BAKERU release date announced

Key findings

A modern take on the 3D Goemon games, BAKERU evokes nostalgia with its Japanese roots and entertaining gameplay.
Developed by Etsunobu Ebisu, the game features varied attacks, side-scrolling action, and impressive boss battles.
With an affordable price and a demo available on the eShop, BAKERU is a must-have for fans of Japan-centric games.

BAKERU was originally released in Japan last year as Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru and is now set for a worldwide release. With design by Etsunobu Ebisu, one of the key figures behind the fantastic Mystical Ninja games featuring Goemon, BAKERU is very much like a modern take on the 3D Goemon games that were incredible on the N64 and PS2. The first N64 game was a very early 3D platformer that combined solid platforming with plenty of comedy and a very Japanese feel throughout, in an era where anything overtly Japanese in Western media was at risk of being modified a little due to different cultures. For a 3D action-adventure to come out largely unchanged in this regard was impressive – and the game itself was incredible.

2.5D adventures for the N64 and more 3D games followed, but when Ebisu founded GoodFeel as a company, this led to him not releasing any more Goemon games. However, this style of game has become increasingly popular over the decades and there is still nothing similar to the Mystical Ninja games on the market, so he wanted to fill a game with a new IP. BAKERU has deep roots in Japan and Bakeru as a character is reminiscent of GOEMON with blue ball-shaped hair that matches a little with Goemon's spiky blue hair and red shorts instead of Goemon's red ninja outfit.

Striking environments

Bakeru has a variety of attacks thanks to his bo staff, travels around Japan beating up enemies and taking part in many different types of gameplay – including sideways areas. BAKERU was my first import purchase since the PS2 era and it was so rewarding to get back into that spirit, although as times have changed so has the way we get our translations. The days of GameFAQs printouts are largely a thing of the past for me and the game itself doesn't contain much dialogue. However, I found that things like Google Translate were helpful with the menus but too cumbersome for regular use as, while most of the game itself was playable, any context to events was lost.

Bestial boss fights

Because of this, I never played BAKERU as much as I wanted to. Thankfully, the game is coming out soon and there's also a demo that can be played through the eShop. The demo is a fantastic deal for fans because this game will live and die by word of mouth, and it also comes at an incredible price. If you pre-order the game on Switch, you'll get 10% off, making it $35.99 – or you can wait until release and get it for $39.99.

Either way, it's much cheaper than it was ever available physically new, even with promo codes factored in. SPIKE CHUNSOFT is handling publishing duties and overall has an excellent track record when it comes to releasing Japan-centric games. They haven't released much on Switch, but have had plenty of PC and PS4 releases over the years. A pleasant surprise is that BAKERU will also be coming to Steam – so it's the first time there's been a PC release as well. Oddly, there's no demo available for this version.