.

Levels

	Inside the School
	Slater must use fire extinguishers to put out fires and bombs to blow up doors.
	On the School Roof
	Slater must knock the Ripper off the roof of the building.
	Bonneville Car Chase
	Slater must use the turbo device in order to make the jump at the end of the level.
	Outside the Subway
	Slater must use a mine to create an explosion that drops a platform near the end of the level.
	Leo's Funeral
	Slater must ascend the building by jumping on top of the elevators. Once there, he can use the missile launcher to attack the helicopter.
	The Car Chase
	Slater must use the turbo device to beat Benedict to the movie premiere. At the end, Slater and Benedict ram their cars into each other; the player must press and rapidly to build the meter enough to win.
	Premiere Night
	Slater must obtain the key to activate the lift at the end.
	On the Roof with the Ripper
	Slater must knock the Ripper through the skylight on top of the building.
	The Finale
	Slater must defeat the Ripper, who has inhabited a movie theater screen, by kicking the large fireballs he spews back at him.

History

Nine different video game adaptions of Last Action Hero were put into production before the film was released, and due to its secretive nature, developers could only use the scripts, photographs and selected footage as reference material.

Arnold Schwarzenegger requested that the developers of Last Action Hero not to give the main characters guns so as not to inspire children to partake in real-world violence. Despite playing a prominent role in the movie, the character Danny Maddigan is absent from the core gameplay as license holders Columbia Pictures did not want to have a small boy surrounded by violence. As such, he only appears in the cutscenes.

European versions were advertised and planned, but the game ultimately remained a United States exclusive.

Both a Sega Master System version and Mega-CD version (for release in Autumn 1993) of Last Action Hero were once planned, but were cancelled for unknown reasons.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

The BITS Development Team

• Programming: Peter Baron
• Graphics: Laurence McDonald, Carl Cropley
• Animation: Mark Jones
• Music and Sound Effects: Shahid Ahmad
• Play Testing: Jim Hale
• Concept and Design: Peter Baron, Foo Katan, Chris Kyriacou, Cos Lazouras, Gary Sheinwald
• Produced by: Chris Kyriacou, Gary Sheinwald
• Executive Producer: Foo Katan

Copyright 1993 Sony Electronic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Last Action Hero TM. Copyright 1993 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. All rights reserved.

Sony Imagesoft

• Executive Producer: Rich Robinson
• Producer: Nathan Rose
• Sony Electronic Publishing Company: Olaf Olafsson, Lester Greenman, Peter Dille, Jeff Benjamin
• Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.: Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McTiernan, Steve Roth, Robert Relyea, Neal Nordlinger
• Columbia Pictures Merchandising: Lester Borden, Lisa Weisinger Manne, Susan Christison, Catherine Varvaro

Source:

In-game credits

File:Last Action Hero MD credits.pdf

Game Gear version

The BITS Team

• Programming by: Neil Dodwell
• Graphics and Animation by: Mark Jones
• Music and Sound Effects by: Shahid Ahmad
• Playtesting by: Jim Hale
• Concept and Design by: Neil Dodwell, Mark Jones, Foo Katan, Chris Kyriacou, Cos Lazouras, Gary Sheinwald
• Produced by: Chris Kyriacou, Gary Sheinwald
• Executive Producer: Foo Katan

At Sony Imagesoft

• Executive Producer: Rich Robinson
• Producer: Nathan Rose
• Sony Electronic Publishing Company: Olaf Olafsson, Lester Greenman, Peter Dille, Jeff Benjamin
• Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.: Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McTiernan, Steve Roth, Robert Relyea, Neal Nordlinger
• Columbia Pictures Merchandising: Lester Borden, Lisa Weisinger Manne, Susan Christison, Catherine Varvaro

Source:

In-game credits

File:Last Action Hero GG credits.pdf

Magazine articles

Main article: Last Action Hero/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #145: "December 1993" (1993-11-15)

Print advert in Consoles + (FR) #25: "Novembre 1993" (1993-1x-xx)

Print advert in Video Games (DE) #1993-12: "12/93" (1993-11-22)
also published in:

• MAN!AC (DE) #1993-12: "12/93" (1993-11-10)

Mega Drive print advert in Todo Sega (ES) #9: "Diciembre 1993" (1993-1x-xx)

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) NTSC-U 40 Hyper (AU) 9 Tricks 16 bit (RU) NTSC-U 60

	36
Based on 3 reviews

Last Action Hero

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, US (Not For Resale)
Cover
Cart

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score

	N/A
Based on 0 reviews

Last Action Hero

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: Last Action Hero/Technical information.

References

Last Action Hero games for Sega systems
	Last Action Hero (unreleased)
	Last Action Hero (1993)
	Last Action Hero (1993)
	Last Action Hero (unreleased)
	Last Action Hero (1993)