Square's Ridiculously Charming Action RPG | Brave Fencer Musashi

[@nasseralqirsh4686]

Was anyone else obsessed with collecting all the in game action figures?

[@mrericanderson]

yes! my brother was

[@bryze9594]

Yes

[@andyf3269]

I thought I was the only one 🥲

[@Tjad]

I was young so i open all the plastic cover of the toys and play it.

[@rionugroho1403]

Yes!! 🙌

[@Caretaker6139]

This is truly my most favorite game I've ever played. I listen to the soundtrack all the time.

[@Mary-dc6js]

Same, this and MGS are my favorites all time for single player games. Counterstrike, both 1.6 and CSGO, and DayZ for multiplayer. I have like 15k hours in CSGO alone

[@BlueBird1994_]

The soundtrack is epic, I used to listen to it all the time when I had a phase of playing this game nearly religiously for a couple years in highschool (2010-11) xD I still occasionally listen to it to this day.

[@johnnycenate91]

Friendly Notes from a Long Time Brave Fencer Musashi fanboy: 1. When fighting Steam Knight, you can hit the legs and weakpoint with a Charged Lumina Spin. It has slightly more range so you can better position yourself while charging and still hit the leg armor without dealing with the steam blasts. Also, on the 3rd phase, and this is probably very obvious to you, DO NOT run to the bottom of the screen when Steam Knight Jumps the first few times. Use the Shadow he makes when falling to position him topside, then run down just about a second and a half before he lands. 2. Regarding BP, Scribe Shanky makes it clear sometime in the beginning that, BP is the energy used in summoning Musashi unto the world, but, because of that, has become a vital part of him until he returns to his world, Draining Gradually until he does return. It basically gives you much more to manage about yourself... But you can negate it by absorbing this little muncher guy that appears in the overworld around twin peak mountain and the forest leading to Dragon shore and the meandering forest. Its ability will restore BP instantly for a period of time. 3. In regards to the world you explore... This was their first attempt at something like this, it isn't like Final Fantasy Games were like at the time with the open world stuff and static locations. Perhaps in a possible remaster of BFM, if ever Square remembers this was a thing they made, they could give it the FFVII Remake treatment and give it more locations you can explore freely. 4. Yeaaaah, Kojiro was, as Musashi would put it, a Letdown. He does give you a pretty decent Fencer Ability from assimilating him... But there are better options. Still, if you wanna try it out, he's the only guy I know you can get it from, so give it a shot. 5. Yeah, Fu•• Steamwood.

[@pogonisimo]

The night and day cycle in this game messed me up as a kid. I don't know what to do and it didn't help the fact that I didn't know any english at the time. But somehow, I have fond memories of it.

[@thenerderrant4293]

The sountrack is god tier, and one of the best of any PS1 game.

[@GamingBroductions]

It doesn’t get brought up nearly as much as it should. I was surprised at how damn good it ended up being, I had remembered a few tracks being excellent but not as many as there actually were

[@tsubasasupremo]

you got that right, i was hooked on the main theme even though i didn't get through the first level when i played the first time(because it was borrowed), but also helped me to get the game for myself and things got great

[@dezod4867]

The intro to this video had no business being so godlike

[@kingj521]

i would replay that. i got stuck at the village every time

[@Mat23]

I loved this game growing up. Great review! This game, Tomba, Wild Arms, and Breath Of Fire III were my first playstation games.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thank you! Never played the Tomba games but have always been really curious about them. I’ll check them out one of these days

[@andrejors9501]

@@GamingBroductions for me personally BF Musashi bears more resemblance to Tomba (especially Tomba 2) rather than Zelda.. or maybe a lovechild of those 2 games.. Tomba's main gimmick is that it has a lot of that metroidvania energy.. You'll find yourself returning to the very first town more than 10 times just to try some new weapon/abillity

[@aesparza26]

25 years!!!! Holy crap I was 11 when this game came out.... Oh man I am OLD!!! Yes do Mistical Ninja!!!

[@XChronicHash]

This was my very first RPG… takes me back to simpler times

[@GamingBroductions]

That era of gaming was truly something else

[@chesspunk489]

This is my comfort game. It has been there for me during many hard moments in my life.

