Breakdown!
And with all my might,
Power to the highest limit, Super Punch!
I am the best, yes, Impact
And with all my might,
Power to the highest limit, Super Punch!
I am the best, yes, Impact
It's amazing how much fun it is to try a game so many years after its release for the first time. It's a pure adventure experience, but it's not adventure as a genre, it's more like experiencing a childlike adventure.
It's still fun and varied mechanics today, with four playable characters with different abilities and unlockable skills. With its banger soundtrack (especially the boss theme song) and simple but satisfying gameplay, it's a game that does what it wants to do very well.
The most frustrating feature is the locked camera, I don't want to say game-breaking, but there were moments when I felt trapped and stuck. For me, it wasn't a negativity that would cover up the rest of the good things, but it's worth taking into consideration.
It's still fun and varied mechanics today, with four playable characters with different abilities and unlockable skills. With its banger soundtrack (especially the boss theme song) and simple but satisfying gameplay, it's a game that does what it wants to do very well.
The most frustrating feature is the locked camera, I don't want to say game-breaking, but there were moments when I felt trapped and stuck. For me, it wasn't a negativity that would cover up the rest of the good things, but it's worth taking into consideration.
This is a game I rented as a kid and enjoyed up until I hit a huge difficulty roadblock and had to stop. I wasn't super into reading game dialogue when I was a kid, so I probably wouldn't've been able to finish it even if I had been able to progress, but it's a game I've always wanted to get back to at some point. It's also got the odd position of being a 3D action/adventure game on the N64 that came out 15 whole months before Ocarina of Time did, making it a very interesting historical curiosity. It turns out it's a pretty cheap game here in Japan, so I picked it up a while back with the intention to stream it. The only problem was that, while the game DOES work, it needs a Memory Pak to save, and even worse is that for whatever reason it simply cannot use the Memory Pak that I have (I guess my one is too new or something? I have other Japanese Konami games that use it fine, so my Pak certainly ain't broken), so if I wanted to beat it, I'd need to do it in one sitting. 11 hours later, I finished it! I certainly didn't expect (or particularly want) it to take that long, but I did it!
Goemon and Ebisumaru are escaping from the angry crowd at an inn when suddenly a giant peach-shaped spaceship comes out of the sky and transforms Oedo Castle into this weird, Western toy-looking thing. They then embark out first to save the lord of the castle and his daughter, and then on a quest to save Japan from the Neo Momoyama Shoguns who want to turn all of Japan into their own personal theater stage. This game was originally titled as Ganbare Goemon 5, but the '5' was dropped in order to try and show that it was a break from the older games in the series. Nonetheless, the markers of its continuation of the story of the previous games (however unimportant or trivial that may be) are there in how wacky this story is (and a reference here and there to the ending of Ganbare Goemon 4).
What's also unfortunate (but certainly unsurprising) are the continuation of all of the more rotten parts of Ganbare Goemon's humor, like the not infrequent homophobia and transphobia. It wasn't a deal-breaker for me, but it very well may be for some people, and the English script does tone it down a bit (though not THAT much). It does have some genuinely funny comedy in it as well as an aggressively silly tone packed with loads of 4th wall breaking, irreverent remarks, and even a laugh track. That combined with the several voiced musical numbers give the game an energy like something right out of a gag anime. When it works, it works pretty well and gave me a good few chuckles, but when it doesn't work, it's downright painful.
The game design is overall pretty strong. You have four playable characters, as many of the Super Famicom games do (although no co-op mode), going through a 3D adventure around Japan. Each character has 3 weapons (at least one of which uses money as ammo, in grand Goemon fashion) and a special power they can activate, and while they each play mostly the same, there are enough differences between the four of them that you'll likely develop a favorite among them. The game has five dungeons to go through with a handful of bosses and mini-games to tackle to progress through the game. The overworld is not super awesome, and can feel a bit needlessly empty at times, but there are many secrets to find, so it pays to keep your eyes open for the many heart containers (or rather, lucky cats) scattered throughout the world. The bosses are overall tackled fairly well, and although some of the dungeons can certainly run a bit long (the ability to save in the middle of them would've been very nice), they're well put together even if they tend to fall into the camps of "overly simple" or "overly maze-like" in their constructions.
The game's biggest problems are in a few deliberate design choices and then with technical problems. There are several fairly baffling design decisions, number one of which is that the game has absolutely no manual camera controls. This game is an early N64 game, sure, but 3D environments were not a new thing in 1997, especially given that Mario 64 came out the previous year. It isn't the worst auto-camera in the world, but damn if I wish it didn't have some way of controlling it to at LEAST recenter it behind you. Outside of some rough signposting here and there (despite a hint shop), there are some other strange decisions like not being able to pause during the Goemon Impact boss fights, or how despite how often well tutorialized the rest of the game is, you're never told how to actually fight in those boss fights.
