An experiential and analytical look at the medium of video games in a particular order. Currently there is "Capcom A to Z," a look at the games of Capcom in alphabetical order, and "Super FamiComplete" a look at all of the games of the SNES/Super Famicom in chronological order.
Alright, at long long last, it is the last game of March 1992, and here we have another manga/anime licensed property. This being the case, this game is a Japanese only release. Let's jump in.
Background
There is a lot to unpack in this title. First let's talk about the developers. This game was developed by Game Freak, which you may recognize as the company that made Pokemon. They have a long history as being a second party developer for Nintendo, and while after this they were primarily the "Pokemon" company, before 1996 they developed some ancillary Nintendo titles (like and a few licensed games like Yoshi's Egg and the next title we will cover by them Mario & Wario), and some licensed games. It must be remembered that we actually already covered a Game Freak game, in the amazingly memorable Smart Ball, the platformer where you play as a ball of goo that has a lot of issues damaging enemies.
The source material on which this game is tied to is also a strange one. Magical Taluluto was a manga written by Tatsuya Egawa that was fairly popular in the Shonen Jump weekly manga scene around the late 80s and early 90s; popular enough that it warranted an 80 episode anime and three feature films from between 1990 and 1992. The story of the manga is pretty cutesy, falling into the "magical boy" trope of anime.
It follows a school boy who lives in Tokyo, named Honmaru Edojo, who is considered the "outcast" of his elementary class due to being a naughty kid. In a Great Gazoo style twist, a child-like gnome warlock named Magical Taruuruto-kun decides to help him with the challenges of childhood, such as bullying, meeting girls, etc. It also goes into the realm of the fantastic, as there are other witches, warlocks, etc, who junk things up. It all seems very cutesy and innocent...well except for this weird clip.
Now to junk things up even further, Game Freak actually released two different Magical Taruruuto-kun titles, one for the Mega Drive and one for the Super Famicom, and like the Batman Animated Series games, both are completely different in how they play. I did not get a chance to play the Mega Drive title, but it definitely seems, from youtube videos, to be the stronger of the two. Perhaps someday if I ever to Turbografx or Sega as well as Super Famicom I will check it out. It definitely seems to adhere closer to the source material.
Gameplay
This game is a traditional platformer that seems to pull from a lot of the games at this time. It has a Super Mario 3 overworld map, a Mystical Ninja style shop system and minigames that are built into the map, and Alex Kidd style platforming/jumping. You play as Magical Taruruuto and you play through a series of five worlds, each with 6-8 levels. At the end of each world, there is a final level with a boss fight against Magical's rival who looks like a little devil guy (don't @ me because I don't know this character's name).
Each level is very similar: the levels are cutesy little pieces of wilderness, towns, castles, and beaches. Like the anime, the theming seems to be a mix of the regular/mundane and the magical. Most of the enemies in these levels are animals and beasts (birds, mice, bees), and only rarely is it something mystical like a ghost or a monster plant. Throughout each level are a bunch of takoyaki, Magical's favorite treat, and he can lick these up to gain his form of currency. Each level ends with a form of takoyaki that is non-standard, such as a giant takoyaki or a wheel of moving takoyaki's, and when Magical gobbles these up the level is considered beaten. He then is allowed to spend these bits of currency at the store to buy spells or extra lives.
Now I mentioned licking because that is also Magical's primary and only attack. He let's loose his big "Wolfie" style tongue and slobbers enemies to death. It doesn't have crazy range to it, which makes combat rather risk/reward based. It should also be mentioned, at this point, that Magical dies in one hit, so you really want to be careful with how you approach enemies.
In fact, my primary complaint with this game is that it is actually pretty difficult. It forces you to move very slowly through each level. Magical's sprite is quite large, and his enemies are usually quite small and move at a fairly decent clip. This means that you have to assess each platforming challenge, and really wait to notice how your enemies are moving before trying to circumnavigate them or take them out with a good tongue lashing. You can't jump on enemies either, and one touch will cost you a life and send you back to the beginning of the level. It makes playing this game just a tad bit annoying.
In between levels, you are moving around your world map, and you will encounter various other characters from the anime, many of whom are blocking your path until you complete their mini-game. These mini-games are all traditional and simple card games. One is a form of speed solitaire where you are trying to move through your stack of cards before your opponent, one is a form of high/low, and another seems to be a game of war. This is a novel concept, but when I noticed that the same road blocks/games were appearing on every map, this got a little old.
The boss battles aren't too tough. The trickiest was probably the second would boss, where the devil guy clones himself and his clones attack you from various angles quickly. This wouldn't have been too bad if everything didn't kill you in one hit.
Music
The music is actually pretty catchy! It has a kind of island flair to it utilizing a lot of marimba and such.
