Continuing their partnership with publisher XSEED, Marvelous Entertainment has announced that Muramasa: the Demon Blade, a new Wii exclusive title steeped in Japanese folklore, will be released in North America. In the shogun era of Japan, desires for the Demon Blades result in wars among men, and the power of the blades ensures the involvement of ancient spirits and demon gods. While little gameplay information was revealed, the press release noted that the game will feature horizontal and vertical side-scrolling levels, hinting at a blend of real-time battles and RPG elements.

Marvelous is working with Vanillaware, the developers of popular RPG Odin Sphere, to bring this game to gamers worldwide. The game should be seen at this year’s Tokyo Game Show; expect to see it hit store shelves in 2009.

I’m all for new and innovative gameplay ideas, and a mix of RPG and side-scrolling action sounds interesting to me. Plus, I think we can all see the Wii Remote sword-swinging from miles away.