Musashi Samurai Legend is a follow-up released on the PlayStation 2.
This game provides examples of:
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- 100% Completion: Earned by beating the game after finding all 13 Minkus, rescuing every villager on the rescue list (therefore breaking all of the Bincho Fields), and collecting all of the game's action figures (including the Special series note ). You'll be treated to a congratulatory picture with the message "PERFECT!! Thank you for playing!"
◊ after the credits and Squaresoft logo, and the save file will now display a red "Fin" mark when overwritten. - Adjective Noun Fred: The majority of the cast have names like this, such as "Knitter Lunchetta" or "Carpenter Dicey."
- Advancing Boss of Doom:
- In Frost Dragon's lair, before you get to the second (and main) phase of the fight, it'll chase you across an ice bridge covered in spiky icicles that you need to melt with the Fire Scroll. The dragon will start crashing into the bridge behind you, so if you're too slow here, you'll fall into the abyss.
- 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.
- The Alcoholic: Mannick. Even before you find him plastered in the basement of his restaurant, with alcohol bottles lining the floor, he's shown to always be in a drunken stupor with flushed cheeks. Chatting with Mannick has him blurt out randomly negative lines, including telling everyone to leave because the food at his own establishment is terrible.
- All Just a Dream: Continuing from a Game Over treats you to a short cutscene where Musashi thrashes awake from a bad dream. Sort of justified, given that Musashi can fall asleep almost anywhere at any time.
- All Your Powers Combined: In addition to self-duplication and transmutable limbs, 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.
- Always Identical Twins: Implied. When Hotelo the innkeeper departs for Twinpeak Mountain in Chapter 3 to pick up Aqualin so that a cure can made for Tim, who was locked outside the grocery by his mother Hilda for not obeying his curfew and subsequently bitten by a Vambee, his brother Motelo, who is a dead ringer for Hotelo, fills in for the time being. If you fail to reach Aqualin and deliver it to Hotelo in time, Motelo will permanently assume the role due to Hotelo's Heroic BSoD-induced departure.
- Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Dark Lumina - Finale.
- 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" right before the kid is summoned 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.
- Soldier Hanky-Flanky might just outdo Shanky. After rescuing him, visit him at Allucaneet Castle and he'll be overjoyed to see Musashi, thinking that the boy came to serenade him. He offers to repay Musashi with his love and devotion, which weirds out Musashi so much, he snaps back that he'll tell Shanky on him if the soldier tries to pull a fast one.
- Ambiguous Situation: When Musashi obtains the Earth Scroll, Lumina uses telepathic communication to speak to Musashi for the first (and only) time. It tells him to go slay the Earth Crest Guardian, but immediately clams up after briefly explaining to Musashi what a Crest Guardian is. In light of Musashi's Unwitting Pawn credentials in defeating the Crest Guardians and liberating the Five Scrolls, the question is raised as to who/what was speaking to Musashi at that moment: the sword or the monster sealed inside of the sword.
- Ambition Is Evil: Fuhrer Flatski fits this one to a T. Predictably, he ends up biting off far more than he can chew at the end.
- The Assimilator: Rare heroic example in Musashi thanks to Fusion, the signature power of which is called "Assimilation."
- Astral Projection: The Lone Mist's Sublime ability, which allows Musashi to detach his soul from his body to get a better look at his surroundings. It's very handy in the dimly lit area where the ability is found, as his ghost form naturally glows. If his sleeping body is attacked, the effect is broken, meaning you need to ensure Musashi is out of harm's way while using Sublime. (For bonus points, the BGM for the maze where you encounter this enemy is even named "Out of Body Experience.")
- Attack Its Weak Point: Most 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.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: While the sequel would greatly expand on this ability of his (as Musashi lacks Fusion, instead brandishing a regular katana), Musashi is able to learn several sword techniques by watching the movements of the four knights at the palace (as well as Dashing Pierce from Maid Loinette whacking a fly and Shish Kebab from a juggling act by Clown Weinee and Acrobat Sausages).
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Platonic version between Musashi and Fillet. The two start off on the wrong foot (she's the one who calls Musashi a "little turd," after all), but after a journey's worth of heroics, they come to respect and genuinely care for each other. Right before facing Dark Lumina, Musashi expresses his relief that the princess is safe and sound, telling her to make sure no one else kidnaps her, to which Fillet urges Musashi not to lose. The perfect ending message (see 100% Completion above) is a visual representation of how chummy the two have become over the course of the game. Their bickering and later cooling down could be interpreted as Belligerent Sexual Tension in spite of the apparent age gap, but there's no expressed attraction on either character's part, aside of the not-quite-I "Uh" You, Too moment mentioned below and Jam teasing Musashi about his love life after the fake princess is rescued.Jam: "You look especially happy today! Did a pretty girl steal your heart?"
- Badass Adorable: Musashi, an effect of the cutesy art style and his short stature.
- Badass Arm-Fold: Dark Lumina's pose as he chases after Musashi across the crumbling Empire.
- 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 and pulls a gun on the Fuhrer.
- Beauty Is Bad: Though their brand of villainy is nothing if not petty (and one of them gets a death scene ambiguous in both its sympathetic quality and the actual "death" part), the villainesses seen working for Thirstquencher are generally mean-spirited, concerned with little more than their looks, and willing to go to great lengths to earn the favor of the Fuhrer and, more importantly, Capricciola. Fillet may be a little rough around the edges (at first), but these girls make her look like a saint. Gingerelle, despite being the haughtiest of the three, manages to get the least of this, as most of her misdeeds are never shown. Comparatively, Bubbles' oversight of the Bincholoid research for Mission Vambee creates a temporary Vambee Apocalypse wherein Tim is a victim, while Topo sabotages Steamwood and removes a few of the valves necessary for its maintenance, uncaring of the fact that her actions would doom the village she just bullied out of its finances.
- Beware My Stinger Tail: Later in the battle, Skullpion will start drilling its tail through the ground in the hopes of skewering Musashi. If you're caught, you'll end up poisoned for your troubles as well.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Leader's Force are a trio of imbeciles, each member of which is convinced he or she is the one calling the shots in the group. All of them prove to be really nasty opponents when Musashi fights them.
- BFS: Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence.
- Big Bad: Fuhrer Flatski of the Thirstquencher Empire.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: The Slow Guy enemies in the Frozen Palace are Bincholoid abominable snowmen.
- Big Red Devil: The Wizard of Darkness, who appearance-wise is basically Darkness from Legend with the serial numbers filed off.
- Bishōnen 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.
- Bitch Alert: Bubbles makes her first impression on Musashi by cackling obscenely and demanding Lumina at gunpoint.Musashi: (thinking to himself) "Just like the Princess... Why are all the women I meet like this...?"
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The description for Topo's action figure says she has a nasty personality. Her actions in the story don't exactly dispel this notion, no matter how cute she may be.
- 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.
- Boss Subtitles: Most of the bosses are introduced by a lingering camera shot with their name displayed near the bottom of the screen.
