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Sword stories have always been thrilling, and the tale of Japan’s famous “cursed swords” is even more so. Now, that story is coming to PC in the form of a beautiful 2D action game. From Vanillaware Muramasa: Revenant Blades It’s coming to PC for the first time, and according to a demo PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon got his hands on, it’s not just the old game, but a much-improved version.
(image credit vanillaware)
The real story of the cursed swords
Muramasa’s name holds a strange place in Japanese sword culture. The Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo displays centuries-old swords, but you’ll rarely find Muramasa’s name in books on swordsmiths. For centuries, his swords were considered cursed. It was said that after being unsheathed, they would not rest until they tasted blood.
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Image credit: Future
Vanillaware has turned this old concept into the game’s most interesting feature. There are 108 swords in total, and each sword has its own unique skill. Interestingly, you can only transfer that skill to another sword once the first sword has “slaked its thirst,” meaning it has fought enough battles.
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According to the game’s director, Wataru Nakanishi, the swords’ cursed nature actually means they possess power. Muramasa is a key character in the story, forging incredibly powerful swords, and in return, the heroes must collect souls for him. This suggests a working relationship between the two, even amidst a dark situation.
Journey to PC after 17 years
The game was first released in 2009 on the Nintendo Wii.Muramasa: The Demon BladeIt was Vanillaware’s first PC release in 17 years. The studio later released13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim(2019) andUnicorn Overlord(2024), but playing Muramasa made the author realize why the studio started there.
He says its hand-painted art looks as fresh today as it did in 2009. But the work behind it wasn’t easy. Nakanishi laughed and explained that some art assets were available and others weren’t. Artists recreated those that weren’t available by hand to achieve the colorful and warm look worthy of an HD release.
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Biggest Change: New Skill System
The real change is in the gameplay. In the old game, you could only use the skills of the sword you were holding at a time. So players would typically stick to the most powerful swords they could find late, leaving the rest of the swords useless.
Now, the new system changes this. Players can wield three swords at once and use them to perform three ground and three air skills. This allows for a plethora of combos. For example, use a fire skill to throw enemies into the air, then jump and use an air skill to knock them back to the ground.
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The battles are now more challenging
On hard mode, enemies come in hordes and have more health. Defensive play can be costly, as repeatedly blocking attacks can result in your sword breaking. Therefore, it’s crucial to switch swords and execute combos consistently.
In the old game, enemies increased with your level, but now the enemy level in each area is fixed. You can easily win in weak areas, but if you go the wrong way, it can be difficult. The author himself fell victim to this. Reaching a low level under a waterfall, he was badly defeated by a family of poison-spitting frogs. In his opinion, those frogs turned out to be even more terrifying than ninjas with shurikens and bombs.
Exclusive to PC and Steam Deck
The author played as Princess Momohime in the demo. The full game also features characters from the 2013 Vita version, each with their own storylines. The author feels the colorful backgrounds will look even better on the Steam Deck OLED.
If this game is a hit on PC, perhaps more Vanillaware games will follow. Nakanishi says there are no firm plans at the moment, but he wants Muramasa to be so successful that people start asking for it.