Several boss fights in the game (the second and then two final ones) have you piloting Goemon's giant robot friend Impact. First, you have a really fun transformation sequence as Impact is summoned in (complete with vocal song behind it) followed by a brief sort of running section to bash baddies and buildings in order to build up ammo and health before you get to the boss. Then when you get to the boss, you enter a mode that's something between Star Fox 64 and Punch Out, and they're often brutal battles of attrition unless you know what you're doing already. I was stuck on the final boss for an HOUR (he has some attacks that go on for AGES) before a friend looked up a speedrun and told me of a Scorpion-style "GET OVER HERE!" grappling hook move I had no idea was present (which I then proceeded to use a lot to beat the everloving hell out of the boss). The R-button, which is otherwise totally unused in the game, launches that grappling hook, while Z fires money as projectiles, A does long punches, and B does quick jabs. There are even special moves you can do by doing certain combos, but the game never tells you ANY of this in the game. While I'm sure the manual for the game did tell you that stuff, it's very odd that the game itself never tells you any of this given how many other things are explained to you in it. Some of the mini-games are overly obtuse and frustrating in their own ways, but the Impact fights take the cake as far as inadequately explained mechanics go. The fights are fun once you know what you're doing, but if you don't then expect to have a really frustrating time (especially since the cursor in the first-person sections don't use inverted vertical aiming, and that takes a LONG time to get used to XP).
The last of the issues with the game are largely technical. Konami has a pretty bad track record on the N64 as far as releasing games that feel unfinished (like Castlevania 64, which genuinely IS unfinished), and this game is part of that legacy. Even for an early N64 game, the frame rate is HORRIBLE and very inconsistent. There were many parts where it was chugging so badly that it began to affect the latency of my button inputs, and while it isn't exactly game breaking, it is impossible to ignore in a game where platforming is so important yet pressing A sometimes results in a very late or a totally absent jump. Then finally there are some significant collision problems. Enemy and character hitboxes are very oddly defined, with hits often hitting but sometimes bafflingly missing, and there even being one type of platform (the fans in the last stage) that I routinely clipped through for no apparent reason. The game's difficulty is overall quite forgiving (your health bar is pretty big and only gets bigger while health items are quite cheap), so these problems never made me feel like the game was unplayable, but it was quite frustrating and they do a lot to drag down a game that could otherwise be one of the best experiences of its type on the system.
What isn't a slack at all, however, is the presentation. It's a 1997 N64 game, so it's VERY polygonal, but the art style on the characters at least holds up pretty darn well. Environments look pretty flat and unimpressive in the overworld, but dungeons are often whimsically put together in a way that makes them memorable. The MVP of the game is easily the music, though. The soundtrack is an absolute banger even outside of the vocal tracks. The dungeons even have a really cool mechanic where the songs start out simple but then slowly get more complex as you delve deeper into them. The excellent music is one facet carried over from old Goemon that still runs as strong as ever, and even if you don't check out the game, the music should still be looked at X3
As far as regional differences go, there are a few but they're usually not very important. The biggest and most noticeable one is that the opening and ending movies have voice acting in the Japanese version of the game, which adds a fair bit more character to the game in a way I really enjoyed. Aside from that it's largely small aesthetic things (like replacing the manji on grappling blocks with a star) and translation decisions. A lot of Ebisumaru's lines in particular are wordplay that simply can't be translated, and from what I understand the English version of the game has a translation that walks the line of "poorly translated, or deliberately wacky?".
Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. This is a weird one to recommend because it has so many problems, but if you can get past those and play the game as it is, then there's a lot to be enjoyed here. Especially for mid '97, this is a really incredible feat for the N64's library, and is one of the best 3rd party Japanese developed games on the platform in my experience (if we aren't counting Rare as 3rd party, anyhow :b). The technical issues and writing problems are the biggest obstacles to my recommendation, and I can't give it a higher one because those are a lot more difficult to tolerate, generally, in 2021 than they were in 1997, but if you're ready to take the plunge then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here among the jank.
Goemon and Ebisumaru are escaping from the angry crowd at an inn when suddenly a giant peach-shaped spaceship comes out of the sky and transforms Oedo Castle into this weird, Western toy-looking thing. They then embark out first to save the lord of the castle and his daughter, and then on a quest to save Japan from the Neo Momoyama Shoguns who want to turn all of Japan into their own personal theater stage. This game was originally titled as Ganbare Goemon 5, but the '5' was dropped in order to try and show that it was a break from the older games in the series. Nonetheless, the markers of its continuation of the story of the previous games (however unimportant or trivial that may be) are there in how wacky this story is (and a reference here and there to the ending of Ganbare Goemon 4).
What's also unfortunate (but certainly unsurprising) are the continuation of all of the more rotten parts of Ganbare Goemon's humor, like the not infrequent homophobia and transphobia. It wasn't a deal-breaker for me, but it very well may be for some people, and the English script does tone it down a bit (though not THAT much). It does have some genuinely funny comedy in it as well as an aggressively silly tone packed with loads of 4th wall breaking, irreverent remarks, and even a laugh track. That combined with the several voiced musical numbers give the game an energy like something right out of a gag anime. When it works, it works pretty well and gave me a good few chuckles, but when it doesn't work, it's downright painful.
