<report>This is not a story of heroes. Nor of common sense, for that matter, but that's what makes it so great. This is a story of madness, war, over-the-top battles and stubborn people mindlessly but consistently following their own laws and ideals. Well-intentioned but ultimately flawed ideals, as they get to learn the hard way.

It starts off rather weak, with annoying characters and bad jokes that come at the expense of good storytelling. But I'm very glad I didn't drop it, each chapter gets progressively more awesome and ultimately the much stronger cast and the less frequent but far more funny jokes end up being major selling points.

If you dislike fake happy endings, you'll have nothing to worry about here. It sticks to a badass and brutal (fictional) reality all the way to the end.

<report>After finishing the first episode i didnt want to play it. It's was just a edgy protagonist story, I was wrong. After completing my first playthrough i was fascinated, and telling myself it can't get better than this, once more i was wrong. Each route was better than the other. Solving the mysteries, writing, characters, music, even long battles everything was perfect. After finishing the game i was feeling like i had fulfilled my purpose in life, I was a diffrent person. If I died, I wouldn't regret anything. That was the Soukou Akki Muramasa felt to me, truly a masterpiece.

<report>A masterpiece born within the rift between historical drama and science fiction, to capture the essence of human conflicts: the subjectivity of good and evil, and the glorification of murder and self-righteousness.

Muramasa takes full advantage of the visual novel medium to deliver its message, yet at the same time possesses the uniqueness to be the antithesis of all stereotypical Japanese VNs. It's for pleasant surprises like this that keeps me going in this medium.

<report>Muramasa is an amazing work of fiction. It has great writing, compelling characters, extremely detailed worldbuilding, and a solid emotional core. Rarely does a novel keep me glued to my seat from start to finish like Muramasa, whether it be through laughing, crying, or wanting to see what happens next to a character that I've grown really attached to. Like an Agatha Christie novel, Muramasa knows exactly what your expectations and assumptions are when you read a visual novel, and it plays you like a fiddle. Because of that, it is best to go into this story blind, without knowing the first thing about it. If you're thinking of picking this up, do not hesitate. It is regarded as a masterpiece among ADV games for a reason, and maybe you'll get as much out of this novel as I did out of it.

<report>If there is one thing to complain about this visual novel, it is the beginning. The prologue and the first chapter feel unnecessarily long, too "in your face" with the philosophies of the visual novel, and read as if the author likes reading himself way too much, by how verbose it all is. It feels very pretentious.

It gets better - a LOT better - from there onwards. This is almost worth playing for the route system alone, which was a marvel to see how it really works. The (prominent) characters all feel nicely written and embody their philosophies well. The soundtract is unique, and works REALLY well in the insanity scenes. It has a few out of place fucked up scenes, but nothing too detracting.

The lowest I could reasonably give it is a 9.5, but midpoint onward it is so strong, it's a 10

<report>Pretty much flawless. There's a few spots where the pacing is iffy like Kanae's route and the halfway point of the true route, but those are the only issues I have with the VN. The main cast is written amazingly, with Kageaki in particular being what I'd consider the absolute peak of character writing in a fictional work. The main heroines also shine through in their routes, and the supporting cast is memorable enough to make scenes with them enjoyable.

If there's something I'd like to highlight about Muramasa, then the epilogue (The Demon) deserves high praise for being the BEST segment I've ever read in a VN. It's the perfect conclusion to Kageaki's character arc and THE thing that ties Muramasa's themes together, which is a tremendous task for a 2-hour segment in an 80-hour VN.

<report>Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is an tale that questions and explores moral righteousness, while also being engaging every step of the way.

+ Extremely detailed Japanese influences and styled prose
+ Battles of personal philosophies from its complex cast.
+ Deadpan humor is delivered excellently despite its depressing world
+ Fantastic production and soundtrack highlighting said setting

- Dark "edgy" sexual content
- Fight scenes and Japanese history/political segments can be long-winded
- Tiresome choice decisions in Kanae's route

Full Video Review: link

<report>Absolutely awesome story that explore it's concepts so deep that it will leave you in awe by the sheer thought that went into creating it. Not quite the 10/10 masterpiece japanese readers make it out to be because of it's tiring long fights and pacing issues(much like Dies Irae) but it's absolutely worth reading nonetheless.

<report>Great VN that served it’s purpose very well and very interesting main character i enjoyed a lot. I really loved the sorimachi fight and the hikaru backstory which is one of my favorite backstories in general. Something that’s keeping the score from going higher is that i found the end of the hero route to be really underwhelming and i think that says a lot really but i loved this story about righteousness man.

