Obscure Japanese Games: Ganbare Goemon 4

I'm impressed. You've made it this far, and you're probably sick of Goemon by now, but you might as well read my final entry on the Goemon saga. If you read my previous entry, you'd know that Goemon 3 was a significant departure for the franchise. It wasn't universally liked among Goemon fans, so Konami wisely decided to take away certain RPG elements and bring the last game of the franchise back to its roots.

Goemon 4 features a world map like Goemon 2 and a familiar town-level-dungeon structure. What's different about this game however is that the game is divided into four distinct, character specific worlds. Your giant robot friend--Goemon Impact is lured into space, and it's your job to rescue him and the universe (that's what I think you're doing anyway). Each area is an entire world, and usually consists of four levels, two towns, and a dungeon. The towns typically have a couple puzzles to solve that require a knowledge of Japanese, so us Gaijin are once again out of luck. Some puzzles require you to complete fetch quests in a time limit, and others force you to sift through a dialogue tree consisting of six or more branches. If you know a moderate amount of Japanese vocabulary, you should be okay, but you'll likely want to keep a FAQ handy, or you can resort to the timeless method of trial-and-error. Many of these puzzles employ foxes, which are often tricksters in ancient Japanese tales.

Besides having puzzles to solve, the towns once again feature inns and an assortment of shops. Instead of encountering humans, you'll now encounter aliens, as you're in outer space. Luckily, they won't attack you unless you misuse your weapons. You can also earn money and heal yourself by running into sexy space chicks (don't worry, Goemon games are safe from the evil Jack Thompson). The towns in this game are quite annoying, mainly because of all the random tasks you have to complete, but be patient, and you'll be rewarded with plenty of challenging platforming segments.

Goemon 4 has the most difficult levels you'll find in a Super Famicom Goemon. They don't feature challenging puzzles like Ganbare Goemon 3, but the platforming segments may cause premature balding if you're not a platforming expert. Many of the stages are strangely themed after sports like baseball, soccer, football, and rugby. Maybe some of Konami's employees that had worked on their sports titles were moved to the Goemon 4 project. Some of these levels are quite difficult. You'll have to jump from bat to bat over huge chasms as they're swung when the baseball players are moving vertically; you'll ride moving soccer balls over pits while praying that you'll land on the next moving object; and you have to ride balls down a shaft while avoiding baseball pitchers and spikes lining the walls. The developers of this game are obviously sadists; not just because of the level design, but also because checkpoints are rare. Players who thought the first few Goemon games were too easy and Mega Man fans will probably love this game as a result.

In each world, you'll control a single character. In Goemon's levels, you'll feel like Tarzan as you're swinging from block to block with your Chain Pipe. In Ebisimaru's levels, you'll not only have to make use of ninja stars that ricochet, but you'll also end up donning a ballerina costume. Even though ballerinas are supposed to be delicate, Ebisimaru can drill through solid rock while wearing a tutu. Despite being smaller, Sasuke has a little more manly ability. He can scale any type of cliff once you've learned his special move. Yae, however, has one of the best abilities of them all. Not only can she turn into a mermaid, but she also wields a bazooka that would put Fox McCloud's pea-shooter to shame. After completing a certain event, Yae obtains the ability to lock onto multiple enemies. This is handy against continually respawning enemies.

I know, you're expecting me to say that giant robot battles make a repeat appearance, but surprise! They aren't a part of this Goemon. Instead of regular boss fights, or boss battles as Impact Goemon, you'll now fight enemy head honchos via button-mashing mini-games. If you thought the beer (or "cider") chugging mini-game was tough in Chrono Trigger, you better get ready for some sore thumbs. Some of these mini-games not only require you to repeatedly mash two buttons alternately; they force you to hit certain gauges at the correct time as well. The instructions are difficult to understand without knowing Japanese, but typically you'll have to hit a button when the bottom arrow flashes, and then you can start pounding away on the buttons. You'll want both hands free for the button mashing, because you have to be lightning-fast. Your neighbors will probably wonder what the racket is, but their jaw will drop when you tell them you beat Goemon 4. Remember how impressed they were when you beat Mario Bros. 3? Well, tell them to multiply the difficulty of that times ten. Just don't get cocky, because the final boss encounter is a grueling experience. One minor mistake in a lengthy sequence lasting nearly ten minutes can cost you a victory, so be prepared to hit the continue screen, unless you're playing with an emulator where you can use save states.

Despite not understanding much of the plot and dying quite a few times, I had a good time with Goemon 4. If you enjoy playing games like Mario: The Lost Levels, Mega Man 2, and Mega Man 9, you'll probably have a great time. Otherwise, you might want to pass. If you do choose to pass however, you'll miss out on some wild level designs and great music, but then again, you can get plenty of that in the first two games. I hope you enjoyed this series on Ganbare Goemon, and I may be back with another round if I ever decide to play the NES installments or the second N64 Goemon game.

My final words of advice: If you're one of those people who throws Wiimotes at your TV screen, take deep breaths while playing Goemon and make sure you're playing in a soundproof room where no one can hear you screaming obscenities or mashing buttons.

Ganbaru! (Do your best!)

*All images courtesy of Hardcore Gaming 101

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