The game design is overall pretty strong. You have four playable characters, as many of the Super Famicom games do (although no co-op mode), going through a 3D adventure around Japan. Each character has 3 weapons (at least one of which uses money as ammo, in grand Goemon fashion) and a special power they can activate, and while they each play mostly the same, there are enough differences between the four of them that you'll likely develop a favorite among them. The game has five dungeons to go through with a handful of bosses and mini-games to tackle to progress through the game. The overworld is not super awesome, and can feel a bit needlessly empty at times, but there are many secrets to find, so it pays to keep your eyes open for the many heart containers (or rather, lucky cats) scattered throughout the world. The bosses are overall tackled fairly well, and although some of the dungeons can certainly run a bit long (the ability to save in the middle of them would've been very nice), they're well put together even if they tend to fall into the camps of "overly simple" or "overly maze-like" in their constructions.
The game's biggest problems are in a few deliberate design choices and then with technical problems. There are several fairly baffling design decisions, number one of which is that the game has absolutely no manual camera controls. This game is an early N64 game, sure, but 3D environments were not a new thing in 1997, especially given that Mario 64 came out the previous year. It isn't the worst auto-camera in the world, but damn if I wish it didn't have some way of controlling it to at LEAST recenter it behind you. Outside of some rough signposting here and there (despite a hint shop), there are some other strange decisions like not being able to pause during the Goemon Impact boss fights, or how despite how often well tutorialized the rest of the game is, you're never told how to actually fight in those boss fights.
Several boss fights in the game (the second and then two final ones) have you piloting Goemon's giant robot friend Impact. First, you have a really fun transformation sequence as Impact is summoned in (complete with vocal song behind it) followed by a brief sort of running section to bash baddies and buildings in order to build up ammo and health before you get to the boss. Then when you get to the boss, you enter a mode that's something between Star Fox 64 and Punch Out, and they're often brutal battles of attrition unless you know what you're doing already. I was stuck on the final boss for an HOUR (he has some attacks that go on for AGES) before a friend looked up a speedrun and told me of a Scorpion-style "GET OVER HERE!" grappling hook move I had no idea was present (which I then proceeded to use a lot to beat the everloving hell out of the boss). The R-button, which is otherwise totally unused in the game, launches that grappling hook, while Z fires money as projectiles, A does long punches, and B does quick jabs. There are even special moves you can do by doing certain combos, but the game never tells you ANY of this in the game. While I'm sure the manual for the game did tell you that stuff, it's very odd that the game itself never tells you any of this given how many other things are explained to you in it. Some of the mini-games are overly obtuse and frustrating in their own ways, but the Impact fights take the cake as far as inadequately explained mechanics go. The fights are fun once you know what you're doing, but if you don't then expect to have a really frustrating time (especially since the cursor in the first-person sections don't use inverted vertical aiming, and that takes a LONG time to get used to XP).
The last of the issues with the game are largely technical. Konami has a pretty bad track record on the N64 as far as releasing games that feel unfinished (like Castlevania 64, which genuinely IS unfinished), and this game is part of that legacy. Even for an early N64 game, the frame rate is HORRIBLE and very inconsistent. There were many parts where it was chugging so badly that it began to affect the latency of my button inputs, and while it isn't exactly game breaking, it is impossible to ignore in a game where platforming is so important yet pressing A sometimes results in a very late or a totally absent jump. Then finally there are some significant collision problems. Enemy and character hitboxes are very oddly defined, with hits often hitting but sometimes bafflingly missing, and there even being one type of platform (the fans in the last stage) that I routinely clipped through for no apparent reason. The game's difficulty is overall quite forgiving (your health bar is pretty big and only gets bigger while health items are quite cheap), so these problems never made me feel like the game was unplayable, but it was quite frustrating and they do a lot to drag down a game that could otherwise be one of the best experiences of its type on the system.
What isn't a slack at all, however, is the presentation. It's a 1997 N64 game, so it's VERY polygonal, but the art style on the characters at least holds up pretty darn well. Environments look pretty flat and unimpressive in the overworld, but dungeons are often whimsically put together in a way that makes them memorable. The MVP of the game is easily the music, though. The soundtrack is an absolute banger even outside of the vocal tracks. The dungeons even have a really cool mechanic where the songs start out simple but then slowly get more complex as you delve deeper into them. The excellent music is one facet carried over from old Goemon that still runs as strong as ever, and even if you don't check out the game, the music should still be looked at X3
As far as regional differences go, there are a few but they're usually not very important. The biggest and most noticeable one is that the opening and ending movies have voice acting in the Japanese version of the game, which adds a fair bit more character to the game in a way I really enjoyed. Aside from that it's largely small aesthetic things (like replacing the manji on grappling blocks with a star) and translation decisions. A lot of Ebisumaru's lines in particular are wordplay that simply can't be translated, and from what I understand the English version of the game has a translation that walks the line of "poorly translated, or deliberately wacky?".
Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. This is a weird one to recommend because it has so many problems, but if you can get past those and play the game as it is, then there's a lot to be enjoyed here. Especially for mid '97, this is a really incredible feat for the N64's library, and is one of the best 3rd party Japanese developed games on the platform in my experience (if we aren't counting Rare as 3rd party, anyhow :b). The technical issues and writing problems are the biggest obstacles to my recommendation, and I can't give it a higher one because those are a lot more difficult to tolerate, generally, in 2021 than they were in 1997, but if you're ready to take the plunge then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here among the jank.
One of the funniest games of the era. Simple as that. The story is totaly absurd but but the goofy enemies make it totally work.
They don't make games like this anymore.
They don't make games like this anymore.
I remember seeing the scores for Mystical Ninja in N64 magazine, but it didn’t seem like my kind of game. I was very wrong about that – Goemon’s first N64 game is kind of a hybrid of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, mixed with edo era Japan and a gloriously absurd plot of musical performers trying to turn Japan into their stage.
The game starts out in a Zelda-style town, but what’s impressive is that this is from before Ocarina of Time. You can swap between Goemon and Ebisumaru (plus more you meet along the way) at any time, each with their own set of weapons and abilities. These are uses sparingly throughout the game, so for the most part you can play as who you prefer.
Connecting each town is a large overworld with some nice locations. The first one I encountered brought back strong childhood memories as I recognised the music from Krazy Konami Racers, but the rest of the music in the game is also great, with lots of great tracks throughout the game. I was bopping my head to quite a lot of the music which mixes classical and modern instrument sounds.
Dungeons also play a big part in the game. While there are map/compass items to collect and keys to find, they’re a lot more platform-oriented than Zelda dungeons. One downside is the game’s camera (which can be turned holding R and using the c-buttons), but it’s something you get used to. While there are some bottomless pits, other areas just have you fall to a section where you work your way back – although one handy thing is that there’s no fall damage.
There’s also a variety of other sections, including multiple giant robot boss fights, which treat you to a song each time you use your giant robot, Impact. Each starts off with an arcade-style section to build up your health and ammo before taking a first person perspective as you shoot and punch your opponent. It’s a lot of fun, although they do become more frustrating the longer they go on.
Goemon is an incredibly charming game that’s still a ton of fun to play. Some of the puzzles do have a sign flat out telling you what to do, although these mainly relate to Ebisumaru’s camera item, which reveals hidden things, so I would probably get stuck without being reminded that the object exists. Even with that, the main story is amusingly silly and the game likes throwing new things at you. It’s a great game.
The game starts out in a Zelda-style town, but what’s impressive is that this is from before Ocarina of Time. You can swap between Goemon and Ebisumaru (plus more you meet along the way) at any time, each with their own set of weapons and abilities. These are uses sparingly throughout the game, so for the most part you can play as who you prefer.
Connecting each town is a large overworld with some nice locations. The first one I encountered brought back strong childhood memories as I recognised the music from Krazy Konami Racers, but the rest of the music in the game is also great, with lots of great tracks throughout the game. I was bopping my head to quite a lot of the music which mixes classical and modern instrument sounds.
Dungeons also play a big part in the game. While there are map/compass items to collect and keys to find, they’re a lot more platform-oriented than Zelda dungeons. One downside is the game’s camera (which can be turned holding R and using the c-buttons), but it’s something you get used to. While there are some bottomless pits, other areas just have you fall to a section where you work your way back – although one handy thing is that there’s no fall damage.
There’s also a variety of other sections, including multiple giant robot boss fights, which treat you to a song each time you use your giant robot, Impact. Each starts off with an arcade-style section to build up your health and ammo before taking a first person perspective as you shoot and punch your opponent. It’s a lot of fun, although they do become more frustrating the longer they go on.
Goemon is an incredibly charming game that’s still a ton of fun to play. Some of the puzzles do have a sign flat out telling you what to do, although these mainly relate to Ebisumaru’s camera item, which reveals hidden things, so I would probably get stuck without being reminded that the object exists. Even with that, the main story is amusingly silly and the game likes throwing new things at you. It’s a great game.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is a great game that fired on all cylinders with it's scope, humor, presentation, and variety. it's an awesome translation of Goemon's action oriented gameplay in a 3D environment.
The world is pretty vast and fun to explore and it made me easily see why so many folks hold this game in high regard. The humor was very silly (some of it dated) but when the jokes land, I'm chuckling.
The presentation is astounding. Not only is it one of the best looking games on the N64, it's one of the best sounding games too. I was seriously blown away hearing how rich the music was, it genuinely felt like the N64 hardware didn't compromise it's quality.
The gameplay variety was fun to experience too. The mech battles were a blast (loved grappling and punching them alot), and I loved that they brought back the method of swapping between characters on the fly like Ganbare Goemon 3. No character feels underutilized throughout the entire playthrough; Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae all get equal usage and they're all really fun to use too. Mystical Ninja truly feels like what Konami wanted to achieve with Ganbare Goemon 3, something that blended the action platforming with exploration/action rpg-esque mechanics.
My only gripe is the game being a bit cryptic with progression, even if you talk to the NPCs often. You'll eventually find your way around things one way or another but its still a thing I noticed.
