Yeah, really. The press release talked about how awesome it was that with every new Wii, you’d get Wii Sports Resort and Wii MotionPlus…and then it just added on, “Oh, yeah. There’s a black Wii available, too. Whatever.”

In the U.S., the new console will retail for $199.99, the same price as the old white console a lot of us have already…except that it comes with more stuff.

The new console and packages will be available starting May 9.

The Wii exclusive follows the Dickens Detective Agency’s efforts to capture master criminal Mr. Valentine. Up to four players can work together to crack his worldwide schemes. The Wii Remote becomes various classic detective tools, like a magnifying glass and lockpick.

Once you’ve solved the mystery once, play it again! Each time you start up a game, you get a new experience with new clues, suspects, and minigames (and hey, that’s more than we can say for Heavy Rain).

But enough with my rambling. On to the goods!

Nintendo DSi XL

• Launches March 28 at a suggested retail price of $189.99.
• The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL are 93 percent larger and feature a wider viewing angle than DS Lite’s.
• Burgundy and Bronze colors at launch.
• Comes loaded with pre-installed premium software Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio.
• Nintendo DSi XL will also come with a larger stylus.

America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking and WarioWare™: D.I.Y. will also launch for the Nintendo DS family of products on March 28.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 launches May 23. The game includes the amazing gravity-defying, physics-based exploration from the first game, but is loaded with entirely new galaxies and features to challenge and delight players. Some stages feature Yoshi, and new items are featured, such as a drill.

Metroid: Other M, the new Metroid game developed for Wii, launches June 27. The game reimagines the franchise: While much of the game is reminiscent of 2-D side-scrollers, players can switch the perspective into 3-D at any time.This game also explores the never-before-told story of bounty hunter Samus Aran’s past. This new approach uses a new control scheme which requires that players use the Wii Remote sideways to battle enemies, then aim at the screen with the Wii Remote pointer to blast foes in first-person and hunt the world for clues and hidden passages.

Nintendo of America (in partnership with Square-Enix, of course) will publish Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies in the Americas when the game arrives in summer 2010.
Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri launches in the United States on April 20. The game lets players customize their character, armor and weapons in order to protect a town from majestic monsters as that town rebuilds after a disaster. Online play will be available at no additional cost. Online text chat is fully functional and online voice chat is enabled using the Wii Speak microphone (let’s face it, have you really used it since Animal Crossing: City Folk?). At a suggested retail price of $59.99, limited quantities of Monster Hunter Tri will include the new Black Classic Controller Pro, while both Black and White versions of the controller will be available separately at a suggested retail price of $19.99. Want the game without the controller? It’s $49.99, which means that you’re really getting an awesome deal on the new controller.
Nintendo also announced a whole host of other games, like Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (a Wii shooter), FlingSmash for Wii (playable only with Wii MotionPlus), Picross 3D for DS, 100 Classic Books (turn your DS into a small library!), Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will launch May 18 on both the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms, Disney Guilty Party (a mystery party game for Wii), and DSi exclusive title Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal — which uses augmented reality to let players become a ghost hunter.

Of course, they didn’t leave their downloadable games out of the announcement. Take a look at what’s coming up in the next six months for WiiWare and DSiWare.

For WiiWare:

* Launching on March 1, Capcom’s Mega Man™ 10 builds upon the huge impact of Mega Man 9, a completely new adventure rendered in classic 8-bit style. This new game looks and sounds as awesomely retro as its predecessor.
* Launching on March 8, Max & the Magic Marker from Press Play turns the Wii Remote into an orange magic marker that’s literally magic. Players draw lines and objects to help Max reach objects and his ultimate goal.
* The long-awaited indie cult classic Cave Story comes to WiiWare with new game play, artwork and music enhancements on March 22. It’s classic gaming reborn for 2010.
* Launching on March 29, WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase is a standalone product exclusive to the WiiWare service and available only from the Wii Shop Channel. The game contains more than 70 new microgames and features interoperability with the WarioWare: D.I.Y. game for the Nintendo DS family of products. Players that own both games can transfer content between the two via a local wireless connection, and can even play user-created microgames on their television using WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase.
* As the techno music pulses, Nintendo’s Art Style™: light trax™ puts players in charge of a white beam of light as it engages in a surreal race against other beams across a dark track. Players must keep away from obstacles, use items and look for power boosts if they want to finish first. Art Style: light trax launches this spring.
* Swim and spin through the primordial ooze in Nintendo’s Art Style: Rotozoa™ as you absorb tiny organisms that match the colors of your tentacles. As you absorb more organisms, your tentacles grow. The challenge increases as additional tentacles are gained, but power-ups can help you survive and thrive. Art Style: Rotozoa launches this spring.
* Launching this spring, Rage of the Gladiator from Ghostfire Games is an intense fighting game that asks players to perfect their well-timed moves against an array of opponents. The game is compatible with the Wii MotionPlus accessory.
* Launching this spring, And Yet It Moves from Broken Rules requires players to rotate the world to help their line-drawn protagonist progress. Walls become floors and floors become ceilings in this surreal twist on the platformer genre.
* Launching this summer, Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Finalist Super Meat Boy from Team Meat sets a cube of meat off on an adventure to save Princess Bandage. This off-the-wall game is not for the faint of heart.

