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4[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SamuraiLegendMusashi.gif]]
5''Musashi: Samurai Legend'' is the 2005 Platform/Playstation2 sequel to the Platform/{{Playstation}}'s ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi''. The main character, named for UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, is brought into a fantasy world to save the Mystics and their magical city from [[MegaCorp Gandrake Enterprises]]. Namely by gathering [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Five Swords]] and rescuing the Princess of the Mystics who summoned him there in the first place, and finding the scattered citizens of the evacuated village. Oh, and [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer he gets to collect cards of the friends and foes he meets during his journey]].
6
7As with its predecessor, Creator/TetsuyaNomura (of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' fame) is its main character designer, with his artwork being translated into the game as very stylized CelShading compared to its predecessor or ''Kingdom Hearts'' (this exact style would be reused later on for ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''). Its main theme is composed by The Surf Coasters, and is featured in an animated opening of the game by Creator/StudioGainax. Its in-game music is composed by Music/MasashiHamauzu and Junya Nakano, as well as Takayuki Iwai and Yuki Iwai from ''Wavelink Zeal'' (mainly known before then for their soundtracks for several classic Creator/{{Capcom}} games).
8
9!!This game provides examples of:
10* AccidentalPervert: Oh, poor Banon. [[spoiler:After leaving Clochette in a room alone, Musashi informs Banon that she's a thief, and that he should be worried about her pilfering everything in the room she's held in. Banon runs in to stop her, but quickly walks out after she yells at him, with him having a defeated, blushing expression on his face, implying that he walked in on her in a state of undress.]]
11* AcidPool: There is an acid pool full of bright green bubbling acid in old Mouna Temple.
12* AntiHero: Musashi, to a point. Midway through the game, he confesses that he was mostly doing his good deeds for himself, but he acquires his morals later in the game, truly becoming a MessianicArchetype. And he [[spoiler:falls in love with Princess Mycella, and [[FirstKiss even gets a kiss from her to boot]]]].
13* ActionGirl:
14%%** Istara, and to a lesser degree, Princess Mycella, though she's more of a MagicalGirl.
15** Burrini was responsible for originally {{seal|edEvilInACan}}ing away Gorpus with the Sword of Earth, [[InformedAbility although we never see her in action in the game proper]] (somewhat justifiably, as the Sword of Earth was not available to her at the time), making Burrini more of a FauxActionGirl in practice.
16* AttackItsWeakPoint: With the exception of Moltan, every boss has a weak point that must be exposed and then slashed in order to damage the boss itself.
17* AwesomeButImpractical: A number of the Secret Techniques, but Musashi's regular combo finisher with his {{BFS}} is the biggest standout in the game. Yes, it does big damage and looks impressive, but it's also a ponderously slow attack that's aimed in only one direction and leaves you vulnerable to flankers as you carry it out. Ending your combos with the 360 is faster, does only slightly less damage, and will protect you against surrounding foes better.
18* BaitAndSwitchBoss: At one point, you must fight off a massive, fire-breathing Crimson Gorger. [[spoiler:Which is quickly eaten by a much ''more'' massive Great Crimson Gorger, which launches meteors and hides a WaveMotionGun in its tail.]]
19* BatOutOfHell: The Ripper Bat is a robotic bat that attacks you by using its spear-like tail as a drill.
20* BewareMyStingerTail: Gorpus, a giant scorpion, who can launch explosives out of it. And also [[HollywoodCyborg Shiraz]].
21* {{BFS}}: The Great Oar, and the rest of the acquired swords throughout the game. Gandrake himself carries around a very long sword, which makes sense considering he's based on [[UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro Kojirō Sasaki]], a swordsman well-known for his use of ''nodachi''. [[spoiler:Doubly so when it turns out Gandrake ''is'' the man himself.]]
22* BlowYouAway: The Sword of Wind's Latent Power, Hurlwind, allows you to lift an enemy and drop him on a platform.