Overall, this game was really fun! I can definitely see why its so fondly looked upon by so many folks all these years later. Definitely one of the N64's greatest hits.
The world is pretty vast and fun to explore and it made me easily see why so many folks hold this game in high regard. The humor was very silly (some of it dated) but when the jokes land, I'm chuckling.
The presentation is astounding. Not only is it one of the best looking games on the N64, it's one of the best sounding games too. I was seriously blown away hearing how rich the music was, it genuinely felt like the N64 hardware didn't compromise it's quality.
The gameplay variety was fun to experience too. The mech battles were a blast (loved grappling and punching them alot), and I loved that they brought back the method of swapping between characters on the fly like Ganbare Goemon 3. No character feels underutilized throughout the entire playthrough; Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae all get equal usage and they're all really fun to use too. Mystical Ninja truly feels like what Konami wanted to achieve with Ganbare Goemon 3, something that blended the action platforming with exploration/action rpg-esque mechanics.
My only gripe is the game being a bit cryptic with progression, even if you talk to the NPCs often. You'll eventually find your way around things one way or another but its still a thing I noticed.
Overall, this game was really fun! I can definitely see why its so fondly looked upon by so many folks all these years later. Definitely one of the N64's greatest hits.
Queridinho demais, eu sou totalmente fangirl de Goemon desde que joguei um dos jogos de PS1 muitos e muitos anos atras, a ponto que a primeira musica que eu queria pra procurar no falecido Kazaa era a musica do robô Impact. Infelizmente eu não tinha o memory card N64 e apesar de meu primo ter o jogo, a gente so decidia sair da primeira cidade e parar. Até porque não sabíamos inglês direito.
Mas!!! Com acesso a um memory card agora, finalmente consegui jogar esse jogo secreto, o lado bloqueado da minha infância, venci Cerberus.
Acho curioso que a Konami não tenha continuado nesse estilo no próximo jogo de N64 porque um jogo que é um Zeldinha de plataforma, com dungeon e tudo, é extremamente bem vindo. Acho que por medo de alienar os fãs dos jogos 2D, ele é bem generoso com vida e num geral é fácil, mas não deixa de ser muito interessante e divertido. Ele também é um pouco menos doidinho que os outros, provavelmente pelo fato de cenários 3D serem mais complexos de se fazer na época, mas ainda consegue carregar o espirito engraçado da série. Porque assim, é um jogo que tem a própria trilha de risada nas cutscenes e no mínimo 3 musicas cantadas, da pra sentir carinho no jogo inteiro. A trilha sonora também é incrível, mas isso é o esperado.
Eu adoro todos os personagens, mas desde pequeninha eu já era fissurada na Yae então eu joguei grande parte do jogo com ela e só do jogo me permitir isso já merece todos os prêmios do mundo.
Mas!!! Com acesso a um memory card agora, finalmente consegui jogar esse jogo secreto, o lado bloqueado da minha infância, venci Cerberus.
Acho curioso que a Konami não tenha continuado nesse estilo no próximo jogo de N64 porque um jogo que é um Zeldinha de plataforma, com dungeon e tudo, é extremamente bem vindo. Acho que por medo de alienar os fãs dos jogos 2D, ele é bem generoso com vida e num geral é fácil, mas não deixa de ser muito interessante e divertido. Ele também é um pouco menos doidinho que os outros, provavelmente pelo fato de cenários 3D serem mais complexos de se fazer na época, mas ainda consegue carregar o espirito engraçado da série. Porque assim, é um jogo que tem a própria trilha de risada nas cutscenes e no mínimo 3 musicas cantadas, da pra sentir carinho no jogo inteiro. A trilha sonora também é incrível, mas isso é o esperado.
Eu adoro todos os personagens, mas desde pequeninha eu já era fissurada na Yae então eu joguei grande parte do jogo com ela e só do jogo me permitir isso já merece todos os prêmios do mundo.
it's realistically like...pretty average but it's a perfect game in my heart and I'm going with it. Love the soundtrack, vibe, gameplay (mostly), characters, and the absolutely bizarre literal translated script. This game is a bizarre anomaly my sister and I adore.
Also Impact theme goes fuckin nuts hard.
Also Impact theme goes fuckin nuts hard.
A very fun and very weird game.
Friends, this is some good shit. Music slaps, the dialogue is hilarious, the world is large and fun to explore, a giant robot turned hollywood actor is summoned with a conch shell so you can wail on other giant robots. The villains want to turn the world into a stage so they can perform bad theatre which probably puts them just above Jenovah and just under the Noid when it comes to most diabolical fictional villains.
Charming as heck, deserves a play if you have the patience for N64 3D jank.
Charming as heck, deserves a play if you have the patience for N64 3D jank.
