What is "goemon"

, known as Goemon or Mystical Ninja in North America and the PAL region, is a long-running video game series produced by Konami. Ebisu Etsunobu is the joint producer of this franchise.

These games revolve around the main character, Goemon, and his exploits. As the name suggests, his character is loosely based on Ishikawa Goemon, the noble thief of Japanese folklore. While the early games of this title emphasized Goemon as a noble thief, he eventually becomes more of a standard video game hero character. His trademarks are his blue bushy hair and weapon of choice, the kiseru. The games are set in a cartoon-like, mystical Feudal Japan. Within this world, every bit of folklore and legend about Japan is true. Although the series has its roots in action adventure, the Ganbare Goemon series has features from genres including RPGs, puzzle games, and board games. Ganbare Goemon has proven to be widely popular in Japan with its many video games, with its success spawning a wide series of merchandise and an anime and manga series.

Only five of its games have been released overseas: The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the Super NES, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Goemon's Great Adventure for the Nintendo 64 and two titles for the Game Boy.

In 2002-2003 one mobile phone was released for the titled Ganbare Goemon: Tsūkai Game Apli series.

The last original game of the series was Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki, released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo DS in 2005. Since then, the series has been used primarily as themes for Konami's pachislot machines.

Goemon may refer to:

• Ishikawa Goemon (1558–1594), legendary ninja warrior and bandit hero
• Goemon Ishikawa XIII, his fictional descendant, created by Monkey Punch for his manga series Lupin III
• A fictional version of the hero who stars as the protagonist of the video game Ganbare Goemon
• Goemon (series), the video game series
• Goemon (film), a 2009 film by Kazuaki Kiriya

is a 2009 Japanese historical fantasy film written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. It is loosely based on the story of Ishikawa Goemon, a legendary outlaw hero who stole valuables from the rich and gave them to the poor. The film is a fictional account of Goemon's exploits and his role during the final phase of Sengoku period, particularly the period leading up to the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. Like Kiriya's previous film, Casshern, Goemon was filmed on a digital backlot, and made use of over 2,500 visual effects.

Goemon was released in North America on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Funimation on April 19, 2011, and features an English dubbed audio track.