Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ōgon Kiseru

Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ōgon Kiseru (がんばれゴエモン外伝きえた黄金キセル^? lit. "Go for it Goemon Gaiden: The Gold Pipe Which Disappeared") is the fourth installment in the Ganbare Goemon series, released for the Family Computer on January 5, 1990 in Japan. It was later released for mobile phones on 2007, Wii Virtual Console on 2012, for 3DS Virtual Console on 2013, and for Wii U Virtual Console on 2015 in Japan.

Plot[]

While Goemon is praying to his ancestors, he notices that his pipe is gone. Aided by Ebisumaru, he goes to find it. This game introduced many characters that appeared later in the series, such as Yae. It is the first Goemon role playing game, and the third Goemon game to appear on a Nintendo system.

Gameplay[]

Gameplay in Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ōgon Kiseru is very similar to most other role playing games from the era. Returning from a long journey, the ninja hero, Goemon, enters his house and soon discovers that his ancestral golden kiseru (smoking pipe) has been stolen. Desperately searching for it –and doing a mess while doing so– the "ninja of justice" and longtime friend of Goemon, Ebisumaru, peeks into the house to see what's causing all that turmoil. Informed by Goemon about the disappearance of the kiseru, Ebisumaru offers (and then begs) to help him find it. And so, both heroes begin their quest to retrieve the ancestral golden kiseru.

As with most role playing games from the era, the game is played from a top-view perspective. The heroes begin their adventure in their hometown, where they can visit most houses and speak with their owners, enter stores to buy equipment, go to restaurants and hotels to replenish their weariness, and participate in many minigames to earn extra money.

Diverse equipment can be bought at stores, ranging between weapons and various pieces of armor (for the head, chest and hands), as well as consumable items. Each item can only be used by a specific character, though, so the player must be careful not to spend all their money in buying an expensive item that none of the characters in their party will be able to use.

After finishing business in towns, the party must start traveling the world map in search for their next objective. This is usually the next dungeon, where they'll have to go through many floors and fight a boss at the end, after which they'll usually obtain the means necessary to unlock the next area of the world map and continue with their quest.

While traversing the map, random battle encounters will occur, which could be against single or multiple opponents. Battles are turn-based, and chances are given whether the battle starts normally, or if either the player or the enemies get the first move. Once in battle, the player has to assign each character of their party to attack a specific enemy. If more than one character was assigned to attack the same enemy and this was defeated after the first attack, the remaining turn will be wasted, as the character that was also supposed to attack that enemy won't automatically target another one. The player also has the option to let the computer play the entire battle automatically, or to escape a battle if it is either too difficult or too trivial. Random powerful attacks are also involved in battles, whether the heroes or the enemies randomly perform a very powerful attack; and likewise, attacks from both sides can sometimes miss entirely.

Experience points and money are earned after winning each battle. Additionally, after reaching a certain level, a character may learn a new Jutsu, which are special moves the character can make use of in following fights and which cost JP to perform. Not all Jutsus are offensive, though; some are used for healing members of the party or boosting their powers, basically being this game's version of magic spells. Both HP and JP can be restored by resting at hotels or visiting restaurants in towns.

Unlike most other role-playing games, where this information is generally given in the stats screen, in Kieta Ōgon Kiseru, the player must make use of public phones in towns in order to know how much experience points are needed for each character to reach their next level.

As the heroes progress through their adventure and visit new locations, they'll meet and help many people, and at some point new members will join their party, each having their own unique battle techniques.