Oboromuramasa: Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

3/3/2009

Marvelous Entertainment’s upcoming Wii title, Oboromuramasa is presenting many creatures and legendary figures of Japanese myth in beautiful 2D rendering. I am a huge fan of Japanese yokai, or spirits, and felt this slow news day was a good chance to give some background on the different creatures that appear in the game.

	Karakasa or Kasa-obake A spirit of an umbrella which reached the age of 100 years. There are several such spirits which were once inanimate objects, but were blessed with life on their 100th year. They are known as tsukumogami. The Karakasa in Oburomuramasa wields a single katana and wears geta sandals. Unlike its traditional representation, it also has a second leg.
	Gaki, Preta, or Hungry Ghost One of the six realms of rebirth according to Buddhist lore. Preta are tormented creatures whose hunger and thirst will never be sated. They are normally not visible to humans. The torment of the Preta is a direct result of a past life spent with too much emphasis on desire.
	Kappa An intelligent creature that lives in small bodies of water such as rivers or streams. They are mischievous by nature, and have been known to eat people, usually children that wander too close to their watery homes. The top of a Kappa’s head must remain filled with water or it won’t be able to live on land.
	Yuki-onna (snow woman) A spirit that appears to those wandering ice-covered mountains. She resembles a woman and uses her appearance to get close enough to people to breathe on them, freezing them to death instantly. Yuki-onna is best known from a story out of the Kwaidan in which she falls in love with a woodcutter.
	Umibozu (Sea monk) A large sea monster which appears along the coast of Japan. It is known to capsize ships, or in some situations request a ladle from the ship’s crew, and proceed to fill the ship with water until it sinks. Traditionally these monsters are depicted as large black shapeless forms. Since they are always hairless, they get the nickname of monk. While they may appear violent, they seem to respond well to clever remarks.

This is just a few of the many spirits and demons that will be appearing in Oboromuramasa. I like how each one is just a little different than how they are classically represented. I can tell that Vanillaware is definitely putting their own touch on Edo era Japan.

Roy

history, marvelous, nintendo wii

6 comments

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7threst

I really like the way how they designed these demons, in a sort of modern way but at the same time really respecting, or maybe a better word is understanding, the role they played in culture, it’s all done with a lot of respect. They sure know how to make folklore and culture work in videogames at Vanillaware.

03/03/09 @ 6:57 pm

Jink

Umibozu scares the hell out of me. I have a very fearful fascination with the deep sea, and I can already picture me dropping the controller and running out of the room whenever Umibozu approaches me in the game.

The designs are great to. Perfect attention to detail and they’re not boring to look at. What more could you ask for? It’s like a painting in motion.

03/03/09 @ 7:18 pm

Roy

@7threst I agree that Vanillaware is really good at portraying aspects of different cultures very respectfully and artistically. I wish more studios were like them.

BTW I saw that you are enjoying Baroque, glad to hear it! I was also dismayed at the number of negative reviews.

@Jink Foxes shares your fear of enormous sea creatures. If you really feel like scaring yourself you should check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloop

Be sure to listen to the audio too

03/03/09 @ 9:56 pm

Jink

Goddammit, why did I click that link? Gave me permanent goosebumps.

03/04/09 @ 12:08 am

Kabling

This makes me think that I’m the only one whose favorite animal is the giant squid…
I think I’ll be looking forward to the fight with the umibozu the most.

03/04/09 @ 9:36 am

Foxes