For Nintendo DSiWare:

* Nintendo’s Photo Dojo™ is poised to be the cult hit of 2010 when it launches this spring. The game first asks players to pose for 13 pictures and input 10 sound effects. Once that’s done, the player becomes the main character in a hilarious side-scrolling fighting game. Create up to eight characters and do battle alone or against a friend on a single Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL system.
* Launching this spring, Nintendo’s Metal Torrent™ delivers a frantic barrage of gunfire that fills the screen. Players try to convert opponents’ bullets into cubes that, when collected, increase their score and fill an energy meter that powers special weapons. Online Leaderboards record scores and movies of top games.
* Launching this spring, X-Scape™ from Nintendo immerses players in an exploratory adventure involving more than 20 planets. Players will pilot their tank through 3-D tunnels, fire at enemies and even battle ancient weapons that resemble giant robots.

That….is a lot of stuff. What are you most excited for? I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but I really want to get my hands on Disney Guilty Party.

For a while it was hard to imagine a game that could rival the likes of the Pokemon franchise – that was until Spectrobes came along. While my first attempt at playing Spectrobes on the DS didn’t impress me, the Wii version is a completely different story. So what is it all about?

Rallen and Jeena, officers of the Nanairo Planetary Patrol, are Spectrobes Masters. They are similar to Pokemon Trainers in the sense that they find these creatures, take ownership of them, and use them in battle. This is pretty much where the similarity ends though.

Rating: PG
Players: 2
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Release Date: 4th October 2009 (AUS)

BUY

When you start the game, Rallen and Jeena are sent out to keep an eye on a portal in the Nanairo solar system. There have been reports of Krawl appearing all over the place and they want to stop any threats to the Nanairo system.

When they get there, their craft gets sucked into the portal and then ends up in the Kaio system. They’ve never heard of this system before, but they end up tracing a distress call to the planet Wyterra. Krawl are in force and scaring the locals – so much so that the locals are hiding in sacred ruins that has a force field to protect it from the Krawl. The pair land on the planet to see if they can help out.

Once they land, they soon discover the Krawl are right outside the ruins. Rallen tries to use his Prizmod to to call on his Adult Spectrobes, but it fails to work. Therefore, Rallen has to make a mad dash for the ruins (with your help) and avoid an attack from the Krawl.

Once they’re inside, the village elder Radese recognises the pair as Spectrobes Masters due to their Spectrobe. He and the villagers fills us in on the story of what happened and then Radese aids the pair further by giving them a Cosmolink. This works similar to the Prizmod, and allows Rallen and Jeena to bring out their Adult Spectrobes for battles. After a little training, you’re allowed to take Rallen out to play with the Krawl.

Your Child Spectrobes hide when a battle begins, so they are safe. They need to gain experience points in order to level up, and evolve at a certain level into Adult form. There is another they form evolve to (named Evolved form) but I’ll tell you a little later how they do so.

When Rallen (or Jeena) defeats the Krawl party it is now safe for the terrified citizens to emerge from their safe-hold. They return to their village to find it in a worse state than they had left it, with walls and buildings damaged and debris scattered everywhere. Radese invites you back to his residence so you can find out a bit more about what is going on.

He tells you the story of the legendary Spectrobe Master that once was present in the Kaio system. Many of his friends are still alive and can fill you in bit-by-bit as the adventure progresses. One in particular is the Spectrobe Master’s sidekick Kamtoga, who has gone missing. Before you go searching for Kamtoga, you need to grow your Spectrobe army and fight the great big nasty Krawl that is lurking near an ancient ruin that holds some info you need.

