Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Encyclopedia
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure
video game released by Konami
for the Nintendo 64
on August 7, 1997 in Japan
and April 16, 1998 in North America as the fifth entry in the Ganbare Goemon
series. The second Goemon game released in North America, it follows Legend of the Mystical Ninja
and features hybrid elements of platform game
s like Super Mario 64
and action-adventure
games like the Legend of Zelda
series.
The story follows Goemon
's struggles to prevent the Peach Mountain Shogun
s gang from turning Japan into a fine art
s theater. The plot calls for three cinematic musical features and battles between giant robots; like other Ganbare Goemon games, it's peppered with surrealist humor
and anachronism
s.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon sold nearly 200,000 copies worldwide. Reviewers praised its graphics, gameplay, and humorous plot. Critics found the soundtrack and tunes memorable and moving, but criticized the localization, unintuitive camera control, and dull stretches of travel through Japan. Goemon's Great Adventure
followed in 1999 and Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku in 2000.
of medieval Japanese
places. Goemon and his friends can walk or run, jump, attack, and use special abilities to cross terrain, pick up money, and defeat adversaries. Players control only one of four characters at a time but can cycle through them with the press of a button. Hearts at the bottom of the screen show a character's health. If hit by an enemy and damage is taken, a character loses a heart. Some items and acts replenish strength, and a Maneki Neko
(Luck Cat) adds a heart to the overall health. If all hearts are lost, the player restarts at the entrance to the field map they died in and the player's number of lives declines by one. If the player loses all lives, the game restarts at the last point saved or at the beginning of the game if a Controller Pak is not used.
Traveling through Japan, players visit towns and coffeehouses safe from enemies, where they can eat in restaurants or sleep in inns to refill strength and buy armor or riceballs—a self-acting item that refills health by itself. Many interactive non-player character
s populate cities and talk with other characters to uncover plot device
s or idle gossip
. Players save their progress in towns with a Controller Pak at the inns or at the entrance to some dungeons. Some places are impassable barring the use of special abilities unlocked by completing minigame
s. For example, Ebisumaru must hide in a giant's cupboard to learn self-shrinking magic, an art that allows passing through small holes. The player has two wayfaring tools: a status screen shows found items, weapons, and player character
s and a map screen shows where they are in Japan. In dungeons, the map screen shows the building's floorplan if they have the item Mr. Elly Fant. At the end of each dungeon is a boss
, a harder than normal enemy with hearts of its own.
Beating a boss can trigger a cut scene, after which Goemon appears outside the dungeon or helms his giant robot friend Impact to thwart an enemy robot (although not mentioned in the manual, these segments of gameplay support the Rumble Pak accessory). These sequences begin with a music video and a high-speed minigame in which Impact must smash structures and avoid hazards while racing across the countryside. The points gained by destroying buildings determine how many health points (measured in oil) Impact will have in the coming battle. Players control Impact from a cockpit behind his eyes where gauges show enemy and player health and ammunition. Impact can punch, kick, defend, reel in opponents with the chain pipe, and use projectile weaponry, including nasal bullets and a laser. Once a boss is defeated, a cut scene of the enemy exploding shows, and the game returns to normal exploration-based play. At the very end is the last boss whose defeat unlocks the ending. Collecting all the fortune cats and beating the game enables an Impact tournament mode with a special image of the robots as the prize for winning.
of Mystical Ninja is Goemon, a hot-blooded, kiseru
-wielding ninja
with blue, bushy hair. The lord of Oedo asks him to find those who maimed Oedo Castle. Goemon lives in Oedo Town and is friends with Ebisumaru, a strange, gluttonous fat man who wears a blue bandana
. Ebisumaru is defined as lazy and perverted. Their kunai
-throwing friend Sasuke is a mechanical ninja (made by the Wise Man of Iga) who enjoys hot baths and Japanese tea. Rounding out the heroes is Yae, a fierce sword-wielding kunoichi
, who happens upon Goemon's band in Zazen Town. The villains of the game hail from the organization Peach Mountain Shoguns and include a gang of four "weirdos" led by Spring Breeze Dancin' (Danshin Harukaze) and Kitty Lily (Margaret Ranko). They intend to transform Japan into a stage for their talents.
s and flags. Worried for the safety of the Lord of Oedo and his daughter, Goemon and Ebisumaru retrieve a chain pipe from Mt. Fuji
and assault the castle. Inside is Baron, a member of the fashion-loving Gang of Four who reveals he was sent to turn the castle into a stage. Goemon shrugs him off and defeats the King Robot Congo to free the Lord and find a "miracle item". The Lord asks Goemon to catch them and gives a Super Pass for access to the roads of Japan.
