Airships are, in a nutshell, the promise of a future that could have been. Huge and majestic, they hang above like ethereal cathedrals in the sky, the promise of a new golden age. In reality, other, sharper and less flexible forms of air flight took off, but their mystique never quite left humanity's collective consciousness. Like zeppelins and airships, video games, too, live or die on the promise of offering a door to another world, where anything is possible.

And so, airships in video games almost seem inevitable. These bulbous, free-floating dream machines have been with games since even the roundest of everyday objects were still depicted by pointy pixels. Whether for sky piracy or as a commonplace vehicle in some distant land, these vessels have opened up new horizons for gamers everywhere without even needing to touch the ground.

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7 The Flying Krock

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

If ever fans needed to find a single picture to capture the 90s in a coconut shell, it would be the image of King K. Rool's gigantic, crocodile-shaped airship, the Flying Krock. The six-fanned grinning flying machine serves as the last level in Donkey Kong County 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and flies high above Crocodile Isle.

This grinning green giant serves as a monument to the King's vanity (or, in Diddy's Kong Quest's case, the Captain's) because who else would choose to live on an island and also a flying airship in the shape of himself (other than an egotistical raider like Captain K Rool)? The airship isn't just for show: it's packed with toxins that can stun, slow, or (worst of all) reverse the Kongs' controls. Evil, pure evil.

6 The Gummi Ship

Kingdom Hearts Series

While it may not be much to look at, Kingdom Hearts fans look fondly on this chewable-looking vessel. At the start of the KH series, the Gummi Ship is the only way to travel between worlds. Sora must direct the ship around obstacles in space. The Gummi Ship is fully customizable and can look like anything so long as the pilot has the prerequisite Gummi Blocks to spare.

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There are other dangerous ships in the lanes between worlds. Defeating them drops Gummi Blocks or blueprints for Sora and crew to add to their ship in the Gummi Garage. In Kingdom Hearts 2, surplus Gummi Blocks could be used to create little helpers called Teeny Ships.

5 Neo Cortex's Airship

Crash Bandicoot Series

Doctor Neo Cortex's airship proceeds him as the perfect herald. From a distance, the purple craft is large and impressive and conveys the image of air and mental supremacy, but upon closer inspection, most of the ship's head is empty, being made up of about 85% hot air. It's also barely tethered to the ground, just like the good doctor himself, with his abundantly large cranium stuck in evil clouds.

While it might be the go-to prop that most Crash fans think about when they picture N. Cortex (other than perhaps his ray gun or hoverboard), it was only really seen in the very first game, very briefly in the opening cutscene of Cortex Strikes Back, although It reappeared in Twinsanity and Crash of the Titans. In It's About TIme, it's revealed that the ship is the product of a time paradox, as Cortex of the future accidentally leaves it moored on the island while trying to stop his younger self from accidentally creating the Bandicoot menace in the first place.

4 The Hand Of The Prophet

BioShock: Infinite

The Hand of the Prophet is the heavy-fortified flagship of Father Comstock's fleet, the very same that defends the floating, white supremacist, and ultra-nationalist city of Columbia and (in one timeline) sets out to conquer and convert the United States. While the ship resembles a blimp balloon, it is actually powered by the same atom-holding quantum levitation technology holding the rest of Columbus up in the air, and every level is accessible and put to use as workshops, housing, or armament storage.

Rather than using his ability to get around to spread the word of peace and spiritual harmony, Comstock went with more "Old Testament" vibes for his home and flying war machine, as the ship is packed with cannons, weapons, snipers, and motorized patriots ready to smite any heathens who might dare oppose them in their quest for spiritual enlightenment.

3 Delphinus

Skies Of Arcadia

This is the war machine of war machines, and in Skies of Arcadia unbeknownst to the entire Valuan empire military, ripe for the taking by a rag-tag bunch sky pirates. The Delphinus is leagues above every other boat (take for example, a fishing boat rigged for combat and piracy) and boasts an unbeatable arsenal and near-invincible hull casing.

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Perhaps the most impressive feature of the Delphinus is that it houses one of the few working Moon Stone Cannons in existence, which is essentially a hyper-beam cannon capable of putting down any conceivable enemy with one shot. That's one way to keep the loot safe.

2 The Halberd

The Kirby Series

While most good knights ride horses, meta knights ride dimension-hopping airships. The Halberd, an inexplicably cool vessel seen throughout the Kirby series, is crewed by none other than the Meta Knights (including Mace, Axe, and Trident Knight) and commanded by Meta Knight himself (totally not confusing naming conventions at all).

Perhaps in order to avoid any confusion about which Meta Knight is in charge, Meta Knight had his own face (or at least mask) installed on the front of the ship. Also installed is a wormhole-opening reactor, which not only allows the airship to traverse the clouds but to move at hyper-speed across the stars, and a cannon that can shoot both cannonballs and lasers.

1 Ragnarok

Final Fantasy 8

Bumping into a long-lost airship just floating in space was a seriously lucky break for two kids who found themselves in love but almost out of oxygen. Sport-car red, built in the shape of a mecha-dragon, and pretty much abandoned in orbit of the planet, the Ragnarok was apparently used as the flagship in the Sorceress war, and finally as a way to move a troublesome sorceress into a space-prison to keep her from igniting international conflicts.

While every airship in the Final Fantasy series manages to be extremely cool (including Final Fantasy 8's hovering child soldier training facility), the Ragnarok could win by style points alone. Its draconic exterior evokes "special secret weapon" vibes, and its interior looks just as classy, comfortable, and slick.

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