To gather more Spectrobes, you need to get your Child to search for fossils. Where to find them is indicated by a little white light emanating from the ground. You don’t always find fossils though – you can also find minerals and HP items, which you’ll find more of than fossils. There is also a purple light similar to the white one, except these hold black minerals which once collected begins a Krawl battle.

You will also find Evolve minerals in these little white light streams which you use on your Spectrobes to make them an Evolved form. Not that complicated really, but they need to be a certain level (I think) to be Evolved. This is said to be the most powerful form of Spectrobe, and there are no more forms after this either. Just level up your pretty so that they can rain maximum carnage on the Krawl!

When you find a fossil, it will be called a Mystery Pod until you have identified and excavated it. You are also able to find minerals in these fossils. The excavation has to be one of my favourite parts. You’ll be shown how to perform the excavations, and the better the health of your fossil (Spectrobe or mineral) the better your ranking will be. This also means that if you’re extracting a Spectrobe then its starting level will be higher. Then you need to awaken it, which is done by following a pattern to shake your Wiimote and Nunchuk to.

Another thing your Child Spectrobes find are little caves with barriers across them. These barriers are only broken through if the Spectrobe you’re using is the same element as the one signified on the barrier. That’s right, the Spectrobes have elements. But there are only 5, so it doesn’t get too complex.

Inside these caves are little pedestals. At first you can’t do anything with these pedestals until after you’ve found Kamtoga, so don’t worry about not getting them when you need to move onto the next planet. Oh, and the pedestals aren’t all in caves either – some are out in the open too. What are they for? Play for yourself and see!

On each planet there is an ancient ruin to explore. Here you’ll find a fragmented piece of an ancient dragon-like creature that once saved the system from a threat similar to that posed by the Krawl. When Rallen and Jeena first discover a piece and show it to Radese, he explains that the state in which the pieces are in means there is big trouble brewing.

Another item they find in these ruins is an excavated Spectrobe fossil. Once Rallen touches the fossil it sparks off a cut-scene which shows the famous Spectrobe Master in the past, filling in chapters to the story. Once the scene is done, the Spectrobe fossil goes into your collection to awaken.

I’m trying not to spoil the whole story for you – lucky for you I haven’t finished the game but it isn’t because I got stuck. For a change. What I will tell you is that there is a bad guy named Krux (who may be behind the Krawl activity) and a Legendary Spectrobe (which I’ve only just gotten. And it’s cool!).

The graphics aren’t too bad, although at times it can get a bit pixelated -but that’s not exactly easy to avoid. The music and sound effects were suitable, although the character dialogue sometimes appeared to be a bit delayed in reaction.

One thing I got annoyed with was the camera angle. I found times where I wasn’t able to see where I was meant to be heading or able to see the opponent who just landed an attack on me. I found I had to run around a bit for the camera to adjust itself to a position I was happy with.

Apart from the above, I’ve really enjoyed playing this game. Who am I kidding? I love it! At one point I was having so much fun that I forgot I was reviewing it! Spectrobes: Origins is a fun game for kids as well as adults, and I would highly recommend it. Hopefully they will continue to develop the franchise for the Wii, as I feel it is better suited to this console. Excuse me, I need to unleash my Spectrobes on some unsuspecting Krawl. Honki de iku ze!

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Editor’s Note: Both Vespaa and Naomi had the chance to review Cursed Mountain by Deep Silver.  Since they’re different kinds of gamers, we wanted to give you the opinion from both of them.  Below, you’ll see comments on the game from Vespaa (in black) and Naomi (in blue).  Enjoy!

Rating: M (PEGI: 16)
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: Survival Horror
Players: 1
Release Date: August 25th , 2009

RENT

Deep Silver brings back a genre of gaming seldom seen on the Wii (as well as being exclusive) with their survival horror title, Cursed Mountain. While the game reminded me a great deal of the Silent Hill series, I felt it fell short in capturing the terrifying atmosphere said games immerse the player in. That being said, Cursed Mountain provides players with it’s own unique brand of horror, built around a storyline involving ghosts in presented in a manner few games have even attempted before. The accurate portrayal of Buddhist/Malaysian history and religious involvement and how it pertains to the storyline made me appreciate it all the more. I enjoyed the game quite a bit, and felt it was a good addition to the Wii’s library of games, and definitely worth a play through.  0000ff">People who love the horror genre will no doubt be happy with this game. The graphics are good, and the sounds are scary enough to be real. The game was dark, not just in theme but as you are playing through the chapters themselves. The story itself is strong enough that I could see a sequel (of sorts) being made should Cursed Mountain become popular.

