''Muramasa: The Demon Blade'', known in Japan as , is an
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
hack and slash
Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Vanillaware
is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. An independent company, it was founded in 2002 under the name Puraguru by George Kamitani, a game developer who had previously worked at Capcom and Atlus, and directed ''Princess Crown'' (1997 ...
for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, and later the
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
. The game was published in 2009 by
Marvelous Entertainment
(MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...
(Japan),
Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment Limited, doing business as UTV Ignition Games, was a video game publisher of Indian media conglomerate UTV Software Communications. After The Walt Disney Company acquired UTV Software Communications as a wholly owned subsi ...
(North America), and
Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games Limited is a British video game publisher based in Hitchin.
History
Rising Star Games was founded on 10 July 2004 by Martin Defries as a joint venture between Bergsala Holding and Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment ...
(Europe). The Vita version was published in 2013 by
Marvelous AQL
is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher, and anime producer. The company was formed in October 2011 by the merger of the original Marvelous Entertainment, AQ Interactive, and Marvelous Entertainment#Marvelous Livew ...
in Japan and
Aksys Games
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Bandai Namco Games, Xs ...
in Western territories. Using a 2D side-scrolling perspective, the gameplay revolves around a
beat 'em up
The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...
fighting system, while incorporating role-playing elements such as leveling and questing.
''Muramasa'' takes place during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
on Japan's main island of
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
. Due to ruling ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
's thirst for power, conflicts have arisen over ownership of the Demon Blades, samurai swords that force their wielders to kill others before bringing tragedy and madness upon them. The story revolves around two different protagonists related to this conflict — Momohime, a woman who is possessed by the spirit of vengeful ''
rōnin
A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...
'' Jinkuro Izuna; and Kisuke, an amnesiac ninja on the run for a forgotten crime who is tied up with the tragedy that destroyed Momohime's family. The Vita port includes four self-contained stories based on
Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture.
In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study ...
released under the banner title .
The concept work for ''Muramasa'' began during the middle of development on ''
Odin Sphere
''Odin Sphere'' is an action role-playing game developed by Vanillaware for the PlayStation 2. It was published by Atlus (Japan and North America) in 2007, and by Square Enix (Europe) in 2008. A remake, titled ''Odin Sphere Leifthrasir'' (styli ...
''. Along with improving on the action gameplay over ''Odin Sphere'', a great deal of effort was put into making the game's setting authentic to the period. Kamitani created the story based on kabuki theatre, incorporating
Japanese folklore
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture.
In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study ...
and
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. When the game released in the West, it retained its Japanese voicetrack to preserve its atmosphere. It released to moderate sales and positive reviews. The Vita port, released in the West as ''Muramasa Rebirth'', released to strong sales and similar reception to its original version.
Gameplay
''Muramasa'' is a two-dimensional (2D)
side-scrolling action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
hack and slash
Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...
set on the main Japanese island of
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
.
Players take control of two characters with similar gameplay abilities. Navigation takes place through hand-drawn 2D side-scrolling environments reminiscent of Japanese artwork of the period, and can enter towns to talk with non-playable characters (NPCs) and buy items such as health restoratives and accept quests.
An additional cooking element allows the characters to cook meals using materials gathered during exploration: meals grant temporary character boosts, and fill a "fullness" meter that limits how much food a character can eat.
Combat comes in the form of both avoidable random encounters and scripted fights where the camera is fixed within the fighting area: enemies and bosses are primarily drawn from Japanese folklore and mythology. Battles are triggered only when enemies are near, with the player character otherwise keeping their weapons sheathed.
In combat, characters attack and guard using a single-button prompt, while another button accesses items such as healing potions. Continuously attacking triggers combos. Different moves include sword slashes combined with directional buttons, which have different effects such as throwing an enemy into the air with an upward slash. Additional offensive items such as smoke bombs are acquired during the course of the game.
At the end of each battle,
experience point
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s are awarded to the player character depending on how fast the battle was finished: leveling up increases a character's health, stats, and the amount of damage inflicted upon enemies.
Weapons are distinguished into two categories, Blade (
katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
) and Long Blade (
nōdachi): Blades are fast, while Long Blades are slower and deal higher damage. Three blades can be equipped at any one time: each blade has its own stats, determining the amount of damage that can be inflicted.
When blocking or using a blade's Secret Art special move, its Soul Power gauge depletes: if emptied, the sword breaks and its offensive abilities are drastically reduced. When sheathed, the Soul Power regenerates. Soul Power can be gathered in various locations to restore Soul Power and the character's health.