Finally completed this game, 20+ years after I started it without a Memory Pak. Full video review on this game and all my repressed childhood memories at: https://youtu.be/SkRKMN67mgA
First GOTM finished for January 2023. Just a super fun game oozing with charm! Game looks great for its time, has some fun areas to explore (though some are arguably too big with too little in them), and good boss fights. Each of the four characters feels different to play and control, with their own unique items and weapons. The plot is wackadoo, and the writing is at many times quite funny. The camera can be a pain at times, and with any time spent idle will automatically rotate behind the character. This can make some of the jumping in the game unnecessarily tricky, which isn't great for a platformer, but that's pretty typical of an early 3D platforming-adventure game. Even with that in mind, this was still a great experience. Also, you get to pilot a giant mech several times in the game. Who doesn't love that!?
Ironically enough, this is technically the first 3d Zelda-like game as it predates Ocarina of Time by a few months. Ocarina of Time is a far better title, but that doesn't mean this isn't good. It's got a solid soundtrack ,good graphics for its time, cool areas to explore, and MECH FIGHTS! The plot is wacky and the game is genuinely funny. Only criticisms are the jumping in this game can be weird at times, the dungeons are a bit too simple, and the game isn't very long. Even with all of these in mind, is still an underrated N64 classic definitely worth playing.
Most overlooked game on N64, more people really need to play this and be aware of its quality.
I don't know how my parents got this game because the N64 was a hand-me-down but the only thing I remember is a thief and my 4 year old ass being so terrified because they chased the MC around. I don't know if playing it again will live up to the memories because it is absolutely hilarious looking back at it
GameClub Game #1:
Mystical Ninja starring Goemon denies me of my usual stream-of-consciousness style for reviewing by positioning itself right in the middle of the quality scale. It excels at nothing, attempts nothing to excel at, and sleeps well in the warmth of anti-critical faux-nostalgia from those who did or don't have fond memories of the N64. I always say that boring games are worse than straight up bad games because they siphon every interesting quality out of a video game and instead of ruining them or bolstering them, mitigate them with a mind numbing lack of knowledge or ambition. This game is exactly that; a stepping stone for more ambitious devs to use as a reference point in what to avoid in design.
Every area in Goemon is stretched a mile long in an attempt to pad playtime. This would be fine, if Goemon and his peanut gallery had any sort of movement options to offer the more interested player a more enticing relationship between world and control, but they don't. Every ability and action is supplemented with 4 useless button presses in order to initiate when they could be delegated to 1- and are even further delayed by pointlessly long unattractive animations. This would be fine if the abilities and actions served any other purpose than to open locked doors in different ways or cease the delay of your movement forward, but they don't. Even when you do get abilities that allow you to circumvent the intended solutions for said lock-and-key puzzles, you're about 30 minutes from being rid of the game. On top of that, you can't enact any ability while moving, even ones that Make the player Move. It's pretty darn silly and I can only assuming intentionally stifling. I would be able to forgive these bouts of boring, standardized gameplay if the game kept up its witty, absurd comedy that is present within the first 10 minutes, but it doesn't. What I thought might be a middling gameplay experience upheld by its writing and gags immediately becomes a middling package wrapped up in a tone deaf bow.
The best joke in the game is when it introduced its secondary protagonist by throwing him out of a restaurant for streaking. That's the first cutscene. Everything else the game considers funny is on part of the pressured, underpaid localizers to erase any kind of marginalized hate terms slung at minority groups that Japan loves to hate. I can appreciate this game's dedication to recreating and paying homage to Japanese culture, accurate depictions of real locations, but it all falls apart when I look up "Mystical Ninja Goemon Okama."
The game isn't worth it and only offers a couple catchy songs, nicely baked-in cool bounce lighting in some areas, and it's overall visual dedication. Other than that, everything about Mystical Ninja Goemon deserves to be ignored. It brings to light no interesting conversation and even trying will be a waste of energy as I could just spend that energy forming a cooler conversation about a better game.
I don't really have much interesting to say, but neither does the game.
So middle fingers up, this shit is Goemid. It's not Mario 64 meets Ocarina of Time. You don't even know what that means. You don't even want that shit. Go to work.
Mystical Ninja starring Goemon denies me of my usual stream-of-consciousness style for reviewing by positioning itself right in the middle of the quality scale. It excels at nothing, attempts nothing to excel at, and sleeps well in the warmth of anti-critical faux-nostalgia from those who did or don't have fond memories of the N64. I always say that boring games are worse than straight up bad games because they siphon every interesting quality out of a video game and instead of ruining them or bolstering them, mitigate them with a mind numbing lack of knowledge or ambition. This game is exactly that; a stepping stone for more ambitious devs to use as a reference point in what to avoid in design.
Every area in Goemon is stretched a mile long in an attempt to pad playtime. This would be fine, if Goemon and his peanut gallery had any sort of movement options to offer the more interested player a more enticing relationship between world and control, but they don't. Every ability and action is supplemented with 4 useless button presses in order to initiate when they could be delegated to 1- and are even further delayed by pointlessly long unattractive animations. This would be fine if the abilities and actions served any other purpose than to open locked doors in different ways or cease the delay of your movement forward, but they don't. Even when you do get abilities that allow you to circumvent the intended solutions for said lock-and-key puzzles, you're about 30 minutes from being rid of the game. On top of that, you can't enact any ability while moving, even ones that Make the player Move. It's pretty darn silly and I can only assuming intentionally stifling. I would be able to forgive these bouts of boring, standardized gameplay if the game kept up its witty, absurd comedy that is present within the first 10 minutes, but it doesn't. What I thought might be a middling gameplay experience upheld by its writing and gags immediately becomes a middling package wrapped up in a tone deaf bow.
