NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The arcade version of Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta was released on Naomi cartridge in the summer of 2008 at the price of JPY178,000. There was no way we were paying nearly US$2000 for a cartridge-based game but we did pick up a used copy from an operator for about $600. Mamoru-kun has already been released on the Xbox 360 at a much lower price than the coin-op kit and the PS3 version raced home last year. The PS3 'Best' re-release of the game ships
The game follows the adventures of a lad named Tomoka Mamoru who's been involved in a car accident. After he's hit by a speeding vehicle, his soul is immediately spirited to the underworld by a priestess who calls herself Fululu Jigokudani. As the story goes, the gateway to the underworld is under attack and the spirits who reside there have been cursed by malevolent forces. Since Fululu can't fight the oppression by herself, she has summoned Mamoru and three other heroes to fight on the underworld's behalf. The summoned protagonists are:
» Tomoka Mamoru - A grade school student who enjoys baseball
» Miyuki Mayuno - Passive girl with no memory of her previous life
» Narai Kinya - High school rebel with a yen for riding motorcycles
» Higatera Beniko - A posh young lady who seems to enjoy the underworld
Upon starting the game, the camera settles on a revolving tree which is what Fululu conspired with to bring Mamoru and company to the underworld. Players may select any of the five heroes who differ in their firing patterns which is shown on the lower right corner of the character selection screen. For example, Mamoru shoots straight ahead while Beniko fires her shots in a outwards radiating arc. Fululu is also a straight shooter but her shots are governed by orbiting spheres which give her shots a bit of a twist. Although Mamoru-kun is a shooter which features vertically scrolling stages, the stages share commonalities with the old school run 'n gun games such as Commando, Ikari Warriors, or Guerilla War. In game, the characters walk around on the ground and players move at their own pace instead of being continually forced upwards. You can walk left, stop, shoot, walk right, shoot, stop, and then move upwards towards the inevitable end-level boss.
Similar to the Xbox 360 home conversion, the upcoming Playstation 3 version of Mamoru-kun features updated graphics, two new playable characters (downloadable), a Practice Mode, a new Story Mode, and an Image Gallery. JAN Code: 4521923320038
