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54-498: Shortly before its announcement, on September 11, 2007, screenshots of the game were accidentally leaked by the Japanese Xbox 360 website and was taken down hours later. A day later on September 12, the game was previewed with Microsoft in a press conference of Tokyo Game Show 2007 , where it was confirmed to exist and be an Xbox 360 exclusive, with the game's director, Tomonobu Itagaki , being stated as saying, "Now please enjoy

108-595: A Muramasa was wielded by Prince Arisugawa Taruhito , the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army against the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War (1868–1869). To satisfy growing demand, forgeries of Muramasa blades were also often made in this period. In popular culture, Muramasa swords have been often depicted as cursed swords with demonic powers. Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook said that Muramasa "was

162-522: A Muramasa. Ieyasu's father Matsudaira Hirotada was also stabbed with a Muramasa by Iwamatsu Hachiya, who lost his mind by excessive drinking. When Ieyasu's first son Matsudaira Nobuyasu was forced to commit suicide ( seppuku ), his beheader ( kaishakunin ) Amagata Michitsuna used a Muramasa. In spite of these unfortunate incidents, Tokugawa Ieyasu and his generation seemed to greatly appreciate Muramasa weapons. Ieyasu himself owned two swords forged by Muramasa and left them to his family; as of 2013,

216-468: A Press Conference to the Tokyo Game Show 2007 , which confirmed the game's existence, and where it was confirmed as an Xbox 360 exclusive. Game director Tomonobu Itagaki was quoted during the event as saying, "Now please enjoy the world's best action game, running on the world's best hardware." 8 days later, on September 20, Ninja Gaiden II was officially shown at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 with

270-434: A burning dragon). The style of the engravings is similar to those of the swordsmith Heianjō Nagayoshi, so some scholars suggest Muramasa studied under Nagayoshi. It is also silver-damascened with characters Nabeshin ( 鍋信 ) , which suggests that the sword was once in possession of Nabeshima Katsushige (1580–1657), the first daimyō lord of Saga Domain . Later, this sword was given to Katsushige's son Nabeshima Motoshige ,

324-559: A captured Sonia. He instructs her to stay put and to not move. Ryu heads into another room and finds a resurrected Genshin, transformed into a Fiend, back for a fourth and final battle. The two-ninja battle in another arduous battle ending with Ryu eventually cutting Genshin down, even splitting his face armor doing so. Genshin and Ryu, though mortal adversaries, share a final mutual respect as ninja in Genshin's dying moment. Genshin shares with Ryu that all of his actions were meant to strengthen

378-526: A fabricated story considering the heirloom of the Owari-Tokugawa family. In the Bakumatsu period (1853–1868), Muramasa was somehow considered to be a curse bringer against the shogunate, and thus shishi (anti-Tokugawa activists) wished to acquire Muramasa blades. Even though the school of Muramasa does not have an exalted or prestigious status to be used by the imperial family in ordinary times,

432-442: A most skillful smith but a violent and ill-balanced mind verging on madness, that was supposed to have passed into his blades. They were popularly believed to hunger for blood and to impel their warrior to commit murder or suicide." It has also been told that once drawn, a Muramasa blade has to draw blood before it can be returned to its scabbard , even to the point of forcing its wielder to wound himself or commit suicide. Thus, it

486-447: A parade in stage show with more than 100 cosplayers on Saturday's night. The show starts from 6:30pm until 8 pm and it is hosted by Yunmao Ayakawa and Tatsumi Inui from the production team company CURE World Cosplay, with background music by DJ & MC: WAN. The participants are members of Worldcosplay website with a few international cosplayers who won contests in countries like Spain, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Turkey,

540-577: A sign of Muramasa and a mantra sign myōhō renge kyō ( 妙法蓮華経 ) (a mantra from Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō or the Lotus Sutra of Nichiren Buddhism ). The back side contains a year sign 永正十年葵酉十月十三日 (13th day of the 10th month of Eishō 10, that is, 10th of November, 1513). It is highly probable that the date was chosen because the high priest Nichiren died on the 13th day of the 10th month of Kōan 5 (1282). Both sides contain beautiful engravings of Kurikara ( Fudō Myō-ō 's mythological sword empowered by

594-659: Is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe , in Chiba , Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications , Inc. The main focus of the show is on Japanese games, but some international video game developers use it to showcase upcoming releases/related hardware. The duration of

