Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a video game that consists of 3 releases
Reviewed on Sept. 28, 2009
Vanillaware's lush and layered visuals and the game's razor-sharp combat elevate Muramasa well beyond your average brawler.
Read Ryan Davis's full review
Recent
Images
News
Videos
Community
Guides
-
Quick Look: Muramasa: The Demon Blade
-
The Destiny of Muramasa
-
Chop-Chop Action In Muramasa
A 2D action RPG from the same creators of Odin Sphere for the PS2. It is a Wii exclusive and features a hand-drawn, watercolor Japanese art style.
Overview
Muramasa: The Demon Blade takes place in a mystical interpretation of feudal Japan. Demons, monsters, and magic are everywhere, and players will blast through them using a variety of weapons, items and magical attacks. You can switch between weapons on the fly, and special moves you execute depend on which weapon is equipped. For example, if you are using a large and slow sword, your special attack will be a spinning leap with magical mirror images. A more traditional katana causes several columns of blue flame to erupt from the ground.The game follows the story of Kisuke and Momohime. Kisuke, who has lost is memories, is a fugitive who is looking for a special katana. Momohime was posessed by an evil swordsman and is forced to complete his plan.
The game offers controls for a Wii Remote/Nunchuk combination, the Classic Controller, and the GameCube controller. No matter which control method is used, actions in the game are controlled with button and analogue stick input. The game does not feature motion controls of any sort.
There are three difficulties: Muso, Shura, and Shigurui (unlockable after beating one character's story). Shigurui mode caps your life at 1HP, so it is in essence a one-hit kill mode. Difficulties Muso and Shura are switchable mid-game, but Shigurui is not and must be played as a "new game".
There are multiple endings, one for each character. In addition, there are multiple endings based on which sword is used in the final chapter of the game.
Gameplay
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is essentially, a brawler style of game at it's core with RPG traits attached to it. The player travels from room to room within a large area similiar to Super Metroid or Symphony of The Night. As the player move through these rooms they may encounter enemy opponents who spontaneously appear nearby. The player automatically enters "Battle Mode" where they must defeat all the opponents to finish the battle (or simply escape by using a smoke bomb). Depending on the equipment and how well the player fares, the player is given bonus amounts of experience points and money afterwards, much like the traditional JRPG.
Although the player is free to travel from one area to another, the game is quite linear. Players may find barriers that seperate the them from other areas in the game. In order to progress, they must seek out and defeat the next boss. When beaten, the player is awarded a new blade which they can use to cut down the magical barriers that prevent further progress.
Swords
Sword are collected and equipped based on their attributes. Most swords have to be forged via the menu by using souls and spirit points. Souls are collected by killing enemies and spirit is gained by using health items and eating food. There is a tech-tree of swords with some locked swords which are to be gained by defeating bosses. Boss swords are not necessarily better than forged swords, or vice versa, but by holding this sword (no need to equip) the character is allowed to explore new areas previous blocked by a colored barrier. Swords have several attributes in addition to a minimum vitality and strength requirement needed to equip. They have different attack power, bonuses, and special attacks. Attack power determines your damage dealt. Bonuses give a special stat for equipping the weapon, such as 1 to vitality or bonus XP from battles. Special attacks are the attacks which use up your soul meter.
Soul Meter
The soul meter is a blue bar that is unique for each weapon equipped and is used up by blocking, parrying, or using special attacks. When the meter reaches zero, the sword is temporarily broken and cannot be used to block. Killing enemies will release their souls and can be collected to replenish the soul meter. Items may also be used to fill up the meter. A broken sword can be repaired by switching to another sword and waiting a while before switching back.
| Game Name | Muramasa: The Demon Blade |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
|
| Themes |
|
| Original US Release |
Sept. 8, 2009
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
September
2009 know the real date? |
| Aliases | Oboromuramasa |
| OFLC |
OFLC: M
|
| CERO |
CERO: B
|
| ESRB |
ESRB: T
|
Well Executed Game Covers
a list of 52 items by JackiJinx
a list of 52 items by JackiJinx
Games I probably should buy if I ever have any spare change
a list of 17 items by ArbitraryWater
a list of 17 items by ArbitraryWater
Art Styles That I Find Pretty Damn Awesome
a list of 57 items by JackiJinx
a list of 57 items by JackiJinx
We don't have any info about Muramasa: The Demon Blade's franchise games.
