By Joseph Walter
Just as a refresher, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is a fantastic 3D platformer for the N64 that resembles a more straightforward and action-packed Ocarina of Time. Taking place in ancient Japan, players command a party of four characters as they attempt to save their country from a hostile, interstellar theatre troupe. Also, there are elaborate giant robot battles. None of this is a lie.
The gameplay is tight, the cutscenes are genuinely hilarious (with a laugh track that pops in at the strangest of times) and the game is deliciously bizarre (have I mentioned that the giant robot sings its own theme song?)
Oddly enough, the game's weirdest moment comes during its Game Over screen which is... uh.. well, I can't really explain it. It's best if you see it for yourself:
.... why? Why is it like this?
Two bodybuilding ogres wearing tiger skin speedos, hula-hooping beneath a disco ball in a black void while extremely raucous (but suspiciously sinister) upbeat music loops repeatedly.
I distinctly remember getting to this screen as a kid and being so unsure of what I was looking at that I was legitimately scared. Who would have thought this game's weirdness would delve into horror territory? (Little did my young self know that there was a far more terrifying sequence later in the game, involving being shrunken down and hiding from a gigantic creature that looked distressingly like Ziggy... but I digress.)
Although I shouldn't be surprised, Mystical Ninja's sequel, Goemon's Great Adventure, has a Game Over screen featuring the same surreal theming, and the music has been taken to the next level:
Uncomfortably weird though they may be, the Game Over screens from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Goemon's Great Adventure are unquestionably glorious... in their own, unique way.
What say you? Are these the weirdest things you've ever seen? Do you know of any other Game Overs that should be quantified as "Glorious?" Let me know below!