April 9, 2009 • Wii •: April 9, 2009 •: September 8, 2009 •: November 27, 2009 •: December 3, 2009 PlayStation Vita •: March 28, 2013 •: June 25, 2013 •: October 16, 2013 •: October 16, 2013 Mode(s) Muramasa: The Demon Blade, known in Japan as Oboro Muramasa (: 朧村正, 'Hazy Muramasa'), is an developed by for the, and later the. The original game was published in 2009 by (Japan), (North America), and (Europe). The Vita version was published in 2013 by in Japan and in Western territories.

Using a 2D side-scrolling perspective, the gameplay revolves around a fighting system, while incorporating role-playing elements such as leveling and questing. Muramasa takes place during the on Japan's main island of.

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Due to ruling 's thirst for power, conflicts have arisen over ownership of the Demon Blades, samurai swords that force their wielders to kill others before bringing tragedy and madness upon them. The story revolves around two different protagonists related to this conflict — Momohime, a woman who is possessed by the spirit of vengeful Jinkuro Izuna; and Kisuke, an amnesiac ninja on the run for a forgotten crime who is tied up with the tragedy that destroyed Momohime's family. The Vita port includes four self-contained stories based on Japanese folklore released under the banner title Genroku Legends ( 元禄怪奇譚, Genroku Kaikitan). The concept work for Muramasa began during the middle of development on.

Along with improving on the action gameplay over Odin Sphere, a great deal of effort was put into making the game's setting authentic to the period. Kamitani created the story based on kabuki theatre, incorporating Japanese folklore and. When the game released in the West, it retained its Japanese voicetrack to preserve its atmosphere. It released to moderate sales and positive reviews. The Vita port, released in the West as Muramasa Rebirth, released to strong sales and similar reception to its original version. Player character Momohime fights enemies in a random encounter.

Muramasa is a two-dimensional (2D) set on the main Japanese island of during the. Players take control of two characters with similar gameplay abilities. Navigation takes place through hand-drawn 2D side-scrolling environments reminiscent of Japanese artwork of the period, and can enter towns to talk with non-playable characters (NPCs) and buy items such as health restoratives and accept quests. An additional cooking element allows the characters to cook meals using materials gathered during exploration: meals grant temporary character boosts, and fill a 'fullness' meter that limits how much food a character can eat. Combat comes in the form of both avoidable random encounters and scripted fights where the camera is fixed within the fighting area: enemies and bosses are primarily drawn from Japanese folklore and mythology. Battles are triggered only when enemies are near, with the player character otherwise keeping their weapons sheathed. In combat, characters attack and guard using a single-button prompt, while another button accesses items such as healing potions.

Continuously attacking triggers combos. Different moves include sword slashes combined with directional buttons, which have different effects such as throwing an enemy into the air with an upward slash. Additional offensive items such as smoke bombs are acquired during the course of the game. At the end of each battle, are awarded to the player character depending on how fast the battle was finished: leveling up increases a character's health, stats, and the amount of damage inflicted upon enemies. Weapons are distinguished into two categories, Blade () and Long Blade (): Blades are fast, while Long Blades are slower and deal higher damage. Three blades can be equipped at any one time: each blade has its own stats, determining the amount of damage that can be inflicted. When blocking or using a blade's Secret Art special move, its Soul Power gauge depletes: if emptied, the sword breaks and its offensive abilities are drastically reduced.

When sheathed, the Soul Power regenerates. Soul Power can be gathered in various locations to restore Soul Power and the character's health. There are 108 blades that can be collected and forged in-game: forging blades requires Soul Power and 'spirit', and each blade has a level cap determining when it can be forged.

Weapon forging is governed by a weapon-based skill tree. Synopsis [ ] Setting and characters [ ] Muramasa takes place on, the main island of the Japanese archipelago, with its overall style and setting drawing heavily upon Japanese folklore and mythology.

It is set in the period, itself within the larger Edo period, during the reign of the. Tsunayoshi's thirst for power has created conflict around ownership of the Demon Blades, samurai swords forged by the legendary that crave blood when drawn and bring madness and death to those foolish enough to draw them. Due to the chaos generated by this, the Demon Blades' powers begin summoning demons from, along with causing ancient gods to stir from long slumber. The two lead characters are Momohime ( 百姫), a princess of the Narukami clan from the locality of; and Kisuke ( 鬼助), a runaway ninja with no memories but a burning desire for vengeance. For the course of the game, Momohime is inadvertently possessed by the spirit of Jinkuro Izuna ( 飯綱 陣九朗), an unscrupulous who was trying to possess the body of Momohime's betrothed Yukinojo Yagyu ( 柳生 雪之丞), a high-status samurai. Momohime and Kisuke are each accompanied and watched over by a in human form. They are Kongiku ( 紺菊), who holds unacknowledged affection for Jinkuro, and Yuzuruha ( 弓弦葉), who aids Kisuke in his quest against the Demon Blades' corruption.

A key character in Kisuke's storyline is Torahime ( 虎姫), Momohime's sister. Plot [ ] Momohime's Story Momohime's story begins after she wakes up with memories of being killed by the dying Jinkuro when he was aiming for her betrothed, the samurai lord Yukinojo. Upon encountering the spirit of Jinkuro, he forcefully possesses her, but before the process of soul transference is finished, they are attacked. In the confusion, Momohime's soul is kidnapped by the vengeful monk Rankai and Jinkuro is forced to follow Kongiku as Momohime's body will die if her soul is harmed. With her soul safe, Jinkuro sets out to regain the Dark Resurrection Demon Blade so he can properly utilize his Soul Transference Technique and gain influence through a new host. Encountering Yukinojo, who is searching for Momohime, the two battle.

Momohime forces Jinkuro to spare Yukinojo, even when she learns that Yukinojo's intentions in marrying her were part of a scheme to ruin her family as punishment for defying the shogun. Jinkuro goes to Yukinojo's compound to retrieve the Dark Resurrection, but the storehouse where it is said to be is absorbed into Yomi by demons.

Descending into Yomi, Jinkuro's soul is briefly captured by a demon, and it is only with Momohime's help that he escapes and learns that the Dark Resurrection was never in the storehouse. With Momohime's body beginning to fail due to the strain Soul Transference put on it, Jinkuro attempts to ascent to Heaven so he can become an immortal demon, but is stopped by and. While willing to accept his death and allow Momohime her remaining time in her body, Kongiku shows them another way to Heaven. There, Yukinojo appears and reveals that he had the Dark Resurrection all along.