There are 108 blades that can be collected and forged in-game: forging blades requires Soul Power and "spirit", and each blade has a level cap determining when it can be forged.
Weapon forging is governed by a weapon-based skill tree.
Synopsis
Setting and characters
''Muramasa'' takes place on
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
, the main island of the Japanese archipelago, with its overall style and setting drawing heavily upon Japanese folklore and mythology. It is set in the
Genroku
was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from the ninth month of 1688 to the third month of 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415.
The period was ...
period, itself within the larger Edo period, during the reign of the ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
. Tsunayoshi's thirst for power has created conflict around ownership of the Demon Blades, samurai swords forged by the legendary
swordsmith
Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...
Muramasa Sengo that crave blood when drawn and bring madness and death to those foolish enough to draw them. Due to the chaos generated by this, the Demon Blades' powers begin summoning demons from Hell (
Yomi
is the Japanese word for the land of the dead (World of Darkness). According to Shinto mythology as related in ''Kojiki'', this is where the dead go in the afterlife. Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is (mostly) impossible to return ...
), along with causing ancient gods to stir from long slumber.
The two lead characters are , a princess of the Narukami clan from the locality of
Mino Mino may refer to:
Places in Japan
* Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture
* Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture
* Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture
* Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture
* Mi ...
; and , a runaway ninja with no memories but a burning desire for vengeance. For the course of the game, Momohime is inadvertently possessed by the spirit of , an unscrupulous
rōnin
A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...
who was trying to possess the body of Momohime's betrothed , a high-status samurai. Momohime and Kisuke are each accompanied and watched over by a
kitsune
In Japanese folklore, , are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to ''yōkai'' folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of employing t ...
in human form. They are , who holds affection for Jinkuro, and , who aids Kisuke in his quest against the Demon Blades' corruption. A key character in Kisuke's storyline is , Momohime's sister.
Plot
Momohime's Story
Momohime's story begins after she wakes up in
Kyoto Kyo with memories of being killed by the dying Jinkuro when he was aiming for her betrothed, the samurai lord Yukinojo. Upon encountering the spirit of Jinkuro, he forcefully possesses her, but before the process of soul transference is finished, they are attacked. In the confusion, Momohime's soul is kidnapped by the vengeful monk Rankai and Jinkuro is forced to follow Kongiku as Momohime's body will die if her soul is harmed. With her soul safe, Jinkuro sets out to regain the Dark Resurrection Demon Blade so he can properly utilize his Soul Transference Technique and gain influence through a new host. Encountering Yukinojo, who is searching for Momohime, the two battle. Momohime forces Jinkuro to spare Yukinojo, even when she learns that Yukinojo's intentions in marrying her were part of a scheme to ruin her family as punishment for defying the ''shōgun''. Jinkuro goes to Yukinojo's compound to retrieve the Dark Resurrection, but the storehouse where it is said to be is absorbed into Hell by demons. Descending into Hell, Jinkuro's soul is briefly captured by a demon, and it is only with Momohime's help that he escapes and learns that the Dark Resurrection was never in the storehouse. With Momohime's body beginning to fail due to the strain Soul Transference put on it, Jinkuro attempts to ascent to Heaven so he can become an immortal demon, but is stopped by
Raijin
, also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...
and
Fujin.
While willing to accept his death and allow Momohime her remaining time in her body, Kongiku shows them another way to Heaven. There, Yukinojo appears and reveals that he had the Dark Resurrection all along. They are then attacked by
Fudo-Myoou, who is there to deliver divine justice upon Jinkuro. In the first ending, Jinkuro allows himself to be sent to Hell while Momohime lives; she decides to forgo her marriage to Yukinojo and become a Buddhist nun in the hope of saving Jinkuro's soul through prayer. In the second ending, Momohime and Jinkuro are intercepted by Kisuke and Yuzuruha, resulting in Kongiku being robbed of her human form as punishment for her defiance. Though defeated, Kisuke delivers a fatal wound to Momohime, forcing Jinkuro to merge his soul with Momohime's to save her: this act leaves her an amnesiac but grants her Jinkuro's sword fighting abilities, which become legendary as she travels Japan in search of her missing memories. In the third ending, after the battle with Fudo-Myoou Jinkuro is transported to the night he first attacked Yukinojo and Momohime with the power of the Oboro Muramasa Demon Blade, which can defy the passage of fate. He chooses not to attack them, then later possesses Yukinojo's body and uses that position to ensure Momohime's safety and her family's security. Momohime herself lives to be one hundred years old and bears three children, while Kongiku remains close to Jinkuro in the guise of a servant.
