Collection essentials #194: Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness / Let's Go! Goemon 2: Very Strange General McGuiness (SNES)

I previously covered two Goemon games for the Famicom, and here’s the first one I’m doing on the Super Famicom. If you remember the last two I did, you may be confused as to the numbering of this sequel. The second Goemon game on the Famicom was called Ganbare Goemon 2, and this one is also Ganbare Goemon 2. Why? Well, first, I have to point out that I skipped over the first Ganbare Goemon game on SNES. That was actually the first Goemon game released outside Japan, which was under the name “The Legend of the Mystical Ninja”. Even though I have that game, I’m leaving it off this list. Many people like it, but when I played it for myself I found it very overrated and not that good. Anyways, for some reason Konami decided to reset the numbering when they started making the games on Super Famicom, so this second game on the system is called Ganbare Goemon 2 instead of Ganbare Goemon 4. I’m not sure if there’s any known reason as to why!

This Ganbare Goemon 2 still has towns, but plays a little more like a straight platformer than the previous games, complete with a level select map and everything. One thing cool about it, something that would become a staple of the series, is that there are a few different playable characters that each have different attributes and weapons. And you can play two players cooperatively, which was not the norm for platformers at the time!

But perhaps this game’s great addition to the series is “Impact”, a giant robot with a really goofy face who doesn’t look very robot-like. The game has a few special boss fights where Goemon and/or his friends summon Impact to take on a large foe, and they jump into his cockpit and pilot him. These play completely differently than the rest of the game, as you take a behind-the-back view inside the cockpit and aim a crosshair for both attacking and blocking. 

Not only is this another well-made game from Konami, but the cartoony goofiness that this series does well adds a lot to the fun and makes it more memorable. I played through this game years back in Japanese, so I missed out on some of the humor, but now there is an English fan translation patch available, so I will definitely have to revisit this game at some point! It’s yet another one in Konami’s impressive vault of games and another collection essential.