The Tanuki is a recurring character and/or environmental object that appears in several installments of the Ganbare Goemon series. It generally appears in the form of a statue of a Japanese raccoon dog that serves either as a checkpoint or as an end of area marker.

Origins

The Japanese raccoon dog, also known as the tanuki, is a species of canid endemic to Japan. Within Japanese folklore, the tanuki have had a significant role since ancient times. The legendary tanuki are reputed to be mischievous and jolly, masters of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. The animals have also been common in Japanese art, particularly as subjects for statues.

The tanuki has a long history in Japanese legend and folklore. Bake-danuki are a kind of tanuki yōkai (supernatural beings) found in the classics and in the folklore and legends of various places in Japan.

Although the tanuki is a real, extant animal, the bake-danuki that appears in literature has always been depicted as a strange and even supernatural animal. In some regions of Japan, bake-danuki are reputed to have abilities similar to those attributed to kitsune (mystical foxes); they can shapeshift into other things or people, and can even possess human beings.

Appearances

Mr. Goemon

Several tanuki statues can be seen in the backgrounds of some of the stages of this game. All of these statues have a red arrow next to them pointing to the right, in the direction the player must follow; however, since there isn't any other way where to go in this game other than to the right, it's questionable if these statues are even useful at all.

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

At the entrance of every 2D action scene of the game, the player will be greeted by a large statue of a tanuki. While, being a statue, the tanuki won't move, it will in turn speak to the player and warn them of the dangers lying ahead. Besides this, the statue serves as a checkpoint, and should the player be defeated along their trip through the action scene, an option will be given to them to continue from the beginning of the action scene, at the tanuki statue, or, if they already found one, at the location where they picked up the Ebony Elephant.

Besides being a checkpoint, the tanuki statue also provides another service; in a two player game, the statue will ask the players if they want to go solo, with each player taking alternating turns to try to beat the stage, or to play the action scene together, in which both players will try to beat the stage simultaneously while sharing the same screen. Choosing the "GO TOGETHER" option will also allow them to use the "Fierce Piggyback Attack", a special move that involves one player jumping on the back of the other for a ride. While in this mode, the player below will take command of all movements while the one on top will be in charge of attacking. This move is useful for platforming sections, in order to prevent players from being caught behind and losing a life for falling out of bounds. Another feature exclusive to the "GO TOGETHER" option is that when one of the players loses a life, on their next one they'll appear as a ghost for a brief time, allowing them to choose a safe spot where to materialize, or letting the other player clear the area for them to spawn.

Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu

In this game, tanuki statues appear at the end of each action scene, serving as end of area markers. Unlike the previous game, the statue won't speak this time around, it will just drop from the sky and lie stationary. To end the stage, the player has to hit and destroy it with a weapon; the statue will then break apart and coins will start coming out of it upward like a fountain for the player to collect. A good way to collect most of these coins is to start jumping on the place from where they're coming out, although the base of the statue may get in the way and not allow the player to stay in the center to be able to catch many of the coins. However, if the player manages to reach the statue while riding one of the game's many vehicles, they'll then be able to park it in front of the bottom of the statue and potentially pick up all the coins with little to no effort.

Gallery

See also

• Little Elephant - Another item that often acts as a checkpoint.
• Mr. Arrow - Another item that often acts as a checkpoint.

References

External links

• Japanese raccoon dog at Wikipedia
  • Bake-danuki
• Tanuki at Yōkai Wiki
• Tanuki at Yokai.com