Topic: Muramasa vs TVC vs Endless Ocean

If Capcom did pay me though, I'd totally be pushing TvC right now. I hope an executive with a fat wallet is reading this.

I don't have Muramasa, so I can't comment there (but it looks great).
Endless Ocean (1) - Great game! It's wonderfully calming, and when it is at its best (exploring the cave) it feels like Metroid without the combat to get in the way. I really enjoyed it, and pre-ordered the sequel (one of only two games I pre-ordered this year...which leads me to the other...)
TvC - Another great game, but totally different! I scoffed when people in comments said Smash Bros. wasn't a fighting game. We put a ton of time into Brawl at my place, and I think it is in fact a very deep fighting game that is mistaken as a shallow one only by people who don't play it more than 10 hours. That said...playing TvC really made me question myself. TvC has a very, very different feel than Brawl, comparatively Brawl doesn't really feel like a fighting game. At least not in the same way. I haven't played (other than Brawl + Melee) any fighting games since SF2/Killer Instinct (not seriously anyway), and TvC recaptured why I so enjoyed fighters back in the day. Lots of action, a great challenge, and that sensation that if you'd done it slightly differently, you would have won.

So between those two I'd recommend them both .
Each fits a different mood. Sometimes I want to have that sense of driving through the canyon on a lazy Sunday afternoon, sometimes I want intense (and occasionally comical) action.

Both games do an 'hour at a time' very well.
Endless Ocean is broken into dives that are as long as you want them to be. I usually dive in a location for 30-45 minutes.
TvC takes about 20-30 minutes to play through in arcade mode, and of course there is online that can give you an immediate challenge without a time-limit.

Would Endless Ocean or the sequel be better (having not played either)? I gather the sequel has more structure but it's £30 here in the UK where as the first is around £15 on ebay.
Maybe I should start with the first?

Buy Muramasa. It may be a short game, but the gameplay and beautiful visuals/music will keep you playing long after the game is done. I've played it probably 10 times as much as the game lasts. 2 difficulty modes you can switch on the fly and lots of stuff after you beat the main games. BUY IT.

Yeah start with the first - I don't get people who start off a franchise anywhere but the beginning. I want you to experience the same 'Wow' moment which the 2nd game doesn't give you.. in the sense that when I booted up the 1st Endless Ocean there was simply NOTHING like it I have ever played. The 2nd game is more of the same, but better, and more features to boot.

OH yeah, and I repeat get Murasama at some point - don't wanna miss out on that

I wonder though if the second game give the same type of 'wow' moment if you hadn't played the first?

I like the EO for being able to use my own music tracks to dive to (sadly no longer a feature in any Nintendo Wii games!).
I haven't played the second yet (Amazon will ship soon), so I don't know how to say one over the other...though I think having more story elements will definitely be cool .

The two games aren't exactly the first from the developer. The Forever Blue series (I think that was the name) on the PS2 was where these began, I don't think they are sequels in the way we usually think of 'sequels.'

Well that much is true I guess - but I dunno - I actually think EO starts better then EO2... I remember enjoying the first swim a lot more then the first swim on EO2... but then again.. could that be because EO was completely brand new to me.

Screw it, play it safe and get the first one, that's what I say. It's logical and you'll appreciate the new features more in EO2 then.