Kisuke's Story
Kisuke's story begins with him suffering amnesia and on the run from his former ninja comrades. Returning to
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
to discover the truth in the company of Yuzuruha, he accidentally breaks an ancient seal keeping damned souls at bay. Defeating the monsters they manifest as, he learns from his mollified ninja companions and their employer Yukinojo that he was part of a mission to steal the Kuzuryu Demon Blade from Momohime's Nakurami Clan and punish them for defying the ''shogun'' s order to surrender it, which in turn was tied in with Yukinojo's intentions in marrying Momohime. Yukinojo sends Kisuke against Torahime, Momohime's sister and the
shrine maiden
A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as Shamanism, shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained ...
in charge of keeping the Kuzuryu's power in check. Pursuing her, Kisuke fights both Torahime and undead soldiers loyal to her family. In pursuit of her, he faces agents who are preserving the flow of magic energy to
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
, including a young
Yamabushi
are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements.
Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or ho ...
. His battles awaken his memories: he was originally disguised as a servant in Torahime's household as part of Yukinojo's scheme to destroy her family but fell in love with Torahime and attempted to betray his ninja comrades when stealing the Kuzuryu. Dying from his wounds, the spirit of Senju Oboroya, the creator of the Oboro Style that controls the Demon Blades, fused with Kisuke to save his life and pass on the Oboro Style to someone who would use it for good. The fusion triggered Kisuke's amnesia but left him with the ability to wield Demon Blades without succumbing to their evil.
Rescuing Torahime from the spider demon
Tsuchigumo
is a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, and also the name for a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the mythological Tsuchigumo include and . In the ''Kojiki'' and in '' Nihon Shoki ...
, Kisuke learns that she died while fleeing from the ''shogun''s forces, and that her present life is a temporary gift from
Amitabha. The two travel to Mount Fuji, where its native dragon god has gone berserk with rage after Japan's
ley line
Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognised by ancient socie ...
energy is diverted to Edo, forcing a route into Heaven. The true culprit is the dark deity imprisoned in the Kuzuryu, the mad god
Inugami
, like kitsunetsuki, is a spiritual possession by the spirit of a dog, widely known about in western Japan. They have seemed firmly rooted until recent years in the eastern Ōita Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, and a part of Kōchi Prefecture ...
. Upon being confronted, the possessed ''shōgun'' Tsunayoshi fatally wounds Torahime, who dies in Kisuke's arms: Kisuke then defeats Tsunayoshi and takes possession of the Kuzuryu. In the first ending, after the battle, Kisuke asks Amitābha to return the now-enlightened Torahime to life, then commits suicide as an act of defiance when his demand is refused. Torahime asks for her and Kisuke to be reincarnated so she can help him attain enlightenment. In the second ending, Kisuke arrives to find Tsunayoshi killed by the Jinkuro-possessed Momohime. Kisuke exorcises Jinkuro, and following Torahime's final request becomes Momohime's servant. The two then set out on a personal quest to locate all the Demon Blades causing conflict in Japan. In the third ending, after his battle, Kisuke is sent back in time to the day he first betrayed his employers through the Oboro Muramasa's power. His warning allows Torahime to foil the plot against her family, then Kisuke steals the Kuzuryu and sets off on a journey around the world to exhaust its power by striking down evil, promising to marry Torahime upon his return.
''Genroku Legends''
The ''Genroku Legends'' are split into four different stories directly inspired by Japanese folklore and set in the ''Muramasa'' universe.
In "Fishy Tales of the Nekomata", a domestic cat called Miike sees her family brought to ruin and all its members killed. Possessing the dying body of the family daughter Okoi and becoming a
nekomata
''Nekomata'' (original form: , later forms: , , ) are a kind of cat ''yōkai'' described in Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc. There are two very different types: those that live in the mountains and domestic cats that have grown ...
, she vows revenge against her family's killers, assassins employed by their rival Netsuzo Wakamiya. Despite succeeding, her rage remains unsated and she extends her wrath to the entire household. In the end, her tails are cut off by Jinkuro when he is hired to exorcise her: before being robbed of her powers, she curses Jinkuro with illness, setting the events of Momohime's story in motion. Now at peace, Miike spends time with an old priest and hosts moonlight dances with local cats and
bakeneko
The (, "changed cat") is a type of Japanese , or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a , or supernatural cat. It is often confused with the , another cat-like . The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest difference ...
. In the alternate ending, Miike becomes a ravenous demon whose rage is finally quelled by the old priest.
