Ah, the romanticism of mythical early Japan: when samurai honored their lords, demons were slain with swords and spirit girls had huge, bouncing… lanterns.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade takes tenets of Japanese folklore and wraps them in a beautifully stylized action title, throwing in a few RPG elements for depth. Is the depth enough, though? That’s likely the question on which each individual gamer’s appreciation of this game will hinge.

The game casts you into two different roles: Momohime, a lady forced to share her body with the spirit of an evil-ish swordsman, and Kisuke, an amnesiac ninja with an emo-anime haircut. Each has a separate storyline but the same kind of gameplay: gallivant across medieval Japan, righteously destroying anything that attacks you and collecting demon swords to proceed.

Righteous destruction is artfully accomplished thanks to responsive, uncomplicated controls. For the Wii remote and nunchuk combo, A is the primary action button, with different directions and positions determining attacks and the button held down to defend. The B button unleashes special attacks specific to each sword you collect and the three swords you can have equipped at one time are switchable by pressing the C button. The game also supports the Classic and GameCube controllers, but I found the basic setup comfortable after little playtime.

The combat is fluid and it can be a big rush diving into a group of enemies, sending some into the air and shredding them to ribbons on their way down, but after a while the simplicity of the combat system can work against its favor. The repertoire of attacks you start the game with never increases. Changes in pace come from two sources: switching between the two general types of blades (normal and long) and the special attack assigned to each individual sword. Neither really ramps the variety up much, as all Blades and all Long Blades come with the same general styles, respectively, and the special attacks tend to be similar to or simply upgrades of those in previous swords. It’s a pity that the game’s focus on collecting a pointy armory doesn’t feel as rewarding as it could be. More variation in the swords’ appearances, styles would’ve been more satisfying, or even a short description or history of each blade.

Blade management will be essential, however, as each has a “soul gauge” that is depleted as you use special attacks, block attacks, or generally smack your blade around. Once a gage is depleted, the sword breaks and becomes temporarily junk, forcing you to switch one of the two other weapons currently on your person. So while you may not particularly care about the individual blades, you will about keeping them fresh. It’s a successful element of interest.

Blade-switching seems to be the most intensive strategical aspect in the game, though, as for what moves you have, there doesn’t feel to be much strategy in battle. Even with two difficulty settings (a third, extreme difficulty unlockable after defeating the game), many times it feels like you can get through enemies by mashing the A button — not that you’ll likely want to.

The RPG-like elements add a bit more flavor, as there is a number of recovery and ability-boosting items that can be found. These items, while not always pictured, do contain descriptions, and a variety of health-recovering dishes can be made with food staples that can be taken from enemies or purchased. Each cooking session places you in an A-button hammering process to make or eat it, however, which is interesting at first but eventually gets old.

Presentation is key, though, and that is certainly delivered. The world presented in Muramasa brings the word “masterpiece” close to mind. The artistic style draws so heavily from classic Japanese works that anyone who has some familiarity with it will likely be able to recognize the source of a background or enemy they engage, much the same way that anyone familiar with Japanese folklore should be able to identify a kappa or a tengu when they see one. The instrumental soundtrack complements the world perfectly, providing an overall style that is very pleasing. It feels as though the designers put great effort into the presentation and wish you to pay attention. If there are no enemies on the screen, you can’t draw a sword and whip around like a doofus. No, you’re going to enjoy that stunning bamboo forest or cityscape!

What may be considered one downside of the presentation is its tendency to repeat at times, although it could be argued that it lends you to the feel that you’re traveling through real artwork. While you’ll be seeing some of the same backgrounds and enemies between the two characters you use, each has their own separate sets of bosses to fight; a very satisfying touch, as the boss characters and battles often feel epic.

What I’m really trying to say is…
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a mechanically solid title that offers a phenomenally produced presentation with some potential shortcomings in depth. Japanophiles will more than likely appreciate the cultural feast of visuals, sound and language, making it enough for them, but those not as wild about Nippon may not be as satisfied over time. A rental is assuredly worth it to find your own taste toward this ethnic dish.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is developed by Vanillaware and published in North America by Ignition Entertainment. The game is currently available for the Wii for $49.99 (USD) and was rented for review. Review based upon approximately 10 hours gameplay time, completing Momohime’s story and beginning the story of Kisuke. Why do they keep just about everything in this game Japanese, yet still call kitsune “foxes” and tanuki “raccoons”?