Goemon's Great Adventure
Encyclopedia
, 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. Featuring platform game
play in 2.5D
, it marked the return of the series to a side-scrolling format.
The quirky story highlights Goemon's quest to stop the evil Bismaru, who has stolen Wise Man's resurrection machine. Goemon and his friends must journey through five worlds to battle the revived Dochuki, prince of the underworld, and destroy the captured device. Each world is designed with Japanese styles and themes, and Goemon's Great Adventure continues the series' tradition of offbeat, surreal humor.
The game was received well, selling over 160,000 copies worldwide. Reminiscent of older, 16-bit
games, the side-scrolling system was lauded by reviewers, who also praised the two-player cooperative mode. The game's vibrant graphics and musical score earned high marks as well. Reviewers have considered it the best side-scroller for the Nintendo 64.
platform game
in which players navigate stages
. Gameplay in Great Adventure more closely resembles that of the Ganbare Goemon
series' Super Famicom
entries, and abandons the free-roaming style of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
. Although movement is restricted along a two-dimensional plane, the stages are rendered in three dimensions
and frequently wind along the z coordinate
—earning the game 2.5D
status similar to Yoshi's Story
and the Super Smash Bros.
series. The game begins on a world map
upon which several circles are placed indicating stages. Players must complete certain stages to open up paths to others, and each world map generally features one town and one dungeon. Completing a dungeon allows travel to a new world map, but the player must collect several entry passes to gain access to these structures. Passes are rewarded for completing stages and performing tasks for non-player character
s in cities. Though the game is linear like its 16-bit
predecessors, certain non-linear elements exist—such as a secret village and multiple paths through a world map.
Goemon's Great Adventure takes place in a fantastical version of Edo period
Japan, featuring forests, mountains, dwellings, and underworld
s designed with Japanese themes and a touch of science fiction
. Individual stages are populated by monsters, obstacles, items (such as Ryō
currency or dumpling
s), and occasionally bosses
, who are stronger than most enemies. Players can run, jump, attack with weapons, and use various special abilities to reach the end of levels and gain entry passes. Four characters with three uniforms are available for play, including Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae. Characters can be changed in cities or in stages through portals to an interdimensional tea house
. Two players can play the game simultaneously, though they must both be visible on screen—one player cannot advance if the other runs in a different direction. In each stage, a bar at the bottom of the screen displays information concerning character health, weapon equipped, lives remaining, and time of day. If a character is touched or attacked by a monster, a health bar is reduced from a total of three. If all bars disappear, the player loses a life and must restart the stage. The game ends if all lives are lost, at which point it reverts to the beginning or the last point at which the player saved his or her progress with a Controller pak. Defeated monsters sometimes leave behind dumplings and Maneki Neko
—the former replenishes health, and the latter upgrades weapons up to two levels above starting strength.
Goemon's Great Adventure also features a system of day
and night
. Every two to three minutes, a meter in the information bar will slowly turn to evening or morning; the sky
in a stage's background will similarly emulate the hues of sunset
or sunrise
. At night, more powerful and swift enemies challenge players. However, they produce two Ryō coins rather than one when killed. Different non-playable characters can be found at night in towns as well. Within these cities, players can purchase armor (represented by three blue bars), sleep in inn
s and eat in restaurant
s to recover strength, and perform miniature quests
for entry passes. For example, the character Sasuke must help a man in Spook Village set off fireworks for a festival. Scripted events relating to the game's storyline also take place in dwellings, and occur elsewhere before characters assault dungeons or after these special stages have been completed. The successful infiltration of a dungeon often leads to a battle between three giant mecha
robots. These conflicts pitch the player, controlling the robots Impact and Lady Impact, against a villain and his or her robot of choice. From the perspective of a cockpit behind Impact's eyes, players can punch, kick, grab, or fire nasal and beam weaponry at an enemy robot. Measures of health, enemy health, and ammunition are displayed in the cockpit. If the player's robot runs out of health, the game restarts at the beginning of the battle. To avoid this scenario, players can throw a baton to the other friendly robot; if it hits its mark, player perspective changes to the new robot who has his or her own health count. In two-player mode, one player waits while the other fights, and comes into play if the baton is passed. The penultimate conflict in the game is an Impact battle, and after winning a final fight in normal sidescrolling mode the player can witness the ending of the game.
