Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Sega Release: 04/24/92 Genre: Action
The early years of the Sega Genesis were slow. With Nintendo still strong arming third parties Sega provided the majority of software for the system in its first years. But when Sonic the Hedgehog hit it was big enough to make everyone notice and support the platform. That also meant many Japan only imports were localized to have something on shelves. Even with that in mind some titles still slipped through the cracks. Magical Taruruto-kun is one such title and honestly we did not miss much. It is charming but that only gets you so far.
Magical Taruruto-kun is a manga from the late 80s that ran for several years and spawned many multimedia projects. In it elementary student Honmaru is a social outcast with no friends. His life changes when he meets Taruruto-kun, a magician who uses his magic to help him deal with bullies, girls, and the occasional demon as well. The series was incredibly popular and spawned a long running anime and multiple video games that hit every major platform at the time. The Sega Genesis game was created by Sega themselves which normally would be a mark of quality. However in this case the game is strictly mediocre.
Taruruto’s abilities are very simple. With his magical wand he can bop enemies over the head. More often than not you will use it to grab objects to throw them at enemies. There are a surprising number of objects you can grab from simple rocks to item boxes and even giant telephone poles! Some like gun heads even double as secondary weapons like a gun. You can glide after every jump which the game makes use of heavily. After each level you learn a magic spell. Magic is nearly game breaking which is why they limit its use. Your first spell grants temporary invincibility, the second attacks all enemies on screen, and the last blasts enemies in a straight line. You can easily find pentagrams that replenish magic but it is not necessary as the game is so easy.
Like many licensed titles Magical Taruruto-kun is easy. In this case the game is insanely easy. It almost seems afraid to inconvenience the player as life restoring items can be found every few steps. While the game is simple as is the magic spells make it even easier as they are broken. Extra lives are not common but are not necessary. Aside from falling in the occasional pit due to the wonky jumping controls the only other annoyance is the lack of checkpoints. That does little to deter even the most novice gamer and once the game is over you will never revisit it.
Aside from the lacking difficulty Magical Taruruto-kun is incredibly short. The game is only four levels long. Even though each stage is long overall this one is brief; most will breeze through it in twenty minutes or so. It is disappointing as a few more levels would have made it feel like a more complete experience. Towards the end it picks up a little and actually feels inspired. But the game ends before it has time to find its footing. Taruruto’s brevity makes it feel more like the cheap licensed cash in that it blatantly is.
Magical Taruruto-kun is as rudimentary a platformer as it gets. Because of the large sprites the game cannot create the kinds of elaborate platforming scenarios that make the genre great. What is here is very basic for the most part. The level design is straightforward outside of the end level maze that is so short they should not have bothered. The action is barely any better. The enemies barely acknowledge your presence and the levels are sparsely populated. There are occasional flashes of inspiration. The auto scrolling segments are thrilling and a legit challenge. The boss battles as well are a little more involved than expected. The patterns are easy to recognize yet it still comes down to execution. These elements show what the game could have been with a little more time.
In Closing
I want to like Magical Taruruto-kun and I do somewhat. But when I look at the game objectively it is average in every category. It feels as though it does the bare minimum and never aspires to be more than a generic platformer. I guess that is apt as it is a licensed video game and we know how that usually turns out. Magical Taruruto-kun offers nothing that you have not seen before and is easily forgettable.
