Ganryu (also known by its Japanese title Musashi Ganryuki) is a 1999 side-scrolling hack-and-slash action-platformer developed and published by Visco Corporation for the Neo Geo arcade hardware. Loosely inspired by the real 1612 duel between swordsman Miyamoto Musashi and his rival Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island, the story has Kojiro resurrected as the demonic “Chaos” and kidnapping civilians across feudal Japan. Musashi teams up with the kunoichi Suzume to fight through five stages and rescue the hostages, including Musashi’s love interest Otsu.
How to Play
Choose between Musashi, who hits harder but moves less nimbly, and Suzume, weaker but more versatile — a second player can join in on alternating turns. Arcade controls in the browser map the joystick to the arrow keys, with sword attacks on Z (hold for a slower but stronger charged strike), jump on X (a jump-kick doubles as a wall-climb off certain surfaces), and the grappling hook on C, which pulls in distant enemies, swings you across gaps, or lashes out as a ranged attack. Insert coins with Shift and press Enter to start.
Tips
- The five stages aren’t fully linear — hidden rooms and side paths hide extra hostages to rescue and treasure chests with sub-weapons like shuriken, dynamite, and spell orbs. It pays to explore rather than rush straight through.
- Charged sword strikes hit hard but leave you open, so save them for openings rather than throwing them out on reaction.
- Onigiri and takoyaki dropped by defeated enemies restore health — prioritize grabbing those over the ryo currency pickups when you’re low.
Leave a Comment / Review: