The Pagemaster

n/a

The Pagemaster
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Fox Interactive
Developer: Probe Software, Atod
Distributor: Fox Video (US)
Licensor: Twentieth Century Fox
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-11 $64.9864.98 T-161016 EU 1994-11 1180-50 ES 1994 1180-50 PT 1994 MDJ1180 UK 1994-11 £39.9939.99 1180-50 AU 199x $109.95109.95 FPAG00SMC
Non-Sega versions Game Boy Super Game Boy Super NES
ESRA

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.

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.

Horror bonus level

Adventure bonus level

Fantasy bonus 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

Source:

In-game credits

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

Also known as

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

Print advert in EGM² (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
• GamePro (US) #66: "January 1995" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #22: "December/January 1994/1995" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Super Juegos (ES) #33: "Enero 1995" (199x-xx-xx)

File:Pagemaster MD US VHSAdvert.mp4

US VHS advert

File:Pagemaster MD US VHSAdvert.mp4

Physical scans

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) 70 Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 80 Consoles + (FR) 86 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 60 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 60 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 70 Mega (UK) PAL 72 Mega Force (FR) PAL 82 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 65 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 74 Player One (FR) 90 Play Time (DE) PAL 67 Power Up! (UK) 68 Power Unlimited (NL) 68 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 65 Sega Power (UK) PAL 40 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 74 Todo Sega (ES) 76 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 74 Video Games (DE) PAL 69

	70
Based on 22 reviews

The Pagemaster

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart 50x50px Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, ES
Cover

Mega Drive, FR
Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 75a96d4e MD5 aafa1208e6c1f0850d091d6b20ede002 SHA-1 46d0495638e618bb9ac7fb07f46f8f0d61a8cedc	2MB	1994-08	Cartridge (US)
✔	CRC32 79a180e2 MD5 46b265c3ea4e739656363e5232c8c56b SHA-1 c4cf7695127b7ec5e003b5e7e15fdbfb172d1fcb	2MB	1994-08	Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 29895e3d MD5 91c262a0d0c4072286b4c0fe861cbc1c SHA-1 8a81ea7fca88fffff3fc1e932019e36e71be4978	2MB	1994-08					Page