In "A Cause to Daikon For", a local farmer named Gonbe stirs up a revolt when the local ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' raises the taxes to the point that his village is on the brink of ruin. Aided by the spirit of his deceased wife Otae, Gonbe fights through the ''daimyō''s minions before killing him. After the fight, it is revealed that he has been relating his story to
Enma, the King of Hell and, due to his actions, is condemned to be tormented there. Due to her love for him, Otae willingly joins Gonbe despite being a pure soul. However, due to the punishment demons being overworked and Gonbe complaining to Enma, he is banished with his comrades and Otae back to the living world, where they get a chance to live in peace under a new and kinder ''daimyō''. In the alternate ending, the entire sequence is said to have been illusions holding Gonbe's spirit captive around the ruins of the ''daimyō''s castle. He, Otae and his comrades are freed by a traveling Yamabushi and ascend to heaven.
In "A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting", the
Iga Iga may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Ambush at Iga Pass, a 1958 Japanese film
* Iga no Kagemaru, Japanese manga series
* Iga, a set of characters from the Japanese novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls''
Biology
* ''Iga'' (beetle), a gen ...
ninja Arashimaru infiltrates the house of the Okabe clan, where Arashimaru steals the sacred Spear of Bishamon and kills the leader of the Okabe clan. After learning that he was actually the leader's son, Arashimaru flees in disgust. Taking shelter in a shrine, Arashimaru accidentally breaks a mirror sacred to the Goddess Inaraki, who becomes a Shirohebi (white snake) that curses him to die in seven days. Heading to exact revenge on the Iga leader after besting his master Shiranui in combat, Arashimaru learns that his mission was orchestrated by So Xian, a Ming-era Chinese spy working to destabilize Japan's ruling classes who was indirectly responsible for the taking of the young Kisuke from his family. Arashimaru kills So Xian and escapes his lair with Shiranui's aid, then goes peacefully to his death after asking the saddened Shirohebi to give his head and Spear of Bishamon to his brother Dengoro so he can restore the Okabe house. Arashimaru's head is given proper burial at the Shirohebi's insistence, and Arashimaru's spirit is
deified
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term ha ...
due to the grave becoming a prayer site for pilgrims. In the alternate ending, Arashimaru is possessed by So Xian's spirit, who enslaves Shirohebi and takes on the name "
Orochimaru
, featured in the Japanese folktale ''Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya''), is the archenemy of the ninja Jiraiya. He was once named and was one of Jiraiya's followers but was overtaken by serpent magic. Havin ...
". In a desperate act of defiance, Shirohebi has Shiranui spirit away the Okabe clan's last surviving heir during Orochimaru's attack who, when grown, takes on the name "
Jiraiya
Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally "Young Thunder"), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, " ...
" to fight Orochimaru.
In "Hell's Where the Heart Is", an
Oni
An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess i ...
girl named Rajyaki, daughter of Enma, is journeying to recover the treasures of the
Seven Gods of Fortune
In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune (, shichifukujin in Japanese) are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historic ...
that she lost. On her journey, a womanizing ex-monk called Seikichi accidentally proposes to her and she accepts him as her husband. In the end, Seikichi saves her after a grueling battle by feeding her the sacred peach of
Fukurokuju
In Japan, Fukurokuju (; from Japanese ''fuku'', "happiness"; ''roku'', "wealth"; and ''ju'', "longevity") is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Sta ...
. Due to this, she is banished from Hell by her father. In one ending, the Seven Gods of Fortune persuade Rajyaki to return to her father, while Seikichi moves to live a proper life. In the end, Rajyaki returns in human form and formalizes their marriage, which continues after Seikichi dies and goes to Hell. In the alternate ending, Rajyaki and Seikichi run into each other again when she is being hunted by samurai. Seikichi saves her, pretending he killed her and using that to establish himself as a samurai. Rajyaki takes the guise of his human wife, and they have five children who bear their mother's demonic horns. The ''Genroku Legends'' conclude with the narrator detailing the locations of the Seven Gods' treasures scattered through the stories, and thanking the player for locating them and calming Enma so his demons could return to Hell.
Development
''Muramasa'' was developed by
Vanillaware
is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. An independent company, it was founded in 2002 under the name Puraguru by George Kamitani, a game developer who had previously worked at Capcom and Atlus, and directed ''Princess Crown'' (1997 ...
, a studio created by former
Atlus
is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
staff members to create successor projects to the 2D action-adventure game ''
Princess Crown
''Princess Crown'' is an action role-playing game developed by Atlus and published by Sega that was released only in Japan. Originally released in 1997 for the Sega Saturn, it was ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2005. Using a two-dimen ...
