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It's been a bit, but I'm exploring the next video game in the franchise, an action/adventure title based off of 1996's Nintama Rantarou the Movie.
Nintama Rantarou Special (忍たま乱太郎すぺしゃる)
Released: August 9, 1996
Console: Super Famicom (SFC) / SNES
Developed by: Culture Brain
Read the manual here
This game came out about a month after the movie debuted in theaters, and its development likely crossed over with the SFC Nintama puzzle game, which came out a little over a month before.
I actually played this game before I saw the movie, so instead of playing the game and saying "Hey, I remember that from the movie," I watched the movie and said "Hey, I remember that from the game."
Gameplay
Compared to previous games, the gameplay in this entry is thin. There's seven mini-games in story mode (one which is just a reskin of another, and one which is just a more difficult version of another, making it more like five mini-games) and the action sections are short, one-to-two screen long affairs. The rest of the game time is taken up by adventure sections that follow the plot of the movie. The rest of this post is written with the assumption that you've seen the movie, so I won't be rehashing the story.
Speaking of the movie's plot… In my post on Nintama Rantarou 2, I complained that the one-to-one adaptation of episodes into the video game made its adventure sections a tedious task of simply choosing the options that aligned with the original plot. This game does the same thing, with the added annoying adventure game trope of exhausting dialogue options in order to move on. For example, you might have to talk to everyone on screen - sometimes several times, or in a specific order - before the next option appears. Even if you know the plot, there tends to be a bit of trial-and-error in moving the story forward. It never feels organic; it always feels like busywork. And having 80% of the game feel like busywork is a huge mark against it.
The main feature is Story Mode, but there's also Subgame Mode. Subgame Mode is further broken down into Time Trials, Subgames, and Triathalon. Time Trials challenge you to beat the action stages as fast as possible, broken up into the Nintama Course, Sensei Course, and Headmaster Course. Subgames let you play the minigames. Triathalon is similar to Time Trials, but this time you're going through a mix of original action stages, action stages from Story Mode, and subgames.
So, Story Mode. After stumbling through an adventure section, you play your first minigame - riding Shinbei and Danzou to safety while avoiding rocks. If you get hit three times, you're out. You can move to the left or right in order to dodge rocks and grab apples which restore your HP (you can also jump, which feels relatively useless). This section is relatively simple, and luckily the game is always nice enough to immediately throw you back into the minigame if you fail it.
After a few more adventure sections (which are pretty nicely illustrated, so they got one thing about the adventure sections right!), you come to the first action stage. You can only play as Rantarou or Kirimaru on all of the action stages save one, which feels like an oversight since the trio are together for many of the scenes these action stages are based on. Ho-hum. There are some new things this title brings to the gameplay, though unfortunately not in terms of how the game controls; your characters are still hopelessly floaty and there's a ton of lag throughout the action stages.
Your sword and shuriken are now bound to different buttons, so you can use each whenever you want. There's an easily visible HP system. You can switch between Kirimaru and Rantarou by pressing the L button, which you'll need to do as each has special actions: Rantarou can use a grappling hook to swing on specific trees, and Kirimaru can use claws to climb up specific walls.
Each stage also has a store where you can part with your hard-earned cash to get items, restore your HP, or add time to the stage's time limit. All of the options save for adding time feel a bit useless, as the items are easily gained in the bonus game at the end of each stage and there's relatively little fear of losing all your HP. If you do lose your HP, or run out of time, you're sent back to the very beginning of the action stage.
The bonus game at the end of the stage is your chance to earn some items and power-ups for basically free. Cards displaying different items or power-ups will appear and disappear, and if you throw your shuriken at the right time, you'll hit an item or power-up. You can power up your sword, power up and add more shuriken to your stock, and get the undershirt (won't take any damage the first three times an enemy hits you during the stage) and saving wind jutsu (will automatically place you on a platform if you jump toward a platform and just barely miss the edge). The number of tries you get depends on how many apples you collected during the stage.
After the action stage is the next minigame, where you control Shinbei as he hurtles down the hill on top of a burning boulder while avoiding rocks by pressing left or right to move. This one also gives you three strikes before you're out, and you have to make it to the goal at the bottom of the hill. Pretty simple.
RanKiriShin sneak into Dokutake territory, and need to grapple their way out from underground in the next minigame. This one has you pressing a button in time for the arrow to line up with the red area. Rantarou tries to be helpful by signaling when you should press it… but his text goes by so fast that trying to press the button when Rantarou speaks is impractical. The timing just doesn't feel super intuitive. After you're out, it's time to sneak. As in previous games, you follow someone but hold down the A button to disguise yourself as a bush when they're about to turn to look at you.
The next action stage is the only one which Shinbei gets to participate in, and it's a bit of a stinker. Shinbei will crawl across the ceiling, and you've got to time it so that he doesn't get hit by the swords that the Dokutake are stabbing up. It's barely a stage, and I feel bad that this is Shinbei's big appearance aside from his earlier mini game. At least let him look as cool as Rantarou and Kirimaru!
After a bombardment of adventure sections and a few action stages, there's another minigame. It's the only section where you play as Rikichi and is just a reskin of the grappling hook minigame from earlier. The timing is still questionable, and Rikichi's signal is about as unhelpful as Rantarou's was. This is followed by a button-mashing minigame between Rantarou and Happousai, and after another adventure section you're thrown into the last minigame (and the last bit of action before the game ends).
And what a mini game it is. While it has the same basic goal as the first mini game - to ride to safety while dodging obstacles - the difficulty has been ramped up. This time you're dodging molten rock flying down from the volcano, and these come down fast, giving you little time to see them and dodge accordingly. There's no set pattern to where they'll come down and there's no healing items. It really does feel like what determines victory is luck; if you're lucky, you'll get a pattern that's relatively easy to dodge, and if not, then, well, it's a good thing that you get infinite retries.
After that, you're done; all that's left is to watch the ending of the game. It's easy to beat this game in about hour or two, depending on your skill level and how lucky you got with some of the minigames. Something about this game just feels underbaked, so maybe its short run time is actually a good thing. If there's something worse than a mediocre game, it's a mediocre game that overstays its welcome.
