Ganbare Goemon

Ganbare Goemon (がんばれゴエモン, "Go for it, Goemon!"), known as Goemon and Mystical Ninja internationally, is a video game series created and produced by Konami. Etsunobu Ebisu is the joint producer of the franchise.

Goemon
Franchise logo and a bootleg console
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Platform(s)Arcade, NES, MSX2, Super NES, Game Boy, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, mobile phone, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4
First releaseMr. Goemon
May 1986
Latest releaseGanbare Goemon Pachisuro 2
September 2011
Shin Ganbare Goemon: Jigoku-hen
新がんばれゴエモン 地獄編
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedJanuary 5, 1993
Volumes3
Ganbare Goemon - Yukihime Kyuushutsu Emaki
がんばれゴエモンゆき姫救出絵巻
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedDecember 3, 1991 - August 4, 1992
Volumes3
Ganbare Goemon 2 - Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu
がんばれゴエモン2 奇天烈将軍マッギネス編
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedDecember 27, 1993
Volumes2
Ganbaregoemon fu ~i ~ba a
がんばれゴエモンふぃ～ばあ
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedApril 30, 1997
Volumes1
Ganbare Goemon 3 - Shishi Juuroku Bee no Karakuri Manji Gatame
がんばれゴエモン3 獅子重禄兵衛のからくり卍固め
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedFebruary 3, 1995 - January 6, 1996
Volumes3
Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu
がんばれゴエモンきらきら道中
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedApril 30, 1996 - December 4, 1996
Volumes3
Ganbare Goemon - Neo Momoyama Bakufu no Odori
がんばれゴエモンネオ桃山幕府のおどり
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKodansha
PublishedFebruary 4, 1998 - October 2, 1998
Volumes3
Ganbare Goemon - Yukihime Kyuushutsu Emaki
がんばれゴエモンゆき姫救出絵巻
Manga
Written byHiroshi Obi
Published byKC Derakkusu
PublishedNovember 21, 2013
Volumes1

These games revolve around the main character, Goemon, and his exploits. His character is loosely based on Ishikawa Goemon, the noble thief of Japanese folklore. While the early games emphasized Goemon as a noble thief, he eventually becomes more of a standard video game hero character. His trademarks are his blue bushy hair and weapon of choice, the kiseru. The games are set in a cartoonlike, mystical Feudal Japan, with many references to Japanese folklore. Although the series has its roots in action-adventure, the Ganbare Goemon series has features from genres including role-playing, puzzle video games, and board games. Ganbare Goemon is popular in Japan. The series consists of video games, with its success spawning a wide series of merchandise and an anime and manga series.

Konami has generally regarded the Goemon games as too specific to the Japanese market to be released worldwide.[1] However, five of them have been released overseas: The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the Super NES, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Goemon's Great Adventure for the Nintendo 64 and two titles for the Game Boy.

In 2002-2003, a mobile phone was released for the titled Ganbare Goemon: Tsūkai Game Apli series.

The latest original game of the series was Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki, released in Japan for the Nintendo DS in 2005. Since then, the series has been used primarily as themes for Konami's pachislot machines.

The series is represented in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with a purchasable Goemon costume for Mii fighters, revealed during a Nintendo Direct in September 2019.[2]

Original video animation
  • A single-episode thirty-minute OVA was released in Japan in 1993 titled Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jō no Akumu (がんばれゴエモン 次元城の悪夢, "Ganbare Goemon: The Nightmare of the Dimensional Castle"). The OVA starred the voice of Daiki Nakamura as Goemon and Hideyuki Umezu as Ebisumaru and featured segments parodying Gradius, Akumajō Dracula and TwinBee.
  • A second-episode thirty-minute OVA was released in Japan in 1998 titled Ganbare Goemon: Chikyuu Kyuushutsu Sakusen (がんばれゴエモン地球救出作戦, "Ganbare Goemon: Global Rescue Operation").

Television series
Main article: Anime Ganbare Goemon

Manga

Goemon is the protagonist of many manga based on the video game series. There are several series, each one based on a different game. Most of the manga were illustrated by artist Hiroshi Obi and were published between 1991 and 1998 to accompany the release of each new game.

