Musashi Miyamoto

Musashi Miyamoto is one of the new playable characters in Samurai Warriors 2. He is widely considered to be one of Japan's greatest swordsmen and is famous for writing The Book of Five Rings. He's symbolized by the characters for "cut" (斬) and "ultimate" (極).

His name is assigned to the default bodyguards in Samurai Warriors. Scrolls named after the principles mentioned in his book also appear in this title. When these five scrolls are equipped at once, elemental attacks are instant death. They can be found in the game's Abyss Survival mode.

Samurai Warriors
Musashi is a man of common origin. After he defeated a man who declared himself as the strongest swordsmaster in the land, Musashi decided to hone his swords skills by traveling. Wanting to better improve himself, he joined the Western army at Sekigahara. However, he learns he joined a losing cause and cuts an escape route for himself after Mitsunari's retreat. As he fights through the bloodshed, he begins to wonder what it is that he's truly fighting for. After he rescues a village from bandits, Musashi wonders if there is pacifistic solution for his new life with the sword. While at Kyoto, Hideyori and Kiyomasa ask for his aid to save them from Ieyasu's army. Yukimura, a general who he met at Kyoto, later requests his aid at Osaka Castle.

Slaying Ieyasu and gaining a reputation as a famed killer, he assists the final siege against Hidetada at Edo Castle. The castle is defended by Kagekatsu's army, a despondent Kanetsugu -who is intent on dying together with Yukimura- and Masamune's forces. Hidetada dies during the conflict, signaling a presumable new time of peace under Hideyori. When Kotarō tries to disrupt Hideyori's plans to escape, Musashi duels him. In his ending, Kotarō questions what the swordsman plans to do with his murderous craft during peace. Musashi answers that his swords will someday find a way to protect people.

His swordsmanship at Sekigahara also impresses Kojirō, who is more than willing to challenge someone with skill. Kojirō continues to seemingly stalk Musashi's travels as both swordsmen are hired by generals on opposing sides. Since he is angered by Kojirō's insistence to kill him, they face one another in a private duel. Musashi is the final victor and Kojirō is slain before the Osaka Campaign.

In his dream stage, he wants to prove himself as the strongest warrior of the age. While Tadakatsu and Sakon are in the midst of a mock battle, Musashi barges in to show off his skills. Nene appears as the self-proclaimed strongest woman in the land. If Musashi does well during the battle, Kojiro will be obliged to duel him.

Warriors Orochi
He appears in one of Shu's Gaiden stages in Warriors Orochi and leads a group of swordsmen to overthrow Mitsunari. If the player helps Musashi successfully release the floodgates with his forces intact to reach Mitsunari, he will agree to join the resistance.

In the sequel, he trains with Xu Huang to hone their respective arts. Ambushed by Orochi's troops, they agree to work together to capture the fleeing Da Ji and Himiko. During their chase, Musashi is also reacquainted with Kojiro. The two warriors report their findings to Sakon. In his dream stage, he teams up with Tadakatsu and Zhang Fei to rescue Ieyasu. Musashi personally decides to keep every enemy officer away from the ally main camp.

Kessen
Musashi can be recruited for Nobunaga's army in Kessen III. He will join Nobunaga after he is beaten in a Rampage at Kizugawaguchi. He has a strong sword proficiency and leads one of the strongest sword units in the game.

Development
When developers were planning to add the strongest sword wielding character, Musashi became the obvious choice for the position. The designer wanted his design to scream Musashi and made a wild image to reflect known historical accounts of his appearance. They wanted to show his confidence by writing "The Land's Greatest" (天下無双, Tenka Musou) on the back of his coat. The director adds that Musashi was also one of the most requested characters for the first game, but he guesses that this was mainly due to the popularity of the taiga drama (titled Musashi) that showed the year before. Even though he is basically a bonus character for fans, he also wants players to max him out and use him to truly experience Chaos difficulty.

Personality
Musashi is an idealistic and rambunctious youth. He believes his swords can save and protect people, striving to prove his worth as the land's greatest swordsman. While he is is confident in his blade, he is inexperienced with society and initially acts callous towards others. He doubts himself when he first sees the world but becomes more proud of his skills as time passes. He eventually believes in friendship during his time with the Toyotomi.

He doesn't think very highly of Kojirō's ruthlessness and despises his rival's persistence.

Voice Actors

 * Arron Wood - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Sam Riegel - Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Hidehiko Kaneko - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Only one can be the greatest! Guess who."
 * "My swords will cut through this darkness, and herald a new age!"
 * "The way of the sword, I will perfect it!"
 * "Prepare... to be dazzled."
 * "I am invincible!"
 * "Finally a chance to use my sword to end suffering! This is it!"
 * "If all you can do with them is hurt others, you don't deserve your swords."
 * "The sword is not a tool of death! You hear me?!"
 * "Hey, I'm pretty good with this acting stuff. Maybe I should meet up with that Okuni girl."
 * "No matter how strong your sword, you cannot split a shadow."
 * "Yeah? Well I don't see any shadows here. Just a skinny little man in a silly outfit."
 * Hanzo and Musashi; Samurai Warriors 2


 * "Tadakatsu Honda... They say you're the best man 'round these parts. But I like a challenge! Here goes!"
 * "Very good. Come and fight me! Your youthful energy against my refined skill. And may the best man win."
 * Musashi and Tadakatsu; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires

Fighting Style
Musashi's fighting style in the game is a slightly more theatrical version of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū twin-sword style he invented. Although it has a more limited range than spear weapons, his twin swords are excellent for both one-on-one duels and for keeping back large crowds. His Musou attack has him stand in place and essentially turns him into a living food processer, shredding apart anyone too slow to get out of the way.