of Goemon's Great Adventure is Goemon, a ninja
with blue, bushy hair who wields a kiseru
. Goemon can jump higher than his friends, throw money, and use a chain pipe. Goemon's friends Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke feature once again in the game. Ebisumaru is a fat man with a blue bandana
and a love of food. Idolizing James Dean
as the ultimate ninja, he can attack enemies with a decorative paddle, vocalized rocks, and stomach gas. Yae is a green-haired female ninja, or kunoichi
, wielding a Katana
. She has the ability to morph into a mermaid in order to swim underwater and use a bazooka
. Finally, Sasuke is a fast mechanical ninja who has upgradable projectile attacks such as shuriken
and bombs. The villains of Goemon's Great Adventure are Bismaru and Dochuki. Bismaru, a cross-dressing nun
, steals Wise Man's resurrection machine to revive Dochuki, an ancient prince of the underworld. While Bismaru fights with his giant robot, Dochuki confronts the party in person.
There are also several neutral characters in the game. These include the Wise Man, Omitsu, Edo's Lord and Princess Yuki, and a young cat girl named Suzaku, who assists Goemon and his friends with information. For battles with large foes, characters pilot the giant robots Impact and Miss Impact, created by the Wise Man to resemble Goemon and Omitsu. Finally, in every town, starting at Ryo, there is a fortune teller called Plasma. He will give you hints as to the location of every entry pass in the area.
Bismaru is attempting to create an army of undead creatures for her master, Dochuki, the master of the underworld. Enemies like ghosts, skeletons, and creatures from Japanese folklore have been unleashed and must be stopped.
Goemon and Ebisumaru then, will travel around five different worlds, starting from Edo. In the local town, "Lost'n Town", Sasuke will join them. Later they will reach the Edo Castle, where they will try to save Omitsu, the King and his daughter from the robot Impact, himself. As they realize Impact was hypnotized by Bismaru, the princess of Edo reveals that Bismaru was attempting to reach some island.
Eventually, Goemon and allies reach Tortoise Island and find their final partner, Yae, who provides Sasuke with a "diving device".
After the team follows Bismaru to the second castle (with resembles the "Festival Temple Castle" from the previous game series, "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
"), which contains a several underwater levels. After defeating Bismaru's robot again, Bismaru turns to disappear again.
A new neutral character appears, a mysterious female ghost named Susaku, who tells Goemon where Bismaru escaped: Mafu Island, an island full of undead, creepy and ghost creatures in middle of the lava. In the local town, Goemon meets the Wise Man again, who reveals Bismaru's plan of returning the evil king Dochuki to the human world again.
The gang must head to the third castle just to realize that it's too late, and Dochuki is already alive.
Somehow, Goemon and his friends manage to get to the Underworld, where undead and ghost creatures reside managing to get to the Underworld Castle to destroy Wise Man's Machine.
Unable to stop Bismaru again, Susaku appears again to give Goemon directions. This time, the scenario takes places in a Floating Island in the sky. Susaku also gives Goemon a container to catch Dochuki's soul.
The final castle, "Dream Castle", is a combination of the four previous castles, where the gang will find Susaku kidnapped by Dochuki, threatening to kill her if they don't give him the container. Goemon does so, having no option, and Dochuki breaks it with his hands.
Impact and Dochuki's evil ghost-robot get into a fight. Eventually, Impact wins, and what appears to be the final encounter is a fight between Dochuki and Goemon. After being defeated, Dochuki shows his real form, a giant wolf which spits poisonous gas.
Dochuki is beaten and tries to escapes, as there is no container to catch him, but Ebisumaru "farts" and kills Dochuki's spirit, as Ebisumaru's gas mixed with the spirit.
After the game is completed, Wise Man calls Goemon's gang to thank and tell them that he invented a new and more powerful machine to resurrect the dead, again. Suddenly, a baby appears from nowhere, and Ebisumaru claims that it's from him. Bismaru appears and tries to kidnap the new ghost return machine again, but the baby that Ebisumaru had accidentally presses the machine's self-destruct button.