''.
According to sound producer
Hitoshi Sakimoto
is a Japanese video game music composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' and ''Final Fantasy XII'', though he has composed soundtracks for over 80 other games. He began playing music and video games in elementa ...
, the game's director
George Kamitani was laying out plans for ''Muramasa'' when ''
Odin Sphere
''Odin Sphere'' is an action role-playing game developed by Vanillaware for the PlayStation 2. It was published by Atlus (Japan and North America) in 2007, and by Square Enix (Europe) in 2008. A remake, titled ''Odin Sphere Leifthrasir'' (styli ...
'' was in the middle of development.
According to Kamitani, while ''Odin Sphere'' was an evolution of ''Princess Crown''s narrative, ''Muramasa'' provided the chance of evolving its gameplay. He even went so far as to dub it "''Princess Crown III''". The draft proposal was completed by the end of 2006.
The positive sales of ''Odin Sphere'' gave Vanillaware the capital needed to begin full development on ''Muramasa''.
The game was also co-funded by their publishing deal with
Marvelous Entertainment
(MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...
, who were sold the project after ''Odin Sphere''s publisher Atlus refused to take any further products from Vanillaware until ''Odin Sphere'' had released, in addition to delaying the game so it would not compete with their main 2007 release ''
Persona 3
released outside Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3'', is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Persona'' series, which is part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. Atlus orig ...
''.
In addition to Atlus, they also pitched to
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
, but Vanillaware's untested reputation prompted them to be turned down. Kamitani stated in a later interview that Vanillaware would have closed had Marvelous not accepted the project. The team's style of development was identical to their strategy for ''Odin Sphere'', although they worked to change up some aspects to make it a unique experience. When developing the game, the team decided to create a vertical plane for players to explore, something which the team had needed to forego with ''Odin Sphere''. In addition, bathing sequences cut from ''Odin Sphere'' were reworked and incorporated into ''Muramasa'' as
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
scenes.
''Muramasa'' was worked on by 16 people, over half the entire staff of Vanillaware, including Kamitani as the game's writer.
The
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
was chosen as the game's platform of release as its specs were fairly close to that of the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, the console for which ''Odin Sphere'' was developed. This meant that the team could carry over their earlier experience rather than start from scratch learning about new hardware. Kamitani did create design proposals for versions on the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
, but went undeveloped due to budget limitations. Using the Wii's motion controls was tested by the team, but due to the game's old-fashioned style there was little need to implement them.
Part of the reason for this decision was that the precision needed to control characters was best achieved using a traditional control set-up.
The biggest problem when developing for the Wii was the graphics, especially how to get the various pieces of artwork in the game's scenery to interact and respond properly. They also wanted to keep loading times down to a minimum, which was made possible due to the Wii's area pre-loading abilities. Technical tinkering of this kind went on until the end of development.
The game's programmer was Kentaro Ohnishi, whose biggest challenge was creating a battle system which allowed for cancelling of attacks, while maintaining the appearance of smooth attack animation. The resultant code looked so strange that another programmer thought it was a fault and deleted it, forcing Ohnishi to rebuild it. The team was highly dedicated to the success of the project, putting a large amount of work to make it as good as it could be for players.
By the time of release, funds for the company had been drained.
Production overall was stressful, with an external company handling debugging due to the team being exhausted.
Kamitani wrote the story of ''Muramasa'' based on his wish to create a "ninja ''Princess Crown''". As ''Odin Sphere'' had drawn inspiration from Shakespearean theater, ''Muramasa'' instead used
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
as its influence, prompting Kamitani to buy kabuki scripts as part of his research. Due to this and the script's many references to classic Japanese literature, Kamitani had trouble handling the old-fashioned writing style. As he was nervous about using Japanese mythology so extensively, he also incorporated Buddhist theology into the narrative.
In creating the game's atmosphere, which was based on Japan as it was in the Edo era combined with local folklore and mythology, the team wanted to create an air of realism within its fantasy world.
The game's setting was a heavy departure from Vanillaware's previous games, which had used Western-inspired settings and stories.
The overall atmosphere was meant to emulate those of ''
The Legend of Kage
is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash game developed and released by Taito as an arcade video game in 1985. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX, Sharp X1, and ZX Spectrum,
Plot
The player takes the ro ...
'' and ''
Genpei Tōma Den
is a side-scrolling hack and slash produced by Namco that was released as a coin-operated video game in 1986 in Japan. It runs on Namco System 86 hardware. Over a decade later, the game was released in America and Europe in the video game compil ...
''.
The game's central theme was "death".
Kamitani's early concept was based on the long-running television drama ''
Mito Kōmon
is a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was on prime-time television from 1969 to 2011, making it the longest-running ''jidaigeki'' in Japanese television history. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-''sh ...
'', but his wish for something "stranger" let to the kabuki influences. The early story draft was based on ''
Kanadehon Chūshingura
is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's ''Matsukaze'', although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from ''Matsukaze''.
Medium
During this portion of ...
'', a kabuki play based on the history of the
forty-seven rōnin
The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is on ...
. Only a small amount of the initial draft survived, with Torahime being a hangover character. Much of Momohime's story was based on the play ''Sakurahime Azuma Bunsho''. Kamitani was writing the game's dialogue right into February, when voice recording took place.
Several potential playable characters and storylines, such as narratives following Jinkuro and Torahime, had to be cut from the game. Elements of the cut storylines were incorporated into Kisuke and Momohime's stories.
The number of protagonists in the story was dictated by the game's budget, as Kamitani's initial idea was for more characters similar to the narrative of ''Princess Crown''.
In keeping with the wish for realism, Momohime and Kisuke were given distinct accents (Momohime used a cultured dialect while Kisuke spoke with an Edogawa accent). Another realistic element was the game's food, which was designed based on the types of delicacies that were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the folklore references was the 108 Demon Blades in the game, which was a direct reference to the 108 human vices in Japanese folklore.
A number of monsters and deities from Japanese mythology made appearances in the game, and the art style was intended to give a "Japanese" feel without consciously copying artwork from the game's period.
Character designs were handled by Yasuhiro Fujiwara, Yasuo Shirai, Takehiro Shiga, Kouichi Maenou and Ine Kawazu.
Kamitani's art style choice was influenced by the bright ink-wash style of
Japanese woodblock prints
Woodblock printing in Japan (, ''mokuhanga'') is a technique best known for its use in the ''ukiyo-e'' artistic genre of single sheets, but it was also used for printing books in the same period. Widely adopted in Japan during the Edo period (160 ...
. He also drew inspiration from the folklore-centered anime series ''Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi''.
The artwork was created at double its in-game resolution, then reduced to fit within the hardware.
Music
The music was handled by a team from sound company Basiscape, composed of multiple composers who had worked on ''Odin Sphere''. Sakimoto acted as sound producer, the sound director was Masaaki Kaneko, and the music was composed by Sakimoto, Yoshimi Kudo, Noriyuki Kamikura, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe, Azusa Chiba and
Masaharu Iwata
is a Japanese video game music, video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to se ...
.
Sakimoto was working on music for ''Odin Sphere'' when the project was first proposed, and thought Kamitani was being overambitious working on a premise-based in Japan when developing a game based on European mythology. During the initial planning stage, Sakimoto thought the game would be a "mock-Japanese" project, with Japanese instruments inserted into techno music. Once he realized how sincere Kamitani was with the project, Sakimoto and the team needed to re-identify with the roots of traditional Japanese music. For Sakimoto, his approach was to reconnect with how earlier Japanese people turned their
wabi-sabi
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. I ...
philosophy and worldview into words and music: he carried over this approach into the project. Each of the composers had to go through similar experiences.
Release
''Muramasa'' was announced at the 2007
Tokyo Game Show
, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
(TGS) under the title , alongside its intended platform, setting and gameplay mechanics. After its announcement, information releases about the game virtually stopped, and an April 2008 report by ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' reported the game's development was "struggling", although no details were revealed. ''Muramasa'' was reintroduced at TGS 2008 under its Japanese title, along with its planned release window in 2009 and details on its characters and story. The game released in Japan on April 9, 2009, published by Marvelous Entertainment.
It was released as part of Nintendo Channel's budget game line-up in January 2010, and re-released on the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
for
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
in July 2015.
It was announced for a release in North America under the title ''Muramasa: The Demon Blade'' in October 2008 for a release the following year. The game was originally being published by
Xseed Games
Xseed Games is an American video game company founded by former members of Square Enix USA. It later became a subsidiary of the Japanese game company Marvelous, providing the localization and publishing services for video games and related mat ...
, but in April 2009 they announced that they were dropping the title from their schedule. Publishing rights were transferred to
Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment Limited, doing business as UTV Ignition Games, was a video game publisher of Indian media conglomerate UTV Software Communications. After The Walt Disney Company acquired UTV Software Communications as a wholly owned subsi ...