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648-421: Is done fighting, he performs a chiburui (the act of swatting blood off of his weapon). He does this for every weapon, with a different animation for each one. Ryu can stand still and attempt to block attacks (though enemies can break his guard and leave him vulnerable to attack) or he can dodge by dashing away in a maneuver called Reverse Wind. The game also takes two elements from the "Hurricane Pack" upgrade from

702-706: Is supposed to emerge from Mount Fuji back in Japan. The mountain is also the place which bound both the Black Spider Clan and The Dragon Lineage. Ryu returns home, cautioning Sonia not to follow him. As Ryu overlooks the fire-brimming Mount Fuji, Ayane enters with the Eye of the Dragon, a gift from Joe Hayabusa, and Ryu equips the relic onto his Dragon Sword, forming the True Dragon Sword again. Heading to

756-454: Is thought of as a demonic cursed blade that creates bloodlust in those who wield it. These images date back to kabuki dramas in the 18–19th century such as Katakiuchi Tenga Jaya Mura ( 敵討天下茶屋聚 ) (1781), Hachiman Matsuri Yomiya no Nigiwai  [ ja ] (1860), Konoma no Hoshi Hakone no Shikabue ( 木間星箱根鹿笛 ) (1880), and Kago-tsurube Sato-no-Eizame''  [ ja ] (1888). When Matsudaira Geki  [ ja ]

810-705: The Owari-Tokugawa family still holds one of the two as an heirloom. Honda Tadakatsu , one of the Four Greatest Generals under Ieyasu , wielded Tonbogiri , a legendary spear forged by Fujiwara Masazane, who studied under the Muramasa school. Sakai Tadatsugu , another of the Four, wielded Inoshishi-giri, a sword forged by Masazane. Later generations in the shogunate, however, gradually came to think of Muramasa as sinister items. Arai Hakuseki ,

864-453: The shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu and his vassals, the katana swords made by Muramasa gradually became a symbol of the anti- Tokugawa movement. Furthermore, in lore and popular culture from the 18th century, the swords have been regarded as yōtō ( 妖刀 , "wicked katana") . Much like his unique reputation, Muramasa is known for some fairly unusual features in his work. These attributes are often called by terms prefixed with "Muramasa". Although

918-433: The 2012 Tokyo Game Show is geared towards introducing emerging game developers from Asia. This area is designated for merchandising of game-related goods. Vendors include Konami and Square-Enix. This area focuses on games for smart devices ( smartphones and tablets ) and social games. Despite record numbers during TGS 2012, many large companies had a smaller presence. For example, Microsoft , which previously had one of

972-476: The 2012 show bringing in 223,753. The busiest TGS was in 2016 with 271,224 people in attendance and 614 companies had exhibits. The event has been held annually since 1996 and was never canceled, however the 2020 and 2021 editions were online only as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The 2022 edition returned to in-person exhibits. The 20th anniversary of TGS was celebrated in 2016. The 2016 attendance record

1026-689: The Archfiend into the ground and bows in respect for the Black Spider Overlord. Ryu, "The Dragon Ninja" takes one last look before taking off into the fog. The plot is continued in Ninja Gaiden 3 and its expansion Razor's Edge . Initial screenshots of Ninja Gaiden II leaked on the Japanese official Xbox 360 website but were removed within a matter of hours on September 11, 2007. A day later, on September 12, 2007, Microsoft held

1080-458: The Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1600) to modern days, however, have dismissed the relationship of Masamune and Muramasa as fantasy because all of extant Muramasa swords are too new to support this theory. Another theory states that Muramasa I was a student of Heianjō Nagayoshi, a prominent Kyoto swordsmith known for spears and engravings. The school of Masashige ( 正重 ) , a notable branch of

1134-522: The Black Spider Clan as a whole (his cause all along) and has no regrets of pursuing that. He acknowledges Ryu as a great warrior, and in support of Ryu's cause hands him the cursed blade of the archfiend for use before dying. A furious Elizébet appears, and chastises the Black Spider Ninja for losing, even with his power. Ryu attacks Elizébet, and angrily cuts her down to red dust with the combination of his own dragon sword and Genshin's blade of

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1188-739: The Black Spider Ninja Clan. Unfortunately, the Demon Statue is taken away by Queen of the Greater Fiends and the Ruler of Blood, Elizébet, and Joe urges his son to retrieve the statue at all costs. Ryu travels around the world with Sonia, in pursuit of Elizébet and the Demon Statue, while encountering legions of Black Spider Ninjas, Fiends, and three other Greater Fiends: Alexei, the Graceful Ruler of Lightning; Volf,

