Masamune and Murasame: Holders and Mentions
There's no denying that the most popular sword in RPG lore would pop up in more place than one. Of course, this also stretches beyond the FF series. Here's some places the blade's been spotted...
*Ninja Prince--In FF4, Edge's final weapons are Masamune, and Murasame.
*Mystical Sword--In Chrono Trigger, the entire defeat of Magus rests upon the Masamune, which was forged in 12000 BC from Dreamstone. It is Frog's best weapon once you power it up. NOTE: There are also two elfin entities by the same name in CT, which power the sword.
*Mystical Sword, Part II---In Chrono Cross, the Masamune is now a tool of pure evil; those who touch it are filled with bloodlust and jealousy, and will kill any near them. It eventually returns to its good form, and becomes Mastermune. (Thanks to JP for reminding me and submitting the CC Masamune info!)
*Sephiroth--The most feared FF7 villain is the bearer of the Masamune.
*Cloud--Cloud has a sword called Murasame, also.
*Terra, Edgar, and Celes---The Masamune is also a powerful weapon in FF6.
*Legendary---The Masamune is one of the Twelve Legendary Weapons that defeated Enuo in FF5.
*Well, he looks like Sephy---The evil demon-possessed Arc Knight, Marquis Elmdor, has the rare samurai sword Masamune equipped when you fight him in Final Fantasy Tactics.
*Man of Few Words---In Suikoden, Liberation Army swordsman Humphrey starts out with Murasame equipped.
*Scholteheim Reinbach III ?!!---In Suikoden for PSX, in order to pass through a heavily guarded fortress, the main character and his friends must choose fake names so they won't be indentified as fugitives. The hero's choices for names are:
Scholteheim Reinbach IV, Piisuke, and ....Masamune.
*Cards, Anyone?---In FF9, there is a Masamune card for the ever-popular collectible card game, Tetra Master!
I'm sure there's many more Masamune mentions I haven't heard about. If Peppy, Shadowfury, or ANYONE out there knows some I don't, email me at [email protected]om!
Excalibur: Sword of Legend
Another favorite to show up in games is Excalibur, often a very powerful weapon.
*Cecil, Paladin Knight---In FF4, the sword Cecil gets when he becomes a Paladin is Legend, which has an ancient legend carved into the hilt. But later, Cecil can use the Adamant Ore to forge it into Excalibur, a very good weapon. Second best, I think.
*Benjamin, Knight of the Prophecy---Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest was avery cliched RPG for beginners. (I loved it anyway, I still play it sometimes) Anyway, throughout the game, the hero, Benjamin, got upgrades to better weapons. (His only weapons were Axe, Claw, Sword and Bomb) The best sword, of COURSE, was the Excalibur. Sort of difficult to find though (I HATED Pazuzu's Tower!)
*Terra, Edgar and Celes again---I mention these guys 'cause they're good with swords. Okay, another powerful sword in FF6 was Excalibur. I still remember whacking people with it. *whack* *whack* ....sorry.
*Even Better Than Julia Child---Believe it or not, but in Wild ARMS 2, in the town of Meria Boule, an old man honestly admits he doesn't have the Guardian Blade Argetlam, but then he cheerfully offers you Excalibur. It happens to be a kitchen knife, and no, you can't take it. Believe me, I tried!
*Third-best Is Still Good---In FF9, Excalibur is Steiner's third best weapon....well, second best unless you're a speed demon....but read below for that.
*Go, Speed Racer, Go---If you can make it to Memoria in under 12 hours in FF9, you can get Steiner's best weapon, Excalibur II! But geez, who could GO that fast?!
Again, if you know any more Excalibur sightings (I'm sure I missed some) , email me.
Invulnerable Adamant
This one's sighted much-much less, but still shows up nevertheless. A powerful ingredient for armor or otherwise, Adamant was popular......but very rare.
*Fly Away Home---In FF5, the object in the first world was to save the Crystals before they shattered and Exdeath was unsealed and all heck broke loose. When Butz and co got an airship, they found out where the last crystal (Earth) was, but they couldn't fly that high. Their solution? Cid told them to get some Adamantium, so he could make the ship fly higher. Also, to aquire this they had to fight the Adamant Turtle (very hard pain in the neck boss).
*Sword and Shield---One of the biggest mentions of Adamant I have seen. Okay, Kokkol the blacksmith was depressed (FF4). He had given up his craft because he couldn't even find the legendary ore Adamant. (sound familiar?) So, Cecil and crew brought it to him, after exchanging a Rat Tail for it. Some midgit evidently collects them. From this Kokkol forged Exclaibur, as mentioned above. Also, by fighting the extremely rare Pink Puffs on the moon, Cecil could get the extremely rare Pink Tail, which he could exchange for another Adamant. Then, Kokkol would make the best armor in the game, for males or females...Adamant Armor.
*Evil, Evil Rat Creatures!---Well, this hardly qualifies, but an enemy in FF6 with very good defense is called Adamanchyt.
Seen more adamant? Email me and tell me where!
Yet Another Great Sword
A third legendary power sword that RPG's liked to slip in was Ragnarok. It appeared just as much as Excalibur, maybe even more. here's some sightings-
*Japanese Sword---In the Japan version of Final Fantasy 4, (which, believe me, is WAY different) the original name of Cecil's best weapon, the Crystal Sword, was called Ragnarok. I'm not surprised, as the sword kicks major Zemus BUTT!
