Tenka no Goikenban: Mito Kōmon Nintendo

Tenka no Goikenban: Mito Kōmon is inspired by the Japanese television drama Mito Kōmon. The program and the game itself deals with Tokugawa Mitsukuni, a seventeenth century Mito region daimyo, who had a legend around him that he traveled around Edo period Japan in disguise to visit cities in order to solve their problems stemming from corrupt magistrates, merchants and other ne'er-do-wells. On his adventures, Tokugawa is followed by his retainers Atsumi Kakunoshin and Sasaki Sukesaburō, who in this game do most of the legwork.

The game involves visiting seven different Japanese towns (levels): Hakone, Osaku, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hirosaki, Morioka, and Mito. Players control one of the retainers (they alternate between levels) and have to get clues in order to solve the problem currently plaguing that town. Getting clues involves traveling around town and speaking to the right villagers. Collecting these clues will of course be impeded by enemies which the retainers have to deal with by either hitting them or doing their best to avoid them. Players only have a limited time to gather all the clues before the mission is considered a failure. Each clue they receive will fill a clue meter, and once it's filled the retainer can return to Tokugawa. At that point Tokugawa will reveal his true identity and hand out judgement on the guilty party, then it's off to the next town.

Players can purchase items at the stores found throughout the town. Items include such things as straw hats that increase defense, sandals that increase walking speed, rice balls that restore health, hairpins to drive away Sunsoft's recurring character, Tami, a woman who clings to the protagonist and drains them of their energy, a talisman to defeat ghosts, a lantern to extend the time limit, and a log book which can be used to either receive a password or continue the game after death. Players can also visit restaurants that serve food in order to restore their health.

Other items like the pinwheel and bowl allow the retainer to be changed into one of the support characters for a limited amount of time. The support characters Yashichi, Hachibei, Gin, and Matahei have abilities the retainers lack such as being able to jump. They need to be utilized as some clues can only be accessed by them.

Earning money to buy these items involves playing mini-games found around town, such as one where the player has to shoot an arrow at a moving target.

The cartridge came with a voice chip so players could hear the dialogue occasionally spoken to them in Japanese.