The famed Asterix, the Gaul who resists now and ever the Roman invasion, appeared in an arcade-exclusive 1992 Beat 'em Up by Konami.
He also appeared in an Atari 2600 game that was a rethemed version of Taz, as well as a platformer on the Sega Master System and one on the SNES, but this page is not about them.
The game allows the player to play as either Asterix or Obelix (or both in case of two players), fighting their way through 7 stages based on various Asterix Comics.
The game received a spiritual sequel in 2021, Asterix and Obelix - Slap Them All!.
Astérix provides examples of:
- Adaptation Amalgamation:
- The games stages are based on various Asterix comics. And even within a stage, characters and plots can get mixed, like having the Egyptian Sorcerer from Asterix Conquers Rome show up as a boss in the stage based on Asterix and Cleopatra.
- The mission to rescue Panacea is not based on any specific Asterix book. The main image is the cover of "Asterix in Corsica", and the boss is a guy from "Asterix in Spain" (which has its own mission).
- All There in the Manual: The missions are meant to be based on Asterix stories. Actually, they just establish a location, and that's all. You have to had read the books to understand the idea. For example, the mission "Asterix in Britain" never made it to Britain itself, it's all the part in the sea before reaching it.
- And the Rest: The game starts with introducing the player to Asterix, Obelix, Getafix + Panacea,…and the rest of the Gauls.
- Antagonistic Governor: Corsica has a Roman governor who's only there to grab as much as he can during his stay and escape with the loot.
- Ascended Extra: Panacea appears in all stages to heal Asterix and Obelix with a kiss, and even has to be rescued once.
- Battering Ram: The fifth stage, based on Asterix in Spain, introduces two Romans carrying a battering ram as mooks.
- Bonus Stage: A chariot race, and a visit to the useless pirates. Each one appears twice.
- Boss Bonanza: The final arena has, in order: a tiger (that fights similarily to the Auroch of the Spanish campaign), Insalubrius (the Gladiator trainer from Asterix the Gladiator), the Romans in turtle formation of the first mission, and finally two gladiators (that fight similarily to the two bosses of the British campaign).
- Boss Room: The circus at the end of the Spanish campaign, and the final battle.
- Brutish Bulls: The boss in the fifth stage is a bull. Upon being defeated, he instantly turns into a roasted bull.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Even here, Obelix is not allowed to drink the magic potion. Asterix's Healing Potion is the magic potion, and Obelix's is a boar. And if there are two players, there is a magic potion and a boar... but Obelix can not drink the potion.
- Chariot Race: When playing with two players, there are bonus levels in which Asterix and Obelix race each other with chariots, dodging obstacles along the way.
- Damsel in Distress: The fourth stage requires Asterix and Obelix to rescue Panacea.
- Every Episode Ending: As usual for Asterix, once the game is won we see the Gauls celebrating with a celebratory feast, while Cacofonix is Bound and Gagged.
- Evil Sorcerer: The boss in the Egyptian stage is the Egyptian Sorcerer from Asterix Conquers Rome. He can conjure up lightning or hypnotize the characters to temporarily act a dog (Asterix) or boar (Obelix).
- Gladiator Games: Asterix and Obelix have to fight two gladiators during the Boss Bonanza in the final stage.
- Gratuitous Spanish: "Olé!"
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Asterix and Obelix can throw the Romans away, taking down the Romans in the way, or even shake them around.
- Healing Potion: A magic potion or a boar delivered by Dogmatix, a kiss of Panacea, the boars of the first mission, some fruits here and there...
- Kick Them While They Are Down: There are several ways to attack the Romans while they are down, bosses included.
- Levels Take Flight: The first half of the sixth stage has Asterix and Obelix trying to defend the magic carpet, which automatically keeps moving forward and which they cannot leave without losing a life.
- Luminescent Blush: Asterix and Obelix both when kissed by Panacea.
- Magic Carpet: The sixth stage, based on Asterix and the Magic Carpet, unsurprisingly features these; used both by the heroes and by the boss.
- Man Hug: Asterix and Obelix do this when succesfully clearing some of the stages.
- Minecart Madness: The fourth stage has Asterix and Obelix ride a minecart. They have to dodge obstacles, and jump from one cart to another in time to complete the ride.
- Mobile Shrubbery: In the first stage, there are Roman legionaries who hide inside hollow trees.
- Power-Up Food: Besides acting as a Healing Potion, the magic potion & boar also briefly give Asterix and Obelix a super mode, allowing them to instantly defeat all enemies that are currently on screen.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: The Romans in the last mission.
- Shown Their Work: It's clear the creators did their homework on the Asterix comics. The graphics, character designs, attack moves, it all feels like Asterix.
- Single-Use Shield: At the start of each stage, Obelix carries a menhir with him which he can use to attack opponents. After 1 use however, it's gone and he can't get a new one for the remainder of the stage.
- Stalked by the Bell: If you stay there too much and do not advance, Cacofonix will begin to sing, and the music notes kill!
- Squashed Flat: This can happen to both Asterix and Obelix if they get hit by one of the giant boulders in the Egyptian temple. It's all depicted rather cartoonishly.
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- The Roman legionaries and other mooks can be seen looking very nervous when Asterix or Obelix gets hold of magic potion or a boar respectively, since this briefly triggers a Super Mode for them.
- As the fight against the two bosses in the British stage continues, the Roman centurion that is cheering them on starts looking more and more nervous as he realizes his men are about to lose.
- Most bosses start thinking "About to die" when they are nearly defeated.
- Threatening Shark: Sharks show up as enemies in the stage based on Asterix in Brittain.
- The Unfought: In compliance with the comics, Julius Caesar is never fought directly in the game despite being the Big Bad. Instead, he appears in the arena, overlooking the Boss Bonanza and ordering the next boss to enter the stage after the previous one is beaten.
- Written Sound Effect: As a nod to the game's origin being a comic book, enemies getting pummeled will have written sound effects - WHACK! THWAP! SLAP! - accompanying each hit. It shows up occasionally in the original arcade game, but it's everywhere in the 2021 follow-up that allows you to fill a screen with multiple "THWAP!"s.
