“ Someday you will come to understand the pursuit of power. „ ~ Murai to Ryu Hayabusa, Ninja Gaiden
Murai (ムライ), the brother of Joe Hayabusa, is a Master Ninja possessing unsurpassed skill in all of the Ninja arts with a deep connection with his nephew Ryu. Although he was a member of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, events that occurred in the past caused Murai to leave and form his own rogue Ninja organization, the Shadow Clan.
Donning the disguise of The Dark Disciple (黒使大兄 Kuro-shi taikei, lit. "Black Messenger"), a mysterious masked figure cloaked in a black hood — his natural voice undetectable through his machine-enhanced vocalization —, he remains behind the scenes during the events that occur in the Vigoor Empire, observing the actions of Ryu and the movements of the Dark Dragon Blade alongside Gamov, a Special Agent of the Vigoor Empire Internal Affairs Bureau.[1]
He is a boss in Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, appearing in Chapter 1 and Chapter 16.
Description[]
Murai has a tall and large muscular build with long white hair, the symbol of his own ninja clan tattooed on his left bicep and a scar under his right eye, showing him as an old but extremely fit man. His ninja outfit consist of a gi, tabi boots, armbands, a belt, knee pads, and a head band.
Murai is power hungry, ruthless and manipulative. He is more than willing to kill his closest ally and nephew after they outlive their use, all for the pursuit of power.
Story[]
Murai carefully orchestrated a master plan to gain the unfathomable strength of the Dark Dragon Blade. His first act was to tip off the location of the cursed sword within the Hayabusa Ninja Village to the Vigoor Emperor and to lure his nephew Ryu away to train at the Shadow Clan's Ninja Fortress, where he's ambushed by Murai's Shadow Ninja Clan. Fending off his opposition, Ryu comes face to face with Murai inside the Inner Sanctum and, as the fight comes to a standstill, Murai starts inquiring about the whereabouts of Joe and the Dark Dragon Blade, but they are suddenly interrupted by the kunoichi Ayane, rushing in to alert the master of the ongoing siege of the Hayabusa Village. Chapter 1: The Way of the Ninja
Despite vanquishing Masakado, the Red Samurai, and his army of Samurai Cavalry as the village burns down, Ryu is ultimately felled by the dark knight Doku, Lord of the Greater Fiends, after he took the Dark Dragon Blade from the dying hands of the dragon shrine maiden Kureha. Resurrected by a falcon's spiritual power as a soldier of vengeance[2], Ryu is guided by Murai towards the Vigoor Empire, a land-locked nation in western Asia[1]. Chapter 3: Skies of Vengeance
Witnessing from a balcony the defeat of the Fiend Hydracubus outside the Dworku Monastery at Ryu's hands and his encounter with Ayane, sent to help the young Dragon Ninja, Murai, as his persona of The Dark Disciple, remarks to Gamov the fast and strong growth of the Dark Dragon Blade's power with each killing. Chapter 5: The City of Fiends
When Ryu leaves the Underground Sanctuary beneath the Aquaduct with his victory against the Fiend Paz Zuu, he spots The Dark Disciple staring at him from the top of a tower overlooking the moat to Zarkhan. Chapter 10: The Aquaduct[3]
While Ryu is traversing the Underground Waterway back to reach the surface, Ayane is seen spying on The Dark Disciple and Gamov at the Twin Serpent Plaza discussing the extraordinary power the unsealed Dark Dragon Blade has absorbed so far. Chapter 13: The Fiendish Awakening[4]
Once Ryu defeats the Vigoor Emperor's True Form, lifting the demonic curse cast by The Evil Spirit of Doku, and escapes with the Dark Dragon Blade from its volcanic lair thanks to Rachel's help, he finally confronts The Dark Disciple in person, waiting for him atop the crater. Wielding the evil sword, he first gets rid of Gamov, to then reveal his true identity, but he is soon transformed by the hate gathered by his armament into the Devil incarnate, ready to battle his nephew again. Ultimately defeated by the Dragon Ninja, despite his newfound power, Murai falls into the oblivion of the chasm below them and the Dark Dragon Blade is shattered into pieces by a single strike of the Dragon Sword. Chapter 16: The Dark Dragon Blade[5]
Powers and Abilities[]
General[]
- Agility: As a human Murai is quick at close range, but not as acrobatic as Ryu. As the Devil Incarnate, Murai's speed greatly increases, moving at blinding speeds.
- Strength: Murai has immense strength and is able to easily throw Ryu around like a ragdoll.