Goemon sets out to the Wise Man's house for assistance, but the house explodes as he approaches. A fuming Baron comes forth and mans his kabuki
robot. Goemon finds a Triton shell
in the rubble that can call Impact, who lays ruin to the kabuki robot. In Zazen Town, Goemon finds Yae, who claims the troublemakers responsible are Flake Gang members named the Peach Mountain Shoguns. Yae joins Goemon, and they learn that children with dancing talent have been kidnapped around the region. In Zazen, Goemon defeats a strong man blocking a bridge leading out of the town. Ashamed, the man offers Goemon the mechanical robot Sasuke, thrown there by the explosion of the Wise Man's house. Goemon accepts the unconscious, powerless Sasuke and walks to Kii-Awaji island, where the dragon
-powered passenger ferry has been stopped by the dragon's sudden craze. Goemon teleports to the dragon and finds a Gang of Four member named Colon who used the dragon to kidnap children; he then breaks Colon's mind-control device. The dragon turns back to human and crashes near a shrine.
The human calls himself Koryuta, son of the Dragon God, and apologizes for the kidnappings. He pledges help in transporting the heroes across Japan, and claims the kids are at the Dogo Hot Springs. Goemon travels to Iyo but finds the Hot Springs closed; the only entrance is a mouse hole. He learns from travelers that sweets
in the Zazen Town shrine can make a person smaller. Ebisumaru offers to steal the sweets. With the dwarf power the group infiltrate the Ghost Toys Castle, a dark house of traps, toys, and a giant pool table
. Colon faces Goemon with the robot Dharmanyo, but is crushed and lets go his miracle item. The hidden man aboard the peach ship at Oedo comes out calling himself Spring Breeze Dancin' . He pokes fun at the group with nickname
s and instructs Colon to retreat. With the children liberated, Goemon follows Colon to the Chu-goku Region, where he revives Sasuke with two batteries. They enter the Festival Temple, a Peach Mountain base.
They destroy a guard robot, prompting Gang of Four member Sharon to appear with Kitty Lily, the second leader of the Peach Mountain Shoguns. Lily boasts that Kyūshū
is a stage and asks Sharon to return to base after buying some foundation
. Alarmed, Goemon and friends rush off to the bridge to Kyūshū and find Omitsu on her way to deliver dumplings. Stunned by Omitsu's seeming ruggedness, Goemon forgets to warn her of danger, and the island rises into odd thunder clouds in the sky. A fortune teller instructs the group to set out north to Mount Fear to find a way to Kyūshū. After necessary weight training
to remove obstacles, Goemon finds the northeast Festival Village and learns of a psychic witch. The witch summons Wise Man, who tells Goemon to gather the fourth miracle items at the Stone Circle near Festival Village for passage into outer space
and Kyūshū. Goemon investigates reports of stolen food in the village while Yae undergoes training to become a mermaid. The two paths converge when Yae finds the Gourmet Submarine, a Peach Mountain vessel containing hordes of food. After sidestepping grills and swimming through gallons of soup, Goemon confronts Poron, the final weirdo, who jokes that he lost the last miracle item in Zazen Town.
Lily enters by hologram to ridicule the party, but is rudely interrupted by Dancin', who continues to call Goemon "Fernandez". Dancin' instructs Poron to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence. Goemon escapes by calling Impact and defeats a mermaid giant robot. In Zazen Town, a kappa named Kihachi desires to trade the miracle item for cucumber
made by the priest's son. The son sits on a precipice inaccessible save through jumping
training; Sasuke volunteers in the Chu-goku Region and acquires the miracle item. At the Stone Circle, the Pemopemo God awakens and asks the heroes if they have the courage to venture to outer space. Goemon affirms their decision and the group enters Kyūshū through the Gorgeous Music Castle. They discover Sogen Town has been converted to a garden city with European architecture. Goemon locates Omitsu and learns that Dancin' and Lily can be found past a rigid gate—accessible only with the help of Wise Man.
