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Once again, evil creatures have taken over the fair and pleasant lands, terrorising people into submission, razing buildings to the ground for no good reason and even setting fire to people's underwear for the comedy value alone.

Enter the fearless Goeman Warrior - a man with a mission. Those marauding creatures have butchered some of his best friends while he was away on holiday and he's more than a bit upset. Goeman decides to end the evil ones' reign of terror there and then, and bring a new era of happiness to the land. What a gent, eh?

This generally involves travelling around nine areas packed with evil enemy sprites who are intent on raping and pillaging the occupied villages. With the aid of his massive Battlestick, it's Goemon's job to rid the village of these foul demons by swiping them around the chops and picking up the cash and other items they leave behind.

However, not everyone that Goeman encounters is evil. Indeed, some of the fair and gentle townsfolk actually aid Goeman in his quest. The warrior lad is also capable of entering shops and gaining useful items, provided he can cough up the necessary dough.

There's a long quest in front of him, but Goeman's a real man, and won't give up until the last of the evil ones has been successfully booted out of the country!

This portion of the game simply involves Goeman strutting around a horizontally scrolling backdrop, beating up various enemy sprites collecting icons and money. Shops are also visited on these levels.

Half the fun of playing Goeman Warrior is in locating the vast amount of bonus sub-games in the game. In level one, you can play a mole bash game where moles pop their heads out of holes and you smash them over the head with a massive mallet.

Other delights include a Breakout game and the entire first level of Nemesis - and it's identical in every respect to the arcade original!

Goeman's a bit of a flashy dresser, but his threads have a function too! Both hats and armour protect Goeman from a few hits from the enemy.

There are three types of hats and armour, each absorbing a certain number of hits from the nasties. Shoes are also available which increase Goeman's running speed, and this means he can pull off longer jumps too!

At first, Goeman Warrior looks pretty dull. The only thing you have to do is strut around the scrolling levels dishing out staff-related death to the enemy sprites.

However, once you've actually got into it a bit, that becomes just a small part of the game. There's a platform exploration sections in there as well, along with some brilliant end-of-level bosses.

The graphics are tremendous. The Japanese excel at producing cutesy-style games, and Goeman must rank as one of the finest examples yet, with brilliant sprites and varied backdrops. The sound is top-hole too, with some funky Jap tunes to swing your pants to.

But it's going to be the vast quest that keeps you glued to the Famicom. You might have completed something like R-Type on your third go, but Goeman offers many days of frustrating (but yet completely addictive) gameplay. Yet another brilliant game for the Super Famicom!

Even though Goeman Warrior has a lot of Japanese text, it doesn't stop it from being incredibly addictive and entertaining. The graphics are absolutely stunning, with beautiful sprites and backgrounds, and the sound is utterly incredible, with some of the best music I've heard on a console game - the sheer quality and variety is outstanding.

It's also great fun to play, with tons of things to discover hidden behind the doors of the houses in the village exploration sections - there's a mole bash game, the entire first level of Nemesis (and it's arcade perfect!), a Breakout game, a horse racing game, a couple of weirdo fruit machines... and that's only on three of the levels I've visited!

The arcade platform sections are really superb, with real tests of skill as you battle through all sorts of hazards to reach the wild 'n wacky end-of-level guardian - the giant floating monkey-clown face is my personal fave. With weeks of potential challenge and enjoyment (and I mean that literally), Goeman Warrior is a must for Super Famicom owners.

Presentation 91%
Although there's lots of Japanese text, the presentation screens and stunning effects make Goeman Warrior a real treat.

Graphics 94%
Brilliant sprites and backdrops battle it out for the player's attention!

Sound 94%
Awesome Japanese-style tunes with great drums and bass-lines. The effects are excellent as well.

Playability 90%
Addictive from the outset, with plenty of cute sprites to smack into oblivion.

Lastability 92%
So much to see with many hidden sub-games and secret rooms to locate.

Overall 92%
The variety in Goeman Warrior combined with the excellent gameplay.