Brave Fencer Musashi

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The kingdom is saved, thanks to Musashi.

Probably the loosest interpretation ever of the legendary antics of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, Squaresoft's 1998 Brave Fencer Musashi (Japanese: Brave Fencer Musashiden) for the original PlayStation shrinks the wandering samurai to Fun Size, transports him into a fantasy world full of Woolseyisms, and sets him off on a quest to save the besieged Allucaneet Kingdom by unsealing Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence, reabsorbing its scattered powers from within the Five Scrolls, and collecting action figures of the friends and foes he meets during his exploits. I mean, bashing in the heads of the Thirstquencher Empire's goons until they learn not to underestimate him for being short.

Among Square's non-Final Fantasy offerings of its age, it's famous today for two things: having a realistic in-game day/night cycle (24 minutes = 24 hours, speed octupled when Musashi is asleep) and selling like hotcakes in North America due to being packaged with the demo for Final Fantasy VIII. It was also met rather nicely in the review market.... nothing spectacular sure, but it didn't bomb either; the highest points going to voices, writing and--most notably--the music.

A PlayStation 2 sequel known as Musashi: Samurai Legend also exists, but it's considered another victim of Sequelitis for lacking much of the original's cutesy charm.

Tropes used in Brave Fencer Musashi include:

• Advancing Boss of Doom: Dark Lumina's first form involves you running away from him over a collapsing bridge. After he morphs into his next form, he'll randomly pounce the tower you ascend before facing you for real.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Topo.
  • It's hard not to feel bad for Kojiro as the Dark Wizard consumes him.
• All Your Powers Combined: In addition to self-duplication and pyrokinesis, Dark Lumina's third and final phase uses all the other powers of the Five Scrolls, but on a grander and more destructive scale.
• Alternative Calendar: The exact year and era are unknown, but (at the very least) the calendar in this game replaces Friday with Skyday, each marked by different symbols. This comes in handy later in the story.
• Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Dark Lumina - Final Phase.
• Ambiguously Gay: Scribe Shanky, although the ambiguity comes dangerously close to being thrown out of the window when he refers to Musashi as "lovely and handsome" and is extremely eager to read books to him ("O-h! Sir Musashi! Been waiting for you!"). He also criticizes Librarian Brisketta's choice of wearing fashion glasses, calling them hideous.
• Attack Its Weak Point: Most of the bosses have a glowing weak spot (usually made of Binchotite) that must be attacked in order to damage their lifebar. It's your job to figure out how to get them to reveal it, as well as how to access it.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Many of the bosses, most notably Dark Lumina.
• Badass Cape: Colonel Capricciola. Bonus points for being one of the few competent men in the Empire. He discards it quite triumphantly when he reveals himself to be Jon.
• Bare Your Midriff: First Lieutenant Bubbles.
• Bigger Bad: Dark Lumina.
• Bishonen Line: The final boss, which drew frequent comparison to Frieza. Dark Lumina assumes a smaller, sleeker, almost angelic form for the final battle, complete with a female voice.
• Blade of Fearsome Size: Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence.
• Blade on a Stick: Ben.
• Blow You Away: The Wind Scroll. Used to counteract strong winds and blow away poisonous clouds.
• Body Horror: Dark Lumina's transformation into his second form.
• Bonus Boss: Mother Minku, accessible in the Meandering Forest once you've found all 13 Minkus in the game.
• Boss Subtitles
• Bound and Gagged: Princess Fillet when she is kidnapped.
• Bratty Half-Pint:
  • Musashi has this as his running gag... it's even in his first title "Sir Little Turd".
  • Princess Fillet has shades of this. Tim is a much straighter example, even moreso than Musashi.
• Breath Weapon: Frost Dragon used Ice Beam! It's super effective!
• The Brute: Fuhrer Flatski's son Rootrick comes off this way, being big and rude with an inexplicable Dixie accent, but you never actually fight him directly.
• Canine Companion: Leno (or, according to Tim and Mint, Chappy) to Jon.
• Character Development: Musashi starts out a bit self-centered, only helping out the royal family of the Allucaneet Kingdom because it's the only way he'll be able to get back home. Throughout the game, he matures and develops into a full-fledged hero.
• City of Adventure: Grillin' Village.
• Cool Shades: Jon.
• Cool Sword: Besides Lumina, there's Fusion, a Katanas Are Just Better able to copy the powers of enemies by assimilating them.
