The Mysterious Murasame Castle

The Mysterious Murasame Castle
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U)
Release Date	NES JP April 14, 1986 Game Boy Advance JP August 10, 2004 Wii Virtual Console JP August 19, 2008 3DS Virtual Console JP July 3, 2013 EU May 29, 2014 US August 7, 2014 SK July 6, 2016 Wii U Virtual Console JP July 30, 2014

The Mysterious Murasame Castle is an early Nintendo adventure game that was originally released only for the Famicom Disk System. It did not receive an English release until 2014, when it was ported to the Nintendo 3DS as a downloadable title that was available as part of the 3DS Virtual Console.

Story

At a Japanese castle during the Edo period, a great storm brought a stone idol named Murasame to life. Murasame cast darkness over the land and hypnotized the leaders of the villages to do it's bidding using five magic orbs. With his new found power, Murasame plans to overthrow the shogun and become leader of Japan. A swordsman named Takamaru has been sent to defeat Murasame.

Gameplay

The game has a top down perspective, similar to The Legend of Zelda, but the gameplay is much different. The game is linear rather than encouraging exploration and the emphasis is on action rather than puzzle-solving. The player never gets new equipment, but can power up the shuriken.

As the player travels through the game, enemies will block the way, usually ninjas. Sometimes maidens will appear. Saving a maiden will give the player an extra life, but some maidens are really devils in disguise. At the end of each level, the castle's lord must be defeated.

Legacy

Ports and Remakes

• In 2004, this game was ported to the Game Boy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini series.
• In August 2008, it was released through the Japanese Wii Virtual Console.
• In 2013, it was released through the 3DS eShop as part of the 3DS Virtual Console in Japan, and this version was released in America and Europe in 2014.
• In 2014, it was released for through the Wii U eShop as part of the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan. Unlike the 3DS port, this port did not have an international release.
• At the end of October 2023, it was added to the Nintendo Switch's library of NES games that could be played by Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. It was made available in all regions.

Cameo Appearances

• The cartridge of the game appears as a treasure in Pikmin 2.
• Takamaru appears as a character in Captain Rainbow.
• Koei's Samuari Warriors 3 for the Wii features a special mode based on this game in addition to having Takamaru as a guest character.
• In Nintendo Land, there is a mode based on the game called "Takamaru's Ninja Castle".
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Takamaru is featured as an Assist Trophy and a Mii Fighter costume.