Presentation & Sound
And now I actually get to compliment the game! It may have struck out in the actual gameplay department, but at the very least there was a pretty good amount of effort put into the graphics and animation this time around. I disliked the sprite-based cutscenes in Nintama Rantarou 2 because they were static, but here, characters actually move. They speak, they run, they jump, they stuff their face (well, maybe it's just Shinbei who does that last one). This adds a lot more dynamism to the scenes, which is a good thing when the adventure sections take up such a large chunk of the game.
As much as the adventure scenes suck to play, they did a good job bringing the spirit of the movie to them, with most of the big scenes from the movie present (I especially like when they do the "Kakkoii!" -> "Kakowarui!" scene in the dungeon). Despite the poor showing in the gameplay department, a good amount of effort seems to have been put into capturing the look and feel of the movie.
While the vast majority of the music is returning from the first two games, there are a few new tracks, including a rendition of "100% Yuuki." The voice clips from the previous title are gone.
The final word
This title doesn't quite work that well as a game, and it also doesn't quite work as a fun way to relive the movie. It feels like there's a lot in this game and yet very little at the same time. Some of the gameplay just feels like a chore, and the gameplay that doesn't just isn't enough to elevate the game above mediocrity. It can definitely be a treat to look at, and I'd recommend checking out a video of someone playing it just to see the game in action, but it's not a title I'd say is worth the effort of playing yourself unless you've got an hour or two to kill and really want to try it out firsthand.
If you'd like to play it, here are some passwords I got on my playthrough:
Stage 2: <-X↓↓A→YY
Stage 3: ↓ABAY<-↑<-
Stage 4: BYX↑↑↓→B
Stage 5: Y↓YY↓Y↓↓
Stage 6: BYXA↑↓→<-
I also previously ripped some of the sprites and posted them here.
In Rakudai Ninja Rantarou volume 23, the Dokutake are trying to steal warship blueprints that Yamada-sensei has, so each of the students memorizes a part of the blueprints so that they can safely relay them to the Hyougo pirates. And in that volume's omake...
I have no idea how many people who follow this account know I write fic, but I do! So I decided I'd crosspost this new one here, and maybe I'll go back and crosspost some of my other shorter ones in the coming weeks.
You can also read the fic directly on AO3 here.
Characters: Demo Shikanosuke, Moroizumi Sonnamon
Words: 1,350
Rating: G
Summary: Demo and Sonnamon meet up in town, but find that each came with different intentions.
Notes: This takes place after the events of RKRN volume 64. I summarized Demo's appearances in that volume in this post, but the main thing to know is that Demo tore off part of his bandanna to give to Sonnamon to tie his hair up.
------------------------------
If there was something that Demo was happy to come out to the city for, to trek miles for, to wait around in the hustle and bustle of the summer morning when he could be training or working or even relaxing instead – if there was anything Demo would do all of that for, it was a job offer.
Especially a job offer from a place like Tasogaredoki Castle.
What other reason would there be for him to get a message from Tasogaredoki asking him to meet with one of their ninja? It wasn’t quite the great deal that a job like Ninjutsu Academy’s clerk would be, but working for a spell at Tasogaredoki Castle might not be a bad time – certainly he could do worse. Certainly he’d had worse.
But whoever he was supposed to meet was taking their sweet time. Demo sank further against the wall, spine curving as he settled it on the wall, the warm plaster pressing into the sharp of his tailbone. He peered down the row of buildings to his left, watching townsfolk shuffling in the hum and gleam of the morning heat. It was impossible that he’d gotten the meeting place wrong.
“Demoshika?” came a voice from his right.
“It’s not Demoshika,” Demo said, voice snapping, head snapping, the speaker – stray strands of hair poking out from his temples, pinched little mouth – entering his field of vision. A familiar-looking boy. “It’s Demo Shikanosuke.”
“My bad,” the boy said, expression and tone unchanged. “But I’m glad I found you so easily.”
Demo squinted his eyes against the rising sun. The last time he’d seen Sonnamon, the boy was passed out on the ground after he’d tripped on Shinbei’s snot, burgeoning bruise on his cheek and legs clumsily splayed out from his dirt-stained yukata like a lame horse who’d be better off put down. Demo’s lips pulled up. It’d left a hell of an impression. “And you’re from Tasogaredoki,” Demo said. “Shosen Sonnamon.”
“Moroizumi Sonnamon,” Sonnamon replied through clenched teeth.
“So?” Demo said, pushing himself off the wall and resting his hands on his hips. “What does Tasogaredoki Castle want with me? Everyone who’s ever hired me has been impressed by my skills, so I’m surprised it’s taken this long for them to—”
“The castle?” Sonnamon interrupted. “No way, this has nothing to do with that. Tasogaredoki’s already got enough manpower. We don’t need to bother with outside help.”
The anticipation of the morning, the words of the message he’d received, the smile dropping off his face and the frown that was replacing it, they all came down cold into Demo’s stomach where they rolled around like a heavy ring of prayer beads. Tch. He ground his teeth together. Then what was this, a waste of time? Sonnamon slung his bag in front of him and began to dig through it. Demo came all this way to meet one of the castle’s lackeys and there wasn’t even a job involved? It hadn’t been too much of a stretch to think a castle – yes, even a castle as big as Tasogaredoki – wanted him because of his skills. Demo’s gaze fell to the ground, heat burning the backs of his eyes.
“Here,” Sonnamon said. Demo looked back up to find Sonnamon holding something out toward him, and he took it. Soft in his hand, the cloth was a flash of pink, a slippery salmon color with green squares. It unraveled to its full length between his fingers and trailed like seaweed in the warm wind. The bandanna Demo had torn a piece off to give Sonnamon was still sitting in the bottom of his own bag, finding new life as a rag.
“I couldn’t find one that looked exactly like yours,” Sonnamon said, “but the colors are similar, at least. Thanks for the help.”
Demo’s gaze wandered between Sonnamon and the bandanna. It wasn’t a job offer, and it didn’t mean much, but some acknowledgment never hurt. “Right,” he said, “at Amitake Castle. You looked a little too pathetic for me to just ignore.”
“Hey, hey,” Sonnamon said, “what’s with you? I went to the effort of coming here to give you this and you’re mocking me?”
“What’s getting you all hot and bothered?” Demo asked, wrapping the bandanna around his head. “I’m just telling the truth.”