33cccc">0000ff">So what do you do when your brother goes missing on a climbing expedition in the Himalayas? Well if you love him enough, you go to the Himalayas and try to find him yourself. That is exactly what happens to Eric Simmons. 000000;font-style: normal">Players assume the role of Eric Simmons, during his ascent of Mount Cholomonzo in the Himalayas to find his brother, Frank. The game makes full use of the Wii Mote’s many features; players will receive commands through the microphone when appropriate to the story. In order or defeat, or exercise spirits, players will use various specified swipes with the Wii Mote and Nunchuk, such as “The Compassion Ritual” which will defeat ghosts while healing you. The game’s implementation of the ghosts starts off strong, cutting in with a haunting cut scene of a ghost passing Eric through an alley. However, you’ll only encounter one type of ghost for the first two sections of the game, quickly desensitizing the player from building any apprehension or fear while playing.

33cccc">0000ff">The towns Eric must visit are dirty, dark and abandoned – apart from the cursed spirits that occupy some of the buildings. He needs to collect weapons and learn how to use his third eye if he is to protect himself from falling prey to them. Eric also must collect journals and books to gather more information on his surroundings and what was going on with Frank before he went missing. 000000">The environments are highly realistic, although they still have some clipping and choppiness in from certain distances, but they utilize color and shadow extremely well. In areas inhabited by powerful ghosts, the lighting will fade to black and white. In other areas of the game, the lighting will shift to a hue of chromatic gray highlighted by splashes of color to accentuate certain things, such as Eric’s jacket or part of a building. It gives the game a very eerie feel, and serves to create shadows and interesting shapes in the scenery to mess with the player a bit.

33cccc">0000ff">Eric does meet a few living souls amongst the cursed and supposedly dead. Luckily these folks are happy to help with whatever it is that Eric needs to give him more insight into the situation as it is and for what is yet to come.0000ff"> The games cut scenes and story are presented rather erratically, randomly splicing into game play and sometimes not directly relating to what’s happening at the present time in the story. Such as footage of Frank’s sexual trysts with a woman living in Cholomonzo randomly interrupting game play as you enter a building. (Probably to show the player what happened there as he follows Frank’s trail, but it’s not really explained why Eric can pick up on these things.) The cut scenes themselves, however are very well executed presented to the player like an old movie reel. The only problem with this is that all cut scenes are formatted this way, which included flash backs, and what’s currently going on with Eric as you advance through the story.

The first weapon Eric receives is an Ice Axe appropriately, followed by the “Kartrika” an attachment for the Axe, to exercise spirits. I rather liked how the game avoids guns/ammunition, and really taps into the survival aspect of survival horror, which few games do anymore. Players will use the Ice Axe combined with the Kartrika to blast ghosts with spirit energy. Using the Wii Mote, you’ll also have to shake ghosts off of Eric, and it will become more challenging to do so as they increase in difficulty.

Ripe with puzzles and various quest objectives to complete, players will have to break seals to enter new areas, by locating and then executing the correct swipes with the Wii Mote and Nunchuk to advance. I felt this was a very good addition to the game, and some of it’s best innovating so far, as it increases the tribal and ritualistic motif the game drops you into, especially for a game of this genre, exclusively on the Wii. One section I particularly enjoyed was the “Ghost Korlo” which locks you in one area, while sending infinite waves of ghosts after you, while damaging your health over time. The Ghost Korlo isn’t completed until you find various seal fragments scattered throughout the area and combine them to escape.

The game’s musical score supports the creepy atmosphere of the game quite nicely, and while some of the voice acting isn’t great, Eric’s voice actor is very good, and endears him to the player while on his quest. His narrative of the events conspiring in the game sets the foundation of the plot nicely.

During Eric’s ascent of the mountain he will encounter many boss fights, which each seem to require an element of strategy. The first boss, a haunting Griffon like Idol calls for three vulture statues to be simultaneously deactivated before you can defeat it. After deactivating the statues, the player must perform a decently long string of specified Wii Mote and Nunchuk swipes to finish off the boss with Eric’s Kartrika.

