Obelix (1983)

## The Game

*Obelix* is a strategic arcade action game for the Atari 2600. It is the second video game in the Asterix series and the first original one (the previously released *Asterix* is a reskin of *Taz*). Astérix and Obélix must work together through timing and precision to take out the Roman soldiers invading the village. Despite the game is named after Obelix, the player mainly controls Asterix, while Obelix can only drop menhirs at the player's order. The goal of the game is to earn as many points as possible by fighting Romans before running out of lives.

### Story

> *"The year: 50 B.C. The place: a Gaulish village near the Roman outposts of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum, and Compendium. Here we find the last outpost of resistance against the legions of Julius Caesar. And who are the leaders of these indomitable fighters against the mighty Roman empire? Who has the gall to oppose Caesar's will? Why, none other than a humble menhir deliveryman named Obelix, and his small but shrewd friend, Asterix."*
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### Gameplay

Asterix can move left and right and use the red "doors" to get on the higher or lower stages. By default, the legionaries are blue and safe to approach. Bumping into a blue Roman will freeze him in place, change his color to white and make him vulnerable to menhirs. Obelix walks from side to side by himself in the top of the screen, carrying a menhir. If the player makes Obelix drop a menhir while it is right above the Roman, it will crush him and the player will earn points. The faster the Roman soldier is moving when Astérix stuns him, the more points you'll receive. If the player takes too long to attack or misses, the white Roman will start moving again, turn red and become hostile. If Asterix touches a red Roman or gets hit with a menhir it will cost a life and score points.

Obelix occasionally changes to Getafix who drops a gourd of magic potion. If Asterix catches it, he gains invulnerability, higher speed and the ability to defeat blue and red Romans by running into them for a few seconds.

As the game progresses, thin centurions will spawn instead of fat legionaries. They generally give more points but are harder to hit due to thinner hitboxes.

### Scoring

Score points which appear in place of defeated Romans are written in Roman numerals: X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1000.

* Knocking off a stunned legionnaire: 10, 50, 100, 500 or 1000 points.
* Knocking off a stunned centurion: 20, 100, 200, 1000 or 2000 points.
* Knocking off red Romans: point value + 200.

### Game Screenshots

Obelix 1983 Title ScreenBeginning of the GameSquash White RomansDruid passing by
### Game Manual

Manual FrontManual Page 2Manual Page 3Manual Page 4Manual Page 5Manual Page 6Manual Page 7Manual Page 8Manual Page 9Manual Page 10Manual Page 11Manual Back
### Cartrige Screenshots

Obelix 1983 Box ArtObelix 1983 Cartrige FrontObelix 1983 Cartrige

## Trivia

* Suki Lee has been to the Asterix & Obelix studio and met Albert Uderzo.
* Only released in PAL regions, Obelix 1983 is quite rare today because of the limited release due to the video game market collapse.

## Footnotes

* https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Atari\_2600//Manual/formated/Obelix\_-\_1983\_-\_Atari.pdf
* https://www.atariwomen.org/stories/suki-lee/
* http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/asterix/asterix2.htm
* http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-obelix\_11764.html
* https://youtu.be/9amPqQvkRSA?t=347
* https://atariage.com/manual\_html\_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=329&\_\_cf\_chl\_captcha\_tk\_\_=pmd\_hGlU8YTXUVJOt13ExvwAhOQm0zjTPKqf9Nla3wJpY2E-1635086957-0-gqNtZGzNA1CjcnBszQp9