Writers Opinion: Top 10 Swords in Video Games

When it comes to weapons in video games the humble sword is one of the most common weapons out there (even with all the shooters flooding the market). Due to this when you find a cool or unique sword your more likely to remember it and that’s exactly where this list comes in.

In this list I’ll be looking at the Top 10 Swords in Video Games. Whether they have a cool design, are iconic or or just broken this list will highlight the 10 swords I think are the best.  Because of this I want to remind you that the entries on this list are based on personal opinion so don’t be upset if a sword you like doesn’t make it. Oh and I’m not including any swords that were originally created in a different medium so no lightsabers sadly.

This list was one of the hardest Top 10’s I’ve written and a lot of swords didn’t make it like Monster Hunters Supremacy Blade and the Soul series Moonlight Greatsword. Enough talking about what didn’t make it though so let’s get started.

10) Buster Sword (Final Fantasy 7)

It’s not everyday a sword in a long running RPG series is so popular it actually gets its own game but that’s exactly what happened in 2007/2008 when Square Enix released Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 on the PSP and on the PSN.

In the game we learn that Zack wasn’t the first owner of the Buster Sword as we where led to believe but was instead created by the father of his mentor Angeal. Zach wouldn’t receive the sword till after he kills Angeal (long story) and it would serve as a reminder to how much he had grown as a person. It wouldn’t be till the end of the game till Cloud would get the sword off Zack for reasons best learned by playing the game.

While the Buster Sword is iconic as far as Final Fantasy swords go it’s a bit overrated. That being said however its still on this list for a reason and for starters I really like the design. It’s simple sure but that works in its favour, after all it was originally the first sword you could use in Final Fantasy 7.

The Buster Sword lands here at number 10 because of its design and because it got an entire game to explain its backstory. How often can you say that about a sword but it’s still at number 10 because it’s a little overrated (It’s basically the Charizard of video game swords) and why is it so weak. I get that it’s the first sword Cloud has but Zack used it to kill a Goddess in Crisis Core. Looks like Angeal was right about wear, tear and rust destroying a weapon after all.

9) Shishkebab (Fallout 3)

One of the problems I had with the smiting system in Skyrim was that no matter how low your smiting skills was, the weapons you crafted always look perfect. What they needed was a personal touch to them and that’s exactly the feeling you get with the number 9 sword, the Shishkebab from Fallout 3.

In Fallout 3 you can create your very own Shishkebab with one Motorcycle gas tank, one Motorcycle handbrake, one lawn mower blade and a pilot light as long as you had a workbench and the schematics.

The Shishkebab is literally a flaming lawn mower blade masquerading as a sword and its a pyromaniacs best friends. There’s just something about charging at a bunch of bandits firing at you with Ak-47s, screaming with a flaming lawn mower blade over your head that beats gunfire any day, even if it drastically lowers your lifespan.

While it’s the Shishkebab’s DIY charm that lands it on this list, its only barely got on the list because it can set of leaking gas which leads to some embarrassing deaths. Well that and Fallout 3 is mainly a shooter so you’re not going to leave many fights without some new bullet holes.

8) Covenant Energy Sword (Halo series)

Anyone whose played Halo will already be very aware of the Covenant Energy Sword but for anyone whose never played Halo here’s a quick explanation. The Covenant Energy Sword is one of only two melee weapons in the Halo series and is a one-hit kill monster that can apparently deflect bullets (according to the Halo anime). It’s battery charged like a certain group of other energy sword weapons from another series.

In the story mode running into a covenant member with this sword instantly turned what was a cover based shoot-out into a frantic and rather violent version of a Benny Hill sketch. These fights while frustrating are also surprisingly fun and offer a genuine threat in what are otherwise normal shoot-outs.

Move online and the energy sword becomes either the most infuriating or fun ways to charge around the online mode, depending on which side of the energy sword your on. Online wise the best way to use the energy sword is by only equipping it when your charging at someone because for some reason running around with a glowing sword makes you a target.

Despite how much fun the Covenant Energy Sword is, it lands at number 8 because it runs on batteries and will run out very quickly. Also why can’t you use it to block bullets like in that Halo animated series, yes I know that would make the sword completely broken but remember, I said block bullets not rockets.

