Every backdrop looks like a woodblock print somebody set in motion.

On gut feel alone, with no criterion, Muramasa already sits ahead of about three quarters of games. And on looks it is a rout: art direction puts it ahead of 97% of titles, near the very top. The rest points the same way, the soundtrack ahead of 85% of games, rediscovery ahead of 81%, and controller feel ahead of 91% of titles, though that last one rests on only three duels, so treat it as early. Fun is solid without more, a little above average. But there is a false note: attachment leaves it behind, ahead of just 37% of games. That is the tension. People admire it, call it gorgeous, dream of experiencing it fresh again, yet they do not truly bond with it. It dazzles more than it holds on.

Among 2D beat'em ups, it is the painterly exception, making hand-drawn craft the central argument in a genre that mostly talks combos and frames.

So, who is it for? For you if you want a game to be a painting first, the blade serving beauty as much as battle. Much less if you are after characters and a story that stick to your skin long after the credits.