Topic: more muramasa appreciation

i just finished what must be my fourth playthrough (two for each character) and i enjoyed it the most this last time around. it's definitely one of those games where you get a huge reward from mastering the controls, since they're so detailed that you can do a lot with them once you know how to use them. it reminds me a little of the satisfying feeling you get after learning to wall jump well in super metroid, where nothing feels off limits anymore and you can dominate the environments.

more importantly, it pays to learn all the moves instead of button mashing so that you can experience the game the way it was designed to be played. when you first start it's easy to see a lack of depth in the game since all you know how to do is press 'swing' repeatedly; you miss out on all the strategy and twitch reactions that make the fights fun. if anyone starting the game is on the fence about whether or not they like it, just spend some time practicing all the different moves and try them out to see which ones work best on which enemies; the game (and boss fights in particular) will make much more sense once you do, since most enemies are designed to be weak against particular attacks.

you can also cut down on the backtracking by actually using the bronze mirrors you get instead of ignoring them like i did the first few times around. they let you instantly go back to the last save shrine you used, so when you get stuck in one of the many dead ends in the game you can painlessly return to where you were earlier just like that. they were put into the game specifically to eliminate backtracking, so remember you have that ability before complaining that you have to retrace your steps.

that's about all i wanted to say. it's a little sad to me when people write muramasa off as nothing but style without substance, since it's become one of my all time favorites and i think most of the complaints won't hold up once you've gotten used to it and figured out how to play; it still recycles a few backgrounds too many and i wish they had more vertical platforming instead of just straight left-right exploration, but it's amazing how much more fun the game gets when you learn to take advantage of everything it gives you. just give it a fair shake.

I've got five blades to go. Two of the challenges are extremely difficult, but I suspect key to unlocking the remaining blades.

I had thought there were different endings for Shura vs. Muso, but having switched difficulty from Muso to Shura for Momohime's story and played as much as I could before throwing in the towel on the Omi demon challenge (four large Oni at once is a bit beyond my capabilities -- the green ones are really tough) I didn't see a different ending -- unless you need to play through the entire game with the higher difficulty selected? It will probably be awhile before I do that!

Presently levelling up Kisuke to see if he fares better against the demon hordes!

i may be spoiling some stuff but the different endings come by using different swords to fight the end boss. you have to beat the game once with both momohime and kisuke, then with either character, equip the two swords you were awarded for each completion (you can choose whatever you like for the 3rd sword) and pass it again. the second ending will surprise you.

the hardest challenge by far is in izu, i wouldn't even try that one until you've gotten everything else. some of the items you get for those last challenges are nuts, so they're definitely worth fighting through.

Man I cannot even remember which sword I was awarded for completing the game...hint?

I seriously need to get this game. Are the two characters' stories very different?

The gameplay is the same, but yeah, the stories are different. There is some character overlap (which is pretty cool), but the stories are different, the swords they're pursuing are different and the bosses are different.

gameplay-wise, no. they both control exactly the same and although they start in different parts of the world they travel through most of the same provinces, so you'll see a lot of the same things over again. but they do each have their own complete set of bosses and swords that the other character doesn't see and they interact with a different cast of secondary characters, so they've got enough distinction to feel different.

i think it's funnest to switch between characters about every half hour, since it keeps everything fresh and lets you progress evenly through both files at once.

i think kisuke gets mumei tamanoo and momohime gets tsukiotoshi. they'll have that fire coming off of them if you've got the right ones

I thought multiple blades had fire coming off them, but I'll try those ones. Would be nice if they had prominent places on the tree -- are they the top ones used to make new blades that either character can use?

Hmm...I love muramasa. The enemies are varied, the stories are very different and intertwined...the swords for each character are different(and nice when you can use them all)....the backgrounds are beautiful and varied(as well as the music). You can pull of some crazy combos it's just a different system than most are used to...this is coming from someone who played KI for years. You can skillfully combine some really wicked looking stuff besides just button mashes and with all the sword/items everything staysvery fresh, it takes some skill to make the best looking stuff. I find myself going into the hot springs just to see who was there sometimes. You run into each other 3 or so times during each characters story.

.with the amount of lairs, bosses, white lairs, white boundaries with new lands or backroads so to speak for existing lands, 3 dif. endings for each character and two difficulty settings....this game has max replay. Once you beat the white lair in IZU, you get an item that expands your powers significantly(total pandemonium, recommended lvl 92). Once you get oboro muramasa, beat the bosses and you'll get the 3rd ending(when you see what the oboro sword does, you'll remember that momohime and ghost kisuke or vice versa were using it against you at the end of the white lair in IZU). You'll notice, that the characters do have different sword strikes, combos, and slightly different jumps,

Have both of my characters at 99 and all the swords, moving to shura difficulty here shortly. I find it hard to see how anyone can say anything but the best things about muramasa.....I seriously doubt anyone's credibility who did.

Maybe I should drop back to Muso for Omi and Izu lairs; I switched to Shura after getting the first entry and those two are merciless with the ass-kicking!

another thing i've noticed after playing a while is how impressive the music transitions are; for any given area they recorded two different versions of the same piece. when there are no enemies, a gentler version of the music plays, then when enemies appear it suddenly switches to the more aggressive version of the same song without missing a beat. once you've killed all the enemies it drops back into the more peaceful version just as smoothly. it really is impressive when you listen for it, hearing how seamlessly two different recordings can transform into one another in mid-note. i remember reading that one of the composers for super metroid worked on this game, which may explain the care put into the soundtrack.

Yeah nice soundtrack. I'd definitely pick it up if I came across it. It's not on iTunes, is it?