They are then attacked by, who is there to deliver divine justice upon Jinkuro. In the first ending, Jinkuro allows himself to be sent to Yomi while Momohime lives; she decides to forgo her marriage to Yukinojo and become a Buddhist nun in the hope of saving Jinkuro's soul through prayer. In the second ending, Momohime and Jinkuro are intercepted by Kisuke and Yuzuruha, resulting in Kongiku being robbed of her human form as punishment for her defiance. Though defeated, Kisuke delivers a fatal wound to Momohime, forcing Jinkuro to merge his soul with Momohime's to save her: this act leaves her an amnesiac but grants her Jinkuro's sword fighting abilities, which become legendary as she travels Japan in search of her missing memories.

In the third ending, after the battle with Fudo-Myoou Jinkuro is transported to the night he first attacked Yukinojo and Momohime with the power of the Oboro Muramasa Demon Blade, which can defy the passage of fate. Linkin Park Meteora Instrumentals Download Mp3 here. He chooses not to attack them, then later possesses Yukinojo's body and uses that position to ensure Momohime's safety and her family's security. Momohime herself lives to be one hundred years old and bears three children, while Kongiku remains close to Jinkuro in the guise of a servant. Kisuke's Story Kisuke's story begins with him suffering amnesia and on the run from his former ninja comrades. Returning to to discover the truth in the company of Yuzuruha, he accidentally breaks an ancient seal keeping damned souls at bay. Defeating the monsters they manifest as, he learns from his mollified ninja companions and their employer Yukinojo that he was part of a mission to steal the Kuzuryu Demon Blade from Momohime's Nakurami Clan and punish them for defying the shogun's order to surrender it, which in turn was tied in with Yukinojo's intentions in marrying Momohime.

Yukinojo sends Kisuke against Torahime, Momohime's sister and the in charge of keeping the Kuzuryu's power in check. Pursuing her, Kisuke fights both Torahime and undead soldiers loyal to her family.

In pursuit of her, he faces agents who are preserving the flow of magic energy to, including a young. His battles awaken his memories: he was originally disguised as a servant in Torahime's household as part of Yukinojo's scheme to destroy her family, but fell in love with Torahime and attempted to betray his ninja comrades when stealing the Kuzuryu. Dying from his wounds, the spirit of Senju Oboroya, the creator of the Oboro Style that controls the Demon Blades, fused with Kisuke to save his life and pass on the Oboro Style to someone who would use it for good. The fusion triggered Kisuke's amnesia, but left him with the ability to wield Demon Blades without succumbing to their evil. Rescuing Torahime from the spider demon, Kisuke learns that she died while fleeing from the shogun's forces, and that her present life is a temporary gift from. The two travel to Mount Fuji, where its native dragon god has gone berserk with rage after Japan's energy is diverted to Edo, forcing a route into Heaven.

The true culprit is the dark deity imprisoned in the Kuzuryu, the mad god. Upon being confronted, the possessed Shogun Tsunayoshi fatally wounds Torahime, who dies in Kisuke's arms: Kisuke then defeats Tsunayoshi and takes possession of the Kuzuryu. In the first ending, after the battle, Kisuke asks Amitābha to return the now-enlightened Torahime to life, then commits suicide as an act of defiance when his demand is refused. Torahime asks for her and Kisuke to be reincarnated so she can help him attain enlightenment. In the second ending, Kisuke arrives to find Tsunayoshi killed by the Jinkuro-possessed Momohime.

Kisuke exorcises Jinkuro, and following Torahime's final request becomes Momohime's servant. The two then set out on a personal quest to locate all the Demon Blades causing conflict in Japan. In the third ending, after his battle, Kisuke is sent back in time to the day he first betrayed his employers through the Oboro Muramasa's power. His warning allows Torahime to foil the plot against her family, then Kisiuke steals the Kuzuryu and sets off on a journey round the world to exhaust its power by striking down evil, promising to marry Torahime upon his return.

Genroku Legends. The main protagonists of Genroku Legends: from left to right, Okoi and Miike, Gonbe and Otae, Arashimaru and Shirohebi, and Rajyaki and Seikichi. The Genroku Legends are split into four different stories directly inspired by Japanese folklore and set in the Muramasa universe.

In 'Fishy Tales of the Nekomata', a domestic cat called Miike sees her family brought to ruin and all its members killed. Possessing the dying body of the family daughter Okoi and becoming a, she vows revenge against her family's killers, assassins employed by their rival Netsuzo Wakamiya. Despite succeeding, her rage remains unseated and she extends her wrath to the entire household. In the end, her tails are cut off by Jinkuro when he is hired to exorcise her: before being robbed of her powers, she curses Jinkuro with illness, setting the events of Momohime's story in motion.

Now at peace, Miike spends time with an old priest and hosts moonlight dances with local cats. In the alternate ending, Miike becomes a ravenous demon whose rage is finally quelled by the old priest. In 'A Cause to Daikon For', a local farmer named Gonbe stirs up a revolt when the local raises the taxes to the point that his village is on the brink of ruin.

Aided by the spirit of his deceased wife Otae, Gonbe fights through the Daimyo's minions before killing him. After the fight, it is revealed that he has been relating his story to and, due to his actions, is condemned to be tormented there.

Due to her love for him, Otae willingly joins Gonbe despite being a pure soul. However, due to the punishment demons being overworked and Gonbe complaining to Enma, he is banished with his comrades and Otae back to the living world, where they get a chance to live in peace under a new and kinder Daimyo. Shiva And Dionysus Pdf.

In the alternate ending, the entire sequence is said to have been illusions holding Gonbe's spirit captive around the ruins of the Daimyo's castle. He, Otae and his comrades are freed by a traveling Yamabushi and ascend to heaven.

In 'A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting', the ninja Arashimaru infiltrates the house of the Okabe clan, where Arashimaru steals the sacred Spear of Bishamon and kills the leader of the Okabe clan. After learning that he was actually the leader's son, Arashimaru flees in disgust. Taking shelter in a shrine, Arashimaru accidentally breaks a mirror sacred to the Goddess Inaraki, who becomes a Shirohebi (white snake) that curses him to die in seven days. Heading to exact revenge on the Iga leader after besting his master Shiranui in combat, Arashimaru learns that his mission was orchestrated by So Xian, a Ming-era Chinese spy working to destabilize Japan's ruling classes who was indirectly responsible for the taking the young Kisuke from his family. Arashimaru kills So Xian and escapes his lair with Shiranui's aid, then goes peacefully to his death after asking the saddened Shirohebi to give his head and Spear of Bishamon to his brother Dengoro so he can restore the Okabe house.

Arashimaru's head is given proper burial at the Shirohebi's insistence, and Arashimaru's spirit is due to the grave becoming a prayer site for pilgrims. In the alternate ending, Arashimaru is possessed by So Xian's spirit, who enslaves Shirohebi and takes on the name '. In a desperate act of defiance, Shirohebi has Shiranui spirit away the Okabe clan's last surviving heir during Orochimaru's attack who, when grown, takes on the name ' to fight Orochimaru. In 'Hell's Where the Heart Is', an girl named Rajyaki is sent by her father Enma to seal the treasures of the.

