Jajamaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajō

The fourth Famicom Jajamaru-kun game (“Legend of the Demon Attack Jajamaru: The Illusionary Golden Demon Castle”) is an action-RPG that borrows heavily from the original Zelda game. Each section contains a small map, which commonly comprises a few towns and dungeons. It offers a sense of non-linearity, however you still need to face all of the events in a particular sequence.

The levels are all simplistic mazes, and there’s not many puzzles. You just run around and hit bad guys until you find the stairs to the next level. In addition to your normal chain weapon, you can purchase shurikens, and in time you acquire many jutsu techniques. The cartoonish tone of the previous games has been discarded in favor of a more serious atmosphere.