We all know them pretty well, the sword bearing cool main character of role playing games. It’s rare to see a main character without a bladed weapon. But there are a handful of main characters whose weapon of choice is not something you can slash, pierce, or stab with. Here are my top 10 character who prefer to whack and smash with blunt objects.
NOTE: There are probably more deserving characters than some of these ones. I probably don’t know them, but feel to mention others I missed or your favorites.
10:Tir Mc Dohl – Suikoden
A young man whose destiny pit him against a whole empire. And he did it with a staff; a weapon commonly associated with magic users. And this young hero is a fair magic user. He can wipe out enemy parties with his Soul Eater rune, but he is also a powerful attacker that can wipe them out with certain unite attack.
For winning duels with a mainly “mage” weapon, he earns spot #10
9: Ness – Earthbound
In a game were instead of being poisoned, you get a cold, and where you call your dad on the phone to save your progress, our hero uses weapons fit for such a modern theme. Bats and yo yos. It’s with these types of weapons, that you embark on an epic journey to prevent the future from be devastated by an universal cosmic destroyer.
For beating dogs, hippies and the elderly into submission with sport equipment, Ness secures spot #9
8: Mario – Super Mario RPG
Yes, THE Mario we all know and love/hate (but I think mainly love). What hasn’t he done? When he’s not saving Princess Peach, he’s racing, or playing some random sport. But the reason he’s here is because of his RPGs. He’s not afraid of using his fists, but his trademarks attacks are hammers and –you know it- squashing his enemies with his own feet.
For relying on the weight of his boots (plus his own weight) or with the force of a hammer, our plumber jumps to spot # 8
7: Riou – Suikoden II
Another entry from the Suikoden series brings us… another 16 year old soldier of the Highland Army’s Unicorn Youth Brigade, that becomes the leader of the Unification Army… while using a tonfa. Tonfas are uncommon in RPGs to begin with. I can’t think any other character using them at the moment. He also had a rune that allowed him to use mainly restorative spells, which I find odd in a main character.
For choosing blunt AND uncommon, Riou whacks his way to spot #7
6: The Prince – Suikoden V
Yet another Suikoden hero makes the list, this time the Prince of the Queendom Falena. As the other Suikoden heroes did, the Prince gets involved in a series of conflicts which leads him to build an army (including 107 other stars of destiny) and restore order to the Queendom. His weapon is a sansetsukon, or tri-nunchaku. And to be honest, I find nunchakus to be really cool, so these sansetsukons are 1.5x cooler.
For choosing blunt, uncommon AND cooler, our girly looking prince rules over spot #6
5: Sora – Kingdom Hearts
At this point of the list, more unconventional weapons will make their way, and we’ll start with keyblades; he unholy union of a key and a blade. Actually, while they have the name blade on them, most of them are giant, fancy looking keys. Don’t let this fool you though, since they are quite effective against heartless and are natural conduits of magic.
For fighting with keys bigger than their key chains, Sora unlocks spot #5
4: Rudy Roughknight – Wild Arms
Rudy is a seemingly normal kid who happens to be able to use ARMs (Ancient Relic Machines) which are just the forbidden remnants of a lost age. While the original version of Wild Arms had Rudy attack normal with a sword, in the PS2 versio version he only used it when his ARM ran out of ammo, and that’s why he makes the list. These ARMs, look like guns, shoot like guns, and can be upgraded to hold more ammo, improve accuracy or deal more damage.
For being able to handle ancient machines from an unknown civilization, Mr. Roughknight aims at spot #4
3: Mag Launcher – Evolution
Mag is an aspiring adventurer with a funny name and a cyframes, which are working, prehistoric machines. Unlike Rudy’s ancient artifacts, these cyframes come in a variety of forms: fists, hammers, bowling balls, yo-yos, megaphones… (What’s with these ancient civilizations?) Why use a sword, when you have a mechanical hand bigger than your head (And boy, is Mag big headed!)?
For his ancestors’ sense of humor and mechanical prowess, Mag attains spot #3
2: Shion Uzuki – Xenosaga
I always wondered why futuristic/modern heroes still used primitive weapons like swords and spears (besides that they look cool). Then I played Xenosaga. Our heroine’s weapon of choice is the M.W.S (Multi Weapon System) that comes with fighting knuckles, taser rods, beam launchers, a sort of shield and a logical drive that counterbalances her clumsiness and enhances the power of her physical attacks. How convenient!
For using wielder-friendly weaponry, Shion gets spot #2
1: Pokemon Trainer – Pokémon
Pre-teens shouldn’t be running around the country with a sword… or roaming around the country by themselves for that matter. Luckily for them, they are not alone, for they are Pokemon Trainers! I’d label their pokemon as weapons, but the true weapon is the pokeball, a small device capable of trapping and taming the wildest, cutest, most dangerous creatures that ever existed. Once they trap them, the Pokemon Trainer can then fight other pokemon, weaken them, and trap more, until he or she catches them all. Now, I know that not only pre-teens use thes cute little killing machines in the pokemon world, but your main character IS a kid. So there. And yes, I just counted Polemon as an RPG. Double there.
For controlling such beasts with these tiny balls, the Pokemon Trainer catches spot #1
So… this is it, ten RPG protagonists that don’t rely on pointy objects to save the world. Swords are cool, I won’t deny that, but it’s refreshing to see characters that break the mold in the weapons department once in a while, and I hope we continue to see the trend continue in the near future.
Tyrian Defenders 