Asterix

Name:	Asterix
Company:	Atari
Model #:	CX-2696
Programmers:	Steve Woita (Program) & Jerome Domurat (Graphics)
Year:	1983
Released?	Yes
Notes:	Same game as Taz with altered graphics

While the name may not mean anything to people in the US, to people in Europe Asterix is a well know comic book hero.  Asterix and his pal Obelix were two mischievous warriors who were constantly thwarting the attempts of Roman soldiers to conquer Gaul (hence the European only appeal).  Originally created in 1959, Asterix is still popular today making it one of the longest running comics in the world.

So why does Asterix look exactly like Taz?  Marketing.  Just like American audiences had no idea who Asterix was, Europeans had no clue who Taz was.  So in order to market the game to Europeans Atari decided to put in a character they would be more familiar with.  So one quick graphics hack later, Asterix was born.  The food was changed to various ancient objects (lamps, shields, cauldrons), and the dynamite was changed to a lyre.  Why a lyre?  Apparently the only thing that Asterix fears is the off-key music of the village bard Cacofonix.  Ooookay..... 

There are actually a few small differences between Taz and Asterix other than the graphics.  The Crazed Wave was changed to the Obelix Wave where the character is changed from Asterix to Obelix (the gameplay stays exactly the same), and Steve's famous Woita Wave easter egg was taken out (except in one prototype).  Since Americans already had Taz and only the graphics had been changed, Asterix only saw limited release in NTSC format (most likely only in Canada).

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