This list contains, with no criteria for grading other than my own personal feelings and experiences, the twenty most amazing weapons in video game history. They may not be the most effective, best looking or most popular, but all of them have some amazing qualities that earn them a spot on my list. Twenty seems like a fair number for the over two-decades and thousands of games Hungry has played. I could make it much longer but we’ll keep this one relatively short. And if you think I missed some, comment in the section below!
20. The Hammer from Super Smash Bros. In 1999, Nintendo began one of its most popular series with the release of Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64. While this game, and its two sequels, are littered with many characters, attacks, and weapons, there is one item that can change the game unlike any other. (Especially in the original, which is the best, in my opinion.) The hammer. Need I say more? (Part of me really wanted to put the home run bat, but only a few of us can use it correctly every time, so this one is for the masses!)
19. Fire Flower from Mario. If there are iconic weapons, none is more iconic than the 8-bit fire flower that has been around for almost two decades. The fire flower has appeared in dozens of games and still allows the player to dominate koopas, goombas and Bowser himself. It is practically a staple in setting time records for the original console trilogy and has cemented itself in the minds of gamers for generations.
18. Lightning Bolt from Mario Kart.It seems only appropriate to continue to be a Nintendo and Mario fan boy for another item. The problem is that Mario is arguably the greatest thing to ever happen to video games. He has appeared in over 200 games that have sold over 285 million copies and I can guarantee that number will double in my lifetime. Mario is probably the most recognizable video game character ever and Mario Kart is one of the most loved series of all time. From Super Mario Kart to the newest releases, it’s not easy to pinpoint a single item in the series but one stands out in my mind.
17. Buster Cannon from Mega Man. Ever since 1987 Mega Man has been bringing it to Dr. Wily and his army of robots with unique abilities and attacks. With Mega Man 4 being one of my favorite games of all time, with a ridiculously amazing intro cut scene, Dr. Light’s world-saving assistant has one of the coolest weapons ever. Since the honorable mentions are clearly less specific, and more iconic weapons in general, there is no better item to grace this list than Rock’s buster cannon. Whenever Mega defeats one of his robotic enemies, he can absorb their power and use it. So damn sick.
16. Ebony & Ivory from Devil May Cry. Originally intended to be Capcom’s 2001 sequel to the Resident Evil series, Devil May Cry’s release sparked a series of amazingly fun hack and slash adventure games for Playstation consoles. Throughout the series Dante has killed thousands of enemies and fiends but without his trusty handguns Dante wouldn’t be the same. Ebony & Ivory take this spot on the list for their reliability and awesome names. If I ever buy handguns, they’d be custom to match these two.
15. Link’s Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda. Link’s Master Sword is the ultimate form of vanquishing evil in Hyrule (and Lorule) and the quest to obtain the Master Sword time and time again has earned it a spot on this list. Along with the Arrow of Light, nearly every form of evil in Hyrule can be destroyed with ease AND with full health the Master Sword emits a strong beam. It is the greatest weapon of the greatest hero in the history of video games.
14. The Fierce Deity Mask from Legend of Zelda. Thinking about all of the installments in the Zelda series, there is one weapon that really is ridiculous in terms of raw strength. And I know that all my real gamers and true Zelda fans will love this one. The Fierce Deity Mask in Majora’s Mask is arguably the most difficult item to obtain on this list. I can only think of one item at the very top of the list that takes a similar amount of time, and that alone makes this item insane. This mask allows you to transform into the Fierce Deity and deliver some amazing attacks, however it can only be used during boss battles and requires you to trade 20 of all 24 of your masks to the Children of the Moon.
13. The BFG from Doom. And I am not talking about the book by Roald Dahl. Doom is one of the greatest games of all time, revolutionary for the horror genre and first person shooters, and all about kicking ass. This game was extremely creepy playing it as a very young child and Doom 3 brought scary to a whole new level. Nevertheless, once you got the BFG, which we all know what it stands for, there was nothing to fear. Just look at the devastation of the BFG 9000 this screen shot. Kills anything and everything in one shot.
12. Proximity Mines from Goldeneye. Goldeneye was one game that took first person shooters and multiplayer to the next level. Although I did not personally love the game, any list that doesn’t include it as one of the greatest of all times is trying to be cool and the people have no idea what they are talking about. Goldeneye offers a huge arsenal and as much as I love playing a level with only Moonraker Lasers or RC-P90, nothing can compare to the proximity mine. I can’t tell you how many thousands of times we played levels with only proximity mines, and the beauty of it is, you never really know when something is going to blow up!
11. Farsight XR-20 from Perfect Dark. Shortly after Goldeneye made a huge impact in the world of gaming, N64 had another huge release in Perfect Dark. Everyone has their favorite weapons and it’s hard to, again, pick just one from the list that includes ridiculous laptop guns and the amazing reaper. This monster is a one-shot kill to anyone no matter where you hit them, oh, and you can shoot through walls because it’s a railgun. It’s only available in one mission during the story mode but it dominates multiplayer if you can find a good hiding spot.
10. Vampire Killer from Castlevania. For nearly 20 years, in Castlevania, Simon Belmont and the rest of his vampire hunting clan has been using the Vampire Killer and other whips to make it through Dracula’s castles. Although some are more memorable than others, Lord of Shadow’s recent Combat Cross was one of the most badass versions ever used. Spoiler: Not to mention it was used by the original Belmont and Dracula himself, Gabriel Belmont, ancestor of Trevor, Simon, and Victor. Here it is.