As in previous Ganbare Goemon
games, the plot is wacky and lighthearted. Nintendo wrote that Goemon seems "at ease roaming a medieval Japan bustling with robots, DJs, space ships and extra-hold mousse."
season of 1998
, as three games were due to be released—Goemon's Great Adventure and the PlayStation
release Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage
would premiere on December 23, 1998, and Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu!
for the Game Boy Color
would enter the market on January 14, 1999. Great Adventure and its PlayStation counterpart were both shown to fans at the 1998 Tokyo Game Show
, where children flocked to play them. News of an English translation and North American release was first provided by a Konami employee in September 1998, and the finished game appeared at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo, though without the theme song sequence. It was originally slated to be named Mystical Ninja: Goemon 2 in North America; this title was kept in some form for the PAL
release, entitled Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon. To generate interest and incentive for the North American release, Konami included $20 rebate
s for Goemon's Great Adventure or Castlevania 64
in copies of Hybrid Heaven
.
's musical style by integrating modern synthesizers and traditional Japanese instruments. The game featured two musical numbers—"SMILE AGAIN", a J-rock theme song, and "DOUBLE IMPACT", an updated version of "I Am Impact" from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Two performers from that game returned for its sequel; Ichirou Mizuki
voiced Impact's music with Sakura Tange
while Hironobu Kageyama
sang Great Adventure' s theme song. These performances were inexplicably cut from the North American release of the game, leaving the title screen silent and eliminating the Impact battle preparation sequence. Strangely, Japanese voice acting
in the opening and ending scenes was left in. A team of five composers created the game's main sound track, each personally writing several demos and arranging finished pieces. The music of nearly all stages changes in response to the day and night system of gameplay. In normal stages, at night a stage's unique theme slows down and segues into a night theme particular to all levels in a world map. As morning approaches, the evening song fades as the stage's normal theme resumes. In settlements, night themes maintain the arrangement of the day theme, albeit with softer tones and instruments. Music also change within dungeons, usually becoming faster-paced as players advance. One composer regretted that the space limitations of a compact disc
would preclude the appearance of night themes on an official release, and stated that timing the musical changes for the system was a difficult process. Yet another spoke on the style of Ganbare Goemon music:
A few songs from earlier titles appear, including Bismaru's theme and the ending music introduced in Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake
. A composer who grew up as a fan of Konami's game integrated rhythms reminiscent of beatmania
's catalogue in a few songs. A 68-track sound track was released by Konami on January 22, 1999. The soundtrack was later extracted from Read-only memory
and presented in Nintendo Ultra 64 Sound Format on May 23, 2005; it is one of the most downloaded releases at USF Central.
, an A at 1UP.com
, a 3.5 out of 5 at GamePro
, and a metascore of 80% at Game Rankings
. Critics enjoyed the "simple, yet enjoyable platform gameplay", specifically citing Castlevania overtones and fresh, varied level design as strongpoints. The 2.5D
system received much fanfare; GamePro stated that it made the game "more exciting than any old 2D scrollers." Nintendo noted that the game looks "more realistic than any 16-bit platformer, but...plays just like one." The presence of a cooperative mode for two players was considered a huge improvement over the game's predecessor, and brought back memories of "classic Nintendo and Konami sidescrollers." David Canter of The San Diego Union-Tribune
felt the "ability to control four diverse characters gives the game a nice touch of variety." The camera issues found in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
were solved by the switch to the sidescrolling genre. Peer Schneider of IGN celebrated the game's non-linear puzzle elements and quests, which made the game require more than a day to complete. GamePro noted that these quests still took place in completed stages, lending little added appeal. While Nintendo Power applauded the precise play control, GamePro argued that it could have been slackened somewhat. Canter countered, "control is responsive. A good thing, too, as Goemon's Great Adventure quickly becomes challenging... The only problem with control occurs when playing as the mermaid...maneuvering a beached whale might be easier." Great Adventure' s graphics impressed critics—Schneider wrote that they seemed "right out of a Kurosawa movie, complete with both Buddhist and Shinto architecture, temples, shrines, tombstones, cogs, mills, giant frogs, statues and more," while Nintendo lauded the special effects, including "artfully composed cinema sequences...backdrops of glimmering water...and...translucent spirits." Canter agreed that while they "don't set a new standard, but there are some nice visual touches." GamePro and IGN agreed that enemy design was generally less impressive, excepting the boss characters and Impact robots. David Canter disagreed, citing "castle bosses, such as the screen-filling skeleton" as "especially eye-pleasing".
