Quantcast


Review: Muramasa: The Demon Blade photo

We waited very impatiently for Muramasa: The Demon Blade to come out on Wii this month. The slashing action game has been enchanting us with trailers for months. And here it is. The die has been cast, our fate determined, and there was nothing that would have been able to prevent it.

Now that the game is on store shelves, should you be taking it home with you and giving it a loving home? Possibly. Why not let this review help inform your decision? It's the very best one we've written about Muramasa yet!

Click below to read more.

Muramasa

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
Developer: Vanillaware Ltd.
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Release Date: September 8, 2009 
MSRP: $49.99 

Muramasa is an absolutely beautiful game. The backgrounds are lush and detailed, giving the impression that you're running through a picture book. Likewise, the character designs are gorgeous and all the characters have beautifully fluid animation to them. I often found myself just stopped cold, staring at how gorgeous it all looks. If you are a fan of sprites in your games, this one has them and they look fantastic.

As a story, Muramasa is passable, at best. The characters are interesting and the plot is not without its charming moments but it has some problems, largely tied to the presentation. Bits of plot are fed to you around the game's boss fights, with sections of dialogue between characters before and after major battles. This means fighting hordes of enemies to get to a place, a big and exciting warning about how there's a big bad guy coming and how you should be ready, then the flow is completely destroyed by the slowly progressing story content. Annoying.

Muramasa

Still, the tale is compelling. The two playable characters, Kisuke and Momohime, both become home to the spirits of those who have mastered a secret swordfighting technique, called Oboro Style. Kisuke is a wanted criminal who has no memory of his past or why he's being chased. Momohime, on the other hand, is a sweet girl forcibly possessed by a soul which desires to tear down the very walls of heaven. They are great characters, particularly Momohime, and the story is rich enough to keep interest maintained even if it is a bit poorly paced.

Each character has their own story that takes them from one end of Japan to the other. The stories take about eight hours to finish each. Afterwards, there are opportunities to fight in the game's many bonus dungeons, some of which must be completed in order to see each of the three endings available to either character. Plus, completing the story of a character allows them to access the boss levels from the other character's game, essentially allowing all content to be playable for each character.

The gameplay is decidedly simplistic. This is a very basic sort of hack-and-slash game which is made compelling not by the depth of its mechanics but the frenetic pace at which it operates. As you run through the provinces of Japan, you'll have random encounters with ninja, monks, and oni among others. While certain enemies may have slightly differing strategies which are more effective, very little grace is required to kill anything and a player could easily traverse the first half of the game on button mashing alone.

Muramasa

So, instead of being heavily skill-based, fights become acts of attrition. Combat will more often hinge on how many enemies you're facing at once over how skilled you are at defeating them. Rather than forcing you to adopt new skills, the foes just get stronger and arrive in greater numbers to increase the challenge. This means combat can be fairly repetitive, but the speed at which it moves and the variety of weapons to select from keeps it feeling fresh.

As you block and deflect attacks, your sword loses its power and will eventually break. Swords can be repaired by sheathing them again and having a little patience, and you have three swords equipped at all times. Swords are differentiated by size, with normal blades supplying quick attacks and long blades acting more slowly but delivering more damage. In addition, every sword has a special attack which can be activatedby using some of its juice. New swords are acquired by defeating boss enemies or by spending points earned through combat.

Apart from some really useful special attacks, most swords are completely interchangeable and you'll probably spend a lot of the game just using whatever deals the most damage. As time passes, however, some swords do show greater value from secondary traits than their raw attack power. In addition to their special attacks, most swords also confer some sort of bonus to the player in the form of stat boosts or bonuses to gaining experience points and health regeneration.

It does get a little repetitive at times, as the game is basically a lot of running and sword swinging. Enemies seem to scale their damage and hit resistance to your character's level, so it also rarely feels like you're making any real progress. Still, fun wins out over tedium by a long mile as the action rarely gives you time to feel bored.

