The Top 10 Masamunes

[freshfeeling]

[It was decided in roughly November of 2023 that GameFAQs once-loved Top 10 Lists feature was being phased out. I had written a few lists between 2009 and 2012 and generally engaged with that community a fair bit, so I figured I would cross-post my lists on this site over ten years later, backdated. You may still be able to view the original version here.]

Weapons called Masamune appear in a huge number of games. It's pretty easy to see it as a Japanese equivalent to the Excalibur. Personally, as someone in the western hemisphere, I can't remember not knowing what Excalibur was, but I sure remember not knowing what the Masamune was in reference to. I'm pretty sure I pronounced it incorrectly for a decade, too.
  

Masamune was a famous Japanese bladesmith, active in the 13th and 14th centuries. There are a number of variations of this story, but according to legend, Masamune could place one of his swords in a river with the blade facing against the current and the fallen leaves would be sliced in half by drifting down the river into the katana.
 

Like Excalibur, a number of games have adapted this name to make a weapon stand out from others, and also like the Excalibur, some games' Masamunes are more noteworthy than others. This list aims to educate you about some of the finer ones.

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#10: Thousand Arms (PS)

Thousand Arms is the story of Meis, a spirit blacksmith who forges powerful weapons using the power of... dating. Although it would be a pretty crappy RPG if it weren't for the dating, and a pretty crappy dating sim if it weren't for the RPG, the combination works and it's a pretty darn entertaining game. Similar to some other games like Final Fantasy VIII and Shining Tears, the characters mostly wield the same weapons throughout the game but can upgrade them as they progress.

 

One of Meis' eventual allies, Soushi, the very feminine womanizing swordsman, usually wields the Masamune, but when you meet him in this game it has been broken and he has been wielding the Dark Sword. You will have to face him a few times before you return his original Masamune to him and he returns to his senses. In this game's very unusual one-on-one combat system, Soushi can use his Masamune to perform a few stylish attacks, including this game's only instant death attack, Fudo Rasanjin.

 

It's mostly unremarkable, but it's a stylish spirit weapon. I feel that it ranks #10. Decent game, fair Masamune.

#9: Secret of Mana (SNES)

Secret of Mana is the story of a boy who draws the legendary Sword of Mana from a stone, setting in motion a chain of events that threatens to destroy but ultimately saves the world. When you acquire the Sword of Mana, however, it has lost all of its power, and it begins as a dull, rusty blade that needs to be filled with power and re-forged into new weapons over the course of the game. The Sword of Mana goes from Rusty Sword to Broad Sword to Herald Sword to Claymore to Excalibur to Masamune... and on from there.

 

Unlike a lot of other weapons on this list, this Masamune is not even close to being the game's best weapon. However, it does have a very useful feature in that it increases the user's critical hit rate. Since so many of this game's weapons' special effects were not programmed properly and don't work, this is quite useful; the only serious competition the Masamune has in terms of power and usefulness when it is acquired is the Oceanid Spear, which puts enemies to sleep.

 

For being a fairly good sword, certainly far above the Excalibur it replaces, this makes #9 on the list. Great game, decent Masamune.

#8: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS)

There is no shortage of great weapons in Symphony of the Night. Personally, I remember spending hours seeking out the Crissaegrim and earning five Fists of Tulkas in the process. Many of these very rare and powerful weapons have cool special attacks and properties, and can only be earned as a rare drop from enemies. Once you've earned a great weapon though, there are lots of fun things to swing it at.

 

The legendary Masamune katana is fairly good in this game. It has a large area of attack, it is fairly quick and it has high attack power, especially when used with the special teleport attack it grants. On the downside, it has a penalty to defense and, of course, it's a rare enemy drop from elusive black panthers. Another thing working against this Masamune is that the Yatsutsuna katana, which is better in just about every way, can be dropped by enemies not far from where you might find the Masamune.

 

Again, being quite good but not standing above the rest, I give this Masamune position #8. Great game, good Masamune.