- Stealth: He shows a secretive nature and stealth ability when in his Dark Disciple persona.
- Acrobatics: Murai is very fast and acrobatic when empowered by the Dark Dragon Blade.
- Hand to Hand: Murai has an outstanding ability at grabbing and throwing his opponents.
Techniques[]
| Attack Name | Hitstun | Guard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Pit (1st & 2nd Hits) | Swings his Nunchaku vertically twice and then ends in a horizonal slash in quick succession. | ||
| Fire Pit (3rd Hit) | |||
| Sweeping Kick | Ducks and throws a horizontal swing with heavy forward momentum. | ||
| Auspicious Crane | Charges up and unleashes multiple horizontal swings with heavy forward momentum in quick succession. | ||
| Throw Attack | Grabs Hayabusa and slams him onto the ground, throwing him forwards. | ||
| Throw Counter | Blocks Hayabusa's move and slams him onto the ground, throwing him backwards. | ||
| Projectile Intercept | Swings his Nunchaku at any incoming projectile, sending them back to the target. |
| Attack Name | Hitstun | Guard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spinning Dive | Launches himself at Hayabusa spinning like a drill. | ||
| Projectile Barrage | Summons a volley of shuriken all around him that are tossed at different intervals. | ||
| Horizontal Lunge | Winds up a long-range horizontal slash with heavy forward momentum. | ||
| Vertical Slash Combo | Performs an overhead slam, followed by a raising vertical slash. May be cancelled at any point. Often followed by either the Horizontal Slash Combo, Short-Range Throw or Quick Throw. | ||
| Horizontal Slash Combo | Performs a horizontal slash right to left, then back left to right. May be cancelled at any point. Often followed by either the Vertical Slash Combo, Short-Range Throw or Quick Throw. | ||
| Short-Range Throw | Steps in slightly to grab Hayabusa, impales him on his blade, then throws him backwards. | ||
| Leaping Projectile Attack | Teleports mid-air and hangs briefly to toss a fan-like spread of Shuriken. | ||
| Quick Throw | Grabs Hayabusa and impales him on his blade, then throws him forwards. | ||
| Cauterizing Slash | Leaps forward slashing twice as he comes down. | ||
| Fool Crusher | Jumps vertically and comes down with a vertical slash. | ||
| Dark Dragon Summon | Teleports away from the arena atop the nearby mesa and winds up a Dark Dragon-shaped projectile. It creates a massive area of effect explosion upon hitting the ground. Only used at low Health. Teleports next to Hayabusa once the attack is finished. |
Strategy[]
General Tips[]
Since Murai boasts an incredibly solid defense and his Nunchaku swings are too fast to leave any opening, the key to this fight is punishing the long recovery frames of his roll.
After first engaging with the boss, block and roll-jump backwards to leave at least two dodge distance between you and Murai: he'll now proceed to close the gap by rolling towards you, creating a safe opening to strike back as he recovers from his nearest dodge.
At this point, you can retaliate with a simple Helm Splitter (While jumping straight — Strong Attack) or Scarlet Dragon (→ Hold Strong Attack, Release); another option is Windmill Slash (→ Quick Attack) and Quick plus Strong Attack or a more basic Tiger Roar (Quick, Quick, Strong Attack), because while Murai will usually block the second and third hits, sometimes he fails to guard against the final strike.
It's vital to not overextend your combo, as he can parry you out of any string into a throw, although there's to note that he can't counter Kick techniques like the last move of Fiend's Bane Kick (Quick, Quick Attack→ Quick, Quick Attack) and Early Winter Rain (Quick, Quick Attack → Quick, Strong Attack) and, if constant pressure is applied, you may end up clashing weapons with Murai, so quickly mash Quick Attack and Strong Attack to repel him and punish with Quick, Strong, Strong Attack.
Version Specific Tips[]
In Ninja Gaiden, he'll never receive the help of Shadow Clan Ninja or Black Spider Clan Ninja at higher difficulties.
In Ninja Gaiden Black, the most powerful combo to make short work of Murai is to hit-confirm an Azure Dragon (→ Y) into an on landing Haze Straight Slash (Hold Y, Release): since at higher difficulties he'll receive the support of two Ninja from the start and they'll respawn at certain threshold of his Health, after dispatching the last one, pay attention to leave his essence around by constantly blocking while moving away from the orb to turn the final hit of the combo into an Extinction Straight Slash (Hold Y, Release with Essence) for even more damage. Since on higher difficulties, the Lunar is acquired in Chapter 1, it's also worth noting the effectiveness of its Twilight (X Y) combo against both the boss and his support. Otherwise, get rid of the Ninja minions by using the Dragon's Sword Azure Dragon into Quick Attack and Helm Splitter (While jumping straight up Y) to punish either a shuriken toss via a dodge forward or after blocking one of their multi-hit leaping attacks. Wind Run (X + A) into Wind Path (While jumping near an enemy A) will also stun a ninja long enough to launch him with a starting Quick Attack, but the camera, proximity of Murai and projectile attacks of other one might prove detrimental.
In Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Sigma Plus, while the aforementioned Haze Straight Slash method will fail due to the move lacking superarmor, the Extinction Straight Slash and Ninja-launching strategies work just the same. It is to note that the Divine Cicada Slash (During a Flying Bird Flip — Quick or Strong Attack) has knockdown properties on hit in these versions, so wall attacks may prove more effective against Ninja in this scenario.
General Tips[]
Equipping the True Dragon Sword, roll and jump away from Fiend Murai's Spinning Dive — but not too early or the tracking will catch your dodge — and wait for him to execute either his Horizontal Lunge, Leaping Projectile Attack or Fool Crusher to punish either by rolling through and performing a Quick, Strong, Strong Attack combo. Immediately cast either The Art of the Inferno Ninpo or The Art of the Fire Wheels Ninpo upon landing to prevent Fiend Murai from catching Hayabusa in his Quick Throw.
If Fiend Murai gets in close-range and starts using his Horizontal Slash Combo and Vertical Slash Combo, simply roll away continuously to bait the Spinning Dive again. To evade his Projectile Barrage alternate dodging from side to side, while to avoid his Dark Dragon Summon jump as the projectile is about to strike and extend your in-air time with either the Blade of the Empty Air (While jumping straight up — Quick Attack) or a Shuriken Projectile Attack, then be ready to punish Fiend Murai's teleport with a Quick, Quick Attack combo.
Version Specific Tips[]
In Ninja Gaiden, it's possible to stunlock Fiend Murai to death with Flying Swallow (While jumping towards an enemy Y), despite the longer recovery of this Technique compared to later releases: just aim your jump at the boss with Wind Run (X + A) and, if the attack staggers him, simply repeat these two techniques over and over again.
In Ninja Gaiden Black, Sigma, and Sigma Plus, since you can perform Ultimate Techniques even without Essence orbs lying around, equip The Armlet of Celerity and, as you evade away from the Spinning Dive, begin to charge an Extinction Straight Slash (Hold Strong Attack, Release with Essence). Even if it doesn't land, the invulnerability provided by the move will shield you from any counterattack; same method can be applied to the Dabilahro's Hundred Demons Blade. After avoiding the Dark Dragon Summon, immediately start charging a Roaring Gleam (↻ Hold Strong Attack, Release with Essence) to catch Fiend Murai as he teleports right next to you.
In Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Sigma Plus, the boss is less likely to use his Quick Throw, making it more reliable to repeatedly Guard Reset — letting go of Block as an attack Guard Breaks and holding it again right after — his Horizontal Slash Combo and Vertical Slash Combo to bait his Short-Range Throw, which you can then dodge by rolling through it and punish with a Tiger Roar (Quick, Quick, Strong Attack). The Fool Crusher can also be safely countered with a Scarlet Dragon (→ Hold Strong Attack, Release).Etymology[]
- The surname Murai means "town, village" (村) (mura) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (i).
Trivia[]
- Fiend Murai is one of the few bosses to never feature additional enemies at higher difficulties.
- Murai is the first and (so far) only final boss of the 3D Ninja Gaiden games to:
- Be fought on more then one occasion, both as the first boss, and final boss.
- Not have projectiles be made out of pure energy.
- Murai's related soundtrack: "Trial" (Chapter 1; NG & Black), "Confrontation" (Chapter 1; Σ & Σ PLUS), "Go the Distance" (Chapter 16; NG & Black), "Final Battle" (Chapter 19; Σ & Σ PLUS).
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ninja Gaiden XBOX manual
- ↑ "EGM: Just for the record: The game's main character, Ryu Hayabusa, dies at the beginning, right? How'd he come back to life after being cleaved in half?
Tomonobu Itagaki: Yes, he died. Do you remember the falcon staring at his dead body? That falcon’s spiritual power resurrected him as a soldier of revenge." - Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine, June 2004, Chris Johnston - ↑ Chapter 12 in Sigma and Sigma Plus.
- ↑ Chapter 16 in Sigma and Sigma Plus.
- ↑ Chapter 19 in Sigma and Sigma Plus.