23* BoringButPractical: Inner Refuge. It's a Secret Technique that makes Musashi immobile and gradually drains his MP, but in exchange, he's immune to ALL kinds of damage, even those of bosses. Not the flashiest of his abilities, but it'll make tanking hard to dodge assaults a breeze. Ditto for the Sword of Void's Shadow Warrior power.
24* BossBonanza: All the dungeons seen so far have one boss (except the first two who have two bosses): the final level puts you against Gandrake's QuirkyMinibossSquad (4 battles, as one is a DualBoss), your EvilKnockoff and then Gandrake's OneWingedAngel form.
25%%* BossSubtitles: The bosses have to be introduced somehow.
26* BigBad: Gandrake is the leader and founder of Gandrake Enterprises who forces Antheum to bend to his coporation's will or be eliminated and stripped of their magic and resources. Princess Mycella summons Musashi to save Antheum's people and defeat Gandrake.
27%%* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Arachnoblia. [[spoiler:Gandrake is also under the influence of Amestris.]]
28* BridalCarry: [[EscortMission A variant.]] The opening animation featuring Musashi carrying and throwing the princess up into the air and catching her again at the end? Yeah, that's actually a ''gameplay'' mechanic. Mushashi carries all of the girls he rescues this way, usually because they all end up having some reason or another to disable their ability to walk. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Luckily]], Musashi can still attack while carrying someone, and these attacks do a lot of damage to make up for the inconvenience.
29* TheBrute: Glogg and Riesling are both the two physically strongest of Gandrake's Five Directors, though Glogg shows this with his bulky appearance, while Riesling is a GlacierWaif with a big chainsaw-axe.
30* CampGay: Laden the Bartender is quite an over-the-top example, with a lisp in his speech, his girly fashion sense, and running a fancy wine shop in Antheum.
31* ClothingDamage: During Malbec's fight, [[FlunkyBoss he summons]] [[RobotGirl female Ninjaroid]] [[BridgeBunnies lab assistants]] to gun down Musashi. Like the other Ninjaroid mooks Musashi's defeated over the course of the game, their clothes burn away when they're beaten, but instead of leaving behind a skeleton, Malbec's entourage just end up being stripped of their clothing, [[DefeatByModesty making them shriek in surprise and run off]].
32* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The elemental powers and maidens, specifically: Green for Earth, [[WaterIsBlue Blue for Water]], [[FireIsRed Red/Pink for Fire]], Light Blue for Wind and [[TechnicolorMagic Violet for Void]].
33* ContinuityNod: A brief one to ''Brave Fencer Musashi'' during Musashi's chat with Master Mew, Banon, and Fermiére at the beginning of Chapter 1. While responding to the looming threat of Gandrake Enterprises, Mycella "learned of a legend from a distant land" (the Allucaneet Kingdom) wherein "a hero summoned from another world delivered their people from calamity" (likely referring to the Legendary Brave Fencer Musashi sealing away the Wizard of Darkness [[spoiler:[[StableTimeLoop before his younger self was brought forth later in history for the events of the game to deal with the Thirstquencher Empire]]]]). Thus, Mycella "invoked the greatest of magic--[[GratuitousLatin Vocatus Heroa]]" (the Hero Summon) to call forth Musashi in Antheum's time of need.
34%%* CoolSword: The Elemental Swords. Also the boss Asura, [[DualWielding who wields six different sabers]] and can eventually [[BecomeYourWeapon turn into a large sword himself]].
35* CreditsMedley: Plays through a slideshow with remixed versions of the {{Leitmotif}}s all of the Elemental Maidens, a more serious tune during the slideshow revealing [[spoiler:Rothschild's [[DragonAscendant ascension]] into the next potential BigBad and Gandrake surviving his final fight against Musashi]], all before finishing off with a flourished remix of Princess Mycella's theme.
36* CriticalExistenceFailure: A robot enemy will absorb slash after slash until you cut away that last bit of health, at which point your sword cleaves it neatly in half (as if it could have done so all along).
37%%* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Arachnoblia and probably Shiraz.
38* DamselInDistress: Princess Mycella, but is subverted in the end ([[spoiler:Mycella actively participates in the final boss fight]]).