<report>Pretty great mature Visual Novel with some great Characters, each featuring intriguing moral standards on why they are doing what they are doing it especially focuses on justifications for killing people and does lead to some amazing moments. However, the Start and the latter half of the true route didn't quite do it for me as it does become a bit too chuuni, edgy and overly stretched to the end, i also think the true ending itself is not for everyone, certainly not for me. It's a shame, as the theme and the meticulous description of the battles make it a standout among visual novels and at certain points i was going to give this a 9 or 10. It also features some, in my opinion, unneccessary and tasteless sex scenes this VN could have done without. That said, i greatly enjoyed the read

<report>Easily the best Visual novel I have ever played. I genuinely did not expect it to this amazing but here I am. This is not a short review because I am just a simple reader, what I am here to do is implore you into giving this masterpiece a try.
Whether you end up liking it or not just give a try please.

<report>While not as good as I was led to believe, Muramasa still shoots to the top of my favored visual novels despite its issues. The protagonist largely carries this visual novel, and is easily one of the best -- if not the best -- in the medium.

<report>Quite good overall, was expecting something even better with the current rating it's at. Leaves a little bit to be desired in regards to twist delivery and closure towards the end - the author sets up some brilliant scenarios to discuss the core themes of the visual novel, yet unfortunately ceases the conversations despite setting up opportunity to. It feels almost as if it was slightly rushed towards the end, but the overall pacing and writing was excellent and keeps you hooked, and the world-building is excellent.

+1 to other reviewers remarks - not really a life changing kamige, but very enjoyable regardless.

<report>装甲悪鬼村正 was a very good visual novel. Probably the best visual novel I have read out of all the ones I have so far. The writing style is interesting throughout the entire thing, every chapter in itself has an interesting plotline and flows well into the next chapter. The way that information is given to the reader, birthing questions and stringing along your interest and finally rewarding you with reveals is also done perfectly. Every character in the novel is well designed, the endings are nice, and I think that the overall themes and philosophical ideas that are brought up are very enlightening and inspiring. There are so many epic scenes that will remain in my mind.

I would really recommend this visual novel to anyone. 11/10.

<report>Goated story + mc with unprecedented mental anguish to the point where he may have brain damage + no one is safe + war crimes + multiple routes + philosophical journey + 75 hours of reading + mechs + ratio + kageaki W

<report>Nothing much. It was good for a novel of that year technically speaking but nothing really stuck to me in terms of story. The worldbuilding was good i guess and Muramasa, Kageaki and Chachamaru were really good characters

<report>This game's rating started at a 5. I added .2 for every good scene, and minus .1 for every bad scene. It hit a 10 by the third chapter. For every weird, out of place humor or gross H scene, it makes up for it with brilliant characterization and worldbuilding. This VN deserved all of the budget it got... but not all of the praise. It's definitely not perfect. But I'd still put it in my top 3 vns of all time.

<report>A Great novel without a doubt but definitely not for the faint of heart. Superb in its writing and moral philosophies but it's just too "dark". A prime example would be digging through a pile of shit. A good pile of shit mind you a golden pile of shit. You dig and you dig and you dig and while it is fun to slather yourself in golden delicacies the nature of shit is that of well shit. It's disgusting and at its core uncomfortable. Digging this shit only leaves you with a "shitty" feeling and entertainment with a shred of golden insight in the end. That being said if you are more impervious to darker stories have at it!

<report>Compared to other Visual Novels, this is a 10/10.

VN's is one of the worst genres for entertainment if you're looking for good writing. 95% are just porn games with no story or either the most generic rom-com crap. Even the one's at the top that are highly regarded by fans like Muv Luv Alternative and Grisaia are super overrated. When I stumbled upon Muramasa I was expecting another edgy garbo VN but to my surprise, it was actually good.

A VN protagonist with actual development and not a shitty self insert?
female characters with ideals and motivations, not just some fu*k toys?
A complex and intriguing world filled with various factions, each with their goals and ambitions?
I couldn't believe it.

<report>"I have faith in my own evil" something corny like that, too funny I lost it after that considering everything I read (long exposition, rape scenes of throwaway characters) building to that point. Infodump and exposition wasn't for me. It had amazing soundtrack, good themes, and mid characters (protag was goated). I'd say Hero > Tyrant > Devil > Tyrant for routes. Iconic VN, I felt like I had to put a review out for this. The start and common route were peak 10/10 but after that it was okay. It's a good VN just a bit overhyped, i'd give it a 8 if I was unbiased from preferences.

