Brave Fencer Musashi

"And lo, God opened up the clouds and pointed at Squaresoft's Brave Fencer Musashi. And it was good."

Let it be known, back in seventh grade, I went through a huge adventure game phase. One day I picked up Zelda, and I had just beaten Terranigma. I was so pumped and I wanted to see more from the genre. Problem was, There wasn't anything for the playstation I was interested in! Then, God gave us Brave Fencer Musashi, the Squaresoft "Action-RPG".

Completely based on the true story of the amazing swordsman Musashi, (yep, he really did get sucked out of Japan to fight robots and monsters with magic swords! I was there!) From the moment Musashi came out, I knew that it was going to rock. And when I got this game on my birthday, I was not disappointed. It's fun, it's good, and it's not too hard! In fact, this game is the only game in history I feel I rock at. And by that I mean, I've been known to actually beat this without dying! That's the first in the history of man!

Story: I can't begin to explain how happy I was with the story. Squaresoft has this incredibly annoying habit of making really stupid plots that start off with something cliche, then they give you an expected twist so that the final villain ends up being some character that is eerily similar to the hero, then transforms into a monster. I hate that. Musashi's plot is simple, but it's nothing that'll bore you to tears. In BFM, Musashi is summoned to the Alucaneet Kingdom (HA! get it?! ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT! HAHAHAHAHA! aww man, that's so clever.) in order to save the said kingdom from the Thirstquencher empire, an evil kingdom that apparently is evil. Since that what evil kingdoms are, evil. Why is beyond me. Just accept it. Anyways, to defeat the evil doers, Musashi must find the five scrolls of cliche rpg elements! Each one unlocking new abilities, and helping you reach new environments! Like Soda Fountain, this big floating thingy that acts as the bad guy's hide out. How they got a island to fly is beyond me. And how they got a crest guardian in there is completely past me! But, all in all, the story isn't anything new, but it's got everything you need to be entertained.

Gameplay: Musashi is a pretty easy to understand game, and it'll keep you having fun. Most controls run smoothly, you can control the camera all you want, and the only really annoyance you will have might be trouble with a couple bosses, and of course Steamwood Forest, which gave me a concussion. I have scars to prove it. All in all, any fan of Secret of Mana or Zelda could probably get behind this easily. Oh, and you can jump. I like being able to jump. But you can't sing. And sometimes.. I ... I just have to.. SKY ROCKETS IN FLIGHT! PEEEW! AFTERNOON DELIGHT!

Humor: Now, I'm sure most people out there don't care about how much humor is in a game. And those people are secretly robots from another world. I love a game with a good sense of humor, and Musashi brings it right too me. While most the game is as....well, serious as an anime-style action-rpg from squaresoft gets, silly things like the character's name puns, and Musashi's attitude keep me happy. Of course, it's no Conquer's Bad Fur Day, but it keeps things entertaining in my opinion.

Graphics: While it's got some beautifully crafted environments, Musashi has a small flaw in graphics that can get annoying. Polygons. Lots. For it's time, Musashi was a fine looking game, but now a days, Musashi doesn't really impress me. Now, not that it should stop you, since people who decide a game's worth on it's graphics are the antichrist.

Sound: Now, here's were I'm torn. First, the music. The music for this game is great! Some of the music in this game will totally pump you up for the adventure, and getting the scrolls makes me rock out and kick things over in my underwear. Ok, too much information. On the downside, the voice actors arn't the best. For example, Bubbles is voiced by popular dub-anime voice actor, Leann Sergeant. I'm sure thats enough to make someone out there want to kill them self.

Overall: Musashi is a totally rockin', kickyouinthefaceandscreamwithawesomeness game. To be honest, I no longer really care for RPGS, and I never liked Squaresoft. So the fact this game remains a top favorite for me just shows it's one of the best games out there! If you have the urge for a new game, and know where to find a copy of it, Musashi is definitely worth picking up. Highly Recommended

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/04