" Taimumari: Complete Edition"

Reviewed By: Carless Yen
Developer: Ternox
Publisher: Victory Road
Platforms: XBOX, Steam, Switch
Release Date: 4/21/2020
Price: XBOX 4.99 Steam 7.99 Switch 14.99

Looking for a cute and affordable platformer to spend a evening on? Taimumari has you covered. Looking to pad that gamerscore with a quick 1,000 in under a hour Taimumari has you covered again. Maybe you're looking to get that retro feel you once got on Your NES or SNES back in the day. You guessed it Taimumari has got you in that area as well. Honestly Taimumari probably will satisfy most your gaming needs. I know I just couldn't step away from it. I had no complaints with my experience with it. I guess you could say it is a little short, but at 5 dollars what do you expect? Crank it up to hard mode , and fix that. It also has a bunch of replay value as well. Mainly because it is just so much fun. You can complete it under a hour if you are skilled, but even after that you will go back through the levels for the collectibles or even try out the extra Mini game mode. You really don't have to finish this review to know I highly recommend this one, and enjoyed it a whole lot.

You play as a female wizard or is she a angel I'm not really sure. She is adorable either way. I really wasn't that invested in the story even though it was delivered with high quality animation. I'm serious all of the characters just look amazing. Like they could have their own cartoon or anime. It is really masterful art. I just get a a slight loss of interest when I have to read a game from start to finish and there is no voice acting. I've said it a lot I'd take bad voice acting from the Devs them self over none at all. That is just a nit pick. It really doesn't take away anything from this title. The platforming and action packed adventure is the meat and potatoes in Taimumari anyways. Tons of really cool looking bosses, enemies, abilities, and difficult jumps make Taimumari what it is, and that is a modern retro masterpiece. I could have with ease gave it a perfect score of 10. The only things that prevented that was the games length, no voice acting, and the fact you have to completely leave the game and load it back to switch between the two titles. Those things are so minor though, and once your in game probably completely leave your mind. When reviewing though I always do my best to tell both sides of the story though.

The controls are smooth and precise. Double jumping, dashing, slowing time, rewinding it, and even pulling up your shield all are perfection and work on time every time. Your abilities are all useful and fun to discover. They are actually a major part in defeating bosses, and fit perfectly into the games combat. None of them feel like they aren't needed. The games collectibles don't really do or unlock any thing, but they do grab you Achievements. That is what most of the Achievements are for this game beating levels and collecting it's collectibles. Your weapon works perfectly on command, but would been fun to find new ones and try different weapon styles. Like Daggers, crossbows, etc just some ideas to the Devs for the sequel. I really hope they do another one I enjoyed this one so much.

I know platforming can be hard for some, but this game has a God mode you can use. it can really aid in any one being able to enjoy the adventure. The only way to die is if you miss a jump and fall to your death. On easy mode you get 10 lives and you will find many more so i think even the younger gamers and less skilled can enjoy this. They are going to love all the really well designed characters, and especially the main protagonist. She is just adorable and so much fun to control. You start the game in a town where you can select any of the 4 main bosses you want. Sort of like Mega-Man where you can play in any order you want. Then this unlocks the final stages of the game where you just battle through tons of really amazing developed levels and bosses. The last stretch just feels and looks really epic.
I forgot to mention in the town there are tons of NPCs villagers you really are trying to save their world. Even more important there is a cool shop that allows you to spend the stars you spend towards upgrading your character. You can upgrade her attack, her magic, her health, and even buy extra lives if you happen to be struggling.You can even save your game in this town as well in case you fail on your adventure.

 Taimumari just really grabbed my attention , and took me back to the games I knew and loved on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The classics that really started it all, and has characters that still are major influences in gaming today. I'm not a huge fan of Nintendo today even if it seems to be the trendiest option in gaming right now. Never been a fan of their business practices and greed, but you can't deny the quality of their first party games. Taimumari really feels like one of those. This really could have gave Kid Icarus a run for it's money back when. It's just that much quality in my opinion, and really left a lasting impression on me. I play and review a lot of games. Some times they start to all blur together, and it gets kind of stale and repetitive. Taimumari never made me feel this way, if anything it gave a little life back into my reviewing.

Pros:
Cute adorable characters and animation
Spot on and smooth controls
Excellent level design and difficulty
Retro feel, but still feels modern as well
Really radical soundtrack, loved it
Fun and affordable Achievement hunting
Replay Value

Cons:
Have to back out of game to switch game modes
Would loved some voice acting
Wish it was longer

Overall: 9.0
Taimumari the Complete Edition is a must grab for fans of retro gaming. Can see this becoming big in the speed running community down the line. It is really designed for all ages and skilled players. At five dollars it's hard to pass up adding to your Xbox collection and it will stay with you in your gaming memories for a very long time I believe.