Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Muramasa: The Demon Blade, known in Japan as Oboro Muramasa (Japanese: 朧村正, "Hazy Muramasa"), is an action role-playing game developed by Vanillaware for the Wii, and later the PlayStation Vita. The game was published in 2009 by Marvelous Entertainment (Japan), Ignition Entertainment (North America), and Rising Star Games (Europe). The Vita version was published in 2013 by Marvelous AQL in Japan and Aksys Games in Western territories. Using a 2D side-scrolling perspective, the gameplay revolves around a beat 'em up fighting system, while incorporating role-playing elements such as leveling and questing.

Muramasa takes place during the Edo period on Japan's main island of Honshu. Due to ruling shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's thirst for power, conflicts have arisen over ownership of the Demon Blades, samurai swords that force their wielders to kill others before bringing tragedy and madness upon them. The story revolves around two different protagonists related to this conflict — Momohime, a woman who is possessed by the spirit of vengeful rōnin Jinkuro Izuna; and Kisuke, an amnesiac ninja on the run for a forgotten crime who is tied up with the tragedy that destroyed Momohime's family. The Vita port includes four self-contained stories based on Japanese folklore released under the banner title Genroku Legends (元禄怪奇譚, Genroku Kaikitan).

The concept work for Muramasa began during the middle of development on Odin Sphere. Along with improving on the action gameplay over Odin Sphere, a great deal of effort was put into making the game's setting authentic to the period. Kamitani created the story based on kabuki theatre, incorporating Japanese folklore and Buddhist theology. When the game released in the West, it retained its Japanese voicetrack to preserve its atmosphere. It released to moderate sales and positive reviews. The Vita port, released in the West as Muramasa Rebirth, released to strong sales and similar reception to its original version.