I’m a huge fan of the Goemon (or Mystical Ninja if you’re from the Western world like me). My experiences started with the first Super Nintendo release. I was surprised later in life to discover that this wasn’t the debut installment and that the franchise was already in full swing by this point. Even more surprising is that the series originated in arcades before transitioning to home console. This coin-op release was originally released only in Japan as Mr. Goemon. Today we’re going to take a look at this original installment and see if it’s still worth playing.
Mr. Goemon is based on an old Japanese folk-tale about a man named Ishikawa Goemon. This guy was an outlaw in 16th century Japan who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Think Robin Hood only much more flamboyant. Mr. Goemon is a side scrolling platform game where your only goal is to reach the end of the level and spread the riches you’ve acquired to the rest of the population. There are many who aren’t happy with this and will get in your way. As Goemon you’ll face off against a veritable army of foes. These guys run from off screen and can jump or drop levels in the stage. Later on they throw projectiles and it is at this point that the difficulty ramps up significantly.
This isn’t your typical action game. You see, simply being touched by an enemy does nothing. You aren’t even harmed when they jump on top of you. When the enemies are close enough they’ll grab on to Goemon and you have a limited amount of time to shake them off. You do this by rotating the joystick back and forth rapidly. Should you fail to break free in time you’ll lose a life. When you lose all of them you’re sent back to the title screen regardless of how many additional quarters you’ve sunk in. Goemon instantly dies when hit by a projectile so you’ve got to stay on you toes.
Goemon has two methods of attack. Primarily you’ll be relying on his smoking pipe which has poor range but can be used endlessly. The only other attack you’ve got comes in the form of items you can pick up which can be thrown. What’s nice about these is that they travel through opponents so you can take out multiple with one toss. There’s also an item that grants temporary invincibility but this is rare and you can’t rely on finding it. Enemies need only be hit one time to be defeated. It sounds like the game should be easy then, right? Well, that’s just not the case here.
While your foes are quickly dispatched they just keep coming endlessly. There’s no stop to the number that continually pour from off-screen into the play area. What’s more is that they are faster than Goemon and surprisingly agile. It’s not uncommon for them to jump continually which makes them tough to hit. I found that sometimes it was easier to just bounce off of their heads than to actually deal with them. They can be used as basic stepping stones to reach platforms, and jumping on their heads can stop them from reaching your level. The action is pure chaos but it’s more controlled because touching enemies doesn’t harm you.
There’s not much inherently wrong with Mr. Goemon’s design except for the fact that there’s very little variety. Your only goal is to reach the end of the stage without losing all of your lives and before the timer (indicated by a moon) runs out. The level designs are simple and offer only subtle differences at best. Meanwhile you have the same constant influx of foes most of which have similar patterns to one another. It feels like you’re doing the same thing every moment you’re playing the game. You’re dodging foes and projectiles in exactly the same way and lining them up to strike with your pipe. It gets more difficult, yes, but that’s because the enemies move faster and shoot at you. It’s certainly not because Konami introduces significant new concepts.
The controls are also somewhat of an issue. It must be said that the fact that there’s no dedicated jump button and you instead must press up was awful even back then. Goemon also moves a little sluggishly and there’s something off with his jumping abilities that I can’t quite put my finger on. There’s a very slight wind-up with Goemon’s primary weapon but this was intentional. It took me only a few moments to get used to, and even proficient with smacking opponents with the pipe.
For a game that was released back in 1986 Mr. Goemon looks great. This holds true even taking the more powerful arcade hardware into account. Primarily I just love how colorful the game is. Goemon has his trademark blue hair which helps him stand out against some of the more detailed backgrounds. The game features a myriad of different enemy designs and the way the models are used makes it feel like there’s a nice variety. The game is based on historical Japan and the art style reflects this wonderfully. There is a lot to like even if the hunched over character designs do bother me a little. The soundtrack is very limited with only one or two songs, but they’re decent enough.
Mr. Goemon is an important game because it started such an influential franchise. With that said it’s not a particularly fun title to play. It’s enjoyable in short bursts but after you realize the enemy patterns don’t differ that much, stage designs are too similar, and there are no bosses it gets boring fast. For its time Mr. Goemon is pretty impressive technically. It’s clear there wasn’t much heart put into it. I’m still glad it was made because it set the foundation for what is one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. If you’re a fan, and hankering for a Goemon game you may have missed I recommend looking elsewhere.
