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Vanillaware has been something of an darling among consumers for upwards of a decade now. And who can blame anyone that gravitates towards what this studio puts out? With unique visuals and an interesting catalogue of games, we've created a list of what we think are some of the best Vanillaware has to offer. And feel free to let us know what you think and other titles you'd recommend in the comments!

I am divided between Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere (the Leifthrasir re-release in particular). While both are excellent and unique games, in of both gameplay and tone, I have to go with Muramasa. The environments and vistas in that game are especially stunning. It's a real shame that Muramasa is currently trapped on the Wii and PS Vita. Maybe if it appeared on modern platforms and PCs, more people could play it? Hey, Vanillaware? — Daniel

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a work of art, both from the actual classic Vanillaware visual standpoint and the incredible storytelling as well. The massive cast of playable characters are all memorable with some poignant moments and shocks throughout. I will it the combat is forgettable and the ending was really disappointing for me, but I still think fondly about this game quite often. — Cody

For me, the answer is pretty cut and dry. I loved playing Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow of Mystara, so naturally my favorite Vanillaware game has to be Dragon's Crown. It's a great 80's-esque side scrolling beat'em up, only made better by Vanillaware's signature painterly art style that lends itself so well to the atmosphere of the game. I'm personally a huge fan of the character designs in Dragon's Crown because I'm a big "sword and sorcery" fan, but outside of the impressive visuals I'm a sucker for co-op. So being able to dungeon crawl with friends meant I dedicated around one-hundred or so hours to this simple but exciting title. — Kazuma

Listen, I'm going to come here and be the weird one. I liked Kumatanchi on the DS, and I still die a little inside every time I think about how I let someone borrow it and didn't go full bounty hunter on them to get it back. (It is going for $200 on eBay, last I checked.) It's a fun life sim about a bear-girl hybrid named Kuma-tan. You look after her at the zoo, ensuring she's well cared for so she performs well, while also seeing her interact with the other people-animals there. It's not an artistic achievement like 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but I consider it one of the best Vanillaware games. -- Jenni

The post Which Vanillaware Games Do You Like Best and Recommend? appeared first on Siliconera.

Odin Sphere and 13 Sentinels developer Vanillaware celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022, but this year will see the launches of a commemorative Vanillaware art book and merchandise. Pre-orders for the celebratory goods are now open, via the Japanese online retailer Ebten. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The main item in the 20th Anniversary celebration is the Vanillaware Official Art Book -Assortment of VANILLA-. The book can be pre-ordered on this page, with an expected release date of June 30, 2023. The book will cost 13,200 Yen (about $96 USD). Pre-orders on Ebten will include several additional items, including a B3-sized wall scroll, a tote bag featuring Vanilla Boy, the studio mascot, key chains featuring the logos used by the studio, and a laser-engraved "3D crystal" that shows Vanilla boy. No previews of the included material in the Vanillaware art book are available on the store page at the moment.

Besides the Vanillaware art book, dozens more items are available as part of Ebten's Vanillaware 20th Anniversary offering.

One set includes framed reproductions of key illustrations from various Vanillaware titles. The illustrations on offer include the designs used as box art for games like Muramasa: The Demon Blade, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Dragon's Crown, Odin Sphere, GrimGrimoire, Grand Knights History, and Princess Crown, which technically predates the Vanillware name. Even Vanillaware's lesser-known DS-based life sim, Kumatanchi, has a print up for order. 13 Sentinels character designer Yukiko Hirai also created a special 20th anniversary picture for the occasion.

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Each framed print costs 33,000 Yen (about $240 USD), and is expected to ship by August 2023.

Other items include tote bags, acrylic standees, soundtracks, and other goods based on Vanillaware games. The main selection is listed on this page, but here's a gallery of some of the more notable items.

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The Vanillaware art book and other 20th anniversary goods are available via retailer Ebten. The studio's games are available on various platforms. The newest game, GrimGrimoire OnceMore, arrives on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5 on April 4, 2023. A playable demo is available now.

The post Vanillaware Art Book and Merchandise Sold for 20th Anniversary appeared first on Siliconera.

Vanillaware President George Kamitani talked about Dragon's Crown, how it was in development for Wii, and more in this week’s issue of Famitsu  magazine. [Thanks, Ryokutya2089.]

On Muramasa: The Demon Blade 6l6j3f

• “It didn’t  with Sega or Atlus. Thinking rationally, all I could say was ‘Hello, this is Kamitani from Princess Crown, the pre-launch of Fantasy Earth: Zero, and the to-be-released GrimGrimoire and Odin Sphere’ at the time.”
• “The company was close to shutting down around the time Odin Sphere released, but Marvelous told us they liked the project and made it a reality.”

