Ganbare Goemon (“Mystical Ninja” in the West) is an action-platformer/RPG hybrid series from Konami. The games are typically set in a colorful and wacky version of ancient Japan, replete with robots and even giant mech battles.
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Although the series spans 3 decades and 20+ mainline installments, only 4 of them were ever released in English. The N64 titles were staples of my youth, and I’d been waiting decades – literally – for a new English release. But with the Goemon series being mostly relegated to pachinko machines nowadays, that doesn’t seem likely to happen.
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Enter Mameda no Bakeru from Good-Feel.
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Founded by ex-Konami employees who worked on the Goemon series (including Etsunobu Ebisu, whose name inspired one of its lead characters: Ebisumaru), Good-Feel are known primarily for the Yoshi and Kirby games they made for Nintendo. Mameda no Bakeru is their first stab at an original action/platformer and, as far as I can tell from the trailers, has perfectly captured the essence of the Goemon games and updated them for 2023.
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The colorful Japanese setting. The fast-paced action. The humor. The mech battles. It’s all there. Even the lead character bears a striking resemblance to Goemon himself.
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Unfortunately, we still don’t know if this is getting a Western release. I do remember Ebisu stating in an interview that he wanted to bring this game to the West, but there has been no indication since then that a Western release is planned.
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I do hope Good-Feel manages to work out a Western release. This game just looks too good to leave in Japan.
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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ncizDI0myI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ncizDI0myI)
by DrunkenSquirrel82
14 Comments
Thanks for the heads up. Looks like an import for me!
Instant buy if there’s English.
Different companies, but I like to think if Nintendo brought HAL Labs’ Part Time UFO internationally, I could see this as well
Even considering it was a first party franchise, the fact they localized Famicom Detective Club makes me hopeful.
I’d settle for the Asian English version. This game is everything I need right now.
I had the ones for the SNES and Hammerin’ Hero for the PSP so this is definitely on my wish list. My Japanese is rudimentary so as long as they write most of the stuff in hiragana, I should be fine. But that’s wishful thinking. Lol.
Been interested since it was first show. And fell more in love with it when I saw the trailers.
Hopefully it get’s localized. I’m gonna get it either way, but I’m holing out for an English version first…
Here’s the pre-order page on Play-Asia’s website…
https://www.play-asia.com/otogi-katsugeki-mameda-no-bakeru-oracle-saitarou-no-sainan/13/70g9nz
this game looks cool. side note: can we get some goemon games on switch online ffs?
I believe the creator wants this to span a series, so I hope it does well.
Goemon was the perfect splice of Mario with Zelda without becoming too overwhelming in either genre.
I feel if this game was made much earlier in the Switch’s life cycle, it could have been one of the games the switch was known for.
Yoooo!!! I loved Mystical Ninja, specially mystical ninja 2
Saw the mech battles and I was sold. I said to myself “if this a spiritual successor, then there has to be mech battles.”
PLASMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Multiplayer?
Monkey Barrels received a western release later than the Japanese launch, wouldn’t give up hope for Bakeru to make it over eventually