[@JohnOethGuitar]

Thanks as always for these retrospectives of games I didn't catch back in the day.

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem, appreciate you watching

[@abysJaq]

God I loved that game growing up! Great music, cheeky and funny characters, loved the 2 swords. Very good pick for a long retrospective. ❤

[@GamingBroductions]

It’s a quality title for sure. I had been meaning to replay for it years so it was great to finally make it all the way through this time

[@giovincello96]

Unconditional support for you guys

[@GamingBroductions]

For sure, thanks for watching! I love your popular Final Fantasies and Personas as much as the next person but it’s fun to talk about more obscure games that don’t have as much coverage on KZbin

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

Let's Do It!

[@philosopherkingzant2037]

I remember playing the demo of this game many times. I can honestly say I have nostalgia

[@bbboywaxr]

i cant remember which demo disk it was exactly but i remember the same.

[@Royal_MilkTea]

One of the first ever game I played in my childhood what a nostalgia, thank you for bringing back my childhood memories.

[@Camper2625]

Ive played thousands of games in my lifetime and this game will always hold a place in my heart

[@dobadobadooo]

Man, this game looks so damn charming, I really wish I had the chance to play it growing up. Thanks for the retrospective, keep up the great work!

[@GamingBroductions]

It’s incredibly charming, it may not execute every little thing perfectly but it leaves an impression on you and is impossible to forget. Thank you!

[@codingjhames]

Another friday night JRPG video from this lovely channel

[@GamingBroductions]

Hell yeah, hope you enjoyed!

[@rickyanguda93]

Is there any modern game with this kind of charm? Whacky and fun characters? God knows how much I love this game 🔥

[@chesspunk489]

I have never found a game with this charm.

[@Mary-dc6js]

​@@chesspunk489Yeah this game set such a high bar for me as a kid, I got it when it was brand new and fell in love. One of the best games ever imo

[@patriot639]

Brave Fencer Musashi was a great game. I still have Topo's groove in my head all these many years later.

[@justicerainz]

Man, I feel like I've heard every voice actor in this game before. They really have a stacked cast

[@GamingBroductions]

Truly. In hindsight it’s pretty crazy how much talent the cast had. Another good one I didn’t mention here since she only voices minor town characters was Wendee Lee (Faye from Cowboy Bebop and many others)

[@JarlBarbossa]

Musashi's actress also does kite for dot hack.

[@ubergamer2010]

​@@JarlBarbossaOH! I always wondered why Kite sounded familiar.

[@adamgodinibrahim1348]

I think she also does ash from good old pokemon

[@SDWSND]

@@adamgodinibrahim1348 Ash was Veronica Taylor and then Sarah Natochenny, Musashi was voiced by Mona Marshall

[@scott09g96]

Wow, I just finished replaying through this game two weeks ago! This will be fun to watch.

[@GamingBroductions]

Nice! Hope you enjoyed it

[@ProducerX21]

Sometimes I am so amazed that I was able to play and beat a lot of these PlayStation 1 RPG‘s as a 11 or 12-year-old. Just like you I only ever played a few hours of this though. I was there for the FF8 demo BTW... Your speaking has gotten better since your earlier videos. Also the writing... I like the additional jokes and humor. And your brother added some cool editing techniques in this video. The stuff with the hands and game guide was cool... Keep it up guys

[@GamingBroductions]

Same, there are some titles that I’m like damn I’m actually surprised I was able to beat this back then And thanks dude! Really appreciate that. Our earliest videos I rushed a lot of that stuff just to get more content out but have been trying to improve on that front for awhile now and really take my time with things so glad to hear it’s paying off. And yeah Evan only continues to get better as well. Thanks for supporting the channel

[@Robbiejonathan]

Thanks for covering this game, it is super nostalgic! Great job on this video as always!

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem, thanks for watching! It was fun to go back and revisit

[@HeavenlyKnight96]

Its because of this game I munch mints so much. Caffeine barely works on me, but mints def perk me up, sinuses too!

