This fuzzy photograph of my CRT TV displays possible the most gorgeous vista from what I regard as the most beautiful game I’ve played in my life: Muramasa The Demon Blade on Wii. Good looking 2D games are dead – the ocean of twin-stick shooters and crappy whatever else available on download services look awful – and Muramasa (also possibly A Boy and His Blob) are the last vestiges of quality 2D art. As long as you play it on an old CRT – it loses so much when played on an HD TV.
This area, a demonic battlefield in Kisuke’s story, has no fewer than 10 layers of parallax scrolling, about 3 or more which are transparent, and the transparencies stack on top of each other with a stunningly rich sunset as their ultimate backdrop. There are animations as flags and material ripple in the wind, some containing rips, and all scrolling past each other in an exquisite way which defies words. Modern 2D games either take the lazy approach of being 3D polygonal, or if they do use sprites do so cheaply with flat backgrounds and animationless characters. I'd long given up on seeing such effort put into a 2D game.
Muramasa seems to have taken a battering on Metacritic, scoring 81 overall, which is such a shame. Besides being a stunning revival of a dying skill, because I’m having concerns as to where the world’s 2D artists have gone, its one-stick-one-button gameplay is purity itself. A friend likened it to Commodore 64 games, where developers had to make intelligent use of limited inputs, and mastering the system makes it a joy to use. I love the combat. I love how free flowing and graceful it is, especially now that I’ve perfected my technique.
Such a pity so few reviewers felt this way. Shame on you.
Alas, true 2D gameplay has died such a terrible death. Especially when more ground can be broken in the genre.
ReplyDeleteI am puzzled why Vanillaware never bothered to make this on the PS2, given their track record.
And yeah, HDTVs just don't always seem to be the way to go to play video games, I find they look much better on my CRT. Heck, I even find TV shows look better on my CRT than on HD. :(
Yep, Oboro Muramasa is a real hidden gem amidst current-gen's infinite flow of generic fps\tps. Crossing my fingers that Vanillaware will not go bankrupt during nearest 50 years.
ReplyDeleteI loved the artwork, I loved the ridiculous speed of the game - especially how fast the save system worked, but... the gameplay is repeditive, there's something missing - once you perfect said technique, there's little challange left to the game.
ReplyDeleteWow, since when a score of 81 is considered to rate a game as "bad" or "passable"? I'm baffled.
ReplyDeleteAtari- Given their track record? They made 2 PS2 games, they don't need to port every single one of their games to it.
ReplyDeleteI really should get this game started. Maybe after I get my Wii back from Nintendo (stupid SSBB disc problem). Is HG101 going to add this to their Princess Crown/Odin Sphere article?
I'll admit it was a beautiful game, but I couldn't get into it due to the repetitive gameplay.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought this game on the visuals and soundtrack alone. I do agree that it's a shame that the gameplay wasn't deeper than it is, and that there's not that much story shown outside of before and after boss fights. But it still kept me hooked for hours on hand, even leading me to injure my thumb from all the fighting.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same deal as with all the other Vanilla games - awesome concept, mind-blowing visuals and... so-so gameplay. Gave up on Odin Sphere for the same freaking reason. The repetitiveness is just horrible.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote that not many reviewers like it. Here's my review of the game:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gamersinfo.net/articles/2909-muramasa-the-demon-blade
And yes, I loved the time I spent with it.
Ps. I really enjoy all the various articles. Thank you for your hard work!
The graphics are indeed some of the best 2-D on any system. The Wii fanbase isn't the hardcore type that could appreciate the beauty of this gem. I have it and think the game is really cool; but I also bought Odin's Sphere and Grim Grimoire.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Vanillaware's insane dedication to their artwork, but I don't think the developer will last. Just look at Clover, that studio was incredible, but even Okami didn't save them. I wish Vanillaware all the best. I still want a translated Princess Crown on my PSP.