Stunned to find him alive, Goemon learns that in exchange for building the Instant Stage Beam and mechanical robots, the Peach Mountain Shoguns gave Wise Man five car magazines and a muscle car poster. Enraged to learn of his home's demise, Wise Man helps Goemon enter the castle. Kitty Lily and Dancin' confront the heroes with the elaborate musical number Gorgeous My Stage before a self-destruct sequence begins. Goemon summons Impact to fly into outer space, where he thwarts the giant peach ship Balberra and duels Lily and Dancin' in their personal battle robot. Dancin' mocks Goemon in defeat, and Impact sends their robot's head far into outer space to reveal a picture of Dancin' and Lily smiling among the stars. Goemon returns to Japan to find a horde of girls rushing towards him, and awaits their praise for saving Japan. The group is shocked to find the girls angry over the apparent death of their idol, Spring Breeze Dancin'.
and Japanese humor. Many reviewers and writers smirked at Konami's plot summary and story details. The plot's sanity is further broken down by the Goemon series' use of anachronistic technology and references, including giant robots, airplanes, and pizza. The game's dialogue is peppered with offbeat humor, and a few instances of sexual innuendo, such as Mokubei's admonition to wield his pipe to impress young girls. The ending credits of the game show Ebisumaru take out his camera, shrink, and then go on his back and crawl to the feet of a female NPC, as to look under her dress. In the Japanese game, Wise Man collected hentai
magazines and pornographic posters rather than automotive publications. A laugh track
punctuates certain jokes. A [kuː] sound sometimes concludes pun
s. The game often breaks the fourth wall
by textually parodying certain game conventions—such as an non-player character
's tendency to be fixed in one position.
-wielding foe. Later images touted the battle against the Wartime Kabuki Robot Kashiwagi taking place over a forest and village. Konami released many renders
of Goemon posing and making faces for magazine previews. A 60–70% complete build of the game was featured at E3 in June 1997, suffering from graphical clipping and camera issues. Konami later presented a mostly-finished build at the Tokyo Game Show
in September 1997. Developers aimed to make the game "very visual" with new content, and the game's marketers echoed this by using large, colorful advertisements. Konami targeted children, among whom the series is popular in Japan, by scheduling appearances of a Goemon mascot
at some elementary school gymnastics
sessions. The game's later success prompted the production of an animated television show. The series followed Goemon as he struggled against evil after being transported to modern society, where he befriended an elementary school student. Its release in the United States
was planned for winter 1997, then February 1998, but was ultimately delayed two more months.
Mystical Ninja featured a cartridge size of 128 megabit
s, designed much larger than most of its peers and predecessor games to allow high quality musical numbers and voice samples. In total, there are three musical numbers—Theme of Ganbare Goemon, I Am Impact, and Gorgeous My Stage. They feature the talents of Hironobu Kageyama
, Ichirou Mizuki
, and Toshihiro Tachibana & Etsuyo Ota respectively. The song's main soundtrack is composed of a mix of traditional Japanese
and modern instruments
integrated in original arrangements. The dungeons feature minimalistic songs which grow in complexity and length as the player proceeds deeper into the lair. The soundtrack on whole is a collaborative effort by four composers. The musical numbers, with forty tunes from the game and one remix of I Am Impact, were released October 3, 1997 on CD
. The soundtrack was later extracted from Read-only memory
and presented in Nintendo Ultra 64 Sound Format on May 9, 2005; it is one of the most downloaded releases at USF Central.
called Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon a "blend of history, fantasy, and science fiction," writing that the game "never failed to enchant or intrigue." Dialogue was considered likably memorable, whether relying on clever puns or surrealist humor
. The Japanese songs in Mystical Ninja' s title and Impact sequences, unusual to Western audiences, augmented the bizarre humor. One Japanese reviewer claimed the Impact song cultivated a heroic atmosphere for ensuing battles. Gameplay was similar to that of Super Mario 64
and The Legend of Zelda
series, offering responsive play control and ability-driven progression. Mystical Ninja featured a simple controller setup and easy learning curve to this end. The minigame
s, Impact sequences, and secret tournament mode bolstered replay value
, and reviewers praised the game's graphical finesse in animating characters creating the Japanese countryside in three dimensions. A reviewer for The News Tribune considered the presentation "a terrific upgrade from the Super Nintendo version". However, the game was found to be prone to slow-downs in detail-heavy areas, and one reviewer decried the inability to pause the game during Impact battles. Another found play control "not as fluid as it is in Super Mario 64".
Critics enjoyed the soundtrack's integration of pop
and shamisen
-laden traditional Japanese music
. A writer for IGN declared that the songs would "permanently burn themselves into your brain...something that can't be said for most N64 titles"—echoed by Japanese reviewers who noted that the music would not grow tiresome. Mystical Ninja was also commended for high-quality voice samples and sound effects. Reviewers were divided concerning the efficiency of the camera system—most considered it inferior to Super Mario 64' s, citing instances of clipping issues and resulting "extremely difficult" platform jumping sequences. The game features a few sequences of long travel between towns, regarded as dull and unenjoyable. Reviewers disapproved of the game's short play time, estimating that Mystical Ninja could be completed in only ten to fifteen hours. The objections came in spite of the developers anticipating the problem and trying to mitigate it by requiring players to return to certain locations. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon requires a Controller Pak to save—a rarity in early Nintendo 64 titles which garnered negative attention from both American and Japanese critics. One reviewer decried not being able to save his progress inside castles, which become "harder and more complex" with time. Reviewers fluent with past Ganbare Goemon games argued that the absence of the series' usually intuitive minigames and a two-player mode hampered Mystical Ninja' s replay value
, and a Japanese reviewer felt that the transition to three dimensions had deprived the game of the traditional Goemon feel.