Muramasa

The controls are tight and responsive, the way they should be in any action game. Three control schemes are available, allowing the player to use a Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, a Classic controller or a Gamecube controller to play. I recommend using the Gamecube or Classic controller if possible, simply due to button layout, but the Nunchuk controls work just as well and it'll merely be a matter of player preference.

Muramasa features multiple difficulty modes. Mudo, the most basic level of challenge, automatically blocks attacks when you are not in the act of attacking yourself. This is basically for people who have never played a brawler before, and will bore more experienced veterans. Suro, where most people will likely find the most enjoyment, requires you to hold the attack button down when you wish to adopt a defensive stance but there's otherwise no difference. A third mode for the truly brave unlocks after finishing the game in which you have only one hit point before death's sweet embrace.

Overall, it's a very solid title. Flawed, certainly, but a lot of fun to play if you don't mind a little repetitive combat and a story that feels a bit slow.

Score: 7.0 -- Good (7s are solid games that definitely have an audience. Might lack replay value, could be too short or there are some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.)









More gaming stories around the web. Got news? Submit yours to tips@destructoid.com

Conrad Zimmerman is Destructoid's News Editor and home to the busiest mustache in the gaming press. An amateur historian and pop culture fanatic, Conrad possesses a nearly limitless wealth of videogame factoids and a passion for the power of games to teach, inspire and entertain. He enjoys reading, writing and turning things which should be fun into work. Likes Mega Man 2, Arcade Games, Books about games, Board games, Having cultural interests that aren't games Meet the rest of the team



Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

45 comments | showing # 1 to 45
prev next

TheDirtyHobo's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 16:17
TheDirtyHobo
It's sort of a shame, this starts off such a beautiful and fun game, with interesting combat. Then you keep playing and realize that the combat doesn't change. 108 weapons, and only two styles. Still a fun game and one of the better Wii titles recently.
Tralfmadoria's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:15
Tralfmadoria
Good review! I thought I'd mention that the game's music is in my opinion astounding. I appreciate that the developers went through so much effort to make the game resemble Kabuki theatre, but I agree that the story's pacing suffered for it when they tried to mash gameplay into the mix. No, this game isn't for everyone, but for a complete Japanophile such as myself, it's pure bliss.
Springsteen's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:17
Springsteen
Beautiful, beautiful title. I do not regret having it, but it's deffinitely a rental if you're not an art fan and don't miss terribly the good old 2D beatings. All in all, a unique gem in the Wii's library that, as many of the console's titles, falls short somewhere along the line. It gets repetitive easily, and even the cruel difficulty in the greatest difficulty level can't shake off the feeling that you've been doing the exact same thing for way too long.
NostalGeek's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:20
NostalGeek
Frankly i am LOVING this game!
The ambiance that oozes from this game is amazing.

Of course the graphics are gorgeous, the soundtrack is amazing, the gameplay is sweet, it's all in Japanese (though very loosely tranlated).....
Yes it is a bit repetitive but the item upgrade incentive makes the pill very say to swallow.
What makes it great are the little touches, the way Kisuke sheathes his Katana like a badass, the way he eats food (I've been eating Japanese for the past 3 days because of this game!)

I love this game and would recommend it highly to anyone who loves Japan.
Camiwaits's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:27
Camiwaits
My favorite Wii game of the year. I love its graphic design and the soundtrack, and its 2D brawler mechanics are really fun for me. Also, great boss battles, even if they're too long sometimes.

I give it a 9.0
Rockvillian's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:37
Rockvillian
It's best in short bursts. The art style, music, and act of destroying everything on the screen with lots of slashies and jumping make up for the story - which never ever really seems to explain anything besides "kill this guy, he has a sword you need." Okay!
Hiltz's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:41
Hiltz
My opinion about Muramasa after having finished the game with both characters.

