is a 1986 video game software developed and published by Taito

Taito Corporation

The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....

 exclusively in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is based on a Japanese sports manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Motoka Murakami

Motoka Murakami

is a Japanese manga artist who writes primarily shōnen manga. He won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Gakuto Retsuden in 1982 and the Shogakukan Manga Award twice, for shōnen for Musashi no Ken in 1984 and for general manga in 1996 for Ron, serialized in Big Comic Original from 1991 to 2006...

 that focuses on kendo

Kendo

, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...

, simply titled Musashi no Ken

Musashi no Ken

is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Motoka Murakami that focuses on kendo. It was serialized by Shogakukan in Shōnen Sunday between April 1981 and October 1985...

. The gameplay and design in the one-on-one fighting parts resemble Taito's other fighting game, Great Swordsman

Great Swordsman

is a fighting arcade game developed by SETA and published by Taito. In , it was later included in Taito Legends.-Gameplay:In Great Swordsman, one or two players can play while taking turns. Players control with two-way joystick and three buttons with different hit levels. Each for creating...

, especially its kendo mode.

Plot

The game's plot is about the son of two Kendo champions named Musashi. He strives to become as great at Kendo as his parents. The entire story centers around the world of Kendo and its up and coming competitors. The anime is broken up in to two parts. The first part follows Musashi's early years in grade school while the second part follows his high school years. In the first episode, Musashi befriends an Akita puppy who is by his side throughout the series.

Gameplay

There are two different modes: single player and two player VS. mode. On single player mode, the player depicts Musashi in the middle of his training. He must run through several obstacle courses collecting swords and other items along the way. At the same time, his pet Akita will be running the course behind him. Musashi must not fall too far behind his dog. After completing three courses, Musashi will be entered into a 2D weapon-based versus fighting-style Kendo tournament. He must defeat five competitors to win the tournament. The swords that Musashi collects during the obstacle courses provide him with access to special strike moves if he has collected enough. If the player succeeds in winning, the game will continue from the beginning at a higher level of difficulty. After winning the championship a second time, the game is over.

On two player vs. mode, each player selects from a roster of competitors, and selects them secretly by pressing different inputs on the control pad. The selections are revealed once five selections have been made. Each player then squares off in a Kendo match with each of their selections. Whoever gets three or more victories wins the game.