Oboromuramasa Is Easier to Play Than It Is to Say

The team at Vanillaware made quite a splash with last year's Odin Sphere for the PlayStation 2, a unique action RPG that featured a highly detailed and fluid 2D art style. On the recommendation of The Behemoth's Tom Fulp, I checked out Oboromuramasa, also known as Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the latest from Vanillaware, which was being shown at the Marvelous Entertainment booth at TGS 2008. While the game features a similar hand-drawn art style, it trades Odin Sphere's Norse mythology for the Japanese variety, and the game itself seems much more action-oriented.

After choosing between a male and female ninja, the demo played out as a series of self-contained battles. I'd run on to a screen, a bunch of demons would appear, I'd leap around and use my ninja sword to slice them all to hell, progress to the next screen, and repeat. I played the game using the Wii's classic controller, though it can also be played with a standard remote-and-nuchuk setup. Either way, the air-combo-heavy combat looked cool, and the controls seem simple enough, with all movement handled by the analog stick, one button for all sword attacks, and another for a more-powerful attack that would shoot pillars of ninja magic across the screen. Occasionally my ninja sword would break, though I could always summon a fresh, sharp blade with the press of a button. It wasn't a highly technical experience, but there's something to be said for a game that lets you be an effortless badass.

Marvelous is calling Oboromuramasa an RPG, though there were no apparent role-playing elements in the demo being shown. Even if the game doesn't end up being much more than a 2D button-masher, it'll be a really good-looking one. The final shot of the demo showed my ninja standing in a small boat in a roiling sea that recalled Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, albeit in motion. It was one of the more stunning sights I saw at TGS, and it definitely left me eager to see more of this game.