39* DiagonalCut: [[SerialEscalation In various fashions]], including double, cross-shaped, X-shaped, strip-shaped, and in case of the last technique, ''net-shaped''.
40* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Princess Mycella ends up getting killed by Gandrake and the Archnebulus after she assists Musashi in defeating Gandrake's Shadow Musashi form. However, after defeating Gandrake's OneWingedAngel form, Mycella gets revived by the fully-revitalized Anthedon]].
41* TheDragon: Rothschild is the leader of Gandrake's Five Directors, and therefore the next one after him to take charge of their enterprises. [[spoiler:During the credits, after Musashi beats Gandrake one last time, Rothschild ascends to the new leader of Gandrake Enterprises, with Shiraz as ''his'' Dragon.]]
42* DualBoss: Glogg and Riesling share a room and are fought as a team near the end of the game on Rampart Isle, whereas all of Gandrake's other Directors and the man himself face Musashi in each of their own rooms.
43* DualWielding: Musashi swings his unnamed [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] in his right hand and the {{BFG}} ''du jour'' in his left.
44* DugTooDeep: Roquefort Mine. Gandrake hires Glogg to run this area and mine for Nebulite. He is also tasked with keeping Fontina, the Maiden of Water, held hostage.
45%%* DumbMuscle: Mugwort and to a lesser extent, Glogg.
46* ElementalPowers: The Five Swords. Each contains a different element (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Void), and holds special powers embodying their element and used both for fighting both for puzzles.
47* EpicFlail: Glogg's weapon is to sling around an [[AnchorsAway anchor]].
48* EscortMission: At least six of them. Your combat options are limited with a lady (and in one case, valuable mineral) [[BridalCarry in your arms]], but you can toss her in the air long enough to perform a SpinAttack. [[GrievousHarmWithABody Or just use her as a bludgeon.]]
49%%* EvilGenius: Malbec. Made worse by the fact that he is, at most, [[KidsAreCruel a prepubescent kid]].
50* {{Fanfare}}: "Samurai Struck" by The Surf Coasters. An AutobotsRockOut theme that accompanies Musashi throughout the game to represent his wild OneManArmy method of slashing through Gandrake's hordes. It usually plays when he's riding a vehicle, such as a motorcycle or one of the Ninjaroid's flying machines.
51* {{Fanservice}}: ''Musashi: Samurai Legend'' has a little for everyone; Fontina (Meganekko, which is even mentioned as her best asset by one of the [=NPCs=]), Istara (ActionGirl with a hint of {{Tsundere}}), and Burrini (TheHeart), among others. And then there's Clochette, who is in a league all her own. She even gives Musashi a blatant proposition, though he's so innocent that he [[ChasteHero completely misses the point]].
52%%* FireBalls: The Pyro Blast sword burns obstacles and lights torches.
53%%* FlunkyBoss: Malbec fights along with a group of machinegun-toting, sexy female Ninjaroids.
54%%* FriendToAllLivingThings: Burrini, who owns a pet bird named [[PunnyName May Day]].
55* GiantSpaceFleaFromNoWhere:
56%%** [[spoiler:Amestris, Goddess of Destruction.]]
57** Also, the Crimson Gorgers. Unlike basically every other boss in the game who has either an in-story justification or at least serve as a thematic match, these guys come literally out of nowhere at the end of a mission that didn't really seem to need a boss, just because the devs felt it had been a while since there'd been a boss fight.
58* GiantSpider: You meet some human-sized, [[ActionBomb exploding]] spiders in the Pycodon Jungle area. The boss of the area is their mom, the colossal, BrainwashedAndCrazy Arachnolia.
59%%* GiantSquid: Scarlet Kraken.
60%%* GoForTheEye: The second boss, Gorpus, must be defeated in this fashion.
61* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Amestris is the Goddess of Destruction and the true mastermind behind the events of the game. She manipulated Gandrake into freeing her. Then she uses him to run his own Enterprises and torment the Mystics.]]
