For the two or three of you who care: here's a look at Magical Taruruuto-kun's (Game Gear) packaging, instruction manual and cartridge

Have I got Magical Taruruuto-kun on the brain at the moment? I guess you could say that. After all, this is the third post to mention the portable shmup in the last month or so. (Here's the second and here's the third, if you're curious.)

Of course, who could resist becoming a bit obsessed with a game as cute and colorful as this one?

Those same descriptors can be used when chatting about Magical Taruruuto-kun's box art, cart label and instruction manual, by the way. Case in point: the vibrant front cover of its diminutive packaging, which can be seen below.

It's a little less vibrant than it could be due to some sun damage, but that's OK. Oh, and the cart label features the same illustration as the box cover, as you can see in the next photo:

A handful of nice illustrations can be found in the game's instruction manual, too, but I'm not going to show them here because I want to save them for a future installment of "Manual Stimulation." In the meantime, the following is a little sample of its wonders:  

In case any you're wondering--yes, the first level's boss is an anthropomorphic piano.

The back of Magical Taruruuto-kun's box is far less thrilling than its cover or contents, I guess, but I still think it's nice enough--especially given the era in which it was produced. That said, I think it would've benefited greatly had its designer spent a few more minutes on it.

So, what do you think? Would all of the above have captured your attention back in the day, assuming you were at all interested in shmups made for Sega's Game Gear?

Second Chances: Magical Taruruuto-kun (Sega Game Gear)

When I first discovered that someone had released a Magical Taruruuto-kun title for the Game Gear, I was thrilled. After all, I've long loved the Game Freak-developed, Sega-published Mega Drive game based on this anime and manga franchise, so surely I'd also get a kick out of a portable iteration, right?

You'd think so, but my first impressions of Tsukuda Ideal's Game Gear title were far from favorable. It didn't help matters, of course, that this game isn't a platformer like its Mega Drive-based cousin is; instead, it's a shmup in the vein of Gradius (Parodius may be a better point of comparison). That's rarely an issue for me, though, so what prompted my less-than-thrilled initial reaction to this one?

For starters, when you first boot up Magical Taruruuto-kun, it gives the impression that it's akin to My First Shmup. You see, your ship--actually a flying version of the series' protagonist--is overly large, as are most of the enemies that hurtle (OK, usually they simply meander) toward it, which makes the first stage, especially, seem both boring and a bit too easy.

That's where my first attempted playthrough ended, to tell you the truth. Then, a few weeks ago, I came across a copy of the game while perusing eBay, liked the cover art (what a surprise, right?) and decided to give it a second chance.

This time around, I forced myself past that opening level ... and discovered that, while it's still far from amazing, it's actually a nicely made little shmup.

One of the main reasons I say that is Magical Taruruuto-kun's sprites are surprisingly well crafted considering they were produced by a company (Tsukuda Ideal) I'd never heard of before a few days ago. For example, in the first level, which is set in a school, rulers, staplers and fire extinguishers--all adorably adorned with cartoon eyes and mouths--serve to liven up the otherwise pedestrian surroundings.

The game's bosses--which include an anthropomorphic piano (see above), a haunted pirate ship and a giant tree--are similarly full of character, although the battles against them disappointingly take place against a plain white backdrop.

I'd still be hard-pressed to describe Magical Taruruuto-kun's soundtrack or gameplay as anything approaching thrilling, but they're also far from tragic. As such, I have no regrets about picking up the complete-in-box copy I mentioned above shortly after I came across it. (Rest assured I'll share a few photos of its packaging as soon as it arrives on our doorstep.)

See also: previous 'Second Chances' posts