Asterix & Obélix XXL, the original, was released in 2003 for Playstation 2. It also came to the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. The main reason to play it was due to the presence of the Gauls, but neither its playable nor technical proposal stood out especially; It was fun, yes, and 17 years later we get this “romasterized” version, will it measure up? Analysis of Asterix & Obélix XXL Romastered.
Many of you will remember Asterix & Obélix XXL. The Etranges Libellules title was a classic birthday presentand communions for the smallest of the house, and surely you have a pleasant memory of him. Released in 2003, the video game took us on a journey through Gaul, Normandy, Greece, Helvetia, Egypt, and Rome. The Romans had invaded our village and kidnapped our friends, so, managing Asterix and Obélix, we had to go through their scenarios, beat up Romans and other enemies taken from the comic, solve little puzzles, find the way out of the area, jump, destroy boxes and get Roman helmets to exchange them for different benefits for our characters. The grace of the game is that it hid many secrets in its levels, which made us return to them and extend the time we could spend with it. To the fool, It could come to offer you ten or twelve hours of fun that were a gift in those years if you squeezed everything well, and more if you played with the extra difficulty modes. Butplay today to Asterix and Obelix XXL Romastered , seventeen years later, and if we make the healthy exercise to take away the band of nostalgia eye, it is obvious that the game has not aged well at all and he needed a review much deeper.
Asterix and Obelix XXL was not a notable game in its year of release . Technically it was fair, it became repetitive and with very shallow playable options. The game mixed three ideas: combat, platforms and puzzles. Little by little, various combos are added to the fights, but neither these nor the differences in the handling of Asterix and Obelix made you end up doing little more than pounding the buttons. There was a time when it was convenient to make a charge to dodge, but the fundamental thing was to hituntil your thumb got button shape. So much so that at times he was more like a brainless musou than a beat’em up. Its areas were quite large, and still are. This was used for three things: hiding its secrets, forcing you to go around to find the exit, and also to place boxes to destroy and obtain Roman helmets, the currency of the game. Almost 20 years later, this area design is insufficient , uninspired and very naive. There is a certain grace in being careful which box to break, realizing that it is better to jump on it first to find a secret, or simply destroy them all; but little else.
Asterix and Obelix XXL Romastered video gameplay, the return of a game that won a legion of fans
The puzzles aren’t brilliant either . There is a specific button to collect, move and activate objects. I insist, it could work before, but these riddles are very insubstantial today. The video game has come a long way, but this Asterix and Obelix have not. Now you are thinking: it may be that, although each section separately was weak, together they work well; but it’s not like that. The camera was said to be tweaked for this review, but sure enough, it can’t be adjusted much either. Asterix and Obelix XXL bases a lot of its secrets on not seeing them with the naked eye. This was solved by the Crash Bandicoot saga very well by having linear travel environments, like a circuit, but those in this game are three-dimensional; we need to move the camera, but it shows that, many times,he does not feel like revealing what he hides . Nor does a clumsy narrative development that tries to convey the plot without inspiration or fortune based on an omniscient narrator helps. All this belongs to the base game, but what does this romasterization bring us? Does it fix all these problems or not?
An excessively continuous remastering
Romastered is a very poor patch on Switch that does not fix game issues
This romasterization is only enough to replay the original game if you are nostalgic.Before we start, the Nintendo Switch version has not turned out well. You have a problem with the frame rate and the image is not as sharp as it should be. Better fortune has its version for PS4 (also on Xbox One), with a more stable frame rate and a much more fortunate, clean and clear remastering work. That said, there are games that just with better graphics already work today. There’s the Crash trilogy ; the truth is that I couldn’t stop thinking about Crash Bandicoot because in this game there are also a million boxes to destroy. But, unlike the titles of the character created by Naughty Dog, this Asterix and Obelix XXL needed a lot more. And it is that the work of this review is only that:The graphic section is improved to make it a little more current, but it is not enough.
The character models remain poor and expressionless, and the artistic setting of the settings is not convincing in the Switch version either. One thing that is welcome is that, by pressing a button, the game changes and takes on the appearance of the original title . With regard to the conservation and study of the video game, it is greatly appreciated, but there is a problem: I liked the color palette, the clarity of the scene and the fluidity of the game more in its version of PS2 than the current one in the Nintendo Hybrid. Again, the graphics settings do show a better face on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.
On Switch, this romasterization has given its environments and characters a darker and muted tone, while the Playstation 2 game is more colorful and, honestly, the Uderzo and Goscinny comics (how you are missed, René ) they are more color than sober. Playing the Playstation 2 version, the playable limitations that persist in 2020 are digested more and better; But when moving to the new version, all of these are greatly exaggerated because it looks like a current game that works like an old one. Worst of all is making our characters stop and stare into their eyes. It’s as if they don’t have a soul; because its graphic and modeling aspects have been improved, but not its animations.
Its game system feels very shallow to this day Asterix and Obélix XXL Romastered is a game designed for children and the very nostalgic
That is, this romasterization is only enough to play the original game again if you are nostalgic, you missed it and want to remember it, or if you have a child at home who is passionate about Gauls. In addition to these technical adjustments, an extra difficulty level is added that is unlocked after playing, and there are a couple of new playable modes to fight against the clock and squeeze more scenarios. But much more was needed. Asterix and Obelix deserved more. In any case, a girl or a small boy who does not take into account this “evolution of the environment”, will find a good relationship between fun and correctly remastered game.
“Regular”
Asterix & Obelix XXL: Romastered
Asterix and Obelix XXL Romastered is a very unambitious revision of the original. It optimizes the graphics and the music, and not with much luck in its version for Switch. Its other versions have come out much better in performance and graphics. Add an extra difficulty mode and a couple of new playable modes that lengthen your playing hours. The problem is that its development is out of date, its gameplay is no longer interesting and it carries camera problems and animations typical of its time.
- They are Asterix and Obelix, and that’s always fine
- Small playable situations that give variety to development
- Camera and image fluency issues on Switch
- It is very shallow in all its playable sections
- Overall, it’s a very fair review
