"Muramasa: The Demon Blade" should not exist. By all rights, it is a relic of a bygone era: beautifully-rendered, hand-drawn and presented in two dimensions-the kind of game not seen in this age of polygons and bump maps.
It is a game about Genroku-era Japan, something entirely foreign to the average American.
It is a 2D, side-scrolling hack-and-slash role-playing game and all of the voice work is in Japanese. To top it all off, it is for the Nintendo Wii.
Usually, the likelihood of a game like this coming to our shores is slim to none. It is too costly, and the payoff might not be worth it if the game underperforms. It is simply too risky.
Someone, somewhere decided to give this game a chance.
Two companies are responsible for allowing American gamers to experience this gem of a game: Vanillaware, the developer, and Ignition Entertainment, for having the wherewithal to bring "Muramasa" overseas without losing anything in translation. Their risk paid off in a big way.
"Muramasa: The Demon Blade" is the tragic tale of a possessed girl and an amnesiac boy.
The girl, Momohime, has been possessed by the demon swordsman Jinkuro. He seeks to find a way out of her body and regain his own. Kisuke, meanwhile, is a fugitive searching for his forgotten past.
Each character has his or her own campaign - and each campaign has two different styles of play available. The "Muso" mode is aimed at beginners and players who to want to take it easy, while "Shura" mode is for stalwart, hack-and-slash veterans.
The hallmark of "Muramasa" is its absolutely gorgeous hand-drawn backgrounds and sprites. Many of the backgrounds are based on the work of Japanese artist Hokusai, best known for his "Great Wave" woodcut.
Both characters are expertly animated, be it Momohime casually glancing around as she dashes through a forest or Kisuke guarding against an enemy's blade.
The game plays like the stunning love-child of "Devil May Cry" and "Contra." With over 100 different swords, the potential for massive combo chains is endless. Juggling enemies in the air and racking up combos is easily done, despite the simplistic two-button control.
It is a testament to Vanillaware's skill that they managed to pack so much control into just those two buttons. What keeps the endless fighting fresh are sword breaks. After a certain number of hits, swords break, requiring a quick swap out from an in-game menu. They never stop or take away from the action, which is good, because action is what "Muramasa" is all about.
The story, while quite interesting in places, tends to drag and takes too long to really begin. It is evident that the true attraction for players is the fighting. Both characters use a style of fighting known as "Oburo," which must be Japanese for "killing everyone all the time," because that is basically what happens.
If there is one thing wrong with this game, it is repetition. The backgrounds are beautiful, but after backtracking through the same forest three times, it begins to wear a little.
Also, the RPG elements of the game never really come into play. They are simply used as a way to increase the player's strength, instead of being a core tenet.
"Muramasa: The Demon Blade" cannot be recommended enough. It is one of the finest Wii games to date and can be enjoyed by both old-school and new-school gamers alike. A -Andrew Seal
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