Several reviewers reiterated concerns over the previous game that the overt Japanese setting and humor might alienate North American fans. One reviewer suggested the game for fans "capable of overlooking some of the games' more inscrutable cultural references." Nintendo Power wrote that "the story is a weird mix of sci-fi, Japanese culture and superheroes, but it seems perfectly suited to the game...full of action and variety." Levi Buchanan, one of the magazine's reviewers, asserted that the game "radiates personality", while GamePro centered its opinion of the game as very quirky. IGN echoed these sentiments, stating that the plot seemed "completely nuts...[yet] somehow fits together to make a highly entertaining and original game." The sound track—"always a Konami hallmark"—was received well, with critics identifying "that peculiar mix of synthesizer music and old-fashioned shamisen, koto and drum music." Nintendo specifically praised "subtle transitions from day to night and back again." Schneider also singled out the Underworld dungeon's theme for praise, remarking that it suited the Castlevania
style of the stage well. The sound effects of the game mirrored ones used in 16-bit Ganbare Goemon games, although increased in sampling rate
and variety.
IGN's Schneider remarked that Goemon's Great Adventure would have benefitted from more role-playing game
elements as exemplified in Ganbare Goemon 3: Shichijuurokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame
. He also regretted that the miniature games (Gradius
, among others) found in earlier titles were absent. Jason Leung of Nintendo Power wrote upon playing—"finally, a sidescroller done right for the N64." David Canter concluded,
IGN summarized its viewpoints by writing, "two-player co-op, 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, and excellent music make this a much better game than the first N64 Mystical Ninja installment." GamePro
's conclusion was less favorable, stating that "Goemon's Great Adventure is a bit of a let down...a good attempt at an old-school 2D platformer, but...falls short in many ways." Nintendo's online review concluded that "Great Adventure is an excellent example of how fun good ol' platformers can be."
. Konami followed with Goemon: Bouken Jidai Katsugeki
, a game for the PlayStation 2
released December 21, 2000, and other PlayStation games in 2001. The now-defunct company Working Designs
attempted to bring Bouken Jidai Katsugeki to English audiences as Mystical Ninja Goemon beginning in May, 2002
. Motivated to promote a series "that's never quite received the recognition it deserves here [in the United States]," Working Designs demonstrated the game in their booth at E3 a month later. Mystical Ninja Goemon remained on the studio's release list until its closing in 2005; it is rumored that Sony
squashed the game's release due to subpar graphics. While Goemon ceased to appear on game consoles in 2001, Konami continued to release handheld
games, and experimented with the series formula by revising Goemon's appearance, using futuristic settings, and employing a more serious tone. The medieval, quirky Japanese themes were revived on June 23, 2005 with Goemon: Toukai Douchuu for the Nintendo DS
.
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 December 23, 1998. It is the third game 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 released in North America and following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
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...
, released two years earlier. Featuring 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...
play in 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...
, it marked the return of the series to a side-scrolling format.
The quirky story highlights Goemon's quest to stop the evil Bismaru, who has stolen Wise Man's resurrection machine. Goemon and his friends must journey through five worlds to battle the revived Dochuki, prince of the underworld, and destroy the captured device. Each world is designed with Japanese styles and themes, and Goemon's Great Adventure continues the series' tradition of offbeat, surreal humor.
The game was received well, selling over 160,000 copies worldwide. Reminiscent of 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...
games, the side-scrolling system was lauded by reviewers, who also praised the two-player cooperative mode. The game's vibrant graphics and musical score earned high marks as well. Reviewers have considered it the best side-scroller for the Nintendo 64.
Gameplay
Goemon's Great Adventure is a side scrollingSide-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...
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...
in which players navigate stages
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
. Gameplay in Great Adventure more closely resembles that of 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' 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...
entries, and abandons the free-roaming style of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
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...
. Although movement is restricted along a two-dimensional plane, the stages are rendered in three dimensions
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
and frequently wind along the z coordinate
Cartesian coordinate system
A Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length...