7)  Soul Edge (Soul Calibur series)

Till its back story was rewritten in Soul Calibur  5 the Soul Edge was an ordinary sword till it was twisted into the monster it is now after being bathed in the blood and hatred of the countless people the sword was used to kill. Over time the sword would gain a soul of its own called Inferno. Soul Calibur 5 changed it to being created by the hero king Algol as a counter balance to the Soul Calibur.

Regardless of its backstory whoever held Soul Edge (besides Algol) was corrupted by its evil into steal souls for the sword till they outlive there use in which case the sword then took their soul. In battle devouring souls mean draining its wielder health during the fight but at least it also grants its user the ability to drain your oponents health to increase your survivability.

Besides its creepy eye in the middle (which makes this sword Albert Weskers dream blade), what makes Soul Edge unique is that it has the ability to change its form depending on the person whose wielding it weapon preference hence the reason nearly ever character has their own version. The most noticeable time this happened was in Soul Calibur 2 where everybody had there own unlockable version of Soul Edge.

However its the fact that it drains the wielder health away that lands it here at number 7 because to some players having your health drained away is too much to ask, even for a badass sword made of pure evil.

6) Blade of Olympus (God of War series)

Landing on this list at number 6 we have the strongest weapon in God of War universe, the Blade of Olympus. At the start of God of War 2 Zeus took advantage of Kratos hunger of power by tricking him into sealing his Godly powers into this blade. Unfortunately for Zeus and the entire God of War universe, the plan worked and the Blade of Olympus regained its powers to kill Gods and Titans alike.

The Blade lives up to this power too as in God of War 2 after you clear the game you can run through the entire game again with the Blade of Olympus and its upgradable to boot. Besides being a powerhouse, the Blade of Olympus can also shoot out energy blasts which are blue when Kratos uses it and gold when Zeus uses it against Kratos in God of War 2.

Sadly for some reason you can only use the Blade of Olympus in God of War 3 when you activate Rage of Sparta. This is really annoying because it’s still as fun as ever to use and is now more powerful but we’re now limited in when we can use it. I get that it’s for balance but it’s still a little annoying hence why it lands here at number 5.

5) The Rose Nasty Beam Katana (No More Heroes)

The only thing cooler than wielding one beam katana is dual wield them and that’s exactly what the Rose Nasty is. Players who played No More Heroes 1 may remember that Travis friend Bishop occasionally told Travis that “By the way, that thing you wanted hasn’t come in yet”. Later in No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle Shinobu receives these swords from a man who claims to have known Bishop and the swords are revealed to be the Rose Nasty.

The Rose Nasty was specifically built with Travis in mind as the blades and handle are coloured red (his favourite colour) and the curved blades fit in with his fighting style more than a straight blade. With the dual blades combat becomes a flash of red neon as the dual blades are the fastest weapons in the game.

Somehow the Nasty Beam are also the most energy-efficient weapons in the game making them really useful in nearly all situations since when they run out it only takes a quick recharge before you can charge back into battle. Sadly they are also one of the weakest Beam Katanas in the game though again they are the fastest weapons in the game so it’s not all bad.

4) Soul Reaver (Legend of Kain)

Moving to number 4 we have the ominous Soul Reaver, a serpentine shaped sword that is a vampires dream come true. Before I continue I want to mention that for this list I’m only counting Kain’s version of Soul Reaver and not Razial’s because that’s technically called the Wraith Blade and Kain’s is the original so I counting his.

The Soul Reaver or Reaver as it was originally named was created by the ancient vampire, Vorador with the ability to drain the blood of the swords victims and to kill the fabled Hylden champion, a hero professed to end the vampires tyranny.

However while that was the swords original purpose, it was renamed the Soul Reaver after it absorbed the soul of the series other anti-hero Razial. It should also be pointed out that during this time, the blade could also suck out the souls of its victims and cause time paradoxes.

As nice as all that is, if the Soul Reaver isn’t fun to use than all the above would be pointless and thankfully that’s not the case. In the original Legend of Kain Blood Omen wielding the Reaver mention you couldn’t use magic which in Blood Omens would normally be a death sentence if it wasn’t for the fact that the Reaver does ridiculous damage per swing and when fully charged will one hit kill anything dumb enough to take you on (that isn’t a boss anyway). Later in Defiance you can upgrade the Reaver to manipulate the elements and create clones of yourself.