1242-624: The Fiend's Bane Bow), can now draw in essences like all of Ryu's melee weapons to discharge their own Ultimate Technique. The game's protagonist is Ryu Hayabusa , master ninja, descendant of the Dragon Ninja lineage and current wielder of the Dragon Sword. One year after Ninja Gaiden Black , master blacksmith Muramasa is setting up shop in Tokyo , Japan. A CIA agent named Sonia enters

1296-547: The Invincible Ruler of Storms; and Zedonius, the Malevolent Ruler of Flame. Ryu tracks Elizébet down to South America, where she offers the Demon Statue to Infernal High Priest Dagra Dai, in order to resurrect the ancient Archfiend, Vazdah. Elizébet duels with Ryu and he defeats her, but Elizébet proclaims her return. An overlooking Genshin explains that the fiends are looking to resurrect the Archfiend who

1350-404: The Muramasa school is unknown. The oldest extant sword equipped with both a name sign Muramasa and a date sign shows the year Bunki 1 (1501). Scholars, however, assert several swords signed with Muramasa (but without year signs) are slightly older than 1501 in light of their styles. It is generally thought that the school of Muramasa spanned at least three generations. It is hardly clear when

1404-422: The Muramasa school, records Masashige I died in 1456, so Muramasa I was active before 1456 if we believe the record. Sengo ( 千子 ) , the epithet of Muramasa, is also covered with myths. A common belief states Muramasa I was born in a place called Sengo, but there is no such a place near Kuwana in reality. Another popular legend says the mother of Muramasa I worshipped the bodhisattva Senju Kannon and thus he

1458-536: The US, and China and others. This is the main business area and is not open to the public. The Cloud/Data Center is dedicated to improving infrastructure and environment of social and network games. The Tokyo Game Show has featured a Mad Catz -sponsored Street Fighter tournament since 2014. The competition is part of Capcom 's official Pro Tour , making it a qualifying event for the Capcom Cup . The 2016 event

1512-590: The archfiend. He states that the overlord had more to live for than she ever would. Traveling deeper into the Underworld, Ryu confronts Dagra Dai, who is nearly finished with the Archfiend's resurrection, and defeats him. As a last resort, the Infernal High Priest offers his life to Vazdah, and the Archfiend is reborn. Ryu takes down the monstrosity and heads to the surface with Sonia, but a drop of his blood from an open wound accidentally spills onto

1566-599: The event is four days. The first two days of Tokyo Game Show are open only to industry attendees (business) and the general public can attend during the final two days. The first Tokyo Game Show was held in 1996 . From 1996 to 2002, the show was held twice a year: once in the Spring and once in Autumn (in the Tokyo Big Sight). Since 2002, the show has been held once a year. 2011’s show hosted over 200,000 attendees and

1620-421: The fiend and revitalizes Vazdah, who ascends to the summit in its true form. Amidst an erupting Mount Fuji, Ryu squares off with the Archfiend in a climatic duel to decide humanity's fate and wins. Sonia and Ryu reunite and climb to the top of the mountain, sharing the sunrise together. In a post-credits scene , amongst a field with countless number of blades embedded into the ground, Ryu plants Genshin's Blade of

1674-525: The first lord of Ogi Domain , and has been inherited by his successors. Muramasa's students made excellent weapons too. Fujiwara Masazane, a disciple of Muramasa, forged Tonbokiri , one of the Three Great Spears of Japan . Masazane also forged a sword called Inoshishi-giri ( 猪切 , "boar-slayer") whose name came from a legend that Sakai Tadatsugu killed a wild boar with this sword when accompanying Ieyasu in hunting. The exact origin of

Ninja Gaiden II - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-634: The first released trailer. The localization was overseen by Team Ninja member Andrew Szymanski, in collaboration with AltJapan Co., Ltd. A Ninja Gaiden II game demo was released on the Xbox Live in Japan on May 31, 2008, and in Europe and the United States on June 8, 2008. The game has not been released in Germany due to lack of a USK rating. An altered version titled Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

1782-412: The fun." GameSpot nominated it for the award of 'Least Improved Sequel' in its 2008 video game awards, which went to Dynasty Warriors 6 . On August 28, 2008, Ninja Gaiden II was reported as having sold over one million units. As of December 2008, it sold 1.1 million units worldwide. Tokyo Game Show Tokyo Game Show ( 東京ゲームショウ , Tōkyō Gēmu Shō ) , commonly known as TGS ,

