Pixelnauts.net

I'm going to begin right off the bat by saying that Muramasa: The Demon Blade probably isn't for everyone. Of course, when you set out to develop a 2D sidescrolling action game set within mythological feudal Japan, you have to acknowledge that you're going the, shall we say, esoteric route; but even so, Muramasa seems so tailor-made to a niche Japanese audience that, quite frankly, it's surprising that it made it to Western shores at all.

Thankfully for us, it did. And for everyone that's even a little into traditional Japanese culture, music, style and language, then what they'll find in Muramasa is an absolute gem of an action game that will be a delight to experience.

Muramasa is a beautifully drawn and animated saga that tells two separate but related stories. The first is based around the character of Momohime, a young noblewoman possessed by the ambitious, warlike spirit, Jinkuro. The second tale involves an amnesiac ninja, Kisuke, who is on the run from a group of ninja accusing him of a crime that he doesn't remember committing. Both stories center around a larger arc involving a divine conflict fueled by ambition and lust for the Muramasa Demon Blades.

The sagas of both Momohime and Kisuke are each given their own full campaign that can be played either concurrently or one after the other -- after loading into your save file, a prompt will ask whose campaign you wish to continue. The stories, told in full Japanese dialogue are interesting, though admittedly, pretty difficult to follow -- at times, even incomprehensible. This confusion shouldn't however be attributed to poor or lazy writing, but rather to the fact that the game is so deeply steeped in Japanese culture and legend; two things of which I know very little. Besides, it really doesn't matter. If one goes to an Italian opera, though the words and cultural referents may go over some heads, the experience is no less something to behold. And so it is with Muramasa.

The first thing you're likely to notice is the game's wonderful presentation. Muramasa simply looks fantastic. Vanillaware's artists have already established themselves as masters with their work on the Playstation 2 titles and Odin Sphere, but with Muramasa they have really outdone themselves. Whether running through a bamboo forest, wading in a natural hot spring, or slashing foes while raiding a shogun's castle, the visuals will never cease to amaze. Adding to the experience is the game's moody and atmospheric soundtrack, scored by one of the industry's best, Hitoshi Sakimoto. Blending more traditional, Kabuiki-esque stylings with Western influenced orchestration, Sakimoto's music coupled with the art design really makes for a breathtaking package.

The game itself is structured, at least on the surface, as a Metroid-vania style map crawler, though this is a bit misleading. While the world is set up into various countries, each with a corresponding gridded map system that looks somewhat akin to a Metroid or Casltlevania game, there is never a point where you won't know exactly where to go and how to get there. This may sound like a misstep as exploration is a central element in those games, but the system works well for Muramasa. The grids themselves are traversed simply by running from left to right or vice versa, with virtually no platforming elements whatsoever. Instead, most of the grids include a battle which must be completed before you can progress. This method of progress being what it is, placing emphasis on exploration would serve little purpose other than to extend the game's already perfect length. So getting from point A to point B by way of a relatively straight line plays to the game's strengths by keeping the pacing consistent and action pact.

Seeing as how exploration is a non-element of Muramasa, it goes without saying that the game's meat and potatoes is in the combat. Central to both the combat as well as the story are the Muramasa Demon Blades. Defeating foes grants souls (experience) which makes it possible to unlock more powerful demon blades. It's a system that never gets too complex (this is an action game after all) and consists of simply unlocking a line of increasingly more powerful blades. Using these blades, Muramasa employs an elegant, albeit simple combo-based fighting system which has an almost rhythmic quality to it -- depending on the difficultly level that you're playing on. If choosing to play the game on easy, it's entirely possible to simply button mash your way through the entire game. If however, you like a little more challenge, playing on hard requires that you execute offensive and defensive moves with finesse. Thankfully, it's possible to switch between difficulties at any time throughout the game, an inclusion that may come in handy if a boss is being particularly irksome.