Kisuke is a young ninja in search of his past. Momohime is a young and quiet Japanese princess possessed by the spirit of foul swordsman Jinkuro. Through separate stories, the pair hack and slash their way through ancient Japan, slaughtering their enemies, eating some good food, and occasionally taking a half-naked dip in hidden hot springs to replenish their power and the gamer's will to continue, just in case Momohime's towel slips. It's a hack and slash adventure with some role-playing elements thrown in to spice things up a little.

We all know that Muramasa has the looks to be a great title, but it's what's on the inside that counts, isn't it?

Loved
So Very Pretty: In case you've never seen a screenshot and the above image isn't showing up for you, Muramasa is an extremely pretty game. Vanillaware does some truly spectacular things with 2D sprites, to the point that this game and their previous title, Odin Sphere feel like some sort of second generation 2D, rather than a throwback to earlier consoles. The visuals are lush and gorgeous, nearly worth the price of admission alone.

Simple, Sexy Combat: Muramasa's beauty also lies in its simplicity You control your character with the thumbstick and attack with a single button. Combinations of the two perform different attacks, and sure, there are certain times you'll have to use special tactics to defeat a foe efficiently, but for the most part it's as sweet and simple as a hack and slash titles gets, without feeling stale.

The Demon Swords And You: Collecting and forging demon swords is your main focus in Muramasa, outside of progressing the main story. Swords are either won from bosses or forged using a combination of spirit points and souls, collected through battle and exploration. Each sword has different strengths, special powers, and stat requirements. It's these requirements that drive the game's entire leveling system - without them, there really would be no need for the game to be anything other than a very pretty beat-em up. The demon swords add much-needed depth to the title. Not too much depth, but enough.

Big, Beautiful Bosses: Vanillaware really gives their 2D graphics a workout during Muramasa's boss battles. At first the larger-than-life enemies are impressive. Once you find yourself fighting an opponent so large you can only attack its foot, things go way beyond that. These spectacular battles almost make up for the repetitive encounters that make up the rest of the game.

Setting the Stage: Pretty artwork is one thing, but there's also the way the you use said pretty artwork to help ease the player into the Genroku era of Japan. It's all about the presentation, and how the music from Hitoshi Sakimoto's Basiscape studio melds with the imagery to create the full atmospheric effect. Said music is a very pleasing arraignment of period-sounding music, though it doesn't shy away when the moment requires the odd electric guitar. All in all a very nice package.

Hated
Pretty Repetitive: At the most basic level, Muramasa is a 2D beat-em up, and that means repetition. A new enemy making its first appearance is exciting enough, but those enemies then tend to show up everywhere you go, and fighting them becomes slightly more of a chore than it is entertaining. Between that and the moderate amount of backtracking required to get from point B back to point A in order to reach point C, the game wears a bit thin at times.

Shallow Beauty: Perhaps I was spoiled by the length and breadth of Vanillaware's Odin Sphere, but I felt as if there just wasn't enough going on in Muramasa. You run. You fight. You run some more. Extra elements like cooking and eating come off as dolled-up versions of simple game mechanics, rather than deep additions. The story is pretty thin as well, providing not much more than simple motivation to move on to the next area.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a textbook case of what you see is what you get. If you've seen screenshots and trailers, then you've pretty much know what you are going to be in for, and that's not a bad thing. It's easily one of the prettiest games you'll play on the Wii, and for a game that really only uses two buttons tops, the combat is amazingly satisfying. There's also plenty to do, with new challenges once you make it through the initial 10-12 hour play through of both characters.

If you are looking for a beautiful game for the Wii on the more mindful side of mindless fun, then Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an excellent choice. Just don't expect it to get any deeper than the hot springs that drew so many of you to the game in the first place.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade was developed by Vanillaware and published in North America by Ignition Entertainment for the Nintendo Wii on September 8th. Retails for $49.99. Played through Momohime's story in Muso mode; then played through Kisuke's in Shura mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

This amazing, dare we say sensual cover was drawn by Vanillaware's George Kamitani, and yes, it's a tip of the...hat to Hokusai's sexy/creepy classic "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife". Only this time with swords.

Wonder if it ships in a plastic bag...

[play magazine]

He tells Gamasutra that Muramasa: The Demon Blade's assets are created at double the size of what we'll see in the Wii version, noting that "producing a fully HD title would not be a great deal of extra work for us." He's not promising anything, cautioning that making Muramasa hi-def ready "wouldn't be a simple insert." He's just being honest.

