This gem of an Adventure/RPG is the 5th in an ongoing series that dates back to the days of the NES. Released directly-translated in early 1998, Goemon 5 was a huge sleeper hit in the US, with its funny dialogue, ultra-strange plot, and perfectly simple gameplay. This wacky blend of fuedal Japanese fun and sci-fi adventure also happened to land in my palms one day, and since I've been completely captivated with it. Here's a look at how I love and why I recommend this awesome game.

Gameplay
If you're familiar with or have even checked out Zelda 64, you should get an easy grip on the gameplay. You jump around, slashing at bad guys on your way through landscapes and castles. Of course, there are some weapons to find and people to meet, power-ups to collect and dragons to ride upon, but that's where the similarities end.
Goemon 5 is filled with wacky challenges and strange scenarios, like floating through the evil, underwater, robotic sushi factory, for example. There aren't many other games that would do things like that without going completely "6-year-old's Saturday morning cartoon" on you.
You also have to do some special challenges to earn super magic powers, one for each of your 4 characters. There's Goemon, the blue-haired hero with super strength, Ebisumaru, the bumbling sidekick with shrinking ability, Yae, the secret agent with mermaid transformation, and Sasuke, the speedy robot ninja with super jump powers. (It's a colourful game, indeed.)
There are fun new modes of play, as well, of which the awesome-jammin' first-person giant robotic combat boss stages are absolutely the coolest; you get in your super giant robot and dash through an armada of bad-guy tanks and robots, followed by a huge hand-to-hand combat with the supreme robot enemy. Too bad there are only 3 of them in the game. They make what would otherwise be your average charming platformer into a stellar Japanese adventure.

To sum things up, the game is very exciting. The text translation may be... a little poor, but it gets the point across. And more usually it's fun to read what these crazy characters have to say. The giant robot battles are amazing, intense, and superb; I can't imagine this game without them.
9/10

Graphics
A lot of blocky character models and some crappy 4-dimensional clipping are an eyesore on what's otherwise a very vibrant game. Nothing about the experience looks realistic, but the effects are executed fairly well. Konami makes some nice use of sprite animations, especially in the looks on people's faces. Several of the textures are very good-looking, as well. What's strange to notice, when the rare opportunity knocks, are the beautiful-looking skies; they're kinda' out of place; it's too bad.
8/10

Sound
Goemon 5's music is some of the catchiest I've heard yet in a video game. Even so, the developers didn't forget high quality. The jukebox menu is much-appreciated, as some of these tunes are just amazing. There are even 3 fully-orchestrated, live-vocalized songs that fit into different cinema sequences of the game; very nice. You'll fall in-love with the crazy Japanese theme song, even if you don't know a word of Japanese. "Ga-nade, so ga-nade, akaname nakideeee!" ^_^
The sound effects are very crisp and clear, as well. Explosions are just great. "Yaw! Hiya! Wuzzah!" also make triumphant returns from the great films of action. Enjoy.
9/10

Replay Value
Well, I must say, I'm a Goemon junkie. Playing through the entire game is fun, as things rarely get dull. I've played through at least 4 or 5 times since I've bought it, and I still have fun with it now and then. It's hard not to fall in-love with its quirkyness, but its seriousness in adventure is equally enthralling.
9/10

Overall
It's a very exciting, enjoyable game that has sadly gotten lost in the mass of N64 3D adventure games. Too damn bad. I reccommend this to everyone; it's great. I'm sure you'll love it, if you just give it a chance. Woohoo! *_*