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Asterix and the Great Rescue is a Platform Game based on the Asterix comics released on the Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Gear in 1993. In it, you play as Asterix or Obelix whose job is rescuing Getafix and Dogmatix from the Romans. They have to get through six locations while beating up Romans and making sure they get through each level on time.


This game provides examples of:

  • Adaptational Villainy: Cacofonix serves as the boss of the first world. It's a Subverted Trope, though; he's not trying to stop you, but his terrible singing harms you anyway.
  • American Kirby Is Hardcore: The boxart for European countries shows Asterix and Obelix walking with Dogmatix and Panoramix watching them in the village, while the American box art shows the duo beating up Romans in a Roman arena.
  • Boss-Only Level: The last level of each world only consists of a boss fight.
  • Button Mashing: To beat the Forest boss, you have to mash A and B as fast as possible while holding right.
  • Covers Always Lie: The American cover shows Asterix and Obelix beating up Romans in an arena, but the only fight that happens there has two tigers instead.
  • Dual Boss: The last boss fight in Rome is against two tigers running around the arena.
  • Elite Mook: The centurions don't appear often, but take three hits to kill.
  • Expressive Health Bar: The playable character's head in the bottom-left corner shows a happy expression at full health, a puzzled one at two HP, and a defeated one with only one HP left.
  • Food End: The game's ending, as usual for Asterix, shows the Gauls having a feast with Cacofonix tied to a tree.
  • Hitbox Dissonance: The enemies' hitboxes are oddly large, and sometimes don't match up with their sprites. The dogs in Level 3 in Roman Encampment in particular seem to have hitboxes at about 140% of their sprite size, while the baby bird enemies can damage you even after they've retreated into their nest.
  • Invincibility Power-Up: There are two of them.
    • A black "MEGA" potion turns the player character invincible, boosts his movement speed, and causes him to kill all enemies in his path by running into them. It is shown by the character generating electric sparks, for some reason.
    • Another, weaker Invincibility Power-Up is the hook. The hook makes you invincible for a short time, no more no less; it does not have the speed boost or anti-enemy collision properties the MEGA potions have.
  • Killer Rabbit: Even some small rabbit enemies can kill you.
  • Level Ate: Level 3 in Germany is constructed entirely of Vienna sausages. One has to wonder if Obelix is up to one of his daydreams again like he was in Asterix and Cleopatra.
  • Level Goal: Regular levels have a potion for Asterix, and a boar for Obelix.
  • Level in Boss Clothing: The last level of Germany is an auto-scrolling obstacle course with no actual boss, though the boss music still plays.
  • Man-Eating Plant: Some enemies in the Forest are walking plants with sharp teeth willing to eat Asterix/Obelix.
  • Mobile Shrubbery: Some Roman soldiers hide and walk inside fake trees.
  • Obstructive Foreground: A tree blocks a boulder from view in Gaulish Village level 3. Other levels also have practically invisible elevators.
  • Password Save: After beating a world, you are shown a six-letter password that can be typed in to resume from the next one, like "INSULA" for the Roman Encampment.
  • Rise to the Challenge: The last level in Germany has Asterix/Obelix climb up the room as fast as possible as the lava rises below them.
  • Schizophrenic Difficulty: The game has plenty of hard levels early on, and quite a few easy ones later in the adventure.
  • Spikes of Doom: Spiky objects like spears, sharp logs, and stalactites/stalagmites are an occasional hazard, though they aren't an instant kill.
  • Super Not-Drowning Skills: Asterix/Obelix don't drown during level 3 in Gaulish Village which takes places entirely underwater (they can die if they run out of time as usual, but it takes about two minutes).
  • Tactical Suicide Boss: To beat the Roman Encampment boss, you have to punch the rocks it fires back at it.
  • Temporary Platform: Some platform fall after standing on them for too long like the clouds or crumble like the brown ones in Roman Galley.
  • Timed Mission: Every level has a time limit of a few minutes and running out of it takes a life away. Changing the difficulty affects how much time you have.
  • The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Rome. It's the last spot on the map, and the very first level establishes that it's the final world, with a gloomier atmosphere and suspenseful theme.
  • Victory Pose: Asterix jumps triumphantly while Obelix bounces on his butt after finishing a level.

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