On her journey, a womanizing ex-monk called Seikichi accidentally proposes to her and she accepts him as her husband. In the end, Seikichi saves her after a grueling battle by feeding her the sacred peach of. Due to this, she is banished from Yomi by her father. In one ending, the Seven Gods of Fortune persuade Rajyaki to return to her father, while Seikichi moves to live a proper life.

In the end, Rajyaki returns in human form and formalizes their marriage, which continues after Seikichi dies and goes to Hell. In the alternate ending, Rajyaki and Seikichi run into each other again when she is being hunted by samurai. Seikichi saves her, pretending he killed her and using that to establish himself as a samurai. Rajyaki takes the guise of his human wife, and they have three daughters who bear their mother's demonic horns. The Genroku Legends conclude with the narrator detailing the locations of the Seven Gods' treasures scattered through the stories, and thanking the player for locating them and calming Enma so his demons could return to Hell. Development [ ] Muramasa was developed by, a studio created by former staff members to create successor projects to the 2D action-adventure game. According to sound producer, the game's director was laying out plans for Muramasa when was in the middle of development.

According to Kamitani, while Odin Sphere was an evolution of Princess Crown 's narrative, Muramasa provided the chance of evolving its gameplay. He even went so far as to dub it ' Princess Crown III'. The draft proposal was completed by the end of 2006.

The positive sales of Odin Sphere gave Vanillaware the capital needed to begin full development on Muramasa. The game was also co-funded by their publishing deal with, who were sold the project after Odin Sphere 's publisher Atlus refused to take any further products from Vanillaware until Odin Sphere had released, in addition to delaying the game so it would not compete with their main 2007 release. The team's style of development was identical to their strategy for Odin Sphere, although they worked to change up some aspects to make it a unique experience. When developing the game, the team decided to create a vertical plain for players to explore, something which the team had needed to forego with Odin Sphere. In addition, bathing sequences cut from Odin Sphere were reworked and incorporated into Muramasa as scenes. Muramasa was worked on by 16 people, over half the entire staff of Vanillaware, including Kamitani as the game's writer. The was chosen as the game's platform of release as its specs were fairly close to that of the, the console for which Odin Sphere was developed.

This meant that the team could carry over their earlier experience rather than start from scratch learning about new hardware. Kamitani did create design proposals for versions on the and, but went undeveloped due to budget limitations. Using the Wii's motion controls was tested by the team, but due to the game's old-fashioned style there was little need to implement them. The biggest problem when developing for the Wii was the graphics, especially how to get the various pieces of artwork in the game's scenery to interact and respond properly. They also wanted to keep loading times down to a minimum, which was made possible due to the Wii's area pre-loading abilities.

Technical tinkering of this kind went on until the end of development. The game's programmer was Kentaro Ohnishi, whose biggest challenge was creating a battle system which allowed for cancelling of attacks, while maintaining the appearance of smooth attack animation.

The resultant code looked so strange that another programmer thought it was a fault and deleted it, forcing Ohnishi to rebuild it. The team was highly dedicated to the success of the project, putting a large amount of work to make it as good as it could be for players. By the time of release, funds for the company had been drained.

Kamitani wrote the story of Muramasa based on his wish to create a 'ninja Princess Crown'. As Odin Sphere had drawn inspiration from Shakespearean theater, Muramasa instead used as its influence, prompting Kamitani to buy kabuki scripts as part of his research. Due to this and the script's many references to classic Japanese literature, Kamitani had trouble handling the old-fashioned writing style. As he was nervous about using Japanese mythology so extensively, he also incorporated into the narrative. In creating the game's atmosphere, which was based on Japan as it was in the Edo era combined with local folklore and mythology, the team wanted to create an air of realism within its fantasy world. The game's setting was a heavy departure from Vanillaware's previous games, which had used Western-inspired settings and stories.

The overall atmosphere was meant to emulate those of and. The game's central theme was 'death'. Several potential playable characters and storylines, such as narratives following Jinkuro and Torahime, had to be cut from the game. Elements of the cut storylines were incorporated into Kisuke and Momohime's stories. In keeping with the wish for realism, Momohime and Kisuke were given distinct accents (Momohime used a cultured dialect while Kisuke spoke with an Edogawa accent). Another realistic element was the game's food, which was designed based on the types of delicacies that were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

One of the folklore references was the 108 Demon Blades in the game, which was a direct reference to the 108 human vices in Japanese folklore. A number of monsters and deities from Japanese mythology made appearances in the game, and the art style was intended to give a 'Japanese' feel without consciously copying artwork from the game's period. Character designs were handled by Yasuhiro Fujiwara, Yasuo Shirai, Takehiro Shiga, Kouichi Maenou and Ine Kawazu. Kamitani's artstyle choice was influenced by thebright ink-wash style of. He also drew inspiration from the folklore-centered anime series Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi. The artwork was created at double its in-game resolution, then reduced to fit within the hardware. Music [ ] The music was handled by a team from sound company Basiscape, composed of multiple composers who had worked on Odin Sphere.

Sakimoto acted as sound producer, the sound director was Masaaki Kaneko, and the music was composed by Sakimoto, Yoshimi Kudo, Noriyuki Kamikura, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe, Azusa Chiba and. Sakimoto was working on music for Odin Sphere when the project was first proposed, and thought Kamitani was being overambitious working on a premise based in Japan when developing a game based on European mythology. During the initial planning stage, Sakimoto thought the game would be a 'mock-Japanese' project, with Japanese instruments inserted into techno music.

Once he realized how sincere Kamitani was with the project, Sakimoto and the team needed to re-identify with the roots of traditional Japanese music. For Sakimoto, his approach was to reconnect with how earlier Japanese people turned their philosophy and worldview into words and music: he carried over this approach into the project. Each of the composers had to go through similar experiences. Release [ ] Muramasa was first announced at the 2007 (TGS) under the title Oboro Muramasa Yōtōden ( 朧村正妖刀伝, lit. ' The Hazy Legend of Muramasa's Mystical Sword'), alongside its intended platform, setting and gameplay mechanics. After its announcement, information releases about the game virtually stopped, and an April 2008 report by reported the game's development was 'struggling', although no details were revealed. Muramasa was reintroduced at TGS 2008 under its current Japanese title, along with its planned release window in 2009 and details on its characters and story.

The game released in Japan on April 9, 2009, published by Marvelous Entertainment. It was later released as part of Nintendo Channel's budget game line-up in January 2010, and re-released on the for in July 2015.

