This saga is one of the few games that managed to leave Japan and reach Europe and the United States. It made it into the top 35 games for the Nintendo 64. There are two sequels on the Nintendo 64: Ganbare Goemon: Dōchū Obake Tenko Mori (Goemon’s Great Adventure in America and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 2 in Europe) and Goemon: Mononoke Sugoroku, which was not released in the West.
The narrative that develops throughout the game serves as a guide for this journey. The story begins with Japan being abducted by a spaceship, where aliens call themselves the Shoguns of Peach Mountain and capture the princess of Oedo Castle. Goemon and Ebisumaru set off to rescue the princess and pursue the aliens. Along the way, they are joined by several allies, including the robot Sasuke and the ninja Yae, as well as a giant robot named Impact that responds to Goemon’s call in their time of greatest need.
Goemon and his friends must travel to space to defeat the Shoguns Lily and Dancin. In the end, they manage to defeat them with the help of the Impact robot.
The first dungeon is Oedo Castle, where Goemon and Ebisumaru manage to reach Zazen Village shortly after the first battle with the giant robot Impact, where they successfully defeat the Shogun for the first time. To continue their journey, they need to defeat Benkei, who is guarding the bridge to leave the city. After defeating the robot, Sasuke is given, but the batteries are not working. To access the next Ebisumaru dungeon and defeat the ghost king of the castle, they need to acquire magic.
Later, Goemon finds the batteries for Sasuke to operate, as the bombs are necessary to access the third dungeon, Festival Temple. After defeating the enemies in that region, they need to go to another area, for which Goemon needs magic that will make him strong enough to move metal blocks. You reach a new town where Yae learns diving magic to go to the Gourmand Submarine Castle, which ends with another battle with the Impact robot. The next task is to find the kappa Keihachi living in Zazen Village to obtain Sasuke’s magic.
After acquiring four special Goemon items and traveling through space, they meet Omitsu and Wiseman at the dungeon “Georgeus My Stage,” which is next to an area cultivated by the Shoguns.
**Characters:**
– **Goemon:** The main character of the adventure. His weapons include a pipe that can be transformed into a chain to reach inaccessible places and ryou (game coins) thrown with flames. He can be made twice as strong with magic.
– **Ebisumaru:** Always accompanies Goemon. His weapons are a hammer and a camera to reveal hidden paths. He can shrink with magic to reach special locations.
– **Sasuke:** A robotic ninja who needs to find the batteries that previously operated him. His weapons are kunai (dagger-like) and bombs. He can fly for a short time with magic.
– **Yae:** A secret ninja agent. She uses a katana, a bazooka, and a flute that allows her to summon a dragon. With magic, she can transform into a mermaid and stay underwater indefinitely.
– **Omitsu:** Lives in Goemon’s town and works at a teahouse; she is abducted by the Shoguns towards the end of the game.
– **Impact:** A giant robot that is actually a movie star from another country but always goes to answer Goemon’s battle calls.
– **Wiseman:** A sage kidnapped by the Shoguns and the creator of Sasuke. He contacts Goemon through an old woman.
**Dungeons and Bosses:**
– **Oedo Castle:** Once the castle of Princess Edo, now controlled by the Shoguns of Peach Mountain. No weapons are obtained in this level. The boss is a massive head that shoots beams and breathes fire, which is easy to defeat.
– **Ghost Toy Castle:** A massive castle filled with ghosts where Ebisumaru can obtain the necessary camera. The level begins with a Japanese doll that launches rockets, and the camera is required to beat it.
– **Festival Temple Castle:** The most chaotic phase of the game, a temple filled with traps and the most dangerous enemies. Sasuke can obtain kunai that freeze enemies with severe cold. The boss is a ghost that throws explosive disks, which need to be sent back to hit him.
– **Gourmand Submarine Castle:** A simple level with several meals appearing. Yae is needed here for the bazooka. The level boss is a giant fish that must be defeated at the last moment with the giant robot Impact.
– **Georgeus Stage:** This level belongs to space, and you must use all the characters’ abilities within it. Eventually, you face two robots along with Impact, one of whom is the final enemy, Dancin.