If it sounds like the Soul Reaver is broken it’s because it is but if your going to name a part of your series after a sword you’d want to make it a powerhouse. The only real problem with the Soul Reaver is that in Blood Omen it’s on par with the weakest sword in the game when your out of magic and you can only wield the Soul Reaver in it’s most powerful form in the final boss fights for most games.

3)  Fox Blade (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)

When playing through Metal Gear Solid 1, the boss that always stood out the most for me was Grey Fox. He came out of nowhere and in a realistic stealth game, fighting a cyborg ninja in a lab in what was basically a brawl came as a big shock at the time. Sadly he died in MGS1 after Rex steps on him but in MGR Revengeance we finally got the chance to use his blade and boy is it a fun if broken weapon.

By itself the Fox Blade is nothing special. Sure it looks cool and is a fun nostalgic throwback but with having the exact same stats and moves as Raiden’s normal sword so it needs to have something special to justify that 200,00 DP cost. As it turns out it does because according to its item description it has the soul of Grey Fox himself in it which means it has a chance to completely ignore armour as if it’s in its break status and blue.

Of course for those of you who don’t want to leave this effect to chance, you can always shell out another 100,000 DP for its unique upgrade which turns that chance into a 100% guarantee. With this 1 upgrade this sword becomes nearly unstoppable, armour gets sliced off in one hit and normal enemies get sliced to ribbons as if Raiden’s permanently in Blade Mode.

Unfortunately that’s also the reason its at number 3. For those of you who have never played Revengeance Raiden can only recover health by using pick-ups or removing enemies nanopaste via their spines and because the Fox Blade cuts them up so quick it’s nearly impossible to heal this way because you can’t combo enemies to refill the meter. Regardless of these faults I still love the broken fun and the cool nostalgic throwback the Fox Blade provides and its here at number 3.

2) Master Sword (Legend of Zelda series)

At number 2 we have The Sword of Evil’s Bane, the Sword of Time or the Master Sword to its friends. By now the Master Sword is nearly as iconic as Link himself is and is now practically Links badge of office.

The Master Sword can only be used by those chosen by the Goddesses and is the only blade that can kill Ganondorf/Ganon. Despite being created by the Goddesses the Master Sword feels perfectly balanced in most games. In the 3D games the Master Sword is only as good as you are so when you win a hard fight with it you feel like it was because you used the Sword effectively. Skyward Sword for as many problems as the game had, features (in my opinion) the best combat in a Legend of Zelda game because of how fun it is to use the Master Sword.

The Master Sword also stands out because when you have full health, the sword can shoot out a beam of energy giving you long range options.The sword can also be enchanted with magical medallions so whoever is holding it can cast powerful magic like Ether as seen in A Link to the Past.

The Master Sword is one of the most iconic swords in gaming and with its abilities, cool design and balanced damage output it’s easy to see why it’s so iconic. That being said it’s not my number 1 sword and for that we’ll need to go to Castlevania to find it.

1) Crissaegrim (Castlevania Symphony of the Night)

 There can only be one sword that can beat the Master Sword, one sword from a series famous for having a whip so badass it got its own theme song, its the Crissaegrim/Valmanway from the Castlevania series.

The Crissaegrim as if was first called was first introduced in Castlevania Symphony of the Night and could only be got by grinding those damn Schmoo’s in the reverse library. If you don’t go mad from the constant loop of Final Toccata, you’ll eventually get them to drop the Crissaegrim, easily the most broken sword in gaming history.

What makes the Crissaegrim broken is the fact that every swing of the sword makes it swing four times and the sword has no cooldown so you can mash the attack button to never let up. Oh and you can move while doing this turning you into an unstoppable monster in an already easy game. You can also dual wield them if you find a second one because why not I guess.

In later Metroidvania titles the Crissaegrim would get renamed the Valmanway and would become a pain to because to use Aria of Sorrow on the Gameboy Advance as an example you had to beat the end game boss rush mode in under 4 minutes which is a task in itself.

While the Valmanway is technically the same sword, the number 1 spot goes to the Crissaegrim from Castlevania Symphony of the Night because that’s the sword at its best and is therefore in my opinion the best sword in video games.

So that’s my Top 10 Swords in Video Games and please remember that this is just my opinions. Share your favourite weapons down in the comment section below and if your interested in reading another Top 10 then check out Harlee Grey’s Top 10 Video Game Weapons. It’s part of the reason I decided to make this list in the first place.