- 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, "Little Turd."
- Princess Fillet has shades of this herself, humorously enough. Note that she's the one who calls Musashi a little turd.
- The straightest example by far is Tim. He does get a little bit better after learning Musashi was responsible for saving him during the events of Chapter 3, uncharacteristically apologizing to Musashi for how badly he treated him, but then says that he'll let Musashi be his friend.
- Breath Weapon:
- Frost Dragon used Ice Beam! It's super effective!
- Skullpion also has a move of this nature, utilizing a blast of sand.
- Vambees are able to spit acid, though it's not something you'll see often from them.
- Once you've damaged it enough to cause its forehead crystal to turn red, Dark Lumina's second form will retaliate with either this in the form of fireballs or a Ground Pound Shockwave Stomp.
- Broken Pedestal: 95% of the village gets this with Princess Fillet when Topo, disguised as the princess, uses her position to strong-arm them into giving her their profits and life savings. Only a select few, like Father White, don't have their faith in the princess completely shattered. Luckily, the situation is amended when Topo outs herself in front of Musashi, as Administrator Fores' eye-witness account of Topo leaving Steamwood after he locked "Fillet" in there allows Mayor Govern to do damage control. The villagers instantly sing a different tune, as if they never doubted the princess and her character at all.
- Broken Record: Mr. Lands will repeatedly harp on about the state of disrepair the Gondola is currently in, becoming increasingly irate about the subject until it's fixed early on in Chapter 5. Given the Gondola's importance to the village and Allucaneet Kingdom (and his future employment), he's not unjustified in voicing his frustration.
- 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.
- Bucket Helmet: Tim's choice of headgear. Mint, on the other hand, wears a basket on her head.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: A Double Subversion occurs in the final chapter. When Capricciola tells the Fuhrer he was responsible for the death of his mother and father, Flatski protests that he doesn't remember killing Capricciola's parents, implying this sort of thing has happened more than once in the past. Once Capri reveals his true identity, it all comes back to Flatski.
- Camera Abuse:
- To stop the red Gi-Ant that's assailing the Gondola office, Musashi rides the Gondola down from the castle and crushes the ant, leading to a spray of green blood across the screen. Eww...
- The Hurl ability, obtained from the Slow Guy enemy in Frozen Palace, consists of Musashi throwing enemies straight into the screen and out of view.
- Canine Companion: Leno to Jon, alternatively known to Tim (and sometimes Mint) as Chappy.
- Character Development: Musashi starts out a bit self-centered, only helping out the royal family of the Allucaneet Kingdom and the people of Grillin' Village by extension 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.
- Character Level: Musashi has four stat categories: Body (attack strength), Mind (defensive power), Fusion (Fusion's attack power), and Lumina (Lumina's attack power). Each category increases individually (through felling baddies, walking around, and landing successful attacks with both swords), with their average calculating Musashi's current level. Somewhat abnormally for a game with RPG elements, experience, which counts toward all four, is earned not by defeating enemies, but instead is determined by the total distance Musashi has traveled in-game (not as tedious as it sounds since you'll be running a lot). When all four gauges are filled, Musashi's level increases by one, although there is an upper limit for level gains in each chapter that can only be increased once Musashi takes care of the corresponding boss and receives its core as spoils. Upon leveling up enough, Musashi's title/rank in the sub-menu will begin to change, capping off at "LV30 Hero."
- City of Adventure: Grillin' Village.
- Color-Coded Elements: Earth is brown/yellow, Water Is Blue, Fire Is Red, and Wind Is Green. Sky is also blue. Sky blue, that is.
- Combat Stilettos: Bubbles, though the heels are rather practical and you never get the chance to fight her.
- Cool Shades: Jon.
- Cool Sword: Besides Lumina, there's Fusion, a katana able to copy the powers of enemies by assimilating them.
- Costume Copycat: The Fillet you rescue from Kojiro is actually Topo in disguise, who uses the princess's clout to demand profits from the townspeople's shops and then ends up causing Steamwood to go berserk for a second go-round. Unfortunately, Topo forgot to keep hidden the one feature of hers that would give away her true identity: her tail. Even worse for her, Musashi both overhears her plans for the stolen money and does not fail to notice the new appendage.
- Counter-Attack: Musashi holds up Fusion to block attacks during the charge-up for Assimilation, Lumina Rotation, or one of the Five Scrolls' powers. If an enemy strikes you while you are blocking and you successfully block the attack, you can counterattack by swinging Lumina immediately afterward (a technique called Mighty Strike), which results in a devastating explosion, complete with Planar Shockwave!
- Critical Hit: Musashi can randomly deal these out, designated by a flash of red light when his attack connects. Obtaining the Legendary Gloves increases the chance of landing a critical, though by asking Weaver Dinneretta to fashion the Legendary Cloth (when you find it behind a cracked wall in the basement of Mannick's Restaurant) into the L-Gloves, the player is missing out on the equally useful Legendary Quilt (reduces tiredness to 0% and recovers HP and BP at an increased rate), so choose wisely. (But see Power-Up Letdown below for more details.)
- Cute Bookworm: Librarian Brisketta. She is painfully shy, reclusive, and prone to stammering repeatedly, and it's adorable.
- 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 Is Evil: The Wizard of Darkness, Dark Lumina.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence.
- Devour the Dragon: Though he's far from actual Dragon status, Dark Lumina absorbs Kojiro to go One-Winged Angel.
- 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.
- Disappeared Dad: In a reverse of Hotelo and Mint's situation, Tim's father is never spoken of. It can be implied from Hilda's tearful reaction to Tim's Vambee-afflicted illness and her guilt from locking him out of the house, along with direct statements that he's her only child, that she's a single, possibly widowed mother, though it's never confirmed.
- Dishing Out Dirt: The Earth Scroll allows Musashi to activate switches, cause boulders to fall, and temporarily paralyze some enemies with a Shockwave Stomp. Oddly enough, it's the Wind Scroll that allows Musashi to dig through certain patches of dirt.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Kojiro seeks to settle the score with Musashi because he hasn't forgiven him for inflicting the scar on his forehead, which makes for a humorous nod to Musashi thumping Kojiro with a bokken carved from the oar of the boat that carried Musashi to the site of his duel with Kojiro. Musashi gives a different account of the duel that has Kojiro's motivation free fall from personal revenge to this; according to Musashi, the scar was self-inflicted when Kojiro tripped and fell over his feet, apparently having a hissy fit after Musashi refused to let a coin toss determine the winner. Kojiro's Big "SHUT UP!" and telling Musashi that he came to cross blades "this time" affirms how petty a grudge Kojiro is holding.
- Double Jump: Courtesy of the Legendary Belt. It also grants Musashi the ability to cancel charging with a backflip. Of note is the fact that a double jump is required to use the Rumparoni-SP attack, a relatively safe and easy way to deal damage to Dark Lumina's second form.