[@BlueBird1994_]

I set all my device clocks (PC, phone, etc) to 24hr time cause of this game

[@juliusjohnson8046]

I love the way you tell parts of the retrospective as a real-time reaction to the gameplay, like we're sitting in the same room while you're playing. Also, loved the Mystical Ninja shout. I would love that retrospective. Great video as usual, and it's one of my more nostalgic games I never finished. I'll have to fix that now.

[@dyednur2856]

I've been waiting for a long BFM retrospective 🎉

[@Jason-lw2nw]

I always get excited when your videos drop. I can't wait to see more in-depth videos like this! Thanks so much for all the hard work!

[@PM-xc8oo]

Awesome video! I've enjoyed everything I've watched on your channel but this video really felt like you kicked it up a notch. Looking forward to future content!

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks! Yeah definitely spent more time on this one compared to our usual videos so glad to hear the effort went noticed!

[@CoalThornton]

You guys are true kindred spirits! Love your channel man! I missed Brave Fencer Musashi growing up but I think after watching this I’ll give it a try!

[@Morraak]

I've never played this game, never even knew it existed to be honest. But it looked like a fun time with some wacky characters. Really love these long-form videos, really gives me a sense of what the game is like. Glad you had fun with it! (Except for Steamwood 2 lol)

[@svdden_dread]

After Wild Arms I couldn't wait for your next retrospective , it goes without saying that you nailed it again 👏😁

[@SirChocula]

Your intro is an absolute banger! Great job there! 🥳

[@personontheinternet2164]

Hey man, this is my first video of yours. I really enjoyed it, have a sub. You have a great energy for these types of retrospectives/let’s play hybrids

[@thewoodchipperr]

THAT OPENING THO

[@adamcampbell3263]

Awesome video guys, always love some ps1 jrpg goodness! It sucks that we didn’t get this here in the uk though, we missed out on a bunch of classics back then

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks! Yeah you guys got shafted a lot back then unfortunately. Terranigma was one of those rare instances where you guys actually got something we didn’t though, gotta take the small victories when you can I guess lol

[@eugenevedensky6071]

Thank you so much for this video! I still have this games' soundtrack in my head all the time. So nice to reminisce.

[@rooty]

I love the intro to these videos, it makes it feel very professional, while still having all the benefits of something independently made. It would be cool if you made a slightly different intro every year, like a new series of a TV show.

[@starbutter2730]

Always heard of this game but have never actually seen it til now tbh and it seems sooooo charming. Keep up the great stuff my dude and thanks for introducing us all to another banger ❤️

[@Supah_Sayin_Rick]

I gotta say, I always thought that Musashi should've been a playable character in that Playstation all stars game, such a missed opportunity in my opinion

[@brightfuturebfp]

One of my childhood sweet memories. Thank you for bringing this video up

[@snazzydrew]

This game awakened something in me as a kid. I really need to go back an actually finish it. As a kid I bricked my save my somehow locking my game into a unbeatable save that caused a tree to explode minutes after I load the save. >_> Game taught me you can just sleep your troubles away,.

[@bunsdarius9223]

This was one of my favorite games on PS1and played it multiple times!

[@WoodmanFLG]

You guys, I can NOT express the love in my heart when I saw this upload! Amazing!

[@WoodmanFLG]

PLEASE TALK ABOUT MYSTICAL NINJA IT'S MY FAVORITE N64 GAME BY A LONG SHOT!

[@GamingBroductions]

Definitely would love to at some point! Only a matter of time, it’s one of my absolute favorites as well. That, Mischief Makers and Ogre Battle 64 are my top 3 N64 games, OoT and Paper Mario are close too

[@Strawhat_Fred]

Your intro is so good! Great vid!

[@TheBigBruvv]

The goats have returned with a banger, best JRPG retrospectives on YT, lets goooo

[@GamingBroductions]

Hell yeah, appreciate that dude

[@Netizen56]

Thank you so much for making this video!!

[@Jonasansu]

This is one of my favorite games of all time. Hot take and I fully accept I am a bit weird but I actually like Brave Fencer more than OoT. I play it once every few years sometimes more.

