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[Azalean]

Ganbare Goemon (known as Mystical Ninja internationally) is action-adventure/platforming series by Konami first started on the Famicom. Of the over 20 games released in the series only 4 made it to North America. One of them:

was my first exposure to the series. My dad randomly brought home some N64 games and one of them happened to be Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon. Fired the game up to see what is was about was immediately hooked. This colorful, quirky game had a spell on me and my brother. Exploring the crazy world, beating the castles and fighting in impact was such a blast. Don't even get me started on the soundtack. It became one of my favorite games on the N64. Of course when I find out that another Goemon game was coming to N64:

I was ecstatic. When we finally got our hands on this game, we of course played the everloving crap out of it. It was two players this time, so me and my bro played together. Game was a lot more challenging than MN:SG. You could only take 3 hits before you die and lose a life when you fall down pits. Goemon was of course the best character because he had a double jump making jumping across platforms much easier. I recently replayed GGA and it still holds up pretty well. Some of the missions can be a bit tedious, but the game is still a blast. The last castle is a tough as I remembered! XD

As for the other games in the series, I visited some of the Super Famicom games through emulation. I did have fun with them, but me not understanding Japanese hindered my experience of the games. I do wish more of the games were localized.

So GAF, what are some of your experiences/memories with the Goemon games? Are you a fan? Is this your first time hearing of the series? I know the likelyhood of this happening is next to none, but I would really love a new game in the Goemon series (and localized as well). The last two Goemon "games" were Pachinko machines. It seems that the series is dead.

 

[cloudstrife]

My favorite in the Goemon series.

Shame it was never localized for the West.


Would love a new Goemon on 3DS/WiiU.

Or even all the old ones on the eShop.

 

[TreIII]

Yeah, the 64 games were how I got exposed to the series, as well.

But then around the 2000s, I got turned on to prospects of importing (where applicable), and I hunted down some of those Super Famicom games, too. Very fun! Highly recommended, especially if you like Goemon's Great Adventure.

Anyway, even if Konami wasn't going down its current direction, I'd doubt we'd ever see Goemon again. Some of the ones who were responsible for making games in the series left Konami ages ago and are now at Good-Feel (Wario Land Shake, Kirby Epic Yarn, Yoshi Wooly World). Guess it's a small consolation to know that talent is still making games, elsewhere...

 

[Khezu]

64 was the only I played, but I thought it was rad.
Wonder how well it holds up.

 

[Lagamorph]

I loved the first N64 game so much,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NQKAsvlKcE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKQbqyMDOLQ


Still have the intro song in my car.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I really like the Super Nintendo one.

 

[linko9]

Really like the SNES one that made it to America. Especially the soundtrack, it's one of my favorites. Never really got into the rest of the series, but I've always meant to give the N64 games a real try.

 

[Tizoc]

What are the must play Goemon games?

 

[zer0das]

I rented the SNES version like 30 times as a kid (1 dollar 3 day rentals from a mom and pop store). Absolutely loved it. Never did play either of 64 games, I didn't even realize there were two.

 

[Lurch666]

I got near the end of snes geoman 3 Japanese version I played on import-great game but got stumped by the language barrier in the end.

 

[Weiss]

The two N64 titles are probably the best 3rd party games on the console.

 

[Mr. RPG]

The two Nintendo 64 games are my favorite Konami games honestly. They are some of the best games on the system period.

What are the must play Goemon games?

The two Nintendo 64 games.

 

[Neiteio]

OP, I also started with the two N64 ones. I highly recommend hopping on the Wii Virtual Console and downloading "Legend of the Mystical Ninja" for SNES. Yes, it's available in the English language. They have different names in the localization -- something like "Kid Ying" for Goemon and "Dr. Yang" for Ebisumaru -- but it's Ganbare Goemon, through and through.

 

[Soltype]

Wish they had brought over the other SNES titles, the 4th game on the SNES is really good.

 

[TreIII]

What are the must play Goemon games?

Can't really go wrong with the one SNES game we got, as well as the two N64 titles listed above.

If you dig those, and aren't perturbed by a language barrier, the SNES games we didn't get are all pretty great.

I wish I could comment more on the PSX games, but I made it a point to stay away from the "New Age" stuff.

 

[ss_lemonade]

Loved the first game on the 64 but I hated the fact that I didn't have a memory card at the time . Thank God I was able to borrow one

 

[kitchenmotors]

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is one of my favorite games on the Nintendo 64. The atmosphere, the music, the oddball script. It's great.