- 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 BFS in the other. Rescuing certain villagers allows Musashi to learn special techniques that utilize both of his weapons in tandem.
- Dude Magnet: Wanda, who waitresses nights at the local pub. In Chapter 6, a tourist who frequents the spot claims to have fallen in love with her.
- Dumb Muscle:
- Rootrick, as well as Ben of Leader's Force. Rootrick appears to be a country hick, given his accent.
- Macho, too. He even resorts to Hulk Speak frequently, something not even Ben, who has problems with grammar and spelling, uses.
- 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, Rootrick, Capricciola, Flatski). In Japanese, the bad guy names are based on booze instead.
- Electric Torture: Mildly used during your "battle" with Topo. Mess up your dance steps and Topo will set the fans in front of her stage to full blast, sending you into an electrified fence for a quick zap before you're forced to start from scratch.
- Element No. 5: The Sky Scroll. Allows Musashi to hover in the air.
- Elemental Powers: Each of the Five Scrolls grants Lumina (which is Non-Elemental in its base form) 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 Mooks: Encountered in the final chapter of the game, where Musashi infiltrates the Thirstquencher stronghold.
- Empathic Weapon: Lumina, the Sword of Luminescence, is able to 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/central district of which is called Soda Fountain.
- Everyone Has Standards: Conners is not a pleasant soul to be around, but even he openly detests Mannick, suspecting that the only reason Mannick bought the land for the restaurant was because of the rumored "extraordinary treasure" lying within/below the grounds. Turns out he's right on the button, and Tim ends up with a nasty fever courtesy of a Vambee because of it.
- 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. Almost makes you think that (the first part of) his name was prophetic in addition to being one pun of many...
- Evil Knockoff: One enemy encountered at the Frozen Palace is Copycat, a polygonal, electrified imitation of Musashi that mimics his movements, complete with its own Fusion and Lumina. It can't copy his Five Scrolls powers, though, so...
- Evil Laugh: A specialty of the Thirstquencher baddies.
- Evil Redhead: Kojiro and Gingerelle.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Dark Lumina. At first, anyway.
- Excessive Steam Syndrome: The game has lots of pipes seemingly designed to pump hot steam into areas where you need to be. This largely ceases to be a problem once Steamwood is fixed for good.
- Eyes Always Shut:
- Mercenary Meitlofe. When coupled with his Cheshire Cat Grin, overly cheerful demeanor, and odd speech patterns (short sentences, each one repeated once, with one half or another of his text colored red), it's possible he's a Manchild or Cloudcuckoolander.
- Several villagers, such as Mrs. Govern, Mrs. Grange, and Mrs. Lacter, display this as well. A few others get this, too, but only in the character portraits that go along with their speech bubbles.
F-K
- Face Framed in Shadow: Before Musashi meets with the Fuhrer in person, his sole appearance in the story at the end of Chapter 2 has Flatski veiled in the darkness of his throne, showing only the glint of his eyes and (on his character model) the Slasher Smile that is plastered on his mask. His "face" is also revealed on a portrait in the room Fillet is being held in at the end of Chapter 3.
- The Faceless: Rootrick and Fuhrer Flatski's facial features are never seen due to their masks.
- Face Palm: Capricciola does this at the start of Chapter 5 in response to Ed and Ben's zeal (and Ben's stupidity). We don't blame him.
- Failsafe Failure: It's a good thing Musashi was around to fix Steamwood when it was at risk of Going Critical, as, between the needlessly complex multi-valve system (with groupings of valves located on separate floors that no one would be able to properly reach without the right amount of athleticism due to the steam blocking passage in the first place) and Administrator Fores' lack of expertise at his own job, Grillin' Village would be little more than a steaming hot basin. Both times. Fores even points out how they have nothing to fear as long as Musashi is there, leading Musashi to nearly have a conniption.
- 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."
- Fanservice with a Smile: Downplayed with Wanda. Her dress has a low-cut neckline, but not to nigh-impossible extremes. Wanda's actually a modest dresser, though that doesn't detract from her natural beauty or sex appeal.
- Fixed Camera: Most of the game.
- Flower from the Mountaintop: Misteria, one of the two ingredients needed to treat Tim during Chapter 3, inverts this, being a magic flower that only blooms between 3:00 AM and 7:00 AM and can be found on a rock formation... in the Mine's Underground Lake. The other ingredient, Aqualin, does reside atop Twinpeak Mountain, but is simply mineral water with restorative properties.
- Foreshadowing:
- For all the natives of the world, the rule seems to go that the good guys go with meat-based Edible Theme Naming, while the bad guys go with soda-based names. At first glance, Colonel Capricciola falls into the latter, but those familiar with Italian cold cuts may note that capicola is a particular type of cured pig meat. Sure enough, it turns out that he's The Mole out for revenge against Fuhrer Flatski.
- Whenever you find a Crest with the Crest Guardian still alive, it will mention the crest is being "Protected by a Crest Guardian." "Protect," instead of "Defend", "Guard", or any other similar words, with all the positive connotations it carries. The climax of the story reveals that the Crest Guardians are there to keep Dark Lumina sealed. Even the dialogue lampshades the emphasis, how the original Brave Fencer Musashi set up the Crest Guardians to protect the Crests.
- For all the natives of the world, the rule seems to go that the good guys go with meat-based Edible Theme Naming, while the bad guys go with soda-based names. At first glance, Colonel Capricciola falls into the latter, but those familiar with Italian cold cuts may note that capicola
- Free Rotating Camera: Present in a few places, like the town.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: The restaurant owner Mannick getting wasted on "soda pop." Musashi will ask him if he had too much "caffeine" when he's found drunkenly loitering around in the basement of his restaurant.
- 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 Leader's 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.
- Goggles Do Something Unusual: The Legendary Goggles allow Musashi to appraise items without the need to go to the pawn shop. Of course, you still have to sell the useless items to Conners, which the game will kindly point out to you when your appraised item turns out to be a dud.
- Goldfish Poop Gang/Power Trio/Quirky Miniboss Squad/Terrible Trio: Leader's Force, where each member claims to be the leader. As it turns out, none of them are.
- Gonk: Ben, due to his big froglike mouth and bulging eyes, is rather… distinct when compared with most of the other characters' portraits.
- Good All Along: Colonel Capricciola, aka Jon.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Kojiro has a X-shaped mark on his forehead.
- Good Shepherd: Father White, the priest of Grillin' Village's modest church. He can cure Musashi of poison, gives him free access to the well's water supply, and, when Musashi manages to return the church's bell stolen by Ed, rewards him with a statue of an angel that turns out to be the key to Relic Keeper's boss lair.
- Gossipy Hens: Mrs. Lands and Mrs. Grange, who can be seen frequenting the well outside of the church to chat about various happenings around the village (and criticize their husbands' peculiarities). When the well dries up in Chapter 3, Mrs. Lands is concerned she'll lose her favorite gossip spot.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: The Queen of Allucaneet, seen above in all of her fan-waving elegance, wears a purple dress. So does Topo, though her girly charms get undermined by her malicious nature.
