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Arthur and the Minimoys for PlayStation 2
Arthur and the Minimoys for PlayStation 2 turns an ordinary garden into a vast world full of dangers. Arthur shrinks into a tiny adventurer and sets out with Selenia and Bétamèche to help the Minimoys. You control one of the three heroes at a time and change leader at the press of a button. The others usually follow automatically, but the group sometimes becomes separated and each character must carry out a task of their own.
The different abilities determine how you progress. Arthur can climb along ledges and swing on vines, while Selenia and Bétamèche have their own attacks and special actions. You jump, fight and search for a way through places where small objects become large obstacles. In combat, an opponent may carry a key you need to continue. It then helps to find that enemy first and focus your attacks on them.
Between the on-foot sections, the controls change during activities such as a flight on a mosquito and a ride in a sports car. The heroes' abilities improve along the way, and the Extras menu lets you view their development and collected items. Large flowers serve as save points. This remains a single-player adventure: the teamwork comes from taking turns controlling the trio, not from a second participant beside you.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Arthur and the Minimoys for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Arthur and the Minimoys
Atari announced Arthur and the Minimoys in December 2005 as a game set in Luc Besson's film world. Étranges Libellules, the French studio behind Asterix XXL, worked on the PlayStation 2 and PC versions. The team collaborated closely with the filmmakers to turn the characters and environments into a playable adventure. The three protagonists were central from the announcement onwards: their different abilities were intended to complement one another during the journey through the tiny world.
The release accompanied the international film launch around late 2006 and early 2007. In December 2006, Atari reported that the PS2 version was already available; the British edition appeared in early 2007. In some countries, the game was called Arthur and the Invisibles. That title refers to the same PS2 adventure. The trio travelled together through the three-dimensional areas. Changing leader let you use their different abilities during the same journey. Integrated film footage maintained the connection with Besson's story.
The PS2 adaptation combined film clips with sections in which you divide tasks between Arthur, Selenia and Bétamèche yourself. The characters' scale allowed garden materials to serve as landscapes, passages or obstacles. The studio built climbing, combat and vehicle sections around that idea. The result fits its work with established animated characters, but uses the trio as a gameplay structure of its own. You do more than follow a film story: you must keep recognising which hero can help you progress.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum for PS2 shares its French developer and switching between heroes with Arthur and the Minimoys. The Gauls mainly fight groups of Romans in a theme park full of game jokes. In Arthur, a trio with complementary abilities determines progress through a miniature world. Both combine combat and obstacles, but the division of roles and the scale of the surroundings give their puzzles a different form.
Like Arthur and the Minimoys, Crash Twinsanity for PS2 combines jumping, combat and humour in three-dimensional environments. Crash and Cortex sometimes literally work together as one awkward pair. Arthur instead lets you change leader within a group of three heroes, each with abilities for different tasks. Teamwork in Crash is therefore often a comic movement trick, whereas Arthur asks you to pay more attention to who can overcome a particular obstacle.
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy for PS2 also uses different characters to handle combat and puzzles. LEGO bricks and familiar film scenes shape its objectives. Arthur and the Minimoys keeps a fixed trio at the centre and uses their small size for climbing and obstacles in a garden world. LEGO also offers many characters to unlock, while Arthur follows the development of its three protagonists.
Over the Hedge for PS2 also turns a human environment into a dangerous landscape for small heroes. The woodland animals search for food, avoid traps and use their own attacks to progress. Arthur and the Minimoys chooses fantasy characters and a fixed group of three whom you control in turn. Over the Hedge also lets two players set out together; Arthur's teamwork remains part of a single-player adventure.
Agent Hugo for PS2 shares a story-driven adventure with a cartoon hero, combat and different ways of travelling with Arthur and the Minimoys. Hugo moves between the streets of Aquapolis and an armed boat, using disguises to get past guards. Arthur divides tasks between three characters and turns small objects into climbing routes and obstacles. The similarity lies in the variety; the kinds of problems you solve are clearly different.
