|
The Lowdown
Pros: Pleasantly goofy sense of humor, superb painted backgrounds, interesting use of the stylus
Cons: Some segments are extraordinarily frustrating
 Purchase
at Play-Asia
 Purchase
at Lik-Sang
   |
You probably wouldn't know it, but the Ganbare Goemon series is one of
Konami's most prolific series, outranking even Castlevania in the sheer
number of titles published. They've made occasional appearances in
America under the "Mystical Ninja" moniker, but a vast majority of them
have never left Japan. While they've produced some great titles, as of
recent, the series appeared to be in somewhat of slump - its more recent
exploits included a subpar PS2 game and an awful "xtreme" reimagining in
an attempt to capture the kiddie audience. Thankfully, the most recent
title, "Ganbare Goemon: Toukai Dochuu", sets the series on the right
track.
The Goemon titles take place in a goofy version of medieval Japan - the
hero is Goemon (based off a real historical figure who was something of
a Japanese Robin Hood), a spiky haired warrior who bashes bad guys with
his pipe. Goemon is joined by his friend Ebisumaru (a flagrant and
incompetent ninja), Sasuke (a robotic samurai doll) and Yae (a
green-haired female ninja.) Ganbare Goemon's absurd humor has always
been its trademark, and things are no different here - Goemon and gang
must save Japan from the evil Tengu Beruri, a Japanese demon that
appears to be dressed as a 19th century British sea captain. Along the
way, you'll meet the Mr. Goemon Gang, a group of obese imposters who
consistently cause trouble for our heroes.
The Goemon games have always blended action and adventure elements
together almost seamlessly. Toukai Dochuu is split up into several
chapters, each featuring one or two villages, and several
interconnecting field screens. There's usually some sort of fetch quest
you need to complete before you can move on with the game, which grants
your heroes various special abilities. Sasuke can toss bombs to blow up
obstacles, Yae can turn into a fish to cross aquatic regions, and
Ebisumaru can...well, he can fart. You'll need to use these skills to
solve the occasional puzzle, although none of them are truly brain
scratchers.
Most of the game is viewed from overhead, with a slightly skewed angle.
The characters are all made of polygons, and while look like a mess in
static screenshots, they're well animated in action. The backgrounds,
however, are the real visual treat - each and every single location in
the game is a gorgeous, incredibly detailed painting. It's times like
this that you really wish developers would stick with 2D graphics ever
once in awhile. In addition to the overhead segments, there are a few
side-scrolling stages, although they're pretty short.
Of course, it wouldn't be a DS game without some crazy way to utilize
the touch screen. Certain enemies need to be toppled with the stylus
before they can be killed, and you can manipulate ropes and see-saws to
propel your characters upward. Most objects glow to indicate that
they're sensitive to the stylus, so you're usually never guessing as to
what the stylus affects and what it doesn't. Certain bosses need to be
beaten using the stylus as well - one particular boss has big, googly
eyes, and the only way to beat it is by scribbling in circles, making it
dizzy and causing it to fall over. Additionally, there are several
hidden elephant dolls in the game that you can reveal by poking around
on every single screen. These elements don't add greatly to the game,
but it does add something fresh, even if it's a pain to keep the stylus
in your hand as you attempt to control your character.
There are also tons of mini games that require the stylus, and it's here
that the game begins to stumble a little bit. One early segment of the
game requires that you mold a clay pots (like that scene in Ghost), and
you're given a picture of what your creation should look like. The
problem is, the game is extraordinarily fussy and demanding - you need
to get your pot almost precisely like the one pictured, or you fail.
Later in the game, you have to practice Japanese calligraphy, which
again requires extreme precision. In yet another aggravating game,
you're given a face similar to a Mr. Potato Head doll and need to
manipulate its features in a certain pattern - but you need to get it
EXACT, or the game won't let you pass. Prepare to get stuck at all of
these segments, trying again and again until you get it just right
enough to please the game and proceed.
There are also a few scenes where you control the Goemon Impact, a
gigantic robot with an extraordinary likeness to the main character. In
the previous games, these were first-person segments with gameplay
similar to Punch Out - here, you view the action from a side view, and
you control Impact via remote control. The top screen displays the
action, and the bottom screen displays a control panel. By pressing the
buttons, you command Impact to move forward or retreat, punch, or use
his special attacks. It's an innovative idea, but Impact is slow to
respond, and the result is horribly clunky.
Toukai Dochuu isn't particularly hard except for these scenes, and one
particularly awful scenario - at one point, Ebisumary is inflated like a
balloon, and you need to roll him carefully through several screens.
Unfortunately, the controls are pretty imprecise, and the platforms are
extremely narrow - if you mess up just a little bit, he falls off the
edge, and you have to start the whole segment from scratch. I'm not
kidding when I say I spent over an hour trying to get past this part -
it's so sloppy, you almost wonder how it made it past quality assurance.
If you happen to own the Goemon 1 & 2 GBA cartridge, you can unlock a
few nifty extras - in addition to some extra scenes starring characters
from the older games, you can play the first level of the long-forgotten
MSX classic Space Manbow. If you don't have the cartridge, you can still
play Quarth, an old Konami shooter/puzzle game.
Although all of the kanji has furigana over it, there are lots of
fetch quests that require following instructions, and it's not always
clear where to go next unless you understand the language. The
calligraphy minigame is also frustrating because you need to know the
stroke order of certain hiragana characters - unless you look online or
you're familiar with Japanese penmanship, you'll be pulling your hair
out.
US Bound?
Goemon has been absent from any Konami release lists, so an English release
is doubtful.
Overall
Despite the occasional bout of massive frustration, Ganbare Goemon:
Toukai Dochuu is a fun little game. While I tend to prefer the
side-scrolling games (the 16-bit titles and the second N64 game, which
was released in America as Goemon's Great Adventure, are still my
favorites), Goemon should satisfy your old school action quota until
Castlevania for the DS arrives.
- Kurt Kalata
|
|