. Ignition Entertainment later explained that it was in competition with Xseed and Atlus to acquire the American publishing rights, and after seeing ''Muramasa'' at TGS 2008 they were encouraged to apply for the rights. The change between publishers was an internal agreement between Xseed, their parent company Marvelous USA, and Ignition. The situation was amicably resolved as Xseed already had a large number of Wii titles lined up, and giving ''Muramasa'' to another publisher allowed multiple titles not to be overlooked when it came to Western publicity.
The game released in North America on September 8, 2009. The game's localization was done by external localization companies in close collaboration with Ignition Entertainment.
Due to the game's strong Japanese atmosphere, it was seen as a hard sell in the West, but during localization a lot of work went into preserving it rather than adjusting it for Western tastes. Due to this, the game was not dubbed into English, but instead retained its Japanese voice track while text was localized.
An aspect Ignition worked hard with was to make sure the localization was of good quality by working closely with their chosen localization partners. This was due to backlash received by fans and critics over the "lackluster" localization of ''
Lux-Pain
is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Killaware and published by Marvelous Entertainment for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released in Japan on March 27, 2008. It was published in North America by Ignition Enterta ...
'', which had been beyond their control during development.
The game was published in Europe by
Rising Star Games
Rising Star Games Limited is a British video game publisher based in Hitchin.
History
Rising Star Games was founded on 10 July 2004 by Martin Defries as a joint venture between Bergsala Holding and Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment ...
alongside other Marvelous products including ''
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga'' and ''
Arc Rise Fantasia
''Arc Rise Fantasia'' is a 2009 role-playing video game co-developed by Imageepoch and Marvelous Entertainment for the Wii. It was published in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment in 2009 and in North America by Ignition Entertainment in 2010. A plan ...
''. The English translation was carried over from the North American version, although the English language version underwent regional adjustment, and some minor faults were corrected. The game was also translated into
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, which made using the original translation more practical than creating a new one. Originally scheduled for November 2009, it was first shifted into 2010, then moved back into 2009. The game released in Europe on November 6 of that year. Upon release in the United Kingdom, most retailers did not stock it: this was put down to a general attitude that it would not sell like prevalent franchises or games from mainstream genres. The game released in Australia on December 3, 2009.
''Muramasa Rebirth''
''Muramasa Rebirth'', released in Japan under its original title of ''Oboro Muramasa'',
is a port of ''Muramasa'' developed by Vanillaware for the
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
.
According to its development team, the Vita was chosen as the port's platform over the more commercially successful Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 due to the Vita's
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
-based screen, which they felt better portray the game's palette. While content was cut during the original version's development, the team decided against going back and restoring it, instead creating new additional content. The controls were also adjusted to suit the new platform.
''Muramasa Rebirth'' was published in Japan by
Marvelous AQL
is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher, and anime producer. The company was formed in October 2011 by the merger of the original Marvelous Entertainment, AQ Interactive, and Marvelous Entertainment#Marvelous Livew ...
on March 28, 2013. The game's Western release was handled by
Aksys Games
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Bandai Namco Games, Xs ...
, which also created a new localization. Compared to the original version, which was described as a direct translation, Aksys Games' version was more "flavorful" and more faithful to the original text.
It released in North America on June 25. It was released in Europe and Australia through
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
on October 16.
In addition to the main game, four self-contained stories were released as
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
(DLC) under the title , featuring new characters within the ''Muramasa'' universe.
For the new characters, swords are replaced by other weapons such as clubs and shurikens, but they otherwise play in the same way as Momohime and Kisuke.
New music was created for the title under Sakimoto's supervision: the four episodes were scored by Kudo, Chiba, Kaneda and Iwata respectively. The Vanillaware-developed DLC launched in both Japan and the West between November 2013 and November 2014: the final DLC's Japanese release was delayed by over two months behind the Western release.
A special edition of ''Muramasa Rebirth'' exclusive to Japan contained all four DLC episodes alongside the original content.
Reception
''The Demon Blade'' received generally positive reviews, garnering a score of 81/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on 58 critic reviews.
In its review, ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' praised the art style, and called the battle system "absorbing". Their main complaints were the lack of variety between characters and the story having no proper climax.
''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
''s Conrad Zimmerman called it "a very solid title", saying that while flawed in its story delivery and instances of repetition, its visuals were "absolutely beautiful" and it proved fun to play.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Mark Bozon was highly positive about the graphics and sound, but thought the backtracking might put some people off and said the story "may go over people’s heads".
''
Game Revolution
''GameRevolution'' (formerly ''Game-Revolution'') is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots ...
'' writer Nick Tan enjoyed the game greatly, but admitted that its lack of depth reduced the score he could give it as a reviewer.
