The Goemon Games

[Protoman]

How do you like the Goemon games? Everyone seems to love them but I've been having a bit of a rough going at it myself.
The original Famicom game is OK I guess, not too exciting, the sequel is better, it's pretty good.
The SFC ones are very good in a lot of ways, the graphics, controls, everything is good in theory, but in practice less so at times, in the first one(legend of the mystical ninja) I had a hard time getting too far and then I got stuck at the ninja castle place and the password/save file only gets me to the area just before which is right annoying.
Lately I've been playing the 2nd SFC game and boy does it have some annoying difficulty spikes like the flying dragon stage or the wooden roller-coaster. The Goemon Impact fights are pretty damn annoying too, and having to wade through the dialogue every time doesn't help either, although it's pretty brief.
The 3rd game and Boku ga dancer ni natta wake seem fine, for now I haven't played much of either but I do hope they have less annoying stage designs...

The N64, PS1 or Gameboy ones I haven't even tried out yet, I have to confess.

[Jedi Master Baiter]

I didn't like either of the FC ones (I haven't played the Gaiden games). I felt the first one was too repetitive and aimless and I felt the second one was much the same thing except with two players.

I've been meaning to play Mystical Ninja with my brother for the longest time but we (he) never seem to have the time (I haven't  actually played this game but have seen it played a long time ago and remember it looking awesome but long). Same with the first N64 game; it looked awesome, but I haven't actually played it.

[portnoyd]

I made it a point to grab every FC/SFC Goemon game in the past few years, along with been sitting on the ones that made it to the US (the lone SNES game and both N64 titles).

I've only played the first two FC games and they were fine. Definitely more of early Konami than the gold they mass produced later in the FC's life. Fun but somewhat forgettable.

Nostalgia for the SNES game is why I ended up getting the rest of the imports so I hold that one is high regard.

The N64 titles are REALLY good. Some of the best 3D platforming you'll find. Sadly, the price on both is stupid now but if you have a N64 flashcart, those are two ROMs you must have.

I haven't played any other title in the series yet. Only game I am missing that I want is the GB title. I should break down and get that before it jumps up to $50+ like everything else.

[adori_12]

Encouraged by pretty much everyone who has played it and talked wonders about it, I decided to go out and buy the Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, and honestly I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's my first Goemon game, although technically before that I also played a little bit of Karakuri Dōchū, which I didn't like too much tbh.
So the SNES title has been pretty good so far; reasonably difficult and fun to explore, but something I don't understand is why they had to make the password system so awkward.

Why do you have to find a certain spot on the level map just to save your progress? Wasn't it easier just to pause the game and select an option called "save" or something? I get that they were trying to make you progress a little bit before you can save, but it just comes off as an annoyance rather than a fun mechanic, especially since you can also get a password by getting a Game Over, rendering the whole "Find the saving spot before you face the boss" thing nearly pointless.

As for the GB games, I've heard Sarawareta Ebisumaru is the best one, and fortunately it actually came out in Europe as well, although as part of a Konami GB Collection cart. The one that got released in the US looks pretty bad, but I'd have to give it a go to know for sure. Apparently the game is also infamous for its nearly impossible button-mashing minigames, so yeah, it honestly doesn't look very good. Don't know anything about the other games on other systems though.

[Sentientprism]

I don't have experience with most of them, but the N64 one is really good, so check that one out if you can.

[senseiman]

I've played the second FC one a lot with my wife, who had it as a kid.  I like it quite a bit for that reason, but haven't played any of the SFC games so not too sure about them. 

[Protoman]

Goemon games have been very up and down for me. So far I've played:

Goemon 1: OK but hell if I'm playing all 16 loops, I got through 4
Goemon SNES: Stuck on the stage where you fight Sasuke, the continue point is too far away for my liking
Goemon 2 SNES: Beat it, equal parts good as frustrating, the impact fights are really hard
Goemon 3 SNES: Beat it, loved it. Only a little frustrating but overall very good, more puzzle elements
Goemon 4 SNES: Hate it, biggest dissappointment on the SFC next to Great Battle V. Nothing but frustration
Goemon Akokingu PS1: Almost beat it but stuck on the last stage with a hellish stage design I can't beat
Goemon 2 N64: Came to somewhere past the middle when I gave up, too frustrating
Goemon DS: Beat it but man were the later sidescrolling stages frustrating.

Left to play are Goemon 2 FC, Oedo Daikaiten and the "new age" Goemon on PS1 and GBA, as well as the PS2 one which looks decent. Kuru nara koi on PS1 seems meh, not sure about the N64 one either, and the GBC one is more or less a remake of Goemon 2 SNES so might skip it.

I thought I was going to love each and every Goemon platformer, but that wasn't the case!