Pros:

- beautiful graphics & fluid animation
- solid, stylish, fast-paced combat
- good pacing of combat & done in short bursts
- switching between swords adds some depth to combat
- great music (Destruction, why didn't you mention this?)
- tight, intuitive controls
- Japanese VO work (english subtitles)
- fairly interesting stories despite the simplicity and predictablity of the presentation
- multiple story endings
- sword forge system
- option to switch between difficulty modes during gameplay
- different boss battles for Kisuke and Momohime
- cooking (it's a very simple process but it's still fun to watch and the theme music is catchy too)

Cons:

- no difference in play style between Kisuke & Momohime
- you have all of the moves at the start of the game
- encounter same background environments
- repetitive combat
- backtracking (areas aren't that big but it does get a bit annoying)

I think the game deserves a higher score than 7.0 despite its flaws like an 8.0 - 8.5 range in my opinion.
JohZho's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:44
JohZho
Note: you can hold A button to speed eating/cooking animations.
Just for those who didn't know lol.
sheppy's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:49
sheppy
@nostal geek,

What if we hate Japan? Like not a normal sort of kind of racism but rather a deep seeded hatred for things they never did. Imaginary crimes, let's say. Crimes so horrible such as resurrecting Hitler and Nobunaga and using them as the official spokespersons for the Hitler Youth system that drives so many of their children into suicide. Or of course the monopolization of natural rersources through the use of their giant robots. Would you recommend Muramasa to me then?
Ckarasu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:55
Ckarasu
Dude, Conrad, the difficulty modes are Muso and Shura. You spelled them wrong. Otherwise, it's a good review.
kefkaesque's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 18:55
kefkaesque
Honestly I think you were a little too kind when it came to the game's plot. I mean I enjoyed the game because the gameplay was fun and the art was increadibly beautiful, but holy crap the plot (or incredible lack there of) was terrible. You hardly EVER even heard of a big boss until right before you're ready to fight them (the final bosses being no different). And the endings are so unsatisfying, hell they're basically "you may have kicked ass, but Buddha kicks more ass, convert to Buddhism NAO".

Really, their slight attempt of a plot was just horrendous.
oepn's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:00
oepn
Good review! I'd also recommend starting on the Shura (Medium) difficulty; it reduces or eliminates much of the button-mashing, and you can switch to the easier Muso mode whenever you get stuck.

It's the inverse of Red Faction, in a way. By default, Red Faction punishes you for taking chances, while Muramasa makes it so easy that it's tedious.
Sedidwif's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:02
Sedidwif
@sheppy

I would and I don't even own it. You could just continually get killed in an attempt to settle the score. If you really tried hard and dedicated the time to it you could probably get Kisuke and Momohime killed an amount of times equal to the current population of males and females in current day japan respectively. If your hatred for the island of the rising sun is that hardcore, you would do it.
Ckarasu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:03
Ckarasu
@kefkaesque: Well, I'm liking the plot so far. Not the best, but certainly not terrible. It's all preference, really.
Artemus's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:10
Artemus
This game is beautiful...
If only looks were everything.
Nice review, Conrad! Very Informative and to the damn point. I like that.
RTsharpshooter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:26
RTsharpshooter
Nice review.
Yeah, its annoying when a story has poor pacing, no matter how good or bad it is overall.
I'll be buying this soon, time to dust off the GC controller!
Jonathan Holmes's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:26
Jonathan Holmes
Great review, Conrad!
ProperlyParanoid's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:44
ProperlyParanoid
I need to buy this game right now. It's just so pretty. Nice review, by the way.
kefkaesque's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:53
kefkaesque
@Ckarasu

No offense but I'm honestly wondering.... how?

There's no build up, no depth, no villain, no conclusion, no real character growth. I mean I'm not tryna attack your opinion but I honestly can't see how anyone would consider the plot of this game even passable.
Ckarasu's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 19:58
Ckarasu
@Kefkaesque: I enjoy it and think it's a good plot, if lacking a bit. I have seen much worse, and there IS mention of a final villain.It's my opinion, and I don't need to defend it. Odin Sphere's plot was MUCH better, though.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 20:07
Cowboy TTop
Nice, beautiful game. I'd still love to see what Vanillaware could do with 3D, though. Question is will they ever make that jump.
Corak's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 20:28
Corak
If you can look past the story and the repetitive nature of the brawler type game its a lot of fun. I've been having a blast playing it. It simply looks stunning, the music is superb, and its fun to play, laying waste to hordes of enemies.
Hiltz's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 20:32
Hiltz
I liked the stories but I think most that's probably because I'm also interested in Japanese mythology.


