Goemon's Great Adventure
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known as ''Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon'' in Europe, is a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed and released by
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
for the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
on December 23, 1998. It is the fourth game in the ''
Ganbare Goemon , known as ''Goemon'' and ''Mystical Ninja'' internationally, is a video game series created and produced by Konami. Etsunobu Ebisu is the joint producer of the franchise. These games revolve around the main character, Goemon a ...
'' series released in North America and Europe, as well as the fourteenth and latest overall mainline installment, following ''
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon ''Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon'' is a 1997 platform action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. The second ''Ganbare Goemon'' game released in North America and Europe, ...
'', released two years earlier. Featuring
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
play in 2.5D, it returns the series to a
side-scrolling A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...
format. The 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 Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of s ...
. The game sold more than 160,000 copies worldwide. Reminiscent of older,
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
games, the side-scrolling system was lauded by reviewers, who also praised the two-player cooperative mode. The game's graphics and musical score earned high marks as well. Reviewers have considered it one of the best side-scrollers for the Nintendo 64.


Gameplay

''Goemon's Great Adventure'' is a side scrolling
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
in which players navigate
stages Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...
. Gameplay in ''Great Adventure'' more closely resembles that of the ''
Ganbare Goemon , known as ''Goemon'' and ''Mystical Ninja'' internationally, is a video game series created and produced by Konami. Etsunobu Ebisu is the joint producer of the franchise. These games revolve around the main character, Goemon a ...
'' series'
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
entries, and abandons the free-roaming style of ''
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon ''Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon'' is a 1997 platform action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. The second ''Ganbare Goemon'' game released in North America and Europe, ...
''. Although movement is restricted along a two-dimensional plane, the stages are rendered in
three dimensions In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position of a point. Most commonly, it is the three-di ...
and frequently wind along the z coordinate—earning the game a 2.5D status similar to ''
Yoshi's Story ''Yoshi's Story'' is a 1997 platform game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan in December 1997, and worldwide the following year. The game has been subsequently re-released on the Wii, Wii U, and Nint ...
'', '' Klonoa: Door To Phantomile'', and the ''
Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...
'' series. The game begins on a
world map A world map is a map of most or all of the surface of Earth. World maps, because of their scale, must deal with the problem of projection. Maps rendered in two dimensions by necessity distort the display of the three-dimensional surface of t ...
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 A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
. 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 A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s in cities. Though the game is
linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...
like its
16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
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 The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
Japan, featuring forests, mountains, dwellings, and
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
s designed with Japanese themes and a touch of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
. Individual stages are populated by monsters, obstacles, items (such as
Ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Ja ...
currency or
dumpling Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...
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
teahouse A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...
. 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 Nintendo 64 accessories are first-party Nintendo hardwareand third-party hardware, licensed and unlicensed. Nintendo's first-party accessories are mainly transformative system expansions: the 64DD Internet multimedia platform, with a floppy drive ...
. Defeated monsters sometimes leave behind dumplings and
Maneki Neko The ''maneki-neko'' (招き猫, ) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bo ...
—the former replenishes health, and the latter upgrades weapons up to two levels above starting strength. ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' features a system of
day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...
and
night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...
. Every two to three minutes, a meter in the information bar will slowly turn to evening or morning; the
sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
in a stage's background will similarly emulate the hues of a
sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
or a
sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...
. 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 Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...
s and eat in
restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
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
firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
s 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 In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...
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 the normal side-scrolling mode the player can witness the ending of the game.


Plot


Characters

The
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' is Goemon, a
ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
with blue, bushy hair who wields a
kiseru A is a Japanese smoking pipe, traditionally used for smoking ''kizami'', a finely shredded tobacco product resembling hair. History The word ''kiseru'' is said to have originated from the Khmer word ''khsier'' around the 16th century, while it ...
. Goemon can jump higher than his friends, throw money, and use a chain pipe. His friends are Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke. Ebisumaru is a fat man with a blue
bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...
and a love of food. Idolizing
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...
as the ultimate ninja, he can attack enemies with a decorative paddle, a magic megaphone that causes his shouts to turn to stone, and stomach gas. Yae is a green-haired female ninja, or
kunoichi is a Japanese term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Futaro Yamada in his novel in 1964. Although kunoichi have appeared in numerou ...
, wielding a
Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
. She has the ability to morph into a mermaid in order to swim underwater and use a
bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...
. Finally, Sasuke is a fast mechanical ninja who has upgradable projectile attacks such as
shuriken A is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or '' metsubushi'' to distract or misdirect. History The origins of the ''bo-shuriken'' in Japan are still unclear, despite continuing researc ...
and bombs. The villains of ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' are Bismaru and Dochuki. Bismaru, a cross-dressing
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...
(who first appeared in '' Ganbare Goemon 3''), 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. Neutral characters include the Wise Man, Omitsu, Edo's Lord, 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 gives the player hints as to the location of every entry pass in the area.