62* GreenRocks: Nebulite is a mineral that Gandrake Enterprises seeks for their projects, and they'll stop at nothing to get as much as they can of it. It can also be used ideally, as one sub-mission has you gather more Nebulite for Mugwort the Blacksmith so he can keep his fireplace going in order to continue tempering Musashi's katana.
63* GroundPound: The Tremor Thrust sword is used for crushing boulders and pushing down industrial buttons. It cannot, however, hurt your enemies.
64%%* HailfirePeaks: The Wellspring Woods includes TheLostWoods, an EvilTowerOfOminousness, and TheMaze in one.
65* HeelFaceTurn: Clochette, the [[SexySecretary secretary]] for Gandrake Enterprises, [[spoiler:is actually the Maiden of the Void, who started working for Gandrake to get revenge on her village. She turns good when Musashi saves her, though]].
66%%* HollywoodAcid: The acid in old Mouna Temple is bright green and bubbles.
67* HostageForMacGuffin: A variation: [[spoiler:during TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, to release Mycella, Musashi has to insert the Five Swords into a machine, which promptly makes them vanish.]] Later, Gandrake uses a MirrorBoss version of himself to fight you, [[spoiler:and he's got your swords to do it with.]]
68* HulkSpeak: Mugwort the Blacksmith. He refers to himself in third person and speaks in simple sentences.
69* HyperactiveMetabolism: Musashi's: he can eat bakery products, onigiri and various kinds of food from pasta to grilled meat in order to heal himself. There's however a variation: ice-cream replenishes the magic bar and cocktails and drinks give you an attack/defense bonus. Except for Pepper's deadly Five Alarm Angry Angler Hellstew, which [[FireBreathingDiner burns going down]] but affords a Strength boost.
70%%* ImprobableHairstyle: Musashi's 'do kinda speaks for itself.
71* InformedAbility: Golovnin is the Arena manager. The toughest arena challenge, "Leaders Cup 100" when beaten; Golovnin says that only 2 people have beaten it and implies that he was the first person to. Golovnin isn't shown in any action spotlight throughout the game.
72%%* InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha:
73%%** The Vaporbot.
74%%** Going by any looser definition of "mecha" would mean virtually [[MechaMooks every enemy in the game]].
75%%* {{Invisibility}}: The Shadow Warrior sword is useful for stealth sections.
76* ItemCrafting: Somewhat. One of the helpful [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] can pop any combination of three or fewer items into a machine and invent something new. Some inventions are quite handy, such as a portable refrigerator that keeps valuable food items from spoiling. Unfortunately, your selections are limited -- only three types of crafting materials exist in the game.
77* JigglePhysics: All of the Maidens have this going on (except for the two child twins, for obvious reasons), as well as certain NPC characters. Burrini (who's especially buxom) and [[ActionGirl Ishtara]] in particular [[MaleGaze each get a close-up which points this out further]]. Mycella also bounces a little in the opening animation.
78* {{Kevlard}}: The fat Sumoroid enemies have the most health among the enemies.
79* {{Leitmotif}}: All of the main characters have a theme song, though for the villains it's a more collective representation of them as a whole. All of the main female characters, however, have their own theme song dedicated to them. In particular, Mycella has two versions, Mirabo and Maribo's themes are two separate themes for each of them instead of one collective theme, Istara has the longest theme, and [[spoiler:Clochette's]] theme only appears after [[spoiler:her true identity as the Maiden of the Void is revealed and subsequent HeelFaceTurn]].
80%%* LethalChef: Pepper. The best thing that can be said about her food is that it eventually numbs your tongue.
81* LethalLavaLand: Mount Terroir. Riesling is tasked by Gandrake to run this area and use a Maiden of Fire to control a [[MagmaMan Magma Monster known as Moltan]]. Unfortunately for Riesling, he was short another Fire Maiden, which caused Moltan to go wild.
82* LivingShip: the Anthedon, a [[GiantFlyer giant flying whale]] which carries the city of Antheum on its back.
83* LivingWeapon: Gandrake, instead of using his own power, relies entirely on that of his power source/boss, the Archnembulus, along with Musashi's Elemental Swords.
