Muramasa Difficulty Comparison

Differences in Difficulty for Muramasa: The Demon Blade
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Difficulty is not merely any single small difference.  Indeed, each difficulty has its own set of rules it plays by, thereby indeed making each its own "style," which in turn makes the game a different experience on each difficulty, in addition to making the game easier or harder overall to clear.  I've done a bunch of research, and here's what I've read about/seen for myself when it comes to how difficulties compare.  (The comparison chart is below the descriptions.)

In modes with Auto-Guard, manual guarding (Active Guard) can still be done, but you also auto-guard/deflect while swinging your weapon, and it's omni-directional.  You perform Active Guard by holding A, which can only block/deflect incoming attacks from the front (it will not protect you from anything approaching from behind).

It's also important to note that if you start a new file on Muso or Shura difficulty, you can switch between the two mid-game anytime you're not in battle.  However, if you start a new file on Shigurui, the difficulty cannot be changed to anything else once the game begins; you're stuck with Shigurui difficulty.

---Muso Difficulty---

* Who It's For: Casuals and Story Lovers
This difficulty is the easiest setting, and is recommended for those who want to have fun and experience the story of the game without needing to worry overly much about dying.  If you have some skill and are looking for the game to expect you to utilize it, you may find Muso to be entirely *too* easy with all its crutches, making it seem trivial or boring; you will likely find Shura more fulfilling (see below).

* Difficulty Features
Muso difficulty has Auto-Guard, and affords you the ability to use items from your Item Menu while you're in battle.  The encounter rate feels pretty average, and the enemies themselves won't be that tough, save for some of the later bosses.  Muso players can mainly mash through everything, jamming on the attack button without too much concern, although naturally, some enemies can be a pain, such as those who use explosives, so some level of paying attention to what's going on is necessary to assure you don't just snap all your blades in two all the time.

* Stress Level: Low to A Bit
This difficulty rarely ever causes much stress, since enemies cause the least damage to you in this mode, giving you a huge margin for making quite a fair number of mistakes.  Bosses will rarely take you more than 2 tries.

* Speedrunning: Easy and Short, but Not Impressive
From a speedrun perspective, this difficulty takes the least time to clear, as the encounter rate is lowest, and you do the most damage to your foes in this mode when you do encounter enemies.  However, in turn, all of this makes for a less impressive run.

---Shura Difficulty---

* Who It's For: Skilled Players
This difficulty is highly recommended for those who want their skills tested, as many of Muso's crutches are taken away, forcing you to do a lot more manually, and think more carefully during battles.  This difficulty takes you seriously, and expects you to know what you're doing; it offers the sort of challenge that skilled players seek.

* Difficulty Features
Shura difficulty forces you to Active Guard if you want to block or deflect anything, taking away the crutch of Auto-Guard.  It also takes away your Item Menu in battle, forcing a restriction to whatever you have equipped to your five Item Shortcut slots.  The encounter rate is ramped up, and the enemies are tougher, with the bosses gaining new powerful attacks they don't use on Muso difficulty.  Shura players do not have the luxury of mashing the attack button and assuming everything will probably be fine; all attacks must be carefully planned and timed, as well as there being a necessity to manually evade or block attacks, forcing battles to be fought carefully rather than quickly.  Even though you take more damage, you still have the luxury of having an HP supply, so you can take several hits before you die (in other words, you still have some margin for error, something Shigurui does not afford).

* Stress Level: Middle
This difficulty will make you sweat it out regularly, and if you've just moved up from Muso, it will take a while to get used to needing to actually think constantly about what you're doing.  Bosses may take 4 or more attempts on your first Shura attempt while you learn their patterns and are forced to figure out how to deal with them.

* Speedrunning: Longer, but More Difficult; Impressive
From a speedrun sense, this difficulty takes longer to clear, as you fight more enemies more often, and do less damage to them.  So, as a result, although this run is longer, the differences in Shura make it a more impressive-looking run.

---Shigurui Difficulty---

* Who It's For: Challenge Lovers
This difficulty is basically a special challenge mode, recommended for hardcore players who enjoy ridiculous, punishing challenges, unlocked by beating the final boss of either character's story on Shura difficulty (you needn't play the entire game on Shura).

* Difficulty Features
Instead of having a supply of HP, you only get 1 HP throughout the game - to help defray this slightly, you're given back Auto-Guard.  However, this difficulty otherwise plays like Shura, so with the 1 HP restriction, despite the Auto-Guard, it's very demanding.

* Stress Level: High
Shigurui players are constantly placed under a great deal of stress, even in typical random encounters, as, even though they do have Auto-Guard, anything that DOES manage to get through and hit them will kill them instantly (you have no margin for error whatsoever).  Boss battles become a nightmare, as you're required to know exactly what they're doing at all times so you can determine if it's safe to attack, or whether you should be blocking or running for your life.

* Speedrunning: Lengthy and Difficult; Impressive
This is the most difficult mode to speedrun, as any mistake causing you to get hit (and thus die) will likely cost you your entire run - this makes a successful Shigurui run extremely impressive for those who understand just how difficult the mode is.

---Difficulty Feature Comparison Chart---

Muso								Shura								Shigurui
----								-----								--------

Auto-Guard							Active Guard Only					Auto-Guard

Normal Damage						Take More Damage, Give Less			1 Hit Kills You, Give Less Damage Like Shura

Max HP Goes Up Normally				Max HP Goes Up Normally				1 HP Throughout Game

Can Use Item Menu In Battle			Restricted to Item Shortcuts		Restricted to Item Shortcuts

Normal Encounter Rate				Heightened Encounter Rate			Heightened Encounter Rate

Easier Enemy AI						Difficult Enemy AI					Difficult Enemy AI

Kinder Boss Movesets				Bosses Gain New Super Attacks		Bosses Retain New Super Attacks

Can Switch w/ Shura Mid-Game		Can Switch w/ Muso Mid-Game			Cannot Change Difficulties

Casually: "Normal"					Casually: "Hard"					Casually: "Holy Crap Mode"
If Skilled: "Easy"					If Skilled: "Normal"				If Skilled: "Hard" or "Challenge Mode"