Story

Goemon and his friends must stop Ebisumaru's descendant 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". The team follows Bismaru to the second castle, which contains several underwater levels. After defeating Bismaru's robot, 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 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. Goemon and his friends manage to get to the Underworld, where undead and ghost creatures reside, and destroy Wise Man's Machine in the Underworld Castle. Unable to stop Bismaru again, Susaku appears 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 accidentally presses the machine's self-destruct button. As in previous ''
Ganbare Goemon , known as ''Goemon'' and ''Mystical Ninja'' internationally, is a video game series created and produced by Konami. Etsunobu Ebisu is the joint producer of the franchise. These games revolve around the main character, Goemon a ...
'' 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
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
season of
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, as three games were due to be released—''Goemon's Great Adventure'' and the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
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 The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
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 , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...
, 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 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) was an annual Trade fair, trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, wit ...
, 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 Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
release, entitled ''Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon''. To generate interest and incentive for the North American release, Konami included $20 rebates for ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' or ''
Castlevania 64 ''Castlevania'', also referred to as ''Castlevania 64'', is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by Konami's Kobe branch for the Nintendo 64. An expanded version of the game, ''Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness'', was released later in the same y ...
'' in copies of '' Hybrid Heaven''.


Audio

''Goemon's Great Adventure'' continues its predecessor's musical style by integrating modern synthesizers and traditional Japanese instruments. The game features two musical numbers: "SMILE AGAIN", a 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 , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...
voiced "I Am Impact"'s music with
Sakura Tange is a Japanese voice actress, singer and writer who was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi. She is best known for providing the voice of Sakura Kinomoto in the anime series ''Cardcaptor Sakura'' and before that, she voiced some of SNK's characters, suc ...
and
Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese musician, singer and composer. He is best known for his work on anime, video game and ''tokusatsu'' soundtracks. Kageyama first rose to prominence as a teenager in the 1970s as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. Following their br ...
sang ''Great Adventure''s theme song. These performances were inexplicably cut from the North American and European releases of the game, leaving the title screen silent and eliminating the Impact battle preparation sequence. Japanese
voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...
in the opening and ending scenes was left in. A team of five composers created the game's main soundtrack, 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 changes within dungeons, usually becoming faster-paced as players advance. One composer regretted that the space limitations of a
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
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 Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake''. A composer who grew up as a fan of Konami's game integrated rhythms reminiscent of
beatmania (styled as ''beatmania'') is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in December 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only w ...
's catalogue in a few songs. A 68-track
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
was released by Konami on January 22, 1999.


Critical reception

''Goemon's Great Adventure'' sold over 160,000 copies worldwide and received favorable reviews, earning an 8 out of 10 at
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
, an A at
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conte ...
, a 3.5 out of 5 at
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
, and a metascore of 80% at
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
. Critics enjoyed the "simple, yet enjoyable platform gameplay", specifically citing Castlevania overtones and fresh, varied level design as strong points. 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 ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
said 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'' is a 1997 platform action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. The second ''Ganbare Goemon'' game released in North America and Europe, ...
'' were solved by the switch to the side-scrolling 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". 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... etsomehow fits together to make a highly entertaining and original game." The soundtrack—"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'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. ...
'' 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 In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of "samples". A sample is a value of the signal at a point in time and/or s ...
and variety. IGN's Schneider remarked that ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' would have benefitted from more
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
elements as exemplified in '' Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame''. He also regretted that the miniature games (''
Gradius is a series of shooter ( shoot'em up) video games, introduced in 1985, developed and 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 games were absent. Jason Leung of Nintendo Power wrote, "finally, a sidescroller done right for the N64". David Canter concluded, IGN summarized, "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'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'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." ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "''Goemon's Great Adventure'' emerges as a much better game than its predecessor - and, like the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series, shows that not every game needs to be in full 3D to be fun."


Sequels

As of 2012, ''Goemon's Great Adventure'' is the last ''Ganbare Goemon'' game to date that has been translated to English and released overseas. The next and final ''Goemon'' game for the Nintendo 64 is ''
Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku is a video game for the Nintendo 64, released by Konami in 1999. It is the third ''Ganbare Goemon'' game released for the Nintendo 64, and the only one of the three to not be released outside of Japan. The game is based on the Japanese board ...
'', released exclusively in Japan on December 25, 1999. In ''Mononoke Sugoroku'', players must collect
Ofuda In Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, an or is a talisman made out of various materials such as paper, wood, cloth or metal. are commonly found in both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and are considered to be imbued with the power of the deit ...
cards while navigating a
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
. Konami followed with '' Bouken Jidai Katsugeki Goemon'', a game for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
released on December 21, 2000, and other PlayStation games in 2001. The now-defunct company
Working Designs Working Designs was an American video game publisher that specialized in the localization of Japanese role-playing video games, strategy video games and top-down shooters for various platforms. Though the company had published many cult hits, it ...
attempted to bring ''Bouken Jidai Katsugeki'' to English audiences as ''Mystical Ninja Goemon'' beginning in May,
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. Motivated to promote a series "that's never quite received the recognition it deserves here n the United States, Working Designs demonstrated the game in its 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 is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
canceled the game's release due to subpar graphics. While Goemon ceased to appear on home consoles in 2001, Konami continued to release
handheld A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...
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 '' Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki'' for the
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Ganbare Goemon 1998 video games Cooperative video games Ganbare Goemon games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo 64 games Nintendo 64-only games Platformers Side-scrolling platformers Video games developed in Japan Video games set in castles