IGN writes: "While wandering through Marvelous' TGS booth we stumbled upon a game that truly lives up to its publishers name. Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a stunning action RPG from Vanillaware, makers of Odin Sphere. It is presented in 2D with beautiful, layered scenery and a rich color palette. Although it features legendary Japanese swordsman Muramasa, this is a new IP. Muramasa is the star, but he also has a playable female companion.
Players can use either the remote and nunchuk or the classic controller. The game moves along briskly through a series of brief encounters with enemies like ninja and demons from Japanese folklore. Each episode is very short and must be completed within a certain time limit. The fast pace keeps the scenery constantly changing, and during our play session we kept being more and more impressed with each new backdrop. Rooftops, countryside, cherry blossoms, a rushing river… Our favorite was a lush forest with rays of sunlight piercing in between branches."
Nintenderos: "We kick off our interviews this year with a very special one with George Kamitani, president of Vanillaware. In case you didn't know this study, it is the one behind games of the stature of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Odin Sphere or Dragon's Crown. In addition to, of course, unforgettable titles like the wonderful 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim published by Atlus a few months ago."
With the ongoing pandemic shutting down many IRL cherry blossom viewing parties, here are some games where you can still enjoy some beautiful spring sakura scenes
How do you introduce people to folklore and fairy tales? Introducing people to mythology can be easy when they are young or in school, as such stories can sometimes be used to teach morals, introduce concepts that might be difficult for people to otherwise understand, act as warnings and get imaginations working. Once folks get older, it can be more difficult to get them engaged and interested in legends. Fortunately, some Japanese video games can step in to bridge the gap.
