Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (Game Boy video game)
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon | ||
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Composer(s) Kaoru Okada | Yoichi Iwata Rie Tanaka | |
Series | Ganbare Goemon | |
Platform(s) | Game Boy, 3DS Virtual Console | |
Release | Game Boy : December 4, 1997 | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (がんばれゴエモン〜黒船党の謎〜, Ganbare Goemon: Kurofune Tō no Nazo, lit. "Go Goemon: Mystery of the Black Ship Gang") is a
Gameplay
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon featured three characters—Goemon, Sasuke, and Ebisumaru—who can walk, jump, attack, and throw weapons throughout five stages of play.
Plot
After Yae is kidnapped, Goemon, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke set out to find the Black Ship Gang and rescue her.[2] They first assault Karakuri Castle, the pirates' hideout, where they learn that Baron Skull—the captain of the group—lured Yae to his hideout. They pursue Baron to the Demon Cave, where Goemon discovers clues left behind by the female ninja. They take him to the Black Ship Skull, the flagship of the pirates moored in Gull Harbor.[2] Goemon and his friends destroy the ship without locating Yae, and are aghast to see a second Black Ship Gang vessel sail into harbor. They board it and continue the quest, eventually wresting Yae from Baron Skull's hold.
Reception
Nintendo Power gave Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon a 6.7 rating on a scale of 1 to 10.[3] The magazine's editors enjoyed the expansive world, but criticized the quality of certain graphical elements, noting that certain hazards and features were "hard to distinguish". The play control received average marks, with Nintendo Power's reviewers decrying the difficulty of dodging due to the high speed of enemy projectiles and movement problems with boss battles. Writers compared the game to The Legend of Zelda series in design, but criticized the automatic regeneration of enemies in each stage—a tenet which made retracing one's steps tedious.[3] The magazine's reviewers noted that Mystical Ninja would provide a challenging experience despite not being as detailed as Zelda games. Nintendo Power's spotlight on the game concluded with the remarks that players should not "expect to get a smaller version of the N64 game"—and that though the mini games were 'a blast', the main game is sort of a drag.[3]