It was announced for a release in North America under the title Muramasa: The Demon Blade in October 2008 for a release the following year. The game was originally being published by, but in April 2009 they announced that they were dropping the title from their schedule. Publishing rights were transferred to. Ignition Entertainment later explained that it was in hot competition with Xseed and Atlus to acquire the American publishing rights, and after seeing Muramasa at TGS 2008 they were encouraged to apply for the rights. The change between publishers was an internal agreement between Xseed, their parent company Marvelous USA, and Ignition. The situation was amicably resolved as Xseed already had a large number of Wii titles lined up, and giving Muramasa to another publisher allowed multiple titles not to be overlooked when it came to Western publicity. The game released in North America on September 8, 2009.

The game's localization was done by external localization companies in close collaboration with Ignition Entertainment. Due to the game's strong Japanese atmosphere, it was seen as a hard sell in the West, but during localization a lot of work went into preserving it rather than adjusting it for Western tastes. Due to this, the game was not dubbed into English, but instead retained its Japanese voice track while text was localized. An aspect Ignition worked hard with was to make sure the localization was of good quality by working closely with their chosen localization partners. This was due to backlash received by fans and critics over the 'lackluster' localization of, which had been beyond their control during development. The game was published in Europe by alongside other Marvelous products including and. The English translation was carried over from the North American version, although the English language version underwent regional adjustment, and some minor faults were corrected.

The game was also translated into,, and, which made using the original translation more practical than creating a new one. Originally scheduled for November 2009, it was first shifted into 2010, then moved back into 2009.

The game released in Europe on November 6 of that year. Upon release in the United Kingdom, most retailers did not stock it: this was put down to a general attitude that it would not sell like prevalent franchises or games from mainstream genres. The game released in Australia on December 3, 2009. Muramasa Rebirth [ ] Muramasa Rebirth, released in Japan under its original title of Oboro Muramasa, is a port of Muramasa developed by Vanillaware for the. According to its development team, the Vita was chosen as the port's platform over the more commercially successful Xbox 360 and PS3 due to the Vita's -based screen, which they felt better portray the game's palette. While content was cut from the original version, the team decided against going back and restoring it, instead creating new additional content.

The controls were also adjusted to suit the new platform. Muramasa Rebirth was published in Japan by on March 28, 2013. The game's Western release was handled by, which also created a new localization.

Compared to the original version, which was described as a direct translation, Aksys Games' version was more 'flavorful' and more faithful to the original text. It released in North America on June 25. It was released in Europe and Australia through on October 16. In addition to the main game, four self-contained stories were released as (DLC) under the title Genroku Legends ( 元禄怪奇譚, Genroku Kaikitan), featuring new characters within the Muramasa universe. For the new characters, swords are replaced by other weapons such as clubs and shurikens, but they otherwise play in the same way as Momohime and Kisuke. New music was created for the title under Sakimoto's supervision: the four episodes were scored by Kudo, Chiba, Kaneda and Iwata respectively. The Vanillaware-developed DLC launched in both Japan and the West between November 2013 and November 2014: the final DLC's Japanese release was delayed by over two months behind the Western release.

A special edition of Muramasa Rebirth exclusive to Japan contained all four DLC episodes alongside the original content. Reception [ ] Reception Review scores Publication Score 7.5/10 7/10 8/10 N/A N/A 7/10 32/40 34/40 7/10 7.75/10 N/A N/A B+ N/A 7.5/10 N/A 8.3/10 8/10 8.9/10 RPGamer 4/5 4/5 RPGFan 85% 86% Aggregate score 78/100 81/100 The Demon Blade received generally positive reviews, garnering a score of 81/100 on based on 58 critic reviews.

In its review, praised the art style, and called the battle system 'absorbing'. Their main complaints were the lack of variety between characters and the story having no proper climax. 's Conrad Zimmerman called it 'a very solid title', saying that while flawed in its story delivery and instances of repetition, its visuals were 'absolutely beautiful' and it proved fun to play. 's Mark Bozon was highly positive about the graphics and sound, but thought the backtracking might put some people off and said the story 'may go over people’s heads'. Writer Nick Tan enjoyed the game greatly, but admitted that its lack of depth reduced the score he could give it as a reviewer. Joe Juba, writing for, found The Demon Blade 'stunning' despite some missteps in its pacing and depth. 's Tom McShea praised the visuals, boss battles and collectable swords, but found few other activities outside combat, which itself lacked depth.

's Andy Burt called the visuals 'gorgeous' and praised the combat and multiple storylines, but found its linearity and occasions where combat got 'bogged down' hampered the experience. Praised its combat and visuals, calling it 'one of the better action titles on the [Wii]'.

Keza MacDonald, writing for, noted that 'like many beautiful things, [ Muramasa: The Demon Blade] is a little lacking in substance', saying that its lack of depth undermined other aspects. Michael Cunningham of RPGamer called it 'a great game' to see and play despite its plain story. RPGFan's Dennis Rubinshteyn shared several points in common with reviewers about the story and repetition, while again praising the graphics and sound design. Rebirth also had a positive reception, with Metacritic giving it a score of 78/100 based on 26 critic reviews. In its review, Famitsu praised it for being a good remake, although one reviewer was disappointed at the lack of new content. Chris Carter of Destructoid said that people who had already played the original version would not find much new content, while newcomers would likely be enchanted by it.

Juba, reviewing Rebirth for Game Informer, said that the game was 'exactly what developer Vanillaware intended it to be: a better-looking version of the 2009 release', while noting that this had no fixed the game's original faults as noted by him. IGN's Colin Moriarty called Rebirth a 'faithful port', praising the improved localization and generally enjoying playing despite backtracking hampering the experience. Adrian den Ouden of RPGamer also praised the localization and shared points of praise and criticism with the previous reviewer. Stephen Meyerink of RPGFan, who had not played the Wii original, called Rebirth 'a gorgeous, action-packed, fairly lengthy adventure that looks, sounds, and plays better than ever'. Chris Holzworth of was impressed by the visuals and indifferent about the story, and recommended playing it on a higher difficulty setting. Sales [ ] On its debut in Japan, The Demon Blade reached #2 in game sales charts, coming in behind Sengoku Basara: Battle Heroes with 29,000 units sold. Sales of the title were higher than anticipated, resulting in several stores in Japan being sold out within two weeks of its release.

The game had sold 47,000 units by November 2009. In North America, reported that the game had sold 35,000 units during its first month of release. In a feature on notable video games in 2009, stated that The Demon Blade sold 'extremely well', besting established Western franchise releases such as.