I enjoyed Momohime's story more because of her relationship with the spirit and the tragic ending It was kind of funny how the spirit typically talks down to Momohime as his way of venting out his frusteration about the dilemma the two are in. Kisuke's was more of a cliche memory/love story.
Tubatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 21:02
Tubatic
Maybe its the other games I have recently picked up, or an honest sense of savoring the experience, but I haven't beaten this game yet. But, I really enjoy it. Its a rare micro-brew in my wine cellar of root beer video games.
perri's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 21:04
perri
Nice. So theres no co-op eh? I skimmed...Didn't see anything.
Hiltz's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 21:17
Hiltz
Muramasa is a single player game only.
DinnertimeNinja's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 21:23
DinnertimeNinja
I liked Odin sphere at first until I had to start from scratch for each and every character (including expanding your item bag AGAIN AND AGAIN!).

Is this game like that with its two characters?
Technophile's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 21:47
Technophile
I'm still working through it, it does get tedious at times, especially if you are underpowered for a boss. I will agree that the game is totally gorgeous though.

Nice to see you writing Conrad. You had been gone a while.
Letters numbers and spaces are ok's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 22:01
Letters numbers and spaces are ok
Gameplay elements of the game feel incomplete much of the time, you get the feeling that they could have done much more (while still not still not asking for too much).

Cooking was really nice visually, but add to that an actual gameplay element and it would have been a really nice feature.

More sprites/mobs, larger range of abilities for both bosses and normal mobs and in general more uniqueness would have been nice.

Anyway, a part from the gameplay elements the atmosphere, visuals, story, etc are really nice and the game is quite addictive.

Still gotta get the final ending, stopped playing ATM but hopefully get around to finishing it and seeing the ending soon (I think it is the true ending)... Personally loved the second Kisuke ending the best (so far), and I think most people will agree, that ending is funny and at least a 'happy' ending for the most part.
mrplow8's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 22:05
mrplow8
This game is kind of boring. It looks cool though.
Letters numbers and spaces are ok's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 22:17
Letters numbers and spaces are ok
@ DinnertimeNinja
If I think what I think you mean, then no, the two storylines are different. Face different bosses, etc.

@ kefkaesque
No Depth; How do you define depth? Gameplay wise or Story? The story itself is quite deep, took me quite a while to work out what was happening. Gameplay wise, I agree for the most part

No villain; Again, this isn't basic comic books, the world isn't set up to be good verse evil. There are no villains because it doesn't take a superhero approach, each character has a means and a motive and is seen in good and bad lights... If you need a villain then that is a problem with you, not the game.

No conclusion; I believe the Oboro blade ending is the final/true ending... Maybe, maybe not, maybe it is subjective to what each person wants to believe is the final ending... Again, it is a game which is an interactive medium, and even books and films which are interactive, each person interprets the ending/endings the way they want to interpret it.

Some of the bosses did seem random when they popped up, I'm guessing cultural and language translations need to be taken into consideration. Lot of the time I didn't know why I was going somewhere or what will happen there, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing... Random things happen in real life as well, you get somewhere and it isn't the same... Either way, it was all explained when you DID get there, it is just a differing style of story telling.