1836-669: The largest booths, was absent in 2012. Social and mobile gaming surged, filling the gap. Microsoft returned to the show in 2013 with the release of the Xbox One . The PC area houses major Japanese computing companies, showcasing products such as Japanese desktop and notebook computers. This area showcases new games that are aimed at a younger audience. Companies such as Taito and Sega are housed there. The Game School area showcases information on Japanese universities and colleges offering information about digital art, animation, computer programming, and other programs of study related to

1890-522: The mountain's summit, Ryu finds Genshin waiting for him at the crater's entrance. As Mount Fuji erupts, Genshin reveals to Ryu that he never cared for "tantrums of the archfiend" and that their moment has finally arrived. The two ninjas fight to the death before Genshin falls dead and Ryu leaps into Mount Fuji. Elizébet appears over a deceased Genshin looking to revive him as a fiend as Ryu descends into Mount Fuji. Ryu fights past hordes of Fiends and singlehandedly defeats Zedonius, Volf, and Alexei, and rescues

1944-475: The must-play action games of the year." Edge gave the game eight out of ten, calling it "a fascinating and hugely replayable game that shows Team Ninja has a gift beyond the vast majority of developers in that genre." GamePro called it "a slick and thrill packed action game but it's nowhere near the masterpiece that fans have been clamoring for. It's worth playing through and you'll have plenty of fun but finicky camera and uneven difficulty definitely cuts into

1998-402: The official scholar-bureaucrat of the shogunate, commented "Muramasa is associated with not a few sinister events." Even Tokugawa Jikki  [ ja ] (1849), the official history book published from the shogunate, cites Kashiwazaki Monogatari ( 柏崎物語 , 1787) , which tells a legend that Ieyasu regarded Muramasa as cursed items and banned them from his family, although it is clearly

2052-531: The original game: camera rotation and the ability to charge up for an Ultimate technique without the need for essence (this takes time to charge up; essence can still be absorbed to speed up the process). Ryu will use his signature Dragon Sword in combat, but new weapons, such as the Eclipse Scythe , Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang swords, Tonfa , Kusari-gama and the Falcon's Talons ninja claws will allow

2106-743: The place and asks for Ryu's whereabouts, until members of the Black Spider Ninja Clan attack the shop and kidnap her. Enter the Dragon Ninja Ryu, who fails to stop Sonia's kidnapping and makes haste around the Tokyo skyscrapers and rescues the agent, who informs him of an attack on the Hayabusa Village by the Black Spider Ninjas, who wish to steal the Demon Statue they possess and protect. Ryu returns to his home and finds his father, Joe Hayabusa dueling with Genshin, leader of

2160-513: The player can cause Ryu to deliberately draw in essence, which can then be used to unleash powerful attacks known as Ultimate Techniques. When Ryu fights and takes damage, there is a red bar that starts building on the right of Ryu's health bar, which is called lasting damage. After Ryu has slaughtered all of his enemies in that particular area, his health recharges, but only to the point where the red bar starts. Herbs of Spiritual Life and Save Statues can heal this lasting damage, however. Also, when Ryu

2214-758: The player more variety in dispatching enemies. Ryu's new magical spells, in the form of ninpo , includes the Art of the Flame Phoenix, Art of the Wind Blades, and the Art of the Piercing Void. However, weapons and ninpo from the original Ninja Gaiden will return in the form of the Art of the Inferno and the Vigoorian Flail. The returning Windmill Shuriken, Incendiary Shurikens , and bow (Renamed

Ninja Gaiden II - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-467: The samurai of Mikawa (led by Tokugawa Ieyasu , the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate , and his ancestors). Naturally, when a misfortune happens in the Tokugawa clan, it is often related to Muramasa, definitely not because they are "cursed," but simply because most Mikawa samurai used these swords. Matsudaira Kiyoyasu , a grandfather of Ieyasu, was mistakenly killed by his own vassal Abe Masatoyo with

2322-516: The school disappeared, but some Muramasa swords contain the year sign Kanbun (1661–1673). Lores in the late Muromachi period (early 16th century–1573) stated that Muramasa I was a student of Masamune (c. 1300), the greatest swordsmith in Japan's history, and the Hon'ami family (family dynasty of swordpolishers and sword connoisseurs) commented that his floruit was the Jōji era (1362–1368). Scholars from

2376-593: The school of Muramasa is extremely famous in popular culture, none of their swords are designated as a National Treasure or an Important Cultural Property . Myōhō Muramasa ( 妙法村正 , "Muramasa of the Sublime Dharma ") is the only sword officially designated as an Important Artwork  [ ja ] . Katana , length 66.4 cm, curvature 1.5 cm, bottom width 2.8 cm, shinogi-zukuri , iori-mune , and chū-kissaki nobi (see also Glossary of Japanese swords ). The front side contains

