Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is a game for the Nintendo 64 that came out in 1997. It is a part of the very large Mystical Ninja game series, most of which never even was released in the states. We got about 4 of them I believe, and this one is my absolute favorite. In fact, it was the only one I could actually stomach playing.
The story takes place in the Japanese Edo period with all the beautiful fashion and design that came with that era. [I genuinely love the look of that period.] And I am not particularly saying that this game was graphically impressive. It wasn't. In fact, this was one of the most simplistic looking games of the time. But it all worked somehow and managed to make the entire experience interesting.
You play as four characters throughout the game:
-Goemon [A ninja who uses a large smoking pipe as a weapon.]
-Ebisumaru [A fat ninja man with a mallet. Also used a lot for comic relief.]
-Yae [Female, sword-wielding secret agent ninja.]
-Sasuke [Kunai-throwing robot ninja.]
The premise of the game is that a couple of thespians want to turn Japan into a giant stage so that they can perform for all of eternity. They are doing this by force due to the fact that they aren't very good actors. It's a completely silly idea, but the game's whole story and setting was silly to begin with. They seem self-aware of this enough to use it to great advantage.
The game play of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is a perfect cross between Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Both of these wonderful games seems crushed into one game and done in a solid and fun way. You have the enjoyable fighting and platforming of Super Mario 64 and the adventuring, dungeoning, and progression elements of Zelda. It rather created it's own genre by doing this, and I probably played this game more often than the two games that inspired it.
Graphically, the game is extremely simple looking. There isn't much to see. The cities and towns seem a bit under-built. Still, the Edo period design is still there, and it's not really as bad to look at as it sounds. It's just that if you compare it to other games out at the time, it does seem like a budget version. I still enjoyed exploring these places though. The graphics are easy to look past, and there are some fantastic design to many of the places you'll see. The dungeons in particular were wonderfully designed. I'll never forget the one that had you running around on a giant pool table. It was so much fun.
Probably the one thing that most people remember from this game is the music. I guess the way to explain it is traditional Japanese music with a modern pop influence. Whatever it really is, I haven't met one person who played this game that didn't come out of it humming some of the music. Very catchy. I actually use one of the songs as a ringtone. Additionally, this game had the best dungeon music I have ever heard. It progressively got more and more exciting the further you went into the dungeon. Very dynamic for the time the game came out.
There is quite a bit of fairy lore in this one, all with a Japanese influence. The kappa was among my favorite [I love his theme music too.] Most of the enemies are based on various Japanese demon designs. There are also giant robots. Why? Because Japan.
Despite my adoration for this game, I doubt it will ever receive a remake. I tried playing it on emulator, but I just has so much trouble getting it to frame correctly on my monitor. It was frustrating. If there is ever a way for you to play this game, I do recommend it. It isn't a particularly hard game. In fact, it's a good game for newbies to get into. There aren't really a lot of puzzles. It's mostly just platforming and combat. All very simple and intuitive. Play this one any way you can.
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I remember renting this one, it was a lot of fun. The music was indeed catchy and genuinely good. I'd love to play it again for nostalgia's sake.
ReplyDeleteI still find myself humming tunes from it 10 years later. They really outdid themselves there.
DeleteIt sounds like a game I could actually play, me being a lousy player with slow twitch-skills and clueless puzzle-solving. My favorite games are ambient. I bask in the visuals and the music. I relish the endearing characters.
ReplyDeleteThis game was sometimes bad on the eye but had such amazing style to it with the Edo Period background. It was simple gameplay that just worked. if I had any real complaint, it would be the giant robot fights which seriously needed an in-game tutorial. It heavily relied on instructions found only in the manual.
DeleteSome game music just sticks with you. It can take on a significance all its own. You find yourself humming it even when the game is not being played.
ReplyDeleteI can't say this is the only game that did that, but I remember a lot of its music 10 years later. That's saying something.
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