<report>I have no idea why this is rated so highly. It reads like an angsty 12 year old wrote it, and his friends are patting him on the back for creating such "art". It's mean-spirited, cliched to hell, and is reminiscent of the Last Jedi in its blunt force efforts to "subvert expectations". A deconstruction of VN tropes can be good, but you damn well better be a FANTASTIC author to pull it off. Otherwise it comes off as pretentious and douchebaggey.

Muv-Luv Alternative this ain't. That VN was the PERFECT example of how to do deconstruction the right way. This one is an example of what to avoid.
MLA was smart enough to still tell "The Hero's Journey". There's a reason why that story formula has been around for so long. It WORKS.

<report>Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is an unfathomably ambitious narrative epic dealing with a myriad of themes rightfully accompanied by a production of colossal proportions, a definitive masterpiece of the medium.

Narahara's work is a sprawling solidarity of a number of heavy themes explored boldly but carefully with meticulous depth and brutally challenges ideologies and stances on several contrasting views of morality and ethics.

Narahara's canvas of 1940s Japan is a multifaceted exploration of war, violence, idealism, vengeance, accountability, individualism, collectivism, justice, peace, harmony, love and most importantly, the concept of self. FMDM is ultimately a story about the... Read more »

<report>It is difficult for me to say why it is so good since
Neither am I very good at writing
Nor is it easy to explain without going into spoilers. I feel like every single word I say, can be taken as spoilers and Muramasa is something you go into 100% blind. You shouldn't even look at the walkthrough because it will spoil the experience.That's the only thing I regret while reading it.

There is one line you will keep seeing in Muramasa - これは英雄の物語ではない (This is not a tale about heroes) and that is pertinent throughout the story. Muramasa is about war and how there's no justification for murder. There is no good or evil. You can't sacrifice people for the "greater good". And it will beat that... Read more »

<report>I see quite a few negative reviews coming in, so I figured I'd balance it out. Heh.

I understand their frustrations; I really do. Muramasa's single flaw, in my very subjective opinion, is that it's not for everyone. Much as I hate to say it, Narahara Ittetsu's works have a somewhat specific target audience, though I've been delighted to find out recently that it might be a little wider than I initially expected.

This is why I'm going to say that while this review is somewhat biased (go ask Narahara what Muramasa's target audience is, he'll reply with my name), I still attempt to present the reasons why you should and why you maybe shouldn't play Soukou Akki Muramasa, all without spoiling... Read more »

<report>Muramasa is a powerful and tragic tale as we follow Kageaki journeying down a bloody path to achieve his goal.

- Story -
Muramasa stands out within the visual novel medium as stories similar to it are pretty scarce, and for it to even gain so much popularity in the first place is also quite surprising, but that's what makes this visual novel so special, taking full advantage of the medium to deliver its story. At its best, Muramasa's story is an excellent portrayal of tragedy, madness, and human conflicts. But while Muramasa is usually very dark and severe, it had its fair share of light-hearted moments, even for the antagonist, it's to remind the audience that no matter how evil a person... Read more »

<report>Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is one of those rare works of fiction that transcends the limitations of genre and medium, evincing a profound comprehension and mastery of the human condition. Although not a flawless work by any stretch of the imagination, Muramasa strives for - and reaches - lofty narrative & production heights that are nigh unrivaled among Visual Novels. A morally ambiguous dark fantasy harboring a timeless tale of love and revenge, Muramasa is one of the finest works of fiction of the 21st century.

Story 9.5/10: Dark Fantasy, a personal favorite genre of mine, is (surprisingly) scarce in the visual novel industry. Thankfully, it is executed and explored in Muramasa close to... Read more »

<report>Great story that was worth waiting 11 years for (in English). I'm gonna write down some of my disorganized thoughts here, that I'll clean up over time. It's easy to find praise for this game, and while I agree with a lot of it, I don't want to repeat it, so I'm going to start by focusing on the negatives that make this an 8/10 for me, and not a 9 or 10.

The rape scenes were good at being loathsome and disturbing, and I loved how effective those were. But why did consensual sex scenes have to be so dumb and rapey? There is, conceivably, an in-world reason why the main character has sexual trauma that made him be a sex weirdo, but why doesn't it manifest anywhere else in the story? It's just... Read more »

<report>(Note: This review is based on the 2012 full Chinese translation of Muramasa)
Instead of writing a comprehensive review that aims to cover as many components as possible, I decided to highlight a few aspects worthy of mention from my personal experience.

