The Nintendo 64 is known for its wide array of 3D platformers and adventure games of varying levels of quality. You have pure movement-based platformers like Mario 64 and Chameleon Twist, high-scope collectathons like Banjo Kazooie and DK64, and vast action-adventures like the Zelda games, but then there's Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, a game that manages to do all of that.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is an entry in the Goemon series, but it's one of the few to have released in the US which is a shame because they're generally pretty good. It's an action-adventure platformer where you play as a team of four ninjas as they try to stop a bunch of aliens (I think?) who are trying to turn all of Japan into a European stage. Putting aside the very minor themes of Westernization, it's a truly bizarre and surreal story that veers in all sorts of directions, which is very much part of the charm. It's one of those video game stories that's less about telling a super engaging narrative, and more about giving the player just enough motivation to keep going, and having just enough context to put the cast in all kinds of silly scenarios. That being said, even if the plot isn't super important here, the characters are very likable. The main quartet of Goemon, Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke are all super fun and charming characters with their own defined personalities, the villains are incredibly silly, and even all the side characters and town citizens you meet along the way are charming and memorable.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon diverges from the series' linear 2D platformer roots and is instead a 3D open world adventure game spanning across all of Japan. And I mean all of Japan. I remember my first time looking at the map for this game and seeing the screen zoom all the way out to show the entire country. Even having played games like Ocarina Of Time and the Banjo Kazooie series, I was stunned a Nintendo 64 game was going for such a massive scale. I think Starring Goemon's scale is easily one of its most admirable traits. All of the overworld areas you traverse through are massive, with tons of nooks and crannies, hidden details, and empty space. It's like Hyrule Field a dozen times over, thought slightly more compact and with a way better fast travel system. And the towns are super detailed and filled with NPCs which gives them all a very comfy vibe to them. You really familiarize yourself with some of the major villages like Oedo Town and Zazen Town by the end of the game. It all helps to really sell the fact that you're going on a round trip around Japan, and I can't help but get the feeling that Konami was really excited to be able to bring the world of Goemon to life in a way they never could before. It really shows.
Gameplay-wise, Goemon's controls are fairly basic. You can run, jump, and use an attack, no crazy movement tech like in Mario or anything. That's because the real meat of the game is being able to swap between the aforementioned four ninjas, with each of them all having their own unique attacks and fun abilities that make them valuable. Goemon has a hookshot, Ebisumaru can shrink, Sasuke can double jump, and Yae can... turn into a mermaid. Did I mention this game is weird? Goemon strikes the perfect balance when it comes to having multiple playable characters. The game offers up enough opportunities to play as everyone, with each of the first four dungeons being brilliantly crafted to put each respective character to the test, but it also doesn't flood you with context sensitive prompts that never let you stick with a character you like. I spent a lot of time as Yae because she's my favorite of the four, but I also don't feel like the other three got underused.
At this point, you've probably begun to notice that this game has a lot of similarities a certain Nintendo franchise. Hookshots, dungeons, large overworlds, and I didn't even bring up the Heart Piece equivalents. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is very much a Zelda-like and could easily be referred to as a clone of Ocarina Of Time... is what I would say if Goemon didn't come out first. Yeah, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon managed to do a lot of what Ocarina Of Time did and capture a lot of that same sense of adventure before that game even came out. Not to discount Ocarina's influence, Goemon's camera system for example isn't nearly as good, but this just demonstrates Konami's ambition and talent at the time for managing to make a game that could stand toe to toe with the biggest game on the console. And that's not to say Goemon doesn't bring anything new to the table, because it absolutely does. Introducing Impact:
Hands down the coolest thing about Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is the fact that for several of its bosses, Goemon calls in a giant mech called Impact that he uses to fight the boss. This isn't the first time the series did this, but seeing Impact in 3D hits different, and there's actually quite a lot of depth to these giant mecha battles as you have a lot of hidden combos you can learn to speed up each fight. And the cherry on top of this amazing game mechanic? They got the mecha anime singer Ichiro Mizuki to give Impact a theme song, and they play it in full every time you enter a mecha battle. Even Konami knew it was a banger.
Even beyond the mechs though, I think that what sets Goemon apart from its contemporaries is all the weird scenarios you get to take part in. There's the Impact fights, the many silly minigames, the submarine dungeon, the boss fight that takes place atop a dragon, the sequence where you climb a giant staircase dodging boulders, this game does not let up for a second. Starring Goemon is a far shorter game than your average 3D Zelda, capping in at around 5-10 hours in length, but the pacing is perfect and there's never a moment where you're not doing something fun or creative. But even if you still want more out of the game, there's all the Dolls to get that will increase your health, all the special attacks you can find for the characters, and even an unlockable Impact boss rush just in case you want to re-experience those glorious moments.
Being a Nintendo 64 game, I can't say Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon has necessarily aged all that wonderfully. If you're not fond of blocky characters, stretched-out textures, or foggy areas, this game won't change your mind. That being said, by the standards of the console, I think Goemon still looks pretty already. The environments are super bright and colorful, the towns are full of detail, and most importantly, the main four characters look fantastic and are incredibly expressive. There is so much attention to detail into how Goemon, Ebisumaru, Yae, and Sasuke move and act, with each having several unique walk cycles, expressions, voice clips, and even crawls. It's impossible to not fall in love with these dorks, they're so charismatic. And the soundtrack, oh man. Those who've played Goemon know it's a series that is synonymous with great music, but Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon's soundtrack is on another level entirely. Blending funk and pop with traditional Japanese instruments, Starring Goemon's score has an entire unique sound and a lot of banger tracks. The overworld themes (Kai Highway, Yamato, Tosa, and Sanuki Konpira Mountain) are super groovy and fun, the village themes (Oedo Town, Zazen Town) are super comfy, and I already mentioned the Impact theme song. But easily the high point of the soundtrack are the phenomenal dungeon themes, which even evolve as you get further in them. I'm not exaggerating when I say that every single dungeon theme is stellar. Overall, easily one of the best soundtracks on the console.
With lovable characters, fantastic dungeons, top-notch pacing, mecha boss fights, a grand sense of scale, and a banging soundtrack, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is just a brilliant adventure game on every level. But what elevates this entry in the series to one of my favorite games of all time, let alone is its series, is how... excited it feels to be 3D. Transitioning your video game series to another dimension is hard and not everyone nailed it, especially not on the N64, but Goemon took the opportunity to develop, expand on, and flesh out its world and style in ways only a third dimension would allow.
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