Goemon spiritual sequel Mameda no Bakeru is out in November

Mameda no Bakeru is a spiritual sequel to the much-loved Ganbare Goemon series, in development at Good-Feel. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch in November.

First announced in Japan’s Nintendo Direct in June – and sadly left out of the western version – Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! is the latest game from developer Good-Feel, the team behind the utterly charming Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Crafted World.

A 3D action game with lots of stick-based brawling, Mameda no Bakeru (as we’ll now call it for brevity’s sake) is also an unofficial spiritual successor to Konami’s cult Ganbare Goemon series – best known by its western moniker, Mystical Ninja.

Thanks to a new trailer, we now know when Mameda no Bakeru’s out – at least in Japan. The game’s due to hit the Nintendo Switch on 30 November 2023 (thanks, Time Extension!).

Said trailer also gives us a fresh look at the game’s hectic action, which looks directly inspired by Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64, which was the first game in the series to dabble in 3D.

You take control of an athletic hero who fights enemies with his taiko drumsticks across what look like some fairly free-roaming stages, though there are also all kinds of mini-games and digressions into other genres that we often see in Good-Feel games. We especially like the look of the little racing and into-the-screen rail shooting sections.

As Time Extension’s Jack Yarwood pointed out in June, Good-Feel has several ex-Konami staff among its number who actually worked on the Goemon series, so Mameda no Bakeru should be something more than a hollow tribute. Besides, Good-Feel’s pedigree when it comes to making light, joyful platformers should mean we’re in for a thoroughly jolly time here.

There’s no word yet as to whether Mameda no Bakeru will be localised for western territories, and it may be that, like so many Goemon games before it, this one will remain Japan-only. We’ll keep you posted if the situation changes; for now, we’re simply glad that Nintendo opted to make the Switch region-free…

Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! will be available for the Japanese Nintendo Switch on 30 November.