[@suiken3149]

I just realized Musashi is actually an Isekai game even before the Isekai craze. lol

[@callmepharoh]

Great job on the videos bros. Def drop that Mystical Ninja jawn for the nostalgia.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks man. At some point in the future I absolutely want to

[@astevens1919]

Haven’t played this game before but loved hearing your take on it and a more in depth look of it in general. Seems like a cool game. ☺️

[@abetterfuture4787]

This is the gaming of comfort food for me. Played this so many times as a young boy. Miss the good days.

[@rickylovesyou]

Still give this a run from time to time, along with Vagrant Story, Breath of Fire 3+4, megaman legends 1+2 and FF tactics. Timeless masterpieces.

[@seriouslee247]

My childhood..and I didn't even want that exact tittle however I'm glad my dad made me get this. Blew my little mind how much I loved it!

[@Robincredible]

I always love that Gaming Broductions opening ❤

[@gustavomenezes12]

Another great video guys!

[@GamingBroductions]

Thank you!

[@hugbuzzard]

Always loved this game. One of my first PS1 games.

[@turtleboattv1446]

Probably my favorite game of all time. The soundtrack is one of the greatest banger of all time!

[@TamashiiRyu]

BFM not only was one of my PSX era favorites but helped inspire my game dev journey AND lead me to discover Nitenichi Ryu as a martial arts style. It truly had a big impact on my life.

[@saschaberger3212]

Beautiful to find new PS1 games I've never heard from before after all those years.

[@zankiepoo]

loved this retrospective! waiting for that remake/remaster too! 🥹

[@GamingBroductions]

Who knows when it’ll happen but I definitely think it’s only a matter of time!

[@JarlBarbossa]

Hopefully they make steamwood less BS. I used a game shark to get past it as a kid!

[@magnem111]

I've never once played this game, but RPGs in the 90s were on another level. The fact this game still looks great due to it's stylization says a lot.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

I LOVE this game and its still my choice for PS1 era square remake. With a new camera, better controls and jumping, I think it'd be amazing. It has so much charm and adding more detail to these areas would make it even more immersive. The amount of VA was crazy back then and also really helped the enjoyment.

[@engineerofthemachine]

Oh, heck yes!!! I loved this game! So much quirky silly fun!

[@GamingBroductions]

Quirky silly fun is a great way to describe it!

[@alamoba7710]

I first encountered this game when I came to my best bud's house back in 1999. Great game, great memories.

[@warragnarok]

I wish they remake this absolute gem

[@GamingBroductions]

Who knows if it’ll get the remake treatment but I think it’s only a matter of time before it at least gets a rerelease of sorts

[@LeonardoBramante]

Just reminding me that I truly love Brave Fencer Musashi and hope we get a remake some day. Also, best moment of the game? That's obvious. "NOW DANCE! OR DIE!"

[@seraphin01]

oh the momories as soon as I played the video and the song started playing.. Musashi was a master piece on PS1 and such an under rated game.. I've been willing to replay this game for years, might do so if I get the time!

[@Biggi87]

Man, I've heard that main theme so many times but I always forget what game it's from. So good! One of those games I really wanted to play as a tween but couldn't because Square still kinda hated Europe back then (even if less so compared to earlier generations.) Really nice to see a full retrospective of it!

[@tsoyurhagamer7722]

I played this instead of Crash. This and Legend of the Dragoon.

[@slumberpumpkin4002]

Music in this game is 10/10, hope to see a remaster in my life time

[@--Paws--]

The music of this game, is my childhood. I still have the rental version of the game, my dad bought after having borrowed it so many times. The OST was what I used to play as background music. Nothing as grand as this game had the same amusement till Okami came out. Though there were a lot of games that were fun but only a few games I hold with great "fondness" of.

[@anthonyjohnson9088]

We didn't deserve this...but thank you so much...this channel is amazing!!!!

[@GamingBroductions]

Appreciate the kind words :)

[@Broseftoast]

I have such a vivid memory of brave fencer mushashi, it was my neighbor/best friend's game, but I never actually had a chance to play it myself but ALWAYS wanted to. I remember how it looked... such a core memory for me oddly enough even though I never played it myself.

[@DeffoZappo]

When I was a teenager. My friend had a nice computer and I just loved watching him play silent hill in the dark while we smoked weed and drank Rockstars lol. I never played it, just liked watching.

