by Video Game Peek #3
At Konami.. (You know, the folks who made Castlevania)
"Hey, let's make an action game!"
"I would like an adventure game instead."
"How about fusing them?"
"And let's add a lot of Japanese elements into it!"
And so, the Ganbare Goemon series was born. These games are side-scrolling beat-em-ups, and they are heavily based in Japan.
Most of the Goemon games were not released outside Japan. However, some games luckily made it through (though they faced some horrible localization skills), and one of these games is The Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
Konami, 1992
Probably my favorite action game on the SNES..
Oh my, this game is so fun to play with. In fact, it is even very fun to just watch someone playing this game! Let's take a peek at this amazing game.
Let me introduce you the two main characters first.
This blue haired guy is Kid Ying (Goemon in Japan, he is known as Goemon in other USA games). He is a very serious guy, like most of the other determined heroes of the other video games. He looks nothing like a ninja, but who cares? His personality is very ninja-like.
The happy guy wearing purple robes is Dr. Yang (Ebisumaru in JP/other games). While he actually looks like a Ninja compared to Kid Ying, his personality is nothing like a ninja. He is a very comical character.
He eats a lot..
he once chased Kid Ying by a shark..
He used a kite while Kid Ying safely travelled by a boat..
Actually, Ebisumaru/Dr. Yang is a woman who was transformed into a purple ninja, which was revealed in the ending of Ganbare Goemon 2 (Famicom). Don't ask me why he reverted to his ninja form in this game! The developers probably ditched this fact.
Anyways, I like how they got entirely different personalities, yet they travel with each other.
I really like the fact that they gave the two characters a lot of variety, which was rare for action games back then.
For a fun fact, They are actually based on two real people- Ishikawa Goemon, and Nezumi Kozo. They stole things from the rich and gave them to the poor like Robin Hood.
This game is divided in nine chapters (known as Warlock Zones ingame), which have their own distinct Japanese theme.
For example, the second chapter's theme is the Odon festival, which is one of the traditional Japanese festivals. The enemies and the bosses are also festival themed, matching the situation very well. Even the whole chapter is located on the Shikoku islands, which is the home of the Odon festival! I have never seen an action game which gave a lot of effort at creating a level theme like this.
Now onto the main gameplay. Each chapter is divided in two parts- the town area, where you can explore the town and do things, and the dungeon area, where you go into a dungeon and beat up enemies. Both of these areas were handled very well, and it doesn't feel weird that both of the areas are fused into one game. I'lll explain the town areas first.
The outside area of the town is pretty much like a beat-em-up. Beat up the local passengers and steal money from them. (4) You will need money, because there are lot of things you can do with money inside these houses.
There are Japanese shops, where you can buy or eat Japanese stuff to make your adventure easier.
The reaction of the shopkeeper when you exit without buying anything is hilarious, lol.
You can also gamble, and it could sometimes net you a lot of money.
But I won't suggest that, since there are much better ways to earn money.
There are also hotels and saunas that will restore your health.
Of course, you need to pay for the service.
The best part are the mini-games. This is a painting game, and it's pretty simmilar to the 'snake' game you can find on flash game websites. Try to paint as much as you can without hitting the walls. This one is probably my favorite.
This is a whack-a-mole game. This one is still fun, but I like painting better.
And this is a maze area, where you can collect treasures. It is more fun than it looks.
The man who is hosting this maze is actually Konami Man, who was Konami's mascot for that time. Neat.
There's also a Konami arcade (and this girl is Konami Girl, who is Konami Man's sidekick), where you can play either Gradius (Konami's famous shooting game), or a breakout game. Though they don't give you money, these games were originally amazing, and I really like how those games were ported here.
These games are very fun to play with, and they provide you good amount of money. You'll probably spend most of your time playing these games. While there are more games, I picked the ones I like the best.
When we leave the town, we are greeted by this tanuki statue. This brings an end to the town part, and the dungeon part begins. We will handle these parts in a later episode. Until then, sayonara.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
At Konami.. (You know, the folks who made Castlevania)
"Hey, let's make an action game!"