Mystical Ninjas localization was criticized often. The plot and poorly-translated jokes tended to confuse players. A critic for The Tampa Tribune
wrote, "upon popping in the...cartridge and listening to the opening theme song, you'll realize something about this game. It's Japanese." He added, "attempts at humor often come across as rather inane. Early conversations with village residents only add to the confusion." Others countered that the strange localization often compounded the surrealist humor through the use of weird, unusual English
and grammar. One critic stressed, "talk to everyone you meet... Everybody has something interesting to say." A writer from GameSpot
remarked that the game was translated surprisingly well given the sheer amount of Japanese jokes and innuendo. Next Generation Magazine
lamented that Konami had not polished it more, holding that it otherwise might have been the "best N64 action/RPG". IGN
's reviewer cautioned that though Mystical Ninja was billed as a role-playing game
, it would differ from the expectations of Western fans. Critics noted that it would hold over gamers until the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
—provided they played it with an open mind to avoid culture shock
. A contributor for The Dallas Morning News
concluded that the game "will please N64 owners starving for a decent adventure game... But players should rent it before they buy." A reviewer for the Sentinel & Enterprise
wrote in 2001 that while considered a "flawed 3D platformer", Mystical Ninja offered "quirky" fun "following the heels of Super Mario 64" by inviting players to "scale mountains, invade pagodas, and pilot giant robots in all-out fisticuffs to the rhythm of Japanese lyrics and pop tunes." The game is rated 73.8% at GameRankings and receives an 8.4 out of 10 rating by players at GameSpot.
game of the same name. Featuring gameplay similar to the Super Famicom
title Ganbare Goemon 3: Shichijuurokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame
, the game presented a new story in which Yae had been kidnapped by the Black Ship Gang. In late 1999, Konami released Goemon's Great Adventure
on the Nintendo 64
—a 2.5D
side-scroller
with multiplayer
support. Reviewers gave it high marks for recreating the feel of the older, 16-bit
Goemon games and considered it the arguably best side-scroller for the Nintendo 64. The final Goemon title for the Nintendo 64 was Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku, released exclusively in Japan on December 25, 1999. In Mononoke Sugoroku, players must collect O-fuda cards while navigating a board game
. After a spate of sequels on the PlayStation
line of consoles, Konami returned to the medieval, quirky Japan
ese themes of Mystical Ninja and its brethren on June 23, 2005 with Goemon: Toukai Douchuu for the Nintendo DS
.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
on August 7, 1997 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and April 16, 1998 in North America as the fifth entry in the Ganbare Goemon
Ganbare Goemon
, known as Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Mystical Ninja, and Goemon in North America and the PAL region, is a long-running video game series produced by Konami....
series. The second Goemon game released in North America, it follows Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
, is a light-hearted action-adventure game for 1-2 players by Konami, and was released for the Super NES in 1992. It was also ported to the Game Boy Advance along with Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shogun Magginesu only in Japan. It is the first game in the Japanese video game series Ganbare Goemon...
and features hybrid elements of platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
s like Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
and action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
games like the Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda series
, occasionally called Legend of Zelda or simply Zelda, is a high fantasy action-adventure video game series created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is developed and published by Nintendo, with some portable installments outsourced to Flagship/Capcom, Vanpool, and...
series.
The story follows Goemon
Goemon
Goemon is a Japanese given name which may refer to:* Ishikawa Goemon , a legendary ninja warrior and bandit hero notable for being boiled alive after a failed assassination attempt on Toyotomi Hideyoshi....
's struggles to prevent the Peach Mountain Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
s gang from turning Japan into a fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s theater. The plot calls for three cinematic musical features and battles between giant robots; like other Ganbare Goemon games, it's peppered with surrealist humor
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon sold nearly 200,000 copies worldwide. Reviewers praised its graphics, gameplay, and humorous plot. Critics found the soundtrack and tunes memorable and moving, but criticized the localization, unintuitive camera control, and dull stretches of travel through Japan. Goemon's Great Adventure
Goemon's Great Adventure
, known as Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon in Europe, is a video game developed and released by Konami for the Nintendo 64 on December 23, 1998. It is the third game in the Ganbare Goemon series released in North America and following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, released two years earlier...
followed in 1999 and Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku in 2000.