[@gregtroyan]

One of my favorite games of all time. The vibe, the quirky humor and puns, it's all perfect for me. I agree with a couple gameplay criticisms (particularly the platforming) but overall I adore this game. One aspect that completely holds up, however, is the soundtrack. It's truly S Rank.

[@jensenraylight8011]

the music in this game is just God Tier, it just influential

[@Likeadragonfan4629]

I really hope that this comes to modern consoles as a classic release - would so love to play this again !!

[@rionugroho1403]

Great video man, i love this game! ❤🎉

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks dude, glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@psyrvn]

this one game made me fall in love with action rpg

[@lonewolffang]

Brave Fencer Musashi was one of the first games I ever played where food spoiled, which was something I didn't know games could do.

[@3WL2]

This game was a masterpiece and will forever live on as one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Playing through this game the first time was akin to playing through the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

[@kenglucktan8996]

This was one of my childhood fav game.

[@SiliconSlyWolf]

I love this game's voice acting, no matter how bad or good any single line is, because the game is just such goofy fun that it's all great in its own way

[@masterN8]

One of those where instead of a flop sequel should have had a remake ..again and again!

[@Daniel_Rodrigues_89]

Love this game! This era of Squaresoft was absolutely magical, every single one of their games had something unique about them. To this day I've never managed to find all of the treasure chests. I wonder if there are any reliable guides for this.

[@StewNWT]

Lmfao the ‘HELP ME MARINA’ and Mischief Makers reference made my day

[@MisterX867]

I always play this game once a year, it's been one of my favs. since I first played a demo for it. It's probably what I would call the most underrated Square game ever and my god is the soundtrack for this game superb! There's definitely some obvious signs of cut content in this game. For Example, you see the alchemist at the castle at the start of the game but then you save him later on with no mention of his capture. Surprisingly the game has a secret counter attack move that is never taught to the player, though I don't know if the manual tells you about it. I pulled it off some times as a kid thinking it was a super rare critical hit. Years later though I found out you can do it by performing the lumina swing immediately after blocking an attack. I actually saw someone beat a boss in 3 or 4 hits using that move. Ben's standing death is a reference to the real Japanese warrior known as Benkei.

[@sven_bender]

Man I absolutely loved this game as a kid 🥰

[@marcbisson9351]

Big “yes” to Mystical Ninja retrospective.

[@johnappicelli7559]

I loved Brave fencer Musashi, it was one of the first PS1 games I bought. With all these remakes and remasters coming out from Square, I hope the nostalgia gods bless us with this one. PS. Please do a retrospective for Mystical Ninja, who else can’t get Impact’s theme song out of their head

[@Quieresbro]

I love the pseudo toonami intro ❤ brave fencer musashi was literally my favorite game of the PS1 error as a kid and I never could beat the final fortress. Only 2 minutes into the video but I'm pretty damn hyped

[@Talryk]

Man, I grew up on Brave Fencer Musashi, Megaman Legends and Final Fantasy VII; literally a ‘90s PSX kid. I played this game so much that I managed to 100% complete it and I wasn’t even specifically trying to. To this very day, I vividly remember the epic soundtrack that this game brought to me. Frost Dragon is S-tier Crest Guardian fight!

[@omarsabeur9039]

Super tasteful video subbed all notifications on bro.

[@SYMgenshin]

The OSTs of this game is so amazing

[@princememphis7726]

Played this game so much, and I've never had an issue with BP

[@CarlMakesVideos]

