Brave Fencer Musashi

Did You Know?

• The game was re-released on June 29, 2000 as part of Square's Millennium Collection with merchandise including postcards, a combination camera and cellphone strap, a handy strap, and keychain fobs.
• In North America, it was packaged on November 12, 1998 with the PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol. 2, which contained a demo of Final Fantasy VIII.
• A simplified Japan-exclusive mobile phone adaptation titled Musashi: Mobile Samurai was released in 2005.

Plot

A young boy named Musashi, reincarnated from the legendary Brave Fencer Musashi who saved the Allucaneet Kingdom from the Wizard of Darkness 150 years earlier, is summoned by Princess Fillet to defend the kingdom from the Thirstquencher Empire. He receives the blade Fusion and is tasked with recovering the sword Lumina before the empire does. Though reluctant, he agrees in order to return home. After retrieving Lumina, he discovers that most of Allucaneet's people, including Fillet, have been kidnapped. To rescue them and defeat the empire, Musashi searches for the Five Scrolls, each holding an elemental power that augments Lumina. With help from treasure hunter Jon, he finds the Earth Scroll and defeats its guardian. Half-vampire, half-zombie Vambees then appear in a nearby village. Musashi finds the Water Scroll and defeats its guardian in the Vambees' basement. While seeking the Fire Scroll, his rival Kojiro kidnaps Fillet to force a battle. After Kojiro's defeat, Fillet is rescued, but it is later revealed that this Fillet is a disguised Thirstquencher thief. Musashi continues, finds the Wind Scroll, and defeats its guardian in an ants' nest.

Gameplay

Musashi is an action-platform game where the title character fights enemies using the swords Fusion and Lumina, and searches for five scrolls that increase Lumina's strength and grant new abilities. Fusion, resembling a katana, chains rapid combos and can absorb Bincho energy, a magical point system controlling spell casting and speed, or absorb enemy skills. Lumina is a large double-edged weapon that cannot combo effectively alone but can be imbued with elemental properties from scrolls. The two swords can be used together with techniques granted by rescued townsfolk. The game has an in-game clock and day-night system affecting townsfolk and Minku creatures, from which Musashi obtains berries to increase health. A fatigue rating rises with lack of sleep; if too low, combat ability suffers and Musashi may fall asleep helpless. The player can rest at an inn for full recovery or sleep outdoors with partial recovery and risk of attack. Time can be passed by collecting action figures of characters and monsters from the town toy store, which stocks new items each chapter. Musashi can obtain parts of Legendary Armor to perform actions like climbing or double jumps.

Development

Executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi said the idea for the game arose in February 1997. The original concept involved Miyamoto Musashi fighting in an alternate world. Though action-oriented, Musashi was initially a wanderer but later changed to an itinerant Samaritan to interact with other characters. The team used an action base crucial to the fighting mechanics. Director Yoichi Yoshimoto focused on the fully polygonal aspects, a departure from Square's previous works, prioritizing polygon movement in real time and light effects. The character Kojiro was based on the Japanese swordsman Kojiro Sasaki, referencing the historical rivalry between Musashi and Kojiro. The duel on the Island of Dragons loosely referenced Ganryu Island. Sakaguchi initially doubted the game's popularity but was surprised by the graphics and gameplay. Characters were designed by Tetsuya Nomura. For the English release, alcohol-based names were changed to soda-pop names due to rating boards, losing some jokes. The English title was changed from Brave Fencer Musashiden to avoid confusion. The musical score was composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito, new to Square. The soundtrack was released by DigiCube on July 23, 1998, with 78 tracks on two discs. A playable demo with three areas was shown at the Spring 1998 Tokyo Game Show.

Reception

The game sold about 648,803 units in Japan during 1998, making it the 17th best-selling game of the year there. Famitsu gave it 32 out of 40. Metacritic reported favorable reviews. GameSpot praised the graphics as very well done and superior to other Square RPGs of the time. IGN and GamePro also praised the excellent visual design. GameSpot and GamePro commended the voice acting quality, while IGN found the voice acting annoying but noted a stellar soundtrack. Gameplay was positively received; GamePro felt the time management worked well. IGN and GamePro enjoyed the action elements. GameSpot liked the variety of role-playing elements, while IGN wished they were reduced in favor of action. All three compared the game to The Legend of Zelda, but GameSpot and IGN felt the comparison invalid as Musashi focused more on action. Next Generation called it an engaging journey with clever features and an endearing cast. Edge gave the Japanese import eight out of ten, saying Square pushed the boundaries of its core RPG market without risking a reputation-damaging experiment.