Muramasa

The Muramasa is a katana that appears in many games of the Castlevania series.
==Origins==
The Muramasa is a high-quality katana made by the swordsmith Muramasa Sengo (or one of his students) during the Muromachi period in Japan. Muramasa, however, was a swordsmith infamous for having bouts of violent fits, which in spirit were considered to be passed onto his works. He made his living during the Sengoku Jidai, one of Japan's most turbulent and violent periods of civil war. His works were considered less artistic and were prized solely as weapons. Upon the end of the Sengoku period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate, after the establishment of his rule, forbade his samurai from using Muramasa's blades, supposedly due to a combination of having cut himself badly with one and the weapons being common among his enemies, to the point where the brand was identified as the killing piece in incidents where the victim was from his family. Muramasa was then vilified as a maker of "evil" blades in Japanese lore, often contrasted with the "good" swords of Masamune. Many legends surround blades created by both smiths.
One legend tells of the smiths Muramasa and Masamune placing blades in a river to test which was stronger. When Muramasa placed his sword in the running water, leaves floating by were drawn to it, and every one was cut cleanly in two. When Masamune did the same with his sword, the water flowed around the edge without touching it, carrying the leaves away from the blade as it did so. Often, this tale concludes with an onlooker (such as the Emperor or Shogun) denouncing Muramasa's blade for its destructive nature, sometimes even ordering his execution. This story is clearly impossible since it's told as if the two smiths were contemporaries, when in fact Masamune lived 300 years before Muramasa. Another legend states that Muramasa blades are demonic and must draw blood before they can return to their scabbard; legends vary on what will happen if they do not.
==Game specific information==
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
Muramasa, like Gurthang, has automatic blood healing without having to cast Dark Metamorphosis; unlike Gurthang, it has the entire Dark Metamorphosis effect rather than just a flash on its command move, meaning it can blood-heal Alucard even if the enemy is damaged with a sub-weapon. On the surface, the Muramasa seems to be a worthless gimmick sword; it reduces your ATT by 5 and DEF by 4, will occasionally jam like a Red Rust if your current ATT is 10 or less, and has a slow swing speed. As with the other katanas with negative ATT, Muramasa deals Curse damage. It does not help that the most likely place to encounter it is the Forbidden Library, where the Fist of Tulkas and Crissaegrim can also be found, although a very lucky player may obtain one from a Vandal Sword, which can be encountered in the Clock Tower, prior to Karasuman.
However, the Muramasa has a hidden ability, which is that it levels up as Alucard is healed by blood while using it. It gains a point of ATT for (current ATT×2 +11) blood heals; for example, to increase from its starting -5 to -4 ATT, it requires just 1 blood heal, -4 to -3 requires 3, and so on. Additionally, when your damage output is 30 or more (Muramasa's ATT bonus does not matter), it gains an automatic, free Slash Flurry every time it is swung (like the Masamune and Yasutsuna) and increases in swing speed. The Slash Flurry has a different animation in the Sega Saturn version and a longer range, which makes absorbing blood from enemies a near impossible task, and hitting them from close range makes the blood spill from the opposite side.
It takes several thousand blood heals for the Muramasa to exceed the Masamune in strength, making it impractical without the use of a taped-down turbo controller, but the upper limit to the Muramasa's ATT is 999 (requiring over one million blood heals), meaning it is potentially the strongest weapon in the entire game. Although its ATT is capped at 999, it can go over the cap in a critical hit or when attacking an enemy weak to Cut, of which the Stone Rose is the only one, and theoretically when attacking an enemy weak to Curse (but there are no enemies weak to Curse in the game).
There are two main methods for leveling the Muramasa. One is to simply place Alucard in one corner of the Merman room in the Entrance (the Medusa Heads room in the Black Marble Gallery is also a suitable place for this method), preferably with the Bloodstone equipped, and then tape down the [Attack] button on a turbo controller and leave the game alone for a while.
A faster method, but one requiring actual player input and more equipment, is to go to the Dark Octopus room in the Reverse Caverns and do the following: Alucard's equipment should be the Muramasa, Bloodstone, Blood Cloak, the Knife sub-weapon, and whatever items the player has that lower Alucard's DEF and INT the most (the classic being a Duplicator). Throwing knives at the enemies will produce a shower of blood with every hit; the INT debuffs will mean each octopus can take more knife hits (since less INT means the knives will do less damage); the Bloodstone will ensure Alucard does not die; and the Blood Cloak will turn all damage received into Hearts to continue throwing knives (which is why low DEF is desired because you restore your Hearts faster). If you feel confident enough and have all the necessary gear, you can make the leveling even faster by equipping two Duplicators and not using the Bloodstone at all. To further lower your INT, you can also equip the Sunglasses on the head and the Walk Armor.
The weapon can be unequipped while still leaving Alucard with the permanent Dark Metamorphosis effect. It will remain in effect even if some items are equipped, such as an Elixir, Manna Prism, or Library Card. Blood heals absorbed in this state still count as experience for the Muramasa, which allows the weapon to be leveled without being equipped. This can be an advantage when using the Knife sub-weapon to level up the Muramasa, since Alucard won't swing the sword accidentally and kill the enemy when he runs out of Hearts. Equipping another weapon, a shield, or certain items, such as a Heart Refresh or Power of Sire, however, will remove the effect (see "Perfect Muramasa Level Up Method" on External links).