Sonnamon’s pinched little mouth grew into a scowl before he crossed his arms and leaned back, muttering to himself. Demo flattened the bandanna out on his hair. “...They really don’t need any hired help?” he asked. “Tasogaredoki Castle.”
“Like I said,” Sonnamon said, fixing his dark, beady eyes back on Demo, “we don’t need any outside help. Maybe a freelancer like you wouldn’t understand, but our team’s only as strong as it is because of our leader. He listens to all of us, he respects our contributions, and we give him everything in return. We’d all put our lives on the line for him if we needed to. Some ninja we picked up off the street could never reach the level of unity needed to be on our team, no matter how talented they are.”
Alright already, it was just a question. This guy was like a little dog who’d start yapping because you looked at his master the wrong way. He could talk about honor or respect or whatever all he wanted, but he’d decided on the easy life, clinging to one person so tight. Or maybe that beloved master of his had always kept him on such a short leash that he didn’t know any better.
“Hmph.”
“What’re you snorting about?” Sonnamon asked.
“Nothing,” Demo said, flicking his bangs off his sweaty forehead. “Thanks for returning the favor. Now we’re even.”
“I guess we are.”
“Tell your precious leader that if he’s ever looking for someone talented, he doesn’t have to look any further than Demo Shikanosuke.” Then, with a wave of his hand, he passed by Sonnamon and was off into the stifling morning crowd.
“Huh? You—”
Like blood beating in his brain, Sonnamon’s words kept coming back and back and back in Demo’s head. He clenched his fists and let the noise of the crowd lap at the words until the sound swallowed them whole. That someone would believe in and devote themselves to one person like that, and that they would be proud of that fact, the whole thing sounded like a joke. Nobody’s life could be more important to somebody than their own. But Sonnamon’s eyes had been dead-serious when he’d said those words, and it made Demo’s insides twist like snakes. Ugh, he didn’t have time to let that get to him. Quickening his pace, he glided through the crowd. He might as well pick up some job leads while he was in town.
Demo stopped at the intersection and looked back down the street. Sonnamon had made his way to the store on the other side of the road, a package of senbei in one hand, his other hand about to drop a few coins into the shopkeep’s palm. Then he’d run back, to that beloved leader of his, to that team he had so much of his valued “unity” with, to a place that would take even a brat like him in. To a place where he belonged. It was the kind of thing some people would be jealous of.
Jealous? The word brought a bitter little laugh to Demo’s mouth. No, no, there was nothing to be jealous of. Relying on others was for suckers, and Demo Shikanosuke was not a sucker. He traced a hand along his head, the bandanna soft and warm beneath his fingers, Sonnamon’s words – and the hard, insistent eyes he’d had when he said them – returning to Demo like waves on the smooth sand. The summer air, thick with nectar and pollen, was leaving a lump in his throat.
Demo Shikanosuke was not a sucker. That’s all there was to it.
(There's a part in episode 26-09 where he chuckles but the headmaster almost entirely drowns him out, so that's not on there, but this should be basically everything else!)
Komatsuda and Rikichi have appeared together quite a number of times throughout the anime, both in episodes where they're the stars and in smaller, minor appearances. I decided I'd go ahead and list all these appearances here as a reference, with summaries and screnshots of each. I believe this is all their known appearances in the episodes currently available to us, but if you have any additions, please reach out and let me know!
A number of their early appearances were based off scenes from the manga, which I'd previously summarized and translated here.
The first few are currently only available in terrible quality in the Chinese dub, so forgive the pic quality and any mistranslations.
07-27 小松田秀作の名札の段 "Komatsuda Shuusaku's Name Tag"
Their first appearance together in the anime that I know of, which adapts chapter 6 of RKRN volume 23. It closely follows the plot, in which Rikichi finds Komatsuda wandering around lost in the woods, trying to get to the ocean with an encryption cipher, and saves him from a trap. One difference between anime and manga is that in the anime, we're shown Rikichi receiving a note from the headmaster asking him to help Komatsuda.
07-28 小松田秀作さんを探せの段 "Searching For Komatsuda Shuusaku"
Continues the adaption. We get to see the first of Rikichi's real outbursts toward Komatsuda here, as he gets irate when Komatsuda takes out the all-important encryption cipher to show it to Rikichi. And he's right to get angry, as the wind easily blows the cipher out of Komatsuda's hands; when Komatsuda takes chase, he ends up falling down into a hole with the cipher in hand, where Rikichi loses track of him.
08-28 利吉と山田先生の段 "Rikichi and Yamada-sensei"
A spat between Rikichi and his father over whose work is more difficult ends with them deciding to switch jobs for the day. Rikichi, however, is unprepared for how irritating it can be to try and teach 1-Ha. While teaching them to wear armor, he finds them wearing pots and baskets instead of helmets. His cries of frustration bring Komatsuda running over, and Komatsuda informs him that the sixth-years are using the helmets at the moment.
08-79 でっかい声のヒソヒソ話の段 "Whispers Spoken Loudly"
Adapts chapter 3 of RKRN volume 27. Rikichi runs into Komatsuda, Danzou, and Shinbei while on a mission to save the explosives master Tadadouzen, and the four of them end up working together.
10-20 低みの見物の段 "Watching From the Sidelines"
Adapts chapter 3 of RKRN volume 30. Komatsuda had been sent to deliver fans to someone in Mushroom Valley, but had left the store before learning exactly who the customers were. Rikichi informs Komatsuda that the group who ordered the fans are actually the Dokuajirogasa ninja, who want to use them to perform the Kasumiougi no Jutsu (where ninja place poison inside a folding fan then blow the poison at their enemies). There's some cute changes from the manga chapter it adapts. For example, when Komatsuda says “I’ll be off!” Rikichi cheerfully replies “Ah, take care!” before realizing what’s happening and grabbing Komatsuda. Rikichi got pulled right into Komatsuda’s pace… Rikichi plays it completely straight when he sarcastically praises Komatsuda in the manga, but in the anime he really doesn’t want to praise him at all: he stutters, his eyes twitch, he can’t look at Komatsuda directly. Komatsuda still earnestly takes the compliment, though.
