# 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.
These games revolve around the main character, Goemon and his exploits. The games are notable for their humorous tone and parodies of many aspects of pop culture, as well as of other video games. The main 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, but 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 2002–03, 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.

## Related media
### Anime
#### 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: Chikyū Kyūshutsu Sakusen (がんばれゴエモン地球救出作戦, "Ganbare Goemon: Global Rescue Operation").

#### Television series
### 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.
The manga was digitally re-released in Japan on February 8, 2024.

## 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 | - | JP | 1986 | Famicom | MSX2, Mobile phones |
| Ganbare Goemon 2 | - | JP | 1989 | Famicom | i-revo, Wii VC, 3DS VC, Wii U VC |
| Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ōgon Kiseru | - | JP | 1990 | Famicom | Wii VC, 3DS VC, Mobile phones |
| Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu 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 Shōgun McGuiness | - | JP | 1993 | Super Famicom | |
| Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishi Jūrokubē no Karakuri Manjigatame | - | 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 Tō 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 Dōchū 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 | - | JP | 2003 | 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 | - | 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) | Mystical Ninja Goemon Zero (unreleased) | 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 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 Dōchū: 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 |