The best joke in the game is when it introduced its secondary protagonist by throwing him out of a restaurant for streaking. That's the first cutscene. Everything else the game considers funny is on part of the pressured, underpaid localizers to erase any kind of marginalized hate terms slung at minority groups that Japan loves to hate. I can appreciate this game's dedication to recreating and paying homage to Japanese culture, accurate depictions of real locations, but it all falls apart when I look up "Mystical Ninja Goemon Okama."
The game isn't worth it and only offers a couple catchy songs, nicely baked-in cool bounce lighting in some areas, and it's overall visual dedication. Other than that, everything about Mystical Ninja Goemon deserves to be ignored. It brings to light no interesting conversation and even trying will be a waste of energy as I could just spend that energy forming a cooler conversation about a better game.
I don't really have much interesting to say, but neither does the game.
So middle fingers up, this shit is Goemid. It's not Mario 64 meets Ocarina of Time. You don't even know what that means. You don't even want that shit. Go to work.
A decently solid N64 platformer. The game wears it humor on its sleeve as it feels like watching a sitcom with the canned laughter. The cast of heroes and villians are very good to watch and listen to. This game supplies a very good hint system, with both NPCs telling you what you could do and a Hint Shop that tells you what to do like a Strategy Guide. Only way you could get lost is if you were to refuse reading what the game puts down. Although the open world segments are relatively empty, looking around and enjoying the music is a vibe itself. Combat is your basic platformer controls, jump and attack. Small gripes come from the way the camera refuses to cooperate and how some weapons only get one or two real uses. Very good game to vibe with and good humor.
Sometimes I think back on Mystical Ninja and try to remember if it was as weird as I remember it being, or if that's just my hazy childhood memory of it. And then I watch a video and realized that yeah it's pretty weird, but also rad. I remember being so into this game that I made physical versions of all the weapons using cardboard, markers, and a ton of tape.
You really can't get a better platform adventure than Mystical Ninja. Also, laugh tracks in games should be used more when the humor is deliberately bad. It really enhances it.
man...this game has a LAUGH TRACK. i thought that was SO FUNNY.
a love letter to the ancient Japan! if you're interested in japanese culture (specifically Oedo period) you should definitely play this gem!
Goatemon
A really good 3D platformer from Konami. Progression could be a bit cryptic even if you pay attention to what people say, but other than that, very solid.
Between this game and Rocket Slime, more games need giant mecha boss fights.
One of the greats for the N64. It may have aged a bit when it comes to the overworld. (remember that 3D gaming was still relatively new and exciting, so you can sorta understand why they made the areas so big.)
But if you can see pass that you are in for a very memorable adventure with wacky characters and a brilliantly composed soundtrack to boot.
A great introduction to the franchise.
But if you can see pass that you are in for a very memorable adventure with wacky characters and a brilliantly composed soundtrack to boot.
A great introduction to the franchise.
The very first friend I ever had was named Greg. Greg's dad was a doctor and he lived in a really big three-story house on the edge of town, in a secluded forested area where the rest of the rich people stayed. Greg was always very nice to me in private, but publicly he was my first bully, so we shared this strange relationship where we got along great when no one was looking and as soon as someone was, he'd call me names as loudly as possible. Greg was an asshole, but Greg also had Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, so I endured his torment. That's what I Am Impact! does to a motherfucker, I guess.
Goemon's gameplay is most easily described as a mash-up between Zelda and a 3D platformer, which is to say you spend a lot of your time running around a world map using various items and abilities to solve puzzles, and you jump around a whole bunch too. You can't jump in Zelda, so I think that means Goemon is the superior game. Sorry, Zelda-heads.
Thing is, this fusion works out really well. Platforming feels solid, though it is occasionally encumbered by a poor camera system, as was typical of the time. Puzzles and other roadblocks you encounter on your journey are all fairly simplistic in nature and don't take a whole lot of brain power to solve, which is appropriate considering Mystical Ninja never takes itself too seriously. At times it feels like the gameplay is in service of Goemon's humor, yet it never feels bad or compromised because of it. Even the gigantic robot battles you engage in play well enough and are primarily there simply for the spectacle and ridiculousness of it. I mean, you get extra points for careening through houses, there's a lot of stuff like that where it serves a gameplay purpose but is clearly meant to be humorous first and foremost.
Graphically, Mystical Ninja has aged like wine. That's the case for a decent amount of Nintendo 64 games with simplistic character designs, which fared better as low-poly models compared to other titles that strained for realism. That said, even compared to other cartoony and vibrant N64 games, Goemon's strong aesthetic style has it coming out looking better than most. The plot is great too. Goemon has to stop the Peach Mountain Gang from turning Japan into a gigantic dance stage and its inhabitants into brainwashed dancers. You end up fighting a bunch of weird freaks with names like Spring Breeze Dancin' (who has a habit of calling Goemon "Fernandez"), and some of the more off-beat jokes are punctuated with canned laughter, which as far as I can tell is just a single clip that repeats multiple times throughout the game.