Obi died from a brain stem hemorrhage on August 3, 2014, at the age of 54.[3]

List of games

Video games (main series)
Original title Localized title(s) Regions First
release		 First
platform		 Additional platform(s)
Mr. Goemon - JP 1986 Arcade
Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Dōchū[4][5] - JP 1986 Famicom[6] MSX2, Mobile phones[6]
Ganbare Goemon 2 - JP 1989 Famicom i-revo, Wii VC, 3DS VC, Wii U VC
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ōgon Kiseru - JP 1990 Famicom[7] Wii VC, 3DS VC, Mobile phones[7]
Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyuushutsu Emaki The Legend of the Mystical Ninja JP, NA, EUR 1991 SNES Wii VC, Wii U VC, Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Famicom
Ganbare Goemon: Sarawareta Ebisumaru! Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
(in "Konami GB Collection Vol.3")		 JP, EUR 1991 Game Boy 3DS VC
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2: Tenka no Zaihō - JP 1992 Famicom
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu - JP 1993 Super Famicom
Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijyūrokubei no Karakuri Manji Katame[8] - JP 1994 Super Famicom Wii VC, Wii U VC
Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake - JP 1995 Super Famicom
Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu - JP 1996 PlayStation PlayStation Network
Ganbare Goemon: Kurofune Tou no Nazo Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon JP, NA, EUR 1997 Game Boy 3DS VC
Ganbare Goemon: Neo Momoyama Bakufu no Odori Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon JP, NA, EUR 1997 Nintendo 64
Ganbare Goemon: Derodero Douchuu Obake Tenkomori Goemon's Great Adventure (NA)
Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon (EUR)		 JP, NA, EUR 1998 Nintendo 64
Ganbare Goemon: Kuru Nara Koi! Ayashige Ikka no Kuroi Kage - JP 1998 PlayStation
Ganbare Goemon: Tengu-tō no Gyakushū! - JP 1999 Game Boy Color
Ganbare Goemon: Mononoke Dōchū Tobidase Nabe-Bugyō! - JP 1999 Game Boy Color
Ganbare Goemon: Seikūshi Dynamites Arawaru!! - JP 2000 Game Boy Color
Ganbare Goemon: Ōedo Daikaiten - JP 2001 PlayStation
Mini Kyodai Robo Goemon Compact[9] - JP 2003[10] Mobile Phone
Kessakusen! Ganbare Goemon 1 & 2
(port of the first two Super Famicom games with extra mini-games)		 - JP 2005 Game Boy Advance
Ganbare Goemon: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame[11] - JP 2005 Mobile Phone
Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki - JP 2005 Nintendo DS

Video games (spin-offs)
Original title
Localized title(s)
Regions
First
release
First
platform
Ganbare Goemon: Ebisumaru Kiki Ippatsu - JP 1990 Handheld electronic game
Soreyuke Ebisumaru! Karakuri Meiro - Kieta Goemon no Nazo!!
(puzzle game starring Ebisumaru)		 - JP 1996 Super Famicom
Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku
(Sugoroku game)		 - JP 1999 Nintendo 64
Bōken Jidai Katsugeki Goemon
(a more serious spin-off of the series)		 - JP 2000 PlayStation 2
Goemon: Shin Sedai Shūmei!
(futuristic spin-off of the series)		 - JP 2001 PlayStation
Goemon: New Age Shutsudō!
(futuristic spin-off of the series)		 - JP 2002 Game Boy Advance
Ganbare Goemon: Tsūkai Game Apli series[12]
Dosukoi! Harite Ichiban
Hijutsu! Sansū Juku
Jetto GO! GO! GO!
Karakuri Kiteretsu Rēsu
Tentekomai-Mai Meikyū-Kan		 - JP 2002–2003 Mobile phones

Other games
Original title
Localized title(s)
Regions
First
release
First
platform
Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu: Machi Hen - JP 1986 Board game
Ganbare Goemon (medal game) - JP 1997 Medal game
Ganbare Goemon Pachisuro - JP 2009 Pachislot
Ganbare Goemon Pachisuro 2 - JP 2011 Pachislot

References
  1. "Konami". Next Generation. No. 19. Imagine Media. July 1996. p. 70.
  2. Walker, Ian. "Undertale's Sans Joins Smash Bros. As A Mii Fighter Costume". Kotaku. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  3. Ganbare Goemon Manga Artist Hiroshi Obi Passes Away
  4. Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu Box Shot for MSX2 at GameFAQs
  5. Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Dōchū (1987) MSX cover art at MobyGames
  6. "Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu official webpage". Konami Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  7. "Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ougon Kiseru official webpage". Konami Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  8. おオススメ!! ソフト カタログ!!: がんばれゴエモン3. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.335. Pg.114. 12–19 May 1995. Score: 32/40.
  9. "Mini Kyodai Robo Goemon Compact (ミニ巨大ロボ ゴエモンコンパクト)". Konami Japan. Konami. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  10. "Mini Kyodai Robo Goemon Compact official webpage". Konami (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 18, 2004. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  11. "Ganbare Goemon: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame official webpage". Konami Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  12. "Ganbare Goemon: Tsūkai Game Apli official webpage". Konami Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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