12-28 利吉のけがの段 "Rikichi's Injury"
Rikichi is injured during a mission and saved by RanKiriShin and Daisankyoueimaru. When the nintama manage to get him back to the school, Komatsuda is surprised that a professional like Rikichi got made a mistake and got hurt. "I mean, yeah," Rikichi says. "I'm human, after all." Komatsuda is so taken by the phrase that he stands there for several moments poring over their meaning - "Yes, that’s exactly it! 'To be human is to make mistakes; to make mistakes is to be human'" - and everyone leaves during his speech.
13-42 新しいアルバイトの段 "A New Job"
The kunotama muse that they'd love popular freelance ninja Yamada Rikichi's signature, and Kirimaru, who happens to overhear them, gets a business idea. He guilts Rikichi into signing a bunch of papers then returns to the school ready to sell them. Unfortunately for him, he forgot there was already somebody getting Rikichi's signature who could give them to the kunotama for free - Komatsuda. A short flashback shows Rikichi entering and leaving the school, stopping by to greet Komatsuda and sign in and out. Interestingly, this is the only time in which Rikichi refers to him as "Komatsuda-san" instead of "Komatsuda-kun."
16-52 仕事の途中で…の段 "In the Middle of Work…"
Rikichi comes to visit Ninjutsu Academy - and decides to pull a little prank on Komatsuda. "It's Rikichi," he says from the outside of the gate, but when Komatsuda opens the door, Rikichi is nowhere to be found. He steps outside and looks around before being called by Rikichi from inside the gate; Rikichi had hopped the wall when Komatsuda went to open the gate. "Sorry, sorry," Rikichi says with a laugh, and Komatsuda replies, "Please don't tease me like that."
17-05 利吉の仕事を見学の段 "Observing Rikichi at Work"
Yamada-sensei tasks RanKiriShin with delivering a parcel of unwashed laundry to Rikichi while Rikichi is out working. Komatsuda hears of their task and ends up visiting Rikichi as well, saying he wants to see a pro ninja at work. Rikichi immediately has to rescue him from a flying arrow, taking him in a princess hold - and Komatsuda (unused to being held?), freaks out. "Wh-What are you doing?!" he asks, to which Rikichi replies, "I'm not doing anything." Taking no heed of Rikichi's warning, Komatsuda steps out onto the battlefield to get a closer look before almost immediately getting scared and asking Rikichi to please come and save him. Rikichi tells Komatsuda he's being a nuisance and to leave… but it turns out Komatsuda doesn't know how to get back to the school. Rikichi arrives at the school and tells his father he'll take the laundry - in exchange, they can't let Komatsuda leave the school anymore.
18-13 哀しき父親の段 "The Sorrowful Father"
We get to see Rikichi signing in and out of the school.
18-63 優秀なマネージャー?の段 "An Excellent Manager?"
Upon hearing Rikichi lament that he's been unable to keep up with the volume of requests for him, Kirimaru says he'll become Rikichi's "manager." His solution to Rikichi's problem? Just have others - the headmaster, Rantarou's father, and Komatsuda - pretend to be Rikichi and take on all the jobs he's too busy for. Unfortunately, each job ends up bringing the real Rikichi and the fake Rikichi to the same castle. It's decided that in order to determine who's "really" the famous Yamada Rikichi, the four of them will duke it out. Rikichi muses that he "can't go all-out against the headmaster or Rantarou's father" - implying he'll use all his strength against Komatsuda. Komatsuda's Rikichi disguise has him taping his eyes back, so I suppose he finds Rikichi's sharp eyes to be his most distinguishing features. He also immediately breaks character by using his "boku" instead of Rikichi's "watashi."
21-25 馬借に人気のうどんの段 "Udon Popular With Horse Transporters"
Shinbei and Danzou head out to an udon spot that's popular among the horse transporters that work for Danzou's father, and Komatsuda tags along. When they find the restaurant, they also see Rikichi standing outside. Komatsuda's first instinct is to call out to him - "I'd wanted to ask Rikichi how I could become as cool as him," Komatsuda says. Danzou and Shinbei try to stop him, as they recall getting yelled at by Rikichi for interrupting his work. However, Rikichi approaches the trio and asks if they'd like to have something to eat with him, since he's always alone when he works and he wanted to talk.
22-29 山田家のだんらんの段 "The Yamada Family's Harmony"
Since Yamada-sensei is always claiming that he can't make it home because his work keeps him busy, his wife decides to visit the school to be if he's actually as busy as he claims he is. She disguises herself as a large, furoshiki-wrapped package of Rikichi's - but she's still polite enough to sign in at the gate when Komatsuda isn't looking. Seeing her name, Komatsuda brings three cups of tea to Yamada's room, and when Yamada questions the number, Komatsuda almost ends up spilling the beans. Rikichi throws his arm around Komatsuda's shoulder and has to quickly stop him before he says anything. Despite his constant closeness to Rikichi, Komatsuda gets a little flustered when Rikichi gets too close to him - but he still has the upper hand, since Rikichi is beholden to his lack of social awareness. Rikichi then pushes Komatsuda out of the room and shoos him off.
22-66 二人の天才忍者の段 "The Two Genius Ninja"
Rikichi and Komatsuda get two quick scenes together here. First, Rikichi enters the school grounds and Komatsuda calls out to him, reminding him that he needs to sign in - which Rikichi responds to with a "Haaaai" like he's pacifying a child. Near the end, Rikichi is set to leave, and he summons Komatsuda in a sing-songy voice. Komatsuda diligently pops in from the bottom of the screen and Rikichi signs out.
All of Ninjutsu Academy ends up going to view the cherry blossoms. When Rikichi arrives at the scene, Komatsuda runs up to get his signature (what a hard worker Komatsuda is, doing his job even at a time like that).
26-30 いくさごっこの段 "Play-Fighting"
Adapts chapter 2 of RKRN volume 57. A series of events leads to Komatsuda chasing Rikichi and Yamada-sensei up into the mountains to get their signatures - and Komatsuda finally gets Rikichi into his sights, so Rikichi has to give in and finally sign.
28-04 小松田さんの面接の段 "Komatsuda's Interview"
A ninja who observes Komatsuda chasing an intruder says he's impressed and would like to interview Komatsuda for a position at the castle he works at. RanKiriShin try to help Komatsuda by conducting mock-interviews. Rikichi appears and, upon hearing what's going on - first reacting with shock (“What castle would want Komatsuda as a ninja?”) then concern (“I just hope it’s not some shady castle”) - agrees to help with a mock-interview of his own. His evaluation is Komatsuda is a little too laid-back and cheery about the whole thing, and that Komatsuda should adapt a sharper, more professional demeanour. Komatsuda heads to the interview with a stern, serious expression, and RanKiriShin and Rikichi follow. The interviewer says Komatsuda's image isn't what they're looking for - not only did they want someone cheery and bright like Komatsuda usually is, but the position they were looking to fill was clerical.
