Retro Review: Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

My Nintendo 64 is probably the most underused console in my collection, next to the Dreamcast. Both systems didn’t have an option to play with a wireless controller and I’m weird; I hate it when the cord touches the ground. Flash to this Christmas I purchased myself a wireless controller for the N64 and the system has become one of my most played now. I do need to be careful because some of the batteries in the games have to be on their last life and the store I go to for battery changes has been locked down due to the pandemic. I looked online and found out that Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon uses the memory card instead of a battery. I cracked my knuckles, popped the cartridge in and began my strange adventure with Goemon.

You play as Goemon for a majority of the game, meaning he is the protagonist. What is unique about this adventure platformer to me is the fact that you get to play as three other characters once you meet them. You also get to play as Ebisumaru, a fat man who fancies a blue bandana; Sasuke who dresses and acts like a ninja; and finally Yae, a sword fighting individual that meets up with a bit deeper into the game. As I played I would forget that I had an arsenal of characters to help me on my adventure. It was something that took getting use to.

The story is a pretty simple one, Oedo Castle is attacked by a mysterious flying airship and the Lord of Oedo enlists Goemon and his friends to find out who destroyed the castle. As you attempt to uncover this mystery you are joined with by two other individuals that help you on your quest. The developers on this title did not believe in hand holding for anything, you kind of know where to go, but once you’re there you don’t know what to do. I ad to bust out a walkthrough as I played this game or I would have been running around Mt Fuji till the end of time. I recommend using one, and I don’t usually do that, but you will be so lost.

The controls are pretty simple, keep in mind I’m using a different controller than the original because I don’t have 3 hands. Press A to jump, B to attack, A to talk to an NPC, down yellow is switch character, right yellow is map, right trigger is crawl and left arrow is change weapon. You find a lot of the weapons in your travels, some of them you MUST have to continue. Unlike The Legend of Zelda though these aren’t found in certain dungeons, you have to find them in the wild. I lucked upon my first one on Mt Fuji and it allowed me to continue my journey. Had I decided to go elsewhere or journey in the town instead of leaving I would have been stuck.

This game is like nothing I’ve ever played before to be honest. Yes I’ve played my share of Mario and Zelda games but even though this game has similarities to them it is a completely different animal. The story is goofy, the characters are unique and just the overall feel of the game is amazing. Usually N64 graphics are hard to look at, I get it, so are PS1 graphics but still the developers made the world as colorful and vibrant as they could with the technology.

The enemy designs don’t change too often, but the city feels actually lived in, and the NPCs you meet are unique. I really liked this world they created and it makes me wish that I could find the sequel to this game without having to sell a kidney. I did happen to get some SNES Japan games in this series and I look forward to playing these once I’m finally helping Goemon find the culprit. This is a very time consuming game which is why I’ve not gotten to the end yet. But I will!

I love this game, I’m glad that I finally got a wireless controller so that I can enjoy these games that I’m yet to play. This game comes from a time when developers cared more about making a fun, unique experience for gamers; especially Konami. This game has it all, a great soundtrack, cast of characters, controls, and story. It is unfortunate that there isn’t A LOT of replayability with the title. This is a one and done game, you play it get either as far as you can or beat it and you tuck it away or sell it for a pretty penny. I will say that when you are playing it you will have a blast, just make sure you have walkthrough open or you’ll get frustrated and stop playing!