84* TheLostWoods: Wellspring Woods and Picodon Jungle. The latter has also some cavern sections and is more like JungleJapes.
85* MagmaMan: Moltan, a dragon-like monster made of magma.
86* MakingASplash: The Hydro Blast sword extinguishes fires.
87%%* MegaCorp: Complete with not one, but ''two'' {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.
88* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Istara decides to kill Arachnoblia herself so that she can be free of Malbec and Gandrake's corruption of her.]]
89* {{Miko}}: The Elemental Maidens' attire when performing the rite of transfer in the Chamber of Rites at Antheum to unlock their respective sword's [[LimitBreak Latent Power]] (which in turn restores some of Anthedon's might).
90* MixAndMatchCritters: The Scarlet Kraken boss, which is part octopus and part elephant.
91* MonsterArena: The Arena which features most of the enemies and even bosses Musashi has faced.
92* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Asura, [[MeaningfulName true to]] [[Myth/HinduMythology its name]], has six arms and [[MultipleHeadCase three faces]].
93* NewGamePlus: Upon beating the game, you can play a New Game+ where enemies deal more damage. The tutorial is also skipped. A certain room in the final level will be unlocked to obtain collectables not attainable in the first playthrough.
94* NotQuiteDead: Played straight with [[spoiler:Gandrake]]. Musashi kicks his ass twice, blows up the building he's occupying, and finds him still up for a fight.
95--> '''Musashi:''' You've got to be kidding me!
96* NumberOfTheBeast: The Vault Guardian Enemies, which are giant enemies, have 666 HP, which stands out because all other enemies have HP values in multiples of 50.
97* OhCrap: Gandrake's Henchmen [[spoiler:mocks Musashi as he reaches TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, only for him to instantly move out of their sight and attack them from above. They react like this.]]
98* OldMaster: Master Mew has apparently known the people of Antheum for ages, and when he meets Musashi for the first time, he's become quite an old cat who's nonetheless still capable of teaching Musashi the arts of the Way of the Stray Cat.
99%%* OneHitKill: Gandrake's Returning Swallow/Swallow's Tail attack.
100* OneManArmy: Musashi himself. When he agrees to help out Antheum, he remains their one and only mercenary who can shred through a countless number of Ninjaroids.
101* OneWingedAngel:
102%%** [[spoiler:Gandrake]], once he's completely nebulized.
103** The [[ThisIsADrill Drill Golem]] turns in a different model the second time you face it. The Asura boss does a similar trick.
104* PermanentlyMissableContent: As soon as you rescue [[spoiler:Mycella]] for the second time, be sure to visit her room for a bonus cutscene and a highly useful accessory.
105* PowerCopying: The Duplication process. It's of the [[AwesomenessByAnalysis "watch the move and instantly learn it yourself variety"]]--in fact, Musashi counters the move he's learning ''with'' the move he's learning. This leads to a good explanation as to why the moves are sometimes different--he's adapting the moves for use with his gear and, at times, biology, so a 1-to-1 match is sometimes impossible.
106* PunnyName:
107** Princess Mycella and all of the Elemental Maidens sans Istara are named for different kinds of cheese. Also some of the villagers (and their pet animals) like Pecorino or Asiago.
108** Gandrake's [[QuirkyMinibossSquad minions]] are named for kinds of wines.
109* RedOniBlueOni: Musashi and Gandrake. Also Maribo and Mirabo, though they have the same color scheme (dark red for Maribo and bright pink for Mirabo).
110* RuleOfCool: Those MechaMooks must be ''really'' shoddily manufactured; much of the fun of the game is dashing hither and yon, dicing robots ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' style. Oddly, some of them even leave a red skeleton behind when you slay them.
111* SaveThePrincess: In spades, particularly when you end up [[EscortMission having to find, pick up, and carry]] each of the Elemental Maidens at one point or another. Also subverted when [[spoiler:Mycella dies during the final boss fight]].
112* ScaryScorpions: Gorpus is a giant, partly-robotical scorpion that shoot fireballs from his stinger.
