Their primary short-range weapons have three levels and are improved in range by acquiring grey cats left by defeated enemies.

Both characters are also equipped with thrown weapons from the beginning (which decreases money as the player uses it) and can acquire bombs by purchasing them in stores or by winning them in mini-games.

The first section is centered on town exploration where players gather information, buy items, learn special Judo attacks, play minigames, earn money, etc.

She explains that she was looking for strong people to help her, then offers the duo money and tells them to search for her boss, Koban, on Shikoku Island.

After finding and defeating the Lantern Man, leader of the evil dancers, they rescue Koban, who informs them that Princess Yuki, daughter of the Emperor, is believed to have been kidnapped by an odd group of mimes and clowns counterfeiters known as the Otafu Army.

He then directs the duo to nearby Awaji Island, where Goemon and Ebisumaru find that the army has set up a bizarre, anachronistic amusement park.

In 1992, Super Play stated: "Still one of the best games for the system (if you like this sort of thing), mixing RPG adventure-style wandering with side-on platform action.

"[8] Super Gamer magazine gave the game a review score of 89% writing: "an enjoyable mix of varied arcade action and RPG adventuring.

[10] GamesRadar ranked it as the 45th best SNES game for its "stellar ancient Japan-inspired soundtrack, beautiful graphics alive with color, and just enough challenge to make it a very addictive affair.

[19] The New 3DS Virtual Console service received the game in 2016 in Japan on June 4, North America on July 7,[20] and Europe and Australia on August 25.

[21] The Legend of the Mystical Ninja was also made available exclusively in Japan as part of the Super Famicom Mini console's lineup alongside its release on October 5, 2017.