- Graceful Loser: All three members of Leader's Force, particularly Topo, who compliments Musashi's dancing and even spells out how he factors into the group's plans for obtaining Lumina for the Fuhrer.
- Gratuitous German: In the dub, the German-accented Flatski lets out a "Schnell!" when Jon/Capricciola makes no move to swipe Lumina from Musashi, right before Capri turns on him.
- Gravity Sucks: When forced into a vulnerable state by Musashi's Assimilation (that of a floating eye) and then struck by Lumina, Dark Lumina will draw in Musashi and debris toward him like a miniature black hole before re-assuming his true form.
- Green Rocks: Binchotite. It's even green. And rocklike. It's also reported to mutate animals, plants, and fungi as a side effect. Some of these mutated creatures come into contact with Musashi during his quest.
- Grumpy Old Man: Conners the snappish, curmudgeonly, pessimistic, pipe-smoking (yet surprisingly philosophical) pawn shop owner and Wid the nocturnal, easily irritated windmill worker.
- Guide Dang It!:
- The Special series of action figures, especially the Jon & Leno figure, which requires you to open every single chest in the game. There's also trying 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.
- The calendar puzzle on the first playthrough. The solution is on an item you got near the middle of the game and the puzzle is in the Very Definitely Final Dungeon. Before this, there is absolutely no purpose to the item so most players probably have forgotten about it by this point.
- Guile Hero: Jon, who's actually the deposed Prince of the Thirstquencher Empire and incognito for almost the entire game, poses as Fuhrer Flatski's right-hand man Colonel Cappriciola, and aids Musashi (who's fighting against Flatski in defense of Allucaneet Kingdom) multiple times over the course of the game. Flatski never suspects a thing and is utterly flabbergasted when Jon's deception is revealed.
- Healing Spring: Located at the top of Twinpeak Mountain, which is where Aqualin is located. Musashi can return to the summit at any time after gaining the Earth Scroll to obtain more of the restorative item if the player desires.
- 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.
- Hearts Are Health: Heart Tablets, which are dropped by enemies and restore Musashi's hit points when picked up.
- Helicopter Pack: Ben breaks one out during his boss fight, hovering about the room and dropping bombs the player must dodge.
- Helpful Mook: Several baddies in the Frozen Palace are of the "Accidentally Assisting" type; their attacks can help you cross chasms and reach ledges Musashi normally couldn't jump over or on top of.
- Heroic BSoD: Hotelo gets one when you find him on Twinpeak Mountain, unable to reach Aqualin and calling himself a fool for thinking he'd be able to save Tim's life. Musashi chides him on how easily he gave up on Tim and, having already obtained Misteria from the Underground Lake, goes to get Aqualin from the top of the mountain, with only twelve hours left before Tim turns into a Vambee. Grab Aqualin and make it back to Hotelo in time, and Musashi's pep talk will have shaken Hotelo out of his funk, whereupon Musashi gives Aqualin to Hotelo so that he can zip back to the village and get the remedy to Tim. If you fail, Mayor Govern informs Musashi that Tim has become a Vambee, Hotelo will leave town for good after bringing back Aqualin, and Motelo will take his place at the inn for the remainder of the game, wondering where his brother went and remarking upon how much of a shame it is that Mint is missing her father. Tim still manages to recover in the case of the latter event, as Musashi urges the mayor to use the remedy anyway, though the grocery will be closed for the duration of Chapter 3 due to Hilda's shock at her son's predicament.
- High-Class Glass: Butler Livers is the one character who wears a monocle.
- Historical In-Joke: Kojiro has a scar on his forehead, presumably from when Musashi smashed his skull in with an oar. Ben, like his namesake Benkei, wields a gigantic polearm and loses consciousness standing up.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Relic Keeper, being larger than the room you fight him in, bumps his head on the ceiling, causing it to collapse. Thus, he's stuck in an Atlas Pose for the entirety of the boss battle, leaving the attacking to a living fireball he conjures up. When defeated, the Relic Keeper pushes up the ceiling and tries to take one last swat at Musashi, only for the ceiling to fall back down and flatten him.
- Hold the Line: The Chapel Battle in Chapter 3 pits Musashi against enhanced Vambees known as V-Soldiers. They're completely invincible, as Musashi quickly discovers, and they can kill him instantly if they manage to grab him. Musashi's only option is to keep them at bay until the sun rises and light pours in through the bullet holes left by Bubbles' Soldiers, vaporizing the Vambees. Due to the speed of the game's clock, this means the player will be on the defensive for approximately six minutes.
- Hollywood Acid: Vambees and purple Gi-Ants can respectively produce this from their mouths and abdomens. If you Assimilate the latter, you can fire off globs of corrosive acid yourself.
- Horned Humanoid: Dark Lumina.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: Attempted several times on Musashi for Lumina, the first to try being Rootrick, who escapes with the princess when she tells Musashi not to give in to his demands. Fuhrer Flatski makes a more successful bid in the final chapter, which is how he unseals Dark Lumina.
- Hunk: If you chat with Wanda in Chapter 2 before Steamwood malfunctions, she'll refer to Macho as such while complimenting his gambling skills. Fillet also calls "Sir Kojiro" this after summoning him, but the admiration is short-lived, as Kojiro has no interest in saving her from Thirstquencher.
- Hyperactive Metabolism
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Musashi's first impression of Tim? "Whoa... What a brat!" Granted, Tim is more of a Bratty Half-Pint than Musashi ever could be, and even his mother Hilda knows that her only child is a very rude boy.
- Ed mocks Musashi's height by referring to Musashi as a midget, despite him being about the same size as Musashi.
- When you fight Ben, he calls Musashi a bell thief, completely disregarding that his buddy Ed stole the bell first; Musashi simply retrieved it from the well and delivered it back to the church.
- Idiot Hair: Musashi.
- Idol Singer: Topo looks the part, but instead forces Musashi to partake in an impromptu Simon Says battle.Topo: "DANCE OR DIE!!"
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Gingerelle, Bubbles, and Topo all appear to harbor deep crushes on Capricciola, and thus compete to earn his attention. While his feelings on Topo are unknown, Capricciola sees the sisters as frivolous. That he seeks to overthrow Flatski's rule means Capricciola probably detests most of his Thirstquencher subordinates, infatuated women included.
- I'll Kill You!: Kojiro's "Get ready to perish!" line uttered during his banter with Musashi preceding their showdown. When he appears again to challenge Musashi, this time in exchange for the real princess's freedom, he throws it back out... only for Dark Lumina to absorb him, which leads to Dark Lumina gaining Kojiro's fixation on besting Musashi. Dark Lumina's next line, as expected, consists of the words "Duel" over and over again, Musashi's name, and Kojiro's aforementioned threatening remark, with lots of ellipses to go around.