It's something that Muramasa: The Demon Blade's Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment probably wouldn't see be sad to see. Marvelous has said it may bring some of its Wii games to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, a move that may help eke out more profit from its lower than expected performance on Nintendo's platform.

Kamitami, of course, touches on a number of topics not related to upscaling its games for more graphically capable platforms, which you should read for yourself at the full interview.

King of 2D: Vanillaware's George Kamitani [Gamasutra]

The single-player adventure or action game genres are not as popular on the Wii as mini-game compilations. But an increasing number of publishers and developers seem undeterred, making games designed to please the hardcore, like MadWorld, Dead Space Extraction and The Conduit. If that's not bold enough, then this game, Muramasa, does it without the aid of motion control, which the developers thought would not allow for the precision gameplay needed during the most frantic 2D crowd-fighting moments.

Avoiding the shakes, the game's creators are hoping other elements will sell gamers on Muramasa.

What Is It?
Muramasa The Demonblade is published by Ignition Entertainment and is one of those rare third-party Wii exclusives made for traditional gamers. It's a side-scrolling scored beat-em-up featuring two playable characters with two occasionally overlapping runs through the game's story. The stronger boy hero, Kisuke, and the speedier female warrior Momohime, are each on quests to find the Demon Blades. Each hero has dozens of swords that the player can choose to wield. The game's hook is that it looks gorgeous, exhibiting the museum-ready painterly style seen in developer Vanillaware's PS2 cult classic, Odin Sphere.

What We Saw
I played through the easy-mode E3 demo level for Momohime. She can jump and swing her swords, three of which she can carry at a time and all of which have unique secondary attacks. As with Odin Sphere, the character's progression is paced across discrete side-scrolling stages barely wider than a screenshot. Clearing the enemies out in one of them will cause a scoreboard to appear, ranking player performance and adding experience points to unlock new swords.

How Far Along Is It?
The game is already out in Japan, so even though it's not going to be sold in the U.S. until September, it doesn't seem like much will change.

What Needs Improvement?
Separate Lives: Even though the game's two protagonists adventure through 20 of the same levels out of a total of 40, there is no overlap between a player's progress playing as one or the other — no shared experience points, no traded items... nothing. In fact, the player can only commit a save file to their play-through of one character. This prevents a player from hopping back and forth between characters without employing multiple save slots. Such a system seems like it divides Muramasa into two games, and we're left wondering if there's any advantage to that design. It's hard to see what it would be.

Really Long Health Bars: This is not a universal bias, but some gamers don't want to fight a boss whose screen-wide health bar represents maybe a sixth of its overall health. Five more screen-wide health bars to deplete after that.

What Should Stay The Same?
Those Beautiful Things: Screenshots of this game look great. Movies do too. Seeing it in person is no less visually stimulating. Characters are colorfully drawn, sunsets and wheat fields are painted to look equally splendid. Enemies are worth a gawk, some of them massive storybook paintings come to virtual life.

Motion-Free: Muramasa is played with a thumbstick for movement and jumping, as well as just a few of the Wii remote and nunchuck buttons activating attacks and special attacks. It's hard to see how motion control would add anything constructive.

Broken Swords: The one limitation in the game's easy mode — as opposed to its other difficulty level, which is said to be ultra-hard — was the decaying of the player's sword. Spam the same sword attack buttons too much and that sword breaks. The fractured swords restore themselves over time, but the minutes during which the sword is broken force the player to change weapons and sometimes change strategies. That's an interesting wrinkle to a combat system that otherwise seems to be about as basic as it gets.

Final Thoughts
Muramasa The Demon Blade doesn't seem to have gameplay deep enough to engage gamers for a long time without some other attraction keeping players engaged. Thankfully, Muramasa has that: a graphical style as imaginative as a storybook and as beautiful as anything rendered in a 2D video game in a long time.

Potentially crass, yes, but then it's done in the same vibrant art style we're expecting from the game, so in the end, it just comes off as a little bit, well, cheeky.

朧村正 百姫画 [via Tiny Cartridge]

The publisher announced today that it had acquired the North American publishing rights to the title, planning for a September 2009 release, talking us down from the ledge, drying our tears, wiping our noses and telling us that everything will be alright.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade comes from the development team responsible for the gorgeous side-scrolling action game Odin Sphere. According to Ignition, the game will support 16:9 widescreen display, two playable characters—one ninja, one kunoichi—and has been "hailed by Kotaku as 'this year's prettiest, most enticing Wii game.'" And they're right! We totally said that.