113* SealedEvilInACan: Many bosses. Usually the guardians of the Five Swords are this, and must be freed in order to obtain their sword. [[spoiler:The same holds true for Amestris, the Goddess of Destruction, sealed in the Archnembulus.]]
114%%* ShopFodder: There are plenty of items that only have the purpose of being sold.
115%%* SimpletonVoice: Mugwort the Blacksmith.
116%%* SingleStrokeBattle: [[spoiler:The final fight against Gandrake.]]
117* SixthRangerTraitor: [[spoiler:Shiraz. After Gandrake's defeat, he's the only one besides Rothschild to still direct his Enterprises in any way. He even becomes Rothschild's [[TheDragon dragon]]]].
118* SpikeShooter: The Sumoroid can spit needles at you.
119* SpinAttack: The Great Oar's magic, Maelstrom. Musashi pumps it up ''[[{{BFS}} to about twenty feet long]]'' and spins, demolishing everything in its path.
120* TheStinger: One plays during the epilogue, revealing that, among other things, [[spoiler:Glogg, Riesling and Malbec pulled an HeelFaceTurn, Rothschild took over Gandrake's place with Shiraz as his Dragon, and apparently Gandrake has recovered from his battle with Musashi.]]
121* SummonEverymanHero: The plot of the game, that Musashi was summoned into this world.
122* {{Superboss}}: It's possible for Musashi to fight [[spoiler:Istara]] in the game's arena. [[spoiler:And she really is as tough as Musashi is led to believe she is.]]
123%%* SwordCane: Rothschild's weapon of choice, it can somehow unleash [[BlowYouAway annoying tornadoes]].
124%%* TempleOfDoom: Where you find the Sword of Void.
125%%* ThereAreNoTherapists: Fontina, somewhat. Though she gets one major pep talk from Musashi, who restores her self-esteem.
126%%* ThisIsADrill {{Golem}}: Yes, it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
127* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Musashi's ability 'Karmic Circle', copied from Ninja Troopers, which lets him throw his sword.
128* TooDumbToLive: Riesling would've had quite an easier time controlling Moltan in Mt. Terroir if only he ReadTheFreakingManual.
129* {{Tsundere}}:
130** Istara, somewhat. She's badass, a swordswoman who is on par with Musashi himself, and was the champion of the Arena for years before the events of the game. But give her a compliment on how good she looks [[spoiler:in her Maiden's outfit]] and [[LuminescentBlush she'll blush harder]] than everyone else.
131** Fontina, indubitably. She treats Musashi with disdain at first, but warms up to him after he proves himself to her.
132* TurnsRed: Sort of with the Scarlet Kraken, who's already red in color, "turns blue" when his HP are halved and becomes stronger.
133%%* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Just ''look'' at the final stage.
134* UnknownItemIdentification: Shiranzo is an appraiser who can identify unknown items, which unlocks their potential.
135* VacuumMouth: The Sumoroid robots can suck you up by inhaling.
136* WaitingPuzzle: In the final level, on a New Game Plus, there is a door at the end of the Galvabot assembly line that is open, however there is a chasm that is too wide to jump over. The solution is to let yourself be part of the assembly line and not press any buttons for over a minute to hang onto the queue.
137* WeaponTwirling: The ability Twin Turbine copied from miner, allows Musashi to twirl his katana into a whirlwind that deflects attacks and pushes away some projectiles.
138* WhoNeedsTheirWholeBody: When a vault keeper (zombie-like enemy) is sliced, the lower and upper halves can still function and attack you.
139* WickedCultured: Rothschild. Doesn't stop him from being an asshole on wheels, though. [[spoiler:He tries to pull a LesCollaborateurs with Musashi, but Musashi will have none of it and beats the tar out of him.]]
140* WolverineClaws: The Ninjaroids primary weapons are 3 long blades protruding out each of their hands. Several attacks Musashi can learn from them via [[PowerCopying Duplication]] involves converting these to work with his [[DualWielding two-handed sword-fighting style]].

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