On Dragon’s Crown 6450g

• Dragon’s Crown was initially a project for the Wii.
• “It was well-received when I presented it to a senior at Capcom, but supposedly one of the higher-ups asked ‘But can it sell like Monster Hunter?’ and the project didn’t go through.”
• “That’s where we met Ignition.* They immediately gave us the OK.”
• “Ignition had no complaints. The target was Xbox since we wanted to develop for a worldwide audience, or something like that.”
• “Dragon’s Crown is a title that wasn’t meant to sell that much. The publisher wanted the next game before sales started. Our goal is to continue making games and the sales come as a result of that, but if we were to flip that around then…”
• “I’m glad it sold well, but I personally thought it was bad as a strategy.”
• “As work becomes more readily available but that set higher hurdles. If we were to fail on a 4-5 year course… then what would we have done?”

*Ignition would go on to transfer all rights and duties of publishing Dragon's Crown to Atlus in 2012.

Check our previous report for more from George Kamitani on Princess Crown and other development stories. You can also check here for a new project teaser from earlier this year.

Dragon's Crown on Wii never happened, but it went on to release on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It also got an enhanced port on PlayStation 4 as Dragon's Crown Pro in 2018. Muramasa: The Demon Blade released on Wii and later the PlayStation Vita.

The post Dragon’s Crown was Initially Planned for Wii, Capcom ed on Muramasa Pitch appeared first on Siliconera.

In a recent interview with Glixel, Muramasa’s creator George Kamitani discussed the various concepts which influenced the game, from kabuki theatre to Edo-period block prints.

The post Muramasa: The Demon Blade’s Creator Says The Game’s Setting Was Inspired By Kabuki appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo confirmed Trauma Team and Muramasa: The Demon Blade will be released as digital titles for Wii U in Japan. Both games are scheduled to come out on August 19 for 2,700 yen each.

The post Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Trauma Team Will Be able On Wii U In Japan Next Month appeared first on Siliconera.

Shiny graphics, customizable controls, and four able characters are features Vanillaware added to Muramasa Rebirth. The biggest change may actually be a brand new localization.

Aksys redid the dry translation from Muramasa: The Demon Blade on Wii for the enhanced Vita version. Here's a look at how Muramasa Rebirth stacks up compared to localization work from Ignition and Entalize.

The post Muramasa Rebirth’s New Translation Compared To Ignition’s Wii Version appeared first on Siliconera.

At his “RPG Development: Inspiration and Perspiration,” this morning at GDC, Rune Factory series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto also discussed another game he was involved with—Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a side-scrolling action game by Vanillaware, released for the Wii. Siliconera was in attendance at the talk and we got to hear Hashimoto discuss the game’s development.

Muramasa features two playable characters—a princess named Momohime and a renegade ninja named Kisuke. The game has a distinctly Japanese flavour to it, and some details that even go over the heads of Japanese players, Hashimoto shared during his talk.

For instance, Momohime and Kisuke speak in two different dialects that make it a little bit harder even for Japanese people to understand what they’re saying. Hashimoto pointed out that Momohime has a more royal dialect, while Kisuke speaks in an Edogawa-style.

Dialects aside, other pains were taken to make the game’s older setting feel more convincing, too. If you played Muramasa, you may recall that the game had a system by which you could purchase and eat Japanese delicacies from stores you came across while playing. Hashimoto says that the developers picked delicacies that people would eat in the 17th or 18th century in Japan, pointing out that, at the time, fatty tuna wasn’t very popular and you could get it for cheap. Having realistic elements such as these makes the game believable.

Unsurprisingly, while Muramasa was in development, Marvelous were concerned that it wouldn’t be an easy sell in the West, because it looked too Japanese. However, what they found is that this is what Western fans liked about the game.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is now being ported to the PlayStation Vita as well. Aksys Games will release the game in North America with the title Muramasa Rebirth. You can learn more about the game’s new DLC characters from our recent talk with Hashimoto.

The post How Muramasa: The Demon Blade Was Made To Feel Convincing appeared first on Siliconera.

Update: Officially announced. More details available here.

Siliconera can reveal that Aksys Games are publishing Muramasa: The Demon Blade for PlayStation Vita in North America.

In Japan, the PlayStation Vita version of Muramasa: The Demon Blade is being published by Marvelous AQL. You can watch a trailer for it here.

able content with four new characters will be made available for Muramasa on Vita following release in Japan.

The post Muramasa: The Demon Blade For Vita Headed To U.S. Courtesy Of Aksys appeared first on Siliconera.