Ignition Entertainment, the game's North American publisher, confirmed that the September sales for The Demon Blade had fallen within the NPD Group's estimates, and had met their sales expectations. In a 2010 interview, publisher Marvelous Entertainment stated that, despite positive reception from both critics and players, Muramasa: The Demon Blade had suffered from low sales in Japan, North America and Europe. This was put down to it being a non-traditional game and the falling relevance of the Wii hardware.

In its first week of release, Rebirth debuted at #5, selling 45,660 physical units. Within the first month following its release in Japan, the game topped 100,000 shipments, with at least 67,800 physical retail sales, and the remainder as digital copies distributed on the PlayStation Network. Muramasa Rebirth ranked as the seventh most downloaded digital Vita game on the Japanese PlayStation Network in 2013. In both North America and Europe, the game ranked high on PSN download charts: it ranked as the fifth best-selling Vita title in North America, while in Europe it debuted at #5 before climbing to #4 by December 2013. • ^ Soga, Jimmy (2008-10-02)... Archived from on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2008-10-06.

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• (2013-11-07). Muramasa Rebirth... Level/area: Fishy Tales of the Nekomata. • (2014-02-25).

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Level/area: A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting. • (2014-09-02). Muramasa Rebirth... Level/area: Hell's Where the Heart Is. • (2014-09-02). Muramasa Rebirth... Narrator: The demon girl managed to track down Daikokuten's lucky mallet and Budai's bag, as well as Ebisu's fishing pole.

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External links [ ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to. • at Muramasa: The Demon Blade • Muramasa Rebirth •.

Momohime and Kisuke, a couple of real dressers.Legend tells of the swordsmith Senji, whose blades, though unparalleled in quality, carry with them a terrible curse. Though these 'Demon Blades' can cut through anything, they compel their wielders to uncontrollable bloodlust, and they must draw blood before being resheathed.

Whether that blood is from an enemy or the swordsman himself. Muramasa: The Demon Blade (or just Oboro Muramasa in Japan) is a 2009 action-RPG game, made by and released for the, that tells the stories of Kisuke, a fugitive Iga determined to recover his lost memories, and Momohime, a Narukami princess who is possessed by the spirit of an evil swordsman, Izuna Jinkuro, and is helping him to return them both to functional bodies. Armed with Muramasa's earthbound spirit and his demonic blades, the pair battle through Feudal Japan, searching for their destinies on battlefields soaked in blood.

In 2013, the game was as 'Muramasa Rebirth' (still just Oboro Muramasa in Japan), with an updated script and controls. In addition, Muramasa Rebirth got, which took the form of an; called 'Genroku Legends', it features nothing regarding Muramasa or his Demon Blades, instead focusing on completely different/new characters in four three-chapter-long stories that take place in the same universe. • The first story is Fishy Tales of the Nekomata (released in January 2014), starring a Tortoiseshell Cat named Miike. When her masters, Okoi and her brother, are murdered on the command of the despicable Netsuzo Wakamiya purely for his own self-benefit, Miike becomes a Nekomata and starts down the dark path of revenge to slay Wakamiya, the people he hired to kill Okoi,.

She's able to fight using three forms;, her default human form which fights purely with hard-hitting scratches and slashes of her claws; 'Miike', her original cat form which can summon supernatural blue fireballs in a variety of patterns (or ); and, where she in one of two ways ('Monster Cat' where she becomes a, and 'Avatar' where she joins with a bunch of other Cats to form a giant floating Cat Head). • The second story is A Cause to Daikon For (released in February 2014), starring (whose concept was inspired by ). With all the farmlands of Oone dying and unable to yield much crop, and their Governor Mamedayu Hatono taxing them to death, Gonbe sets out on a quest to save his village from starvation, one way or another. In addition to fighting with a Hoe, a Bamboo Spear and throwing Sickles, Gonbe is, Tagosaku and Moheiji, whom he can call in to fight alongside him; he's also assisted by the spirit of his deceased wife, who hoists and tosses him around for most of his attacks and can also during battle, reviving him. • The third story is A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting (released in July 2014), starring a Ninja named Arashimaru.

Originally a member of the Iga Ninja clan, a shocking revelation on his last mission causes Arahimaru to turn traitor and seek vengeance upon the clan; however, during his fight with pursuers, he inadvertently desecrates an ancient shrine, angering a Water Goddess named Inaraki into cursing him to death. With only, and armed with Inaraki's divine aid (), Arashimaru races to slay the Iga clan's leader before he perishes. Unlike Kisuke, who relies solely on his sword-fighting skills, Arashimaru fights with, a Kusarigama-style sickle for Melee attacks, and high power that he can also detonate mid-dash-attack to or detonate at his feet for his 'Explosive Fragment' Secret Art; utilizing a Secret Art in the air will summon Shirohebi () to assault the enemy with a lengthy barrage of homing fireballs, and Arashimaru can also learn various Ninja techniques via Training, such as Triangle Jumps or Utsusemi.

• The fourth story is Hell's Where The Heart Is (released in September 2014), starring Rajyaki, a. Who also happens to be the youngest daughter of King Enma, Lord of Hell. Having misplaced the sacred treasures of the 'Seven Gods of Fortune', Rajyaki was on a mission to recover them when former monk-turned-playboy Seikichi accidentally proposes to her, to which she accepts and decides to try and be the 'bestest' wife she can be, while taking him with her on her mission (via stuffing him into a magical bag). Rajyaki, similar to Miike, has three forms she can access for combat, all of which (due to use of one of the aforementioned Fortune God treasures) are her at different ages; as a Child (her default form), she hits hard and fast with a large hatchet and can summon a large demon-faced hammer for her Secret Art. As an Adult, she fights with cumbersome but devastating swings of a Kanabo (classic Oni Club), with her Secret Art summoning a fireball that she smashes into the enemy at high speeds; lastly, she can transform into a massive, hulking Demon (who looks similar to Raijin from the Muramasa storyline rather than the normal Oni) that destroys everything via or turning into a moving Fireball (both attacks of which end with ). Lastly, some of Rajyaki's attacks in all forms, if they damage an enemy enough, can deal 'Crushing Blows', wherein she's surrounded by an aura and does more damage.

Now has a that. This game contains examples of: •: The total number of blades to obtain and forge. • Also the number of children that Lord Enma has with Rajyaki being the youngest. •: Torahime gives Kisuke permission to do during their hot spring encounter, and he does nothing. •: • The Demon Blades of the title can cut demons, gods, dragons, and pretty much anything else. As with the Muramasa blades of legend, dip one into a river and any leaves floating by will be cut in half.