• Damsel in Distress: Princess Fillet. This is even poked fun at near the end of the game when Kojiro kidnaps her while they're on the run from Dark Lumina. Fillet apologizes for being captured again.
• Dark-Skinned Redhead: Captain Gingerelle. Her sister Bubbles is a fair-skinned blonde.
• Dark Is Evil/Light Is Not Good: The Wizard of Darkness, Dark Lumina.
• Demonic Possession
• Died Standing Up: Ben. This is most likely a Shout-Out to Benkei, the Warrior Monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune and died in the same fashion.
• Dishing Out Dirt: The Earth Scroll. Oddly enough, it's the Wind Scroll that allows Musashi to dig through certain patches of dirt.
  • Ground Pound/Shockwave Stomp: Used to activate switches, cause boulders to fall, and temporarily paralyze some enemies.
• Double Jump: Courtesy of the Legendary Belt. It also grants him the ability to cancel charging with a backflip.
• The Dragon: Colonel Capricciola is The Dragon to Fuhrer Flatski, ruler of the Thirstquencher Empire. However, near the very end of the game, you find out that Capricciola is actually your buddy Jon, who's been helping you during the game, and HE is secretly the son of the Emperor and Empress of the Thirstquencher Empire, whose deaths Flatski arranged in some unspecified manner that was meant to look like an accident (Jon, who was a child at the time, was meant to die with them). Unfortunately, he is shot In the Back by Flatski's son Rootrick before he can take his revenge on Flatski, and then later stepped on by Dark Lumina.
• Dramatic Ellipsis: Lumina and Dark Lumina's preferred form of communication.
• Dual-Wielding: With a magic katana in one hand... and the aforementioned Blade of Fearsome Size in the other. Rescuing certain villagers allows Musashi to learn special techniques that utilize both of his weapons in tandem.
• Dumb Muscle: Rootrick, as well as Ben of Leader's Force. Rootrick appears to be a country hick, given his accent.
• Edible Theme Naming: The good guys are given food-related names (Allucaneet Kingdom, Grillin' Village, Princess Fillet), the bad guys are given soda-related names (Thirstquencher Empire, Gingerelle, Capricciola). In Japanese, the bad guy names are based on booze instead.
• Elemental Powers: Each of the Five Scrolls grants Lumina the powers of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Sky (think the fifth classical element Aether), following the Eastern elemental makeup to a fault. The catch is that, outside of specific situations, these powers are used more for platforming and puzzle-solving purposes than for combat.
• Elite Mook: Encountered in the final chapter of the game, where Musashi infiltrates the Thirstquencher stronghold.
• Empathic Weapon: Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence, can actually communicate with Musashi via Telepathy, although it only does so sparingly. When it's used to unseal Dark Lumina, it immediately comes back to Musashi afterward.
• The Empire: Thirstquencher. The headquarters of which are called Soda Fountain.
• Epic Flail: Steam Knight.
• Everything's Better with Princesses: Fillet.
• Everything's Better with Samurai: Pretty much the entire point of the game.
• Everything's Better with Spinning
• Evil Gloating: Several villains are fond of it. Fuhrer Flatski, in particular, is actually interrupted by Dark Lumina during his at endgame and is flattened like a pancake.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Fuhrer Flatski found this one out the hard way when Dark Lumina crushed him beneath his foot.
• Evil Laugh: Again, a specialty of the Thirstquencher baddies.
• Evil Redhead: Kojiro.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Dark Lumina. At first, anyway.
• Excessive Steam Syndrome: Lots of pipes seemingly designed to pump hot steam into areas where you need to be.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: Once you start whittling down the health of the sixth and final Crest Guardian, the Tower of Death (who guards the Sky Crest), it reveals that eyes lie underneath its panels. They shoot lasers and create web-like barriers that temporarily reverse your directional controls.
• The Faceless: Rootrick and Fuhrer Flatski's facial features are never seen due to their masks.
• Family-Unfriendly Death:
  • Topo. How ironic that the most Harmless Villain got the most brutal death... Assuming, of course, that it was what it looked like...
  • Jon/Capricciola gets shot in the back, complete with visible bullet hole and some blood.
• Fanfare: "The Musashi Legend".
• Fixed Camera: Most of the game.
• Free Rotating Camera: Few places, like the town.