- 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.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Suggested of the Soldier 2 enemies (the blue-colored Thirstquencher grunts), whose toy description describes their aim to be second-rate. When commanded by Bubbles to open fire on Musashi inside of the church in Chapter 3 before the Vambee battle, they completely miss the mark, hitting the walls several feet above his head which allows light to seep into the church through the bullet holes and destroy the V-Soldiers. Naturally, Musashi mockingly asks if they're blind.
- Improbable Age: While the lack of an exact age muddies things, Capricciola, judging by his action figure, was presumably promoted to Colonel early in his career. Judging by the various neuroses of his subordinates and superiors, the notion of Capricciola being an Overranked Soldier seems almost necessary. And impressive when you remember he did all of this without even once blowing his cover.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Mrs. Lacter subverts this. As you make your way through the story, she gets a progressively worse coughing fit. Farmer Lacter temporarily stops tending his field to help his wife, now confined to her house, fully recuperate, and ensures Musashi she'll be just fine.
- Indy Escape: The last stage of the first chapter involves fleeing from a rolling giant stone head all the way from Spiral Tower back to the palace.
- Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: The Steam Knight, a steam-powered, four-legged robot equipped with a ball-and-chain flail. It's the very first boss, and rather difficult if you don't have dodging down yet.
- Invincible Minor Minion: The Stomp Golems found in the Frozen Palace.
- 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.
- I "Uh" You, Too: The scene where Musashi rescues Princess Fillet after defeating Kojiro sets this one up, complete with Fillet at a loss for words ("Musashi, I..."), only for Musashi to subvert it by telling Fillet there's no need to thank him. Beyond that, that's not even the real princess uttering that line: it's Topo disguised as Fillet.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Wid says this about Mrs. Lacter, having dreamed about Mrs. Lacter in her youth. He follows up with the opinion that she's still got it, implying that he's pining for an elderly (and already taken) woman.
- Jerk Jock: Macho definitely seems to be one.
- Kamehame Hadoken: Surprisingly, Ed is able to do this (while additionally erecting 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 that Musashi's the same one of legend, just summoned from an earlier date in time.
L-P
- 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.
- The Last Dance: Taken rather literally with Topo, who appears to have danced her legs off to the point of injury in her "fight" against Musashi. Topo actually dancing herself to death, on the other hand, is more debatable.
- 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.
- The Little Detecto: After waking up in his room at the palace, Butler Livers gives Musashi a Sensor Watch once he and Steward Ribson inform him of the missing villagers that need to be rescued. The watch (and the golden rings encircling the icons displaying Musashi and Lumina's statuses) flashes red when in the proximity of Bincho Fields.
- Living Statue: Skullpion and Relic Keeper, the Crest Guardians of Earth and Water.
- MacGuffin Guardian: The Crest Guardians.
- 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 due to the character in question being a bit of a drama queen.
- 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.
- Making a Splash: The Water Scroll, used to douse fires. It also allows Musashi to Walk on Water and encases him in a bubble, allowing him to float.
- Mana Meter: Bincho Power.
- Master of Disguise: Implied to be Topo's forte, as they can impersonate Princess Fillet with a simple change of clothes (presumably just a wig and dress but possibly also with the aid of Latex Perfection), right down to flawlessly imitating their voice. As the fake Fillet, Topo starts a smear campaign against the princess in Chapter 5 by pretty much taxing the hell out the villagers and forcing them to hand over their money.
- Missing Mom:
- In the case of Jam, who runs the bakery. As we find out in Chapter 3, her mother passed away prior to the events of the game, leading her father, Mr. Towst, to start going to Mannick's Restaurant every night so that he could drown his sorrows and enjoy their porkchops (which are 50% pork, 50% tapeworms according to Wanda; Jam wonders if her dad hates her cooking in Chapter 2 because of this). Jam hopes that her father will start eating at home when Mannick's Restaurant is closed down due to the Vambee outbreak, and Musashi decides to help out by going to talk to him outside of the establishment at 6 o'clock in the evening. Unfortunately for Jam, Mr. Towst goes right back to eating at Mannick's once the restaurant resumes business.
- Similarly, Mint's mother is never mentioned by Hotelo, making her status and whereabouts unknown. This can potentially veer into full-on Parental Abandonment if Hotelo decides to leave town due to his Heroic BSoD.
- Mistaken Identity: Mrs. Lacter mistakes Musashi for her grandson Bob every time she runs into him. Her husband says this is impossible, suggesting that Bob is no longer with them, or at least no longer living in Grillin' Village.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Skullpion, the Earth Crest Guardian.
- Model Museum: Action Figures purchased from one of the shops can be viewed freely in your inventory, encompassing a vast amount of the cast. You can watch animations, read some descriptions of each figure, and even view a unique box for each Action Figure not used anywhere else.
- The 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 plans and obtain the Five Scrolls. He also seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at Fuhrer Flatski's hand.
- Monochromatic Eyes: Frost Dragon and Queen Ant, the Fire and Wind Crest Guardians. There is also Dark Lumina. White by default, green for his One-Winged Angel, and red eyes upon crossing the Bishōnen Line.
- Mood Whiplash:
- During the final dungeon, expect to see pretty much all the quirky villains die one by one. Also, the death of Colonel Capricciola, aka Jon, the guy who has helped you periodically throughout the game, is juxtaposed with Fuhrer Flatski getting comically squished when he tries to order Dark Lumina to kill Musashi.
- A comparatively less serious one comes from Mr. Towst if you talk to him at the restaurant. It crosses from "fairly humorous" right back into "downright depressing" when you remember that Towst is drunk off his keister because of his dead wife and the unfortunate rift between him and his daughter.Mr. Towst: "Jam, I'm sorry for being such a bad father... Mmmmm... porkchops!"
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Dark Lumina in his second form, with a side order of Phlegmings.
- 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.
- Mannick asks himself this question when he discovers all he had to show for opening the gate in his restaurant and letting ghouls run free was a lousy, disgusting belt (which turns out to be the L-Belt). Musashi, suitably outraged, chews out Mannick for putting Tim and Hilda through hell because of his greed. Mannick, handing the "UglyBelt" over to Musashi, decides to start over and, once he's asked for forgiveness from the townspeople, dedicate his life to making his restaurant "the best one in the village, even if it's the only one!"
- 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 Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Once Musashi gathers all five Scrolls, he... accidentally releases the Sealed Evil in the Sword. Oops. Well, it's actually Fuhrer Flatski who does the unsealing, but Musashi did all of the hard work by defeating the Crest Guardians, so the point stands.
- 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. Who in the end gets assimilated by the aforementioned Sealed Evil in the Sword to become the final boss.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Vambees, a prototype monster created by the Thirstquencher Empire's Bincholoid Project, are apparently a combination of vampires and zombies, and they look like werewolves. They were thought to be the stuff of folktales until Tim was attacked by one at night.
- No Clear Leader: Leader's Force is called that because each member thinks he or she is the leader, each of them opening their introduction with some form of "So you have gotten this far! But now you face me, the leader of Leader's Force!"
