Murasaki Tsurugi

Murasaki Tsurugi is an arcade action shooter developed by Katatema and published by AGM PLAYISM that combines fast-paced combat, explosive chain mechanics, and bullet-heavy survival gameplay into a focused experience built around skill mastery. Serving as a follow-up to the original Murasaki, the game expands upon established ideas while maintaining the accessibility and intensity that define classic arcade design. Rather than relying on long progression systems or cinematic presentation, it concentrates entirely on delivering tight gameplay where quick thinking and precise movement determine survival. The foundation of Murasaki Tsurugi appears familiar at first. Players move through dangerous battlefields filled with enemy waves and increasingly complex attack patterns while attempting to survive overwhelming situations. However, beneath the traditional arcade shooter framework lies a more strategic layer built around explosive chain reactions and battlefield control. Success depends not only on avoiding danger but also on understanding how to turn enemy pressure into offensive opportunities. One of the strongest features comes from the game's explosion system. Environmental obj…

Murasaki Tsurugi has a few differences from it's predecessor. The blocks won't damage you if you collide with them unlike in the first game. The second major difference is the tonal difference. The first game has a more melancholic tone whereas this one is more energetic and whimsical. Like the first game, this game has an amazing soundtrack and art style. Buy this if you like that game or shmups in general.

SHMUP is the genre with the best music. And this is easily on the top 5 of the best SHMUP soundtracks. And yes, the game is also very good. It's a nice spin on the bullet hell genre where you have to bounce some flat polygons against each other to do more damage.

Very different from a typical shmup, it's all about getting good trick shots and bullet cancels. The main gimick is that your shots will destroy bullets, 1 to 3 hits for most bullets. You can only have one shot on screen at once, so the other mechanic, the blue orbs and red talismans. These will bounce away when you hit them, and explode 2 seconds later destroying any bullet caught in the explosion. If the bounced item hits an orb or talisman of the same color, it'll explode when the first one does and amplify the effect, 5 items will generally result in a screen clear. This makes doing trick shots, waiting for optimal patterns and bullet density, and waiting for enough talismans/orbs to spawn very important for both scoring and for survival on some patterns. There are bombs, you have to hold the bomb button for about a second to trigger it, and unlike CAVE shmups or Touhou, you do NOT appear to gain invincibility so be careful of any bullet that doesn't get cleared by it! There are optional challenges on each boss, when certain dialogue happens it'll spawn red blood, picking that up will get a cut-in and a special attack to beat before going back to the main boss figh…

Murasaki Tsurugi is incredibly fun, so much so that it honestly feels bonkers to me that it isn't better known. The gameplay is intuitive and engaging; there's nothing quite like setting off a massive chain explosion and clearing the screen immediately. The bullet patterns are engaging without being overwhelming and the extra challenges to fill out the collection help to break up the game nicely and prevented me personally from feeling walled if I was having trouble progressing in another goal. The characters are immediately endearing (Kairi especially is such a funny and whimsical protagonist, I'm slightly obsessed with him and how he chooses to phrase things), and learning more about them/the plot is a great motivator to go for extra achievements I'd normally ignore in most games. I'd love to see more from the developer and I highly recommend this game to any fan of the bullet hell genre

I recommend this title