The legendary Masamune

[Hikaro Takayama]

Well, in the fifteenth century, there was another swordsmith named Muramasa. For whatever reason, there were stories that his swords were possessed with malice and bloodthirst--the polar opposites of Masamune's swords, which were supposed to be pure. The main depiction of this was in the myth that if you took one of Muramasa's swords and stuck it in a riverbed, all the leaves floating downstream would be attracted to the blade and end up cut in two; meanwhile, if you stuck one of Masamune's swords in the riverbed, all the leaves would float peacefully on by.

Actually, his name was Murasame which means something like 'village of the rain.' As a matter of fact, the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (Nippon Kaijou Jieitai) has a Murasame class of guided missile destroyers, and there is also a JDS Masamune as well. In addition, both the Murasame and Masamune also appear in the Edge master mode of Soul Calibur II (a game by Namco), the Masamune being the best weapon for Mitsurugi and the Murasame being the best weapon for Yoshimitsu, IIRC. Masamune basically means "true/righteous heart" (literally, the words translate as 'right/true chest/heart')

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

It's been my understanding that Murasame never actually existed and was just invented for the nineteenth century novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden.

[Masamune·1600]

FFX-2 did not include anything called the Masamune.

Actually, Rikku wields Auron's Masamune from FFX when she becomes a Dark Knight.

Yes, the appearance is the same, but no name is actually attached. One could argue that the Caladbolg is also present, again without name. However, since the statistics and abilities of Dark Knight are completely identical for all three girls, one might assume that the Masamune is no different from the other swords seen used by a Dark Knight. It seems more likely to me that they simply reused the sword design, as it seems to fit the appearance of a Dark Knight.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

It's the same sword; it's a reference. Same as Yuna using Tidus's Brotherhood and Caladbolg, etc.

[DHEvil]

The masamune is indeedly something that connects all of the Final Fantasy universes, it seems....

Does Auron hop from one FF universe to the other, like Cid does?

Looks like we've touched on an FF nerve here peepsies! (More like, YOU guys have touched on a nerve...I just posted the topic and watched the discussion fly, rubbing my evil little palms of darkness hungrilly for more information on my fave sword)

edit:

I AM SO dissapointed...I FINALLY got the Masamune blade from the ToF in FF1 and it's power was...how shall I say? Lacking? Under expectations?

I don't think it has ANY special abilities it just....happens to be alittle stronger than the other swords. PLUS it's design wasn't exactly Imaginative...heck...even the CORAL sword had more detail on it...

Does anyone else feel the same about the Masamune in FF1?

Oh and I'm aware the coral sword only appeared in the WonderSwan colour version, and the PSX remake...or am I wrong about that too?

[Lord Chainsaw]

The Masamune also appears in Final Fantasy Legend II/SaGa 2. It is one of the 78 Magi. Although I don't remember exactly where it is obtained, I do know that the game's villain, Apollo, uses it on you during your fight with him. Later on, when you get Isis as a party member, she is able to use it in battle. The Masamune is a unique weapon in that it, along with the Xcalibur, are the only two weapons in the game that don't eventually break after a set number of uses.

The other mythological weapon in that game was the Gungnir, of course, used by Odin. I thought the game did an incredible job staying true to the gods. They even gave Odin his famous crows and his many-legged horse Sleipnir.

[DHEvil]

Hey, Lord Chainsaw, I just HAD to say this...LOVE your sig! Retro RPG's like that are what started it all!

[Hikaro Takayama]

It's been my understanding that Murasame never actually existed and was just invented for the nineteenth century novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden.

Actually, sir, there WAS a real sworsmith named Murasame, and I just happen to know this because I've visited the city where his school of swordsmithing was founded. Murasame lived about 1000 years ago, and once he perfected his art, he opened up a smithy in the small, but hightly strategic city of Odawara, Japan, and the central keep of the castle of said town, which has been converted into a museam, has several of Murasame's swords on display (or they may have been made by journeyman swordsmiths and signed by Murasame as was the custom at that time....).

DHEvil, the only things I know of for certain that appear in all final fantasy games are 1) Cid, who was named after a software engineer who passed away during the making of the first game, so Square (later Square-Enix) has a charachter in every FF game named Cid to honor his memory.... or at least so the story I've heard goes.

The Masamune is the second thing that also appears in every game in some form.

Odin, Bahamut, and most of the other summoned creatures have appeared as either summons, bosses (or both), or some reference is made to them in all the games, AFAIK.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

Actually, sir, there WAS a real sworsmith named Murasame, and I just happen to know this because I've visited the city where his school of swordsmithing was founded. Murasame lived about 1000 years ago, and once he perfected his art, he opened up a smithy in the small, but hightly strategic city of Odawara, Japan, and the central keep of the castle of said town, which has been converted into a museam, has several of Murasame's swords on display (or they may have been made by journeyman swordsmiths and signed by Murasame as was the custom at that time....).

Well that clears that up then.

[DHEvil]

...FF is alot deeper than it looks! ....maybe I should start off an "FF Lore" thread...?

Perhaps we'll discover many things more about the FF series as a whole!

[ChaosVivi]

The odin's horse thing is always wrong. Sleipnir was supposed to have eight legs, and they always give him six. Also, though I love Odin and the work he does as much as the next guy, he never had a sword in the old mythology. It was always just Gungnir.

[Kain-Highwind]

FFII, VI, and VIII do not have Masamunes.

Actually in FF2: D.O.S u can get masamune in paramekia castle i think it was

[Masamune·1600]

FFII, VI, and VIII do not have Masamunes.

Actually in FF2: D.O.S u can get masamune in paramekia castle i think it was

The Masamune is available in all versions of FFII, not just the DoS remake. Also, it's found in Pandaemonium (all versions).

[Poopcannon]

Kishi, Hikaro, break it up you two. You're both way off on the Murasame thing, so check here.

As for Masamune, look here, and for Muramasa, look here.
You'll see that Kishi was correct on the old comparison story...

[Lawr]

Well, in the fifteenth century, there was another swordsmith named Muramasa

If he did exist there is a sword in FF7 usable by cloud that is called
'Murasame'
(Mur-uh-same?)
(Mur-uh-som-ay?)