And in his second ending Kisuke manages to cut Jinkuro's soul out of Momohime without harming her. Now that's sharp. • The Oboro Muramasa, which can only be acquired after forging and finding all of the 107 other swords, is so sharp that it cuts fate. Or, in practical terms, it allows for. Just because the sword is really, really sharp. •: Sayo the and Raijin the thunder goddess, as well as Okoi and Rajyaki in Rebirth. Torahime is one according to the narrative, and Momohime is one according to promotional materials, but they each have quirks like,, or, that muddle their Action Girl qualifications.

See their respective entries on the Character page. •: The Shogun, after being possessed by Inugami. Jinkuro as well, following his failure to retrieve his sword in Hell. •: Raijin, an incredibly muscular lightning goddess and the boss of the Heaven stage. Rajyaki the demon girl from the fourth DLC chapter can also transform into one.

•: Tries to justify it for characters in cutscenes by giving them turning animations in which they swap whatever they're holding to their other hand. Out of cutscenes, though, everyone does this, with the major exception being Arashimaru, whose changes shoulders when he turns around while shirtless in the hot springs. •: Kisuke's second and third endings.

The narrator even lampshades it in one of them by mentioning that the events of the game are the first story of 20. Momohime's second ending is also like this, with her leaving her new adopted home to unravel the secrets behind her. Arashimaru's second ending looks like it will be this, with Jiraya and Tsunade setting out together to thwart the schemes of So Xian, but the narrator decides to skip ahead to the end and give the audience a 'sneak peek' of the final battle.

•: This happens during several scenes that require the player to speak with every NPC in the area before the story will continue. Many times the character the player controls is not the main character of the story. • Mostly averted for all of the hot springs encounters except in the fourth DLC chapter, where Seikichi is controlled by the player instead of Rajyaki. •: The fight with Inugami has this in spades.

The entire battle is incredibly disturbing, with organic wound-like holes appearing midair to stab you with skeletal swords, the boss's body distorting disturbingly, and with one attack involving him becoming something that resembles an near-infinite spear of teeth and mouth. He's the nicer of the two, by the way - Momohime is virtuous enough, but Jinkuro, a master swordsman, possesses her. He's not kind. •: Yukinojo is to the Shogun, but expresses deep regret over his role in Torahime and Momohime's deaths, especially the latter once he learns. •: Both characters do this occasionally when in the hot springs. •: Momohime's fourth boss, Ippondatara. You have to fight his giant foot first (which refers to a legend regarding one of Kyoto's mansions), then his huge body.

From time to time he will turn into the harmless Inosasao (a giant boar with bamboo leaves on his back). • And then there's the giant centipede, the second boss in Kisuke's story. •: Naturally. Big breasts (Kongiku), big butts (Yuzuruha), muscular women (Raijin, Rajyaki when transformed) and delicious-looking food (even the simplest rice ball). •: A lot of the Secret Arts take a long time to figure out how to use right. •: Sayo claims attacking Kisuke with her Buddhist charms will show him the light.

She's right and it restores his memories. At least, if he survives the boss fight. •: Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the Shogun, was the one who was ultimately behind the attack on the Kagami clan and the theft of the Kuzuryu Muramasa, which kicks off the plot for both Momohime and Kisuke. •: The Long Blade weapons are actually larger than the characters. •: Momohime's second ending is this. Jinkuro and Kisuke score a on each other in the final battle and Jinkuro uses the soul fusion art to save Momohime's life.

Months later Momohime is shown living a quiet life in the country with an elderly couple, alive and healthy but stricken with — • Momohime's third ending, though it arguably counts as a as well. While Jinkuro avoids stabbing Momohime and possessing her, it's highly implied that instead her fiance (Jinkuro's intended target) was possessed instead.giving Jinkuro lots of power that Momohime couldn't give and allowing him to cause lots of chaos. Of course, Momohime tends to bring out the best in Jinkuro, and it's not like Yukinojo didn't have it coming, so it's not as bad as it could be. • If not for the purposefully ambiguous hope that Arashimaru might be saved and Shirohebi freed, the Seven Ghostly Nights' Curse's second ending would be dark as all get out. •: Moreso during Momohime's story, but it comes up in Kisuke's too. It can hardly be said that most of the characters are particularly nice people. • •: There are several dead end paths that serve this purpose.

When you beat the game once with both characters, all boss dungeons are available, turning them into this. Finally, the enemy lairs are bonus dungeons, including the aptly named level 92 Enemy Lair 'Total Pandemonium/Night of Absolute Chaos.' You have to fight through multiple waves of almost every type of enemy in the game. This includes some of the bosses as well as clones of the player characters. •: Onis and horse and bull demons, with huge amounts of hit points, high and plenty of attacks that can instantly break your sword. The green ones are even worse, as they take longer to stun than the red or blue ones. • One of the require you to fight four onis at once, and Total Pandemonium/Night of Absolute Chaos makes you fight five, all with boss-level health.

Good luck with that. •: Not as bad as the games the 80s and 90s were infamous for, but it's gotten a lot of flack for being overly concise and cutting poetic language (and sometimes whole lines that don't matter to the plot) out in favor of getting straight to the point. This seems to be an unfortunate habit of producer Ignition — when they don't simply go for a full-blown. • Sometimes plot-critical information does get left out.

Namely just how Kisuke Luckily the story is unrelated to progression. • Fujin has a line in the Japanese (to Raijin) that amounts to 'You know I'm crazy for you. You and that big butt of yours.' The English has 'I'm very fond of you.' And there's plenty more where that came from. • While Kisuke and Jinkuro are calm, sardonic characters, much of the English dialogue is a chain of panicked exclamations.

Lines like, 'Maybe I hit my head because I really don't remember what went down. If any of you know what happened, I'd love to know the details,' become 'I just don't understand!

I must have hit my head! Tell me what you know!' • It's particularly bad when some things are just plain wrong within the scope of the gameplay: 'You can no longer carry any more items' should have been 'You can no longer carry any more of this item.' • The Vita port was re-translated to fix this, leading to the language becoming a lot more flowery and accurate to the spoken lines. •: The Narukami Bracelet/Thunderous Bangle won after winning the Total Pandemonium/Night of Absolute Chaos enemy lair.

This accessory makes all your blades unbreakable, meaning you can spam Secret Arts, block everything without wearing down the blade, go on a slashing spree, in short, it makes you practically invincible. However, you get it by beating the secret final dungeon and there's nothing left in the game at that point. •: The swords in the game have a 'Soul Power' meter, which wears down whenever you block attacks or use each swords' unique 'Secret Art'.

As per the legend of the Muramasa swords, they repair themselves when they are resheathed or by devouring the souls of defeated enemies. •: Each installment of Genroku Legends involves at least one character from another story, chiefly the main Muramasa storyline (ignoring all the NPC's throughout the main world).