• Frothy Mugs of Water: The inn owner getting wasted on "soda pop".
• Gambit Pileup: Revealed at endgame. Fuhrer Flatski wants to use the power of Lumina/Dark Lumina to Take Over the World, Jon/Colonel Capricciola has been working to counteract the Fuhrer's plans, and Dark Lumina's just there to raise hell.
• Gambit Roulette: The goal of The Leader Force, which really could have been done in a much more straightforward fashion and bites the folks attempting it, all opposing each other, in the rear by the end.
• Genre Savvy: The Thirstquencher Empire decides to attack the Allucaneet Kingdom when the king and queen are away, catching Allucaneet's army by surprise. This is lampshaded in the ending.
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: The Legendary Goggles allow Musashi to appraise items without the need to go to the pawn shop.
• Goldfish Poop Gang/Power Trio/Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Leader Force, where each member claims to be the leader. As it turns out, none of them are.
• Gonk: Ben.
• Good All Along: Colonel Capricciola a.k.a. Jon.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Kojiro has a X-shaped mark on his forehead.
• Gratuitous German: In the dub, Flatski lets out a "Schnell!" when Jon/Capricciola turns on him.
• Green Rocks: Binchotite. It's even green. And rocklike.
• Guide Dang It: The Special series of action figures, especially Jon's, which requires that you hold off on opening exactly ONE treasure chest until after the game is beaten. Try to obtain the correct Gondola Gizmo on the first try using only the clues given in-game... though there's only two that match the requirements, and a degree of Trial and Error Gameplay is permitted.
• Guile Hero: Jon.
• Hair Decorations: Fillet, Bubbles and Topo.
• Harmless Villain: Leader's Force.
• Heart Container: The Minku, and their corresponding Longevity Berries. The two are pretty much synonymous, since the only Longevity Berry you get otherwise is from the mayor.
• Hello, Nurse!/Femme Fatale: Wanda, who waitresses nights at the local pub.
• High-Class Glass: Butler Livers.
• Historical In-Joke: Kojiro has a scar on his forehead, presumably from when Musashi smashed his skull in with an oar.
• Horned Humanoid: Dark Lumina.
• Hotblooded Sideburns
• Hot Mom: The Queen of Allucaneet, pictured in the page image above.
• Hybrid Overkill Avoidance
• Hyperactive Metabolism
• Hypocritical Humor: Ed constantly mocks Musashi's height despite him being about the same size.
• Idiot Hair: Musashi.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The "Shish Kebab" technique. Musashi picks up the enemy, throws them into the air and impales them on Lumina as they fall back down.
• Indy Escape: The last stage of the first chapter involves fleeing from a rolling giant stone head.
• Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: Frost Dragon, the Fire Crest Guardian.
• Instant Awesome, Just Add Mecha: The Steam Knight, a steam-powered, four-legged robot. It's the very first boss, and rather difficult if you don't have dodging down yet.
• Item Get: The normal one is a golden lens-flare type thing with a "chiii-iiing!" sound effect. Collecting one of the Five Scrolls is a bit more epic.
• Jerk Jock: Macho definitely seems to be one.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Musashi.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Surprisingly, Ed is able to do this (additionally, he erects a barrier to prevent you from flanking him). Doing so, however, tires him out for a bit afterward, giving you a chance to get in a few licks. This was probably the method he used to set the village on fire in Chapter 4.
• Kid Samurai: Subverted. At the end, it's revealed Musashi's the same one of legend.
• Large Ham:
  • Lots of 'em, verging on World of Ham. Fuhrer Flatski, Kojiro and the entire Leader's Force, to name a few.
  • Hell, Musashi himself... if not a large ham, maybe a medium ham at the very least.
• Ledge Bats: Bats spend the majority of their time flying near the area's ceiling save for the split second they swoop down to bite you for piddling damage, wrecking your jump velocity in the process.
• Leotard of Power: Gingerelle.
• Living Statue: Skullpion and Relic Keeper, the Crest Guardians of Earth and Water.
• MacGuffin Guardian: The Crest Guardians.
• Magic Sword: Musashi gets two of them: Fusion, a katana that allows him to copy enemy abilities, and Lumina, a Blade of Fearsome Size that gains Elemental Powers via the Five Scrolls.
• Major Injury Underreaction: After being beaten at her "Simon Says"-style dance-off, Topo seems more concerned about the fact she'll never dance again than the fact that she's slowly dying of electrocution.
