LTTP The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)

[Nabbit]

The past couple weeks, we've been playing the original localized Goemon on SNES (not the first game in the Ganebare Goemon series, but the first to come to the West). I've been reading for years about it being a formative early 90's game for many, and I love retro platformers that I missed out at the time. I had heard this game was an offbeat mix of platformer, beat 'em up and minigames.

That's pretty much true, and it definitely has some ARPG trappings also. I have pretty mixed feelings on the game now that we've finished it. We don't usually stick with games unless we're actively enjoying them. I'm this case I'd say there were parts we enjoyed q good bit and parts that felt kinda cheap or showed their age.

Things we didn't dig so much:

• The economy I'm the game felt kinda broken and reading online it seems like this was a common impression. The game expects you to grind coins in minigames or fighting townspeople for a long time. It almost felt like grinding battles in an RPG. Maybe it's because I haven't played other beat em ups, but this part of the game wasn't as compelling to me. The way basic items got more and more über-pricy felt like an uphill battle against the game structure.
• The gameplay for the platforming generally doesn't feel great to me, Goemon is kinda heavier to control but the game doesn't feel like it's designed around that like in DKC.
• The save system is hilariously unforgiving, definitely one of those late arcade era games that feels more like a late NES game in terms of saving. There are long passwords to input. At least there are infinite continues but you lose all of your money. Thank goodness for Wii U save states. I tried not to overuse them.
• If not using save states, some of the expectations of beating sections in your allotted lives were super high. The endgame in particular. We ended up using a password with high money and gear because at that point we'd saved in a boss battle with basic gear and the succession of battles was going to be too extreme to beat.

I should say I love hard games, there are just certain types of difficulty that don't jive for me. This game felt very much of the era where developers were concerned about the rental market and made games artificially harder to compensate. But it's very Japanese and I dunno if game rentals were ever big there so maybe this is from arcade-y design concepts.

Okay, on the flipside, things we enjoyed:

• Quirky, creative boss battles
• Abundance of minigames, many of them fun, plus you've got Breakout and Gradius in there
• Offbeat and very uniquely Japanese settings and tropes
• Charmingly low-rent localization
• Some interesting platforming setpieces

Overall, not a fave but I was always interested in it so I'm glad to have played it.

I'm super curious what the N64 entries are like. Are the controls and platforming tighter in those and more modern? Is there more of a focus on platforming? And what's the save system like there?

I'm also for sure interested in the spiritual successor being developed by Good-Feel. I have a feeling a modern Goemon would have pretty much none of the things I didn't care for as much in the game.

And I'd love to hear about people's experiences and memories with the series.

 

[Nabbit]

Okay, I finished my post! Apologies for the bump but I thought some may have seen it in it's original, unfinished state. Happy weekend, all!

 

[ermitron2]

The economy I'm the game felt kinda broken and reading online it seems like this was a common impression. The game expects you to grind coins in minigames or fighting townspeople for a long time. It almost felt like grinding battles in an RPG. Maybe it's because I haven't played other beat em ups, but this part of the game wasn't as compelling to me. The way basic items got more and more über-pricy felt like an uphill battle against the game structure.

I totally remember this when I replayed it a couple of years ago, and it was a chore an I ended using cheats to get money

 

[Nathan Little]

My brother and I have been playing through these games. While we felt this game was better than the NES games, it was a bit rough around the edges. The second game on SNES, however, is fantastic. Highly recommend playing that one.

 

[Rooster]

I remember feeling so disappointed learning just how many Goemon games never made their way out of Japan. Luckily I've caught up on several since then, but this was my first foray into the series, as it probably was for most people. This or the 64 one.

 

[Mandos]

So Legend of the mystical ninja starring Goemon(first n64) goes solo(coop was cut, still have the 4 playable characters) and goes full on Zelda. Still a fun wacky adventure. Goemon’s Great Adventure the second n64 game goes back to basics, keeping isometric towns and having 2D plane levels, with 2 player coop from the outset and unlockable 4 player mode. It’s hard and unforgiving, I really want to go back and beat it someday, wish both would come to nso

 

[ReyVGM]

The one thing that prevents the Goemon games from being my favorites is losing your powerups after getting hit. I hate that.

 

[GamerJM]

I played this game when it first released on the Wii Virtual Console like a decade and a half ago and I really, really didn't like it. The save system was just unforgiving and it felt too "big" of a game to have the kind of arcade-like design trappings that it has. Part of me has suspected that I might like it more if I were to ever revisit it since I've actually grown more accustomed to late NES/early SNES design sensibilities over time but normally my opinions on games don't change that much over time, with some exceptions.

 

[Nabbit]

My brother and I have been playing through these games. While we felt this game was better than the NES games, it was a bit rough around the edges. The second game on SNES, however, is fantastic. Highly recommend playing that one.

Sweet! Thanks for the tip! What's that one like? Is it SFC only?