—earning the game 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...
status similar to Yoshi's Story
Yoshi's Story
is a side-scrolling platform game, published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 entertainment system. It is the sequel to the Super Nintendo game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. It was released on December 21, 1997 in Japan, March 1, 1998 in North America and April 9, 1998 in Europe...
and the Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. series
Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as , is a series of fighting games published by Nintendo, featuring characters from established video games. The gameplay differs from traditional fighters for focusing on knocking opponents out of the stage instead of depleting life bars...
series. The game begins on a world map
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
upon which several circles are placed indicating stages. Players must complete certain stages to open up paths to others, and each world map generally features one town and one dungeon. Completing a dungeon allows travel to a new world map, but the player must collect several entry passes to gain access to these structures. Passes are rewarded for completing stages and performing tasks for 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 in cities. Though the game is linear like its 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...
predecessors, certain non-linear elements exist—such as a secret village and multiple paths through a world map.
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan, featuring forests, mountains, dwellings, and underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
s designed with Japanese themes and a touch of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. Individual stages are populated by monsters, obstacles, items (such as Ryō
Ryo
Ryo may refer to:* The Japanese kana digraph ryo, ryō, or ryoh * Ryō , a gold piece in pre-Meiji era Japan worth about sixty monme or four kan...
currency or dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
s), and occasionally bosses
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...
, who are stronger than most enemies. Players can run, jump, attack with weapons, and use various special abilities to reach the end of levels and gain entry passes. Four characters with three uniforms are available for play, including Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae. Characters can be changed in cities or in stages through portals to an interdimensional tea house
Tea house
A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room."-Asia:In Central Asia this term...
. Two players can play the game simultaneously, though they must both be visible on screen—one player cannot advance if the other runs in a different direction. In each stage, a bar at the bottom of the screen displays information concerning character health, weapon equipped, lives remaining, and time of day. If a character is touched or attacked by a monster, a health bar is reduced from a total of three. If all bars disappear, the player loses a life and must restart the stage. The game ends if all lives are lost, at which point it reverts to the beginning or the last point at which the player saved his or her progress with a Controller pak. Defeated monsters sometimes leave behind dumplings and 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...
—the former replenishes health, and the latter upgrades weapons up to two levels above starting strength.
Goemon's Great Adventure also features a system of day
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
and night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...
. Every two to three minutes, a meter in the information bar will slowly turn to evening or morning; the sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...
in a stage's background will similarly emulate the hues of sunset
Sunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
or sunrise
Sunrise
Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
. At night, more powerful and swift enemies challenge players. However, they produce two Ryō coins rather than one when killed. Different non-playable characters can be found at night in towns as well. Within these cities, players can purchase armor (represented by three blue bars), sleep in inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s and eat in restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s to recover strength, and perform miniature quests
Quest (gaming)
A quest in role-playing video games — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games and their predecessors, MUDs — is a task that a player-controlled character or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward...
for entry passes. For example, the character Sasuke must help a man in Spook Village set off fireworks for a festival. Scripted events relating to the game's storyline also take place in dwellings, and occur elsewhere before characters assault dungeons or after these special stages have been completed. The successful infiltration of a dungeon often leads to a battle between three giant mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
robots. These conflicts pitch the player, controlling the robots Impact and Lady Impact, against a villain and his or her robot of choice. From the perspective of a cockpit behind Impact's eyes, players can punch, kick, grab, or fire nasal and beam weaponry at an enemy robot. Measures of health, enemy health, and ammunition are displayed in the cockpit. If the player's robot runs out of health, the game restarts at the beginning of the battle. To avoid this scenario, players can throw a baton to the other friendly robot; if it hits its mark, player perspective changes to the new robot who has his or her own health count. In two-player mode, one player waits while the other fights, and comes into play if the baton is passed. The penultimate conflict in the game is an Impact battle, and after winning a final fight in normal sidescrolling mode the player can witness the ending of the game.
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 Goemon's Great Adventure is Goemon, a 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 who wields a 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"....
. Goemon can jump higher than his friends, throw money, and use a chain pipe. Goemon's friends Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke feature once again in the game. Ebisumaru is a fat man with 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...
and a love of food. Idolizing James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
as the ultimate ninja, he can attack enemies with a decorative paddle, vocalized rocks, and stomach gas. Yae is a green-haired female ninja, or 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...
