Masamune

The Masamune is a Light Blade-class Artifact weapon found in Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Basic description by game
In all its appearances, the Masamune increases the wielder's attack by 161. It can be sold for 12300 coins, and subsequently re-bought for 16400 coins.

In The Lost Age, it is found in a treasure chest in Yallam, but the Force Psynergy is required to reach the chest, meaning the Masamune will be unavailable until after Jupiter Lighthouse. Being a Light Blade, it can be equipped by Isaac, Felix, Garet, Jenna, Ivan, and Piers. The Masamune's Unleash attack is Rising Dragon, which activates at a rate of 40% (notable, since most Unleashes activate at a rate of 35%). Rising Dragon converts all damage to Mercury damage and attacks with an additional 62 damage points. Also, there is a chance of doing twice the normal amount of damage. Visually, Rising Dragon resembles a light blue cloud with the shape of a dragon's head at the front streaming from the attacker and arcing slightly before striking the target from above. If Rising Dragon does double damage, a second, identical cloud follows, only this cloud strikes from below.

In Dark Dawn, the Masamune can be obtained in the Yamata Ruins after Himi has joined the party. The Masamune now has three Unleashes: Double Attack, Combat Dance, and its trademark unleash Rising Dragon. Double Attack is a Jupiter-based Unleash that multiplies damage by 1.6. Combat Dance is a non-elemental attack that has a damage multiplier of 1.5. Rising Dragon retains its characteristics from The Lost Age, but now has a range of up to 3 targets.

Analysis
The Masamune is a powerful weapon that can be acquired easily and be equipped to almost anyone. However, it remains unavailable until late into the game, meaning it merely serves as a  placeholder for more powerful weapons like Tisiphone Edge and  Excalibur, both of which are capable of attacking for three times  their normal damage. However, in terms of raw power, no weapon can outdo a two-strike Rising Dragon from the Masamune until the above mentioned  weapons or the Sol Blade are acquired. Even then, it is worth considering that Masamune does water damage, not earth or wind.

The Masamune is the most powerful Mercury based weapon that Piers can equip in the game. Although it's a Light Blade both its base attack and bonus Mercury damage from its unleash are higher than its  nearest contender, the Mythril Blade. On top of this, the Masamune has a chance to do double damage, pushing it well in front of the  Mythril Blade; however, it is still inferior to several weapons of  different elements available at the end of the game such as the  Tisiphone Edge and Excalibur. Considering it is the most powerful Mercury-based weapon Piers can equip, if you keep Piers in one of his  Mercury-based classes, the Masamune is a solid end-game choice for him. In addition to this, the weapon's notable unleash rate (which adds 5%) can make Piers' chance to perform the unleash 99%, similarly to a Venus Adept wielding the Sol Blade, with the Mythril Helm, Riot Gloves, Hyper Boots, and with Mythril Clothes instead of the Valkyrie Mail (which subtracts 5%).

In Dark Dawn, the Masamune's Mercury based unleash makes it one of the best weapons for Amiti to equip. While the Sagittarius Bow has a stronger Mercury-based unleash, it is only available in Crossbone Isle, which can only be accessed after the player has defeated the final boss. Thus, the Masamune is likely to see far more time than the Sagittarius Bow. Rising Dragon's ability to potentially hit multiple targets for double the damage makes it extremely useful for battles against multiple enemies. Meanwhile, Combat Dance and Double Attack both have good damage multipliers should they be called up.

If the player wishes it optimize Amiti's use of the Masamune, they can consider setting Jupiter Djinn or giving him equipment to raise his Jupiter Power, which will increase the damage he can do with Double Attack.

Trivia
In the original Golden Sun, a weapon hidden in the game's code named "Masamune" can be seen and found either through or in the Debug Rooms. It is a Long Sword with a unique and different graphic not officially seen in either game, has 135 Atk, and has no Unleash effect. If transferred into The Lost Age, it becomes the Fire Brand.

Cultural references
Okazaki Masamune, who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries, is regarded as the greatest swordsmith of Japanese history. In addition to his extraordinary worksmanship, he is typically regarded as the exemplar of the true warrior who does not kill needlessly, in contrast to Murasame's alleged bloodthirst.