Gameplay
Players navigate Goemon through forests, fields, dungeons, and other three-dimensional models3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...
of medieval Japanese
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
places. Goemon and his friends can walk or run, jump, attack, and use special abilities to cross terrain, pick up money, and defeat adversaries. Players control only one of four characters at a time but can cycle through them with the press of a button. Hearts at the bottom of the screen show a character's health. If hit by an enemy and damage is taken, a character loses a heart. Some items and acts replenish strength, and a Maneki Neko
Maneki Neko
The is a common Japanese sculpture, often made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner. The sculpture depicts a cat beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed—many times at the entrance—in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, and other businesses...
(Luck Cat) adds a heart to the overall health. If all hearts are lost, the player restarts at the entrance to the field map they died in and the player's number of lives declines by one. If the player loses all lives, the game restarts at the last point saved or at the beginning of the game if a Controller Pak is not used.
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s populate cities and talk with other characters to uncover plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
s or idle gossip
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
. Players save their progress in towns with a Controller Pak at the inns or at the entrance to some dungeons. Some places are impassable barring the use of special abilities unlocked by completing minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s. For example, Ebisumaru must hide in a giant's cupboard to learn self-shrinking magic, an art that allows passing through small holes. The player has two wayfaring tools: a status screen shows found items, weapons, and player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s and a map screen shows where they are in Japan. In dungeons, the map screen shows the building's floorplan if they have the item Mr. Elly Fant. At the end of each dungeon is a boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, a harder than normal enemy with hearts of its own.
Beating a boss can trigger a cut scene, after which Goemon appears outside the dungeon or helms his giant robot friend Impact to thwart an enemy robot (although not mentioned in the manual, these segments of gameplay support the Rumble Pak accessory). These sequences begin with a music video and a high-speed minigame in which Impact must smash structures and avoid hazards while racing across the countryside. The points gained by destroying buildings determine how many health points (measured in oil) Impact will have in the coming battle. Players control Impact from a cockpit behind his eyes where gauges show enemy and player health and ammunition. Impact can punch, kick, defend, reel in opponents with the chain pipe, and use projectile weaponry, including nasal bullets and a laser. Once a boss is defeated, a cut scene of the enemy exploding shows, and the game returns to normal exploration-based play. At the very end is the last boss whose defeat unlocks the ending. Collecting all the fortune cats and beating the game enables an Impact tournament mode with a special image of the robots as the prize for winning.
Characters
The protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of Mystical Ninja is Goemon, a hot-blooded, kiseru
Kiseru
is a Japanese smoking pipe traditionally used for smoking kizami, a finely shredded tobacco product resembling human hair.The word kiseru comes from the Khmer word "ksher"....
-wielding ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
with blue, bushy hair. The lord of Oedo asks him to find those who maimed Oedo Castle. Goemon lives in Oedo Town and is friends with Ebisumaru, a strange, gluttonous fat man who wears a blue bandana
Kerchief
A kerchief is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head or around the neck for protective or decorative purposes...
. Ebisumaru is defined as lazy and perverted. Their kunai
Kunai
A is a Japanese tool possibly derived from the masonry trowel. Two variations are the and the . It is a good example of a very basic tool which, in the hands of a martial arts expert, could be used as a multi-functional weapon...
-throwing friend Sasuke is a mechanical ninja (made by the Wise Man of Iga) who enjoys hot baths and Japanese tea. Rounding out the heroes is Yae, a fierce sword-wielding kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
, who happens upon Goemon's band in Zazen Town. The villains of the game hail from the organization Peach Mountain Shoguns and include a gang of four "weirdos" led by Spring Breeze Dancin' (Danshin Harukaze) and Kitty Lily (Margaret Ranko). They intend to transform Japan into a stage for their talents.
Story
While shopping in Oedo Town, Goemon and Ebisumaru feel the ground quake as a peach-shaped flying object sails overhead. The vessel fires a laser at Oedo Castle, turning it into a European-style castle with spireSpire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s and flags. Worried for the safety of the Lord of Oedo and his daughter, Goemon and Ebisumaru retrieve a chain pipe from Mt. Fuji
Mount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
and assault the castle. Inside is Baron, a member of the fashion-loving Gang of Four who reveals he was sent to turn the castle into a stage. Goemon shrugs him off and defeats the King Robot Congo to free the Lord and find a "miracle item". The Lord asks Goemon to catch them and gives a Super Pass for access to the roads of Japan.