2430-431: The sequel contains more gore and graphic violence. Dismemberment will weaken or slow down an enemy, depending on if an arm or leg is severed, but not necessarily kill it. In fact, an injured enemy will be prone to use suicide tactics such as pinning Ryu down and planting an incendiary shuriken on him, forcing the player to quickly finish off his opponents using new, brutal Obliteration Techniques before injured enemies can get

2484-574: The upper hand. This new mechanic can also be triggered in the presence of boss characters . Compared to other action-adventure titles, the player can be just as vulnerable to attack as the enemies can during fight encounters. Aside from his standard melee techniques, Ryu can absorb nearby essence in combat. These colored globes of energy are released from the bodies of slain enemies, and absorbed into Ryu's body when he comes close to them. Essence has an important role towards general game play, acting to heal Ryu, restore his ki, or increase his cash. However,

2538-578: The video game industry. These booths also display student work. It houses colleges such as Numazu Professional College of Information Technology and Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. This is the main area in the games convention where most of the sales and business transactions between companies and consumers are carried out. Companies housed there include Nikkei Business Publications . The Tokyo Game Show attracts many cosplayers . Cure, Japan's largest cosplay community website, hosts Cosplay Collection Night,

2592-510: The world's best action game, running on the world's best hardware." 9 days later, on September 20, 2007, Ninja Gaiden II was officially unveiled to the public, with its first trailer at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 , alongside various interviews. The game went unreleased in Germany as a result of lacking an USK rating. Ninja Gaiden II received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its difficulty, fast-paced combat, and level of violence, although some criticized its lack of innovation. It

2646-505: Was called Sengo, a shortened form of Senju no ko ( 千手の子 , "son of Senju") . Kanzan Sato claims that the starting year of Muramasa I was Entoku and Meiō (1489–1501), that of Muramasa II was Tenbun (1532–1539), and that of Muramasa III was Tenshō (1573–1591). On the other hand, Suiken Fukunaga considers the floruit of Muramasa I was around Shōchō (1428–1429) and the 1501 sword was forged by Muramasa III. Because of their exquisite sharpness, Muramasa swords were favored especially by

2700-448: Was considered a commercial success, selling 1.1 million copies worldwide as of December 2008. A sequel, Ninja Gaiden 3 , was released on March 20, 2012, without the involvement of Tomonobu Itagaki. Ninja Gaiden II ' s new combat system allows the player character Ryu to dismember his enemies, severing their limbs and tearing their bodies apart covering his weapon and everything around with blood. Compared to Ninja Gaiden ,

2754-556: Was held in 2008. Among former and current judges are Keita Takahashi and Simon Carless . Muramasa Muramasa ( 村正 , born before 1501) , commonly known as Sengo Muramasa ( 千子村正 ) , was a famous swordsmith who founded the Muramasa school and lived during the Muromachi period (14th to 16th centuries) in Kuwana, Ise Province , Japan (current Kuwana, Mie ). In spite of their original reputation as fine blades favored by

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2808-589: Was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2009 and for the PlayStation Vita in 2013. Ninja Gaiden II received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two nines and two eights for a total of 34 out of 40, while Famitsu X360 gave it a score of one 10, one nine, one eight, and one nine for a total of 36 out of 40. GameZone gave it 8.8 out of 10, calling it "One of

2862-585: Was the first to not be sponsored by Mad Catz, as the company got in severe financial trouble during its 2016 fiscal year. Sense of Wonder Night (SOWN) is a presentation session held yearly at the TGS for showcasing innovative and experimental computer games mainly made by small game studios and independent game developers from all over the world, similar to and inspired by the GDC Experimental Gameplay Workshop . The first edition

2916-808: Was topped by 2018's attendance of 298,690 people. The TGS layout varies per year. Such as in 2015, Tokyo Game Show showcased eleven exhibition areas consisting of business, general public, education and other areas to buy merchandise. The General Exhibition Area is the heart of the show, taking up the largest amount of space, and is held where digital gaming entertainment or any related products or services are showcased. Many well-known companies such as Bandai Namco Entertainment , Capcom , Sony Interactive Entertainment and Square Enix have demo areas here, in addition to emerging companies. This area covers gaming devices such as headphones, controllers, furniture and other devices associated with home-use gaming consoles and portable gaming devices. An exhibition introduced at

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