(Originally posted on May, 2015)
(1991, Super Famicom/SNES)
(Note: Although I own the cartridge for the JP version as well as the English Virtual Console release, the game was played on an emulator.)
You remember those certain games that as a kid, you loved enough to constantly rent, but for whatever reason (usually financial), it took forever to finally just give in and buy them? The Legend of the Mystical Ninja was just that game for me. During many weekends, I’d have a fantastic time with the first 2/3 of the journey…right up until the boss of the Tengu Mountains would suddenly bring a huge difficulty spike. (As a kid, I don’t think I was able to beat him until getting a Game Genie.) While I’m obviously fond of the game, be forewarned that some of its design, especially towards the end, is a hard nut to swallow. If you forego a handy emulator or Wii(U) VC and play it straight from a cart, a couple of the stages will have you shrieking and sobbing. Here’s a bunch of thoughts on the game, both from my memories during the early 90’s and my recent playthough of the ‘unedited’ Japanese version.
Before going further, a little bit about my history with the SNES around the time this game was released: Before receiving the SUPER SET (along with Paper Boy and F-Zero as bonus games!) for Christmas of ’91, I would head over to the local Target as much as possible to play the demo of Super Mario World. Even though it was programmed to reset every 5 minutes, the handful of levels I had time to complete were always worth another play. The game was really great, one of the best ever, but didn’t blow my mind the way the NES trilogy did. I rented other launch era games such as Final Fight, The Addams Family (Not great but not bad, for a licensed game), Earth Defense Force (My main arcade had it, so why not rent the SNES version a couple times?) Joe & Mac (Gorgeous and fun but a bit repetitive) and Super Ghouls and Ghosts (Oh God was that game punishing…). I’d also constantly scour screens and articles of more complicated games such as Populous and Sim City in Nintendo Power, but didn’t have the nerve to even attempt them. Only knowing Mystical Ninja from word of mouth at the time, I was quite excited to rent it. One weekend at the video store, I was caught by ”Kid Ying’s” unnerving gaze on the box and took the game home. For me, that’s when the ‘next generation’ of consoles truly arrived…
A glimpse into a mystical world…
Lacking any sort of attract sequence, the contents of the game are left to the imagination as the game loops between a cheerful title screen and a splash of the now dearly missed red and orange Konami logo. Finally starting, a bizarre intro begins with a somewhat superfluous use of the SNES’ mode-7 effect: a zoom-in on a house containing the two heroes, whom I’ll just call by their proper names of Goemon and Ebisumaru. The cutscene immediately shows off huge, colorful sprites set to crisp sounding Japanese-themed music that was unlike anything else I heard at the time. Discussing some strange events going on in the area, the mood suddenly shifts. The mode-7 effect is once again is utilized as Goemon shouts “Hey! No close-ups!” which was hilarious at 9 years old, along with irritating the shop keepers with your indecisiveness and showing your friends the characters’ ‘floor hump’.
Once you begin, you immediately set off to explore a tiny but bustling port town. I guess you’re supposed to talk to all these people running around? Nope, they’re actually item dropping enemies, even though they appear to be minding their own business. Except for that one man who keeps showing up to throw infuriatingly unpredictable…I-don’t-know-what-those-can-things-are at you. Never stuck outside, you can enter any building, either to shop for items, play mini-games or just talk to the locals. At the time, the closest game I played to resemble this was Zelda II, so the experience was blowing my mind. Move to the northern screen and a girl wearing a kimono approaches the player, concerned about a strange air drifting in from the nearby Horo Horo Temple. Moments later, the SNES brilliantly shows off its color and transparency abilities. The lighting changes to a purple-blue haze as the town becomes overrun with monsters and ghosts…tremendous!
Finally entering the temple, you’ll be warned of the danger ahead by what’s easily the scariest character in the game, a well-meaning tanuki with the same freaky face as the cupcake dog. From here the gameplay switches to more familiar 2D action platforming. The level is set in an energetic, formidable haunted bamboo forest. Graves, swaying trees, decaying walls, an eerie and far reaching light maroon fog, secret passages, ominous spirits and lone huts far in the background, not to mention all sorts of exotic new enemies. I couldn’t believe I was within such a strange and detailed world. Though I had a few years of experience with the NES and arcades, I can’t emphasize how astonished I was by both the new type of gameplay and being thrown into the new and fascinating world of ancient Japanese folklore.
All of these varied and memorable settings keep coming:
- With a slightly odd but festive mood in the air and even more buildings to visit, level 2’s Shikoku Island is much larger and set to a beautiful sunset.
- Level 3 will have you crossing a treacherous bridge suspended over whirlpools until reaching a lively cliff overlooking the ocean. After having made it across, just about all of the of Mystical Ninja’s generous assortment of mini-games are located within a huge theme park. Some of them are quite impressive and replayable, such as Breakout and the first level of Gradius. Others more awkward like a pre-Wolfenstein 3D first person maze I could never wrap my head around. Even though I have little interest in playing the many gambling games, it’s still wonderful to know Konami packed all that in. If you’re playing the Japanese version, there’s building where Ebisumaru will put on a very special dance that apparently made heads explode at Nintendo/Konami’s American divisions. The JP version has more ‘shows’ which get even more provocative!