My only real complaints are the aforementioned camera problems, and occasional abrupt jumps in difficulty. It's been a while, but I also recall the final boss taking forever to beat, and dying during the last phase can be incredibly irritating. But really, Mystical Ninja is just so goofy and fun that it comes as a hard recommend from me. Easily one of the better games on the Nintendo 64 and one deserving of your attention. Just be aware that it doesn't run particularly great in emulation, and loose used copies on Ebay are now trending upwards of 100$ (I'm pretty sure I paid around 30$ for it, so clearly Goemon fever has consumed the market.) Not available for Nintendo Switch Online, this game! Bad times.
Well thank you for reading my review. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to summon Impact and run over Greg's house. You know, for bonus points.
Goemon's gameplay is most easily described as a mash-up between Zelda and a 3D platformer, which is to say you spend a lot of your time running around a world map using various items and abilities to solve puzzles, and you jump around a whole bunch too. You can't jump in Zelda, so I think that means Goemon is the superior game. Sorry, Zelda-heads.
Thing is, this fusion works out really well. Platforming feels solid, though it is occasionally encumbered by a poor camera system, as was typical of the time. Puzzles and other roadblocks you encounter on your journey are all fairly simplistic in nature and don't take a whole lot of brain power to solve, which is appropriate considering Mystical Ninja never takes itself too seriously. At times it feels like the gameplay is in service of Goemon's humor, yet it never feels bad or compromised because of it. Even the gigantic robot battles you engage in play well enough and are primarily there simply for the spectacle and ridiculousness of it. I mean, you get extra points for careening through houses, there's a lot of stuff like that where it serves a gameplay purpose but is clearly meant to be humorous first and foremost.
Graphically, Mystical Ninja has aged like wine. That's the case for a decent amount of Nintendo 64 games with simplistic character designs, which fared better as low-poly models compared to other titles that strained for realism. That said, even compared to other cartoony and vibrant N64 games, Goemon's strong aesthetic style has it coming out looking better than most. The plot is great too. Goemon has to stop the Peach Mountain Gang from turning Japan into a gigantic dance stage and its inhabitants into brainwashed dancers. You end up fighting a bunch of weird freaks with names like Spring Breeze Dancin' (who has a habit of calling Goemon "Fernandez"), and some of the more off-beat jokes are punctuated with canned laughter, which as far as I can tell is just a single clip that repeats multiple times throughout the game.
My only real complaints are the aforementioned camera problems, and occasional abrupt jumps in difficulty. It's been a while, but I also recall the final boss taking forever to beat, and dying during the last phase can be incredibly irritating. But really, Mystical Ninja is just so goofy and fun that it comes as a hard recommend from me. Easily one of the better games on the Nintendo 64 and one deserving of your attention. Just be aware that it doesn't run particularly great in emulation, and loose used copies on Ebay are now trending upwards of 100$ (I'm pretty sure I paid around 30$ for it, so clearly Goemon fever has consumed the market.) Not available for Nintendo Switch Online, this game! Bad times.
Well thank you for reading my review. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to summon Impact and run over Greg's house. You know, for bonus points.
Utterly bizarre early 3D platformer/action RPG with great music and one of the most coked-out stories in any game I've played, complete with a localization so bad I'm not convinced it wasn't machine-translated. I don't know man. Play it.
N64 Zelda games have aged like milk compared to this fine wine
The thinking man's Ocarina Of Time.
Whoa... this game is pretty great. It's like a prototype hybrid of Mario 64 platforming and Zelda. You also get to play as multiple characters too that each have different abilities and items.
This is absolutely one of those games worth playing for the soundtrack. The music is awesome.
When you overlook the lack of camera control, this game is alot of fun and is full of variety and personality. Honestly, words cannot describe how much personality this game has. It's very memorable and unique (PLAAASMAAAA! hehehe)
Also this game has sushi platforms and you can swim in ramen broth in the gourmet submarine castle 10/10. That's pretty awesome (and it made me very hungry)
There are these cool sections where you get to play as Impact, this giant robot, and you just bulldoze through everything and fight Kabuki bosses and they're fun (when you know the controls because the game doesn't give any tutorials on that unfortunately).
This is absolutely one of those games worth playing for the soundtrack. The music is awesome.
When you overlook the lack of camera control, this game is alot of fun and is full of variety and personality. Honestly, words cannot describe how much personality this game has. It's very memorable and unique (PLAAASMAAAA! hehehe)
Also this game has sushi platforms and you can swim in ramen broth in the gourmet submarine castle 10/10. That's pretty awesome (and it made me very hungry)
There are these cool sections where you get to play as Impact, this giant robot, and you just bulldoze through everything and fight Kabuki bosses and they're fun (when you know the controls because the game doesn't give any tutorials on that unfortunately).