30-56 利吉の休日の段 "Rikichi's Day Off"
Rikichi decides to spend his day off in town, where he runs into Komatsuda. Komatsuda doesn't believe that a pro ninja as in-demand as Rikichi would take a day off, and decides to follow Rikichi around to observe him at his job. Thus ensues a game of hide-and-seek where Komatsuda looks for Rikichi around town and Rikichi desperately tries avoiding him by running, hiding, and disguising himself. After a series of events, Rikichi finally gives in and, while hanging with Komatsuda right outside of town, runs into RanKiriShin. The three of point out Rikichi's off his game and that he's too preoccupied with Komatsuda ("Now that you mention it, I really haven’t been thinking about anything but Komatsuda," he says, to which Komatsuda replies, "Eheheh, it’s a little embarrassing to hear you’ve been thinking about me so much"). Rikichi decides the best thing to do is just banish thoughts of Komatsuda from his mind entirely. In the meanwhile, a ninja with a grudge against Komatsuda appears, causing Komatsuda to yell out for "the popular freelance ninja Yamada Rikichi" to save him - and Rikichi's ire is once against turned on to Komatsuda.
32-15 ライバルが現れた!?の段 "A Rival's Appeared?!"
RanKiriShin fall into a hole - but Ayabe claims a shabby hole like that isn't his work. Eventually they find out that it was Komatsuda who dug the hole because he wanted to try to catch intruders in it. Rikichi had snuck into the school grounds recently, and when approached by Komatsuda, said he didn't have time to sign in because he had urgent business with the headmaster. Komatsuda, of course, had none of it, and gave chase.
32-62 イライラするの段 "Testing My Patience"
Komatsuda is his usual bumbling self, and Rikichi, who came to the school to see his father, tells him that just seeing him pisses him off. But you know, Komatsuda says, he's always thinking of becoming a pro ninja like Rikichi. Rikichi tells him to give it up - studying for three years at a ninja cram school won't prepare you for actual work, and people like Komatsuda are the first to die on the battlefield. Komatsuda blows past all of Rikichi's words, instead asking where Rikichi learned ninjutsu and what kind of training he does. Rikichi escapes, but is caught by RanKiriShin, who also ask where Rikichi learned ninjutsu. After he explains it to the nintama, Komatsuda comes running for him, asking RanKiriShin to catch Rikichi. Rikichi swiftly dodges them and kicks the sign-in sheet back toward Komatsuda when Komatsuda trips and sends it flying. Komatsuda scolds him - he should show some restraint toward the nintama and not kick the school's property - and Rikichi muses that he thought Komatsuda was a useless loser, but he really cares about the students and school. As Rikichi turns to leave, he's caught by Komatsuda, who tells him that he forgot to say that Yamada-sensei is away on a business trip. The goodwill Rikichi felt has disappeared - why didn't Komatsuda say anything sooner? Oh, just looking at Komatsuda pisses him off!
15th Anniversary Special ドクタケ温泉の段 "Dokutake Hot Spring"
Rikichi shows up at the school and greets Komatsuda, and is then seen signing out in a later scene. He's also present when Komatsuda bursts into the cafeteria with big news.
Movie 2 忍術学園全員出動!の段 "All of Ninjutsu Academy Ready for Action!"
They're both on the scene when the plan to get Tasogare Jinbei to sign the decrees goes off without a hitch, and in the credits we see Komatsuda handing off one of the documents to Rikichi (though Rikichi, quite rudely, refuses eye contact).
Moments that were excluded from the main list for being a little too incidental, but that I still wanted to note.
08-80 オンボロ屋敷の爆発の段 "Explosion at the Run-Down Mansion"
The two of them are on the same screen throughout the episode but never make direct contact.
09-53 忍者のきびしさの段 "The Rigors of Being a Ninja"
Rikichi runs into Lily, who can't remember whose son he is. She lists off several choices, including Komatsuda. "Are you Komatsuda Shuusaku’s son?" she asks, to which Rikichi replies, "Why does it feel like you’re having fun with this?"
10-19 オシロイシメジの花見の段 "Going to View the Leucocybe Mushrooms"
Adapts chapters 2-3 of RKRN volume 30. Rikichi points to Komatsuda, but they make no direct contact.
12-26 ニセ利吉の段 "Fake Rikichi"
During a conversation between Makinosuke and Komatsuda, Makinosuke says Rikichi's name and the image that comes to (presumably) Komatsuda's mind is Rikichi all sparkling and smiling.
17-31 隠れる名人の段 "A Master at Hiding"
There's a short shot of Rikichi standing near the gate with Komatsuda.
18-89 尊敬されたいの段 "I Want to Be Respected"
We see Rikichi waving goodbye to Komatsuda and RanKiriShin.
19-44 山田先生、家に帰るの段 "Yamada-sensei, Come Home"
Komatsuda runs right past Rikichi while being chased by Yamada.
22-53 教育方法を探れの段 "Exploring Educational Methods"
Fuuki and Tatsumaki visit Ninjutsu Academy because they want their sons to grow up to be excellent ninja like Rikichi and they've come to observe the educational methods that his father, Yamada-sensei, employs. Komatsuda spots the two and, when he hears their aim, says, "I totally get that feeling! I really want to be a popular freelance ninja like Rikichi, too!"
26-27 小松田さんの強敵の段 "Komatsuda's Strongest Opponent"
Komatsuda spots Rikichi coming in and leaving, but fails to get his signature, so he decides to chase Rikichi (and Yamada, who didn’t sign out) up into the mountains.
26-29 同窓会ピクニックの段 "Class Reunion Picnic"
They see each other throughout the episode but never make direct contact.
29-56 利吉の作戦の段 "Rikichi's Strategy"
While in a conversation with KiriShin, Rikichi, and Yamada, Rantarou brings up Komatsuda and we can see Rikichi thinking (presumably about Komatsuda?) before an image of Komatsuda appears on screen.