 

[Nabbit]

So Legend of the mystical ninja starring Goemon(first n64) goes solo(coop was cut, still have the 4 playable characters) and goes full on Zelda. Still a fun wacky adventure. Goemon’s Great Adventure the second n64 game goes back to basics, keeping isometric towns and having 2D plane levels, with 2 player coop from the outset and unlockable 4 player mode. It’s hard and unforgiving, I really want to go back and beat it someday, wish both would come to nso

Thanks for the info, Mandos! Is the first N64 game as hard as the second? And does Goemon control more smoothly in both games than in the SNES Legend of the Mystical Ninja?

 

[Nabbit]

I played this game when it first released on the Wii Virtual Console like a decade and a half ago and I really, really didn't like it. The save system was just unforgiving and it felt too "big" of a game to have the kind of arcade-like design trappings that it has. Part of me has suspected that I might like it more if I were to ever revisit it since I've actually grown more accustomed to late NES/early SNES design sensibilities over time but normally my opinions on games don't change that much over time, with some exceptions.

I really agree with what you said here about the scale of the game being at odds with its arcade trappings. I'm certain I'd have dropped it if playing on Wii VC since if I'm remembering right that system didn't have save states per se, just one-off suspend states when quitting the game.

 

[Nathan Little]

Sweet! Thanks for the tip! What's that one like? Is it SFC only?

Yeah, it's like the first but feels much better to play with none of the grind. Sasuke in particular is my favorite to play as. It's even more fun with a friend imo. Maybe a little too chaotic with a friend, but fun nonetheless.

It is Super Famicom only but someone has made a fan translation.

 

[Nabbit]

Yeah, it's like the first but feels much better to play with none of the grind. Sasuke in particular is my favorite to play as. It's even more fun with a friend imo. Maybe a little too chaotic with a friend, but fun nonetheless.

It is Super Famicom only but someone has made a fan translation.

Good deal! Thanks for the info. Interesting that they did away with the grind. I've got an SFC so once my Japanese is up to the task I'd like to try it in Japanese if the cart is reasonably priced (and thankfully many are). I'm also really intrigued by the DS game with the watercolor art style.

 

[Nathan Little]

Good deal! Thanks for the info. Interesting that they did away with the grind. I've got an SFC so once my Japanese is up to the task I'd like to try it in Japanese if the cart is reasonably priced (and thankfully many are). I'm also really intrigued by the DS game with the watercolor art style.

I want to go back and try to get everything. There's even some certain exciting guests in the game I hear.

 

[Mandos]

Thanks for the info, Mandos! Is the first N64 game as hard as the second? And does Goemon control more smoothly in both games than in the SNES Legend of the Mystical Ninja?

The first one is much more chill in comparison other than some distances for platforming being tricky and some button mashing sections. Controls are smooth as far as I remember

 

[BassForever]

Sweet! Thanks for the tip! What's that one like? Is it SFC only?

There are 4 SNES mainline Goemon games, all of them got fan translations back in 2020. You should also check out Super Ninja Boy aka the Super Chinese World series if you like the Goemon games. The latter snes games also got fan translations around the same time Goemon did.

 

[The Giant]

Great bloody game. Need that goemon collection with all japan only games translated.

Also look forward to see Good Feel's goemon style game hopefully next year.

 

[nostoppingepoch]

Good game, second one might be my favourite SNES game.

 

[Nabbit]

There are 4 SNES mainline Goemon games, all of them got fan translations back in 2020. You should also check out Super Ninja Boy aka the Super Chinese World series if you like the Goemon games. The latter snes games also got fan translations around the same time Goemon did.

Thanks for the info! I don't think I'd heard of Super Chinese World before.

 

[Nabbit]

Great bloody game. Need that goemon collection with all japan only games translated.

Also look forward to see Good Feel's goemon style game hopefully next year.

I'm still hoping we get to see this and Good Feel's primary project this year. Fingers crossed.

(And cool to now know what your avatar is from!)

 

[aisback]

I’ve never played this game I’ve only played mystical ninja starring Goemon so I might go for this as it does sound pretty interesting.

Good write up OP

 

[BassForever]

Thanks for the info! I don't think I'd heard of Super Chinese World before.

It doesn't help that for the games that were localized they all had different names.

The original arcade game (Super Chinese) got localized as Chinese Heroes in the arcade and Kung Fu for it's NES home release. It's a true arcade game focused on beating single levels and getting a high score.

The sequel (Super Chinese 2) was localized as Little Ninja Brothers for the NES. It took the gameplay from the original but layered on rpg mechanics where you explore towns to get info and but items, with random encounters switching things over to beat em up gameplay.

The next game (Super Chinese Land) was just called Ninja Boy and was released on the Game Boy. It's basically portable Kung Fu but with a story to justify playing through all the levels.

Super Chinese 3 was only released in Japan on the NES and was another rpg like Little Ninja Brothers. It changed the beat em up gameplay from how it worked in kung fu and little ninja brothers to a more traditional belt scroller gameplay. It has an English fan patch out.

Super Chinese Land 2 for the gameboy was localized as Ninja Boy 2, but it has the rpg mechanics from Little Ninja Brothers.

