(Originally posted on August, 2015)
(1994, Super Famicom)
(Note: Although I own the cartridge, the game was played on an emulator.)
The third Goemon game for the Super Famicom changes the series’ formula big time. Borrowing heavily from the overall design structure of a Link to the Past, as well as giving nods to Final Fantasy VI’s magitek armor and gloomy industrial aesthetic, Goemon 3 is more or less a 2D precursor to the cult classic “Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon” that the West received on the N64. What I’ve described so far may sound like a hidden gem, but after having forced myself to finish the game, I don’t think too much was lost with Goemon 3 being left in Japan…
The title screen plays a sinister opening theme set against a backdrop that could easily fit in to Final Fantasy VI’s World of Ruin. It’s still a Goemon game through and through, as pressing start sets off a hilariously juxtaposed clown squeaker. The beginning portion of the game introduces a overhead view of the same Hagure Town and Horo Temple featured in the previous two adventures. After talking to some familiar characters, you’re transported to a reimagined version of the Wiseman’s Castle over in the mountainous Iga Province. New varieties of mechanical ninjas try to fend you off as you explore a larger portion of the castle, now far more detailed with gorgeous background lighting and a much greater sense of age given to all the wooden architecture. The new Zelda inspired mechanics (dungeon style levels, keys, switches, doors, crates and more) fit in really well early on and show great promise for the rest of the game. Making your way up to the rooftop, the action continues with some very impressive cloud effects, a familiar boss and a grand kickoff to the adventure.
The fun continues for a little while longer as you visit all new towns and levels while expanding your party and acquiring new abilities, until the experience unfortunately begins to collapse under it’s own mismanaged, ever increasing complexity and weight. After being transported into the future “Neo Edo,” the dungeons go from what was quite decent platforming/action with an interesting sprinkling of Zelda to cramped funhouses; increasingly bogged down by excessive backtracking, flow-interrupting character and ability switching, often unintuitive puzzles, and the bother of being forced to manage and pilot the clumsy mechs in such cramped quarters. There’s little joy of exploration or gradual mastery. I wanted to quickly get the later dungeons over with, resorting to a guide more and more often.
The world map similarly loses its way. Functioning decent enough in ancient Edo, once you’re transported to the future (where the majority of the games takes place), the world is difficult to navigate with an overly-zoomed in perspective, lack of route variety, cramped areas and constantly recycled NPCs. By the end of the game I had a general idea of the layout, but never grew intimate with where everything was. A warp system helps speed up the travels.
The bright side to the whole experience is that the boss fights and Impact segments do not disappoint with their usual inventiveness and fun-factor. I especially the liked the ghostly, floating ancient treasure ship, figure headed with an otafuku face. In Iga Castle, a large and beautifully drawn mechanical frog awaits. As usual with the series, some fun new ideas are introduced and experimented with. Showing a front view of your characters running away from a huge boss, the dodging game is not only very novel but tense and addictive. You’ll have to multi task between each member of your party, commanding them individually to escape from the artillery hailing down on them.
Improving over the Goemon 2 soundtrack, which I thought got a bit out of hand with it’s cheesiness, Goemon 3 is successful at being playful and quirky yet still being very well-rounded, even a bit dark at times. The “boss battle” music is so blatantly stupid that it quickly endears itself before you can get annoyed. “Whoops” elicits a laugh by starting out goofy enough, but then going even further than expected. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” ”Future Overworld” sounds amazing at first, but becomes very repetitive and quickly entwines itself with all the bad associations I developed with the game. “Industrial Town,” often played in areas bearing a strong resemblance to Final Fantasy VI is thick with atmosphere. The F-Zero and Megaman X-esque “Run faster” is a very fun metal track. Enjoyably tense, “Stage 4 Part 1 and 2” encapsulates the Goemon sound particularly well. The brief and simple “Festival Town” is memorable for being fun, yet isolated and slightly spooky.
Goemon 3 is a strange entry to the series. It’s not a full blown spin-off like the puzzle, board or RPG games, yet it veers far off from the traditional Goemon formula, in a way that isn’t mechanically sound, or at the very least endearing and unique enough to cover up its flaws like the Zelda-ish N64 entry was able to do. The boss fights, graphics and music, enemy design, dialogue and one-off ideas are all great. How it’s all tied together is the problem. If you’re a huge Goemon fan, track down a cheap copy, but don’t be afraid to bail out once it wears out its welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment