Super FamiComplete #88: Magical 1 Taruruuto-kun: Magic Adventure

 

Title: Magical 1 Taruruuto-kun: Magic Adventure

Release Date: 3/28/1992

Developer: Game Freak

Publisher: Bandai

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.