*Esper, Esper---FF6: In Narshe, in the WOR (world of ruin), Locke could open up the weapon shop, and you could talk to him. He offered you either the sword Ragnarok, or the Esper. You had to choose, and couldn't have both. (dang!) The Esper was in the form of a sword, and could change enemies into items. But the sword was really strong too. Ooh, what a dilemma...
*Fly, My Pretties---Even an idiot can't overlook the fact that the airship in FF8 is called Ragnarok. And a darn fine airship, too. Shaped like a pretty red dragon. Ooooooo....
*Get 'em, Adelbert---In FF9, Steiner's second-best weapon (best if you don't count the insanely hard to get Excalibur II) is Ragnarok. It teaches Shock! Booya! ^^
I just KNOW there's more! If I've overlooked another major Ragnarok cameo, mail away!
Magnificent Airship, Glide Across the Skies
Squaresoft can't help recycling even a few airship names throughout the series, maybe they did it just to confuse us. But there's no point in denying that some FF airships are named alike. Here they are.
*Final Fantasy* NAME: Airship
The first airship in the series really didn't have a name. Maybe because there was no Cid...
*Final Fantasy IIj* NAME: Airship
Again a spectacular nonentity. No name.
*Final Fantasy IIIj* NAME: Westwind, Enterprise, Nautilus, Invincible
If there's any reason why the two before it aren't named, it's because this game stole all the good ones. The first airship (I think it's called Westwind, anyway) blows up very near the beginning. The second is a combination sailing ship and flying ship; it gets shot down. Nautilus is part airship part submarine, very useful. Invincible is the final airship. And god, it's huge. It has a weapon shop, armor shop, its own inn...Geez, it puts the others to shame.
*Final Fantasy IV* NAME: Enterprise, Falcon
These two names are both repeated in the series. And who knows why? But this Falcon has a DRILL, baby! Beat that!
*Final Fantasy V* NAME: Airship
Who knows why this one ended up with no name. Nostalgia for FF1, perhaps. Or maybe it's the fact that all their previous modes of transportation already sank or blew up. Maybe Butz just didn't want to name something he thought wouldn't last...
*Final Fantasy VI* NAME: Blackjack, Falcon
The Blackjack is unbelievably cool. It's better than Falcon, has way better music, and it's basically a flying CASINO! Falcon is okay, I guess. No casino though.
*Final Fantasy VII* NAME: Highwind
You'd think this is a non-repeated name. And it is, for an AIRSHIP. But if you look at the next section, you'll see what I mean.
*Final Fantasy VIII* NAME: Ragnarok
Well, as for airships, this name is original. For swords, no.
*Final Fantasy IX* NAME: Prima Vista, Cargo Ship, Hilda Garde 1, 2, 3, Red Rose, Invincible
Well, mostly original names for the FF9 ships...all except Invincible, but since FF9's theme was kinda old school nostalgia, we'll forgive it. *hugs Hilda Garde 3's music* ^_^
The Omnipresent Name Game
Here's where it gets super-tricky. Names stretch over thousands of games, repeating and overlapping and getting really confusing and eating nachos...well, not the last one. So, here's a look into the deeply fabulous name game.........
That Pilot Again
Okay, this one's the grandaddy of all the name games. This has got to be Square's favorite name in the universe, and you'll see why. What name, you ask? Cid, of course....
CID---
Here's where the name Cid comes into a game. It (mysteriously?) almost always has to do with flight.
*Cid (II) In FFIIj, Cid is a pilot who meets an early death at the hands of Emperor Paramekia.
*Cid (III) FFIIIj. Cid is...funny looking. Anyway, from what I hear, Cid is trapped in a cursed town until you defeat Jinn and turn everyone to normal. Then, of course, he lends you an airship, and helps out with mechanical matters later on.
*Cid Pollendina(IV) Finally, a playable Cid!! He's the "Master Engineer" of Baron, and builds airships (of course) for the king. Then he joins you. And he's one powerful fighter! *smash with hammer*
*Cid Previa (V) In FF5, we actually meet a Cid who isn't a pilot. Please don't scream! It's not a mistake. Actually, as a scientist, Cid does a lot of good. First, he creates the machines which amplify the Crystals' powers, and give love and prosperity to the world.....well, at least until Exdeath makes the machines blow up the Crystals. Then it's bad. But anyway, Cid even has a grandson (Mid) who worships the ground he walks on and even helps pull Cid out of his deep depression (when he makes the Crystals shatter) Yes, Cid manages all the research, airship help, and everything you could need. Go Cid!
*Cid (VI) Another scientist Cid. Only this one (he works in a Magitek Lab) has a strange obsession with wearing a yellow raincoatish suit 24-7. Also, he has the option to die. Not a noble death, like Cid II, but by eating bad fish. Well, you can save him if you want to....
*Cid Highwind (VII) Everyone (EVERYONE) loves this Cid. He's playable, he has an attitude, he smokes, cusses, and looks cool too. He's the closest thing to a Dragoon in FF7, which makes me wonder about his last name.....(for more on that, read on)