Goemon sets out to the Wise Man's house for assistance, but the house explodes as he approaches. A fuming Baron comes forth and mans his kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
robot. Goemon finds a Triton shell
Triton (mollusk)
Triton is the common name given to a number of very large sea snails, predatory marine gastropods in the genus Charonia. The name "triton" is also often applied as part of the common name, to other, much smaller sea snails of other genera within the same family, Ranellidae.Tritons are named after...
in the rubble that can call Impact, who lays ruin to the kabuki robot. In Zazen Town, Goemon finds Yae, who claims the troublemakers responsible are Flake Gang members named the Peach Mountain Shoguns. Yae joins Goemon, and they learn that children with dancing talent have been kidnapped around the region. In Zazen, Goemon defeats a strong man blocking a bridge leading out of the town. Ashamed, the man offers Goemon the mechanical robot Sasuke, thrown there by the explosion of the Wise Man's house. Goemon accepts the unconscious, powerless Sasuke and walks to Kii-Awaji island, where the dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
-powered passenger ferry has been stopped by the dragon's sudden craze. Goemon teleports to the dragon and finds a Gang of Four member named Colon who used the dragon to kidnap children; he then breaks Colon's mind-control device. The dragon turns back to human and crashes near a shrine.
The human calls himself Koryuta, son of the Dragon God, and apologizes for the kidnappings. He pledges help in transporting the heroes across Japan, and claims the kids are at the Dogo Hot Springs. Goemon travels to Iyo but finds the Hot Springs closed; the only entrance is a mouse hole. He learns from travelers that sweets
Confectionery
Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...
in the Zazen Town shrine can make a person smaller. Ebisumaru offers to steal the sweets. With the dwarf power the group infiltrate the Ghost Toys Castle, a dark house of traps, toys, and a giant pool table
Billiards table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which billiards-type games are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole elevated above...
. Colon faces Goemon with the robot Dharmanyo, but is crushed and lets go his miracle item. The hidden man aboard the peach ship at Oedo comes out calling himself Spring Breeze Dancin
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s and instructs Colon to retreat. With the children liberated, Goemon follows Colon to the Chu-goku Region, where he revives Sasuke with two batteries. They enter the Festival Temple, a Peach Mountain base.
They destroy a guard robot, prompting Gang of Four member Sharon to appear with Kitty Lily, the second leader of the Peach Mountain Shoguns. Lily boasts that Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
is a stage and asks Sharon to return to base after buying some foundation
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
. Alarmed, Goemon and friends rush off to the bridge to Kyūshū and find Omitsu on her way to deliver dumplings. Stunned by Omitsu's seeming ruggedness, Goemon forgets to warn her of danger, and the island rises into odd thunder clouds in the sky. A fortune teller instructs the group to set out north to Mount Fear to find a way to Kyūshū. After necessary weight training
Weight training
Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...
to remove obstacles, Goemon finds the northeast Festival Village and learns of a psychic witch. The witch summons Wise Man, who tells Goemon to gather the fourth miracle items at the Stone Circle near Festival Village for passage into outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
and Kyūshū. Goemon investigates reports of stolen food in the village while Yae undergoes training to become a mermaid. The two paths converge when Yae finds the Gourmet Submarine, a Peach Mountain vessel containing hordes of food. After sidestepping grills and swimming through gallons of soup, Goemon confronts Poron, the final weirdo, who jokes that he lost the last miracle item in Zazen Town.
Lily enters by hologram to ridicule the party, but is rudely interrupted by Dancin', who continues to call Goemon "Fernandez". Dancin' instructs Poron to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence. Goemon escapes by calling Impact and defeats a mermaid giant robot. In Zazen Town, a kappa named Kihachi desires to trade the miracle item for cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
made by the priest's son. The son sits on a precipice inaccessible save through jumping
Jumping
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory...
training; Sasuke volunteers in the Chu-goku Region and acquires the miracle item. At the Stone Circle, the Pemopemo God awakens and asks the heroes if they have the courage to venture to outer space. Goemon affirms their decision and the group enters Kyūshū through the Gorgeous Music Castle. They discover Sogen Town has been converted to a garden city with European architecture. Goemon locates Omitsu and learns that Dancin' and Lily can be found past a rigid gate—accessible only with the help of Wise Man.