During Tokyo Game Show last year, a rumor about a HD version of Muramasa: The Demon Blade circulated on the Internet. Since a HD port has not materialized yet I asked Marvelous if one is in development.

The post What Happened To Muramasa: The Demon Blade In HD? appeared first on Siliconera.

No, it isn't Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Marvelous are working on an original 3DS game with 2D artwork.

The post Marvelous Creating A Game With 2D Artwork That Takes “Full Advantage” Of The 3DS appeared first on Siliconera.

Actually, that should read "left company" because Ajay Chada, one of the co-founders of Ignition, hasn't been working at the Glendale based publisher for months.

After selling his Japan to Europe import games business, Chada formed Ignition Entertainment in 2002. Mega media group UTV Software Communications acquired Ignition in 2007. Chada remained at the studio spearheading the US office and the deal to publish Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Chada left Ignition this September. He did some freelance consulting work for a Facebook quiz game shortly afterwards, but does not appear to be working within the video game industry anymore. He's now at The Visionaire Group, a marketing company with a logo that looks a lot like Ignition's.

The post Ignition Co-Founder Leaves Company appeared first on Siliconera.

For Marvelous Entertainment, the last year has been quite the ride. What started with executive salary cuts arising from falling profits eventually culminated in the company selling off its stake in localization publisher, Rising Star Games, and a decision to cease development of new videogame properties. 2010 started on the wrong foot for MMV.

Cut to 8 months later in August. Following the release of multiple mobile phone titles and a strategy that involved scaling back development, MMV saw their first profits in months, ready to begin the recovery process.

With the company changing gears once again to re-open the lines of development with a focus on their recognized I.P., Siliconera spoke to MMV's group manager, Tomio Kanazawa, to get a feel for what MMV's approach to development would be in the coming years. Kanazawa also holds the post of Director of Marvelous Entertainment USA, Inc.

Marvelous have published a lot of interesting games that may not have sold as well as you would have liked them to. Looking back, what could you have done differently to make games like Sakura Note or Muramasa: The Demon Blade perform better in the Japanese market?

Group Manager of Marvelous Entertainment, Tomio Kanazawa: In regards to Muramasa and Little King’s Story, it’s hard to deny that sales have been difficult for us not just in North America and Europe, but as you mentioned, also in Japan. This is probably due in part to the changing target market for the Wii; focusing away from who we may consider to be “traditional” game fans.

With that said, we’ve still been very fortunate to receive praise not just from the worldwide gaming press, but also directly from our players. Even now, we receive requests from players of games like Muramasa and Little King’s Story to continue their stories, and we’re currently working to meet their needs. With this in mind, we feel that the most important element required for building a fanbase is trust, and in order to build trust, we need to continue to put out high-quality titles.

You've been getting into publishing in the mobile space and even on iPad, first with Little King's Story, and then Followars. Is this a short-term experiment or are you positioning it as a significant part of your strategy in the years ahead?

As long as we continue to strive to provide new experiences for our players, we feel we shouldn’t tie ourselves down to any one specific hardware platform or console. Moreover, just like with the iPad and Followars, we’re always looking to open and explore new markets and possibilities. This is a strategy that we’ll continue to pursue.

[Producer] Hashimoto-san said at an investor meeting that MMV have high hopes for the 3DS in general, and we've already seen a listing for a 3DS Harvest Moon game. What do you think the device enables you to do that previous systems couldn't?

Often-used phrases like “technical progress” and “next-gen” can’t begin to describe just how revolutionary this system is. The 3DS brings with it a new sense of joy, and because of this, we are extremely interested in the platform. As I answer this, we’re working on multiple projects, each taking advantage of the new opportunities the 3DS will provide.

[Note: MMV recently announced a second game, Animal Resort, for the Nintendo 3DS as well.]

[MMV President] Nakayama-san stated a couple months ago that he was optimistic about the 3DS' online functionality specifically. How do you think this could potentially benefit a series like Harvest Moon? Are you thinking of adding a stronger multiplayer component or are there other plans?

As online play in games has continued to progress and expand, we’ve been exploring new and different ways to take advantage of it to bring unique experiences and opportunities to the Harvest Moon series.

As you may know, we recently announced a new Harvest Moon for the 3DS, and to this we’ve added new game-changing features that we think you’ll enjoy. Unfortunately, I can’t talk about them just yet, so please wait just a little bit longer!

A game like Muramasa could probably benefit from the 3D effect with all those background layers. It would also give you a chance to market the game to a new audience. What do you think?

