Magical Taruruuto-kun: Magic Adventure for SFC

Image: MobyGames

Magical Taruruuto-kun: Magic Adventure

Wonder Boy wannabe

Genre: action - hack n slash

Publisher: Bandai

Year: 1992

System: SFC

Gameplay Score: 3

Gameplay Notes:

Plays a lot like a Wonderboy game. You've got a tall jump and you kill enemies by licking them with your really long tongue. Enemies follow predictable patterns and die in one hit, but so do you, which makes the game very difficult. Very slow movement, again, like the Wonderboy games. The platforming is weird because many, if not most of the platforms are made of collectible pieces which act as the currency in this game. You have to strike a balance between collecting this and using the platforms for movement. The reason for collecting this currency is to purchase power-ups between levels. You can enable these powers from the pause menu during gameplay and they give you projectile and other abilities. The game feels like a collectathon and it doesn't feel very good. And Mario games all you have to do is touch the coins and in Castlevania you use your weapon to hit those candles. Both mechanics feel nice but in this case you have to lick them with your tongue and doing so stops all your momentum, even if you're jumping. So the whole experience is slow and then still tilted and then slow and still do it again. It's okay, but just doesn't feel great.

Level Design Score: 4

Level Design Notes:

There's a Super Mario Bros 3 overworld with lots of mini games between levels. Most of these are gambling games where you can earn more of the currency. There's a lot of Japanese text which makes it a little difficult to figure out what's going on, but will save states it's no big deal. A levels themselves have a lot of verticality. They're definitely not on the level of a Super Mario Brothers, but they're good.

Theme Score: 4

Theme Notes:

It's got a whimsical, colorful aesthetic. There is a lot of Japanese text though, so this is a game that would benefit from a fan translation at some point.

Art Style Score: 4

Art Style Notes:

Cute and colorful platformer graphics. It's clearly an early release so don't expect too much, but it appealed to me.

Audio Score: 4

Audio Notes:

Again, it's light-hearted and whimsical. Music and sound fit the theme very well.

Overall Score: 70

Review ID: 1742