Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru (Game)

Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru

GAME » on January 17, 1997

A Japan only release Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru, or Psychic Assassin Taroumaru, sidescrolling 2.5D action game in the vein of strider.

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Gameplay

You play as one of two characters, the ninja Taroumaru or Enkai. Other than some minor discrepancies with attack ranges, they play indentically. The game takes place in a medieval Japanese setting and features a number of boss fights and tightly designed set pieces. As the title implies, the protagonists fight enemies with their psychic powers. An auto locking target cursor floats in front of your character, so all you need to do is jam on the fire button. This is somewhat handy, because it allows you to attack enemies above or below you without having to jump to their level. Unfortunately, the targeting cursor is extremely flaky. It has a short range, and it's not always obvious when something is too far away to attack. Additionally, you don't have any real control over which enemy is targeted. The screen is often filled with enemies, and as you can only attack a single enemy at a time, the game can grow to be overwhelming quickly. Many bosses also have multiple body parts that can be targeted, requiring that you cycle through them with the shoulder buttons even though only one of them is actually a weak point.

You can't move when you're firing, effectively turning you into a turret when you attack. There is also a psychic burst attack that damages multiple enemies, but you lose your charge when you get hit, making it difficult to pull off in the situations where you need it most. Lastly, you can hypnotize certain enemies to fight for you. While a neat idea, it's fairly useless in practice as only a few enemies actually succumb to the attack.

Rarity

Shinrei Jusatsushi Taroumaru is the only game produced by Time Warner Interactive Japan, which was shut down after the games release. It's rumored that only 7,500 copies of the game were ever made although it's impossible to say for sure. Due to it's rarity and reputation as a good if not great game, copies that show up on eBay typically sell for between $200-$300.

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