Feverishly anticipating the N64's Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon after many childhood weekends renting Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, I was shocked to discover its direct follow-up released way back in 1993, amongst many other Japan exclusive sequels. Goemon and company's quest to rid their country of an invading Hulk Hogan look-a-like and his bunny army is a mixed bag. It introduced some worthy additions and slightly tempered the difficulty, but also replaced Mystical Ninja's curious, captivating vibe with straight up silliness and scaled back the massive, highly distinct zones that made the prequel so enthralling.
In this new adventure, Goemon and Ebisumaru are joined by Sasuke on another journey across Edo Japan, travelling from the tropical Ryuukyuu Islands all the way up to frigid Hokkaido. A Super Mario World inspired world map occasionally reveals secret levels. Stages now feature projectile-equipped vehicles and towns once again house plentiful mini games, including a level from Konami's gorgeous, obscure shooter Xexex. Wacky castle stages celebrating Japanese culture and guarded by imaginative, quality boss battles are the highlight. You're challenged to outlast an onslaught of shadow puppets sent by a dexterous Karakuri racing against his melting candle. A mechanical ninja changes his tactics as he swaps between festive Hyottoko, Kitsune and Tiger masks. Even Simon Belmont's nemesis resurrects within a hellish hidden level. Best known from the N64 games, the first-person boxing bouts of Goemon Impact are introduced here.
The controls are improved, but prepare to once again be impeded by unexpected difficulty spikes. The final bosses manage to be less troublesome than random moments, such as the perfect timing required to dismount from a flying dragon or sprint under a row of descending Kokeshi dolls. The game is at least generous enough with resume points that you're never entirely discouraged. There are far more levels, and while not bad, their brevity and relatively tranquil scenery make them feel like a mere intermission between the bustling towns and funhouse-like castle stages. As with other games in the series, the tendency for the toughest segments to revolve around tricky jumps demanding numerous retries and your neurons firing in perfect harmony render the shop's temporary armor upgrades fairly pointless.
Featuring solid performance, rich colors and large, well-crafted sprites all throughout, the graphics are brilliant; decorated by impressive environmental effects and fun cameos from other Konami titles. The one hour soundtrack is full of hits, but generally mirrors the game's silly presentation, losing the more varied, often haunting quality from Legend of the Mystical Ninja. Kicking off the series' quirk of recreating 70s funk songs, Stevie Wonder's influence is instantly recognizable. It fits, as this game frequently has you seeking 'Higher Ground'.
While not a flawless sequel, Kiteretsu Shogun McGuiness is an underrated Super Famicom platformer that western gamers certainly would have appreciated. Perhaps the formidable localization and Goemon's unimpactful western debut convinced Konami to exclude it from their packed lineup. Also, Ebisumaru has a penchant for making things awkward, right from the beginning.
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