Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Available for Wii
Game Developer: Vanillaware
Game Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Release Date: September 8, 2009
Official Website: muramasathedemonblade.com

Game summary from Ignition Entertainment:
"Developed by Vanillaware, the creative team behind the critically acclaimed game Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a unique, highly stylized action adventure that showcases a striking visual look and a colorful cast of more than 100 characters. Muramasa: The Demon Blade features eye-popping hand-drawn 2D art that reflects the heritage and tone of its ancient Japanese storyline. Set in the little-known feudal Genroku era, players are invited to take on the role of a male ninja or female kunoichi, utilizing their prowess to traverse the perilous yet picturesque levels."

Review Summary:
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a platformer with RPG elements blessed with breathtaking visuals, an exceptional storyline and tight gameplay. The game is a must for Wii owners, especially those who grew up with Castlevania. With the inclusion of a powerful soundtrack and voice acting, alongside Japanese mythology, this is a purchase you can't go wrong with. Muramasa will have you playing for at least 20 plus hours the first way through and with great replay value, Muramasa: The Demon Blade can't be beat.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Read the full review below.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade review

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a gorgeous game in appearance and in gameplay. It has its ups and downs, yet never fails to amaze, even being built upon classic platforming action. The action-RPG game is reminiscent of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night; forging swords, powerups/healing, leveling up and platforming is where the similarities between the games end.

In Muramasa, players will follow the stories of Kisuke and Momohime, both having many similarities in the story which connect their lives. Similarities include Demon Blades forged by Muramasa, being aided by Foxes (this is how you can save the game), practicing Ninjitsu, and having the sword style known as Oboro.

The two characters both have lost their memory and are trying to remember their past. Previous events crucial to their individual storylines are played out like normal levels, moving the story at a great pace.

The storyline is intense and if you're not up on your Japanese mythology/folklore, or able to remember Japanese names with ease, you may get lost by the many names dropped. Sometimes the names alternate between a character's first and last name throughout the story. It's not until later on that you figure out it is the same character being called upon by either name. At times this threw me off since I am not fluent in Japanese nor do I pick up Japanese names as easily.

The music in the game is amazing. A very well orchestrated Japanese soundtrack paces the storyline well and is never boring or repetitive. Although the voice acting is in Japanese, it sounds exceptional with great soul and feel to it.

The visuals in this game features some of the most beautiful, lush artwork to date. Handpainted-like characters and backgrounds prove that sometimes style supersedes flash and super high-end graphics. As far as gameplay, this Wii game avoids any use of motion controls and is traditional platforming at its best. Some levels may seem repetitive in design but if you look closely, no two levels, or "screens" per se, ever are alike.

Players may get annoyed with the backtracking through levels since the game does not provide teleport points or portals from already visited levels. I'm assuming this was Vanillaware's way of extending gameplay time. Later on after completing either characters storyline, you can playthrough a second time with portal points available to travel city to city. Action is always rampant, so you don't always get distraught with senseless backtracking, which is crucial in leveling up your character.

Another cool feature is the multiple endings per character. Once you complete the game with a character, you receive a blade from the end boss. With the blade you then can beat the game with the other character (assuming you beat the game once with the other character) playthrough again and unlock their second ending.

To sum it up, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a must own game for any Wii gamer, especially those who love anime, action-RPGs and platformers as a whole.