Musashi’s unwanted advantage
Capcom’s August final preview makes Miyamoto Musashi’s resistance to the Oni Gauntlet a starting point, not a permanent rule. He wants strength to be his own achievement; the supernatural bond complicates that ambition. The preview also describes him becoming more willing to use its powers.
That progression is more interesting than treating every supernatural attack as a fixed moral penalty. A combat system can gradually become part of a character’s identity. Whether the finished story earns that change is a question for a review, not something a preview establishes.
Power changes the route as well as the fight
The final preview describes Oni Strength opening barriers after the Rashogan encounter. Malice and obstructing growth affect exploration, while Musashi’s bow also has a role in environmental puzzles. These details connect progression to places the player can reach rather than leaving the gauntlet as a damage multiplier.
Daidara’s ability to steal souls creates another useful tension: the resource Musashi wants is contested during combat. Our reading is that absorption timing could matter as much as collecting everything after a battle. That is a possibility suggested by the encounter description, not a claim that we have tested its balance.
The earlier June hands-on and the August feature describe different stages of the game’s presentation. They should not be combined into an invented account of one playable session.
The release-date record conflicts
There is an unresolved discrepancy in the cited official coverage. PlayStation’s June hands-on gives September 25, 2026; the August final preview gives September 4. Our earlier article incorrectly called September 25 verified without acknowledging that conflict.
This analysis does not establish which date the game actually shipped on. Neither should readers rely on this historical preview as a current purchasing notice. The contradiction is separate from the supported discussion of Musashi and the gauntlet, and we have removed the unsupported estimate of demo duration and the wall-running claim.
The strongest idea in the preview is a swordsman learning to accept an advantage he initially rejects. The exploration mechanics give that idea something tangible to work through; the story still has to make the transition convincing.