30-68 利吉とキャッチボールの段 "Playing Catch With Rikichi"
Rikichi sees and calls out to Saburou, who’s walking with Komatsuda.
The third in my exploration of Nintama video games, and this time we're moving beyond the realm of platforming action and into puzzles. This is a twofer, as the Game Boy version isn't different enough to warrant its own post.
Puzzle Nintama Rantarou ~Ninjutsu Gakuen Puzzle Taikai no Dan~ (パズル忍たま乱太郎 ~忍術学園パズル大会の段~)
Released: June 28, 1996
Console: Super Famicom (SFC) / SNES
Developed by: Culture Brain
Read the manual here
Listen to the soundtrack here
As its name implies, Puzzle Nintama Rantarou is a puzzle game – more specifically, it's a falling block puzzle game, similar to titles like Puyo Puyo. Compared to the previous games, this title was released without much notice or fanfare. I couldn't find a single mention of it being in development in any popular gaming magazines; the first mention I found was Micom Basic's July 1996 issue, which came out just days after the game's release.
Before anything else, I have a confession to make: I'm not good at most falling block puzzle games, so I'm not good at this game. In fact, I couldn't beat it. Despite this, I still think I can do an adequate job exploring the game.
Gameplay
Like most falling block puzzle games, Puzzle Nintama Rantarou's gameplay revolves around clearing blocks that fall from the top of the screen. This is done by arranging blocks into groups of three or more based on their color and/or type. While there's a 1P mode where you're playing only to get a high score, the meat of the game has you facing off against a computer (or human) opponent.
There are three basic blocks, each with a different function that activates when you clear them.
The coin blocks (Kirimaru's precious kozeni) award bonus points, making them important for raising your score.
The shuriken blocks are your attack blocks – they send shuriken over to your opponent's side that turn a number of their blocks into Hemu-Hemu blocks (more on that in a bit).
On the other hand, the scroll blocks are your defense blocks. Whenever you clear these, a scroll for the art of disguise will be added to your stock. When your opponent tries to hit you with shuriken, these scrolls will activate and negate the shuriken's effects. Each scroll in your stock will defend against one shuriken, so you want to stock as many of these as you can.
Next are the Hemu-Hemu blocks. These don't do anything; they're there to get in the way and overwrite your blocks that do have a function. Hemu-Hemu's smug little laughing face suits this block well.
The last three are bombs, !, and ?.
Bomb blocks are cleared when they're in a group of three or more blocks of the same color lined up horizontally or vertically. The color of the bombs that appear depends on which character you selected. They will also take out any and all Hemu-Hemu blocks on your side that are the same color.
! blocks can only be cleared when the blocks next to, above, or below them are cleared. ? blocks are wild cards: they can act as blocks of any color or type.
You'll note that almost all of the different types of blocks can be any of four colors - red, yellow, green, or blue. This is because blocks can be matched by type and/or color. For example, lining up three coins of any color vertically or horizontally will clear them; lining up three green blocks of different types vertically or horizontally will also clear them. In addition to lining them up horizontally and vertically, blocks of the same type and color can be cleared if they're arranged in an L shape. Effects only happen when three of same type are matched, no matter what colors they are. If only colors are matched, there's no effect.
The game has one more trick up its sleeve, and that's the fact that you can separate blocks as they're falling. By pressing L or R, you can move the blocks apart, one tile at a time, and separate them until they're on opposite sides of the screen.
There are three game modes to choose from. The first is the titular puzzle tournament, in which you challenge each character in increasingly difficult matches (best of three is the default, but you can change it so that you only need to win a single round per match if you'd like). You can only play as RanKiriShin or the main kunotama trio in this mode.
You can choose either Score or Death Match mode. In Score, whoever has the highest score at the end of three minutes wins. In Death Match, you play until one person's blocks stack completely up to the top. You can also win by clearing out all the blocks on your side.
Next is 2P versus mode, where you can choose to play as any available character. After beating the puzzle tournament, you unlock 1-Ha and a trio of Dokutake ninja to play as. In addition to the previously mentioned Score and Death Match mode, this mode also lets you play in Hemu-Hemu mode. In this mode, whoever has the least Hemu-Hemu panels at the end of the time limit wins; you can also win if you completely clear your side of Hemu-Hemu panels.
Last is 1P puzzle mode. Here you can either try to get as high of a score as you can in two minutes, or you can play endless mode and keep going as long as you can.
There are three different "rules" you can play under, which act as the game's difficulty levels. The first is Nintama Rules. On this difficulty, you can't separate blocks, and the block-falling speed is set at the lowest level. In addition, blocks will never stack all the way to the top of the screen; if your blocks hit a certain height, the bottom two rows will automatically disappear. Because of this, you can't select Death Match mode when playing with these rules. Lastly, the blocks only come in three colors (red, blue, yellow) instead of four.
The next is Sensei Rules, which is basically the game's normal difficulty. You can separate blocks and the block-falling speed is set to medium. Last is Headmaster Rules. On these rules, "1P and 2P compete for the next panel" (I couldn't really tell exactly what they meant by this when playing on this difficulty) and the block-falling speed is set to fast.
Each character in this game has different stats, but to tell the truth, I think I'm too low-level to have really told a difference; I'm just going off what the manual lists. Characters have buffs to the efficacy of certain blocks, as well as a "maximum number of defense ninjutsu" (I have no idea what this means since everyone can stockpile more scrolls than their listed maximum number).
As mentioned earlier, each character has bombs of a certain color (on the 3-color Nintama Rules, anyone who usually has green bombs instead has yellow bombs). The manual also mentions that each character's bomb is of a certain type, such as Kirimaru's "score-boosting blue bombs" or Yuki's "red attack-type bombs," but I'm not sure how some of them translate to gameplay. If anybody more skilled than me can figure out what all of this actually means for gameplay, please feel free to let me know!
So after all that explanation, we come to the question: how does the game actually feel to play? I'd had complaints about the floaty and sometimes sticky controls of Culture Brain's first two Nintama titles, so I was very happy to find that that wasn't the case this time. Movement is fluid and the controls are responsive (so if you mess up in the game, there's really nobody to blame but yourself). Getting combos feels satisfying, especially when you get one and it cascades as more blocks fall into place.
