Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: Vanillaware
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

Call me a relic of the cold war: I was trained to fight in 2D, and I love ninjas. It’s why I’m afraid of sharks, James Kirk, and people who are really good at Counterstrike. It’s also why I love games like Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

Like previous Vanillaware titles like Odin Sphere,the game is a side-scrolling RPG that incorporates a great deal of folklore into the story and food into the gameplay. Set in feudal Japan (it’s hard to tell exactly when, the whole swords and kimonos thing lasted a long time), the game centers on two playable swordfighters: Momohime (that’s right, Princess Peach), a scantily clad ronin possessed by a demon; and Kisuke, a mysterious man who’s lost his memory. Despite the cartoonish aesthetic of the game, the plot is dark, mature, and more than just a tired pretext for pretty art and swordplay.

In battle, you can equip up to 3 swords at a time, and a number of healing items and accessories. Each sword has its own special attack, and as you level up, you’re able to forge new, more powerful swords. Swords weaken with use and eventually break if not given time to heal. By switching swords, you can unleash an attack that hurts every enemy on screen and give your other swords a chance to heal. All this aside, the gameplay is remarkably simple, and it’s easy to fall into a pattern of using the same combos over and over again.

Like Odin Sphere, the game is visually stunning. All of the art is hand-painted, the character designs are creative, and the movement is fluid. It takes a skilled hand to make a 5-foot-tall fox look sexy, but God help me, they did it. The only downside is that the environments can get terribly repetitive. Many of the subsections of each level are exactly the same, and that becomes apparent very quickly.

The gameplay itself feels repetitive as well. While it’s possible to change your fighting style based on the sword you’re using, it still feels like button mashing a lot of the time. You’ve your choice of the classic controller, the gamecube controller, or the Wiimote. Sadly, none of the Wiimote’s motion-sensitive potential is put to use: the game is an old school button pusher. Moreover, the disparity in difficulty between ordinary enemies and bosses is far too pronounced. Most of the peons are tediously easy, while bosses can be damn near impossible to beat. I appreciate an epic battle at the end of a level, but I feel there should be more strategy involved in defeating a boss than simply leveling up. Moreover, while you can lower the difficulty at any time during the game, anything below “Hard” is so easy it doesn’t seem worth playing.

If you loved Odin Sphere, you’re bound to love Muramasa. It’s a unique and beautiful way to enjoy foreign folklore without having to endure a childish and simple plot. Just the same, be wary of the time commitment, especially if you’re playing the game on hard. In a way, Muramasa is like an old school arcade game designed to eat up quarters: you can’t be good enough or smart enough to beat it quickly. But if you’ve got the time and the tenacity to level up, it’s worth the investment.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation: