This game is another RPG but it's different from EarthBound. In EarthBound they had turn based battles, but in Mystical Ninja it is a fusion of action and RPG fighting engines.
This game is a very strange game but a good one. It starts off with two ninja's being kicked out of a sushi shop for trying to hypnotize the owner so they could get a discount. On their way out they see a big spaceship heading towards Oedo Castle in their beloved Oedo Town. The two ninja's names were Goemon Ganbare and Ebisumaru. They go to Mount Fuji to get a special weapon and then go to Oedo Castle to fight the troublemakers responsible for this. When they get inside they are surprised to find out that the enemy turned the castle into a strange, big stage type area. They eventually got to fight the big boss, Congo.
Using their powerful ninja skills they defeat him. After traveling outside of the town to destroy the evil force causing these disturbances. They find the genius, Wise Man's house exploding, and finding nothing from the blast but a pink seashell. Goemon immediately recognized the shell and blew in it. A huge (but strange) metal robot appears after blowing in the shell and Goemon and Ebisumaru enter it. The owner of Congo gets inside an opposing robot, the wartime kabuki robot Kassiwagi.
After a long, long battle, the good robot, Impact, defeated Kassiwagi. The duo then bids farewell to Impact, who's going to America to be an actor. They get to Zazen Town and they meet a beautiful secret agent warrior named Yae Ponzo. She seemed to be working against the same force so she joined their team. After some more crazy adventures (I don't want to give anything away) they revived their robot friend Sasuke, the small and nimble warrior. They got his body from a guard in front of a gate and found his two batteries elsewhere.
Now with this all star cast of Goemon Ganbare, the smoke pipe swinging, coin flinging hero, Ebisumaru, the self absorbed obise hammer warrior, Yae Ponzo the sword slashing flute player, and Sasuke, the fast knife yielding, bomb-throwing robot, Japan may have a chance of survival.
They can also use magic to fight aside from the normal weapons. Goemon can use the Sudden Impact magic ability, which doubles Goemons strength but cuts his endurance in half, also turning his hair gold (mega cool!). Ebisumaru can use the Mini Ebisu magic technique, which makes him very small to fit in tight spaces, but also makes him vulnerable to attack from the gigantic enemies above him. Yae's magic powers allow her to become a mermaid, to swim under water, a productive technique unable to be used by any of her teammates. And little Sasuke's magic ability is Super Jump, which obviously lets him jump very high.
As you can tell this game is great for Japan fans, adventure seekers, and beginners. I give this game a 9 out of 10.