Goemon Spiritual Successor Bakeru Is Finally Coming West

Summary

• Ganbare Goemon fans can look forward to a new spiritual successor game, Bakeru, coming to the Nintendo Switch eShop on September 3.
• Developed by Good-Feel and influenced by the Konami series, Bakeru features a blue-haired protagonist fighting across Japanese-inspired stages.
• The Western release will include new attacks and enemies, adding to the excitement for fans of the beloved Goemon franchise.

People will cite games like Splinter Cell and Dino Crisis when they talk about series that were gone too soon, but for me, it's the Ganbare Goemon franchise. Unapologetically Japanese, Konami killed the franchise in favor of porting it to pachinko machines.

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Developers Good-Feel, which features Etsunobu Ebisu, a key member of the Ganbare Goemon team, noticed this glaring gap in the market and developed Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan, a spiritual successor released solely on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop. While disappointing for Western fans of the Goemon series, a new eShop listing confirms the game is being localized.

Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan Is Coming West

The listing, which was initially spotted on the Australian Nintendo eShop, confirms that Bakeru will be released on September 3 for $60 AUD (£31/$40) and has a free demo live now.

Originally revealed in last year's June Nintendo Direct, but only in Japan, Bakeru is a linear action-adventure game with clear influences from the beloved Konami series. Wielding a pair of drumsticks as a weapon, the blue-haired protagonist, Bakeru, fights his way across dozens of stages based on different Japanese prefectures, fighting all manner of enemies inspired by the country's folklore. Much like Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon, the game also features giant robot fights, a staple of the N64 title.

The game "takes place in 'Fairy Tale Japan,' a mix of modern Japan and old period dramas, which is divided into more than 50 stages," with publishers Spike Chunsoft confirming that the Western release will contain two new attacks, Hurricane and Spinning Top, and a brand new enemy, the Lantern Boss.

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