Maru's Mission is an action

Action game

Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...

 video game released in 1991 by Jaleco

Jaleco

is a Japanese video game publisher and developer established in 2006.The original Jaleco Ltd was founded in 1974. In 2006, it decided to become a pure holding company by renaming itself Jaleco Holding and splitting its video game operations into a newly created subsdiary that took its former name...

 for the original Game Boy

Game Boy

The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...

. It was released in Japan as on September 28, 1990.

It is the first game from the Jajamaru series, aside from the loosely related Ninja Taro

Ninja Taro

is an action-adventure video game for the Game Boy by NMK. It was released in 1991 in both Japan by UPL and North America by American Sammy and it is loosely part of the Ninja Jajamaru-kun series....

, to be released in North America, until the release of Ninja JaJaMaru-kun

Ninja JaJaMaru-kun

is an action game released in Japan on November 15, 1985 by Jaleco for the Famicom and in 1986 for the MSX.It was released for Nintendo's Japanese Virtual Console on December 26, 2006 and in PAL regions on September 21, 2007 as part of Ninja Week for the Hanabi Festival promotion...

through the Virtual Console

Virtual console

A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

. The soundtrack of the North American version is different from the original Japanese.

Gameplay

Maru's girlfriend Cori is kidnapped and hidden in a secret location. You play as Maru as you move through six levels based on various folklore monsters.

Worlds

1 North America. A forest.

• Mini Boss: Eyeclops.
• Boss Battle: Insector.

2 Romania. First level is a desert. Second is a cemetery.

• Mini Boss: Wolfman.
• Boss Battle: Dracula.

3 Greece. An underground bone cavern.

• Mini Boss: Golem.
• Boss Battle: Medusa.

4 Egypt. A desert.

• Mini Boss: Sphinx.
• Boss Battle: Isis.

5 Brazil. First level is a mountain. Second is a cemetery.

• Mini Boss: Hydra.
• Boss Battle: Kelbelos.

6 Japan. A Ninja Dojo.

• Mini Boss: Nioh.
• Boss Battle: Muramasa.