"goemon's great adventure" takes place in a fantastical version of edo period japan, featuring forests, mountains, dwellings, and underworlds designed with japanese themes and a touch of science fiction. individual stages are populated by monsters, obstacles, items (such as ryō currency or dumplings), and occasionally bosses, who are stronger than most enemies. players can run, jump, attack with weapons, and use various special abilities to reach the end of levels and gain entry passes. four characters with three uniforms are available for play, including goemon, ebisumaru, sasuke, and yae. characters can be changed in cities or in stages through portals to an interdimensional teahouse. two players can play the game simultaneously, though they must both be visible on screen—one player cannot advance if the other runs in a different direction. in each stage, a bar at the bottom of the screen displays information concerning character health, weapon equipped, lives remaining, and time of day. if a character is touched or attacked by a monster, a health bar is reduced from a total of three. if all bars disappear, the player loses a life and must restart the stage. the game ends if all lives are lost, at which point it reverts to the beginning or the last point at which the player saved his or her progress with a controller pak. defeated monsters sometimes leave behind dumplings and maneki neko—the former replenishes health, and the latter upgrades weapons up to two levels above starting strength.