- Non-Elemental: Lumina's base form, denoted by the word "Norm" in the sub-menu.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently, a fly wronged Maid Loinette's father somehow. (Musashi learns Dashing Pierce after watching her angry reaction to a fly.) Unfortunately, she never gives an explanation.
- No OSHA Compliance: Several areas, most notably Steamwood and the Binchotite Mine (complete with pools of poison, vicious mutated creatures, and even a minecart ride with grates that actively try to kill you by randomly popping out of the walls).
- The Noseless: Nearly every human character in the game. Musashi and Kojiro, hailing from another world, look to be the only exceptions, and Musashi is sometimes drawn in artwork without a nose, too.
- Not Completely Useless: Several enemy abilities seem like a letdown at first, but come in handy in the areas where they're found. Vambees can be assimilated to win a disgusting body odor, which drives away bats. Red Gi-Ants grant Depress, which dissuade attack from purple Gi-Ants at the apparent cost of... making Musashi feel kind of down on himself.
- Not Quite Dead: After seemingly being killed in Chapter 2 during the race to obtain the Earth Scroll, Rootrick reappears one last time during the finale.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: Fairly odd example with the Vambees. When explaining their nature to Musashi, Mayor Govern clearly says they're half-vampire and half-zombie, but many subsequent mentions of the Vambees have the creatures labeled as "Ghouls" and Musashi only calls them zombies once in the entire game.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Dark Lumina seeks only to wreak destruction on everything once it is released.
- One-Handed Zweihänder: Musashi with Lumina.
- One-Man Army: Musashi, of course! The fondly regarded segment at Soda Fountain in the final chapter where Musashi fights his way across the Midair Giant Playground, taking out scores of Thirstquencher soldiers and busting through security gates (all set to this adrenaline-pumping tune) seals it.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Kojiro. This gets passed on to Dark Lumina when he absorbs Kojiro to go One-Winged Angel, who even reiterates Kojiro's "Get ready to perish!" threat from your earlier duel with the rival swordsman.
- Optional Boss: Mother Minku is accessible in the Meandering Forest once you've found all 13 Minkus in the game.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: There is an enemy type found in the Frozen Palace known as Haya Wolf. They're kung fu werewolves than don Domino Masks, giving them a passing resemblance to Hong Kong Phooey.
- Permanently Missable Content:
- Right after repairing Steamwood for the first time, be sure to visit Mayor Govern for a missable Longevity Berry.
- Before facing Queen Ant, the Wind Crest Guardian, make sure to open the Memory Box in the preceding room (the one after the lift ride where you need to burrow through the ground), even if you don't plan on storing Musashi's memories there. This is the only time you'll be able to access that room, so if you don't open the chest, you'll be missing out on two action figures in the process.
- Perma-Stubble: Both Jon and Mayor Govern spend the whole game looking like they could use a shave.
- Pet the Dog: At the beginning of Chapter 5, as Capricciola berates Ed and Ben for their failures, it's shown that the two revere the Colonel so much because he saved them from poverty. Considering Capricciola actually bears a grudge against the Empire, it's unclear if this act of kindness was genuine on his part.
- Pig Man: Thirstquencher's infantry Mooks are Pig Men. When alerted to danger or enemy presence, they actually oink.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Fillet's dress is rather fancy, as is her mother's.
- Pink Means Feminine: Gingerelle and Seer Bevealy. Wanda's dress is supposed be this as indicated by artwork, but is more of a peach color in-game. Either way, she has the personality of a Lady in Red, albeit a gentler, good-natured one.
- Pint-Sized Kid: Musashi, Kojiro, and Ed. Musashi barely comes up above Fillet's waist and may actually be shorter than the children in Grillin' Village.
- 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. Can burn foes with a constant stream of flames and light torches.
- Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Gingerelle. She never takes an active role in the story, despite being one of Fuhrer Flatski's top lieutenants in the Thirstquencher Empire. She doesn't even try to stop Musashi the one time she encounters him, preferring to just mock him before leaving. If anything, she seems more interested in just watching the proceedings as an outsider observer, and laughing at her sister's failings.
- Plucky Girl: When Tim is infected by a Vambee, Hilda, after briefly crying her eyes out in remorse, buckles up and admirably continues to support Musashi through her store's goods, knowing she has to be strong and keep pressing on for Tim's sake.
- Point of No Return:
- In Chapter 6, activating the Wind Crest in Steamwood Forest while it's raining on Skyday morning. Jon warns you about this at the beginning of the chapter, replete with red text. 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.
- A wrong yet common theory at that, as you only need to open every chest (Memory Boxes included; saving your memories in the boxes isn't required). It's just that most people miss one, usually in the restaurant basement or at the top of the mountain. Some of these chests, unfortunately, can be missed, as certain areas, like the site of the Wind Crest Guardian, can only be accessed once.
- Poisoned Weapons: Skullpion's tail and the Toadstools' spores.
- Poison Mushroom: The Toadstool monsters deep in the mine can be assimilated, just like most other monsters. But their special ability is Toxin, which has no function but to poison Musashi temporarily.
- Power Copying: The explicit power of Fusion, the katana Musashi receives at the beginning of the game. This mechanic is tweaked in Samurai Legend (known there as Duplicate/Duplication), 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."
- Power Fist: Gingerelle wears a metal gauntlet on her left arm. There's no indication it has any function other than protective gear, but Gingerelle's action figure depicts her wielding a sword in her left hand, which is never seen in the game proper.
- Power Floats: Dark Lumina, although his second form lacks this ability, instead hunching over and 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.
- Power Trio: Aside of Leader's Force, this is the dynamic shared by the three Mercenaries, Potrowst (male), Stue (female), and Meitloife (male), complete with nicknames. The triad are conducting an investigation on the Thieves' Hideout, helping tip off Musashi to its location at Frozen Palace with a three-part coded message they discovered.
- Power-Up Letdown: The Legendary Quilt becomes this once you enter Soda Fountain. You can't go to sleep there at all, making the Quilt completely useless. To be fair to it, though, if you have the Quilt made as soon as it's possible, there's still a very sizable chunk of game left to be played (at least two full chapters) well before you get to Soda Fountain.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Twice... to the same enemy... in the finale.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: A notable moment to end the very first chapter. After being thrown through a wall and off of a cliff outside of Allucaneet's castle town, Steam Knight, lying in shambles, regains a sliver of health. Cue Musashi, holding up its detached flail ("Hey, you forgot something!!") and sending it right into Steam Knight's chassis, causing the robot to explode in a gigantic fireball, leaving behind a burnt crater and several pieces of scrap metal. Musashi, after boasting ("That's what you get when you try to mess with me!!"), promptly passes out from fatigue.
- Primal Stance: Dark Lumina - Part Two. It does a good job of hiding the fact that he's even larger than his (already massive) base form was.
- Prim and Proper Bun: Mrs. Govern, very much a Proper Lady from what we see of her, and Librarian Brisketta.