Too bad it belongs to Konami and there will never be anything on the same level starring Goemon again. Fuck Konami.

 

[Leafhopper]

Oh...Konami made these games to.

Goddamn it.

Anyway I liked the N64 game but never beat that SNES game.

 

[Lupin the Third]

Paging vireland...

 

[Juke Joint Jezebel]

I managed to fish up a copy of "Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon" on the N64 over here in the UK when it first came out. Was a slow few months for UK releases with nintendo's ass-backwards treatment of Britain when it came to release schedules so I bought it blind. It had such a bizarre atmosphere that no other game for the system had, the whole japanese fine arts theatre thing it had going on mixed with the flamboyent design of the villians and a load of the areas just drew me in. And don't get me started on those "Impact" cockpit robot fights. As a young lass the whole experience of playing as a gigantic robot grappling, wrestling and punching the living shit out of another rival robot was unreal, especially landing that "thousand punch" fist of the north star combo was hype as fuck.

Great game, and easily one of the most memorable games I've ever played to date.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Best underrated platforming series on SNES/SFC.

And fwiw, I liked GG2 more than any of the Mario platformers on the system, for pure fun/challenge value.

 

[L Thammy]

I'm pretty sure Goemon's Great Adventure is the best platformer on the N64. Not as big a fan of Mystical Ninja 64.

There's a bunch of SFC platformers that seem really cool, but we only got the first one. Konami is the worst.

 

[SnipeyMcGee]

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon may be my favorite N64 game. I don't know why, it must've hit at the right time when I was a kid. I play through it every couple of years and frequently I find myself whistling/humming the soundtrack.

 

[Dimitri LH]

In which game was it revealed that Ebisumaru was a girl? I know I made that discovery here on GAF but cant find where.

 

[YoungOne]

Loved the games played hrough Mystical Ninja a couple of times and some of Geomon's Great Adventure with my brother. Shame we will probably never get another game again.

this theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj7XVFd3Ic
Edit: Beaten.

 

[Mr. RPG]

In which game was it revealed that Ebisumaru was a girl? I know I made that discovery here on GAF but cant find where.

I've never heard of this. I don't think this is true.

Pehaps you mean Bismaru?

 

[yencid]

Loved the games played it through Mystical Ninja a couple of times and some of Geomon's Great Adventure with my brother.

this theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj7XVFd3Ic
IMPACT CONTROL

i randomly look this up on youtube to listen to it. I completely loved this game.

 

[BriGuy]

I probably rented the SNES game a dozen or more times as a kid, but could never best it. That game just seemed to go on forever, and amazingly, every level was great and significantly different from the one that preceded it.

I spent hours in the carnival stage just playing Gradius for crying out loud.

 

[L Thammy]

I've never heard of this. I don't think this is true.

Pehaps you mean Bismaru?

No, that's actually a thing. I think it was one of the earliest games. Ebisumaru was originally a girl who was turned into a guy, then he's turned back into a girl in the end. The series generally ignores it, except with the horrible reboots where he's a moeblob.

EDIT: It's Ganbare Goemon 2.

 

[?oe?oe]

Maybe a Takumaru X Goemon game is possible

What I'm trying to say is buy Goemon, Nintendo.

 

[Dimitri LH]

I've never heard of this. I don't think this is true.

Pehaps you mean Bismaru?

Fount a entry in the Goemon (series) wiki:

In the ending of the Famicom Ganbare Goemon 2, it is revealed that Ebisumaru is in fact a girl, but this is not canon with the rest of the games.

Its not canon it seems, probably cause of having a Daughter

Edit: beaten cause im horrible at quoting things on mobile.

I think Ebi was also a princess?

 

[Mr. RPG]

No, that's actually a thing. I think it was one of the earliest games. Ebisumaru was originally a girl who was turned into a guy, then he's turned back into a girl in the end. The series generally ignores it, except with the horrible reboots where he's a moeblob.

EDIT: It's Ganbare Goemon 2.

Interesting. So in two Japan-exclusive games Ebisumaru is a female and in all of the other games they just ignore that altogether. No wonder I haven't heard about it.

I've heard the Super Famicom Goemon games we never got are pretty good.

 

[Lulubop]

rip

 

[L Thammy]

Interesting. So in two Japan-exclusive games Ebisumaru is a female and in all of the other games they just ignore that altogether. No wonder I haven't heard about it.

I've heard the Super Famicom Goemon games we never got are pretty good.