  • That may not have been the result. It's arguable that she injured herself from dancing too hard. Even then, her fate is ambiguous at best (though, granted, she says, "Farewell, dearest Capricciola"). Though this may just be due to a translation fuzzing.
    • Or to the character in question being a bit of a drama queen.
• Making a Splash: The Water Scroll.
  • Walking on Water
• Mana Meter: Bincho Power.
• Mega Manning: The explicit power of Fusion, the katana Musashi receives at the beginning of the game. This mechanic is tweaked in Samurai Legend, where Musashi copies techniques by observation, not absorption. The difference is that Fusion's assimilation magic allows the summoning of weapons and objects Musashi doesn't own: this creates a much wider range of skills than "cut stuff up horizontally" and "cut stuff up vertically".
• Meganekko: Steward Ribson and Librarian Brisketta.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Skullpion, the Earth Crest Guardian.
• Miyamoto Musashi: Sort of.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Dark Lumina. His Bishounen Line, however, has Red Eyes, Take Warning.
• Mood Whiplash: During the final dungeon, expect to see pretty much all the quirky villains die one by one.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Musashi has a brief bout with this when his actions lead to the release of Dark Lumina, and subsequently, Jon's death. Fillet promptly snaps him out of it by telling him to beat the tar of out of Dark Lumina.
• The Napoleon: Both Musashi and Ed seem to have a bit of a height complex, although it's nowhere near as bad as the other Ed.
• Nice Hat: Several characters.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Once Musashi gathers all five scrolls, he... accidentally releases the Sealed Evil In The Sword. Oops.
  • Earlier, at the close of Chapter 3, Fillet loses faith in Musashi and believes that he'll never get around to saving her. So, she decides to use the Hero Summon on the Binchotite crystal in the room she's being held captive in, hoping that whoever she calls forth will do a better job at heroics than Musashi. Who shows up? Kojiro.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Vambees, a prototype monster created by the Thirstquencher Empire, are apparently a combination of vampires and zombies, and they look like werewolves.
• Non-Elemental: Lumina's base form.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently, a fly wronged Maid Loinette's father somehow. Unfortunately, she never gives an explanation.
• Not Quite Dead: After seemingly being killed in Chapter 1, Rootrick reappears one last time during the finale.
• Not Quite Flight: The Sky Scroll allows Musashi to hover in the air.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Dark Lumina's main shtick.
• One-Handed Zweihander: Musashi with Lumina.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Kojiro. This gets passed on to Dark Lumina when he absorbs Kojiro to go One-Winged Angel.
• Pig Man: Several Thirstquencher Mooks are Pig Men. When alerted to danger or enemy presence, they actually oink.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Fillet's.
• Pint-Sized Kid: Musashi, Kojiro and Ed. Musashi only comes up to Fillet's waist.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Musashi looks to be about four feet tall but he's capable of hurling Humongous Mecha through stone walls.
• Playing with Fire: The Fire Scroll.
• Point of No Return:
  • In Chapter 6, activating the Wind Crest in Steamwood Forest while it's raining on Skyday morning. Subverted in that you're allowed to save after beating each member of Leader's Force. Beating the game allows you to continue with your stats and items (minus the Sky Scroll) from endgame, but right before this event.
  • As a Guide Dang It situation, to get one of the dolls, you must open every chest in the game but one. Then beat the game, open that chest, and beat it again. If you aren't aware you need one unopened chest, saving after messing this up is a point of no return until you start a new game. Please Note: only a theory.
• Power Floats: Dark Lumina, although his second form lacks this ability, instead going bipedal.
• Power Gives You Wings: Dark Lumina, when using the powers of the Wind Scroll.
• Power Glows: Both Fusion and Lumina glow blue and red (Fusion later will glow yellow after you rescue Artisan Teebone and get him to temper Fusion), making them resemble Laser Blades. Also, Dark Lumina.
• Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: Twice... to the same enemy... in the finale.
• Primal Stance: Dark Lumina - Round 2. It does a good job of hiding the fact that he's even larger than his base form was.
• Punny Name: Scads of it.
• Rainbow Speak: Red words. Almost none of which actually need to be red. There's also the occasional blue word.
• Rapunzel Hair: Musashi and Kojiro. Part of this stems from their height (or lack thereof).
• Rare Candy: Longevity Berries.