- Punny Name: Scads of it, at least in the American version. Most of them are food-related, but a few reference the person's occupation (e.g. Mayor Govern, Steamwood Administrator Fores).
- Puppy Love: Hotelo thinks this of his daughter Mint and Hilda's son Tim, who are frequent playmates and tend to go exploring together in the forest. Later on, when Hotelo praises how industrious a young man Musashi is, he asks if he'd like to marry Mint when they're older, but claims he's just kidding, similar to what Talon pulls on Link in regards to Malon.
Q-S
- Rainbow Speak: Red words. Almost none of which actually need to be red. There's also the occasional blue word. Mercenary Meitlofe gets special mention for doing this mid-syllable.
- Rare Candy: Longevity Berries. They increase Musashi's HP by 25.
- Recurring Riff: The theme of the first level (and the credits), "The Musashi Legend," is remixed into several different themes in the game.
- Red Baron: Played for Laughs with Janitor Sloppy-Joe, who declares himself "The Spirited Toiled Bowl Cleaner Sloppy-Joe."
- The Reveal: The prelude to the final battle has two in rapid succession.
- First, Colonel Capricciola turns out to be Jon, and has been working to undermine the Empire the entire time. Tragically, Flatski strikes Capricciola/Jon down almost immediately after this is revealed.
- Second, the sword Lumina turns to have not been used to create the Dark Wizard's seal, it is the seal. Flatski uses Lumina on the Sky Crest, breaking the seal and releasing the Wizard, only to find out too late that Evil Is Not a Toy.
- Save the Princess: Following Rootrick's abduction of Princess Fillet at the end of Chapter 1, this becomes Musashi's primary mission. Finding the Five Scrolls, rescuing the missing citizens of Allucaneet, and helping out around Grillin' Village serve as secondary objectives, as he needs to improve his skills and gather clues regarding the whereabouts of the Thirstquencher Empire.
- Say My Name: Happens fairly often, with Musashi ("PRINCESS!") and Fillet ("MUSASHI!") being the usual offenders.
- 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 (Technically speaking, anyway. Musashi defeats the last Guardian, but he doesn't unseal the last Crest; Flatski does.)
- Second Hour Superpower: While Musashi is fortunate enough to receive Fusion from Princess Fillet's retainers before heading out, he doesn't obtain Lumina until the last third of Chapter 1's tutorial segments.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Bubbles and Gingerelle.
- Shapeshifter Weapon: Dark Lumina will transmute one of his arms into a sword when he's copying the normal form of Lumina.
- Shaping Your Attacks:
- Aside of his basic sword swipes and two Sword Beam variations, one of which you can assimilate, Kojiro can fire off projectiles that take on the form of a phoenix, cry and all, either as one flaming shot that flies straight ahead or a group of three Homing Projectiles.
- The living, red-eyed ball of flame that serves as the Relic Keeper's main form of attack is able to change its shape and size at will, including a Flaming Sword, a birdlike form that flaps its "wings" of flame, and a six-limbed octopus.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Bubbles has one that is able to encase targets in Bincho Fields. When startled by Musashi, she instinctively pulls the trigger, much to Gingerelle's frustration.
- Shout-Out: Near the end of Chapter 5, if Musashi talks to Father White before investigating the source of the Gi-Ant that was attacking the Gondola, he'll ask about the verity of churches that can remove curses and revive the dead at a price.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: The hero is named Musashi, his rival is Kojiro. This gets weird if you take the events of Samurai Legend into account, as Big Bad Gandrake is the actual historical Kojiro Sasaki, as evidenced by his real name of Ganryu.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Between members of Thirstquencher Army, younger sister Bubbles (Yin) and older sister Gingerelle (Yang). They tend to squabble a lot. They're even rivals for the top spot in the Empire's Miss Thirstquencher contest, with Bubbles none too pleased at being the runner-up to her sister.
- Simpleton Voice: Used by Ben.Ben: (to Musashi) Duh...hello, BELL THIEF!
- 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 Shōgi 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.
- Spectacular Spinning: In order to generate cyclones, Musashi has to whirl around. Atypically for a Spin Attack, the spin itself does nothing to enemies in the attack's vicinity. Instead, Musashi has to continually ram himself into foes, and he's not invincible while doing so.
- 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.
- Spinning Out of Here: In contrast to other forms of Villain Teleportation, Bubbles spins around instead of vanishing into thin air, disappearing in a shower of hearts.
- Sprint Shoes:
- D-Kick (Dropkick, which actually isn't a dropkick), the Assimilated ability of Haya Wolves, makes for a fairly quick alternative method of travel, provided you have enough Bincho Power to burn 4 BP per use. Sadly, you won't get much mileage out of it unless you finish Chapter 4 with the ability active, and even then, you'll be forced to swap it out after returning from the Meandering Forest in the next chapter.
- The Wind Scroll's spin also makes for a reliable way to move around, with some practice. In fact, it's required to navigate one of the final sections of a sprawling maze in the second area of Soda Fountain.
- Stable Time Loop: Implied at the end, though thanks to the timelines of two different worlds, it's a little more complicated than usual. The young Musashi you play as is the Musashi of legend that defeated the Wizard of Darkness in the past. From his point of view, he was first summoned into the future timeline of Allucaneet where he learned about the whole process about how to seal Dark Lumina after unwittingly freeing it from the sword. After he grew up, he was again summoned to Allucaneet's world, but centuries into its past, where he fought Dark Lumina at the height of its power and sealed the monster into the sword in the first place. note
- 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. In other words, feel free to Take Your Time.
- Status Effects: Musashi can be poisoned by a multitude of enemies/stage hazards, frozen still by certain ice-element attacks, and fall into a deep sleep thanks to the sleep powder given off by Sleepies (the game's resident mushroom-type enemy). However, the player can manually induce the latter at nearly any time starting in Chapter 2 by pressing Select to switch from Active Mode to Sleep Mode note and then charging up the speed gauge. Sleeping is useful for slowly recovering HP (at the cost of BP), reducing Musashi's tiredness level down to 25%, and (if need be) passing the time.
- Steampunk: A number of machines, including the first boss, are powered by steam, though they burn Bincholon (the refined form of Binchotite) for fuel rather than coal or wood.
- Steam Vent Obstacle: There is an area outside Grillin' Village known as Steamwood Forest, where random steam pipes spew high-pressure streams of hot air. Lots of pipes seemingly designed to pump hot steam into areas where you need to be. Some shoot out steam at regular intervals to provide temporary obstacles, and others continuously fire to create impenetrable barricades. After you repair the system that regulates the steam vents, Steamwood (you have to do this twice during the story), the vents cease to be a problem.
- Stepping-Stone Sword: The Legendary Brace grants you this ability.
- Stripperiffic: Bubbles, whose attire boils down to a belt-vest that barely covers her chest and a chaps-thong combo that has the front portion near her upper thighs cut out. The girl could probably use a change in wardrobe.
