Game:

Asterix and the Great Rescue (1993)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 22:02

423 views

4

Please pick the 720p60 or 1080p60 resolutions to play back in 60 frames per second. (Internet Explorer, surprisingly, appears to be the best browser for playback.)

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7IEN-HGlR46VVPUHRd4CaHzwYH8EV3jP

Hey, there! This is a series I've been wanting to do for a looong time: Sega Genesis at 60 frames per second! Why? Well... have you ever watched an older game on YouTube and noticed the main character turn invisible when hit, or some other such nonsense? That's because some older games use some ridiculously high speed flicker effects to achieve those crazy hitflashes on bosses or that "ouch I'm hurt!" flicker! These are not displayed properly at 30 fps, but now that we're able to upload at 60 fps we can see all the special effects that older games would use! (They'll be smoother, too!)
-------

Asterix the Gaul! Maybe you've heard of him? He's a popular character in Europe, but relatively unknown to folks stateside. It takes place back when Mr. Julius Caeser (maybe you've heard of him?) was going all around conquering as he seemed wont to do, but he never was quite able to wrest the land from the indomitable Gauls (think: Ancient France)! These Gauls had ridiculous strength that could resist Roman Legions and send them rocketing skyward with an uppercut! All thanks to a magic potion brewed by their Druid, Getafix!

Ok, so, this is probably sounding like some kinda fantasy magic and whimsy type thing, and it's entirely not. This was just a fun setting and premise for a comic-book series that drew its strength from fun wordplay, slapstick, and comic situations played out by a much-too-fun cast! But really, the puns and the writing are excellent - which is crazy 'cause it was originally written in French! Whoever translated this thing deserves a gold medal!

Ah... but I go on. This here is one of many Asterix video games! I don't think we got too many over in the states, but this one is plenty colorful and, uh... punchy. And weird. It's pretty darned weird. One moment you'll be going through a catacomb with fire all over, then you'll be in a psychedelic forest, and then you'll be running on linked sausage floating in the sky. Y'know, the kinda stuff you'd expect from a game about ancient France. Really though, the game's settings seeem to make sense, but just check out how weird the backgrounds and game objects can get!

Let me talk some game mechanics before I run outta space here. You can play as either Asterix, or his permanently strong pal, Obelix (he fell into a pot of potion as a baby). They are identical except that Obelix is slightly bigger making him an bigger target and a harder fit for some spots. They attack by uppercutting, but it has the shortest range in video game history. It's like.. one pixel! Seriously! Unless an enemy is one hit, you CANT run up and hit them! Even if you approach from behind! 'cause upon the first hit they'll freeze and then you'll have crossed the one pixel line into the hurtzone, yourself, and take damage! Basically.. to attack you have to stand still, have the enemy approach you, and rapid-fire punch them. It sounds stupid... (and it is) but it works well enough in execution.

You also get these various magic spells for whatever reason. Probably so they could put "three explosive power-ups!" as a bullet-point in ads. Your supply is always incredibly limited and basically intended to be used right away to solve some simple puzzle of sorts. Anyway, you get these little explosive pellets you can toss in a short arc, some floating platform clouds you can place, and a levitating ability. It adds some slight variety, I guess. Oh, also Asterix (and Asterix alone) gets an exclusive power-up that allows him to turn into a bunch of flowers to hide from some bees in one level. Yeah, perfectly logical, I know.

Let's wrap things up! As bad as this game is, I kinda like it! The music has an odd sound to it, but it's not bad! And it's not scratchy like so many Genesis soundtracks go far. The visuals are colorful and varied, if nonsensical, and the game plays pretty well once you know what you're doing. It's objectively "average-ish", but it's worth a play as an oddity!
-----

Real long level this first one. Well, set of levels. The landscape changes so much you have to wonder how it's considered one coherent package! The boss fight is pretty awesome, though. My "magic" button turned to "infinite fish" if that helps it make any sense.
----

Please check the end of a description for (almost) any of my other 60 FPS Genesis videos for some technical information!