Hmmm. I don't need "deep" gameplay, if by that is meant lots of moves, combos, items, exploration, etc. I'd rather the game be more like Ninja Gaiden for the NES -- run, jump, duck, and slash, with most enemies taking one hit to dispatch.
ReplyDeleteThere's something great about a simple, linear platformer. They don't make them much anymore, because the conventional wisdom is that more stuff = better game. But sometimes, and perhaps more often than not, more stuff is just noise that mucks up what might have been a fun game.
I've bought games which have been rated in the low 70s and high 60s quite often, and really enjoyed them. Score means little to me, but I know that for many people, anything less than a 9 and they'll ignore it. 81 on metacritic shows that a lot of people gave low scores, and only a few gave high ones.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's my Wii GOTY 2009. I also found it greatly improved over Princess Crown and Odin Sphere. The open spaces never bothered me, I quite enjoyed the lengthy runs. It gave me time to reflect on the story, which was superb and very melancholy.
Anyone else playing this on an HD TV found there was terrible colour bleeding?
Sketcz, haven't noticed colour bleeding. The best tv for this game and other 2d games is widescreen crt (there was crt tv-sets even with hdmi). It's pretty tough to find it today, but still, the result will be amazing.
ReplyDeleteYes it could be if time wouldn't exist,but life goes on and your "most beautiful ever" and such,will be replaced with something else,that's for sure..
ReplyDeleteI use it on a widescreen CRT, through S-Video. (the photo was taken on a regular CRT TV though)
ReplyDeleteFor a while I used my Samsung HD TV, which looks great for PS3 stuff, but there was a lot of colour bleeding with Muramasa and component cables.
I've actually had a lot of trouble tweaking my HD TV for the best picture, even with hi-res HDMI stuff. Several PS3 titles look a little off.
Both A Boy And His Blob and Muramasa have excellent 2D art.
ReplyDeleteThe difference is that Muramasa is a good game.
Muramasa has much better gameplay than Odin Sphere, and no slowdown. Unfortunately, the story can't touch it.
ReplyDeleteMuramasa definitely gets my nomination for the best-looking 2D game of 2009, with respect to BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger as a close second. I think those are both games that prove there are still things you can do with two-dimensional sprites visually that you simply can't replicate with three-dimensional polygons. There's more to 2D than just "the retro look", and I'm glad there are still developers out there who are taking advantage of the benefits of sprite-based graphics (though sadly not enough in my mind).
ReplyDeleteA Boy and His Blob not good, Zack? I bought it full-price, and never regretted the purchase. Great fun, unless you're expecting... well, insanely fast action like Muramasa. For what A Boy and His Blob tries to do, it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't picked up Muramasa, unfortunately. I did buy Odin Sphere when it came out, and wasn't disappointed. Great stuff, if a little unbalanced on the difficulty at times. And the story was incredibly well-told.
This was my game of the year full stop. One of the few games that I played solidly through in a few sittings, wheras in general I pick at single player games.
ReplyDeleteMost of my gaming is online PC gaming and indie / niche / retro titles. Which is why this sort of thing and a stack of other niche games pursuaded me to buy my first console since the Dreamcast.
I get a good picture on my 32" Toshiba 720p set. Sadly my CRT Widescreen telly died last house move.
Is this blog post indicative that maybe Muramasa will be added to the Princess Crown / Odin Sphere article in the near future? I really hope so.
ReplyDeleteAnd about my earlier comment on limited gameplay, I simply wish to add that it's not in itself that the game feels too simple, but that the game world is so engrossing that I wish they had included more story, actual dialogs, quests, etc. It just begs for a more open adventure.
Muramasa was definitely my Wii Game of 2009 (if not ever)!
ReplyDeleteAnd while I appreciate the look of it on CRT TVs (and the nostalgia factor), I loved it on my HDTV. I can also appreciate where some would argue it's repetitiveness (which is largely why I didn't try too hard to play through any of its other 5 endings), but I simply enjoyed watching the game--so much so that when my wife played it I could just sit on the couch and enjoy.