I played the original Wii version many years ago and only finished Kisuke's story. I was already a big Odin Sphere fan at the time and so I was disappointed that Muramasa wasn't nearly as enjoyable. I decided to give the game another chance with the Rebirth version and finished both MCs' stories as well as two of the DLC stories.
Muramasa's main story is probably the part has left me the most disappointed in the game. I wouldn't go as far as say it was a terrible one, but it just wasn't particularly interesting. I thought about it a lot and I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it more. There's some political intrigue combined with fantasy elements. Kisuke's story is a bit more interesting since I found him more interesting as a character, but even then, his story wasn't anything amazing either.
Part of me probably wanted a more epic story like in Odin Sphere and having multiple playable character stories crossover with each other. Unfortunately, there's barely any crossover to begin with and Momohime and Kisuke never really meet each other except at the very end or during the random hot spring scenes. This is surprising despite the connections they have via Momohime's sister.
I already touched on the main characters a bit, but the supporting characters could've been more compelling too. Other than Torahime, the only other characters I liked and were memorable were the two Kitsunes, but they didn't have much depth as characters. The antagonists were weak and lacked much of an impact.
Graphics and the art direction is what you would expect from a Vanillaware game. Beautiful 2D art and a few breathtaking scenery. Music is also solid with the heavy traditional Japanese theme.
Gameplay is where the game shines fortunately. The heavy combo based combat is quite fun. Being able to launch enemies into the air and then further juggle them for more hits is very satisfying. It's also fast paced as well. There's a lot of variety with bosses and they provide a fun challenge even more than Odin Sphere. My only issue with the combat in general is that it's incredibly difficult to defend against enemy attacks especially during those moments where projectiles are flying all over the place. Offense is heavily favored. Momohime and Kisuke don't have much to distinguish themselves despite being the only two main playable characters. This is in contrast with Odin Sphere where you have five characters and all play differently from each other. The only difference between the Muramasa leads are the swords they get which has different sword skills attached to them. It's not a whole lot, but it's better than nothing.
My other major issue with the gameplay is that there's a lot of repetitive backtracking. You don't get accessed to the standard fast travel until beating the game. The transporters excluded since they don't make much of a difference.
I've only played 2 of the DLC, but I think they are decent. $5 USD for each or $15 if you buy the bundle. They aren't very long at just about ~3 hours to beat the story, but the different and unique combat style for each character is quite good. The stories are on the smaller scale compared to the main story, but they are surprisingly entertaining. I do think they are worth the price if you enjoyed the combat and wanted more from the world.
Overall, Muramasa ranks somewhat low on my Vanillaware list. The combat is very fun, but the story and characters drag it down for me.
Muramasa's main story is probably the part has left me the most disappointed in the game. I wouldn't go as far as say it was a terrible one, but it just wasn't particularly interesting. I thought about it a lot and I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it more. There's some political intrigue combined with fantasy elements. Kisuke's story is a bit more interesting since I found him more interesting as a character, but even then, his story wasn't anything amazing either.
Part of me probably wanted a more epic story like in Odin Sphere and having multiple playable character stories crossover with each other. Unfortunately, there's barely any crossover to begin with and Momohime and Kisuke never really meet each other except at the very end or during the random hot spring scenes. This is surprising despite the connections they have via Momohime's sister.
I already touched on the main characters a bit, but the supporting characters could've been more compelling too. Other than Torahime, the only other characters I liked and were memorable were the two Kitsunes, but they didn't have much depth as characters. The antagonists were weak and lacked much of an impact.
Graphics and the art direction is what you would expect from a Vanillaware game. Beautiful 2D art and a few breathtaking scenery. Music is also solid with the heavy traditional Japanese theme.
Gameplay is where the game shines fortunately. The heavy combo based combat is quite fun. Being able to launch enemies into the air and then further juggle them for more hits is very satisfying. It's also fast paced as well. There's a lot of variety with bosses and they provide a fun challenge even more than Odin Sphere. My only issue with the combat in general is that it's incredibly difficult to defend against enemy attacks especially during those moments where projectiles are flying all over the place. Offense is heavily favored. Momohime and Kisuke don't have much to distinguish themselves despite being the only two main playable characters. This is in contrast with Odin Sphere where you have five characters and all play differently from each other. The only difference between the Muramasa leads are the swords they get which has different sword skills attached to them. It's not a whole lot, but it's better than nothing.
My other major issue with the gameplay is that there's a lot of repetitive backtracking. You don't get accessed to the standard fast travel until beating the game. The transporters excluded since they don't make much of a difference.
I've only played 2 of the DLC, but I think they are decent. $5 USD for each or $15 if you buy the bundle. They aren't very long at just about ~3 hours to beat the story, but the different and unique combat style for each character is quite good. The stories are on the smaller scale compared to the main story, but they are surprisingly entertaining. I do think they are worth the price if you enjoyed the combat and wanted more from the world.
Overall, Muramasa ranks somewhat low on my Vanillaware list. The combat is very fun, but the story and characters drag it down for me.