Musashi Samurai Legend

This is definately a hack and slash game, meaning you have numerous enemies that you rapidly mash the button to defeat. Not that much strategy in the actual battle, although Musashi's duplication techinique may require some strategic timing, and can prove to be a bit frustrating at times.

The story is that a young man named Musashi from Earth's Japan, who will grow to be Miyamoto Musashi, is summoned to another world by Princess Mycella to aid in the battle against Gandrake Interprises. He's taken in by Master Mew and is trained in swordsmanship and battle. When Princess Mycella is kidnapped for Gandrake's own purposes, it's up to Musashi to rescue her and bring down the evil corporation so that he can return to his own world.

I personally adored this game because of the graphics and gameplay. The gameplay is similar to Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel's gameplay, and that's probably because both were Square Enix games. A lot of the square button mashing, and not so much of the "Slash, defend, slash, defend, backflip over the weapon, and a slash to finish it" stuff. The graphics are cel shading, which I find to be pretty darned cool when Musashi's doing his slashing thing.

Overall this really is a game worth getting because of the storyline, the characters, the gameplay, and the graphics. I must also say that the music done by "The Surf Coasters" was very cool, making it worth also gettting the soundtrack. Of course... the guidebook is also always a help in getting all the items and saving everyone also.

If you're looking for an in-depth thought-provoker, you definitely have my permission to stop reading these reviews right now. However, if you have some free time or are looking for a game that's "just fun to play through," Musashi gets two thumbs up and 5 gold star stickers for that.

Admittedly traditional as far as concept goes, I found myself appreciating the game more because of its slight departures from the norm. Yeah, you've got your standard five-part plot-line going, involves swords and maidens, and who wants to bet the sword/maiden thing is element-based? Basically, if you've played your fair share of videogames over the years, you'll see this one coming a mile away--for the most part. At times, as I've said, Musashi is definitely a departure from your traditional five-step-PS2-product-with-a-couple-side-quests-here-and-there.

My personal favorite things about the game are 1) the graphics and 2) the characters. First off, since Musashi was advertised especially for its manga imitation (reminded me of Sly Cooper, on a more juvenile note), it's good to see that the visuals are surely easy to admire. (Personally, I always say go for the cartoon graphics, seeing as even after a decade, as long as you colored it right, no one will be cringing as they give old-school games a run-through on their backward-compatible Playstation6.) Secondly, the characters are fantastic: funny, interesting, unique, and well-scripted, somebody in the think tank is a good writer and it shows. Even you are bound to fall in love with Musashi--just like everybody else.

As far as operation goes, Musashi is not difficult to play. My only complaint set-up-wise is the fact that there is literally only ONE stationary save-point in the entire game. The overworld map is kind of confusing at first, but the learning curve is steep, and since Musashi is generally mostly a button-masher (I found that pressing "O" x 4 can easily become the leading cause of carpal tunnel syndrome in the U.S. and Japan) it's good to know things like: the controls aren't confusing or complicated, the camera angles are easy to manipulate, and most if not all obstacles can be avoided by simply running around. However, I will not say that Musashi is a game you can sit down to play straight through. It is a little challenging but the challenge is definitely fun.

My absolute favorite aspect of the game? Duplicating. That is, Musashi is a samurai in training and can learn new attacks by watching enemies make their moves. Really neat stuff.

Bottom line: good game. I'd recommend it to just about anyone.

While it's not the best game I've played, it's definitly one of my favorites. I love the animation and music (most of it at least). The actual characters themselves are a little annoying with cheezy lines, but I just ignore that and focus on the actual game. Like I said before, I love the animation/graphics. The characters move smoothly and the scenery is beautiful. The soundtrack seemlessly melts in and is very interesting. Over all game play is cool. The battle style is fun and easy to master. There are a few things I'm not crazy about however. As I said before, the characters' personalities and dialogue can be pretty lame. I catch myself cringing at their voices at times. I do love their outfits, though. Also some of the music is a little lame, but only a small portion. It can take on an annoying "surfer rock" feel to it, which I absolutely detest. One other thing I didn't like: You can only save in your room, which can be quite annoying when you are in the middle of a mission. Overall, a fun game.

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