Final Verdict
Overall it is a cute platformer, but it is really too tough to get into, and the card games slow down the pacing, especially in the later worlds where the computer seems to always get the best cards. Like its source material, I think this game is more of a curio that will be forgotten by history except by true hobbyists.
We have our first professional wresting game, and this one from LJN. LJN isn't really known for quality games, so I really don't have high expectations for this entry. On the bright side, this is the last of the four March 1992 US developed games, so we are almost out of the woods.
Background
Back in the 1990s, the WWE was known as the WWF, or World Wrestling Federation. It was still owned by the McMahons, and this was the generation where some of those classic wrestlers from the 1980s, like Randy Macho Man Savage and Hulk Hogan, were starting to really feel their age. This was the weird transitional period in wrestling, where the superstars of the 80's were fading, while we were still a ways off from The Rock" and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This was back when the Big Show was known as The Giant.
The Roster
The roster is a little strange to be sure, but it has some classics in it. The headliners in this title are Hulk Hogan, Randy Macho Man Savage, and Ted DiBiase, who were present in every port of this title. Unique to the SNES version though, they added The Undertaker (back when he was the cowboy style undertaker and not the biker quite yet), Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Sid Justice, The Legion of Doom (comprising of Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal), and finally The Natural Disasters (comprise of Typhoon and Earthquake) who "famously" feuded with the Legion of Doom. Now this sounds like a pretty decent roster, but one issue I have with the game is that it pretty much turns these really unique and flashy personalities into a set of homogeneous characters. For example...
Randy Macho Man Savage looked like this at the time...
And in game he looks like this...(he's the one drop kicking his clone, who is actually Jake the Snake)
Hulk Hogan generally wrestled like this...
And in game he looks like this...
Jake Roberts looked like this...
and in game he looks like this...
One of my big issues with this game is that it takes a lot of the flash and fun out of wrestling, and just reduces it to a very simple wrestling simulator, and this is apparent even in the character designs. Not saying that they needed to add oddballs like Doink or The Boss, but at least play with some of the fun of grown beef boys in crazy costumes play fighting around a ring.
Gameplay
There is a weird trend in sports games from this era where developers stopped at just translating the rules of the game into video game format, and then said "okay good enough let's ship." This is certainly one of those titles, where the only gameplay format available to the players is arcade matches, a survival tournament, and tag team matches. There is no story or career mode, no arcade style tournament series, or really any other game mode outside just set a match and play. I am not saying that there has to be a full on narrative to this wrestling game, but there part of professional wrestling is some of that silly pageantry to it. There should at least be SOME sort of storyline, but instead what you get is a very barebones wrestling simulator. It feels like a port of an arcade title or an NES title rather than a true individual game. The most you really get, as far as hinting to its source material, is the announcer introducing each wrestler before a match.
The wrestling itself is pretty lackluster. You basically just punch and kick the enemy, and get into little "tug of war" style grapples where you can, if you win, throw the opponent against the ropes, deliver one of your signature slams, or wallop them for a little bit. You can do goofy shit like jump from the turnbuckle, but there is no exiting the ring and slamming into tables, no chairs being slid into the ring, or accidentally taking out the referee. The most effective and common strategy seems to be just punching your opponent until they fall, and then kicking them when they are on the ground. When they are weak enough, you can then pin them, winning the match.
Music
There is some music! It is...okay!
Ads
There are two mediocre ads, so I added a commercial that has nothing to do with the game, but I found quite funny.
Final Verdict
This is a super mediocre wrestling title. While not a huge fan of the sport in general, I do have an appreciation for the athleticism that goes into this sport, and generally enjoy the silliness, so was a little disappointed that none of that translated into this game. I really wanted to be screaming "OH YEAAHHHHHH" and "BROTHER!" and this game made me very bored instead. Oh well.
Here we have another golf game, and this time from the sports game goliath that is EA (you know, the giant that makes every big yearly sports release?). Let's jump in!
Background
The original computer version of this game, which was considered wildly popular, was developed by Sterling Silver Software, but then published and ported by Electronic Arts. This is the first title under the PGA Tour Golf series, and certainly not the last one that would appear on this blog eventually.
Gameplay
This certainly is a golf game, but honestly one of the most solid that we have covered in this blog thus far. It sets up the style of golf that would be replicated by Mario Golf and other tiles, with the camera behind the golfer, the timing based back and forward swing, and the placement of the club with the ball to be able to put spin on your shot.
Each hole begins with a breakdown by the commentators and your caddy, offering tips on how to approach the hole. The Mode 7 is in full effect as you can see the map of the course spin and rotate.
Like this blog post, much of this game is without bells and whistles. There is no real music (though the sound effects are pretty good), not many game modes (just tournament and single play), and generally just a golf game with several real courses to play through.
Ads
Final Judgment
Its a golf game, but with most sports games, you are better off just playing sports games on the new consoles if you want a good sports time!
