Mystical Ninja starring Goemon

"Go-go-go . . . go Goemon!"

OPENING STATEMENT
Goemon is one of those amazing video game characters who really brings games to life. He has truly been Konami’s mascot since the days of the original Nintendo, and the flair his games have for the wacky and the unexpected has not died down a bit. Here is hoping it never will.

GAMEPLAY--8
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is an adventure game in the truest sense of the word. You travel through an expansive three-dimensional environment, beating up your bad guys with some very odd weaponry, healing your health, progressing along the path, collecting items, and visiting with townspeople along the way. It is evident that Konami did not want to through Goemon into one of those genre-bending games here, and the formula paid off beautifully. Nothing is overly complex, but nothing is so simple as to bore you to death either. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja may be one of the last pure adventure games ever released, even though it was released well over four years ago (as I am writing this), so nostalgia buffs should run out and get this game as well.

Each of the four characters, ranging from a futuristic robots to a pudgy cook/butler, has their own weaponry, and their own way of going about things. You can switch between the characters at Tea Houses. Sometimes it is really important to be using a certain character, so you may need to backtrack to the nearest Tea House occasionally to switch your party around. But it is this element in The Legend of the Mystical Ninja that makes the gameplay deep and worthwhile. Besides, Konami went about switching characters and only allowing certain characters to complete certain tasks a lot more gracefully than Rare did with their infamous, blundering Donkey Kong 64.

GRAPHICS--9
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja has one of those love-it-or-hate-it-graphical styles. I personality, absolutely am enamored with it. Konami gave Goemon a look in three-dimensions that absolutely replicates his wackiness and personality from two-dimensions. And the entire graphical style of this game reflects that. All of the characters, environments, and even the menus have that little flair that the Goemon series is known for. Every last detail is in place, right down to his spiky, unbelievably huge, blue hair.

Besides purposely drawing everything cartoonishly, the other big graphical statement that Konami made was absolutely vibrant colors. Nothing in this game is drab, dull, or even remotely realistic. The grass and trees are bright, bright green. The sky, a most amazing hue of periwinkle. Outfits are done for the most part in a scintillating crimson that would rival anything Mata Hari had to wear. If you cannot look at The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and not be amazed by Konami’s creativity, then you are severely jaded. And I’m not the one who jaded you. (Thank you Steven Tyler.)

MUSIC--7
SOUND--8
Yes, the buzzword of this review is certainly ‘wacky.’ Because all of the audio keeps right in with this pattern of wackiness protruding from every square inch of this masterpiece. The music is all over the place, never changing too much, but always altering just enough to make you think a bit. Of course, the quality of it is nothing spectacular, which is the reason for the score being lower than I just made it sound like it should be. Konami clearly prioritized, though, and decided just to find some music to fit with the theme of the game, rather than go spend way too much time designing a game to fit some fabulous music.

The sound effects are all of the utmost quality as well. I amazed how good Konami made them sound on the cartridge medium, because right here you have CD Quality. Even the menu noises stay in with the theme of wackiness, making the experience of playing The Legend of the Mystical Ninja even more immersive and enjoyable. The reason that the score was not higher is because there could have been some more sound effects, and a little more variety in them. But Konami still did a very impressive job.

CONTROL--8
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is one of a number of very few three-dimensional games in this genre that I did not have a problem controlling; which is something that three-dimensional adventure games are notorious for. The camera is usually a non-factor, but you can easily and quickly change it if need be. Goemon and the gang all respond right on time when you tell them to carry out a task, and the control configuration is very logical. You can probably figure it out guessing instead of looking in the instruction manual. All in all, you will not have any problems here. The wackiness did not penetrate the control scheme, the one place you really do not want it to.

FUN--9
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is fun not only because of the solid game engine, but because of the wacky atmosphere you will be a part in while playing the game. The adventure will always keep you interested, and you will not die of boredom in between major events like you will in, say, Quest 64. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is one of those few games that you really will not want to stop until you finish it off. There is only one thing that could make this game better. And that would be the addition of cooperative play.

CHALLENGE--MEDIUM
Konami did not make The Legend of the Mystical Ninja too easy or difficult to play through. The game becomes more challenging as you progress through it, creating a gradual difficulty curve with the absolute perfect slope. The occasional puzzle that you do come across will be a welcome break from the progression of the game, and they are always well-thought out. Once again, Konami has proven why they have one of the best masteries over computer artificial intelligence around.

REPLAY VALUE--LOW
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja may be great fun to progress through once, but there really is no reason to play it again. Konami did not include any multiplayer capabilities at all, which is fine, because this is an adventure game. I was not really expecting anything. But, cooperative play would have been a very welcome addition to this game. Imagine, you playing as Goemon, and your friend walking along side of you, taking out baddies as well, playing as Sasuke. All you can do is imagine, and whine for it in a sequel.

PROS
*The wackiest game since the original Earthworm Jim!
*Graphically, has perhaps the best stylized look of any game.
*The adventure will always keep you interested and guessing.

CONS
*Virtually no replay value at all.
*No cooperative play is featured.
*A little more variety in the audio could have been presented.

CLOSING STATEMENT
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is one of those little known, yet great games on the Nintendo 64. Most people talk about Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64, and Goldeneye, and yet this gem is never mentioned. Sometimes the best games, though, are ones that everybody does not talk about. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is an example of that category, without a doubt.

OVERALL--8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/01, Updated 10/10/01