, wielding a Katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
. She has the ability to morph into a mermaid in order to swim underwater and use a bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
. Finally, Sasuke is a fast mechanical ninja who has upgradable projectile attacks such as shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
and bombs. The villains of Goemon's Great Adventure are Bismaru and Dochuki. Bismaru, a cross-dressing nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, steals Wise Man's resurrection machine to revive Dochuki, an ancient prince of the underworld. While Bismaru fights with his giant robot, Dochuki confronts the party in person.
There are also several neutral characters in the game. These include the Wise Man, Omitsu, Edo's Lord and Princess Yuki, and a young cat girl named Suzaku, who assists Goemon and his friends with information. For battles with large foes, characters pilot the giant robots Impact and Miss Impact, created by the Wise Man to resemble Goemon and Omitsu. Finally, in every town, starting at Ryo, there is a fortune teller called Plasma. He will give you hints as to the location of every entry pass in the area.
Plot
Goemon and his friends must stop Ebisumaru's ancestor Bismaru, who plans to use one of the Old Wise Man's inventions in order to unleash another disaster. Specifically, the Old Wise Man (who has appeared in every game in the series) has created a "ghost return machine" that can bring the dead back to life.Bismaru is attempting to create an army of undead creatures for her master, Dochuki, the master of the underworld. Enemies like ghosts, skeletons, and creatures from Japanese folklore have been unleashed and must be stopped.
Goemon and Ebisumaru then, will travel around five different worlds, starting from Edo. In the local town, "Lost'n Town", Sasuke will join them. Later they will reach the Edo Castle, where they will try to save Omitsu, the King and his daughter from the robot Impact, himself. As they realize Impact was hypnotized by Bismaru, the princess of Edo reveals that Bismaru was attempting to reach some island.
Eventually, Goemon and allies reach Tortoise Island and find their final partner, Yae, who provides Sasuke with a "diving device".
After the team follows Bismaru to the second castle (with resembles the "Festival Temple Castle" from the previous game series, "Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
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...
"), which contains a several underwater levels. After defeating Bismaru's robot again, Bismaru turns to disappear again.
A new neutral character appears, a mysterious female ghost named Susaku, who tells Goemon where Bismaru escaped: Mafu Island, an island full of undead, creepy and ghost creatures in middle of the lava. In the local town, Goemon meets the Wise Man again, who reveals Bismaru's plan of returning the evil king Dochuki to the human world again.
The gang must head to the third castle just to realize that it's too late, and Dochuki is already alive.
Somehow, Goemon and his friends manage to get to the Underworld, where undead and ghost creatures reside managing to get to the Underworld Castle to destroy Wise Man's Machine.
Unable to stop Bismaru again, Susaku appears again to give Goemon directions. This time, the scenario takes places in a Floating Island in the sky. Susaku also gives Goemon a container to catch Dochuki's soul.
The final castle, "Dream Castle", is a combination of the four previous castles, where the gang will find Susaku kidnapped by Dochuki, threatening to kill her if they don't give him the container. Goemon does so, having no option, and Dochuki breaks it with his hands.
Impact and Dochuki's evil ghost-robot get into a fight. Eventually, Impact wins, and what appears to be the final encounter is a fight between Dochuki and Goemon. After being defeated, Dochuki shows his real form, a giant wolf which spits poisonous gas.
Dochuki is beaten and tries to escapes, as there is no container to catch him, but Ebisumaru "farts" and kills Dochuki's spirit, as Ebisumaru's gas mixed with the spirit.
After the game is completed, Wise Man calls Goemon's gang to thank and tell them that he invented a new and more powerful machine to resurrect the dead, again. Suddenly, a baby appears from nowhere, and Ebisumaru claims that it's from him. Bismaru appears and tries to kidnap the new ghost return machine again, but the baby that Ebisumaru had accidentally presses the machine's self-destruct button.
As in previous 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....
games, the plot is wacky and lighthearted. Nintendo wrote that Goemon seems "at ease roaming a medieval Japan bustling with robots, DJs, space ships and extra-hold mousse."
