Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness

Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness
Super Famicom cover art
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Director(s)	Etsunobu Ebisu[1]
Producer(s)	Shigeharu Umezaki[1]
Designer(s)	Koichi Ogawa[1]
Composer(s)	Kazuhiko Uehara[1] Tomoya Tomita Nobuyuki Akena
Series	Ganbare Goemon
Platform(s)	Super Famicom, Game Boy Advance
Release	Super Famicom JP: December 22, 1993 Game Boy Advance JP: April 21, 2005
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness (がんばれゴエモン2 奇天烈将軍マッギネス? lit. "Let's Go! Goemon 2: Very Strange General McGuiness") is an action-adventure game by Konami, which was released for the Super Famicom in 1993.[2]

It was also ported to the Game Boy Advance along with Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki as Kessakusen! Ganbare Goemon 1 & 2 only in Japan in 2005.

It is the second game in the Japanese video game series Ganbare Goemon to be released on the Super Famicom, and a sequel to The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. It has also been released for the Virtual Console in Japan.

Gameplay

Goemon inside the Goemon Impact mecha running across the field while destroying buildings

In contrast to its predecessor, the majority of the game involves vertically and horizontally scrolling platform levels.[3] The main characters and basic gameplay elements remain the same however, with the game being a cross-genre, cooperative platformer with RPG elements and sub-games scattered across a number of towns.[4]

Plot

The game features a general from the west called McGuinness who invades Japan with an army of bunny men led by warriors known as the Marvel 5. The plot is an allusion to Matthew C. Perry's visit to Japan in the 19th century.[5]

Development and release

Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness was developed by Konami.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Consoles +	93%[6]
Computer and Video Games	90/100[7]
Edge	9/10[3]
Famitsu	31/40[8]
Joypad	90%[9]
Mega Fun	85%[10]
Super Play	90%[4]
Super Control	92%[11]
Super Gamer	89/100[12]
Super Power	91/100[13]

The game was critically acclaimed.[14] In March 1994, Super Play awarded it 90% and stated that the game was "even more satisfying than the original" with "much more detailed and involving" platform sections. It summarised the game as being "one of the most consistently entertaining and enjoyable games" on any system.[4] Computer and Video Games described the game as original, challenging and large, and as one of the best games released on the SNES that year.[7] Edge described the game as taking "all the best bits from the original" and simplifying them, thus mitigating the criticisms levelled at the prequel for being too sprawling and open. It summarised the game as blending "brilliant" graphics, "great" sound and "near perfect" playability into one "explosive" package.[3] According to Peer Schneider of IGN in a retrospective, "Goemon 2 is the best co-op platformer on the Super NES", and had critical success in Japan.[15]

Sequels

Two further sequels were released for the Super Famicom: Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishi Jūrokubē no Karakuri Manjigatame in 1994, and Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Dōchū: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake in 1995.

References

1. Konami (December 22, 1993). Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun McGuiness (Super Famicom). Konami.
2. "Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shogun Magginesu!". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
3. "Testscreen: Ganbare Goemon 2". Edge. No. 6. Future Publishing. March 1994. pp. 62–63. (Transcription Archived 2013-04-04 at the Wayback Machine).
4. Smith, Jonathan (March 1994). "Import Review: The Legend of the Mystical Ninja 2". Super Play. No. 17. Future Publishing. p. 40.
5. Kalata, Kurt (June 9, 2017). "Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shogun Magginesu". hardcoregaming101. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
6. Souibgui, Sami; Roure, Maxime (March 1994). "Super Famicom Review: Goemon Fight 2". Consoles + [fr] (in French). No. 30. EM-Images. pp. 130–132.
7. Ahmet, Deniz; Patterson, Mark (May 1994). "CVG Review: Ganbare Goeman 2". Computer and Video Games. No. 150. EMAP. pp. 96–97.
8. "The Year-end Special: がんばれゴエモン2 奇天烈将軍マッギネス". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 263. ASCII Corporation. December 31, 1993. p. 107. (Transcription by Famitsu.com).
9. Morisse, Jean-François (December 1994). "Super Famicom Import (Version Japonaise): Goemon Fight II". Joypad [fr] (in French). No. 28. Hachette Disney Presse. p. 136.
10. Appel, Markus; Hellert, Stefan (April 1994). "Test Super Nintendo: Mystical Ninja 2 (Import Game)". Mega Fun [de] (in German). No. 19. Computec. p. 32.
11. "Super Review: Goemon 2". Super Control. No. 12. Maverick Magazines. May 1994. pp. 34–37.
12. Pullin, Keith; Butt, Ryan (June 1994). "Super NES Review: Goeman 2". Super Gamer. No. 3. Paragon Publishing. p. 44.
13. Sushi (February 1994). "Super Famicom Test: Goemon Fight 2". Super Power [fr] (in French). No. 18. SUMO Éditions. p. 98. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
14. Bright, Rob; Davies, Paul; Boone, Tim (March 1994). "Review: Ganbare Goeman 2". Nintendo Magazine System (special). Konami '94. No. 18. EMAP. pp. 2–7.
15. Schneider, Peer (2023-04-13). "Life and Death of the Mystical Ninja". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2024-04-20.