Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima

Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima

Cover art
Developer(s) Nintendo R&D2
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Eiji Aonuma
Producer(s) Masayuki Uemura
Composer(s) Yuichi Ozaki
Platform(s) Super Famicom, Virtual Console
Release date(s) Super Famicom
  • JP October 26, 1996
Wii U Virtual Console
  • JP February 12, 2014
Genre(s) Action/Adventure/role-playing video game
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution Super Famicom cartridge

Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima (マーヴェラス ～もうひとつの宝島～, lit. "Marvelous: Another Treasure Island") is a video game for the Super Famicom. It is the first title directed by Eiji Aonuma, and was published and released in Japan by Nintendo. Two special versions of this game titled BS Marvelous: Time Athletic (BSマーヴェラス タイムアスレチック) and BS Marvelous: Camp Arnold (BSマーヴェラス キャンプアーノルド) were released exclusively for the Satellaview.

Plot synopsis

Long ago, the seas were ruled by treasure-seeking pirates. The most famous of these was the legendary Captain Maverick. He supposedly left a great treasure known as "Marvelous", guarded by unsolveable puzzles and bizarre creatures. Countless adventurers have gone looking for the "Marvelous", but none have seen it and returned alive...

Many years later, a group of children on a field trip landed on the island, which was rumored to house the "Marvelous". Unfortunately, so did a group of pirates who will do anything to find the treasure...

Main characters

Deon (ディオン) (in red and brown; age 12) – He is short but spirited. He's a fast runner and a good pitcher. His small size allows him to get into places where the other two boys won't fit. Putting him at the head of the team will make them walk faster.

Max (マックス) (in green; age 12) – He is the largest and strongest of the three. He likes to eat, but also likes to play soccer and swim. He is also a good boxer. He also can lift up heavy objects.

Jack (ジャック) (in blue and red; age 12) – He is the smartest of the three. He's good with his hands. He likes to build things and work with machines. He's a good jumper. He's taller than the others, which comes in handy if the player needs to get to something high.

Ms. Gina (ジーナ先生) – She is the teacher of the three boys. She gave the boys a Leader Hat, which looks like a cowboy hat, but it helps them know who leads the group. She also gave them a Whistle, which allows the leader to call and bring the other two boys back to him.

Gameplay

Screenshot of Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima.

The game was influenced by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'[1] The player controls three boys across the land by the bird's-eye view. A command window will pop up whenever the player encounter an object or person. The window will give the player choices on what to do with the person or thing, like picking up objects, talking, or reading.

The BS Marvelous games are based on the idea of stamp collecting. Stamps are obtained from Non-player characters in the gameworld, but they must be retrieved in a specific order. Clues to the location of the next stamp are given in-game and via SoundLink voice. The goal is to collect as many stamps as possible in the time available. Players could compete against each other by sending in their scores to win prizes.

Releases

BS Marvelous: Time Athletic was considered for re-release in 2003 as a stand-alone game that later became the Legend of Zelda spinoff title, Tetra's Trackers.[2] Although the stand-alone Tetra's Trackers was ultimately cancelled, the game's code was included in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords+ (the Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords) as the Navi Trackers minigame. Among the oxbow code remaining in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords+ can be found 3D character models for the original camp instructor from the BS Marvelous games as well as maps taken directly from BS Marvelous: Time Athletic.[3]

Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima was released on the Japanese Virtual Console for the Wii U on February 12, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "A Link to Zelda's Future". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  2. ↑ Aonuma, Eiji. 駆け込み大改変？　開発スタッフインタビュー (development staff interview). Nintendo.co.jp. March 2004.
  3. ↑ Iwant. Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima. HardcoreGaming101. 2 March 2014.

External links