Brave Fencer Musashi is an action RPG developed and published by Square. It came out in Japan on 16 July 1998 as ブレイヴフェンサー 武蔵伝, and Square Electronic Arts released it in North America on 12 November 1998. Both editions came with extra discs: in Japan a set of trial versions of Final Fantasy VIII and Ehrgeiz, in North America a disc that included a Final Fantasy VIII demo.
Yoichi Yoshimoto directed the game and Yusuke Hirata produced it. Tetsuya Nomura designed the main characters, and Tsuyoshi Sekito composed the music. The hero is modeled on Miyamoto Musashi, and his sword Reigand is named after Reigandō, the cave where Musashi reportedly wrote The Book of Five Rings.
The English release changed the title to avoid confusion about the hero's name and swapped alcohol-based names for soda names. After the game, the team merged with other Square teams to develop Final Fantasy XI. A PS2 sequel, Musashi: Samurai Legend, followed from Square Enix in 2005.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Brave Fencer MusashiPackaged with the PlayStation 1998 Collector's CD Vol. 2. | PlayStation | Nov 12, 1998 | Square Electronic Arts | 1 |
| JP | ブレイヴフェンサー 武蔵伝Bureivu Fensā MusashidenBundled with the SQUARE'S PREVIEW 3 disc. | PlayStation | Jul 16, 1998 | Square | 1 |
| JP | ブレイヴフェンサー 武蔵伝Bureivu Fensā MusashidenMillennium Collection re-release with merchandise. | PlayStation | Jun 29, 2000 | Square | 1 |
| JP | ブレイヴフェンサー 武蔵伝Bureivu Fensā Musashidenゲームアーカイブス (Game Archives) on PlayStation Network; PS3 support added on 13 August 2008. | PSP | Jul 9, 2008 | — | 2 |
Also known as: ブレイヴフェンサー 武蔵伝 JP2Bureivu Fensā Musashiden JP1Brave Fencer Musashiden NA1
Box art by region
NA Brave Fencer Musashi
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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TitleNA
The English title was changed from Brave Fencer Musashiden to Brave Fencer Musashi to avoid confusion about the hero's name.1
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CensorshipNA
For the North American release, names based on alcoholic drinks were replaced with soda names to satisfy rating boards, and some jokes were lost.1
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ContentJPNA
The Japanese release came with SQUARE'S PREVIEW 3, containing playable trials of Final Fantasy VIII and Ehrgeiz; the North American release came with a disc that included a Final Fantasy VIII demo.2
Reception
The game sold about 648,803 copies in Japan in 1998, 17th among the year's best-sellers there. It scored 32/40 in Famitsu and 81/100 on Metacritic; reviewers praised the graphics and action and often compared it with The Legend of Zelda.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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