Three, I think. In two of them she looked like this:

 

[Mr. RPG]

Three, I think. In two of them she looked like this:

This looks completely different than what I am used to.

 

[Roto13]

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is like a mix between Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda. And those Impact battles! How frigging awesome were those? It's so good. I wish it was on Virtual Console.

Goemon's Great Adventure was fun, too. Great co-op platforming. Though I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a 3D adventure game like the previous one. At least they kept the Impact battles. And added Mrs. Impact. I remember doing that 20-hit super punch thing on the enemy, sending them flying backwards, and having my friend bat him right back to me for another super punch. Repeat until dead.

The SNES game was the first one I played. Another great co-op game. Tons of personality. It's on Virtual Console, so that's great.

I bought the Game Boy game on 3DS but I didn't get very far in it. It didn't really seem very good....

 

[LunarKnite]

I've only played Legend of the Mystical Ninja for any considerable length of time. It's one of my favorite games on the SNES, also being one of the best co-op games ever. My friend and I spent hours playing that game, just grinding for money and items in the Amusement Park level was so much fun by itself. Haven't gotten around to trying the N64 games though, but now I really want it.

Also, RIP Ganbare Goemon.

 

[saturnine]

I have very fond memories of the N64 games. Too bad my N64 is almost dead, last I heard they still ran like shit on emulators ?

 

[Teknoman]

I have very fond memories of the N64 games. Too bad my N64 is almost dead, last I heard they still ran like shit on emulators ?

Hit up thrift shops and look for one.

 

[gdt]

I had the first Goeman on 64.

I never really got anywhere. I remember constantly getting stuck in a japanese castle and I could barely make out the doors....they looked like regular walls!

Thats all I really remember.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Played the shit out of one of the Goemon games on the MSX, Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Dōchū. Also played Legend of the Mystical Ninja and Ganbare Goemon 2. The latter was especially fantastic, great music, fantastic graphics, solid 2-player gameplay. Neat use of mode-7 boss fights where you had to time your blocks/punches (each player controlling one arm) Never played anything in the series afterwards unfortunately.

 

[Novel Mike]

The first N64 game.. that freaking game... I don't know why but as a child I was obessed with it, I loved it despite how odd and weird it was but it had 4 really different characters, great music, and those silver fortune dolls... OH MY FREAKING GOD THOSE STUPID DOLLS

So as a kid, I could never get all of them (45 I think?) I would rent the game from blockbuster because we could never actually find the game anywhere to purchase it at the time and I likely spent well over 150$ checking it out time and time again trying to get all of those dolls, I would always miss 1 or 2 in every run, its super easy to do now with online guides and what not but at the time there really wasn't anything, maybe there was a playersguide for it but I could never find one but then one day, after looking at my notes for all my previous playthroughs (yes NOTES, I wanted to complete this freaking game!) I finally got every single one and all it unlocked was a boss rush mode...

Anticlimatic is the nicest word I can put for how I felt when thats all I got (I thought there would at least be a hidden boss or something XD) but as they say its about the journey not the conlcusion and while I haven't played the game in a loooong time I still remember loving the game so much.

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

The two N64 titles are probably the best 3rd party games on the console.

They're certainly up there, but it's tough to call when it's up against the likes of Harvest Moon 64, Snowboard Kids, and Space Station Silicon Valley.



On an unrelated note, Mystical Ninja 2 on the N64 has the best Game Over screen in any game ever.

http://youtu.be/zUcNZf7t-Vg

 

[TreIII]

Three, I think. In two of them she looked like this:

Get that horrible "New Age" series stuff outta here!

I laughed at the NewAge!Goemon being found in a jail cell for "being a disgrace" in the last DS game.

 

[cacildo]

Its dead

 

[jeremy1456]

The N64 games are good, but don't even compare to the SNES release.

It is however by far Konami's best franchise.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

There was an RPG looking game on SNES that looked really, really good. I don't think it ever got a translation patch or anything, though.

 

[Majukun]

the 2d games are amazing..the first on n64 with the 3d-mario kinda gameplay not so much

 

[Saint Gregory]

I remember playing one on SNES that just got crazier and crazier the farther you get and it never seemed to end. Definitely one of the best SNES games I ever played.

 

[woopWOOP]

Co-op'd the first SNES game on VC few years ago. Pretty fun. Always wanted to play through the N64 games too, but I guess VC is pretty much out of the question now.
I'm not in the position to spend money willy nilly right now, so I hope the prices for the N64 cartridges don't increase by much the next few years...