And I think that is the main issue here, you can't see past your own personal preferences and hence call any other differing style of story in a game as 'lesser' (ironic considering I'd personally call needing a villain in a story lesser and moronic myself since villains themselves are completely subjective and really don't exist in the real world).
Kyle MacGregor's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/23/2009 23:36
Kyle MacGregor
Definitely excited to get this at some point or another.
Kalmah's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/24/2009 02:05
Kalmah
Recently got my hands on it. Completed 100%. Got and beat all the difficulty. Forged all the swords. Got all different possible endings. Even went as far as to collect all the cookbooks, 9 of every item, and finding all the power-up equipment. Took about a week... was fun though.
Niero's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/24/2009 14:09
Niero
One of the prettier hand-drawn games I've ever seen. I wish it was a little deeper, though.
kefkaesque's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/24/2009 16:04
kefkaesque
@Letters numbers and spaces are ok

Depth: No there is no depth to it, you go to a certain area, fight some guys, and then the game is like "oh go to this next place". The only time the story is even given is right before and after boss fights, where it portrays it in a terrible way "go talk to these guys, but you don't really effect anything by who you talk to, since you can't do anything until we have you talk to everyone"

Villain: Pretty much every great game ever has an antagonist, your idea that villains are all comical is just completely ridicules. The story would have been much better if I had some antagonist during it to actually make me care about the bosses I'm fighting or what I'm doing.

Conclusion: Sure I guess we just interpreted it differently, but IMO "we suck and Buddha is pretty cewl guy" is a pretty horrible ending.

Bosses: Yes they were all random, and no saying "well it's japanese folk lore" does NOT make that okay. That's like saying if God of War never gave you any hint of what boss you'd be fighting until right before you fought them (for no real reason since the plot never mentions them before) then that'd be okay just because it's Greek mythology. Like say instead of fighting Ares at the end (which was built up), you fought some random Greek figure that was never ever mentioned before, would that be just fine with you?

And for the personal attack against me, if my personal personal preference being that a story should have a continuous plot that makes sense, then I'm sorry. And ROFL at you attacking the idea of antagonists, this is a video game about magical ninjas fighting demons and being possessed by spirits, not real life. Not to mention almost every great novel ever has an antagonist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has Nurse Ratched, To Kill a Mocking Bird had Bob Ewell, Moby Dick had ya know, Moby Dick. Attack me all you want but saying that antagonists being a stupid thing just makes you're post look completely ridicules.
Awesome M's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/24/2009 21:43
Awesome M
Is there a way to skip the story segments? There's nothing I hate more than not being able to skip super lame stories that I could care less about.

@kefkaesque
I wanted to ridicule you for a certain spelling mistake, but I thought the better of it.
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/24/2009 22:10
The Amazing Shenazin
this needs to be on the PS3 or 360
kefkaesque's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/25/2009 15:35
kefkaesque
@Awesome M

Nurse "Ratchet" fine whatever >_>
lovemana23's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/25/2009 17:51
lovemana23
I`m getting it. I think if you have any level of love for 2D, and especially 2D platformers, this is all win all the way. SO good looking!
Frohike's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/30/2009 11:47
Frohike
Told you it was going to suck.
Ffordesoon's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/30/2009 13:12
Ffordesoon
I can't deny any of the points this review makes, but I still think it's a 9. Why? Because I don't care about any of this stuff when I'm actually playing the game. It's just a really awesome game.

May blog about this later, may not...
Space Mongoose's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/01/2009 21:40
Space Mongoose
EXCELLENT! We need more fairy and beautiful game in this bully world.
motang's Avatar - Comment posted on 04/02/2010 18:55
motang
I love this game. There needs to be more 2D games (I already have A Boy and his Blob, and Warioland Shake It!), hopefully there will be.
Katya's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/10/2011 08:36
Katya
I`m getting it. I think if you have any level of love for 2D, and especially 2D platformers, this is all win all the way. SO good looking!
Best regards, Katya, CEO of cd burning software freeware, iscsi initiator multipath
monoking's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/18/2011 01:48
monoking
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is great blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.<a href="http://www.blackbeans.tk/">black bean time</a>
<a href="http://www.revesilkdirect.com/">silk bedding</a>
<a href="http://www.silvertiffany.org/">tiffany silver</a>
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!