Asterix And Obelix XXL: Romastered | Garrulous Gaming Gallop

As an American, the only exposure to Asterix and Obelix came from a Game Gear cartridge, which was an ancient handheld console. This remastered edition of Asterix And Obelix XXL will be another entry way into the Gaulish duo.

Asterix And Obelix XXL Synopsis

Based on the French comic, Asterix and Obelix are two Gaulish warriors who are setting out to rescue members of their tribe from the Romans under Julius Caesar. You are aided along your journey by a Roman spy who is a turncoat and is willing to divulge sensitive secrets to you.

It is a pretty standard rescue game as old as the Donkey Kong arcade game. However, you would think that since many of the rescued Gauls are important people in the Gaulish tribe that they would help you along the way. However, all they do is divulge where the next Gauls are that need rescuing.

Wandering Wonderous Worlds?

The realms are pretty distinct in terms of their appearance and function. Greece is defined by its puzzling buildings and alleyways, while Helvetia is more mountainous and involves climbing up. As such, these realms do a pretty good job of challenging the player in a way that makes them want to proceed deeper into the game.

One detail I found quite annoying is whenever I exit to the map and I end up having to start from either Gaul or Normandy and I have to push forward or backward so many times.

Many Mollifying Moves?

The moveset is very basic, in terms of punching and twirling a Roman around.

The special combos are quite underwhelming since they do not do as much damage as I hoped. The only exception being the Twister move which I found extremely helpful, especially in the final stage.

There really are no power-ups except for the potion that gives you powered-up speed and might. Other than that, the unlocked costumes don\’t give you any special advantages–or disadvantages leaving you to alternate between different ones. A pet peeve of mine is costumes that do not provide any purpose other than aesthetics, which leaves this section with a deducted score.

Finding Fun Farming?

Expect to find it in shortly before Normandy Level 4. You can farm plenty of helmets specifically from the area where there is the cannon and the rows of tents. Before you take advantage of the 21x boost, take out all of the Roman soldiers until you left behind the Roman centurions and the Phalanxes. This can be done with both the cannon and the tornado move. Then, take the boosts and take out them. It helps because they are constantly reoccurring, but I would suggest taking the helmets before they and the 21x boost disappears. I managed to farm at least 5000 helmets. Keep doing this by exiting, returning back to the druid, and they will respawn.

There are also slides where you can not only earn golden laurels, but also plenty of helmets. Yet, they do not provide as much compared to the boss fights which can be recurring if you choose. You are always rewarded handsomely with tens of thousands of helmets.

Siphoning Side-Quest Signs?

The closest to a side-quest is the costumes and the images of the game designers interacting with the duo in the Collections section. Whatever enthusiasm it might inspire to collect them all wears off pretty quickly.

Grappling Graphics?

I will say that the graphics fit the aesthetic theme of the original comic. I can clearly see how any French child might be interested to learn in ancient Roman history as a result of this series.

As for the remastered addition, this game gives you the option of switching between the original 2003 graphics and the new ones. I will say that for the most part they scaled up tremendously with the graphics and the sound. However, in the cavern areas, I was confused whether they improved or not.

I also thought that the subtle touch of including black Roman soldiers was good, since the game designers want to reflect the fact that the Roman Empire recruited soldiers from every corner of the empire. Indeed, in Britain, there are many Caesar-era plaques dedicated to gods worshiped all over the Roman Empire, such as Gaul, Syria, Persia, and Egypt. In the universe of Asterix and Obelix, it would not be far from possible for the Romans to recruit soldiers from the Kingdom of Aksum.

Actual, Anticipating Acting?

I don\’t think that I imagine Gauls and Huns using Cockney accents while the Romans use the typical stentorian British posh. It probably stems from my pet peeve about using such accents in any medium. Of course, I don\’t know if it is possible to use the reconstructed Gaulish and Latin languages in a game targeted towards kids. It might be possible, but I don\’t want to speculate too much right now, rather I want to focus on the merits of the voice-acting itself.

I really have nothing more to say, since the voice-acting feels forced. The only voice-acting I can give accolades to is the Hun who you purchase items and combo moves from. His Cockney accent is quite distinguishable from the rest of the cast.

Mention Mighty Music?

Compared to the original, I can say that the music had more atmosphere along with the other sounds. The original felt as though the sounds were tacked on, whereas there is more muffled immersion in the Romastered version.

I\’m not sure what I have to say about the electronic music during a fight scene. It does not fit yet it does. I will say that the music with the female vocals does immerse me into ancient Rome.

Skimming, Scavenging Score

I would say this is a pretty fair rating. It can feel underwhelming at times to play, Asterix And Obelix XXL: Romastered is still a decent enough game to play.

Recommend Recklessly To…

• Any gamer who does not find enough games taking place in ancient Rome, concerning the Gauls.

Sources

• \”Asterix And Obelix XXL: Romastered.\” Microids. 2003. 2018.
• Rankine, David and Sorita D’Este. \”The Isle of the Many Gods.\” Avalonia. 2007.