Muramasa's gameplay looks much more focused than Assassin's Creed's - you run, slash, and dodge like a maniac, just like the NES Ninja Gaiden games. That's more than enough for me. From the looks of all the videos, it rewards technical prowess rather than pure button mashing, so it shouldn't be too shallow. That said, I'll probably buy it on principle alone.
They said that the graphics & music were excellent, but the controls were sloppy and gameplay felt shallow.
I usually trust RPGFan implicitly. This is disappointing news...
The real depth in Odin Sphere came from the ability to make different potions and food stuffs/dishes using random items. When they announced that this wouldn't be in Muramasa, I was disappointed and figured the game would suffer for it.
Honestly, I'd take the review with a grain of salt. This game really feels like Odin Sphere without the tedious item management. What strikes me is the stark difference in scores between the two from RPGFan. Odin Sphere is a great game, but a 92 is being overly generous.
Anyway, even with the lack of "depth" you'll enjoy this game if you loved Odin Sphere.
I'm not even sure "lack of depth" is a bad thing. A lot of older classics were shallow as all hell, Contra any one "run right and hold down B " and turned out great. It's just that now, to be taken seriously, thou shalt have all sorts of cut scenes, a deep plot, and some funky trademark game play gimick or thine game is made for chimps!
Well, Odin Sphere's a deliberately theatrical game, so it's kind of to be expected.
It's a nice touch that beating the game lets you watch all the cinemas in order like a theatrical production(and a dang good one).
Shame very few people probably had the patience to see that game through.
Odin Sphere was my spring break project last year. It was a great use of a week. I even power levelled all of my characters to beat the game with all of the different possibilities. It was kinda ridiculous, actually.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited August 2009
Space management wasn't that big a deal once you bought all the bags you could. Really the only negative I had about Odin Sphere was its repetitiveness.
I'm glad they're deciding to go with a smaller selection of characters this time around. Hopefully, they make their stages unique enough too.
Actually, even with all the bags it still was a problem. The main problem being that items didn't stack on top of another if they were the same. Since I take a slower approach with RPGs, I didn't mind all the minutia of having to spend ten minutes resorting my items after a couple of battles. However, most people didn't want to do that or even have to think about item management.
Muramasa's focus on combat is exactly what Odin Sphere should have done. It was still a good game, but it alienated a lot more people with archaic design decisions.
Shady3011 on
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited August 2009
I hope Muramasa has a cinema viewer, if the cinematics are anywhere near as nice as Odin Sphere's.
I hope Muramasa has a cinema viewer, if the cinematics are anywhere near as nice as Odin Sphere's.
Something about the cinematics in Odin Sphere, even when there's horrible stuff going on, put me in a good mood and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They're strangely comforting. In addition to being incredibly well done as everyone else has already pointed out.
Although, there was some serious hubris on the back of the box. Does anyone else remember the story being touted on the back of the box as something that belongs in the canon of classic literature?
All this Odin Sphere talk is making me curious. I saw it for $20 used the other day; as an action/RPG fan, should this be worth picking up?
I think so. It even survived the great RPG purge I did a month or so ago when I sold off a lot of the RPGs I had already beaten. Just be prepared for this: the game will occasionally slow to a crawl during boss battles. As long as this is something you can put up with, there's no reason not to play it given you're interested in both of the genres it borrows from. Also, it's really pretty.
I can deal with slowdown as long as it's pretty - you're talking to someone who played Perfect Dark on the N64 religiously, and the framrate there took some pretty big hits at times. Thanks for the recommendation; as soon as I can dig the PS2 out of the mountains of boxes I have yet to unpack from moving recently, I'll give it a shot.
Grimthwacker on
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited August 2009
It also has a very good story, if you can see the whole thing through. Even if not, each chapter (mostly) stands on its own.
The new issue of Play magazine has a Muramasa cover. I didn't read it (I've actually never read Play, and in any case I'm consciously avoiding trailers/previews), but it's nice to see the game get a bit of exposure.
I can deal with slowdown as long as it's pretty - you're talking to someone who played Perfect Dark on the N64 religiously, and the framrate there took some pretty big hits at times. Thanks for the recommendation; as soon as I can dig the PS2 out of the mountains of boxes I have yet to unpack from moving recently, I'll give it a shot.
The only boss battle I recall being horrendously atrocious was against Queen Odette. That whole battle is in the single digit realm. Other than that, slow down tends to occur infrequently. My main beef were the load times. They can get out of hand especially when you're trying to do cooking.
I can deal with slowdown as long as it's pretty - you're talking to someone who played Perfect Dark on the N64 religiously, and the framrate there took some pretty big hits at times. Thanks for the recommendation; as soon as I can dig the PS2 out of the mountains of boxes I have yet to unpack from moving recently, I'll give it a shot.
The only boss battle I recall being horrendously atrocious was against Queen Odette. That whole battle is in the single digit realm. Other than that, slow down tends to occur infrequently. My main beef were the load times. They can get out of hand especially when you're trying to do cooking.
Haha, the battle against Odette was pretty terrible.
Thankfully more often than not, the slowdown helped me dodge a lot of attacks that normally would've been deadly.
Another IGN preview is up - sounds like the gameplay is simple, but the difficulty keeps ramping up, just like Ninja Gaiden. Over a hundred unique blades, though - sounds like collectors are going to be happy. There's certainly depth here, and like I said before, as long as the combat stays challenging I don't think people will have a problem with it.
Man this game's beautiful. It can't be said enough.
I have the PAL version of this game, which has all (!) of its slowdown problems fixed, at the cost of having no speech bubbles. Yeah, I don't quite know how that works, but there you have it.
