Collection essentials #63: Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu (NES)

It’s Konami at it again! Here’s the beginnings of another great series of theirs. This is their second Goemon game, the first being “Mr. Goemon” in arcades, but this is the first one on consoles and is very different from said arcade game so it is often seen as a “first” of sorts. Our protagonist, Goemon, is loosely based on the real-life Robin-Hood-like Ishikawa Goemon from 16th-century Japan. Upon thinking about it, I’m mildly surprised (not to mention disappointed) that this game didn’t get an American release. Perhaps they thought it was “too Japanese”, but I think my younger self would have found the fictionalized 1500s-Japan setting to be pretty cool, even before garnering an interest in the country in general. A few games in the series later did see an international release, but more on those another time.

Ganbare Goemon! may seem a bit like an adventure game at first (like something that starts with a “Z” I haven’t gotten to yet), as you’re thrown into a fairly open area and able to explore and move in four directions, but it plays out quite differently. Although it may appear to be open-ended at first glance, the game is nonetheless divided into levels. In each area, you have a limited amount of time to find three “passes” to gain entry into the next area. They are usually hidden in various places, in different ways, though sometimes it's as simple as coughing up money to buy one at a store. There are many secret passageways that can be uncovered by jumping over them, and items can be bought to help uncover them if you’re having trouble. The variety in levels, decent amount of content and ability to power up your character make for a fun, satisfying, action-packed experience. When you beat the game, you can start again on a higher difficulty and continue having fun. The biggest gripe I have is that there are some tricky platforming sections where you have to jump across gaps that are bottomless pits leading to instant death, and while I do think the controls are generally fine, I don’t think they’re great for precision platformer, and the fact that you can get speed power-ups means that it can be difficult to gauge your jumps.

What really solidifies this game into “essential” status is the series that would come of it, admittedly. But even without the credit of paving the way for a series, this game holds up as a quality gaming experience on its own and is worth revisiting. (Or just “visiting,” since if you’re not Japanese you’ve probably never played this game!)