Gameplay
Dragon’s Crown
Though both Vanillaware efforts in question could arguably be lumped under the measureless 2D-brawler umbrella, doing so cheats both games of much nuanced game design and general uniqueness. In fact, after playing each for a few dozen hours it’s hard to imagine confusing their gameplay styles or general play structure at all.
The main surface-level differentiator, of course, is the fact that Dragon’s Crown is a multiplayer game. A dungeon-crawler through and through, DC is less about having a sizable, pervasive world to explore and more about raiding and plundering every last ruin, temple, shipwreck, cave, and haunted castle for as much priceless treasure as a courageous band of heroes can reasonably carry. That is, zillions of dollars worth.
The linear framework will appeal to some and disappoint others, but is made up for in spades with combat. At first I was unsure – beginning as a Fighter, it honestly felt a lot like Muramasa, but less intuitive. It only took a few hours before that notion was utterly dashed, though, because the amount of gear and combat skills you can obtain is overwhelming, to the point that your character, his appearance, and his combat style begin to actually reflect the preferences and tastes of the player. My Fighter, Walhart, is absolutely nothing like a ninja or samurai now – he’s an overly-puissant brute who can sustain a shocking amount of physical damage, wields a badass, shoulder-high engraved escutcheon, and grunts like Barry Bonds after a ‘roid injection. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s actually him under all the heavy armor.
That much combat depth, combined with ample room to develop your own play style via skills and your own look via gear, is Dragon Crown’s greatest strength. For me, it was more than enough to offset the formulaic and admittedly slightly dull hub world and general method of shuttling the player from dungeon to dungeon. The kicker, of course, is that there are six different classes, so you can reinvent yourself from the ground up many times over if you so choose. Players who actually take the time to master all six will get more out of Dragon’s Crown than anyone else.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Though less rife with endless RPG-like customization and levelling, Muramasa manages to be compelling in a different way entirely. Gameplay can essentially be broken down into two main components – combat, and world traversal. Though it may seem odd to list “traversal” as a gameplay mechanic, it is so integral to the Muramasa experience that it’s hard to imagine Vanillaware cutting down on it without negatively affecting immersion levels, even if backtracking is a minor inconvenience at times. But we’ll save that for the final section.
Muramasa’s combat, despite being far less strategic or skill-based than that of Dragon’s Crown, is in many ways a more refined and fluidic experience because of it. After a brief tutorial and the requisite button-mashing phase to follow, you soon realize that the key to combat success centers around a mastery (or at least pseudo-competency) of various Demon Blades and their special abilities. Aside from learning the difference between how long and short blades handle, the player needs to develop familiarity with each blade’s special attack. These specials can range from firing projectiles to essentially turning your character into a spinning chainsaw of death, so experimenting with actually integrating them into your manner of play ends up being a blast. Beyond that, each blade has a Soul Gauge that depletes when it takes damage or performs special moves, and if a blade breaks it’s rendered useless for a while. It’s a lot to juggle, but when you finally nail the balance and slay a horde of ninjas who ambushed you just moments before and emerge without a scratch, it feels pretty incredible.
Beyond the fighting and exploration (which I’ll discuss later), Muramasa is trimmed with little gameplay quirks throughout that break up the main attraction and lend astonishing amounts of charm to the experience and the world in which it takes place. Throughout your journey you can stop off at local restaurants and buy food, which is shown in great detail and actually requires a button-press or two to slowly devour. It’d be a stretch to even call it a minigame, but it’s a way for the player to engage outside of combat, and it’s effective. Visiting the hot springs, talking with non-essential but lively NPCs, and strategizing which Demon Blade to buy next all pepper the experience in similar ways.
Advantage: Tie
It’s too close to call on the gameplay front, folks. The gap between the two games in this area is more personal preference than anything else, and since both games execute so well, there’s no clear winner. On to round three!
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