Ever since its conception, the PlayStation Vita has had a number of ports. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was ported to the PlayStation Vita as a launch title. At Gamescom this year it was revealed that Borderlands 2 would be ported over to the PlayStation Vita. Ports keep on coming, and Muramasa Rebirth is no exception. Originally released on the Nintendo Wii in 2009, Muramasa Rebirth retains its beautiful visuals and fast paced action even on the go. Vanillaware knows how to develop great 2D action games.
My first Vanillaware game was Odin Sphere for the PlayStation 2. What caught my attention was the art style of Odin Sphere. You don’t see many games that are hand-drawn nowadays. Vanillaware seems to be fond about doing that, and they do a great job.
Muramasa Rebirth has two playable characters to choose from. These two characters are named Monohime and Kisuke. From the start, you’re able to choose which character to play as. I chose to play as Monohime first, but I don’t think it really matters which character you play as first. Either way, I enjoyed playing as either character.
Monohime is a princess of the Mino Province. She becomes possessed by a blood thirsty spirit who is after the Demon Blade. Kisuke is a ninja on the run. The game starts with him suffering from amnesia. Because of his amnesia, he isn’t sure why he is being hunted. I really enjoyed the story for both of the characters.
Much like Odin Sphere was filled with Norse mythology, Muramasa Rebirth receives its inspiration from Japanese mythology and the Japanese culture. If you’re a fan of Japan, then you’re really going to like this game. It is part of the reason why I ended up buying this game. The game’s setting is during the Genroku era. There are various locales to visit in the world of Muramasa Rebirth.
Everything looks absolutely beautiful. The characters, the world—everything in Muramasa Rebirth, was hand-drawn. The art style is simply breathtaking, and having it all on the Vita’s 5-inch OLED screen makes it even better. The colors definitely have a pop-look to them.
The controls for Muramasa Rebirth are rather simple. You will find yourself pressing the Square button most of the time, but I never found this game to be boring at all. On the contrary, the combat in Muramasa Rebirth is pretty impressive. Even though you’re pressing one button to attack enemies, your attacks can change depending on where you move the left analog stick. You can toss enemies up in the air with a single slash. My only complaint would be that both Monohime and Kisuke play a lot like each other. Once you've figured out how to play as one character, you don't have to worry about learning to play as the other. Despite that being the case, both characters have different animations, so that makes up for it.
Another thing that makes combat unique in Muramasa Rebirth are the various blades you can use. Both Monohime and Kisuke can attack with a katana or a Long Blade. Up to three blades can be equipped at a single time, and alternating between the three blades is easy. All you need to do is press the Triangle button.
Every sword in Muramasa Rebirth has something known as a Secret Art. By pressing the Circle button, a sword’s Secret Art can be activated to deliver a devastating blow. It does have its limits though. Using a Secret Art depletes the Soul Gauge of the sword. Blocking attacks also depletes the Soul Gauge. Once the Soul Gauge is empty, the sword in use breaks. Fortunately, sheathing the broken sword causes it to gradually repair itself until it is ready to use in battle.
Controls may be easy to learn, but that doesn’t stop Muramasa Rebirth from being challenging. You will need to be cautious of your character’s health points and your swords’ Soul Gauge while fighting against foes. It can make the difference between life and death. The best thing to do in this game is to fight everyone and everything that is an enemy. This will help your character level up. Although Muramasa Rebirth is an action-oriented game, there are some RPG elements. It all meshes well together. It doesn’t feel forced and it actually is a nice touch.
Once you’ve completed Muramasa Rebirth, there are still plenty of things to accomplish. There are 108 blades to collect in Muramasa Rebirth. There are also areas that can only be unlocked when you’ve acquired a certain blade. Once these areas are unlocked, you can attempt to complete challenges. Each challenge lets you know which level is best to be at in order to accomplish them. Of course, you aren’t restricted from a challenge if you’re not at that preferred level. It’ll just be hard.
Muramasa Rebirth also has multiple difficulties, adding more replay value. DLC is also expected to be release in early 2014. The DLC will provide four additional characters to play as, along with their own story. Each story will be divided into four episodes.
OVERALL SCORE:
8.5/10
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