Effectively, right here we go. The combat of the centuries. A nightmarish Dewey Decimal mixup between Edo-era Japanese historical past, early twentieth century pulp sci-fi, and the Who Would Win books. It’s Musashi vs. Cthulhu, and the winner can now be decided on the Nintendo Change.
Sort of. As a result of the winner goes to be Cthulhu, or a minimum of his minions. They’re by no means ending, in any case, and Miyamoto Musashi is only one man. Musashi vs. Cthulhu isn’t about successful, it’s about chasing your excessive rating…which sounds prefer it could possibly be a lesson instantly out of Musashi’s The E-book of 5 Rings. I haven’t learn that, however I’ve learn David Kirk’s Little one of Vengeance, and he made no point out of battle in opposition to Lovecraftian monstrosities.
That’s what Musashi vs. Cthulhu is, in any case. This motion recreation pits you, as Musashi, in opposition to an onslaught of creepy trying monsters you’ll be able to’t overcome; you simply have to remain alive so long as attainable. That’s half and parcel for arcade motion video games, so it’s honest, however whether or not the gameplay can maintain your consideration for that lengthy will depend on your mastery of the niten’ichi kenjutsu approach.
A short tutorial explains the controls, that are minimal. Musashi stands within the middle of the display screen, and he’s attacked from either side. You progress…truly, you don’t transfer. You leap…no, Musashi has no want for leaping. You kick…please, have some dignity. The one factor you do within the recreation is swing your swords. Up, left, and down on the D-pad are your excessive, mid, and low assaults to the left. X, A, and B are the identical to the proper. You merely thurst your sword within the meant course.
Small enemies, comparable to big maggots, want low swings to attach, clearly. Mutated flying bugs require excessive swings. However what in regards to the monsters that stand tall like Musashi? They’ve clearly outlined weak factors that have to be focused. In different phrases, this recreation is solely about aiming and timing. Attacking to the left can depart you weak to assault from the proper, so that you don’t need to overextend or misjudge who will get to you first.
You additionally don’t need to miss. That breaks your combo chain and, extra drastically, permits the enemies to assault you. That can drain your well being, however you do mechanically shove all enemies away, permitting you time to refocus to your subsequent transfer. You can even taunt to lift your shields, however taunting additionally leaves you briefly weak, so it must be well-timed.
That’s solely it for the sport’s fundamentals, however Miyamoto Musashi didn’t develop into Japan’s best swordsman by merely mastering the fundamentals. Every thrust of your swords shuffles you in that course, permitting you to drag away from assaults from the alternative facet. Studying your enemy’s motion pace turns into key so that you’re not attacking an enemy that can fall behind one other. Sure enemies additionally require a number of hits, so that you’ll have to develop comfy with fast strikes with a purpose to take them down effectively.
Sure, it’s all fairly primary, however Musashi vs. Cthulhu is helped out by a pair essential gadgets. First, the gameplay is exceptionally snappy; assaults are responsive and fluid. Second, the graphics are successfully creepy (though some setting selection would’ve been good). Third, the audio does a stable job of accenting the motion.
All of this combines to create a considerably addictive, visceral expertise that manages to entertain longer than you could anticipate. Nonetheless, I can’t assist however really feel the Change model is lacking one key function: movement management. Holding a Pleasure-Con in every hand and snapping your wrist to strike might’ve been actually cool, albeit tiring. It could have additionally made the sport too straightforward if executed properly, however I really feel like movement management was a misplaced alternative.
Musashi vs. Cthulhu shouldn’t be the deepest recreation you’re going to play this week, and it doesn’t present a goal for these not excited by chasing excessive scores or leaderboard rankings. However it’s enjoyable in brief bursts, and it’s immediately accessible. I feel it might make extra sense as a cellular recreation, however at solely $5.00, it’s priced to serve that time-killing goal when you’ve got your Change on the go.
So, let’s have an excellent, clear combat, and should one of the best man (or cosmic entity) win.