New-like screens of the Wii exclusive await you...

Vanillaware's gorgeous 2D side-scroller was supposed to be released by XSEED in North America later this year (it was released in Japan earlier this month). But the company today issued a statement that reads:

XSEED Games confirms that it is no longer involved with the North American release of Muramasa: The Demon Blade. XSEED Games and Marvelous had previously announced the game as part of the initial line up between the two publishing partners. We firmly believe in the product and will look forward to seeing it release in North America. We enjoy and respect our relationship with Marvelous, and are committed to working together to deliver an amazing line up of games in the US including the highly anticipated Little King's Story, the epic RPG Arc Rise Fantasia and Suda51's intriguing mystery adventure Flower, Sun, Rain.

So now Marvelous need to find somebody else to publish the game in the US. Or, going by the tone of that release, have already found one, and for some reason aren't announcing it just yet. Either way...please hurry!

XSEED Loses Muramasa: The Demon Blade [IGN]

But the game is gorgeous, one of the more interesting third-party titles coming for the Wii this year. And one that's managing to somewhat decently so far in Japan, so we don't necessarily mind that Vanillaware and crew clearly have aftermarket plans to shill Muramasa: The Demon Blade stuff. New wallpapers from the game, direct from the publisher, that don't even feature the game's hero and heroine are all the evidence we need.

Hey, we'll gladly post about the inevitable mouse pads, hump pillows and figures—and the inevitable digital macro breakdowns from figure collecting perv web sites. So just let the pandering to horny otaku wash over you and enjoy some new wallpapers from the publisher.

Oboro Muramasa Wallpaper Shame #1, #2 [Marvelous via GoNintendo]

And that's not just because Muramasa: The Demon Blade is so loaded with more T&A than most Wii games we've seen—OK, maybe not as much as OneeChanbara—but it's certainly not lacking in surprisingly stacked character designs. We even hear there's a rather steamy hot springs scene in the game, something we don't see much of on the console. Having already enjoyed one of the developer's recent efforts, Odin Sphere on the PlayStation 2, we're anticipating an easy pre-order decision.

The game, due for a release by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan next week, thankfully already has a North American publisher in XSEED. You'll have to settle for the Japanese language trailer for now. But soak it in anyway.

The game is a 2D side-scroller featuring hand-drawn art, probably in the mode of Vanillaware's Odin Sphere. It will be shown at Tokyo Game Show 08, according to Marvelous' lineup, as Oboro Muramasa Youtouden

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an action RPG and according to its news release, it's set in Genroku-era Japan. Players will inhabit the lives of ninja warriors in a storyline involving a set of cursed "Demon Blades," powerful weapons that exact a terrible price on those who use them. In this case, the blades also summon evil spirits and powerful foes from the netherworld, providing you with your adversaries and the game's world with its existential crisis.

The full text is on the jump.

Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games Announce Muramasa: The Demon Blade Exclusively on Wii

October 2, 2008 - Game publishers Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games announced today that the highly anticipated title, Muramasa: The Demon Blade (known in Japan as "Oboro Muramasa Youtouden"), is currently in development and will be released for the North American market. A unique, highly stylized action RPG (role playing game) videogame, Muramasa: The Demon Blade will ship in North America in 2009, exclusively for the Wii.

"Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an incredibly special title," stated Yasuhiro Wada, Managing Director of Marvelous Entertainment. "From the team that created the critically acclaimed Odin Sphere, Muramasa features a stunning visual look and palette that will be embraced by gamers world wide. We're pleased to continue our relationship with XSEED Games to bring such an anticipated title to the massive North American gaming market."

Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games, shared Mr. Wada's sentiments. "Gamers are already excited for Muramasa. The game has already been included in many 'must-have Wii games' lists. We feel this enthusiasm will only continue to grow as gamers learn more about the mysterious 'Demon Blades, and have the opportunity to experience the life of a ninja warrior."

Based on ancient Japanese lore, Murumasa: The Demon Blade plunges players into the mystical Genroku era, ruled by the skilled shogun Tsunayoshi Tokogawa. But this culture is threatened; Tokogawa's thirst for power leads to a conflict over the enormously powerful, though cursed, Demon Blades. Used in hatred, drenched in blood, the cursed blades condemn those who use them to tragedy, madness, and untimely deaths. As chaos spreads, denizens from the netherworld breach their realm as these malevolent swords summon evil spirits - and the Dragon and Demon Gods as well.