That’s a pretty good idea! That is one of the many things we think our fans want, and we want to provide to them. We at Marvelous Entertainment want to continue to meet and exceed the expectations from our fans as we continue to bring them new experiences.

The No More Heroes ports on PS3 and 360 both exceeded expectations. What other MMV games could you see potentially benefiting from the same treatment?

When we create new titles, we don’t start with the strategy of revisiting them with future hardware ports. However, there are occasionally cases such as No More Heroes, where later on we revisit them to bring them to other hardware. Sometimes, by increasing the available platforms for these games, we can reach new, previously unavailable fans. These are exceptions to the rule, though, and they don’t change our fundamental strategy going forward.

Let's talk about MMV's future. What's the plan for recovery over the next year or two? Could you talk about what your general strategy is going to be?

Including, but not limited to Harvest Moon and No More Heroes, we have a lot of great titles we have to offer to our fans all over the world. One part of our plan going forward is to continue to reinvent and refine these worlds to bring new, exciting experiences.

Right now, the game industry finds itself in a new world of change and diversification, brought on by new opportunities in mobile and personal computing. The entertainment world is quick to change, but we feel that we are quick to adapt and take advantage of the resulting creative opportunities afforded to us.

Much like with the iPad and Followars, we have recently stepped into social networking-based gaming. Change and adaptation are important, and our strategy will always include evolving and adapting, bringing new experiences to our fans.

What do you think the state of the Japanese and Western gaming markets is?

Like I mentioned before, we in the industry are in a period of rapid diversification and change. The Wii is succeeding as a family console while the PS3 and Xbox 360 are largely focusing on a different target fanbase. Meanwhile, the mobile world is being rocked by the presence of previously unheard-of competitors.

All that said, people will always love games, and the amount of gamers has been increasing at a very fast rate. Japan, North America, and Europe are developing new gamers in very similar ways, but one of the keys going forward is going to be tapping the comparatively latent fanbase throughout Asia.

Most importantly, we at Marvelous are always prepared for present and future change. The importance of being able to anticipate, enjoy, and meet this change head-on cannot be overstated, I feel.

Coming back to your current portfolio... How did Fate/Extra come about? Whose idea was it?

Fate/Extra is one of our favorites. We really love it. As a project, Fate/Extra was founded in the ion of our producer. It is a product of efforts to meet and exceed the hopes of our fans. We actually created Fate/Extra with Japanese fans in mind, but if it’s something that our fans worldwide wish to experience, then we hope we can bring it to them, too.

If there’s one game from your portfolio you’d like to have published overseas, that hasn’t been picked up yet, which would it be?

Our goal is to have something for fans of all types. So really, there’s not one specific title that we want to bring overseas; we really want to bring everything we can to the world.

Aside from Harvest Moon, out of all the original Marvelous IP, which would you like to revisit?

There’s a lot, really. There’s actually so much that I can’t really give a full answer. What games would you like us to revisit? What do your readers wish us to revisit?

The post On The Road To Recovery: Marvelous Entertainment appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous Entertainment tell us they're thinking about it.

The post Marvelous Would Like To Bring Muramasa: The Demon Blade To Nintendo 3DS appeared first on Siliconera.

We haven’t heard about Vanillaware, the developer of Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere, for awhile now. So, we poked around their website.

Sadly, there wasn’t news of any new sprite art side-scrolling action games, but Vanillaware is hiring. An update to recruitment page lists a job for a C++ programmer.

If you’re in Osaka, know C++, and speak Japanese you could land the job and work on whatever Vanillaware is secretly developing.

The post Vanillaware Searching For A New Programmer appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo has a different take on budget reprints. Sony and Microsoft drop the price of once hot selling games and put them back on the market with modified box art. For Wii games, Nintendo’s Everyone’s Recommendation Selection is based solely on acclaim from Nintendo Channel voters.

Games in the Everyone’s Recommendation Selection must have an overall rating of platinum, gold, silver or bronze. Over one million votes have been ed in Japan and 75 titles are available for the collection. Out of those seven games have been selected for the launch lineup.

They are…

428 (Platinum) – Sega
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Gold) – Marvelous
Arc Rise Fantasia (Silver) – Marvelous
One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 (Silver) – Namco Bandai
Family Ski: World Ski &  Snowboard (Silver) - Namco Bandai
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Silver) - Namco Bandai
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (Silver) - Namco Bandai

Nice to see underselling games like Arc Rise Fantasia and Muramasa: The Demon Blade get a second chance in the spotlight. The collection goes on sale on February 25. Each reprint will cost 2,800 yen ($30).

The post Nintendo Channel Voters Pick Budget Wii Games appeared first on Siliconera.