Tuesday, January 28, 2014

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?

7 comments:

Obscure Video Games said...

The box is nice, but the manual looks like it's gonna be really great. You'd be surprised how many people care about Magical Taruruuto-kun tho. Every time I post GIFs from one of the games, they're always really popular. Though I must admit I've only done the Famicom and Mega Drive games so far; and obviously the Mega Drive one's got that Game Freak bump going for it. Still haven't played this one, but I'm sure I'll get around to it soon.

thegaygamer.com said...

Hey there, Steve! Yeah, the manual is nice for this one, although don't set your expectations *too* high. Anyway, I'll post scans of the manual in the next few weeks.


I'm kind of surprised to hear this series can be pretty popular, I have to say. Well, I'm not surprised RE: the MD game as, like you said, there's the GameFreak connection there, and that means a lot.

diaglyph said...

Well I just finished it :)
Got the "normal" ending. Now to go for the "True" ending ;)

thegaygamer.com said...

Really? Congrats! Gah, and we still have a few weeks until it ships. Oh, well, I'll use that time to finish A Link Between Worlds and maybe get back to Pokemon X :)

diaglyph said...

It's coming out next week for you guys :)

Marcus Estrada said...

I'd never heard of this game before (not really a big Game Gear person) but the cover art is so adorable! I waaaaaaaant it now! Oh, if I made my purchases based off cuteness factors I'd never have any money :P.


Anyway, I'm loving the increase in box/manual art around here lately! Your pictures are always top notch and feature games that look like lots of fun.

thegaygamer.com said...

Hey there, Marcus! Surprisingly, I *didn't* decide to buy this game because of its box art. I actually like the game! Its box art is pretty cute, though :)


Other than that, I'm glad you're enjoying all of the box/manual posts I've been publishing lately, especially since I'm guessing some folks are sick of seeing them!