Promotion
Konami heavily promoted the Ganbare Goemon series for the ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season of 1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
, as three games were due to be released—Goemon's Great Adventure and 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...
release Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage
Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage
is a Ganbare Goemon game released for the PlayStation on December 23, 1998. It was released alongside Goemon's Great Adventure for the Nintendo 64...
would premiere on December 23, 1998, and Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu!
Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu!
Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tou no Gyakushuu! is a Ganbare Goemon game released for the Game Boy Color on January 14, 1999. Unlike most games in the series, this game is actually an role-playing game, a genre which was used first in the Ganbare Goemon Gaiden games for the Famicom...
for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
would enter the market on January 14, 1999. Great Adventure and its PlayStation counterpart were both shown to fans at the 1998 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...
, where children flocked to play them. News of an English translation and North American release was first provided by a Konami employee in September 1998, and the finished game appeared at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo, though without the theme song sequence. It was originally slated to be named Mystical Ninja: Goemon 2 in North America; this title was kept in some form for the PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
release, entitled Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon. To generate interest and incentive for the North American release, Konami included $20 rebate
Rebate (marketing)
A rebate is an amount paid by way of reduction, return, or refund on what has already been paid or contributed. It is a type of sales promotion marketers use primarily as incentives or supplements to product sales. The mail-in rebate is the most common...
s for Goemon's Great Adventure or Castlevania 64
Castlevania 64
Castlevania, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure video game developed by Konami's Kobe branch for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released on a 64-megabit cartridge in North America on January 26, 1999, in Japan on March 11, 1999, and in Europe on May 14, 1999...
in copies of Hybrid Heaven
Hybrid Heaven
is a video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka and released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. This game is most notable for its peculiar mix of genres: it has aspects of both console role-playing games and action-adventure games. The designers had hoped to create a "new style RPG...
.
Audio
Goemon's Great Adventure continued its predecessorMystical Ninja Starring Goemon
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...
's musical style by integrating modern synthesizers and traditional Japanese instruments. The game featured two musical numbers—"SMILE AGAIN", a J-rock theme song, and "DOUBLE IMPACT", an updated version of "I Am Impact" from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Two performers from that game returned for its sequel; 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...
voiced Impact's music with Sakura Tange
Sakura Tange
Sakura Tange is an idol, seiyū and singer who was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan. She is best known for providing the voice of Sakura Kinomoto in the anime series Cardcaptor Sakura....
while 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...
sang Great Adventure
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
in the opening and ending scenes was left in. A team of five composers created the game's main sound track, each personally writing several demos and arranging finished pieces. The music of nearly all stages changes in response to the day and night system of gameplay. In normal stages, at night a stage's unique theme slows down and segues into a night theme particular to all levels in a world map. As morning approaches, the evening song fades as the stage's normal theme resumes. In settlements, night themes maintain the arrangement of the day theme, albeit with softer tones and instruments. Music also change within dungeons, usually becoming faster-paced as players advance. One composer regretted that the space limitations of a compact disc
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 ,...
would preclude the appearance of night themes on an official release, and stated that timing the musical changes for the system was a difficult process. Yet another spoke on the style of Ganbare Goemon music:
A few songs from earlier titles appear, including Bismaru's theme and the ending music introduced in Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake
Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake
is the fourth Ganbare Goemon game released for the Super Famicom on December 22, 1995.-Summary:At the request of Impact, Goemon and his friends travel to several planets in order to defeat the evil commander Harakiri Seppukumaru. The game introduced the "Oni Oni Rendezvous" and title themes which...
. A composer who grew up as a fan of Konami's game integrated rhythms reminiscent of beatmania
Beatmania
is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only with arcade sequels, but also moved to home consoles and other portable devices, achieving a...
's catalogue in a few songs. A 68-track sound track was released by Konami on January 22, 1999. 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 23, 2005; it is one of the most downloaded releases at USF Central.
Critical reception
Goemon's Great Adventure sold over 160,000 copies worldwide and received favorable reviews, earning an 8 out of 10 at IGNIGN
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...
