Seventeen years after its original debut on the Nintendo Wii, Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade has finally arrived on PC as Muramasa: Revenant Blades. This definitive update brings the acclaimed 2D action game to a new platform with a host of enhancements designed to showcase its legendary art style and deep combat system. The PC release is the first from Vanillaware to grace the platform, a notable fact given the studio's subsequent successes with titles like 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim and Unicorn Overlord.
A Legacy of Blades
Muramasa: Revenant Blades is built around its namesake, the legendary, and perhaps cursed, swordsmith Muramasa. The game features an astonishing 108 distinct swords, each with unique properties and special skills. The core mechanic revolves around the superstition that Muramasa's blades demanded blood. In the game, this translates to equipping a sword and using its unique skill in combat. Once the skill has been 'fed' by combat, it can be learned and equipped onto another blade, vastly expanding the player's combat options. "There's definitely this reputation that the swords of Muramasa are cursed, but what that means is they have power," said director Wataru Nakanishi. "In this game Muramasa is an important character and will create these very powerful swords, but in turn [the protagonists] must collect souls for him, so they have this cooperative relationship based around this dark situation."
Revitalized Presentation and Gameplay
The game's iconic painterly art style has been meticulously updated for the PC release. Vanillaware artists hand-touched and recreated assets to ensure they were appropriate for the HD presentation. "But you know, through that arduous hand-drawn process, we were able to create this warm and colorful art that we think people will be happy to see," Nakanishi stated.
The combat system has also seen significant enhancements. The original game's skill system was tied to individual swords, limiting player choice. Revenant Blades allows players to equip up to three ground and three aerial skills, which can be freely swapped between a loadout of three equipped blades. This expanded system encourages deeper combo potential and diverse playstyles. "Using the skills Celestial Slash and Flame Barrage, you can knock people into the air with fire, then jump up and use the aerial skill to knock them back to the ground. That kind of combination wasn't really something you could do with the more limited skill system," Nakanishi explained.
Enemies on the higher difficulty settings have also been rebalanced, presenting a more significant challenge. They now boast increased health and appear in greater numbers, demanding fluid combat and strategic use of the expanded skill system. Blocking alone is insufficient, as it can lead to sword breakage, leaving the player vulnerable. Survival hinges on chaining combos and effectively switching between blades to manage their durability.
Content and Potential
In addition to the original protagonist, Momohime, Revenant Blades includes a roster of playable characters introduced in a later Vita re-release, each with their own distinct storylines. This adds considerable depth and replayability to the package. The revamped skill system, in particular, is seen as key to unlocking the game's full potential, offering a much richer combat experience than the original.
The PC port is also expected to perform admirably on handheld devices like the Steam Deck OLED, where its vibrant visuals can be fully appreciated. Whether this successful PC launch will pave the way for other Vanillaware titles on the platform remains to be seen. "We currently don't have any specific plans of that nature, but we would love to see Muramasa be successful enough that people start to ask about that kind of thing," Nakanishi said, hinting at the possibility of future PC releases if demand is sufficient.