Muramasa has fantastic animation, large sprites and bosses, and lots of enemies on screen. But the thing that really makes it stand out is the variety of its imagery and its attention to detail. You'll go from a foggy forest to a paradise-like beach, cross to a series of rooftops, then enter a Japanese mansion. The backdrops aren't just static scenery either. They have such layered depth and movement that they really do look like paintings come to life.

One thing that has kept me playing Muramasa thus far is the desire to see what gets shown next. But the game isn't just good looks. A fast and deep combat system and some unique level design has kept me wanting to play just as much as the pretty visuals.

The only thing that's a bit iffy about the controls is the jumping, which requires that you press up on the control stick. This was presumably done to make the game playable with the Wiimote/nunchuck combination. I've found jumping to be a bit tough with the nunchuck's analogue, so I use either the Classic Controller or GameCube controller with the d-pad.

One of the interesting quirks about the combat system is that you can select between a button mashing mode and a more skilled mode. These can be switched between at any time. You're basically changing the difficulty, but the end result is that when playing the button mashing mode (actually "Musou" mode as in the "Musou" from the Dynasty Warriors series' Japanese name) you can pretty much slash away at enemies without fear of dieing. The more skilled setting is for experts only. You'll die pretty quickly if you don't properly use all the moves at your disposal.

Backtracking is sometimes forced upon you. The game will make you run through large expanses just to get back to a previous point. Annoying? Not at all! There's no loading between scenes, and with the stunning visuals, and the promise of more intense sword play at the end point, you probably won't mind.