Featuring hand-drawn 2D art reflecting the heritage and tone of the storyline, Muramasa: The Demon Blade transports players into a little known mythology, envisioned by the creators of the critically acclaimed Odin Sphere. Players take on the role of a male ninja or female kunoichi, utilizing their ninja prowess to traverse the clever side-scrolling levels that feature vertical progression as well as the traditional horizontal stage advancement.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is currently in development by Marvelous Entertainment and Vanillaware exclusively for the Wii, and will be unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show in Japan (October 9-12). The game will be co-published by Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games in North America and is expected to ship in 2009.

Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade Coming Stateside [Joystiq]
Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games Announce Muramasa: The Demon Blade Exclusively on Wii [news release, via IGN, thanks Chris.]

No date is set for Oboro Muramasa Youtouden's Wii-mote swinging adventure, but we pray to the video game gods that we see more at TGS.

Vanillaware Unveils Wii Action Game [1UP]

The game sees players take the role of warrior princess Gwendolyn and guide her through a nasty fairy war. I know, I know, it's SO femme, it should ship with a pink controller, but this game is too gorgeous to give into fear of emasculation.

Don't believe me? Check out our previous Odin Sphere gallery showing off the game in action alongside some delicious artwork. Michael McWhertor

Just as exciting was the official announcement that NIS would be localizing three more titles in the company's vein. For the PS2 we get VanillaWare's real-time strategy game GrimGrimoire and Nippon Ichi's strategy RPG Soul Nomad & the World Eaters (nee Soul Cradle). For the PSP, Dragoneer's Aria. It's the kind of Japanese grinding fun that will keep us from seeing daylight for weeks at a time.

You can hit up the NISA site for more screenshots, trailers and press release fun! Michael McWhertor

NIS America Press Event 2007

Here it is, the trailer for Odin Sphere, the upcoming PlayStation 2 RPG from Vanillaware and Atlus that Kotaku readers called "gorgeous indeed" and "hot enough to melt your eyes." This first look at the spiritual successor to Princess Crown comes to the internet courtesy of Japanese news hound Duckroll and should be welcome video therapy for those of you mentally scarred by my earlier Punch-Out!! clip. Michael McWhertor

The character artwork and in-game graphics really are breathtaking, making this sidescrolling, spiritual successor to the Saturn epic Princess Crown a fairly easy purchase. Check out the gallery below, hit the jump for the full release, and forgive us for letting it slip under the Kotaku radar. Michael McWhertor

Odin Sphere Official Site [Atlus]

ATLUS U.S.A., INC. SIGNS ODIN SPHERE

The Prophecy Must Die

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — FEBRUARY 9, 2007 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced the acquisition of the North American publishing rights to Odin Sphere, an Action RPG designed exclusively for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and slated to be in retail stores in late spring of 2007.

Odin Sphere is developed by Vanillaware, makers of the amazing Princess Crown for the Sega Saturn, and features beautiful hand-drawn artwork put into motion to tell an epic tale of power, loss, and love. The game is rated "T" by the ESRB for Mild Language, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol.

About Odin Sphere:

The nations of Erion had always held an uneasy peace, as the various kings and queens watched each other for any signs of weakness. When the country of Valentine is obliterated by the power of an ancient artifact, it sparks a bloody war between the fairies of Ringford and the warriors of Ragnanival. Little do they know that they are acting out an almost-forgotten prophecy: one that, if fulfilled, will lead to the destruction of the entire world. Take control of the warrior princess Gwendolyn, daughter of Odin, and follow the threads of an intricately woven story as you uncover the truth behind the prophecy - and how to bring it to an end.

Odin Sphere Key Features:

* Gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and animations!
* Intense side-scrolling action with astonishing attacks and magic effects!
* Fully-voiced dialogue that heightens the drama!
* Fantastic bosses that tower over the protagonists!
* Five playable characters in all; each one's fate is intertwined with the others'!
* A robust cooking and alchemy system that can be used to create powerful attack and recovery items!

# # #

About Atlus U.S.A., Inc.

Located in Irvine, California and founded in 1991, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. is a publisher of video games for a variety of platforms, including the Nintendo DS , Game Boy Advance, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Xbox . Atlus U.S.A, Inc.'s library of critically acclaimed video games includes Riviera: The Promised Land, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, and the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei series. For more information, visit http://www.atlus.com.