• Recurring Riff: The theme of the first level ("The Musashi Legend") is remixed into several different themes in the game.
• Reverse Mole: Colonel Capricciola turns out to be Jon, who is actually the long-lost prince of the Thirstquencher Empire. He's been helping Musashi derail the Empire's plan and obtain the Five Scrolls. He also seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at Fuhrer Flatski's hand.
• Save the Princess
• Say My Name: Several times over.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Bubbles and Gingerelle.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The Wizard of Darkness was sealed away by the Legendary Brave Fencer Musashi over 150 years before the start of the game. Little does anyone know that the Big Bad wasn't sealed by the Lumina sword, but within it... and activating the blade's full potential frees him. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
  • Well... Musashi defeats the last guardian, but he doesn't unseal the last crest. Flatski does.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: Dark Lumina will transmute one of his arms into a sword when he's copying the normal form of Lumina.
• Shotacon: Wanda, a waitress at Maninck's Restaurant, continually hits on Musashi, commenting how handsome he's becoming. She does eventually subvert this by commenting how she wishes Musashi was closer to her age.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming: The hero is named Musashi, his rival is Kojiro (as in Sasaki Kojiro).
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Between members of Thirstquencher Army, younger sister Bubbles (Yin) and older sister Gingerelle (Yang). They tend to squabble a lot.
• Smoke Out: Ed.
• Someday This Will Come in Handy: While at the library, you can access many books that talk about factions and areas... along with a shogi guide for beginners. What use could be knowing a Japanese chess-like game? Rather than a mini-game, it is the key for solving a maze.
• Speech Impediment: Ed. His Verbal Tic is his s,s,s,stutter.
• Spider Tank: The Earth Guardian Skullpion is a huge scorpion-shaped idol come to life.
• Stalked by the Bell: According to the nobles, Musashi will be returned to his homeland if the Bincho Energy used to summon him runs out, regardless of whether or not he fulfills the princess's wish. While Musashi's BP will deplete over time, eventually reducing his walking/running and attack speed, players will not get a Game Over if their BP hits zero.
• Steampunk
• Stepping Stone Sword: The Legendary Brace grants you this ability.
• Summon Magic: Using specially-prepared Binchotite crystal, the princess of Allucaneet is able to perform the Hero Summon spell, a magical incantation that calls upon a great hero from another world. It is used as last resort, when the kingdom is in grave danger.
• Super Drowning Skills
• Sword Beam: Dark Lumina.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Ben's MO. Ed also dabbles in this a bit.
• Tomboy Princess: Princess Fillet.
• Trapped in Another World
• Trauma Inn: Conveniently, the only business in Grillin' Village open 24/7.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change: One of the bosses challenges you to a dance, which takes the form of a Simon Says Mini Game.
• The Unfought: Rootrick, Bubbles and Gingerelle.
• Unknown Rival: Kojiro. He tries.
• Unwitting Pawn: Musashi is pretty pegged for this by the end. Topo, the final member of Leader's Force to be defeated, reveals to Musashi that it was Leader Force's job to help Musashi find the Five Scrolls so they could deliver the complete Lumina to the Fuhrer. Things get worse when it turns out that the Five Scrolls and Five Crests are the only things keeping Dark Lumina from wreaking havoc on the world.
• Valley Girl: Fillet and Bubbles's accents in the dub dabble in this.
• Verbal Tic: Musashi ends a good portion of his sentences with "pal", while Gingerelle tends to cap hers off with "darling".
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Dark Lumina.
• Wall Crawl: The Legendary Brace allows Musashi to scale certain walls using Fusion and Lumina.
• Woman in White: Princess Fillet.
• A Worldwide Punomenon: Many of the names, at least in the American version.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Musashi. Topo even uses it against him to prevent him from directly attacking her, instead challenging Musashi to a musical duel.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Steward Ribson's dialogue is nothing but this.

"Princess, thou art mayest go backeth to thou art's room and relaxeth!"

• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Musashi and Topo in the first game; numerous characters in the second.
• You Will Be Assimilated: Fusion, the signature power of which is called "Assimilation".
• Zombie Apocalypse: Chapter 3 deals with a mysterious outbreak of vampiric zombies. Musashi has to travel up Twinpeak Mountain to find a cure for Tim (who was attacked by one of these creatures), as well as find the source of the Vambees. It turns out that they come from a dungeon in the basement of Mannick's Restaurant.