Joe Juba, writing for ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'', found ''The Demon Blade'' "stunning" despite some missteps in its pacing and depth.
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s Tom McShea praised the visuals, boss battles and collectable swords, but found few other activities outside combat, which itself lacked depth.
''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
''s Andy Burt called the visuals "gorgeous" and praised the combat and multiple storylines, but found its linearity and occasions where combat got "bogged down" hampered the experience.
''
GameTrailers
''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
'' praised its combat and visuals, calling it "one of the better action titles on the
ii.
Keza MacDonald, writing for ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'', noted that "like many beautiful things,
'Muramasa: The Demon Blade''is a little lacking in substance", saying that its lack of depth undermined other aspects.
Michael Cunningham of ''RPGamer'' called it "a great game" to see and play despite its plain story.
RPGFan's Dennis Rubinshteyn shared several points in common with reviewers about the story and repetition, while again praising the graphics and sound design.
''Rebirth'' also had a positive reception, with Metacritic giving it a score of 78/100 based on 26 critic reviews.
In its review, ''Famitsu'' praised it for being a good remake, although one reviewer was disappointed at the lack of new content.
Chris Carter of ''Destructoid'' said that people who had already played the original version would not find much new content, while newcomers would likely be enchanted by it.
Juba, reviewing ''Rebirth'' for ''Game Informer'', said that the game was "exactly what developer Vanillaware intended it to be: a better-looking version of the 2009 release", while noting that this had not fixed the game's original faults as noted by him.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Colin Moriarty called ''Rebirth'' a "faithful port", praising the improved localization and generally enjoying playing despite backtracking hampering the experience.
Adrian den Ouden of ''RPGamer'' also praised the localization and shared points of praise and criticism with the previous reviewer.
Stephen Meyerink of ''RPGFan'', who had not played the Wii original, called ''Rebirth'' "a gorgeous, action-packed, fairly lengthy adventure that looks, sounds, and plays better than ever".
Chris Holzworth of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' was impressed by the visuals and indifferent about the story, and recommended playing it on a higher difficulty setting.
Sales
On its debut in Japan, ''The Demon Blade'' reached #2 in game sales charts, coming in behind ''Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes'' with 29,000 units sold. Sales of the title were higher than anticipated, resulting in several stores in Japan being sold out within two weeks of its release. The game had sold 47,000 units by November 2009. In North America,
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
reported that the game had sold 35,000 units during its first month of release. In a feature on notable video games in 2009, ''
GamesTM
''GamesTM'' (styled as ''gamesTM'') was a United Kingdom, UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering video game console, console, handheld game, handheld, PC game, PC and Arcade games. The first issue was released in December 2002 and t ...
'' stated that ''The Demon Blade'' sold "extremely well", besting established Western franchise releases such as ''
Dead Space: Extraction''. Ignition Entertainment, the game's North American publisher, confirmed that the September sales for ''The Demon Blade'' had fallen within the NPD Group's estimates, and had met their sales expectations. In a 2010 interview, publisher Marvelous Entertainment stated that, despite positive reception from both critics and players, ''Muramasa: The Demon Blade'' had suffered from low sales in Japan, North America and Europe. This was put down to it being a non-traditional game and the falling relevance of the Wii hardware.
In its first week of release, ''Rebirth'' debuted at #5, selling 45,660 physical units. Within the first month following its release in Japan, the game topped 100,000 shipments, with at least 67,800 physical retail sales, and the remainder as digital copies distributed on the PlayStation Network. ''Muramasa Rebirth'' ranked as the seventh most downloaded digital Vita game on the Japanese PlayStation Network in 2013. In both North America and Europe, the game ranked high on PSN download charts: it ranked as the fifth best-selling Vita title in North America, while in Europe it debuted at #5 before climbing to #4 by December 2013.
See also
*
List of Wii games that use the Classic Controller
References
External links
*
;''Muramasa: The Demon Blade''
*
;''Muramasa Rebirth''
Official website
{{Vanillaware
2009 video games
Marvelous Entertainment franchises
Video games about demons
Fantasy video games
Hack and slash games
Video games about ninja
PlayStation Vita games
Sengoku video games
Side-scrolling role-playing video games
Single-player video games
Video games about samurai
Video games based on Japanese mythology
Video games scored by Hitoshi Sakimoto
Video games scored by Masaharu Iwata
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in feudal Japan
Video games featuring female protagonists
Wii games
Wii games re-released on the Nintendo eShop
Video games based on Buddhist mythology
Rising Star Games games
UTV Ignition Games games
Vanillaware games