- Starting out on a beach battling robots who wish to steal your food, you’ll gradually make your way to the even stranger situation that is the Otafu Army castle. The first of several castles in the game, this one is particularly fun and varied. Set to a tense bass, flute and other assorted instruments, you’ll go from an elegant entrance way, where you’re greeted by enemies who are able to walk on their hands, to darker, more mechanical areas filled with tricks and traps. You’ll finally do battle with some of the most bizzare bosses, a pair of sumo wrestlers followed by a giant, ever-enlarging Otafuku head.
- In the Iga stage, I always loved the long courtyard leading to the castle. Popping out from the dense autumn trees, ninjas attempt to bomb you before reaching the huge well maintained but desolate castle guarded by an army of karakuri.
- The final 2 stages take place on the Ryuu Kyuu islands (modern day Okinawa). Even though I hated level 8 (more on that later), the sense of scope as you make your up a massive castle that’s under construction is impressive. I’m still amused that as a kid, I thought the Daruma Otoshi boss was supposed to be Konami’s reimaging of a pringles can.
The Moments of Greatness
An action game such as this isn’t likely to be associated with the term ‘immersion,’ but that’s exactly why this game made such an impression on me. Maybe it was because my prior experience was limited to arcade and NES games, but never was I so hugely drawn into the world. The graphics are incredibly cohesive and rich, particularly in the attention given to the backgrounds. There’s all sorts of little touches, such as small groups of monsters talking to each other if you backtrack to the Southern portion of stage 1. It took me a couple years before I even noticed that.
The translation manages to be awkwardly charming. Whenever I’d play, I’d always get odd terms like ‘Warlock zone’ and ‘group of counterfeiters’ stuck in my head. Of course, Konami had to replace Japan’s perfect portable meal, onigiri, with pizza as the food you can have on hand during the action stages. Since the game always had a burger shop, it doesn’t feel completely out of place.
Everyone knows of the many great soundtracks Square and Nintendo produced for the SNES, but I truly believe this one is up there with them and criminally underrated to this day. The near 80 tracks are extremely deliberate, memorable and perfectly match the many moods of the game. It possibly even inspired later artists. After playing, listen to the second half of ‘Breakout’ by N.E.R.D. and you’ll feel the general vibe of the whole soundtrack. KRS-1’s 9 Elements sounds like it heavily borrowed from the theme used for the mini bosses.
The first seven stages are all tremendously pleasing and varied, if sometimes a bit too hard (see stage 6’s kabuki boss). After that, the game begins to present some serious problems, but you’re not too far from the end…
Significant Faults
Whenever the game comes up in discussion, there’s always the elephant in the room known as level 8, which is almost amazing in how frustratingly it combines all of the game’s faults. Here’s how it goes: You’re immediately greeted by hammer throwing carpenters, who like the soda can guy of the earlier levels, are just a bit too difficult to constantly be dealing with. You’ll have to fight a bunch of them, as you’re required to buy a translation dictionary for 950 coins in order to advance. Before arriving at the massive action level, you might want to also save up for an hourglass to up your time (So much of the fun is from leisurely exploring the world, why is there a time limit anyway?). After all that, you’ll try to thwart the gang of demon-masked carpenters busy on their huge, beautiful project. After a formidable amount of platforming and a mini boss, the fun’s only half over. Next is a horrifyingly tense platform ‘ride’ under the ocean. Here, the tension of jumping from one quickly spinning platform to the next, all while fighting off floating darumas, can get so panic inducing you’ll likely be stuck for hours. If you get can past the beautiful coral reefs seen behind the glass walls, you’re finally at the stage’s boss, who isn’t much easier on the nerves. This level more than any other is better enjoyed on an emulator or the Wii (U) VC. I’ve beaten level 8 completely ‘clean’ before, but this time chose to allow myself unlimited resumes from the last elephant checkpoint I found. There are too many other games to play, I’m not going spend half an hour saving up for that dictionary just to die at the boss over and over again. Beat this stage, and the final challenge after that is comparatively easy.
The Conclusion
I probably rambled a bit longer than required, but this game was always extremely close to me despite its relative obscurity. Out of the mere 7 action focused segments, only the Horo Horo Temple and Otafu Army Castle came off as particularly well-designed. The development team seemed more interested in the creating detailed, content packed towns and a compelling world more than a solid stage design and mechanics. Still, the game’s high points are so great that I can live with it. My descriptions of the settings and strange sights can’t do justice to the feeling of warmth and amusement you’ll experience firsthand as you listen to one of Konami’s least appreciated soundtracks. If you’re skilled at platformers and don’t mind some bullshit, it’s priced very fairly on the e-shop. For those more timid but still curious about the series, the N64 games are a better place to start.
No comments:
Post a Comment