The difficulty is… difficult for me to gauge because of my lack of skill. The fact that you can match by either color or type adds an extra element to the game that made it harder for me to make split-second decisions about what the "best" course of action was. However, I will say that playing against the computer doesn't feel unfair or anything like that, and I'm sure if you really clicked with the game, it provides enough challenge to be demanding but beatable.
Presentation & Sound
Everything in the game is clean, colorful, and clear-cut, making it easy on the eyes and easy to concentrate on the gameplay. Where the graphics shine are the in-match "emotion windows," which change with what's going on on your side of the screen. There's a lot of Nintama spirit here, with some especially choice expressions. It's a game I like looking at.
As for the sound, thank goodness – we've got a lot of songs original to this game, though there's still a few from the first two games present. They're appropriately Nintama-esque, sort of whimsical and lively, with enough energy to go along with the gameplay. It's not a soundtrack I'd really listen to outside of the game itself, but it is one that will get stuck in my head.
As with any game where you're hearing a set number of voice lines, it can get a little tiring to hear the characters repeat themselves over and over again during matches. But it can also be satisfying to hear your character when you get a combo and know a bunch of blocks and shuriken are about to be unleashed on your opponent. That being said, if you concentrate on the game enough, the voices do tend to start blending into background.
Before the final word, let's take a look at this game's handheld counterpart.
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Puzzle Nintama Rantarou GB (パズル忍たま乱太郎GB)
Released: November 1, 1996
Console: Game Boy
Developed by: Culture Brain
Listen to the soundtrack here
While I have the manual for the SFC version, I unfortunately don't have one for the GB version, so everything I explain about the gameplay here is based off of what I could suss out just from playing the game. Luckily for me, the gameplay is nearly identical to the SFC version.
Since it's on the Game Boy, the game's in black and white, but I'll use the power of the Super Game Boy to give the screenshots some color. This also gives us a cute little background.
Gameplay
Speaking of color, since we're working with the GB's limited palette here, each block in this version comes in dark or light. Blocks can now only be cleared by matching block types; lining up three light blocks of different types won't do anything. We've got all the same types of blocks here, though the Hemu-Hemu blocks, despite having the same name, are now featureless blocks instead of Hemu-Hemu's cheeky little grin.
Aside from the colors, there's two big changes to bombs and the Hemu-Hemu blocks. Bomb blocks can now only be cleared by matching them with other bombs of the same color (they do, however, still clear out all the Hemu-Hemu blocks of the same color as them). The Hemu-Hemu blocks are cleared when the blocks next to, above, or below them are cleared with a group of all the same color as the Hemu-Hemu block. Clearing dark blocks near a light Hemu-Hemu block won't do anything; clearing a group of differing colors also won't do anything, even if the block adjoining the Hemu-Hemu block is the same color.
All of the modes from the SFC version return, and most everything not already discussed is kept pretty intact. There's just a few other small differences – for example, there are only Nintama and Sensei Rules, and you start without any blocks on either side in Score and Death Match mode.
The GB version adds five new playable characters in VS mode: Rikichi, Makinosuke, Daisankyoueimaru, the cafeteria lady, and Happousai. Unlike the SFC version, clearing the puzzle tournament mode doesn't unlock anything.
The 1P puzzle mode has a new little element: a shuriken in the middle of the screen will slowly rise and, when it hits the top, will send down Hemu-Hemu blocks onto the field. Other than that, this mode's the same.
So, how do gameplay changes affect the gameplay? Here's something: I actually managed to beat this version. In fact, I've beaten it several times. Something about this game is just easier than its SFC counterpart. My personal guess is that it's the combination of all non-Hemu-Hemu modes starting you without any blocks and the fact that you can only match by block type. This means each round is easier to start with, and matching just by block type gives the game less working parts for the player to worry about.
In addition, I found that Score mode and Death Match mode ended up feeling functionally similar. Most of the time, the winner of the Score mode rounds wasn't decided by score – the time limit usually didn't even run out. Instead, it ended up being less about getting a good score and more about not being the first one to absolutely beef it and let your side fill up with blocks.
The base gameplay is still fun, and most of what I said about how gameplay felt in the SFC version applies here. I do, however, think it can sometimes end up on the side of being too easy (or, at the very least, not challenging enough).
Presentation & Sound
For the space they had to work with, I'd say the developers did a good job bringing out a bit of each character's… well… character. The little emotion windows for each character, while not as detailed as their SFC counterparts, are still expressive.
The artists do get to flex their skills with the detailed spritework on the pre-battle screens and ending.
The UI is clean and not too crowded, and most everything is both immediately recognizable and easy to differentiate. I say "most," because there are a few things that could've been made clearer. For example, it took me a moment to notice that the light scroll block was indeed a scroll – it looks thinner than the scroll on the dark block.
The music is a direct recreation of the SFC songs, so everything I said about those applies here. Some of them I enjoyed even more with the GB's sound.
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The final word
My skill at the game aside, this was a fun puzzle game that I enjoyed sinking a bit of time in. It had just enough in its gameplay to differentiate it from its fellow falling block puzzle games while still remaining easy to understand. I especially enjoyed the block separating mechanic, which added a little flexibility to setting up combos. The GB version's simplified mechanics make it a bit easier to get into for people bad at falling block puzzle games like me, while the SFC version is a little more challenging but also quite satisfying. If you like puzzles, then take either version of this game for a spin. In fact, I might have to check out VS mode with some friends and report back in.
…Anybody up to start the Nintama Rantarou Puzzle Tournament league?
Do you write, or would you like to write, Nintama fanfiction? A fellow fan and I are gauging interest in a Nintama-focused writing community as well as what people would want from such a group. We're looking to welcome and support fans of all levels of experience, from those who have written fic before to those looking to write one for the first time. I would love to see and talk with more fic writers in this fandom, so if you have any interest in writing fic, we'd love to hear from you!
If you're interested, let us know by filling out this form.
The Professional and the Problem Child: Rikichi and Komatsuda as foils
I'm a big fan of the Rikichi + Komatsuda combo — they're two characters I love, and their antics are always fun to watch. But when I thought more about it, I found that they're also interesting together because they act almost as foils to each other.
This is a semi-structured little ramble about how they contrast with each other, how this affects their interactions, and what I'd love to see done with them.