Stunned to find him alive, Goemon learns that in exchange for building the Instant Stage Beam and mechanical robots, the Peach Mountain Shoguns gave Wise Man five car magazines and a muscle car poster. Enraged to learn of his home's demise, Wise Man helps Goemon enter the castle. Kitty Lily and Dancin' confront the heroes with the elaborate musical number Gorgeous My Stage before a self-destruct sequence begins. Goemon summons Impact to fly into outer space, where he thwarts the giant peach ship Balberra and duels Lily and Dancin' in their personal battle robot. Dancin' mocks Goemon in defeat, and Impact sends their robot's head far into outer space to reveal a picture of Dancin' and Lily smiling among the stars. Goemon returns to Japan to find a horde of girls rushing towards him, and awaits their praise for saving Japan. The group is shocked to find the girls angry over the apparent death of their idol, Spring Breeze Dancin'.
Humor
The story of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, a quest to thwart dancers in a peach-shaped spaceship from using laser weaponry to convert Japan to a giant stage and its citizens to loyal dancers, is steeped in surrealistSurreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and Japanese humor. Many reviewers and writers smirked at Konami's plot summary and story details. The plot's sanity is further broken down by the Goemon series' use of anachronistic technology and references, including giant robots, airplanes, and pizza. The game's dialogue is peppered with offbeat humor, and a few instances of sexual innuendo, such as Mokubei's admonition to wield his pipe to impress young girls. The ending credits of the game show Ebisumaru take out his camera, shrink, and then go on his back and crawl to the feet of a female NPC, as to look under her dress. In the Japanese game, Wise Man collected hentai
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
magazines and pornographic posters rather than automotive publications. A laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
punctuates certain jokes. A [kuː] sound sometimes concludes pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s. The game often breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
by textually parodying certain game conventions—such as an non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
's tendency to be fixed in one position.
Development and audio
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka. It was first titled Ganbare Goemon 5, then Legend of the Mystical Ninja. The Japanese producers wished to break the series' numerical naming pattern to stress that Mystical Ninja differed from its forefathers. Originally made with a two-player mode, this feature was scrapped months before the Japanese release. Early development pictures showed Impact battling in a modern city against a handgunHandgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
-wielding foe. Later images touted the battle against the Wartime Kabuki Robot Kashiwagi taking place over a forest and village. Konami released many renders
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
of Goemon posing and making faces for magazine previews. A 60–70% complete build of the game was featured at E3 in June 1997, suffering from graphical clipping and camera issues. Konami later presented a mostly-finished build at the Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
in September 1997. Developers aimed to make the game "very visual" with new content, and the game's marketers echoed this by using large, colorful advertisements. Konami targeted children, among whom the series is popular in Japan, by scheduling appearances of a Goemon mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
at some elementary school gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
sessions. The game's later success prompted the production of an animated television show. The series followed Goemon as he struggled against evil after being transported to modern society, where he befriended an elementary school student. Its release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was planned for winter 1997, then February 1998, but was ultimately delayed two more months.
Mystical Ninja featured a cartridge size of 128 megabit
Megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 106 , and therefore...
s, designed much larger than most of its peers and predecessor games to allow high quality musical numbers and voice samples. In total, there are three musical numbers—Theme of Ganbare Goemon, I Am Impact, and Gorgeous My Stage. They feature the talents of Hironobu Kageyama
Hironobu Kageyama
is a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
, Ichirou Mizuki
Ichirou Mizuki
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese vocalist, lyrist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 40 years, he has recorded over 1200 songs for Japanese film, television, video and video games. He is referred to by fans and...
, and Toshihiro Tachibana & Etsuyo Ota respectively. The song's main soundtrack is composed of a mix of traditional Japanese
Music of Japan
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
and modern instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
integrated in original arrangements. The dungeons feature minimalistic songs which grow in complexity and length as the player proceeds deeper into the lair. The soundtrack on whole is a collaborative effort by four composers. The musical numbers, with forty tunes from the game and one remix of I Am Impact, were released October 3, 1997 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. The soundtrack was later extracted from Read-only memory
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
and presented in Nintendo Ultra 64 Sound Format on May 9, 2005; it is one of the most downloaded releases at USF Central.
Reception
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon sold 55,000 units in America and 141,000 units in Japan. American reviewers praised the game's story and setting for its quirky, unique flavor; Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
called Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon a "blend of history, fantasy, and science fiction," writing that the game "never failed to enchant or intrigue." Dialogue was considered likably memorable, whether relying on clever puns or surrealist humor
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
. The Japanese songs in Mystical Ninja
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
and The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda series
, occasionally called Legend of Zelda or simply Zelda, is a high fantasy action-adventure video game series created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is developed and published by Nintendo, with some portable installments outsourced to Flagship/Capcom, Vanpool, and...
series, offering responsive play control and ability-driven progression. Mystical Ninja featured a simple controller setup and easy learning curve to this end. The minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s, Impact sequences, and secret tournament mode bolstered replay value
Replay value
Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...
