Hobbies And Interests
Fighting Techniques
In Hard Mode, handing over one, five or 10 scarabs to Muramasa gives you the ability to perform a counter attack, Guillotine Throw and Izuna Drop, respectively. The counter attacks consist of a sword-based "Gleaming Cross" and a kick-based "Fiend's Bane Kick." The Guillotine Throw consists of Ryu grabbing an enemy's neck while jumping over him and tossing him in a forward motion with all his might for maximum damage. The Izuna Drop is a technique in which Ryu grabs his enemy in mid-air and descends swiftly to earth with a massive, fatal body slam. All three attributes can be acquired in Hard Mode when you hand over one, five or 10 scarabs, respectively.
Health and Magic
In Easy -- also known as Ninja Dog -- or Normal Mode, giving Muramasa one scarab is enough for him to reward you Life of the Gods, one of the jewels needed to complete a nine-slot circle to increase your health gauge. Ten scarabs get you Life of a Thousand Gods, which automatically accomplishes that; 35 scarabs get you the Great Spirit Elixir, which fills up Ryu's health gauge. Also in Ryu's possession are Ninpo magic attacks. In Very Hard Mode, you can obtain three types of Ninpo: the fireball-based Art of the Inferno with one scarab, the ice shard-based Art of the Ice Storm with 10 and the bioelectric ray-based Art of the Inazuma with 40.
Weapons
Muramasa offers two types of weapons in exchange for scarabs: melee weapons and projectile weapons. The melee weapons consist mostly of a variety of swords, staffs and axes. The ones Muramasa offers, though, are a wooden sword, which does not seem to serve any purpose apart from practice fighting; a heavy two-handed sword called Dabilahro; a "Start Wars"-styled sword named the Plasma Saber Mk. II; and the Dark Dragon Blade, which is the most powerful weapon of its kind in "Ninja Gaiden Black." Projectile weapons consist of the smoke bomb for temporarily blinding enemies, the windmill shuriken and the spear gun, ideal for shooting foes underwater.
Armlets
Scarabs can fetch up to four types of armlets from Muramasa: the Armlet of Potency, Armlet of Celerity, Armlet of Benediction and Armlet of Fortune. Each armlet is designed to enhance a particular attribute or two when equipped. For instance, the Armlet of Potency is for increasing the damage done by your character's kick and throw techniques. In Easy or Normal Mode, you can obtain the Potency, Celerity, Benediction and Fortune armlets by handing over to Muramasa five, 25, 30 and 40 scarabs, respectively.