(Articles in the Ramble Ral section are presented “as is” with minor editing. For more information please see its section page. They will probably contain spoilers for the game in question)
Where there are Demons, I slay them.
Where there are Saints, I slay them.
Mine is the Way of the Sword.
Do people remember what first drew them into picking up a game? I assume it’s generally involving brand names or company loyalty – picking up the latest Fire Emblem or Square Penix game, for example.
For me and Muramasa, it was seeing the tagline of the game, the first of which is presented above. A play on the Buddhist koan “If you meet the Buddha on the road, slay him” – intended towards prodding the reader towards asking questions – including pondering about what question is being asked of them.
What is Muramasa about? I could copy the VNDB description, but I always wondered if a simple description of the game’s concept is the best way to sell a game. Sometimes it might be – “A bunch of teenagers with special talents are trapped in a Death Game and have to perform Phoenix Wright trials against each other” is, apparently, pretty appealing on its own. So in this scenario…
In an Alternative History Post-WW2 Japan (named “Yamato” in this universe), Minato Kaegaki is a police officer on a mission – to hunt down Ginseigo, the Silver Star, a monster whose “song” has the ability to rob men of their sanity, turning them into berserk beasts who tear both friend and foe apart, and when a suitable host is found, they can be implanted with her egg, eventually hatching into a copy of itself. Left unchecked, her spawn will overrun the country, leading naught but a pile of corpses in its wake. To make matters worse, Yamato is currently under the rule by the tyrannical and corrupt Rokuhara Shogunate, who oppress the citizenry as freely as they breathe air – meaning no help can be expected from the powers that be. His is a deeply personal quest, with barely a support network behind him.
His most stalwart ally? The titular Muramasa – his Tsurugi, a mystical and sentient suit of armor that he equips when battle awaits. While the game is categorized under Mecha on many websites, it’s more akin to Power Armor – like Iron Man suiting up before a battle, except in a feudal setting rather than a sci-fi one. With the power granted unto him, he seeks to defeat Ginseigo – in truth, a being closely tied to his own past.
On paper, solely from the description, perhaps some people may find the quasi-historical setting interesting, but overall, it does read like a fairly standard “superhero” set-up ala Kamen Rider, doesn’t it?
Not so, as there is a little catch regarding the power he possesses…
Perhaps one of the most striking things about this VN to me is its use of the Affection Meter. Those who are familiar with the more romance-orientated aspects of the genre will find themselves at home with the concept – a counter that indicates your affinity with the heroine in question, and once you have collected enough “points”, you are able to enter the heroine’s “route” and wind up with them happily ever after.
So ingrained is this concept that it is almost a certainty that most people expect it to apply even if the game was any combinations of gritty, dark or depressing in its tone. As such, at the first instance of the Meter popping up after the introductions to the two lovely ladies who will serve in this capacity, the player will inevitably act in accordance to his internalized habits, raising the meter for his chosen heroine above all else.
Imagine then, their surprise and confusion, when they witnesses the main character striking down the chosen character at the end of the chapter.
Envy not the one left behind though, as she shall soon find herself Kagaeki’s mortal enemy as well.
For Kagaeki’s power comes at a terrible price.
For every Villain that he slays, so too must he take the life of an Innocent.
For every life taken in Hate, thus must you pay the toll with the life of a Beloved.
That is the Law of Balance – perhaps one of the most interesting limitations I’ve seen ever imposed on a character.
What is Muramasa about, really?
Rather than the description I’ve gave, I would say it’s an in-depth exploration of violence – not in the “Mortal Kombat is really bloody and gory, which will negatively affect the little kiddos” sense of the word. It’s about what it means to inflict harm on someone – to take their lives and to end them utterly.
The “No Killing” policies of Western Superheroes has never sat well with a fair number of people, myself included. Quite often, this is seen from a utilitarian point of view – that by sparing The Gamer Joker while being the only one who can end him, you are yourself responsible for perpetrating his crimes. Sometimes, there is what I personally believe is a rather strawman response to said argument – a counterpoint about the world of Superheroes not being the real world, and thus “real world considerations” does not apply in this scenario.
Personally, I come at it from a different angle, in that I think it’s somewhat unsatisfying that the heroes in question almost always “cheat” to avoid the consequences of choosing to walk the path of a pacifist. In real life, one of the problems with effectively practicing complete pacifism against threats of violence is that it requires one to significantly overpower their opponents in the first place – negotiation does not work against those acting in bad faith, and disarming a trained soldier armed with a rifle with your bare hands is the stuff of fantasy, after all. Yet even Batman effortlessly does so, sidestepping any and all consequences of a path that involves the use of might.
It is rather paradoxical then, that Muramasa is a piece of fiction that comes closest to selling me on the virtues of Pacifism, despite how much bloodshed its practitioners are inevitably forced to perform to get by in this cruel world. Or perhaps it is exactly the fact that it does not shy away on showing us the price that those who live by the sword have to pay, each and every day, that makes it resonate in its themes and message. I think about how we live in a world where so many people are convinced that the world will be a better place after they have killed all their enemies in the name of Justice, that they deserve to die for all the crimes they committed, and that any arguments towards the contrary is simply sophistry.
I shall not do a full deep dive of the game. It is, after all, actually available in English, and can make its own case for its ponderings on matters of Good and Evil, of Justice and Vengeance, and how the possibility of achieving Peace in the world. However, I shall end with going on a short tangent, drawing from my favourite tune in the game.
As the comments section goes – “This is the song that plays when someone is about to become past tense”
The track name, Setsu-Nin-To, would translate along the lines of “The Life-taking Blade”, and is one of the game’s underlying themes. It is a Buddhist concept, I believe, tied to its counterpart Katsu-nin-to, “The Life-giving Blade.” At its simplest and most naive, it’s the distinction between using a sword to rob, steal and murder, and using it to protect the innocent.
Go a little further, however, and you will soon find yourself with other questions – “Perhaps it is alright to take certain lives, if doing so would improve that of others? Perhaps those lives that must be taken might even be those of villains – surely no one would argue that the only rational course of action would be to do so for the greater good? Ah, but what if some innocent blood has to be spilled in the process as well? A small price to pay, you say? Or one too great? Yet surely it must be preferable to inaction – suffer not a tyrant to live.”
Many scholars and philosophers spend their entire lives answering merely a fraction of this question, and there is no one true answer that fits all.
As for me?
I am reminded of a quote in Yggdra Union, a fairly notable SRPG with an interesting take on the usual genre narrative, of underdogs taking on “evil empires” with righteousness fully on their sides, and is likely drawing upon the same concept. Paraphrased to the best of my abilities –
Justice lies with the Holy Sword…
Those who wield it are bound to deliver justice.
To strike down the unjust.
But the sword is just a weapon.
It can only wound.
Anyway Full Metal Alchemist Masamune The Demon Fang is the greatest Monstergirl Romance VN of all time – after all, some of my best friends are Dark Elves… I look forward to hoping it is never in Super Robot Wars.
Rough Edge 