PixlBit

From Vanillaware, the makers of Odin Sphere and the upcoming Dragon's Crown, Muramasa Rebirth is an enhanced port of the original Wii title for the Vita. I've played through most of the game, having gotten all the endings except Kisuke's last one. Here are my impressions.

The story takes place in a fantastical 1600's Japan, where demons, gods and other mystical creatures coexist with humans. It centers around the Demon Blades, cursed swords forged by the blacksmith Muramasa said to bring misery to any who seek them. There are two playable protagonists: Kisuke, a young ninja suffering from amnesia while fighting against the clan he apparently betrayed, and Momohime, a young girl possessed by a power-hungry swordsman after sacrificing herself to protect her fiance.

Watching the stories unfold as you roam the land is quite enjoyable. This re-release offers a new translation meant to better reflect each characters', and it works wonders. The hilariously snarky, snappy dialouge is a joy to read. Kisuke and Jinkuro are always quick to offer verbal barbs, even when being faced down by dragons and gods, which never gets old.

The game offers stunning visuals. Vanillaware's beautiful, distinct art style sings on the Vita's OLED screen. You constantly feel as if you're playing a painting come to life. It runs at a smooth 60fps with no stuttering or slowdown, whether you're fighting hoards of ninjas and crazed monks or giant bosses that fill up several screens. It has to be seen to be believed.

The game is an action-RPG, centered around collecting and forging Demon Blades while leveling up your own stats. The hack-and-slash action hinges around Spirit, magical currency that determines your blade's durability and lets you use special attacks. Managing the Spirit meter for each sword is of upmost importance; you WILL get curbstomped if all your swords break, especially late into the game.

Overall, the gameplay is pretty straightfoward. For all the different sword arts, there are only two different sword types--short and long--with the same basic attacks and combos. Kisuke and Momo both play the same as well. The game is quite grind-heavy; not only do you need to fight a lot to level up, but each sword requires a minimum stat level to use. Thankfully, combat is tight, fluid and visceral enough to entertain throughout, but you do sense they could've diversified things more.

You also need to collect souls in different areas to forge new weapons, and fight in side-missions in "Caves of Evil" strewn throughout the land to collect all of them (and the best accessories). That, alongside being locked out of areas without the right sword to break magical barriers, means you'll do a lot of running around and backtracking to get the most out of the game. This is mitigated by level warps at save points after your first playthrough, but travelling feels like a repetitive slog at times.

Each character has three different endings, which each depend on what specific swords you use to beat the final boss each time. You'll need all the swords to see every ending. My first playthrough for each character took about 5-6 hours a piece; maxing out each character's stats and getting every sword took another 7 on top of that. There isn't much replay value beyond unlocking each ending, unless you love the combat as much as I did or want to go through everything again on both difficulties.

All in all, Muramasa is a solid entry in the Vita's library, albeit a rather short one. With it's lush setting and visuals, deeply satisfying combat, and fun dialouge, I had a blast with the game all the way through. If you have a Vita, I highly recommend picking this up.