Odin Sphere is probably my absolute favorite among action RPGs. Yes, I like inventory managment, how'd you guess? The repetitiveness was quite bad at points, but the different characters, the story and the continuing challenges pulled me through. (Anybody remember that fight with Oswald against one wizard, and two of these ghost things? Horribly difficult, but so incredibly rewarding once you have the right strategy... That is, horrible Phazon Flowers Plus Explosions Rape.)
When they were throwing all those shiny new end bosses at you, the game really started to shine. In retrospective, it kinda felt like cheating: every design flaw can be excused, as long as the ending is awesome enough. :P
So if the story's as epic as Odin Sphere, I suppose I'll have no choice but to love Muramasa as well! He.
Wait so the official release date (or ship date) is now today? I thought it was next week.
Kuratosu on
Click spoiler for Backloggery, and gamer info:
Gamer Tag: LeeWay0
PSN: Leeway0
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IceBurnerIt's cold and there are penguins.Registered Userregular
edited September 2009
Why aren't more people trying to pick up a pre-order scroll from a local Gamestop/EB? I didn't even know about it until today, and now I have one in hand.
Why aren't more people trying to pick up a pre-order scroll from a local Gamestop/EB? I didn't even know about it until today, and now I have one in hand.
Shush, be quiet. I want to make sure I get mine when it ships.
I've always been told to order online because you've got a better chance of getting your bonus that way so register jockies don't take it for themselves.
After the Metroid debacle I"m nervous about this entire thing.
Niceguyeddie616All you feed me is PUFFINS!I need NOURISHMENT!Registered Userregular
edited September 2009
Someone's getting a boot shoved up their ass if I don't get a wall scroll. The art in this game is too beautiful to not want to hang on your wall.
Niceguyeddie616 on
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
I'm just curious what size the wall scroll is. I have some nice wall scrolls that are the size of posters, but I remember the Wind Waker scroll was tiny.
I'm just curious what size the wall scroll is. I have some nice wall scrolls that are the size of posters, but I remember the Wind Waker scroll was tiny.
I remember reading somewhere that it was about 14.5" x 67" and not a true wall scroll.
Posts
I'm not even sure "lack of depth" is a bad thing. A lot of older classics were shallow as all hell, Contra any one "run right and hold down B
Anyway, I can't believe this is out next week (September 1st). For some reason, I thought it would be out in late September.
It's a nice touch that beating the game lets you watch all the cinemas in order like a theatrical production(and a dang good one).
Shame very few people probably had the patience to see that game through.
Odin Sphere was my spring break project last year. It was a great use of a week. I even power levelled all of my characters to beat the game with all of the different possibilities. It was kinda ridiculous, actually.
I loved Odin Sphere, but I hope this game has none of the stuttering and terrible fps drops.
That coupled with the tedium of having to grow all the different potions makes me happy Muramasa is a stripped down and shorter version.
I'm glad they're deciding to go with a smaller selection of characters this time around. Hopefully, they make their stages unique enough too.
Muramasa's focus on combat is exactly what Odin Sphere should have done. It was still a good game, but it alienated a lot more people with archaic design decisions.
Something about the cinematics in Odin Sphere, even when there's horrible stuff going on, put me in a good mood and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They're strangely comforting. In addition to being incredibly well done as everyone else has already pointed out.
Although, there was some serious hubris on the back of the box. Does anyone else remember the story being touted on the back of the box as something that belongs in the canon of classic literature?
I think so. It even survived the great RPG purge I did a month or so ago when I sold off a lot of the RPGs I had already beaten. Just be prepared for this: the game will occasionally slow to a crawl during boss battles. As long as this is something you can put up with, there's no reason not to play it given you're interested in both of the genres it borrows from. Also, it's really pretty.
The only boss battle I recall being horrendously atrocious was against Queen Odette. That whole battle is in the single digit realm. Other than that, slow down tends to occur infrequently. My main beef were the load times. They can get out of hand especially when you're trying to do cooking.
Haha, the battle against Odette was pretty terrible.
Thankfully more often than not, the slowdown helped me dodge a lot of attacks that normally would've been deadly.
Man this game's beautiful. It can't be said enough.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Odin Sphere is probably my absolute favorite among action RPGs. Yes, I like inventory managment, how'd you guess? The repetitiveness was quite bad at points, but the different characters, the story and the continuing challenges pulled me through. (Anybody remember that fight with Oswald against one wizard, and two of these ghost things? Horribly difficult, but so incredibly rewarding once you have the right strategy... That is, horrible Phazon Flowers Plus Explosions Rape.)
When they were throwing all those shiny new end bosses at you, the game really started to shine. In retrospective, it kinda felt like cheating: every design flaw can be excused, as long as the ending is awesome enough. :P
So if the story's as epic as Odin Sphere, I suppose I'll have no choice but to love Muramasa as well! He.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
From where does it say it's backordered? Supposedly EB gets it in tomorrow.
My online order went from "Pre-Order: Ships Sept. 3rd" to "Backordered"
Of course remains in "Backordered" status.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
"OF COURSE THE SCROLL REMAINS IN "BACKORDERED" STATUS"
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Gamer Tag: LeeWay0
PSN: Leeway0
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
I'll ask about it when I go back tomorrow
Shush, be quiet. I want to make sure I get mine when it ships.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
After the Metroid debacle I"m nervous about this entire thing.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Same here. I hope they don't use that shitty UPS bubble mailer. Otherwise, CS is going to get an ear full. :x
I remember reading somewhere that it was about 14.5" x 67" and not a true wall scroll.