Platform: PlayStation

Developer: SquareSoft

Publisher: Square Electronic Arts

Release Date: October, 31, 1998

Genre: Action Role-Playing-Game

Ranking: Great

Reviewed by: Juuchi Yosamu

SquareSoft took a big leap from their standard Role-Playing-Games when they made Brave Fencer Musashi and at first I was a little scared but I soon fell in love with it.This game features many of SquareSofts firsts, first game featuring voice actors, time flow and real and it’s real time battle system. If I had to describe the game to a video game enthusiast, I would say the game is like Samurai Zelda/Kirby combination. (Zelda is Zelda, I’m not saying it’s exactly like it, probably nothing will ever be, but it has a Zelda feel.)

Musashi using the earth scroll to unleash a shock wave.

Synopsis 

Princess Fillet, specializing in hero summoning magic, summons Musashi, from his own era,  to rid them of the malevolent Thirstquencher Empire. Musashi is asked to recover Lumina, the sword of luminescence to aid in his quest but on his return voyage he discovers that princess Fillet and 35 of the 40 residents of the castle were taken prisoner. Musashi is then forced to save the castle and princess Fillet if he ever wishes to return to his time…. alive. If the binchotite energy, used to summon Musashi, expires, then so does he.

Battle

Initially, you are armed with only Fusion, a small katana with the ability to absorb the very essence of an enemy to steal their abilities. With that being said, just as in Kirby, you can acquire a vast number of abilities to pummel your foes. Once you acquire Lumina, you will be able to initiate special charge attacks. Initially Lumina is only armed with… a spin attack (Zelda style) but as you progress you will learn of the true power Lumina has to offer. Lumina is your power hitter, it is slow but deals heavy damage as where Fusion is quick and is meant to combo your enemies. Saving the residents of the castle may unlock new techniques to add to your arsenal of attacks.

Musashi using Cross Attack, I love how the plants head tears off when killed… They’re my favorite creature to level on…

Leveling

I really like what they did here with the levels. You don’t necessarily gain EXP, your levels are gained by doing certain actions. You have Body which is leveled by… well your body count, kill them all! Mind is leveled by walking, Fusion is leveled by beating people with your Fusion sword and Lumina is leveled by beating people with Lumina. Now what I like most is, your levels will be capped every chapter until you defeat the boss. First play through… I get lost a lot in games and that causes me to unintentionally grind. After grinding so much the rest of the game is so easy I get bored and stop playing. Here you will be capped (at a reasonable level) until you defeat the boss so the game is , for the most part, balanced.

Time

Time is an important aspect of the game. Some parts are the game are only accessible during certain times of the day or on certain days I.E shops and certain creatures will only appear at night. Also, during your travel Musashi  will grow weary and you will either have to A) use items, such as mints, to wake Musashi up B) Spend the night at an Inn or Musashi’s personal room or C) …. Take a nap.

Nap Time

I thought this was a great addition to the game, until I’ve played Brave Fencer Musashi, I’ve never seen a game where you tire and are required to rest.  To a certain degree, I enjoyed the resting addition but at times, such as when in a dungeon ready to punch people in the face, it is a real hassle. I would advise carrying some mints at all times (the games version of coffee) but don’t go overboard. Items don’t stack and you can carry a whole 14 items…. insert sarcastic yay here.

It’s so….. beautiful!

IT’S NOT A DOLL, IT’S AN ACTION FIGURE!!!

Toys

When I saw this I about near crapped myself. I know… I’m so easily amused at times but I have yet to see anything as cool as this in a game. There is a toy shop in town that sells toys of the enemies you’ve defeated and the people you’ve met. After you’ve purchased the toys you can view them in your room. At this point you can admire their beauty (the toys look better than anything else in the game, it’s like they put all their effort into making them.) or…. you can commit taboo and OPEN them and of course play with them. Yeah… all my toys are still in the box but of course I’ve saved them, opened them all, checked out their kung fu grip! HIIIIYAH!!! Then loaded my previous game to restore them to their former glory. Some toys are harder to unlock than others but… the completionist in me demands that I collect them all in mint condition.

Fusion likes to nom, nom, nom.

Launching telekinetic javelins after assimilating it from the monster that got his face nomed.

Graphics & Audio

Something never before done by SquareSoft, moving polygons in real time. At the time I thought the graphics were amazing but I’ve always wondered, if they can make the toys in such high detail, that it put the actual game to shame, then why couldn’t they just make the game like that? The music is great, I love the music at night…. to be honest I usually sleep through the day just to play primarily during the night. There is a song that I could not stand which made me run through that chapter as fast as I could to vanquish the infernal song and rejuvenate the previous one from it’s ashes.

Conclusion

Honestly…. I got so worked up writing about Brave Fencer Musashi, I had to take a break from writing the review to beat it again. I would say that (I’m being generous here, leaving some slack time in case you like to discover stuff on your own instead of looking everything up.) it would take you somewhere between 20-30 hours your first play through. With that being said, it may take you a little more (35ish) if you wish to purchase all of the toys. I’m like a human strategy guide (I must have played every game I’ve ever owned, through the end with a perfect game, at least 5 times minimum.) so it only took me 16 hours and maybe an hour or so of that is from me napping until night time and leaving the game paused while I make food. I may have also spent a few minutes…. playing with all the toys. Also all of my stats are maxed out, that is no where near necessary but I’m a weirdo… I have to have it! With it being such a short and fun game, I would say that the replay is decent. I didn’t think I would enjoy this game as much as I did and I think the main reason that this game is, for the most part, unheard of is that it was released around the same time as Xenogears.