Musashi is an action role-playing game, in which the player fights against enemies with a sword in action-based combat, with some role-playing elements. The player controls Musashi, who fights a variety of enemies using his swords Fusion and Lumina and searches for five scrolls which will increase Lumina's strength and grant him new abilities. There are also several minigames and puzzles scattered throughout which must be completed to advance the plot. The two swords he uses have varied abilities and uses. Fusion, which resembles a katana, is the more utilitarian of the two, used to chain rapid combo hits but has can also be used to absorb Bincho energy (an MP equivalent) or absorb the enemy's skill. The other sword is Lumina, which cannot be effectively used in combos by itself; its real strength lies in Scrolls obtained through the game which imbue Lumina with various elemental properties. Lumina is primarily offensive but thanks to the five elemental scrolls it gains new skills that facilitate the platforming. The two swords are often used in conjunction with certain techniques which are granted by various rescued townsfolk. The game features an in-game clock and day-night system that affects the townsfolk and some of the creatures in the field (namely, the Minku - creatures from whom Musashi can obtain berries to increase his overall health stat), as well as forcing the player to pay attention to Musashi's fatigue rating that goes up over time with lack of sleep, which as the name implies will have a deteriorating effect on his combative ability. The player can either go to an inn to recover Musashi's health or make Musashi sleep outdoors without a full recovery and with danger he may be attacked by enemies. To pass time, the player may also opt to collect the various action figures -which resemble more detailed models of nearly all the characters and monsters- available at the town toy store which stocks new items at the start of every chapter. Along the way, Musashi obtains parts from the Legendary Armor which allow him to perform actions such as climbing or performing double jumps.