I've shed no small amount of drool over Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and it was one of the games I most wanted to see at E3 this week. Anthony and Ashley spent some hands on time with the game in their chat log post, but after I talked to Ignition about the title a bit I settled down for a full playthrough of the demo for myself, interested to see if it would live up to my expectations.
Considering what a stunning looking game Muramasa is, it takes a few minutes to actually push yourself out of that state of awe and into the mindset where you can actually take a good look at the gameplay. About halfway through the demo, I stopped drooling and started to actually pay attention. Was I still havng fun, even though I had adjusted to the sensory overload? Why yes, yes I was. Follow me past the jump and I'll tell you a bit more.
Well, as you can easily see if you haven't been blinded in some natural disaster, Muramasa is really pretty. Not like girl next door pretty ... more like, you stare, drop your drink and make a fool of yourself pretty. That's ok -- after all, we could use more Wii games that are as devastatingly lovely as this (Fragile, ahem). On the other hand, we've all played a beautiful game at one time or another that was total dogsh*t as far as gameplay, and what I was hoping for from Muramasa was something equally as fun to play as it was gorgeous.
From the first moment you get your hands on the game, if you've played Odin's Sphere, you're going to feel like you're playing the sister equivalent of that game. Muramasa feels as if it will be a bit easier than Odin's Sphere was, but considering that this is a short demo, it's hard to say for sure. One thing I noticed quickly is that my character (I chose to play female, but you can play as a male too) moves very quickly, and it's fun just to haul ass. You can dash through the levels and miss a lot if you choose to, or you can take your time and find everything they have to offer.
Wii controls are what you'd hope for -- some movement is required, but there's no overt waggling or ridiculous excuses to make you leap around the room to play. I'm no fan of the Wiimote and nunchuk combo, but after a few minutes I forgot I was even playing with them. The music and atmosphere absorbed me quickly, and I was slashing my way through levels with a dumb grin on my face.
Another thing I noticed is that Muramasa seemed to have slightly less emphasis on fighting than Odin's Sphere, favoring more of a balance between talking to people, searching for objects (I jumped through the trees a lot) and combat. I liked this balance immediately. You also quickly find out that your swords can break, but luckily in the demo you happen to have quite a few on hand, so who knows if later down the line you'll have to be careful about what swords you use.
Finally, it was boss time. Fighting this guy consisted of jumping over him and slashing, a few special attacks, and changing my blade every minute or so because I kept breaking it on his thick skull. I have to say this is the only part of the demo I was slightly disappointed with. It didn't feel dynamic in the way I expected it should. What I mean by that exactly, I'm not sure ... did I wish the boss had a more varied pattern? It was kind of weird to have him just stand there. On the other hand, it's an early boss, so I'm not sure I can judge the entire game on this. After all, many a retro game boss was defeated just by slashing with a sword, and we never bitched about that.
What I took away from the demo was that I was still interested in the game and not willing to judge it on the one boss fight that felt a little off. The gameplay leading up to that point was a lot of fun. There's no way to really know until it comes out later this year, but I'd say Muramasa still holds enough of my interest to warrant a purchase.
Too bad, then. Keep asking for it to come to another console. Maybe it'll appear on a Vanillaware anniversary collection game disc (or downloadable?) in about ten years.
Apparently the Ignition rep doesn't know how to pronounce "grimoire" (or else I don't). Still, I'm just glad that someone's willing to bring this title Stateside - even if it's not perfect, I have to show my support for it.
@ZeroTolo -- As I said, looks like its balanced between action, talking to people and searching for items and such. I didn't see much, but RPG elements were present in what I did play.
@ZeroTolo -- As I said, looks like its balanced between action, talking to people and searching for items and such. I didn't see much, but RPG elements were present in what I did play.
Derp... guess I must have skimmed through that part. Thanks though. Looks like it could be a pretty solid game for the Wii crowd this fall if they're looking for something to fill in the gaps.
Looking forward to this a lot, I loved Grim Grimoire and Odin Sphere. The video and write-up fleshed out what I understand of the game a lot more, thank you so much!
Looks freakin superb, but still makes me wonder what Vanillaware could really do in 3D.
I'd love to see them try a 3D game, with the same kind of art direction etc, it could be great. There's no reason why they couldn't do both 2D and 3D games.
MAN this game is pretty. I mean, every screen looks gorgeous, but the ones of the snowy creek and the waterfall with autumn foliage made me want to cry.
When I first played Odin Sphere I couldn't get into it, because I'd built it up in my head to be something it's not (I thought it was a SotN-style explore-athon). Once I played it again on its own terms I loved every second. Vanillaware's got a day-one customer in me forever.
@Cowboy TTop
Screw 3d, it already has way more than its share of games. I for one am really glad that this is in 2d and it would probably lose a lot of its charm otherwise.
I've been playing the Japanese version for about two weeks now and it honestly is every bit as amazing as it seems. The fighting is fun and hectic, the searching for stuff is pretty OK, the levels are absolutely amazing, and the boss battles are epic. I just wish I understood more than a handful of Japanese words.
Fuck yes! Ive read many reviews of the Japanese version, and watched vids, and it appears the fighting is a lot deeper than just the initially simplistic button mashing - combos and skills become more important eventually.
I reckon this will be a classic. Just running through those levels slashing to some decent music is enough for me, i`m sold. SO gorgeous. Yay for 2D!
I didn't get a good feeling when the rep you interviewed knew what she was talking about.. I got lost in her description of the game.
I've been playing the import since it came out, I enjoy every aspect about this game from the details to the characters, the beautiful music, the luscious backgrounds, and the game play.
This game is simply breath-taking, I already played the game, but I'll play it again when it comes out here in the US.
As for the swords breaking,once one breaks you have to wait till the meter is full to use them to their full extent again. They have a lil' triangular meter that fills up all the way slowly unless you go to the hot springs.
The bosses you encounter later will have a few patterns, the first boss is kinda blah in my opinion.
I'm also hoping they'll keep the controller scheme to be gamecube optional. I can't really play with the wii controllers too well for this one.
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also, agree with tigerfangred 100% since i have no intention of EVER picking up wii. Ever.
Your loss.
September. Right on!
Not really. I'm not losing any sleep over it; fuck a wii.
I'd love to see them try a 3D game, with the same kind of art direction etc, it could be great. There's no reason why they couldn't do both 2D and 3D games.
When I first played Odin Sphere I couldn't get into it, because I'd built it up in my head to be something it's not (I thought it was a SotN-style explore-athon). Once I played it again on its own terms I loved every second. Vanillaware's got a day-one customer in me forever.
Screw 3d, it already has way more than its share of games. I for one am really glad that this is in 2d and it would probably lose a lot of its charm otherwise.
I reckon this will be a classic. Just running through those levels slashing to some decent music is enough for me, i`m sold. SO gorgeous. Yay for 2D!
I've been playing the import since it came out, I enjoy every aspect about this game from the details to the characters, the beautiful music, the luscious backgrounds, and the game play.
This game is simply breath-taking, I already played the game, but I'll play it again when it comes out here in the US.
As for the swords breaking,once one breaks you have to wait till the meter is full to use them to their full extent again. They have a lil' triangular meter that fills up all the way slowly unless you go to the hot springs.
The bosses you encounter later will have a few patterns, the first boss is kinda blah in my opinion.
I'm also hoping they'll keep the controller scheme to be gamecube optional. I can't really play with the wii controllers too well for this one.
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