Nintendo Famicom

Gegege no Kitarou 2: Youkai Gundan no Chousen

GeGeGe no Kitarou 2: Youkai Gundan no Chousen ("Spooky Kitaro 2: Kitaro vs. Youkai Army") is the second game produced by Bandai based on the GeGeGe no Kitarou license. Unlike the first game, which was an action platformer (better known to the West as Ninja Kid), GeGeGe no Kitarou 2 is more like a traditional Japanese RPG. The combat is turn-based and menu driven and much of the game involves walking around talking to NPCs and fighting through dungeons. GeGeGe no Kitarou 2's eponymous hero and youkai (Japanese spirit) Kitaro spends most of his time trying to prevent a war between the humans and the youkai, effectively quelling his more aggressive brethren's antics before they get out of hand. GeGeGe no Kitarou 2's gameplay is that of a simple JRPG: Battles play out in turns, with each character choosing an attack and having each round play out. Though enemies can be encountered in groups, Kitaro only has to fight them one at a time. Likewise, when Kitaro starts recruiting allies, they can fight a round on his behalf rather than combining their efforts. Though battles are simple, the game itself is rather challenging, due in part to maze-like overworlds between dungeons and the slow rate at which the player accrues experience. Many enemies, especially early on, will drop a single XP (if they don't simply run off after receiving a few attacks) making level-ups an uncommon occurrence. The game also has some odd obstacles, such as many dungeons requiring a light spell (common at the time) and certain regions blocked by "youkai storms" until the player has resolved any quest objectives in the area.