Swords are the most common weapon in many video games. The thrill and danger of getting up close and personal on enemies and decisively striking them down is always satisfying. Whether in high fantasy, sci-fi, or somewhere in between, swords are a great go-to option for heroes and villains when facing off against threats.
But which blades are the best ones to wield when felling foes? From sleek and stealthy steel to massive claymores made up of special metals, here are some of the best swords in video games that players have brandished or have clashed against during their playthroughs.
10 Mortal Blade: Sekiro - Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice sees players take the role of Sekiro, a one-armed ninja who wields the Shinobi Prosthetic to protect Kuro, the Divine Heir, against the Ashina Clan. During his quest, Sekiro chanced upon the Mortal Blade, a formidable odachi that is key to defeating the seemingly undying enemies he encounters.
The Mortal Blade is essential to landing the killing blow to enemies who cannot be killed with his katana. Sekiro can also use the Mortal Draw skill which deals massive damage at the expense of three spirit emblems. It is a key weapon to defeating latter bosses to cut their immortality in climatic fashion.
9 Energy Sword: Halo
When Halo gets mentioned, usually tactical gun fights come to mind. Which is why the Energy Sword stands out. This melee weapon was created by the Sangheili, an alien race that are part of the Covenant.
The Energy Sword is a superheated twin plasma blade that originally became available to players in Halo 2, but has been a staple weapon ever since. When wielding the Energy Sword, players can kill enemies with one strike: its lunge attack is especially deadly, but players need to practice getting in killing range.
8 Frostmourne: Warcraft
The Warcraft series is chock-full of mythic weapons and artifacts that are imbued with unfathomable power. When it comes to iconic and powerful swords, the Lich King’s Frostmourne gets the nod. Its ability to absorb souls and turned Prince Arthas into a Death Knight and ultimately the Lich King’s avatar.
Frostmourne has felled many warriors in Azeroth: its wielder has the ability to shatter the souls it has collected or use them to become subservient Death Knights that do the bidding of the Lich King. One downside of the Frostmourne is that whoever wields it also becomes corrupted by the Lich King, and their soul is also being drained by the cursed runeblade until they, too, become Undead.
7 Soul Edge: Soul Calibur
Swords that feed off souls is a common trope in video games. There’s something ethereal about striking down someone with a blade and said blade would absorb the soul of the fallen fighter. In Soul Edge’s case, this sentient and evil entity poses as a myriad of weapons that its corrupted wielder wishes it to be.
For the majority of the Soul Calibur games, Soul Edge takes the form of a huge bastard sword and is brandished by Nightmare, the corrupted version of Siegfried who became its own entity in later titles. Wielding Soul Edge grants its user tremendous power that allows their strikes to break through defenses, but at the expense of the user having their lifeforce gradually being drained by the cursed blade.
6 Keyblade: Kingdom Hearts
Sora from the Kingdom Hearts games wields a unique video game sword: the Keyblade. It looks just like it sounds; it’s a two-handed sword that looks like a giant key. While it doesn’t have any cutting edges, Keyblades are formidable weapons that are particularly strong against squashing various types of Heartless.
But its main power lies in its ability to open and close barriers between worlds, locking or unlocking a world’s Keyhole allows or prevents Heartless from attacking the world’s Heart. In the Kingdom Hearts narrative, Keyblades play a crucial role in the Battle between Light and Darkness.
5 Moonlight Sword: FromSoftware
FromSoftware is known for adding the Moonlight Sword or some iteration of it in their Soulsborne games. This two-handed sword grants players access to magic damage while swinging it or activating its weapon skill against enemies.
The Moonlight Greatsword started from King’s Field, and since then, it has been present in some form in their subsequent titles. Even in the Armored Core games, the lunar blade is there as the most powerful laser-powered blade available. That said, getting this fabled weapon demands players to complete difficult objectives, but the reward of attaining this is worth the trouble.
4 Masamune: Various Games
The Masamune is the popular Japanese sword that is named after Goro Nyudo Masamune, known as the best Japanese swordsmith back in Medieval Japan. As such, the Masamune is often depicted in various games as a katana or a tanto or short sword.
Elegant as it is deadly, one of the iconic video game characters who wield the Masamune is Final Fantasy 7’s main antagonist, Sephiroth. Other titles like Chrono Trigger sees the Manamune being brandished by Frog, one of the game’s protagonists, with much efficiency.
3 Excalibur: Various Games
King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur has seen its fair share of action or presence in many video games. Sticking to its fabled roots, the Excalibur is often one of the strongest blades in the games it's in.
In many Final Fantasy games, the Excalibur is usually one of the final weapons of one of the protagonists that require a lot of side questing to acquire. Wielding Excalibur usually grants its user tons of buffs on top of unparalleled strength and power with each mighty swing.
2 Buster Sword: Final Fantasy 7
As far as iconic video games swords are concerned, Cloud’s Buster Sword needs to be mentioned. This massive two-handed great sword, while not the strongest weapon Cloud can wield in the Final Fantasy 7 games, is his signature weapon which he has also used in other titles he is featured in such as Super Smash Bros and Dissidia.
When Cloud wields his Buster Sword, he can unleash his devastating Limit Break attacks such as Braver, Climhazzard, and his ultimate move, the Omnislash upon his enemies.
1 Master Sword: The Legend Of Zelda
The Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda games by far is the best video game sword. It has many aliases across multiple Zelda games: The Sword of Legend, the Sword that Seals the Darkness, and the Blade of Evil’s Bane.
Being the Sword of Legend, the Master Sword chooses its wielder as a hero who is “pure of heart and strong of body”. Luckily, Link is that said hero, and once he is wielding the Master Sword, he essentially wields the might of the Goddess Hylia and can banish all manner of malicious and dark forces.