"I would like an adventure game instead."
"How about fusing them?"
"And let's add a lot of Japanese elements into it!"
And so, the Ganbare Goemon series was born. These games are side-scrolling beat-em-ups, and they are heavily based in Japan.
Most of the Goemon games were not released outside Japan. However, some games luckily made it through (though they faced some horrible localization skills), and one of these games is The Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
Konami, 1992
Probably my favorite action game on the SNES..
Oh my, this game is so fun to play with. In fact, it is even very fun to just watch someone playing this game! Let's take a peek at this amazing game.
Let me introduce you the two main characters first.
This blue haired guy is Kid Ying (Goemon in Japan, he is known as Goemon in other USA games). He is a very serious guy, like most of the other determined heroes of the other video games. He looks nothing like a ninja, but who cares? His personality is very ninja-like.
The happy guy wearing purple robes is Dr. Yang (Ebisumaru in JP/other games). While he actually looks like a Ninja compared to Kid Ying, his personality is nothing like a ninja. He is a very comical character.
He eats a lot..
he once chased Kid Ying by a shark..
He used a kite while Kid Ying safely travelled by a boat..
Actually, Ebisumaru/Dr. Yang is a woman who was transformed into a purple ninja, which was revealed in the ending of Ganbare Goemon 2 (Famicom). Don't ask me why he reverted to his ninja form in this game! The developers probably ditched this fact.
Anyways, I like how they got entirely different personalities, yet they travel with each other.
I really like the fact that they gave the two characters a lot of variety, which was rare for action games back then.
For a fun fact, They are actually based on two real people- Ishikawa Goemon, and Nezumi Kozo. They stole things from the rich and gave them to the poor like Robin Hood.
This game is divided in nine chapters (known as Warlock Zones ingame), which have their own distinct Japanese theme.
For example, the second chapter's theme is the Odon festival, which is one of the traditional Japanese festivals. The enemies and the bosses are also festival themed, matching the situation very well. Even the whole chapter is located on the Shikoku islands, which is the home of the Odon festival! I have never seen an action game which gave a lot of effort at creating a level theme like this.
Now onto the main gameplay. Each chapter is divided in two parts- the town area, where you can explore the town and do things, and the dungeon area, where you go into a dungeon and beat up enemies. Both of these areas were handled very well, and it doesn't feel weird that both of the areas are fused into one game. I'lll explain the town areas first.
The outside area of the town is pretty much like a beat-em-up. Beat up the local passengers and steal money from them. (4) You will need money, because there are lot of things you can do with money inside these houses.
There are Japanese shops, where you can buy or eat Japanese stuff to make your adventure easier.
The reaction of the shopkeeper when you exit without buying anything is hilarious, lol.
You can also gamble, and it could sometimes net you a lot of money.
But I won't suggest that, since there are much better ways to earn money.
There are also hotels and saunas that will restore your health.
Of course, you need to pay for the service.
The best part are the mini-games. This is a painting game, and it's pretty simmilar to the 'snake' game you can find on flash game websites. Try to paint as much as you can without hitting the walls. This one is probably my favorite.
This is a whack-a-mole game. This one is still fun, but I like painting better.
And this is a maze area, where you can collect treasures. It is more fun than it looks.
The man who is hosting this maze is actually Konami Man, who was Konami's mascot for that time. Neat.
There's also a Konami arcade (and this girl is Konami Girl, who is Konami Man's sidekick), where you can play either Gradius (Konami's famous shooting game), or a breakout game. Though they don't give you money, these games were originally amazing, and I really like how those games were ported here.
These games are very fun to play with, and they provide you good amount of money. You'll probably spend most of your time playing these games. While there are more games, I picked the ones I like the best.
When we leave the town, we are greeted by this tanuki statue. This brings an end to the town part, and the dungeon part begins. We will handle these parts in a later episode. Until then, sayonara.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
Last edited by Ness and Lucas on Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:23 am; edited 4 times in total
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Stay tuned for the next episode! It won't dissapoint you, as always. 
