I'm getting pretty slapped around--shameful for a guy who's played tons of Zelda 1. The first boss took me down handily, so I'll give it another go later tonight. Seems promising so far, if a little straightforward!

There's no map, is there? Not that the game's all that confusing, but it'd be nice to have.

@TriforceBun

Doesn't look like it. Basically boils down to "go left!" Even the level progression indicator in the top right corner goes from right to left, which is cool.

The first boss was tough. Aim for the head! Does it send you back to the beginning of the castle or the beginning of the whole level when you lose all your lives in the castle?

Also, I found some sort of fairy/spirit thing in a blue room who I think gave me two more lives in the castle. That helped. Hm, I really need to read the manual.

@Secret_Tunnel
You get sent back to the beginning of the castle if you continue upon having lost all your lives while inside the castle.

I think you came across one of the princesses or maidens that are trapped inside the castles. They give you one extra life.

Also no, no map. Part of the challenge is exploring and memorizing the layouts and locations of hidden items.

I've made it to the 3rd castle, so I'm exactly half way. What I'm about to say applies to the first half of the game exclusively. For all I know, things could nosedive near the end.

This game is quite difficult, but overcoming its challenges is very rewarding. When I die I immediately want to try again because I know that I can do better. I don't feel like the game cheated me or that it was poorly designed. This is the mark of a good action game. Throwing yourself at the game's challenges only to be soundly defeated rarely invokes feels of frustration or hopelessness. With each defeat, I've found myself saying, "If I try just one more time, I'm sure I'll be able to win". It's about your ability to figure out enemy attack patterns and when the best time to attack is. Games that are based on overcoming fierce challenges walk a fine line between frustrating and rewarding, but I feel that The Mysterious Murasame Castle falls into the latter category.

At least, for its first half. Things could take a sharp turn towards frustrating as the difficulty ramps up with my approach towards the game's finale. So far, however, my only complaint is pretty minor. Takamaru's contextual sword attack isn't as accurate as I'd like it to be when it comes to deflecting enemy projectiles. Right now this isn't too big of a problem, but it could become one if success becomes contingent upon the consistent functionality of that ability.

But I'm very happy with this game so far. The music is awesome, the action is intense, and I really like the visual design. I'm very happy to have the chance to try it out.

The second castle was really tough! I didn't have a very good strategy for the rooms with fire turrets and string-shooters. The axe-spinning guys gave me a bit of trouble too.

I love how good this game feels. It flows really well. I'd love for a sequel that cleans it up a little--sometimes I want to deflect a projectile that's coming at me diagonally and it isn't at quite the right angle to register. Still having a lot of fun with it, but like Hero_Of_Hyrule, I'm wondering if it will get too hard near the end.

Is this the game starring Takamaru? Looks great for a 1986 game.

@anon_mastermind

Yup!

@Hero_Of_Hyrule

Any luck with the third castle yet? Between these rooms...



...and the fire-spinning enemies, I'm having a rough time.

Interesting that they released it here... wonder if they might be planning a revival after Nintendo Land and this or if that is reading too far into things. I suppose Takamaru would likely be a playable fighter in Smash if that were the case though.

Beat the third castle! Used my invisibility power-up to get past those really tough rooms and a couple of the spinning-fire enemies. That's what I'd been doing before, but I always ran out. I found a second invisibility power-up on the second floor in the maiden's room though, so that gave me just enough help to get to the boss and beat it. So satisfying.

@Hinph

Did you see that he's an assist trophy?