Since it's not legitimately possible to have less than 1 point of STR in the game, when the Muramasa reaches 998 ATT, if the player insists on gaining the last level to reach the cap, it will be impossible to tell if such has happened by looking at the numbers alone.
Without taking time to level it, the Muramasa is the worst of the three healing swords; it is far weaker than Gurthang and both weaker and more situational than the Mourneblade. A player must decide if they wish to invest the time to make it worthwhile, but if enough effort is put in, it can end up even more powerful than the Crissaegrim. Since the weapon deals Curse damage, it can be used to inflict Curse status on the boss Doppelganger 40, while the boss Akmodan II, being immune to the Curse attribute, is consequently immune to the sword's attack.
Via the swinging animation, the blade itself appears to be akin to that of a normal sword; only the recovery animation will have a brief splash of blood dripping from the blade afterward. This visual effect is also shared with the Gurthang. Once the Slash Flurry is available, the actual swinging animation can be canceled if the [Attack] button is pressed just as Alucard lands from a jump or fall. The Slash Flurry still happens, but damage becomes equal to Alucard's total Strength without the weapon's ATT bonus, as if unarmed. This is also a feature of other katanas that possess the Slash Flurry effect, such as the Masamune.
In the original PlayStation version, using a soft reset (all four shoulder buttons + [Select] + [Start] for the Japanese version, or just [Select] + [Start] for the North American version) will result in the console retaining Muramasa's current level in its RAM; if the player then starts a new game, the level will be passed to that game. So, if the weapon is acquired again in that new playthrough, it will have the same ATT value it had on the file that was previously loaded. Saving the game will permanently set that game's Muramasa to the ATT value it had on the previous file.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
In this game, the Muramasa is the only weapon with the Curse attribute. As a result, its attack will be boosted by its target's HP if the target is vulnerable to Curse. It can only be obtained from Lubicants, which are also vulnerable to Sword and Curse elements, the elements of Muramasa.
Akin to the other "named katanas" (Onikiri, Kunitsuna, and Yasutsuna), the Muramasa can hit twice if positioned correctly by holding down the B button upon swinging it. However, it loses this effect in exchange for a unique 2-hit Slash Flurry for its Critical Art in Dawn of Sorrow.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
The Muramasa is one of the two strongest two-handed swords and the only weapon with the Thunder element that Hector can forge. While the ATK value is 10 points lower than that of the Feather Sword, the other powerful two-handed sword, its attribute can provide an advantage against strong enemies like the Final Guard.
===Castlevania: Order of Shadows===
The Muramasa is found on the upper level of the Castle Walls in a section of the Castle Grounds area. It is in a candle on a perch that initially cannot be reached, but that can be reached by traveling far to the right, heading up, and then heading back left. It can also be reached by jumping off from the top of the Bat's Belfry after defeating the Twin Bats. The blade is swung below the belt. It is more powerful than the Platinum Blade (the other "fast" weapon), but consumes more MP and has a shorter range.
=== Castlevania: Harmony of Despair ===
The sword returns to its former glory via its Symphony of the Night version, except that it is a supposed combination between both the Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow versions. When swung by either Alucard or Soma, the original red Slash Flurry effect occurs with a less faded effect as well as dealing more hits per slash, unlike both versions.
When swung by Alucard, the blade itself is surrounded in a red aura without the aforementioned blood spill. When swung by Soma, the blade is colored red, akin to both the Dawn of Sorrow versions of Kunitsuna and Yasutsuna.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Animations===
SOTN Muramasa 1.gif|Muramasa from Symphony of the Night.
SOTN Muramasa 2.gif|Weak Muramasa from Symphony of the Night.
SOTN Muramasa 3.gif|Muramasa jam from Symphony of the Night.
Saturn Muramasa 2.gif|Muramasa from the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night
AoS Muramasa.gif|Muramasa from Aria of Sorrow.
DOS Muramasa.gif|Muramasa from Dawn of Sorrow.
DOS Muramasa 2.gif|Muramasa's Special Attack from Dawn of Sorrow.
===Animations (Curse of Darkness)===
MuramasaC.gif|Muramasa from Curse of Darkness.
Muramasa2.gif|Muramasa (combo 1)
Muramasa3.gif|Muramasa (combo 2)
Muramasa4.gif|Muramasa (combo 3)
Muramasa5.gif|Muramasa (combo 4)
Muramasa6.gif|Muramasa (combo 5)
es:Muramasa
Category:Curse Assets
Category:Healing Items
Category:Japanese Lore
Category:Katanas
Category:Lightning Assets
Category:Slash Damage
Category:Sub-Weapons
Category:Aria of Sorrow Items
Category:Curse of Darkness Items
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Items
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Items
Category:Encore of the Night Items
Category:Harmony of Despair Items
Category:Order of Shadows Items
Category:Symphony of the Night Items