Muramasa: The Demon Blade
2D action games have been relegated to cheap titles with download status this generation. But there have been several retail games that really remind us of how fun a simple 2d experience can be. The most recent example I can think of is Wario: Land: Shake it, which was an incredible and beautiful 2d platformer in the Mario universe.
Vanillaware have always released fun, beautiful looking, 2d games but they shy away from the simplicity of the genre. Muramasa: The Demon Blade is their latest 2d action game and comes with all the features and complexity you’d except from a modern game.
Muramasa is very much a spiritual successor to the Saturn/PSP import title Princess Crown, and the PS2 title Odin’s Sphere. The gameplay and graphical style is very reminiscent of those previous Vanillaware games, but the story and characters are completely new so there’s no need to experience those to enjoy it.
To begin the game you get to choose which mode you want to play. The modes are Muso and Shura. They are describe as different game types, Muso focusing on level raising, and Shura focusing on skill. But in the end it just boils down to normal and hard. Beating the game also unlocks a harder difficulty that changes up how you play the game quite a bit.
There are also 2 characters to choose from, each with their own stories.
The gameplay jumps back and fourth between platforming and combat. You explore areas that are linked together and can search for items. In certain areas enemies will attack and the game will change to combat mode.
The platforming is decent. The biggest problem is that the controls are not customizable, and up is jump, double jump, and float. Anyone who’s not used to this Smash Bros like platforming mechanic will definitely find jumping frustrating until you get used to it. Even now, I would have preferred it if they just had a separate jump button. You can use the wiimote/nunchuck combo, the gamecube controller, or a classic controller to play, but the controls for each are the same.
The combat is very interesting, you use the “a’ button to perform a variety of attacks. What’s amazing is how well the main combat works with just the button. There’s a ton of maneuvers you can do. Depending on which direction you’re pressing, whether you are in the air, if you’re ducking, if you hold down the button. There is a ton of different attacks, and the controls are really sensitive and always seem to know what you’re trying to do (even in the most hectic of battles).
When your power gauge is full you can unleash an attack that differs for each sword by pressing “b”. If you use the same sword too often it will break and you’ll have to switch to another equipped sword. If you haven’t switched in a while, then switching swords will also unleash a special attack which will hit all enemies.
For weapons there are basically two types: shorter fast swords, and longer slower swords. You can equip 3 swords at any time, but there are over 100 different swords to collect in the game!
Overall Muramasa is a very fun, and beautiful looking 2d game. It’s a great game to try out because they just don’t make many great 2d games anymore, and this one will keep you coming back for more and more.
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