Everyone loves Excalibur; I mean it’s the sword of swords! One land, one King! And all that jazz. I could sit here and talk about all the times I drew what I thought Excalibur looked like on my folders in middle school, but who really knows what that mythological sword was shaped like.
What is your favorite legendary, fantasy sword, and why? Think hard, there are lots of cool choices. I was mulling over this question a lot last weekend. If I was a character in some novel or role playing game what sword would I want to carry? It comes down to two major details for me: the powers of the weapon and of course what it looks like. Yeah I know, it’s not the length of the sword, it’s how far you plunge it in, but man, I went to art school and have one of those delicate sensibilities that makes me want things to look right. I will seriously get up, off my sick/dying bed, to straighten something across the room that is out of place. I need balance, brother!
Being big on cartoons and video games I instantly go to those sources. I would have to say off the top of my head there are three swords I think are really freaking cool.
Thundarr’s Sun Sword
Thundarr the Barbarian had this awesome magical sword, which he somehow switched on. I guess I always imagined it had an on and off button like a flash light. The weapon made a semi-light saber sound, but instead of being made of laser it was all flames. It looked bad-ass and you know it would scare away cavemen with their inherent fear of fire; also good versus dried up corpse-zombies, which is always a plus.
Lion-O’s Sword of Omens
My second pick is from another cartoon: ThunderCats. Lion-O carried the Sword of Omens. I mean just the name makes me want to carry this one. Can you see yourself, surrounded my maidens, “Yeah, baby, it’s called the Sword of Omens, and it gets much…MUCH bigger when I use it.” Not only can it be concealed one minute and then used to fight off other two-handers, but this magical sword has some outstanding powers like, all together now, SIGHT BEYOND SIGHT!
Squall Leonhart’s Gunblade
My last pick would be something that I originally scoffed at, Squall Leonhart’s gunblade. Yeah, when Final Fantasy 8 came out I was like, what the hell is a gunblade? Dumb! Maybe I was just young and stupid because now, years later, I’m like, hell-yeah gunblade!
Just watching the intro to Final Fantasy 8 gives me goose bumps. That’s one cool looking sword, and yep you can blast people with it to. That’s gangsta!
So which one would I pick? It’s hard to say and depends on the situation really. Rolling solo, I might take the gunblade, but in a big battle the Sword of Omens wins. Not only can I use its powers to spy, but I can call upon my teammates when I need them. It also comes with a hot, cat claw scabbard for the warrior who likes to accessorize.
Leave the sword you would chose to wield in the comments section below!
This article was originally posted in June 19, 2011.