#7: Final Fantasy Tactics (PS)

Final Fantasy Tactics features a job system where characters have access to different jobs with different statistics and different abilities. The samurai job is the only regular class that can wield katanas and also has special abilities based on the various kinds of katana, and with each of these abilities having a chance to break the katana used. This is troublesome at endgame, as the best katanas were not only unique, but in this case, very difficult to acquire.
 

The Masamune in Final Fantasy Tactics can only be stolen from Marquis Elmdor. It's the second most powerful katana and it has a very useful effect with a samurai's "Draw Out" command, giving Regen and Haste status to all allies within a close area of the user. Unfortunately, stealing the Masamune (and the other very valuable equipment) from Marquis Elmdor is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish in Final Fantasy Tactics. In the remakes and the original Japanese version it's not even possible, as Elmdor is equipped with the Safeguard (Maintenance) ability.

 

It's powerful and useful and it leaves me wanting more... but it's not really the best. This Masamune earns position #7. Great game, good Masamune.

#6: Final Fantasy Legend II (GB)

In this game, SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu in Japan, your ultimate job is to collect all the Magi, which each a fragment of a statue of the goddess Isis. Most of the Magi are earned by defeating Gods from various mythologies (like Ashura and Venus) and they give their holders some kind of benefit, and the late-game Masmune magi, which can act as a powerful weapon, is no exception.

 

When the Masmune Magi is used as a weapon by one of your characters, it will do about 500 damage, which is fairly high for this game, and it can be used as many times as you need (which is quite rare in this game; things tend to wear out after a certain number of uses). Unfortunately, the player only gets to use the Masmune for a couple of minutes before all of the party's Magi are stolen by Apollo. Later, Apollo will be using it against you! But if you can survive your encounter with Apollo, someone should still be able to wield the Masmune...

 

It's a great weapon with some (unfortunately) fairly limited use. I'd still rank it #6. Good game, good Masmune.

#5: Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)

There are many strong weapons with varied effects in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and Masamune is one of them. It can be tricky to get, since you need the Force Orb from the original Golden Sun to access it. If you haven't played Golden Sun or didn't try to transfer any of your data, you will never get the Masamune! It's nothing to cry about though, as there are a fair number of stronger weapons in Golden Sun: The Lost Age.

 

That said, there are reasons that you might use this weapon at endgame if you have the option. It's fairly strong, and has a useful water-elemental "unleash" effect that also has a chance to double the damage done. It's actually the strongest available weapon with a water effect, making this weapon well-suited to Piers the water adept. It might not be his best choice, but since there are eight characters for you to outfit there's a good chance you will want to use this Masamune.

 

As a nice, wet weapon with a cool effect, I believe this one earned the #5 spot. Great game, good Masamune.

#4: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)

When Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was new I recall hearing a lot of griping from people who wanted a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics and didn't get one. This game's story about a child's imagination and the power of friendship is different from Final Fantasy Tactics' story of political manipulation and corrupt religious establishment... and their respective Masamunes are quite distinct as well. Like these two games, both Masamunes are fairly good when judged on their own merits.

 

While much easier to obtain than the one in Final Fantasy Tactics, the Masamune is this game's second strongest katana, wielded by the top-tier Ninja and Assassin classes. It also teaches the potentially crippling ability Oblivion, which causes the target to temporarily forget all of their abilities (including reactions). The only katana stronger is the Masamune 100, which is even more powerful and provides a magic bonus! Introduced in this game, the Masamune 100 is much less common, only earned by completing a postgame quest.

 

We're into the good stuff now. This Masamune is a great weapon, and the Masamune 100 only moreso. Good game, great Masamune.

#3: Final Fantasy X (PS2)

Final Fantasy X allowed remarkable customization of weapons, but most of the time, the simplest way to get a very strong weapon is to find a special celestial weapon and use a special crest and a special sigil to power it up. The celestial weapons all have unique graphics, powerful abilities, and some kind of special damage effect. The Masamune in Final Fantasy X is Auron's celestial weapon. Although Auron is this game's katana user, this weapon doesn't look like a katana at all.

