Update: Now with video. Dicing demons has never been such fun. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=18664 "Muramasa the Demon Blade" is a hack-and-slash vertical scrolling title (like the Viewtiful Joe series), from Vanillaware (the creators of Odin Sphere), steeped in Japanese mythos.
The E3 2009 Demo allowed the user to pick their character, and play that characterÂ’s first level. The game features two characters: Kisuke and Momohime. I picked Momohime, a princess that is possessed by a spirit.
First impressions are that the game is absolutely gorgeous. Every element of the title is a hand-drawn sprite. The art style clearly draws a lot of its inspiration from traditional Japanese art. The character animation is fluid and the action on screen in quick and flashy. The flashes from each strike of the sword are gratifying.
The stage I played, and I would assume all stages, are broken up into chambers that are connected at each end. These stages can be explored vertically, by jumping up tree branches, and horizontally in order to find hidden items. Throughout these chambers I was often ambushed by a set of enemies that I was tasked with removing from this plane. After each wave a screen comes up that “scores” your performance.
Controlling the combat is done either with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck or with the Classic Controller. At E3 the only option available is to use the Wii Remote/Nunchuck combination. The analog stick allows you to jump (double jump, and glide), walk, and crouch. Slashes of the sword are done with the A-Button, you swap swords with the C-Button (which you must do when swords break after too much abuse), and you use items with the D-Pad. It all worked well, but I think that the classic controller will probably be the best choice for playing this game when it releases.
As for all 2D brawlers, combos are the name of the game. In the demo I saw at least seven combos. My personal favorite was done by holding down the attack button (A) and pressing left or right on the Analog stick. This caused Momohime to fly in a flash from one side of the screen to another, killing all in her path.
Slashing my way through each wave of enemy didn’t seem very difficult in this early level; almost all of them were “ninja apprentices,” which go down only after a few blows. Later in the level I was faced with a pair of samurai, who were capable of blocking my blows. To defeat them I had to break their sword, which I accomplished by pummeling them with strong attack after strong attack.
The demo ended with “The Blue Monk,” a giant cyclops demon with a nasty expression. The size of the boss, releative to your character, is very menacing. I pounded on him for over two minutes before he finally went down. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he actually had two health bars: one that goes down with each blow I land and one that goes down only when I empty the first. It was really satisfying to eliminate him.
Overall Muramasa is very good. The graphics are amazing, and the combat is frenetic and exciting. The choice of control options at the demo may have been a mistake, but it is something that can easily be rectified when we get to play the game at release.
Francesca taking care of the boss.
Topic: IMPRESSIONS: Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Read 1824 times)
