Game

Tenka no Goikenban: Mito Koumon

1987 · Family Computer · Adventure

About this game

This is an adventure game based on a TV show about a retired governor and his retainers going around solving problems in Edo period Japan. The game allowd players to assume the role of one of the retainers as they go around investigating the town. Occasionally this involves fights with corrupt officials, evil samurai and gangsters. There's also a female ghost that will drain the player character's life if it comes into contact with them. The game is noted for its many instances of speech samples. It also has a considerable amount of text. The game consists of seven stages. Players control Kaku-san (Kakunoshin), a jujutsu user, in the odd-numbered stages and Suke-san (Skesaburo), a katana user, in the even-numbered stages, and go around the action stages to collect evidence of evil deeds. The use of certain items allows the player to switch to a ninja or a servant for a certain period of time. The ninja can go undercover and the servant can interview the townspeople. In every stage, there is evidence that can only be obtained by ninjas or servants, and they must take turns. Each time evidence of wrongdoing is collected, the clue gauge rises, and when it reaches its maximum, the stage is cleared by presenting the evidence to their lord, Mitsukuni Tokugawa (Mitokomon), who is waiting for them at the inn. If the time limit is exceeded without collecting all the evidence, the player is forced to proceed to the next stage, but the final stage cannot be completed until all the stages have been cleared.