AtomSpyTroy

User Score
9.7

Presentation - 10
Gameplay - 9.0
Value - 10

Arriving like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky, Muramasa: The Demon Blade hit the Wii in NA this week, and it does not disappoint.

I'm sure if you have heard anything about this game at all you have heard about its amazing visuals. The visuals really are incredible: the layered backgrounds, the beautiful colors, the expressive character animations, terrifying bosses, amazing scenery, right down to little details like sleeping cats in the cities that yawn or meow when you walk by. 

The most troubling thing about Muramasa has been the fact that the impression given by much of the reviews is that the gameplay is somehow 'bland' or 'lacks depth.' I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Let me prove it.

Would you say that an open-world game with a Metroid type map, featuring multiple entrances and exits in many of the rooms, pits to descend into, bridges to cross into other areas in which you could collect dozens of blades, all with their own magical properties, string together massive combos and gain experience points to level up your character through combat, earning more for special circumstances like having the first strike on your opponent or emerging from battle unscathed in which the primary means of healing yourself was food that you can find, mix and cook to alter its properties and which also had a 'fullness' meter in which you couldn't eat too much of any one food at a particular time and in which you had to be mindful of the different properties of these dozens of blades and aware of a meter that indicates when your particular blade is going to break so that you have to be ready to switch to a different blade (with, of course, different stats and magical powers) at any time in the heat of battle, and in which switching unleashed a massive power attack? (Whew!)

That was a long run on sentence. The reason wasn't that I am a sucky writer, although that is also true... the reason is to show you just why this game is not 'bland' in the gameplay department.

There is a new school of game reviewers who don't try to get anything out of an experience and then say the experience was 'bland.' These are the people who said swordfighting in Wii Sports Resort was just 'waggle' when I guarantee if somebody who was using skilled sword moves fought them they would kick their hineys soundly every time. These people who say the gameplay of the game is bland probably don't get the 'Completely Unscathed' bonus points in battle in Muramasa very often. (Which is to say they suck at games, and probably at life.)

There is a lot of challenge here. You can change difficulty modes while you are playing. There are two different characters to play as, with different stories and different blades available. You can beat the game with one character and go through and play it with the other, and still not have found everything. There are special hidden challenges throughout the game in 'Monster's Lairs' that have firm recommendations like 'Don't try before level 9!' outside them.

The whole game exudes an incredible atmosphere. The levels are truly breathtaking. Some find the fact that all the dialog is in Japanese with English subtitles to be a dealbreaker. This I cannot understand: the language is beautiful and it really helps set a much more interesting tone.

The story is intriguing at the same time, and you might find yourself playing on for a number of reasons: the visuals are incredible, the story is compelling, the gameplay is addictive (you will find yourself loving being able to level up in a game that doesn't have menus as its primary fighting mechanic) and the presentation is marvelous.

Also, playing as Monohime is a blast because you get to tell many lonely men that you won't sleep with them, and call them ugly and embarrassing. It's nice to be the one dishing that out for a change, instead of being on the receiving end. (Zing!)

If you read all this and still don't want to play Muramasa, if you think the massive terrifying bosses, swarms of enemy ninjas, terrifying squat Japanese demons, and magical moonlit gardens of cherry blossoms filled with the spirits of the undead are somehow going to be a bland gameplay experience, you are really costing yourself the benefit of an incredible adventure. If you play for no other reason than the incredible gorgeous and hand-drawn graphics, you will still come away being very impressed and I dare even say moved. They are really that good. But don't let a bunch of game reviewers make you think for one second that all this game is is gorgeous graphics. This is the best game I have put in my Wii's blinking blue slot for quite some time, and I would recommend it whole heartedly to anybody who cared to listen.