9. Black Widow from Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2 is one of the greatest games of all time and, despite the horrible ending of the series, it remains as one of my favorite series ever. The three games have tons of weapons to choose from but no weapon stands out more in my mind than the Black Widow. In ME3, when upgraded to its final level with maximum upgrades, this sniper rifle leaves no traces of enemies behind. It is super expensive to buy and upgrade and requires you to have SPECTRE status, but it’s well worth the investment. It’s an improvement of the Widow and my go-to gun at many times. But don’t worry M-920 Cain, I won’t leave this without giving you and your nuclear level power a shout out. One shot with the Cain and you can defeat the final boss of Mass Effect 2, it’s absurd.
8. Ray Gun from South Park. South Park for the N64 is usually on every worst video game list of all time but that can’t take away from the absurdity and originality of the weapons in that game. I can’t even start to explain how ridiculous and inappropriate this game is; in all honesty, I don’t even remember all the weapons but there are three I will have a hard time forgetting. First, there is a snowball that you pee on. That’s right, you throw urine snowballs at enemies. Second, there is a gun that is shaped like a cow and basically fires well… cows. But finally, there is a weird ray gun that makes your enemies smile and dance around. It’s weird and absurd, that is why it makes the list.
7. Energy Sword from Halo. I was never a fan of the Halo series, especially past the first and second games. I did, however, play all of the story and multiplayer modes, and there was one really fun thing to do in the second game. Energy sword. Using the lunging action, a skilled player could essentially infinitely go around in close quarters and build a huge killing spree in multiplayer. I wouldn’t recommend running across a field with it though. For being a melee weapon in a game where so many people just sit on cliffs and snipe, the energy sword is high on this list.
6. Emergency Hammer from Silent Hill. Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, and other horror games offer a unique gaming experience where you need nerves of steel and have to accept the fact that you are very weak and vulnerable. Although it is one of the slowest weapons in the game, the emergency hammers allows Harry Mason to deal with those damn creepy Puppet Nurses and Puppet Doctors in the hospital. The amount of security that the hammer gave my young self during these dark times earns it a spot high on this list.
5. Rocket Launcher from Resident Evil. Speaking of survival horror, back when Resident Evil was still a game in this genre, there was a ridiculous lack of weapons and ammunition. Resident Evil 2, with Leon and Claire in Raccoon City (BEST GAME IN THE GENRE), provided very little to work with in some really tight corridors with some nasty enemies… Tyrant. Some moments in the game really stand out, such as choosing either the submachine gun or extra item spots, but one weapon in this game is just so boss. I can’t think of a better word to describe it right now because it is a total lifesaver and saving it until you fight a MAJOR boss is such a smart choice. The rocket launcher basically kills any enemy in one shot, and you can unlock infinite ammo. It’s just perfect.
4. Unlabored Flawlessness from Ninja Gaiden. The top three weapons all reflect my top 3 games of all time. Isn’t it funny how that works out? Even though Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox is not in my top 10 (but it’s damn good) there is one weapon in that game that I always connected with for some reason. It is that other item that I mentioned earlier that is not easy to obtain by any means. You need to upgrade the Wooden Sword, which is so useless, in order to get Unlabored Flawlessness. What a ridiculously amazingly long and complex name for a big wooden weapon that beats enemies down. If you know this weapon, you know how I feel. Otherwise, you’re probably thinking why is that so high on the list. Just look at this thing. I want to make a cosplay of it.
3. “Azeroth” from Diablo 2. At one point in time I had arguably the strongest Diablo 2 character on Battlenet. True story. I put in hundreds and hundreds of hours into building my paladin and maxed out everything. Eventually, I only played in special games with the best players for each class in the world. I knew nothing about computers but they started building mods where we would fight against hordes of bosses leveled up to the max. We would fight them 7 on infinity, killing hundreds until we died. It was insane but we were the best and we loved it. Then the computer genius in our group decided to forge us hacked weapons that reflected our characters, classes, personalities, etc. Being the best paladin in the world, the person crafted me a one-handed massive sword made of light named Azeroth. This was in 2000. It was wide and was colored a strange white that shined. Blizzard decided to delete all of our characters that had hacked items, purging the greatest people on Battlenet. I never played Diablo 2 again but the memory of Azeroth will live on in my mind forever. This weapon should top the list, but I will always be bitter that I lost it and don’t have a screen shot for you since it was one of a kind.
2. Hopesfire from Morrowind. Morrowind was and is the greatest Elder Scrolls game ever. It set the bar too high for future installments. One thing that set Morrowind apart was its lore and list of legendary weapons. You could even donate these weapons and items to a special museum in Mournhold, in the Tribunal expansion. I eventually gave all of them up in my main file that I still have today, so the museum is full. There were three that were extremely difficult to let go. Umbra is my go-to weapon in Morrowind, since I usually get it right away with bow and arrow. That hurt. But TrueFlame and HopesFire were just too much. These are the coolest weapons in the whole series. Skyrim cannot hold a flame to Morrowind just because of this alone, although the shouts are cool. The legend and the power of these swords is unparalleled.
1. Lion Heart from Final Fantasy. The greatest series of all time! Nothing can compare to the quest of upgrading and acquiring new weapons to defeat bosses that threaten the sake of the world. The Ultimate Weapon for every character is the final and strongest form of all items. Since Final Fantasy VIII is my favorite game ever, of course Squall’s Ultimate Gunblade is going to take the cake here. Add Lion Heart to the mix and this is just pure awesomeness. Take that, Ultimecia. Number one is the Lion Heart.
And that sums up my top 20 list. What’s yours? As always…stay hungry and fit!
