Muramasa: The Demon Blade - TGS 08 Gameplay

[rashad]

t: Exciting time to be a Wii owner!



http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5552.html

 

[rashad]

TGS 08 Debut Trailer
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5552.html

 

[Timstuff]

2D FTW! The graphical style looks a lot like Odin Sphere-- and that's never a bad thing.

 

[rashad]

New Preview Article
http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3172066&p=44

Muramasa: The Demon Blade 'Exclusive 'Action' gameplay' clip
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/23128

 

[rashad]

This game is absolutely stunning visually.

 

[Tron Bonne]

It's an exciting time to be a Wii owner? Never would've guess that, considering how little I use my Wii

Yeah, this looks really cool if for nothing more then the visuals and style. I never played Princess Crown or Odin Sphere. Are theys good stuff?

 

[rashad]

It's an exciting time to be a Wii owner? Never would've guess that, considering how little I use my Wii

Yeah, this looks really cool if for nothing more then the visuals and style. I never played Princess Crown or Odin Sphere. Are theys good stuff?

The Wii has a lot of great content in 2009 I look forward to playing. Princess Crown and Odin Sphere are definitely worth checking out! Those were gems.

 

[Tron Bonne]

The Wii has a lot of great content in 2009 I look forward to playing. Princess Crown and Odin Sphere are definitely worth checking out! Those were gems.

Wish I could say the same really. Besides this and MADWORLD (and maybe Ghostbusters depending on how it's done of the Wii) I don't see much I plan to check out on the Wii in '09. Oh well.

I've always heard good things about Odin Sphere, but I never picked it up. I may now though before I run into Muramasa

 

[rashad]

Wish I could say the same really. Besides this and MADWORLD (and maybe Ghostbusters depending on how it's done of the Wii) I don't see much I plan to check out on the Wii in '09. Oh well.

I've always heard good things about Odin Sphere, but I never picked it up. I may now though before I run into Muramasa

The Conduit, Monster Hunter 3, Punch-Out!!, Sin & Punishment 2, TMNT, Fragile, Overlord: Dark Legend, House of the Dead: Overkill, Wii Sports Resort, MadWorld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Tenchu 4, Broken Sword: The Director's Cut. Those are just a few.

Plus WiiWare games. Animales de la Muerte, Icarian: Kindred Stories, Eternity's Child

 

[Tron Bonne]

Never heard of The Conduit, Fragile or any of those WiiWare games.

No interest in Overlord, House of the Dead, Tenchu 4 or Sin & Punishment 2. Despite the talent behind it I'm very skeptical of TMNT, as the last try on the franchise was just bad, I think. Broken Sword really isn't my type of game honestly, though it may be a rent or something. I hate Wii Sports and I died a little inside when I saw they were planning to continue it

I had forgotten all about Punch-Out!!, that could be good, though I can't say I'm hugely looking forward to the game. I liked the original as a young blood, but I'm sure about it now or how they are actually planning to make the Wii version.

I'll look up some stuff about those games you mentioned that I'd never heard of, though.

 

[rashad]

Muramasa: The Demon Blade 2009 Trailer
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Japanese Box Art

Spoiler

3361317330_644edb33d5_b.jpg (430 KB)

 

[rashad]

 

[Tron Bonne]

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3173680

Preview from 1up, there's actually a video in the link as well

As a kid in the height of the 2D era, when the Genesis and the SNES were neck and neck for market share, I often wondered, "What will games look like ten years from now?" But if I'd made a prediction then, the future would have probably looked less like the realistic Killzone 2, and more like the 2D brilliance of Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade in English). Muramasa is a beautiful game, not just because the sprites are big, or the animation is fluid -- the game possesses an almost absurd attention to detail. The animators painstakingly created almost every single item in the game to evoke a world that is two parts fantasy and one part Sengoku period Japan. Videos of this Wii exclusive don't do the game justice; you have to see it running in 480p widescreen to get the full experience. The game runs silky smooth, with none of the slowdown of Vanillaware's previous action title Odin Sphere.

The game offers three control schemes: Wii Classic controller, GameCube controller, or Wii Remote and Nunchuck, though you can't customize the button configuration. After trying each one, I definitely preferred the Cube setup. Once you decide on a controller, you choose between two characters, Kisuke and Momohime. Their opening scenarios and starting swords are different, but, in fighting, they control identically. The combat system echoes the feel of Guardian Heroes -- no matter where an enemy is on screen, it's never too far from the tip of your blade.

Muramasa The Demon Blade 'Countryside' gameplay

On easy mode, the game is a bit of a button masher, but on hard (you can change the difficulty setting at any time during the game) you've got to put together a strategy unless you want to get cut to bits. As you battle your way through ninjas, demons, and all sorts of other weird creatures, not only do you have to keep track of your own health, but the health of your swords as well. If one takes too much wear and tear, it will break and you'll have to change to another while the busted one recovers.

The level design bear some similarity to Metroid, but Muramasa adds a little more linearity. Each section is interlinked, but you can only access new areas by breaking through the barrier that cordons it off with the correct sword (you earn a new sword after defeating each boss). Like in every Metroid clone, adventuring through the game's levels involves a little backtracking, but Muramasa is so beautiful, it's easy to overlook the repetition just to be able to see the stunning artwork again.

Artwork from the game. Click the image above to check out all Muramasa: The Demon Blade screens.

As I'm still early in the game, I can't say much about the story. Kisuke's tale starts with the genre standard "memory loss" followed by a journey to learn your true identity. The voice acting is great, but the cut-scenes and the pre-boss fight chat sessions feel a little dull.

What I've played so far is certainly deserving of the generous 34/40 rating Famitsu gave the game. Judging by the world map, I'm still early in the game, so I can't wait to see what else it has in store for me. Publisher XSeed has yet to announce a definite US release date for Muramasa, but importers beware -- the game contains a lot of Japanese text, and not easy Japanese, either. But if you're willing to brave the language barrier I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Looking good, though honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it delayed into '10 for the States. I have so much I plan to buy and play this year already that this may end up on the backburner

 

[Tron Bonne]

http://kotaku.com/5220643/muramasa-loses-its-american-publisher

Uh-oh guys, looks like the US release of this game is in danger

What is it with Wii games losing publishers? First Fatal Frame, now Muramasa - which was about the best-looking thing due on the console in 2009 - finds its American release up in the air.

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!

This isn't good. Hopefully they can pick up a new publisher

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

They already have one, Ignition Entertainment.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I just read that, that was quick...less then a day

 

[Tron Bonne]

http://kotaku.com/5227593/feast-your-eyes-on-muramasa-the-demon-blade

New preview from Gametrailers on the game. For whatever reason the bottom part of the screen is chopped off, but you can tell what's going on.

So, no waggle and support for both the GC and Classic controllers. Also, I think it's brilliant they way they are doing the difficulty setting in this game. More developers need to take ques from this.

Only thing I didn't care much for is the previewer mentioned some backtracking. I hope it's not significant or anything, but either way I doubt it'll outright ruin the game