 

Like the other celestial weapons in Final Fantasy X, when you find it it has no useful abilities until it is fully powered up with the appropriate crest and sigil. The fully-powered Masamune allows the user to exceed the 9999 damage limit, always act first in combat, gain additional overdrive, and counterattack. It also does greatly increased damage when the user is at low health, a bonus damage effect which is much more pronounced than other characters' celestial weapons. The Masamune, Mars Crest and Mars Sigil are all fairly straightforward to acquire compared to the others in this game (i.e. no minigames!), so players are likely to be able to use this at the end of the game without following a guide. Take advantage of it!

 

It's accessible and very useful in general; I'll forgive its wacky appearance and rank it #3. Great game, great Masamune.

#2: Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Unlike many of the Masamunes on this list, this one is absolutely essential to the plot of the game. Frog's Masamune is also different from most of this list in that it's a broadsword rather than a katana. The reason for this is that this weapon wasn't originally a Masamune at all; in Japan, it was known as the Grandleon, but it was localized to the (oddly) more familiar name of Masamune for North America. In Chrono Trigger, Crono and his friends find the Masamune in pieces and have to travel through time to repair the ancient weapon, eventually using it to convince Frog to join the battle against Magus in 600 A.D.

 

I suppose it's debatable whether this sword is a Masamune at all, but it's not debatable that it's awesome. The first big battle with Magus is maybe one third through the game, but the Masamune remains a fairly powerful weapon for Frog for a while after it is acquired, and without spoiling too much, I'll say it stays relevant to the plot of the game throughout (and on into Chrono Cross). In an optional sidequest near endgame it can be "powered up" and become Frog's strongest weapon. It must also be equipped to perform a very strong triple tech, Grand Dream.

 

It's a wonderful weapon and also fills that classic "legendary sword" role quite nicely, earning the #2 spot. Awesometastic game, great Grandleon... I mean, uh, great Masamune.

#1: Final Fantasy (NES)

The Masmune in Final Fantasy was the first "ultimate weapon" I ever encountered in gaming. It was listed on the big fold-out map and equipment list that came with the game, but being 9 years old (and not Japanese) I didn't know what it was. My friends and I figured it must be a typo for "mace" or something. Why, then was it so powerful? Given that it's probably the last thing any player acquires in the entire game it was a while before we learned that it was actually a very special sword.

 

The Masmune was not only quite a bit stronger than the Xcalbur, but added a much larger bonus to hit which often allows the wielder an extra hit with it compared to contemporary weapons. Perhaps most significantly, any class can equip it. It allows you to turn a non-combatant into a strong warrior, or a strong warrior into an even stronger warrior. Heck, the Masmune is what makes a many well-known challenge games possible. The drawback? Nothing really, except that it's found on the second last floor of the final dungeon. At least in the many remakes of this game you get a bit more practical use out of this great Masmune, given the super bosses in the new option dungeons.
 

For being the first Masmune in video games and a distant first place in Final Fantasy, I'd say this Masmune is the best. Good game, best Masmune.

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There are more Masamunes than Excaliburs in mainstream gaming, but as it did with the Excalibur, the Final Fantasy series makes regular use of this name to describe it best weapons. Unlike with the Excalibur, there are lots of games that use the name Masamune to describe mediocre weapons, including Tales of Symphonia (GC), Suikoden (PS), Soul Calibur IV (360) and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS). These so-so Masamunes didn't make the list, and neither did the historical figure Date Masamune who appears in a number of games; I decided to stick to weapons.

 

There are some great Masamunes that didn't make this list in Final Fantasy IV (SNES) and Final Fantasy V (SNES), but again I wanted to limit the amount of Final Fantasy on the list. That's a completely separate reason than why I didn't include Final Fantasy VII (PS) - it always really bothered me that I couldn't use Sephiroth's Masamune. It didn't do me very much good at all! Quite the contrary, really....