- Summon Everyman Hero: With a twist. Though Allucaneet Kingdom gets a Bratty Half-Pint instead of the Legendary Brave Fencer they were expecting to summon, Musashi clearly has some degree of combat experience—which comes in handy when all he's provided at the start of his quest is a single sword. (A Cool Sword with a very nifty ability, mind you.) And as it turns out, Musashi doesn't share his name with the legendary hero by coincidence either; he really is the Brave Fencer Musashi, albeit his younger incarnation summoned centuries after his adult self was brought in to save the kingdom and establish his legend in the first place.
- 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: Without the protective powers of the Water Scroll, Musashi will sink like a rock if he so much as touches a body of water, regardless of its depth.
- Sword Beam:
- Kojiro employs several forms of this; it's possible to temporarily borrow the skill (Fence) yourself by Assimilating him.
- Much later, Dark Lumina's final form demonstrates this ability, possibly as a result of absorbing the aforementioned Kojiro.
- Sword Lines: Swinging Lumina or Fusion leaves a red or blue (later yellow if you get Fusion reforged to make it stronger) contrail respectively.
T-Z
- Tail Slap: Skullpion (and later, Dark Lumina) is prone to attacking with a sweep of its tail.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Ben's MO. Ed also dabbles in this a bit.
- Tomboy Princess: Princess Fillet. Note that she actually takes offense to being called a Tomboy in Chapter 5 due to the fact that it's really a disguised Topo.
- Too Awesome to Use: The S-Revive is available in the grocery store for most of the game and immediately revives Musashi if he dies. Despite being the most expensive item in the game at 3000 Drans a pop, the cost isn't that big an issue if one knows how to play cards with Macho at Mannick's Restaurant. The caveat? You can only carry one in your inventory at any given time. Most players who are aware of this hold off on buying it until just before
the final act. - Trapped in Another World: Those called forth by the Hero Summon cannot return to their world of origin until they've completed the task for which they have been summoned. In Musashi's case, he learns this involves beating back the Thirstquencher invaders and later rescuing Fillet from their clutches.
- Trauma Inn: Conveniently, the only business in Grillin' Village open 24/7.
- Treasure Hunter: Jon calls himself one, but Musashi initially writes him off as a lowly thief after learning what treasure hunters do for a living. This is also the reason the Vambees are set loose on Grillin' Village; Mannick believed a great treasure lied within/underneath his restaurant.
- Underestimating Badassery: Many characters pass off Musashi as merely a "(little) runt," despite him defeating Crest Guardians and the Empire's forces with ease. When Gingerelle makes this mistake after Musashi obtains the Wind Scroll and lands in the Meandering Forest, Bubbles rightfully calls her sister out on this (and the fact that Gingerelle didn't apprehend Musashi when they met at the Thieves' Hideout in the previous chapter), for Musashi was able to defeat their Vambee Soldiers.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: One of the bosses challenges you to a dance, which takes the form of a "Simon Says" Mini-Game.
- The Unfought: Fuhrer Flatski, Colonel Capricciola (understandably, though), Rootrick, Bubbles, and Gingerelle. The fact that they all have collectible action figures like the other enemies and bosses in the game is Fauxshadowing, especially for Capricciola.
- Unholy Holy Sword: Lumina, on the technicality that the weapon revered for allegedly felling the Wizard of Darkness was merely the seal for the demon in question. The sword itself is good-natured, as seen when it returns to Musashi not long after the seal is broken.
- Unknown Item Identification:
- The game has treasure chest items that need to be appraised in town by Conners, though obtaining the L-Goggles allows Musashi to appraise items on the go. Several such items turn out to be pieces of legendary equipment, but in general it's Played for Laughs with a lot of the items seeming more valuable when unappraised — an "Old Crown" turns out to be a "Cakepan," for instance.
- At one point, you find "Red Cloth" in the Frozen Palace. It turns out to be "E-Undies," Ed's underwear. Further on, you'll find Ben's underwear and a handkerchief belonging to Topo, completing the set.
- Unknown Rival: Kojiro is obsessed with dueling Musashi and avenging the scar that Musashi supposedly gave him, to the exclusion of everything else, while the latter seems merely annoyed at Kojiro's antics.
- 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's 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. The worst part is that there's heavy foreshadowing in Chapter 5 when Musashi overhears Bubbles and Gingerelle saying that Thristquencher's Fuhrer wants Lumina. He ponders what would happen when Lumina absorbs all five scrolls... and then tells himself it'd be a waste of time to worry about it. Musashi, admittedly, does have a point in that Princess Fillet still needs rescuing and there's no information available to him about the end result of Lumina + the Five Scrolls.
- Valley Girl: Fillet and Bubbles's accents in the dub dabble in this. The strangely witchlike Seer Bevealy, too, if her (surprisingly peppy) speech patterns when you call upon her clairvoyance for hints about the location of the Five Scrolls are any indication.
- Variable Mix: At the beginning of Chapter 2, one of the only remaining five people out of the forty living at the castle is Musician Beef-Clef, whose instrument (lyre) is the only one playing as the palace's background music besides a chime. Rescuing fellow musicians Pianissimeat and Al Forte, as well as their musical director, Conductor Scores, will add their respective instruments (flute, drums, and violin) to the composition, alongside additional instruments like a second flute and cymbals.
- Verbal Tic: Musashi ends a good portion of his sentences with "pal," while Gingerelle tends to cap hers off with "darling" and Father White, a priest, uses "my son." Meanwhile, Wanda favors "baby" as her choice sentence sender, but chances are it's linked to her attraction to Musashi.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Dark Lumina.
- Wall Crawl: The Legendary Brace allows Musashi to scale certain walls using Fusion and Lumina.
- The Walls Have Eyes: Once you start whittling down the health of the sixth and final Crest Guardian, the Tower of Death (which 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.
- Wham Line: After besting Topo in her impromptu dance-off:Topo: "I'm not surprised you're so good. You've been dancing to our tune all this time..."
- Witch with a Capital "B": After saving Tim with the Remedy, Hotelo warns Musashi not to get on Hilda's bad side, for "she's quite the witch." That everyone assembled (Musashi, Hotelo, Hilda, and Mayor Govern) breaks out into uproarious laughter after and Hilda offers no incensed response suggests it's nothing more than playful jest between friends.
- Would Hit a Girl: When Fillet tells Musashi to "hurry up and bash this hunk of lard" (Rootrick), she gets slapped unconscious for her mouth. It apparently runs in the family, as after Flatski pulls a Hostage for MacGuffin to coerce Musashi into giving him Lumina, with no further need for Fillet, he throws her off of the platform they're standing on, causing the poor girl to bounce off the ground so hard, the screen shakes twice.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: One of Musashi's guiding principles. 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 Are Who You Eat: Sort of. Dark Lumina, after assimilating Kojiro into his body, takes on Kojiro's rival mentality, as Musashi points out. While his third form has a more human-looking appearance and can fire Sword Beams, it's not clear if those characteristics were inherited from Kojiro.
- 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.
