Brave Fencer Musashi

The Good
This is one of my favorite games from the Playstation 1 era. I honestly didn't like the game that much my first time playing, but it kind of grew on me. The cover art style and intro and demo animations aren't a good indicator of what the gameplay will be like. I initially thought that the gameplay was going to be fast paced action with an attitude but it's really a little more slow paced and cuter, which I like a lot more. The characters' dialogue are purposely goofy, I think it's hilarious.

The music also really shines in this game. Of course, that's what you'd expect from a Squaresoft game, but it's a different sound from the normal Square games. More bright and cheery. Sound Effects are decent, but could have been more crisp and defined.

The story is interesting, but just about as childish as the dialogue makes it out to be. Even so, it's fun and engaging, but you just won't be crying yourself to sleep when something bad happens.

The Bad
The graphics aren't necessarily up to par especially considering what else was coming out at the same time. (Xenogears and FFVIII). All the characters are pretty blocky and there's a sense of over-simplicity all around. Textures are usually nice looking, although some enemies look as though they could have looked much better with more texture work, much like the non-battle version models in Final Fantasy VII.

I stated this before, but the storyline is not deep at all. I'd say this is a kids' game but it's too hard for most children to get very far in.

The Bottom Line
Musashi is definitely one of those games that you have to be in the right mood to play, or else you'll probably walk away with a bad taste in your mouth. It's a very fun experience, but you have to have patience with it, especially if you've been spoiled by recent games' graphics. I've played through this game several times, even once recently and that's saying something considering that I don't play too many games lately.