On the surface
It's easy to see their very blatant differences. Rikichi is a country boy who grew up in a secluded area with almost nobody and who's aimed to be a professional from a young age. Komatsuda is a city boy who grew up in a well-off family with his very close older brother and who's supposedly always done things in half-measures.
Rikichi is adept at conversation, can lie just as easily as he can tell the truth, can be a bit cynical about things. On the other hand, when it comes to Komatsuda, what you see is what you get: he's poor at hiding his feelings, he tends to say exactly what he thinks, and he views the world in a simple but rather optimistic light. Rikichi is able to stop and assess a situation and plan; Komatsuda, well... it might not be that he doesn't do those things, but more that he can't.
Family ties
Their differences start to get more intriguing when you think about how each of them view and experience family. For Komatsuda, family is basically always a positive thing: they stick together, they support each other. Even if there's disagreements, things always work out in the end. For Rikichi, however, family is more complicated and brings up dual feelings of love and loneliness, support and self-reliance, the ideals of family should always be together and family is the most important thing vs seeing other things in life as more important or more significant than family.
In addition, the Yamada family is dysfunctional at times and almost kind of try to push or guide Rikichi into things. He was set up on the path to become a ninja at a young age, and his mother has often tried to set him up to get married. On the other hand, from what we've seen of Komatsuda's family, they tend to pull him inward; Yuusaku would've likely been okay with Komatsuda staying in their family home for the rest of his life doing whatever. I think both families want their children to be independent and successful, but their principals and the way they go about it is wildly different.
Childhood and being a child
We haven't been given any real information about Komatsuda's childhood, but we can make an educated guess because Yuusaku still treats Komatsuda like a kid at times. Whether he's reminding Komatsuda of basic things like washing himself off before coming inside or telling Komatsuda he's taking him back home "for his own good," Yuusaku doesn't always treat Komatsuda like his age. In this way, Komatsuda's almost in an extended state of childhood that doesn't show signs of ending.
(I have a lot of thoughts on Yuusaku and Komatsuda and their relationship, including Yuusaku treating Komatsuda as both a child and an adult, all of which you can read here)
On the other hand, Rikichi was often rushed out of childhood. He was rushed out of it by his parents and lifestyle, and he was also rushed out of it by his own desire to escape and see the world. For him, childhood was being stuck at home with no one else around; always practicing instead of playing; always being told "next time" or "later." There's an interesting thread related to this that runs in episodes 30-68 and 33-72. In 30-68, Rikichi refuses his father's offer to play catch because he says doing something like that in the middle of the school is embarrassing. In 33-72, he specifically stops his father from leaving home and says they should play shuriken catch. Perhaps he's afraid of being perceived as "childish," but can't help but want to be able to return to the parts of childhood that he enjoyed (or that he wishes he got to enjoy).
Their differences in action
It's interesting to see how they're foils when looking at them individually, but I think what's equally interesting is how their opposite personalities and upbringing affect how they interact with each other (or, at the very least, how Rikichi reacts to Komatsuda).
Rikichi wears many different hats — the nagging son, the role model, the professional — but in all of these, there's a hint of Rikichi being restrained and not vulnerable. Even when he gets mad at 1-Ha, for example, it tends to be brief. With Komatsuda, however, Rikichi's emotions are laid bare in such a pronounced way. This boy who isn't fit to be a ninja at all is the one who can bring out a very honest side of Rikichi.
Komatsuda makes a lot of people mad at him, but I also think Rikichi has a special ire for Komatsuda because of Komatsuda's upbringing and worldview, and how it contrasts with Rikichi's.
The younger nintama don't necessarily think of the realities of the ninja world, but sure, they're kids. But Komatsuda is basically an adult, and Rikichi has seen and heard of plenty of people Komatsuda's age dying on the battlefield because of their overconfidence, so he might be especially annoyed to hear Komatsuda talking about being a ninja with that same starry-eyed ignorance that usually only children have. This is compounded by Komatsuda's background of growing up peacefully with people who loved him, and the fact that he doesn't tend to give any reason for wanting to be a ninja other than that ninja are cool. Komatsuda doesn't understand the full depth of what ninja go through and is seemingly never able to understand it no matter what he's told, and the fact that he can continue to do so is probably something Rikichi is irritated about... and maybe secretly a little jealous of.
Future developments
I mentioned in the previous section that Rikichi's ire for Komatsuda might stem in part from the way Komatsuda approaches being a ninja. We see this come up a bit in episode 32-62, where Rikichi tells Komatsuda that people like him are the first to die on the battlefield (a comment Komatsuda promptly ignores). We also see Komatsuda witnessing a battle firsthand while with Rikichi in 17-05. I think both of these could be explored further (well, as far as the anime would allow it), especially if Rikichi became aware that resentment played a bit of a part in why he wants to drill this into Komatsuda's head. Maybe he could take Komatsuda to a battlefield, maybe even put him in the middle of it, to prove a point — but he can't help but save Komatsuda when he's in trouble.
The difference between each of their families is another topic ripe for stories. I've always thought an episode with Rikichi meeting Yuusaku would be interesting. Yuusaku isn't quite like his brother, but it seems a Komatsuda is still a Komatsuda, and watching Rikichi interact with him, perhaps with both the brothers there, would be fun. Maybe he could pick up some tips for smoothly dealing with Komatsuda while he's at it. Komatsuda has gotten a little close to Yamada family drama, like in episode 22-29, but there's plenty to be done by actually putting him right in the middle of it. Something he says — about the Yamada family seeming dysfunctional or really different than his own, about how he thinks they should get along — could be downright volatile. Especially if he doesn't understand why Rikichi gets mad at him for it, because for Komatsuda, it's not like he said anything wrong, so why should Rikichi have such an excessive reaction?
Conversely, putting Komatsuda in the middle of family drama could work more in Rikichi's favor. In episode 21-25, Rikichi runs into Komatsuda, Shinbei, and Danzou in front of an udon restaurant and they all end up eating together. When Komatsuda returns to the school, he reports back to Yamada-sensei — and it turns out that Rikichi wasn't shy about discussing family business with the group. Rikichi talking about family with someone who isn't a student and who's around his age could a chance for him to discuss it in a more personal way.
Whatever happens, I hope that their relationship, their differences, and maybe even their similarities continue to be explored in future seasons.
