Ikuze!
It’s an absolute crime that we got so few titles from theGanbare Goemonseries in the West. Not that all of them were terrific, but they almost always tried new things and were usually enjoyable. We didn’t see our first until the third (Fourth? Fifth? It’s complicated) game in the series, localized as 1992’sLegend of the Mystical Ninjaon SNES.
While the originalGanbare Goemonon Famicom got the series off to a good start, it would be 1989’sGanbare Goemon 2that would establish one of the franchise’s hallmark features: simultaneous co-op.
As the story goes, Goemon is in prison, where he meets his soon-to-be BFF Ebisumaru. Ebisu-chan tells of a mystical treasure. Bored of life in prison, the duo decides to just leave and traipse across Japan to look for this treasure.
There’s a lot borrowed and a lot changed from the firstGanbare Goemon. The original title had a pretty strict gameplay loop of having you seek out three passes in each level to proceed. While that makes a return for some stages,Ganbare Goemon 2shakes things up by ending others with bosses and cutscenes. There’s less emphasis on finding holes in the ground by jumping over them. It also doubles down on the mini-games and anachronism jokes.
TheGoemonseries has never been totally straight-faced, but there’s an obvious decline into insanity throughout the titles.Ganbare Goemon 2for example, has yokai-interrupted strip shows, the option to run into the women’s bath, and a store that sells Konami game cartridges that changes the enemies into popular characters from other games. While there are no roller-skating giant robots just yet, the weirdnessGoemonis known for is in full swing.
It’s also where Goemon really begins his traipse across Japan. Most games in the series involve him traveling around his home country, but the originalGanbare Goemonstuck to one prefecture. Here, you travel from Kyushu to Hokkaido, one level at a time. Feudal Japan is maybe not as splendiferous as it would be on the SNES, but it gives theGanbare Goemon 2a decent sense of variety and a tangible feeling of progression.
But one stage doesn’t even give you the option. You have to buy all three passes. The only ways to get money are bopping enemies and gambling, so if you haven’t managed to accumulate all the needed scratch by the time you get to that level, you’re left to grind for the rest. This is painful, especially in co-op.
It’s maybe not the best game in theGoemonseries, but it is a formative title, cementing standards that would be held through the series’ run. One thing to note is that while theGanbare Goemonseries is consistently enjoyable, it’s very rarely great. Most titles have little issues that hold them back, and the formula in them changes so substantially from game to game that it never quite gets things nailed down.
Ganbare Goemon 2’ssetbacks larger come down to difficulty and the need to grind. Money can get you far. Items will allow you to take extra hits, you’re able to heal at many shops and inns around the stages, and you can even buy more lives. It makes a big difference when it comes to getting through the more difficult areas, of which there are quite a few. It’s not impossible, and I’ve made it through with a co-op partner on more than one occasion; it can just make things a lot more troublesome.
Still, there’s a lot of fun to have in co-op, as long as someone doesn’t mind being the bizarre Ebisumaru. While the first Famicom title may have arrived too early to feel the full effects ofThe Legend of ZeldaandMetroid’simpact on console games,Ganbare Goemon 2ditched all the old arcade hold-overs and is a much more enjoyable experience than the first game. It’s a pretty solid title for the Famicom overall.
Can you get throughGanbare Goemon 2without knowing Japanese? That’s tough. I’ve done it multiple times knowingminimalJapanese, but it’s enough to let me know what each building does. However, the basics of gameplay are easy enough to grasp without it. Luckily, if you can’t navigate the language, there are fan translations out there that can greatly demystify things.
It was ported to the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Consoles, but only in Japan. I’m still holding out hope that Konami will bring us aGoemoncollection, but considering they had M2 portGetsu Fuuma Dento modern consoles anddidn’t bother translating it; forgive me if I’m doubtful.