I LOVE BFM. One of my all time favorites, despite its relatively limited scope. I recently did a playthrough in order to extract some of the illustrations that only appear in-game (33:19), which, as far as I could tell, didn't appear anywhere on The Spriter's Resource or anything similar. Pretty fun to do, as it ended up being a different kind of completion run, since I had to get at least one of every assimilation ability, and have my system's texture cache folder cleared right before it popped up, so I could easily retrieve it and reassemble it in an image editor. With regards to Matsuoka and Nomura as illustrators, I think among the key art illustrations that appear in the manual and in character portraits, art is by both of them. I assume the illustrations with thicker linework (like Musashi and Fillet at 51:41) are by Nomura, while the "softer" pictures (like the other three characters on that page) are probably Matsuoka. Basically, if it looks like Kingdom Hearts art, it's probably Nomura, if it looks like Final Fantasy Tactics art (which Koji Matsuoka did NOT work on), it was probably Matsuoka. Koji Matsuoka has very few other credits to his name, and I can't tell if he's still working in video games, or art at all. It's pretty hard to figure this sort of thing out with a language barrier probably around most of his public profiles, if he even has any. Nearly every person you free from a Bincho field can give you SOMETHING, even if it's only cosmetic. The ones with swords grant you new moves, the musicians add an instrument layer to the castle music, and some give the castle new functions when you visit them, like the witch, who can give you hints to progress the main story, or the fortune teller who can give you the approximate location of all not-yet-freed castle inhabitants (just look at their entry on the list after freeing the fortune teller). The music is fantastic. Some of the best use of leitmotif I've heard. Sekito's work feels so defining for the era for me, given how much I played the game. If I hear certain instruments that sound like the VSTs or whatever that he used in this game it instantly hits a specific nostalgia register in my brain. Sometimes I'll hear an EDM track that uses similar drums or chimes and I'm such a sucker for it. Midair Giant Playground, the track that plays leading up to Topo's fight in Chapter 6, is an absolute banger of a track. I'd absolutely mark out for a revisit of the concept, even just a rerelease without any real enhancements, like what Ape Escape, Syphon Filter, Hot Shots Golf, and some others got on PS4/5 recently. I need to give the PS2 sequel a shot, even though it's so different in tone, setting, and structure one of these days.

[@saravelasco5807]

I miss playing this game. Just exploring the town and the areas and collecting items was always a lot of fun. 😆 Never worried about healing either since once I discovered the cheese mechanic it was basically the only healing item for hp I bought. (max about 5-10 depending on how many items I have or expect to get.) I try to add food to any role play I am able to (especially if it’s healing food) just because of this game. 😁

[@StiffAftermath]

Man, the pressure valve and rafting sequence are such kill-joy moment for me. I cant suffer through those any more. It would be a near-perfect game for me otherwise. 21:55 - cute.

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Man, Mystical Ninja, Threads of Fate, Alundra 2, MegaMan Legends.... I loved _SO MANY_ games with that "Saturday Morning Anime" feel to 'em back in the day (which, sadly, NO modern games really have...), and glad you put that into words here with your title! Yet Brave Fencer Musashi is one that I never nabbed. Definitely need to give it a playthrough on emulator sometime, I guess, because I know it's one of those ones that's just *stupid expensive* to nab nowadays. Plus, I mean, the PS1/Saturn are just getting too old and disc rot is becoming a serious concern, unfortunately.... FANTASTIC Retrospective as always, and great job highlighting yet another game that deserves more love. Maybe someday Square-Enix will run out of straight JRPGs to remake and/or remaster now that they've knocked out Star Ocean 2, Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song, SaGa Frontier 2, and Chrono Cross, and will start moving beyond those into some of their games from OTHER genres like Parasite Eve, the aforementioned Threads of Fate, The Granstream Saga (hey, the ENIX side of the company deserves eome love too!) and Brave Fencer Musashi here. It sure does deserve it. Oh and *DEFINITELY* do some Ganbare Goemon retrospectives sometime! Personally, I prefer Goemon's Great Adventure to Legend of the Mystical Ninja on N64, but they're both great, and I know many, MANY series' entries are freakin' fantastic since going through some fan-translations via emulators over the years. Join the likes of Jimmy Hapa's Import Gaming FTW in extolling the virtues of the whole Goemon series to more westerners here on KZbin, dude. Way more people need to know about that series and need to get hyped for the spiritual successor coming up in "Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru" (which I hope gets localized and given a catchier name, lol) Maybe you could do a future video that's a list of lots of great examples of these types of "Saturday Morning Anime" games too sometime? The vibe is so nostalgic, man. Cozy, fun and goofy... and yet I don't think anyone's made one since, like, 2006 or so. Stuff like Dark Cloud 2, Radiata Stories, Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon feel like the last of their kind.

[@trevor_mounts_music]

My cousin gave me a burned copy of this shortly after it came out - loved it then love it now! Kind of surprised more people haven't played this one because it's quality through and through.