Sunday, June 20, 2010

Flashback-Flashforward Comparison: Little King's Story and Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Quick Brew Info:
The last time I showed the data for these two games was on November 1, last year.
Little King's Story was released on July 21, 2009 for the Wii, with a MSRP of $49.99.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade was released on September 8, 2009, with a MSRP of $49.99.
The data used in the original story was effective as of October 26, 2009.

(Click image to enlarge)

Number of Players Reporting Data:
Little King's Story now has approximately 8,644 players reporting their play-time data, an increase of 5,124 players since the October 26 data.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade now has approximately 15,851 players reporting play-time data, an increase of 11,261 players since the October 26 data.

Total Game-Play Hours Reported/Increased:
Little King's Story now 160,894 Total Hours reported, an increase of 99,599 hours since October 26.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade now has 216,747 Total Hours reported, an increase of 163,238 hours since the October 26 data.

Amazon.com Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
Little King's Story's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,902 and the current selling price is $28.12.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade's Amazon.com sale rank is #890 and the current selling price is $33.99.

GameRankings.com Review Score Averages:
Little King's Story's review score average is 86.32%, based on 37 reviews.  It was sitting at 87% on MetaCritic.com on November 1.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade's review score average is 81.94%, based on 45 reviews.  It was sitting at 80% on MetaCritic.com on November 1.

Thoughts:
I still have not played either of these games, but I have read several reviews and hands-on previews out them.
From what I remember reading, it seems that both Little King's Story and Muramasa: The Demon Blade are really solid titles, just with little to no marketing campaign behind them.

Here's the picture from November, that I originally posted with the debut data for both games:
(click image to enlarge)

Questions:
If you have played either Little King's Story or Muramasa: The Demon Blade, are they titles that you would recommend to others?
Also, if you completed Little King's Story, how long did it take you to complete?

If you are interested in either Little King's Story or Muramasa: The Demon Blade, you can see new and used prices for them on Amazon.com below:
  

9 comments:

  1. I have both titles. I have completed Muramasa all the way through (obtaining all swords and all three endings for both characters). I have played a bit of Little Kings Story, but have not completed it yet. I would highly recommend both of these titles. Muramasa become very addicting to me and is one of very few titles that really beckoned me to complete multiple endings. From my time with Little Kings Story, it is very charming and draws you in, it is also hard to put down.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've played both and they are both games i would recommend to others (in fact i did a few times), but while i'd recommend muramasa to everyone, i recognize that Little king's story isn't a game for everyone.

    in fact while i completed muramasa several times i never completed little king's story.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @YoBrandino:
    About how many hours did it take you to complete Muramasa with all the endings and all swords?
    Was it around the average of 13 Hours 41 Minutes, or a longer than that?

    @Anonymous from June 20, 2010 @ 5:24PM:
    The only thing I remember reading about Little King's Story, that I wish was different, was that it lacked any IR function from the Wii Remote.

    Being that you are like YoBrandino, and finished Muramasa several times; how many hours have you put into Muramasa would you say?

    Thank you both very much for your comments and feedback! It is greatly appreciated!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I own Muramasa, and it's one of the prettiest games this gen on ANY console. I may have to restart Muramasa since I lost all of my data from the purge, but it would be worth it to me. The graphics and music were incredible. There are literally moments I had to stop the game to take in the scenery and simply say "Wow".

    Nintendo did promote this title a little bit around its debut at the Nintendo Store. This and Tatsunoko are the only two titles I can think of that actually got a nod from the Big N, though Epic Mickey could be another.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @coffeewithgames:

    i don't remember exactly and i'm too lazy to turn on my wii and check, but getting all the 3 endings for both charachters and collecting all 108 swords took me about 30 - 35 hours. i played it on medium difficulty (you unlock the hard one only after you get all the endings), i died quite a few times and i did a lot of backtracking (often unnecessary) only to explore the map and to get all the items so maybe it's possible to complete 100% the game in less than 30-35 hours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @The Dread Pirate Guy:
    I have heard a lot about the art direction/style in Muramasa. Hand painted backgrounds or something?

    I think Epic Mickey will sell boatloads, because of one thing...Disney.
    When they advertise that on Disney Channel and ABC's Saturday morning cartoons, every kid with cable will be asking their parents for the game.

    @Anonymous from June 21, 2010 @ 9:30AM:
    That's a solid number of hours, which I thought I had heard LKS was around 30 hours to complete; which is why I'm surprised its hours are less than 20 per person on average.

    Thanks for the feedback/comments!
    Anybody else have any thoughts on these two games?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had clocked in about 32 hours in Muramasa to get all swords and endings.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, it's traditional 2D art that looks like the old Japanese style sketches.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they were based off paintings, but the sheer attention to detail and minute animations are worthy of attention. There's a lot to take in visually.

    The last 2D games I thought looked as good as this were Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid, then later 2009's A Boy and His Blob.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @YoBrandino:
    Thanks for the feedback!

    @The Dread Pirate Guy:
    Maybe it was, but I know I've heard somebody else mention Castlevania: Symphony of the Night before.

    I haven't played Super Metroid in a LONG time, perhaps I can find time to play it along with the other games on my list!

    ReplyDelete

Keep the comments clean. Rated "E" for Everyone. :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...