Good Feel revives the spirit of Goemon with percussive platformer Mameda Bakeru

Finding news on retro games, or games that invoke the feel of old favorites from the 1990s, can be tough. However, sometimes you get lucky, and that news just comes out of nowhere.

Case in point: I was recently taken by surprise by a YouTube video promoting Good Feel's Mameda Bakeru, a 3D platformer starring a young hero armed with drumsticks. He looks a lot like the star of The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, and early footage suggests that the game will have the similar (ahem) good feel of a Goemon title, complete with color drenched Japanese landscapes and suitably Eastern enemies.

What's different is that the combat in Mameda Bakeru is more nuanced than the Goemon games of the past. Our hero can use a drum to block and deflect attacks, but use it carelessly and the enemies will tear right through it, leaving him open to damage. Speaking of big damage, the star of the game can also charge up a devastating ground pound that clears away swarms of incoming foes.

Mameda Bakeru is scheduled to hit the Japanese Switch on November 30th, 2023. I think I speak for all Goemon fans when I say, "American release when?"