The Top 25 Iconic Weapons in Gaming
Video games task us with seemingly impossible and fantastical quests to save humanity time and time again, but as any good gamer knows: it’s dangerous to go alone. Our favorite and more iconic franchises in gaming rarely ask us to run into battle empty-handed and so they offer us a brutal olive branch of justice in the form of cool, innovative weaponry. Whether iconic in their look or simply synonymous with their franchises, here are the top 25 iconic weapons in video games.
25. Ebony and Ivory – Devil May Cry
Demon hunter Dante frequently has a plethora of other-worldly weapons at his disposal for taking down a variety of enemies. However, his sword, Rebellion, and his two high-powered handguns are generally the only pieces of his arsenal that remain constant across the games. These guns are particularly special as the red leather-wearing half-demon’s starting firearms which have unlimited ammo and require no reloading. Whether shooting an enemy to close the gap or juggling for a higher combo, Ebony and Ivory are beautiful, stylish, and built for the trigger-happy.
You might be surprised to learn that Turok: Dinosaur Hunter actually had a story and was not just about fighting deinonychus with a small dagger. The titular hero is tasked with finding the pieces to the fabled Chronoscepter, a weapon capable of ripping a hole in space and time. Retrieving the weapon is no easy task, however – considering it appeared in the N64 – this was THE devastating weapon in gaming at the time. Firing a shot from this alien device not only made its laser home in and shoot the ground directly beneath the enemy, it followed up with something akin to a blinding nuclear explosion. Fired in specific locations in the stages, it could be used to force open portals to smaller dungeons full of glorious loot. This weapon was totally worth the journey.
23. The Penetrator – Saints Row: The Third
Even if you haven’t seen it before, knowing that Saints Row is on this list with a weapon called “The Penetrator,” you know it’s going to be deliciously bad. Not content with offering a meager baseball bat for players to pummel their opponents, Saints Row clearly had to take it one step further. Adding a 3 foot long *ahem* purple marital aid to the end of this melee weapon. When it was revealed to the world it became a must-have weapon of slapstick comedy and is the perfect representation of blending Saints Row’s gritty, violent world with their over the top comedy.
22. Gunblade – Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 8 was considered by many to be the stepping stone into higher-quality graphics and to some it is even more iconic than its predecessor with the spiky blonde hair. Perhaps more notable than its groundbreaking effects was the weapon of choice for Squall. Whether you see it as a sword with a gun in the handle or a gun with an incredibly long bayonet attached, the Gunblade is cemented as one of the most iconic parts of FF8 and remains embedded in the minds of fans as one of the most cool and innovative weapons to come from the long-running franchise.
While some would argue this entry ought to be a silenced pistol or explosive rubber ducky, the fiber wire is perhaps Agent 47’s most lethal and terrifying weapon of all. Easily concealed on his person and immune to metal detectors, Agent 47 can effectively – and more importantly, quietly – dispatch any foe unfortunate enough to stand in his general vicinity. Draining the life from a victim using the fiber wire takes considerable strength and patience, and no tool for ending lives is quite so emblematic of old barcode head.
Turok 2 saw the developers need to step up their game. How could they make combat more gruesome than quad-rocket launchers and a device that rips holes in space and time? Their response: The Cerebral Bore. If you didn’t know, this strange circular device would lock onto an enemy before firing and, well, that would be the end of them. The self-propelled device was able to chase enemies down halls and around corners before clamping itself on the side of their head and violently drilling into their skull, siphoning all those gooey innards out on the floor beside them. As if that wasn’t enough to watch for several seconds as they convulse in agony, the device then explodes and decapitates the hapless victim. I don’t know what Turok 2’s story was, all I know was whoever got the Cerebral Bore in multiplayer first basically won.
A more recent entry on this list, PUBG is arguably one of the biggest trendsetters out there having popularized the Battle Royale format. In its infancy, players discovered the Frying Pan as a melee weapon and wrote it off as a joke until it was discovered to be the most effective device for deflecting anything that moves. If you look online now you’ll find videos of people deflecting speeding cars trying to run them over! If you don’t play PUBG, is there any other weapon in the game you can name besides this ludicrous piece of a kitchenware?
Another entry from the golden days of N64, the Farsight was the bane of multiplayer. Not only was this incredibly high powered alien sniper rifle able to shoot through EVERY wall and surface, its secondary feature allowed it to lock on and track enemies. A devastating weapon in any game mode, no franchise had dared to offer that much power to gamers to be able to clear half of a level without taking a single step. Perfect Dark did include a number of innovative weapons, but the Farsight was absolutely the most over-powered and groan-inducing weapon when playing split-screen with your friends. It may be bad to look at your friends corner of the screen but it’s hard not to notice when it goes into full thermal vision as it hunts you down.
17. Plasma Cutter – Dead Space
If we are going to talk about iconic weapons in games, you know the Plasma Cutter from Dead Space has to make an appearance. Whereas most hapless heroes are at least given the basic weaponry needed to defend themselves, Isaac Clarke has the distinct honor of wielding… his work tool? Yes, Isaac is an engineer caught in a rather hostile work environment and his iconic means of defense is the equivalent of having a handyman’s toolbox at his disposal. That’s not to say it doesn’t pack a mean punch and leave quite the impression, but who would think the plasma cutter would have left such a lasting mark in our minds?
Click on through to PAGE 2 for more glorious weapons…