Upon first glance, there's a lot more written about cons than pros, but that's not to say the cons outweigh the pros. Quite the contrary, it's so good that even the 'bad' can be good.

Pros:
1. Ambitious yet thorough world-building
2. Atmospheric and thematic soundtrack
3. Excellent writing in terms of pacing, foreshadowing and the narrative itself. Can't comment much on the original writing in JP, the most I can do is infer based on... Read more »

<report>From the same dude who made Hanachirasu, the swordfighting otaku extraordinaire Narahara Ittetsu. It really activates your smooth brain considering how bad Hanachirasu is compared to Muramasa. Literally the Magnum Opus of Ittetsu's known works and Nitro+'s library.


The main theme of the story is 善惡相殺, meaning killing both good and evil. As you can probably guess, it delves into the idea of justice, ethics, and morals. Out of all of the good and evil narratives I have read so far, Muramasa seems to be one of the most fleshed out considering how it uses its story to push on the theme. If you thought that Fate/Zero or Fate/Stay Night delved into the idea of "Justice" quite well, you would be... Read more »

<report>Great philosophical exposition/fable on the theme of "good and evil" that will stay with you for a lifetime. Guess your reception would depend a lot on your own worldview, though it resonated very deeply with me and reaffirmed my outlooks a lot. Only the neutral and objective way is the way to understanding the truths of matters. Of course each side in a conflict would claim that "justice" is with them and the other side is "evil", while there is simply no such thing as "just" or "evil" in the world. No other work etches this point in your bones as deeply as 装甲悪鬼村正.

It also has a tear-inducingly tragic yet completely free-spirited, dominating and breathtakingly beautiful character that... Read more »

<report>There are enough recommendations on this page telling you why you should or shouldn't play this game, so I just want to use this review to tell you why I like this game (which means the preference is really personal).

For me, this work is not absolutely perfect. If I could change it, there are many things I'd like to change. Still, it remains a 10/10 work for me. There are three main aspects of this work that I love: the setting, the plot of the first part, and the underlying 'theme'. I will analyze these three parts in detail next. Of course, there are also many secondary elements that I enjoy, such as the character design of the protagonist. The way the character is designed, along with... Read more »

<report>I found Muramasa to be an exceptional work. It single-mindedly digs into certain ideologies relating to human nature and relationships, amalgamating a wide range of genres into the work.

-Story-
This is not a game with the best story, pacing, nor setting, but in a sense it doesn't matter
Suprisingly enough, I found the story not the strongest aspect of Muramasa. One problem among many is heavy info-dumping styled story-telling. Another one is story-telling not smooth enough, giving readers a disconnected plot. The story feels like a chronicle, one event is unfolding after another. Finally, it's hard to suspend my disbelief between the anachronistic fight among weapons from different eras... Read more »

<report>I went into this VN with very few preconceptions about its content. Perhaps not knowing what to expect allowed me to get a "purer" or more thought-provoking experience out of it than I would have otherwise. In any case, my view is that Soukou Akki Muramasa, or Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, is one of the greatest visual novels ever written, and it's about as close as any game in this genre has ever come to being a true "masterpiece". From an objective viewpoint what we have here is a beautifully written narrative with excellent voice work and an aesthetically pleasing art style, complete with a soundtrack which is not only top-tier but thematically appropriate at every point in the story... Read more »

<report>Full Metal Daemon Muramasa has been lauded as a kamige ever since its released in 2009. So what makes the game so great? Muramasa is a giant essay on violence, murder, conflict, and the way of the sword. Narahara Ittetsu, from his Kendou background gives various views on violence and how it is used. Violence is a very strong power, and one needs to be prepared to deal with it when it comes one's way. Sometimes, the only way to deal with violence is fighting back with violence. Hence, creating an eternal cycle of violence we can not escape from. It doesn't glorify violence nor does it reject it, it just describes it as it is. The main thesis can be summed by 4 characters "善悪相殺." Its literal... Read more »

<report>One of the greatest visual novels of all time.

There are numerous flaws in this vn but the good aspects are so good that they completely cancel them out. So despite the few issues that I will be listing, they are dwarfed by how great the overall novel is. So what could have been a rating of say 8/10 were made into minor things I was fine with by the time I finished reading.

The good

- The best humor I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Dark and unique to most else I have read. It starts good, and only gets better the further into it you go. Great for character development, and relief from the main darkness of this story.

- Unique plot that goes against expectations. As stated by... Read more »

<report>Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is my favorite visual novel. It's not perfect, but expecting a perfect product from something crafted by imperfect humans is absurdist.