, an A at 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, a 3.5 out of 5 at GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
, and a metascore of 80% at Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. Critics enjoyed the "simple, yet enjoyable platform gameplay", specifically citing Castlevania overtones and fresh, varied level design as strongpoints. The 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...
system received much fanfare; GamePro stated that it made the game "more exciting than any old 2D scrollers." Nintendo noted that the game looks "more realistic than any 16-bit platformer, but...plays just like one." The presence of a cooperative mode for two players was considered a huge improvement over the game's predecessor, and brought back memories of "classic Nintendo and Konami sidescrollers." David Canter of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
felt the "ability to control four diverse characters gives the game a nice touch of variety." The camera issues found in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
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...
were solved by the switch to the sidescrolling genre. Peer Schneider of IGN celebrated the game's non-linear puzzle elements and quests, which made the game require more than a day to complete. GamePro noted that these quests still took place in completed stages, lending little added appeal. While Nintendo Power applauded the precise play control, GamePro argued that it could have been slackened somewhat. Canter countered, "control is responsive. A good thing, too, as Goemon's Great Adventure quickly becomes challenging... The only problem with control occurs when playing as the mermaid...maneuvering a beached whale might be easier." Great Adventure
Several reviewers reiterated concerns over the previous game that the overt Japanese setting and humor might alienate North American fans. One reviewer suggested the game for fans "capable of overlooking some of the games' more inscrutable cultural references." Nintendo Power wrote that "the story is a weird mix of sci-fi, Japanese culture and superheroes, but it seems perfectly suited to the game...full of action and variety." Levi Buchanan, one of the magazine's reviewers, asserted that the game "radiates personality", while GamePro centered its opinion of the game as very quirky. IGN echoed these sentiments, stating that the plot seemed "completely nuts...[yet] somehow fits together to make a highly entertaining and original game." The sound track—"always a Konami hallmark"—was received well, with critics identifying "that peculiar mix of synthesizer music and old-fashioned shamisen, koto and drum music." Nintendo specifically praised "subtle transitions from day to night and back again." Schneider also singled out the Underworld dungeon's theme for praise, remarking that it suited the Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
style of the stage well. The sound effects of the game mirrored ones used in 16-bit Ganbare Goemon games, although increased in sampling rate
Sampling rate
The sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...
and variety.
IGN's Schneider remarked that Goemon's Great Adventure would have benefitted from more 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...
elements as exemplified in 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...
. He also regretted that the miniature games (Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
, among others) found in earlier titles were absent. Jason Leung of Nintendo Power wrote upon playing—"finally, a sidescroller done right for the N64." David Canter concluded,
IGN summarized its viewpoints by writing, "two-player co-op, 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, and excellent music make this a much better game than the first N64 Mystical Ninja installment." GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
's conclusion was less favorable, stating that "Goemon's Great Adventure is a bit of a let down...a good attempt at an old-school 2D platformer, but...falls short in many ways." Nintendo's online review concluded that "Great Adventure is an excellent example of how fun good ol' platformers can be."
Sequels
As of 2009, Goemon's Great Adventure is the last Ganbare Goemon game to date that has been translated to English and released over-seas. The next and 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 gameBoard 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...
. Konami followed with Goemon: Bouken Jidai Katsugeki
Goemon: Bouken Jidai Katsugeki
is a Ganbare Goemon game released for the PlayStation 2 on December 21, 2000. This is the third game game in the series with 3D gaming, following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage...
, a game for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
released December 21, 2000, and other PlayStation games in 2001. The now-defunct company Working Designs
Working Designs
Working Designs was an American video game publisher that specialized in the localization of Japanese console role-playing games, strategy video games and top-down shooters for various video game platforms. Though the company had published many 'cult hits', it was known best to fans as the...
attempted to bring Bouken Jidai Katsugeki to English audiences as Mystical Ninja Goemon beginning in May, 2002
2002 in video gaming
The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
. Motivated to promote a series "that's never quite received the recognition it deserves here [in the United States]," Working Designs demonstrated the game in their booth at E3 a month later. Mystical Ninja Goemon remained on the studio's release list until its closing in 2005; it is rumored that Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
squashed the game's release due to subpar graphics. While Goemon ceased to appear on game consoles in 2001, Konami continued to release handheld
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
games, and experimented with the series formula by revising Goemon's appearance, using futuristic settings, and employing a more serious tone. The medieval, quirky Japanese themes were revived 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...
.