Hello there, it is time for another entry in Lost Gems, the series where I cover classic titles that have been forgotten, abandoned or simply removed from distribution. This week, I will be covering a rather underrated platform adventure game, which released in arcades before jumping to the Mega Drive. So it is time to discuss Marvel Land (called Talmit’s Adventure in Europe), released to home consoles by Namco (Namcot in Japan) during 1991 and 1992.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can be either through the secondary market, or via digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general game experience, then give my personal thoughts on the release. Please Note, the original arcade version of the game has since been re-released, however, this version of the game is only available in Japan, which will be discussed later in the feature.
About the game
In the land of Coni, an amusement park known as Marvel Land is situated, with a glorious palace in the middle, where the Fairy Princess Wondra resides. Marvel Land is protected by Princess wondra, alongside her companions, Flora, Sirca and Sweetie, who keep the peace throughout Coni. However, the Mole king of the under dwellers rises and imprisons the four guardians, trapping them within crystals and taking over Marvel Land.
The Dragon Prince Talmit is enjoying a peaceful day, when he is informed of the capture of the princess. Enraged by this, Talmit sets off on a quest to rescue the Fairies and the save Princess Wondra, heading for Marvel Land to stop the Mole King. This is shown in a cutscene that is exclusive to the western version of the game, as the Japanese release omits the introductory story. After this the player will get right into the game.
The game is broken up into 5 areas, spread across the Marvel Land amusement park. These stages are split up into three different types of stage, with the park stages, challenge stages and castle stages. While navigating the park stages, the player will need to navigate platforms, enemy attacks and collect items spread across the area. The goal for these levels is to reach the giant target at the end of the stage, getting a score bonus when jumping through it.
Each of the four sections of the Marvel Land park have their own theme, with these themes including food and a flower garden. After clearing the main park stages, the player will reach the castle stages with a stage at the outer walls, before entering inside the enemy stronghold. The stronghold stages are more maze like, with paths that go in all directions. In the final world, there will be three of these stages instead of the standard one.
During the action stages, the player will be able to pick up a plethora of items, with the most common being food items that give the player points. But there are also special items that can be picked up, giving Talmit special powers. There is the Spirit Tail, creatings a trail of clones that Talmit can spin to attack, this lasts for a limited time but can be extended. Then there are the Wings, which will increase jump height and allow Talmit to fly for a limited time.
To complete the world and the fairies, the player will need to battle the Mole King and his trusted minions. These battles are unique as they have special gimmicks tied to them, with a paper, scissors, rock battle, a whack a mole battle and even a memory matching game. If the player is able to defeat the boss, they will rescue the fairy and proceed onwards. But if the boss battle is lost, the player will be returned to the action stage before trying again.
After the Fairy has been rescued, Talmit will be transported to the Star Parade, a special bonus stage where stars will fall from the sky. Catching these stars will award bonus points, with big stars giving more points than small ones. The star Parade features a variety of Namco characters as floats, with characters from games like Pac-Man, Wagyan Land, Shadow Land and even Wonder Momo. These cameos really add to the bonus stages.
If the player loses all of their lives, they will be able to continue immediately, or come back later by using a password. The password system works well, with the system allowing players to continue from the latest stage, or to go back to a previous stage. There are also three difficulty options, with the normal setting being the intended experience. Then there is Digest, which offers an easy truncated experience, and Hard offers a tougher challenge.
Personal thoughts
My first experience with Marvel Land was playing the European version, Talmit’s Adventure at a friend’s house as a kid. I only played a little of it myself at the time, but saw enough of the game to want to play it myself. I picked up the US version up at a later date from a small independent shop, which was one of my first purchases during the early retro gaming era. Sadly I could only get the cartridge at the time, but I did get the box and manual later.
I have a lot of love for this game, as it is a very unique platforming adventure. The weird and unusual stage designs, with unique gameplay mechanics that are tied to the theme park setting, really make it stand out. The most unusual and interesting element are the boss battles, which are so bizarre but have a charm to them. For those who have played Wagan Land on the NES/Famicom, these will be a little more familiar as that game has the same style of play.
There is a lot of content on offer in this game, with it being one of the bigger platforming games of the time. In the main game, there are 29 stages in total, which is longer than the average platformer on the system. It took me a long time to get through this game, with several notebooks that have had passwords scribbled into them over the years. But it is one of those games that I return to every so often, as there is so much to discover in this game.
Marvel Land isn’t perfect, as it does have some flaws, like slow down and the occasional stutter with gameplay, but that is due to the hardware limits of the time. There are also some difficulty spikes, with the castle stages and bosses being pretty tough. The auto scrolling roller coasters stages can be challenging too. Yet the game doesn’t feel overly punishing, and there is the shorter game mode DIGEST, which can be a great way to get used to the game.
This game was mostly forgotten about with no re-releases of the game, aside from the original arcade version being released through arcade archives. Unfortunately, this is exclusive to the Japanese market, as the worldwide release was cancelled due licensing issues with Disney owning the Marvel trademark. I personally find this to be an absurd situation, as the game existed long before their trademark was granted.
Thankfully, even with these issues barring the game from being re-released, the game is fairly attainable on the secondary market. The North American version is the most expensive, with the Japanese release being around the middle, and the European version under the Talmit’s Adventure name being the cheapest. So if you want to pick this game up, you can easily get the game, with various configurations of the cart with or without the box/manual.
This is a special and unique game, which I would love to see be re-released on modern platforms, as it has a distinct charm that makes it stand on its own. But sadly I don’t think that will happen, unless it is released under the European name, due to the stranglehold that Disney has on the Marvel trademark. I also don’t think that Namco would go through the trouble, as the game doesn’t have the same following as many of their other classic titles.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
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