0000ff">I have not finished it, nor do I intend to. I got stuck (as usual) and got killed quite a few times, therefore I had pretty much gotten my fill by that point. I’m sure it gets scarier the further you get. Yes, I don’t like horror at all and needless to say I played with the lights on. The whole time . As a whole, I feel Cursed Mountain is a very solid game. The game play is still unique enough and interesting, regarding the manner in which you use the Wii Mote and Nunchuk. If you’re a fan of survival horror, I would actually recommend buying this game, and even if you’re not a huge fan of the genre, it’s still worth a play through. I couldn’t justify giving the game a buy simply because there’s not much else to do in the game after completing it the first time. Despite it’s lack of replay value, it’s still a good addition to the Wii library and would also serve as a great introduction to a genre of gaming rarely seen on the Wii, for the console’s many casual gamers. 33cccc">

0000ff">I have not finished it, nor do I intend to. I got stuck (as usual) and got killed quite a few times, therefore I had pretty much gotten my fill by that point. I’m sure it gets scarier the further you get. Yes, I don’t like horror at all and needless to say I played with the lights on. The whole time.  Much to my own amusement, I found myself considering that if you took out the “SURPRISE!” atmosphere when you happen upon a cursed foe (you know, someone sneaks up from behind and manages to scare the angel dust out of you), you might have a game I wouldn’t mind playing should I be in the mood. That and I feel I’m too young to consider buying adult diapers to accompany my game. There were a few expletives expressed and heart-racing moments experienced in this game.  The PEGI rating for this game is “16” and says it contains violence (which I can assure you there is plenty of) and sex (which I did not come across for the amount of time I gave this). If you are prudent as to how you spend your money then take the above into consideration, especially if you mean to buy it for a young impressionable someone.  If you think you can withstand this game, then I would recommend you give it a go. It’s possible that this could be one of those games people remember when they talk about what stood out for this console.

Naomi’s review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of her review.

The Wii sensor bar just tends to lay there in front of or on top of the television in our homes. Not much to look at, and most people wouldn’t even notice it. But maybe you want people to notice it. Or maybe you like the idea of the force holding your Wii Sensor Bar.

Bensussen Deutsch & Associates have created the Darth Vader Sensor Bar Holder for the Wii. It’s licensed from both Nintendo and Lucasfilm Ltd. Maybe not something that every gamer needs but every Star Wars fan might want.

The Darth Vader figure sits there looking menacingly watching your every move as you wave that Wii-remote around. Darth is made of resin and and the Wii Senor Bar becomes a part of his red lightsaber.

The price is $39.99 and you can purchase it below and benefit GamingAngels.com!

Last week we were invited by Hudson to fly out to San Francisco and check out their upcoming titles. My prior impression of Hudson was all things Bomberman and Adventure Island. During my visit we sampled new titles coming from Hudson and I got to know the people behind the company a bit.

The night started off with us mingling and meeting other press that were invited to the event. We were then called into a room where the opening speeches were made. The speeches covered titles that were on display with a demo of the Calling.

I started with Calling which is due out on the Wii in the Spring 2010. This Wii exclusive is coming from the Japan Studio and is definitely staying true to the idea of Japanese Horror. Gamers will be able to play through the game with Japanese voices and subtitles. The character walks through creepy halls and it was more than enough to scare me. But then there was more! The game uses the Wii-Remote as a phone which the ghosts use to call you. This was a new level of creepy for me. Another interesting aspect to the game play was that when the character gets frightened or anxious the screen becomes a darker shade of red. Also monitoring the character is a heart monitor. The Hudson producer completely denied it, but I definitely think this is something that could and should use the Vitality sensor that was announced at Nintendo’s E3 conference earlier this year.

The chapters are described as “Pulp Fiction” with the stories intertwining at the end. If the hands-on is any indication, this game is sure to cause me nightmares!

Feeling scared at this point, I went to try out Rooms. Rooms is a puzzle game coming in Spring 2010 for the Wii and DS. In Rooms, the player is a character that is placed in this weird world and is trying to get out. To assist him on that mission, players have to move around the room pieces to create a path for him to walk on.

Rooms is based on the PC game and is keeping the live action feel of the original. The DS version will have a community where users can create and upload levels.

I didn’t spend much time with Diner Dash, Bomberman Live, Military Madness or Deca Sports DS which is due out this Spring 2010. Diner Dash is the first port to the consoles. Military Madness is out on XBLA and is an updated version of the Turbografix original. The controls are the same for fans of the strategy game. It just has a new look. Deca Sports has been very popular for Hudson and with Deca Sports DS they are bringing 10 new sports to the game and online multiplayer using one card.

