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 Swap.
Sort of. As a result of the winner goes to be Cthulhu, or not less than 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 Guide of 5 Rings. I haven’t learn that, however I’ve learn David Kirk’s Baby of Vengeance, and he made no point out of battle towards Lovecraftian monstrosities.
That’s what Musashi vs. Cthulhu is, in any case. This motion sport pits you, as Musashi, towards an onslaught of creepy wanting monsters you may’t overcome; you simply have to remain alive so long as doable. That’s half and parcel for arcade motion video games, so it’s truthful, however whether or not the gameplay can maintain your consideration for that lengthy will rely on your mastery of the niten’ichi kenjutsu approach.
A quick 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…really, you don’t transfer. You bounce…no, Musashi has no want for leaping. You kick…please, have some dignity. The one factor you do within the sport 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 correct. You merely thurst your sword within the meant route.
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 should be focused. In different phrases, this sport is totally about aiming and timing. Attacking to the left can depart you weak to assault from the correct, so that you don’t wish to overextend or misjudge who will get to you first.
You additionally don’t wish 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 routinely shove all enemies away, permitting you time to refocus in your subsequent transfer. It’s also possible to taunt to lift your shields, however taunting additionally leaves you briefly weak, so it must be well-timed.
That’s totally it for the sport’s fundamentals, however Miyamoto Musashi didn’t develop into Japan’s biggest swordsman by merely mastering the fundamentals. Every thrust of your swords shuffles you in that route, permitting you to drag away from assaults from the other 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 must develop snug with fast strikes so as to take them down effectively.
Sure, it’s all fairly fundamental, however Musashi vs. Cthulhu is helped out by a pair vital 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 strong job of accenting the motion.
All of this combines to create a considerably addictive, visceral expertise that manages to entertain longer than you might anticipate. Nonetheless, I can’t assist however really feel the Swap model is lacking one key characteristic: 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 simple if executed nicely, however I really feel like movement management was a misplaced alternative.
Musashi vs. Cthulhu will not be the deepest sport you’re going to play this week, and it doesn’t present a objective for these not occupied with chasing excessive scores or leaderboard rankings. However it’s enjoyable in brief bursts, and it’s immediately accessible. I feel it could make extra sense as a cellular sport, however at solely $5.00, it’s priced to serve that time-killing objective when you will have your Swap on the go.
So, let’s have a very good, clear combat, and should the perfect man (or cosmic entity) win.