• Jinkuro and Rankai appear in Miike's first ending; Jinkuro is one of the people hired to try and take care of her when she haunts the Wakamiya clan in her rampage of. Being Jinkuro, he Curbstomps her with ease and winds up cutting her tails off, rendering her powerless. But not before she curses him with illness and inevitable death, which is what lead to Momohime's storyline. Rankai, after Monohime's first ending, shows up in the scene afterwards. Kongiku also appears in the hot spring.

• An older Sayo shows up to help resolve Gonbe's problems in his second ending, revealing not only that he was reliving his and his allies' failed revolution for 14 years, but also that he's been dead all this time; she helps him and his wife achieve peace and ascend to heaven, then erects tombstones for them. Additionally, the 'Infinite Light', whom Gonbe prays to when he first sees ghost Otae, is the title of Amitabha, whom Kisuke meets in his first ending. • Rajyaki shows up toward the end of Arashimaru's first ending; also counts as an, since this was Rajyaki's first appearance in Muramasa Rebirth before her story was even announced proper. Mumyo also names Oboroya Senjyu (who taught Jinkuro the Oboro style, and saved Kisuke from death via ) as being his student in the second ending; lastly Kisuke's mentioned during the story as having been abducted like Arashimaru was, and he is again mentioned in the second ending in reference to his story's third (or, less likely, second) ending, as a wandering swordmaster helping Jiraya to destroy Orochimaru. • The entire plot of Rajyaki's story gets off the ground thanks to Seikichi propositioning the Jinkuro-possessed Momohime when he sees her sitting on a rock and eating a rice ball. She is on Earth in the first place because she tried to show the treasures of the Seven Gods of Fortune to Raijin (Momohime's seventh boss) and accidentally lost them in the process; the treasures appearing throughout the Genroku Legends.

Her second ending features Dengoro, Arashimaru's younger brother, as a local lord and enthusiast of the supernatural after his experiences in 'A Sprited Seven Nights' Haunting'. King Enma, first shown in Gonbe's story, shows up in the first ending, albeit in human form(though his true face temporarily appears over his human body when he speaks). Finally, you can also meet Yuzuruha, Otae and Shirohebi in the same hot spring.

•: One of the Japanese covers for the game's soundtrack has one of Oodako's tentacles covering Momohime's otherwise exposed crotch and her breasts almost falling out of her kimono. Another has Yuzuruha sitting in a seductive pose, lifting her kimono with her foot barely acting as a, a third has Torahime naked in a with one arm covering her breasts and her buttocks obscured by, and a forth is of a naked Momohime seen from behind with her shoulders, back, and butt covered in tattoos, glaring over her shoulder while drawing a sword. •: The optional boss, Oodako the giant octopus, with his attack style being.

•: See the entry for ' below. Then again, when you match up a lot of normal ninja against one with described below. •: The way Mumyo steals Arashimaru's body in the second ending is the Soul Transfer technique, which it turns out he invented (along with Oboroya, who was his student); he's even wielding the Kuromitsu/Dark Ressurection Sword required for the technique. Later, when he's fighting Jiraiya and Tsunadehime, they reveal that they're wielding Demon Blades of their own to combat him; these Demon Blades are explicitly named Descent Into Misery and Threads Of Fate, the swords you obtain in the Muramasa storyline from Momohime and Kisuke's first endings (and are both required for obtaining their second endings).

•: The giant Oomukade boss. •: There is one advantage to playing in Fury Mode: deal damage proportional to your total health. Since you only have in Fury Mode, getting poisoned or burned won't actually damage you. •: We're talking a game set in. Are standouts here. Raijin () is quite attractive, but her beauty is mostly overshadowed by her brash and aggresive nature (almost to levels, ).

The only times it surfaces is when she's knocked out of the sky (she lands on her rump and takes a moment to tend to her rear in a typical fashion; notably, her voice raises from sultrily deep and tough to innocuously cute) and briefly after the with her when Fujin calms her down. And once you beat her, she is just adorable. More are added for Rebirth; the first main character is Miike, a female in the form of her human master Okoi, and the second is Rajyaki, a small Oni girl.

Meanwhile, Gonbe is assisted by his wife's still-attractive ghost, while Arashimaru's snake familiar is actually a shapeshifting minor deity out for his blood. • with Fujin, a small and adorable imp, not to mention Raijin's more laid-back. •: The first ending of Fishy Tales of the Nekomata. •: Most of the central cast are undead: Momohime doesn't really count, although she was presumed dead after Jinkuro cut her; Kisuke was mortally wounded by his brethren after betraying the clan for love, and returned to life through fusing with an angry ghostly swordmaster; Torahime was assassinated by the Shogun, and is sent back by Amitabha for a limited time to exact vengeance and save the world from the Inugami alongside her army of ghosts. •: An interesting juxtaposition considering the optional difficulty and scaling enemy level: while it's extremely easy to die, doing so outside of a boss battle just causes you to respawn in the same screen you were killed with full health and swords at full strength, retain all experience points earned, regain any health items you used during the fight, and you might not even run into the same battle that killed you previously. On the other hand, you can't cook stat-boosting meals within battles, so the items remain consumed unless you reload a save.

On Shigurui/Fury difficulty, you really want to make use of those stat-boosts, especially against some of the bosses, but you die—and die a lot—so it's a matter of deciding if it's worth cooking a meal and being prepared for the tedium of resetting the game if you run out of ingredients. •: While the story selection screen claims Momohime's story is about her, she has little involvement with it. The real focus of the story is on Jinkuro. •: Technically he's human, but Jinkuro's (accidental) possession of Momohime's body counts as this. Averted for Kisuke; he was granted his knowledge of the style by Jinkuro's master, Senju, but the technique used is more like a spiritual, essentially causing Senju to cease existing but imparting ALL his knowledge and abilities to Kisuke, whose personality isn't changed to any significant degree.

There's also The Shogun, who is possessed by the Inugami. Though since he DID want the sword the Inugami was sealed into in the first place, and we never see his personality before you fight him, the extent of the possession is a bit muddled. •: Blocking during the few frames where you take damage has the character you're playing makes the knockback and damage from the hit reverse itself, sending you back to where you were when you got hit without any damage and without the spirit gauge decreasing. It's as difficult to intentionally perform as it sounds, and it's also an incredibly useful technique in Fury mode. •: Momohime, following her possession by Jinkuro.

•: Kisuke's Haze and Phantom Secret Arts and Momohime's Flash Secret Art. •: The eponymous swords cannot be sheathed until they have tasted blood. It there's no one around to kill, the swords will turn on their wielders. Only the Oboro style mastered by the protagonists can control their lust for blood. •: In the DLC 'A Cause to Daikon For' money is, fittingly enough, extremely difficult to come. Unless you grind for an absurd period of time, you're not likely to be able to afford more than a single meal or a few radishes to cook on your own throughout the entire story. The drastically reduced availability of healing is offset somewhat by abilities you can gain that increase healing received or allow you to revive once per battle, though these only typically become available toward the end of the story.