The last game I spent time with was Bonk, Brink of Extinction. Hudson could have taken the easy way out and just ported the old Bonk, but they wanted to expose new gamers and remind older gamers how much fun Bonk was. In the game, Bonk now has powers due to a transformative ooze. Yes, sounds silly, but when playing the game it totally works. Switching through the powers is easily done. Bonk Extinction will be out for XBLA, PSN and WiiWare and will feature two player drop-in co-op. In speaking with the producer of the title, you can tell that he has much love for the original and really wants to make a fun Bonk experience for all gamers. I enjoyed playing the title and found the levels fun to go through. There is also a side-game of collecting letter pieces to spell things out.

Honestly, Hudson surprised me at this GamerDay. They did fly me out and put me up for the night, but I really didn’t know what to expect. What I learned is that the company has solid titles and is very interested in trying new things. There are some ports, but they also have a good mix of new, interesting ideas. One of my favorite parts was witnessing how much like a family Hudson employees are. They cheered each other on during the presentation and sang with all of us at karaoke later. I hope we continue to see great things from this smaller studio that is looking to make a big impact on gamers.

The Wii Remote and Nunchuk are getting a stylish makeover for the holidays. Seems like the days of white controllers are out and black is in. On November 16, the black version will be on sale.

The new black Wii Remote controller will come packaged with a black Wii MotionPlus accessory for $49.99. The black Nunchuk will be separate at $19.99.

“The Wii Remote revolutionized not only how people play games, but also who plays them,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The new color lets people customize their setup, and the controllers make great stocking stuffers for players of any age.”

Nintendo Wii Remote Black

Nintendo has decided to make a few announcements late tonight. Good thing we’re always working! Today, Nintendo announced the date for Wii Fit Plus launch which will be October 4th for the US.

The DSi and Wii Remote are coming in new colors as well. Starting September 13, the Nintendo DSi will be available in White and Pink. This holiday season, Nintendo will be launching a new black version of the Wii Remote bundled with a black version of the Wii MotionPlus accessory. A black Nunchuk controller will be available for the holidays as well. Because you have to have a matching set.

“All of these announcements bring more options and more choices to consumers as our industry heads into its busiest time of the year,” Fils-Aime said. “Each of these products allows consumers to enjoy a more personal gaming experience, no matter how they choose to play.”

Wii Fit Plus has new exercises and users can customize their own workouts. It will be sold bundled with the Wii Balance Board for $99.99 or just the Wii Fit Plus disc at $19.99.

Muramasa

This week I sat in on a demo for Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The Ignition Entertainment title is headed exclusively to the Nintendo Wii on September 8. The action game is developed by Vanillaware whose previous work was the much loved and very difficult, Odin Sphere.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade takes place during the Genroku era on the main island of Japan. Kisuke has lost his memories and is being chased for a crime. He only knows that he wants to find a certain katana. Momohime is possessed by a foul swordsman, and gets to know him during the journey. Each will explore half the map and meet in the middle.

In the game there are 108 different swords to find. The swords all have different abilities and take damage. It’s possible for a sword to break during battle. When that happens, it takes 30 seconds for the sword to heal. We were shown the sword tree which will look familiar to gamers that have played Final Fantasy X. Using a sphere grid like map, you unlock the new swords.

Muramasa

To be expected from the team that worked on Odin Sphere the game is visually stunning. It’s pretty amazing that it looks so good on the Wii. The team did heavy research about the time period and artists that they used as inspiration for the game. Many of the scenes were inspired by woodblock art. While the movement is in 2D, they did create 3D backgrounds to add depth to the levels. Levels will also go in many directions. So it’s important to have the map HUD up. Levels go from right to left, up and down, it can be pretty confusing if you aren’t paying attention.

Being on the Wii, gamers can use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck or the classic controller. There is a learning curve to the controls for the game but don’t let that scare you. The most frustrating part for me was pressing Z to change swords instead of the C button. Z controls the map which isn’t so useful in the middle of battle. But once you get a handle on the controls, Muramasa: The Demon Blade was really fun to play. The fighting action is fast and the boss battles are challenging. The boss battle that we saw had three stages.

Ignition Entertainment kept Muramasa: The Demon Blade with the original Japanese voices and subtitled in English. I did find it interesting that there isn’t a Playstation 2 or PSP port. But hopefully Wii gamers will give Muramasa: The Demon Blade a chance.

Here is a gameplay trailer for Muramasa: The Demon Blade: