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Gamertell Review: Muramasa: The Demon Blade for Wii
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The Wii is gradually becoming home to games you wouldn’t expect to see on the system. More serious, artistic and mature games that are created with adults and veteran gamers in mind, and not the casual or beginning gamers. Muramasa: The Demon Blade joins the ranks of Rune Factory Frontier, Resident Evil 4, Madworld and Phantom Brave as one of those more challenging and engaging games.
If you’re a fan of or familiar with Vanillaware’s Odin Sphere or Princess Crown, then you’ll know right away the kind of situation you’re getting yourself into. Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a spiritual successor to the previous titles, and once again is a 2D, hack-and-slash adventure with RPG elements.
Two stories of two warriors racing to collect cursed swords.
The Shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa desires power. Specifically, he wants the power of legendary swords that can collect souls and unleash unbelievable attacks and abilities. The Genroku era is already violent and tumultuous enough, but when you factor in that those who use these swords become homicidal maniacs desperate to keep attacking and killing to feed the swords’ bloodlust, allowing the shogun to accumulate them is unthinkable.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade presents two stories and heroes to choose from. One is Kisuke, an amnesiac ninja. He’s on the run, but he doesn’t know why. He also has no clue why people are chasing and hunting him down. All he knows is that he has to find a specific katana, no matter what. So he presses onword, from Kyo to Edo. Then, there’s Momohime, princess of Narukami. An evil swordman named Jinkuro came and attempted to possess her fiance, Yukinojyo. She stepped in to save him, and ended up possessed instead. Now Jinkuro is using her body to collect the swords.
You’re not only playing a game, you’re transported to another world and time.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade does a wonderful job of immersing the player in a fantastic new world. This is accomplished with the use of authentic Japanese period music, graphics inspired by Japanese watercolors and original Japanese voice acting. While the goal is to cut through any opponents that dare cross Kisuke or Momohime’s paths, there is also plenty of time to wander and explore through each area to marvel at the detail in front of you.
I was delighted by all of the control scheme options, and at how easy it was to unleash awesome attacks against opponents. Once you’re accustomed to the game’s nuances, it is a simple feat to unleash epic combos of 50+ hits against opponents, all the while keeping your character from harm. When fighting Momohime’s first boss, the Blue Monk, I managed to chain together a 130+ hit combo before he finally landed a hit on her that broke her blade (and the combo).
It also has quite a bit of replay value. While the stories for Kisuke and Momohime aren’t all that long, each one could take around seven or eight hours to complete, there are a number of extras you can unlock along the way. There are multiple endings to unlock, lots of swords to collect and forge, recipes to make, multiple modes to complete and an additional game mode (Shigurui) to unlock.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is destined to become one of the most memorable Wii games.
From its artistic and fluid presentation, to its effortless controls, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an extraordinary adventure. The two storylines offer additional replay value, along with the two different play modes. It can be a tad challenging, but a little challenge never hurt anyone. As long as you begin with Muso mode to get accustomed to the game before proceeding with Shura, and eventually Shigurui modes, you should have no trouble mastering the many blades and besting the opponents before you in Muramasa: The Demon Blade.
I honestly can’t see any flaw in the game. Granted, there are some aspects which may not appeal to all players. Even the easiest mode, Muso, can have pretty challenging parts - especially if you don’t pay attention to the tutorial. Also, you have to pay attention to the game if you want to understand what’s going on, since you have to read the subtitles. Muramasa: The Demon Blade is just a fantastic Wii game.
Site [Muramasa: The Demon Blade]
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