, and reviewers praised the game's graphical finesse in animating characters creating the Japanese countryside in three dimensions. A reviewer for The News Tribune considered the presentation "a terrific upgrade from the Super Nintendo version". However, the game was found to be prone to slow-downs in detail-heavy areas, and one reviewer decried the inability to pause the game during Impact battles. Another found play control "not as fluid as it is in Super Mario 64".
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
-laden traditional Japanese music
Music of Japan
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
. A writer for IGN declared that the songs would "permanently burn themselves into your brain...something that can't be said for most N64 titles"—echoed by Japanese reviewers who noted that the music would not grow tiresome. Mystical Ninja was also commended for high-quality voice samples and sound effects. Reviewers were divided concerning the efficiency of the camera system—most considered it inferior to Super Mario 64
Replay value
Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...
, and a Japanese reviewer felt that the transition to three dimensions had deprived the game of the traditional Goemon feel.
Mystical Ninjas localization was criticized often. The plot and poorly-translated jokes tended to confuse players. A critic for The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune, published in Tampa, Florida, is one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area, second in circulation and readership to the St. Petersburg Times. The paper's tagline is "Life...
wrote, "upon popping in the...cartridge and listening to the opening theme song, you'll realize something about this game. It's Japanese." He added, "attempts at humor often come across as rather inane. Early conversations with village residents only add to the confusion." Others countered that the strange localization often compounded the surrealist humor through the use of weird, unusual English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and grammar. One critic stressed, "talk to everyone you meet... Everybody has something interesting to say." A writer from GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
remarked that the game was translated surprisingly well given the sheer amount of Japanese jokes and innuendo. Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine was a video game magazine that was made by Imagine Media publishing company . It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's Edge magazine. Next Generation ran from January 1995 until January 2002. It was published by Jonathan Simpson-Bint and edited by Neil West...
lamented that Konami had not polished it more, holding that it otherwise might have been the "best N64 action/RPG". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's reviewer cautioned that though Mystical Ninja was billed as a role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, it would differ from the expectations of Western fans. Critics noted that it would hold over gamers until the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...
—provided they played it with an open mind to avoid culture shock
Culture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
. A contributor for The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
concluded that the game "will please N64 owners starving for a decent adventure game... But players should rent it before they buy." A reviewer for the Sentinel & Enterprise
Sentinel & Enterprise
The Sentinel & Enterprise is a morning daily newspaper published in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with a satellite news bureau in Leominster, Massachusetts. The newspaper covers local news in Fitchburg, Leominster and several nearby towns in northern Worcester County and northwest Middlesex County,...
wrote in 2001 that while considered a "flawed 3D platformer", Mystical Ninja offered "quirky" fun "following the heels of Super Mario 64" by inviting players to "scale mountains, invade pagodas, and pilot giant robots in all-out fisticuffs to the rhythm of Japanese lyrics and pop tunes." The game is rated 73.8% at GameRankings and receives an 8.4 out of 10 rating by players at GameSpot.
Sequels
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was immediately followed by a Game BoyGame 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...
game of the same name. Featuring gameplay similar to the Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
title Ganbare Goemon 3: Shichijuurokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame
Ganbare Goemon 3: Shichijuurokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame
is a Ganbare Goemon series video game released for the Super Famicom, and the third one for that console. It follows the protagonist Goemon as he struggles to recover Wise Man, who has been imprisoned by the evil nun Bismaru far in the future...
, the game presented a new story in which Yae had been kidnapped by the Black Ship Gang. In late 1999, Konami released Goemon's Great Adventure
Goemon's Great Adventure
, known as Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon in Europe, is a video game developed and released by Konami for the Nintendo 64 on December 23, 1998. It is the third game in the Ganbare Goemon series released in North America and following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, released two years earlier...
on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
—a 2.5D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
side-scroller
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
with multiplayer
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
support. Reviewers gave it high marks for recreating the feel of the older, 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
Goemon games and considered it the arguably best side-scroller for the Nintendo 64. The final Goemon title for the Nintendo 64 was Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku, released exclusively in Japan on December 25, 1999. In Mononoke Sugoroku, players must collect O-fuda cards while navigating a board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
. After a spate of sequels on the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
line of consoles, Konami returned to the medieval, quirky Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese themes of Mystical Ninja and its brethren on June 23, 2005 with Goemon: Toukai Douchuu for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
.
External links
- Nintendo's official page (archived)