[SNES Game] The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (がんばれゴエモン〜ゆき姫救出絵巻ひめきゅうしゅつえまき〜, Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki) is an action-adventure game by Konami, and was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It was also ported to the Game Boy Advance along with Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu only in Japan.

It is the first game in the Japanese video game series Goemon to have a western release. It has also been released for the Virtual Console in Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. In North America and Europe, this game was followed by two different games for Nintendo 64, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon in 1998 and Goemon’s Great Adventure (known in Europe as Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon) in 1999, as all subsequent releases for the Super NES were absent of a Western release. In Europe, two Game Boy versions of Mystical Ninja starring Goemon were released. One was a standalone game and the other was part of Konami GB Collection Vol. 3.

The players control Goemon (loosely inspired by the historical Goemon) and Ebisumaru (the two are called Kid Ying and Dr. Yang respectively in all non-Japanese releases of this game).

After noticing some odd occurrences in their hometown of Oedo, involving a Ghost Woman at the local temple and ghost animals that come from the temple at night, Goemon and Ebisumaru decide to investigate. After defeating the Ghost Woman, she reveals herself to be Kurobei, a ninja cat. She explains that she was looking for strong people to help her, then offers the duo money and tells them to search for her boss, Koban, on Shikoku Island. Upon arrival, they find Hyotoko dancers in town during a festival, of whom some of the townspeople are suspicious. After finding and defeating the Lantern Man, leader of the evil dancers, they rescue Koban, who informs them that Princess Yuki, daughter of the Emperor, is believed to have been kidnapped by an odd group of mimes and clowns counterfeiters known as the Otafu Army. His clan of ninja cats were unable to investigate further because of devices the army has that disable their shapeshifting powers. He then directs the duo to nearby Awaji Island, where Goemon and Ebisumaru find that the army has set up a bizarre, anachronistic amusement park. The pair then make their way across the park to the nearby town of Yamato, where they discover that the army has been recruiting the townspeople. Upon invading the Otafu HQ and defeating its leaders, they free Yae, the ninja. She tells them that the Otafu Army never had Yuki, but that a wise man in Iga may be able to help them. The Old Wise Man’s palace in Iga is guarded by an army of robotic clockwork ninjas, and the pair fight through the palace and its leader, Sasuke, to get to the old man’s chamber. The Old Wise Man tells them that the White Mirror in the Dragon Pond of faraway Izumo can find what they seek. He uses his “Miracle Transport Machine” (which is only a cannon) to shoot them there. To save the princess, the protagonists must travel through different regions of Japan to find clues about the army and the location of the princess.

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