Super Chinese World was localized as Super Ninja Boy on the SNES. It keeps the hybrid rpg-beat em up gameplay but introduces some 2d platforming challenges as well.

Super Chinese World 2 was going to be localized as Galactic Defenders, but the localization was cut. It keeps the gameplay from the past few rpg titles but also adds a 1v1 fighting mode. There is an English patch.

Super Chinese Land 3 was not localized, and is at the time of this post the only game not fan translated. It's another rpg hybrid.

Super Chinese Fighter then released on the SNES building off the 1v1 fighting mode from SCW2 to make a full 1v1 tournament fighter. There is a fan patch for this game.

Super Chinese World 3 also released on the SNES, and allowed you to play as more characters besides the main duo Ryu and Jack. It also lets you choose to play the game as a pure rpg or as a beat em up hybrid.

The next two I'm grouping together, Super Chinese Fighter GB was a gameboy fighting game only released in Japan. Super Chinese Fighter EX is basically an enhanced port for the gameboy color. There is a patch for EX, but not for GB.

The final game was Super Chinese 1+2, a port of the first two games to the GBA, along with a bonus puzzle game, Super Chinese Labyrinth. Nobody has bothered to translated any of the games in this port.

I'm a big fan of the series, though in good faith I can only recommend the SNES rpg trilogy to people. If you enjoy them you'll probably be able to put up with the jank of the nes and gb rpg releases.

 

[em]

I’ve only played the game on the SNES hardware, and only back around release. As I recall, the main game wasn’t too hot, but I loved the mini-games and spent most of my time just playing those with my younger sibling.

 

[Tatsu]

The past couple weeks, we've been playing the original localized Goemon on SNES (not the first game in the Ganebare Goemon series, but the first to come to the West). I've been reading for years about it being a formative early 90's game for many, and I love retro platformers that I missed out at the time. I had heard this game was an offbeat mix of platformer, beat 'em up and minigames.

That's pretty much true, and it definitely has some ARPG trappings also. I have pretty mixed feelings on the game now that we've finished it. We don't usually stick with games unless we're actively enjoying them. I'm this case I'd say there were parts we enjoyed q good bit and parts that felt kinda cheap or showed their age.

Things we didn't dig so much:

• The economy I'm the game felt kinda broken and reading online it seems like this was a common impression. The game expects you to grind coins in minigames or fighting townspeople for a long time. It almost felt like grinding battles in an RPG. Maybe it's because I haven't played other beat em ups, but this part of the game wasn't as compelling to me. The way basic items got more and more über-pricy felt like an uphill battle against the game structure.
• The gameplay for the platforming generally doesn't feel great to me, Goemon is kinda heavier to control but the game doesn't feel like it's designed around that like in DKC.
• The save system is hilariously unforgiving, definitely one of those late arcade era games that feels more like a late NES game in terms of saving. There are long passwords to input. At least there are infinite continues but you lose all of your money. Thank goodness for Wii U save states. I tried not to overuse them.
• If not using save states, some of the expectations of beating sections in your allotted lives were super high. The endgame in particular. We ended up using a password with high money and gear because at that point we'd saved in a boss battle with basic gear and the succession of battles was going to be too extreme to beat.

I should say I love hard games, there are just certain types of difficulty that don't jive for me. This game felt very much of the era where developers were concerned about the rental market and made games artificially harder to compensate. But it's very Japanese and I dunno if game rentals were ever big there so maybe this is from arcade-y design concepts.

Okay, on the flipside, things we enjoyed:

• Quirky, creative boss battles
• Abundance of minigames, many of them fun, plus you've got Breakout and Gradius in there
• Offbeat and very uniquely Japanese settings and tropes
• Charmingly low-rent localization
• Some interesting platforming setpieces

Overall, not a fave but I was always interested in it so I'm glad to have played it.

I'm super curious what the N64 entries are like. Are the controls and platforming tighter in those and more modern? Is there more of a focus on platforming? And what's the save system like there?

I'm also for sure interested in the spiritual successor being developed by Good-Feel. I have a feeling a modern Goemon would have pretty much none of the things I didn't care for as much in the game.

And I'd love to hear about people's experiences and memories with the series.

My favorite is the Goemon game on n64 i have been playing the english translation of the one ps1 game and its been pretty fun

 

[Nabbit]

My favorite is the Goemon game on n64 i have been playing the english translation of the one ps1 game and its been pretty fun

I had no idea there was a PS1 iteration! Gonna have to look into that. Thank you!

And thanks @BassForever for the treasure trove of info on Super Chinese World!

 

[Tatsu]

I had no idea there was a PS1 iteration! Gonna have to look into that. Thank you!

And thanks @BassForever for the treasure trove of info on Super Chinese World!

Their are a few of them but i only believe 1 has gotten a fan translation

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Great game, all I have to offer.

 

[Josh5890]

I rented one of the N64 games a very very very long time ago. I've kicked myself for not getting the SNES game on the Wii virtual console back when it was available. I really hope Konami reintroduces the series at least on the NSO.