First, I want to get the negatives out of the way. Chapter 1 is slow-paced and can be boring at times due to not being in the POV of the main protagonist of the VN, and the Kanae (Vengence) route (while still good) is blatantly the worst route in the game by a significant amount. Both sections of the VN are definitely still vital sections of the VN when all is said and done as the characters introduced in Chapter 1 end up being more significant than they seem down the line and the Vengence route sets up plot points for the True... Read more »

<report>Life-changing kamige it was... not, but it was still pretty damn good. The ideas it presented were coherent, had some fair arguments for them and explored the whole law of balance thing from different sides. You are definitely not going to enjoy it if you vehemently disagree with the core philosophical idea, though, because the work is built on it. Sword autism during the fights was enjoyable, and I am a bit sad there was less of it by the end. All the characters were placed properly and definitely added to the game, even if they were not the main focus of it.

If there's one main criticism I had to offer, it'd be that the routes and the characters felt too disconnected from each other, not... Read more »

<report>I was waiting for a long time for this one. In short, I was disappointed, very disappointed.. If I were to score this based on my enjoyment alone it'd be lower than a 6, but my score reflects an attempt to merge my own feelings with a more objective look at the story.

It does a lot right. It sets up an interesting world, set with intriguing lore and philosophical conundrums. There are some very well done battle sequences, and it does introduce ideas that get you thinking at various times throughout the story.

From a narrative perspective, I have to say I couldn't be more disappointed and frustrated. The true ending was hollow. The earlier heroine routes were often cheesy (particularly the... Read more »

<report>I understand why people enjoy this visual novel; to a degree, I also enjoyed this visual novel.
So why did I rate it a 4.5 / 10? I believe that this visual novel is weak. While some parts are very enjoyable, the overall "story" fell apart.

Characters:

The protagonist was very enjoyable. Kageaki was competent and complex. The unique nature of how the protagonist interacted with the world kept dialogue engaging. However, throughout the story the author weakens him for the sake of plot. I can understand being weakened by his own internal moral/mental struggle; however, sometimes the author would just weaken him on a skill/tactical level - which served only to needlessly drag out the... Read more »

<report>Is Full Metal Daemon Muramasa as """kamige""" as people say? I'd say not quite. Is it overall worth reading? I'd say so.

There's quite a number of reviews on this site already, so I'll just try to focus on my personal pros/cons while trying my best not to spoil too much (I personally think marking a whole review as spoilers ruins the point unless you just specifically make reviews to have discussions with people who also read it)

++The Major Characters Are Quite Good

Pretty much have no complaints here. The protagonist is very unique, cool, while still being deep with solid character development. The main heroines all have very different and likable or interesting personalities and bring... Read more »

<report>I beat Full Metal Daemon Muramasa a few days ago and I’ve been wanting to write a review ever since. Now that I have found time to do so, I can hopefully capture some of my feelings while playing this game. Also I know it is a novel but I’m going to be referring to it as a game out of convenience.

If I could sum up my experiences in one sentence it would be: “As I played I kept worrying that the game would let me down, it never did.” This is not a perfect story, I have a few very minor nitpicks which I will cover at the end. Every time the story went in a new direction I worried that it would result in poor execution, especially in the true route when the story begins to change a lot. I... Read more »

<report>I usually don't write reviews here, but I decided to do it for this one because I feel like I need to get it out of my chest a little, and I'm pretty sure my opinion is an outlier. That said, this is not flamebait, don't look at my score and think I'm just trying to troll you.

First things first, played the GOG version. I don't like sex scenes in VNs, and will always opt to play the version that removes them, and in this case I wouldn't even have touched the game otherwise given the tags.

I actually really liked the first two routes, Nemesis and Hero. While most people seem to agree Nemesis is the worst route, I disagree, I actually liked it quite a lot from start to finish and I think... Read more »

<report>why does this vn have high votes? okay okay time to give this one a low score.

just reached chapter 2 and I'm on the verge of dropping it.

worldbuilding/setting: decent. it has a world to work on. that's about it. it's built around tokugawa/meiji era if that make sense. or as the game puts it, it's in a fictional timeline where "greedy tokugawa" reigned instead of the meiji era. okay I don't know much about their history so I'm pulling my ass here but hopefully you get the point.

believeability: except there's this ridiculously overpowered tech soldiers that just preys upon the weak. let's just call them for what they are: gundam. they have gundam powers but they still rely on slave... Read more »