•: Momohime and Kisuke's second endings feature the other as the final boss. •: Once you beat the last boss and see an ending, you'll be taken to before the boss fight the next time you load, but additional features and weapons will unlock depending on which ending you viewed. •: Raijin makes a curious remark to Momohime about seducing her and Fujin with her 'pretty looks.' Then there's Kongiku's infatuation with Jinkuro, who is currently inhabiting Momohime's body.

The Muramasa can forge for the heroes are pretty evenly split between katana and nodachi, which are longer. •: The vertical spin (Cyclone, Gale, Wind) and horizontal spin (Hell Spinner, Dragonfly, Swallow Saw) Secret Arts. •: The Muramasa swords, which drive their wielders mad with bloodlust and can only be sheathed once they've tasted blood, as per Japanese folklore.

In setting too, they regenerate if broken, faster if drenched in blood, and contain terrible magical powers. The protagonists are able to resist the less-savory aspects of their use with their.

•: Some of the Muramasa blades are wreathed in. •: The food that you can buy at any of the restaurants or cook yourself. And then eat via repeated presses of the A button. This game will make you hungry. •: The boss Ippon-Datara has two forms: a giant demon whose foot is larger than the player, and an enormous boar named Inosazao.

Momohime's interactions with him in a hot spring after the fight indicate that the latter is his true form. •: are used by Kurozaru, the first boss that Kisuke fights against, and some of the higher-level ninja enemies wield them as well. •: • Kongiku wobbles a great deal, whether she's moving or not. • The snow maidens. •: The party in A Cause To Daikon For is mentioned to split up to groups of two at most whenever they're moving, yet Gonbe is able to summon his two assist characters wherever he is.

This is likely to compensate for the fact that he's a horrible fighter by himself. •: • Jinkuro possessing Momohime. • According to the original myth, Raijin is male. •: The first part of the Ippon-Datara boss fight involves you having to avoid his giant foot while attacking it and eventually riding it up into the clouds where the actual boss is.

•: Many of the bosses, such as both characters' first ones, come out of nowhere. • In particular, Momohime's final boss. The story goes from storming main adversary Rankai's base (thought process: the final fight might be against Rankai, and perhaps he'll even pull a ), to Yukinojo showing up with the blade that Jinkuro's been searching for the whole game (thought process: a rematch for the blade), to two random Gods appearing due to your, taking the blade, and forcing you to fight them and a giant statue.

• Another possibility was Amaterasu, who was the one who sealed the gate to Heaven in Ise after Jinkuro beat Raijin. You'd expect the Sun Goddess to take matters in her own hands when Jinkuro tries to enter Heaven again, but unfortunately you do not get to battle her. •: Tsuchigumo. •: Momohime's third ending in particular, a that might overwrite the of her second ending—. Momohime is happy and healthy, Jinkuro finally gets what he wants and uses it to protect her, and Kongiku gets to stay with her beloved lord and master in human form. •: Happens to Momohime; Jinkuro, her possessor, accidentally possesses Momohime while trying to possess Yukinojo, another powerful samurai and Momohime's betrothed. • Also happens to Arashimaru in his second ending.

•: Momohime's normal and second ending both involve this. •: Save points will restore your life and swords' soul meters in addition to their usual function. •: Scarecrows have these on their faces. •: Momohime's second ending basically puts her in the same position Kisuke was in at the start of his story. •: • Momohime and Kisuke to one another. Aside from occasionally encountering one another in hot springs and in certain endings the two do not interact with one another.

• The DLC characters' stories in Genroku Legends show the events that lead up to the main story. •: • Green ghost lights represent souls that can be gathered for crafting the Demon Blades (or learning skills in DLC chapters). They're found either floating in stages or released by dead enemies. • Ghost NPCs usually have a couple lights floating nearby and hostile ones use them as an attack. •: Raijin is of the 'electrocute first, ask questions later' mold. The with her is instigated because she feels Fujin's younger brothers, the Small Oni, have been treated poorly and not even her boyfriend can talk her out of it, despite the possible collateral damage a storm (or Raijin's fat ass falling out of the sky) would cause. Fujin is more a 'Cute God' than anything, but he still counts.

The two double as a. •: The protagonists can talk to monkeys, who lead them to a hot spring in the mountains. It serves as a healing pool, a place to resharpen any broken blades, and a opportunity. •: Eating restores health and grants you 'Spirit,' necessary for forging swords.

Subverted in that you do need to wait in between eating anything for them to get hungry again, but it never takes you any longer than maybe 30 seconds to digest a whole bowl of noodles and be ready to keep eating (and the Mad Tummy/Rapid Digestion skills given by certain swords and accessories can further reduce that time). •: 'Muso/Legend' for 'Easy' and 'Shura/Chaos' for 'Hard.'

The creators describe Muso/Legend as being more RPG-like, while Shura/Chaos is more arcade-like. Then there's the unlockable 'Shigurui/Fury' mode, which has the same difficulty as Muso/Legend, •: The Oboro Style both characters use is all about this. They explicitly state that mastering it not only makes you immune to the bloodlust that wielding Muramasa blades normally causes (and by that extension, the insanity caused by the countless angry recently-dead spirits wandering a battlefield Kisuke visits), but also allows you to battle the God(dess?) of Thunder. And those are just the side effects of the actual purpose of the fighting style, which is of course being able to easily kick metric tons of ass. •: The Big Oni to Jinkuro and Momohime.

It results in a stomachache for him. •: Particularly seen with the Kongiku and Yuzuruha. Same with Shirohebi in A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting.

•: Kongiku and Yuzuruha, as well as the other fox spirits that accompany them. •: The story lines and multiple endings are. •: Enemies are always scaled to correlate to your level. Even when over-leveled, enemies never get any easier. The earlier don't fall too far behind when you are dozens of levels above the recommended levels, the bosses get more vicious, and the regular enemies deal more damage and have more hit points. In fact, considering that you recover full health when you level up, Enemy Lairs become much harder if you level up to 99 before entering them. •: Leveling up restores your life, which can come in handy in a boss fight or Evil Lair.

•: The Genroku Legends provide a lot of backstory and reveals a chain of masters and apprentices: • Mumyo invented the Soul Transfer technique and taught it to Senju Oboroya, who passed it on to Jinkuro along with the Oboro style. After Jinkuro murdered him, Senju merged with Kisuke, bestowing the Oboro Style upon him. Before succumbing to Miike's curse, Jinkuro uses the Soul Transfer technique to possess.