I’m a Massive Sword Man. After I roll a brand new character in a recreation that provides me the choice to swing an enormous sword, I’ll do no matter it takes to get that huge sword immediately, irrespective of the associated fee.
In Elden Ring, meaning sprinting — woefully underleveled — into the hellish, blighted wastes of Caelid and sneaking previous mobs of rotting zombies and gigantic mutant canine to plunder the caravan that holds the greatsword.
The greatsword in Elden Ring is impractical. It’s taller than your character. It swings in painfully sluggish arcs, draining enormous chunks of your stamina bar. It requires a whopping 31 factors of energy to wield correctly. Carrying its weight means making sacrifices, like unequipping shields and armor.
It’s a weapon for fighters who’re single-mindedly, obstinately decided to hit as onerous as they presumably can, penalties be damned. Similar to the sword it’s primarily based on! The large iron swords in each FromSoftware fantasy recreation pay tribute to the Dragon Slayer — the inconceivable weapon carried by the protagonist of Berserk. As mangaka Kentaro Miura describes it, the Dragon Slayer “was too huge to be referred to as a sword. Large, thick, heavy, and much too tough. Certainly, it was a heap of uncooked iron.”
![A still of Guts cutting open monsters from Berserk](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z2g98WeIedGzsErgeB-srHoF900=/0x0:2728x1531/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2728x1531):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23130908/undefined___Imgur__4_.png)
Picture: Liden Movies/Crunchyroll
Mass is essential to me. Ultimate Fantasy 7’s Cloud Strife additionally wields an iconic outsized sword, however he swings it round effortlessly — even twirling it one-handed earlier than sheathing it on his again. It seems to be cool, nevertheless it by no means feels BIG.
However in Berserk, the burden of the sword is consistently emphasised. Its blacksmith was ridiculed for making such a vulgar, unwieldy weapon. The Dragon Slayer sat in a storage shed awaiting a Guts: the one man who is robust, indignant, and cussed sufficient to swing it. It’s not straightforward for him, although. He trains tirelessly and develops a fight type that each accounts for and depends on the weapon’s unimaginable bigness.
Good video video games with greatswords discover intelligent methods to recommend this impracticality. Sure, it might be bodily unimaginable to choose this sword up, not to mention swing it… however should you may, you’d must do it like this. In FromSoftware’s video games like Elden Ring, you see this consideration within the animation and results.
Polygon
Every assault begins with a deliberate wind-up. Your character vegetation their toes, and also you see the trouble transfer upward from the bottom by way of their physique as they twist their knees, hips, backbone, after which shoulders, till they’ve lastly generated sufficient torque to get the huge blade shifting.
After it sweeps its 270-degree arc, it crashes again into the earth and sends mud and rocks flying. Swinging it again the opposite course takes the identical monumental effort. On the finish of a combo, your character methodically hefts the blade again onto their shoulder.
The weapon makes up for its glacial tempo with huge vary and harm. A single horizontal swing can simply lower by way of a complete crowd of smaller enemies. The even slower vertical swings can utterly crush an armored goal.
Nice greatsword.
Anybody searching for a larger greatsword must jump over to Monster Hunter. Because the title implies, it’s a franchise about searching monsters, and its cartoonish logic dictates that greater targets require greater weapons.
Within the very first entry of the Monster Hunter collection, Capcom established an uncompromising precedent of heaviness for the flagship weapon. Even when your hunter is standing nonetheless, you sense the burden of the greatsword of their fingers. They brace their legs in a large stance, and you may see their again straining to remain upright. It’s an ergonomically disastrous approach to maintain an enormous sword, nevertheless it sells the trouble of brandishing it.
Maki GS | YouTube
While you assault, your hunter steps again with their lead leg and lets the sword fall onto the bottom behind them, earlier than they heave and hoist it into a large overhead swing. The wind-up of every slash lasts a full second, and the blade stays lodged within the earth for one more second afterwards. Two seconds doesn’t sound like an enormous time dedication, however in a online game the place your targets are in fixed movement, it looks like a lifetime.
The weapon’s most iconic maneuver was added within the second technology. Should you can consider it, wielding it was even slower. Charged slashes deal far more harm, however they require your hunter to plant their toes and stand immobile for 3-4 seconds. The ability amassing within the assault is illustrated with a glowing aura that flashes brighter with every successive second, till it reaches its most.
Maki GS | YouTube
Right here, Capcom establishes the maddeningly rewarding metagame of Monster Hunter’s Nice Sword. Your foes are massive however extremely cell monsters who won’t wait politely till you cost up. To get probably the most out of your greatsword, you should place your self not the place the monster is, however the place you are expecting they’ll be in 3 seconds.
You’re going to whiff rather a lot.
However you’ll even have plenty of enjoyable. Each single assault looks like an enormous wager, and whenever you get it proper, it feels nice. The sport rewards you with huge harm, and the monsters will flinch and reel away like they’ve been sucker-punched by somebody their very own dimension.
The greatsword would evolve over subsequent releases. In Monster Hunter: Generations, Capcom would add an “adept” combating type that may improve weapons mobility, and a “valor” type that may permit the hunter to soak up a monster’s assault whereas charging their very own, additional rising their harm output.
However the greatsword wouldn’t obtain the top of its bigness till Monster Hunter World. It launched the “True Charged Slash,” a method that may solely be accessed after two cost slashes in a row (or by way of just a few different combos of maneuvers). That’s a complete windup of round 9 seconds. However they make it definitely worth the wait.
Polygon | YouTube
The animation actually feels just like the builders taking the greatsword to its logical excessive. After the already huge dedication of the primary two assaults, the hunter pivots on their foot and hoists the sword over their shoulder.
Their physique glows with energy and bounces of their stance to point they’re able to explode into movement. As soon as the blade is in movement, the hunter holds on for expensive life, and the sword swings them.
Polygon | YouTube
The hunter follows the burden of the primary slash in a cartwheel and instantly raises the sword for the climactic impression. In the intervening time it connects, the Monster Hunter deploys a bull salvo of feel-good results. A prolonged hit pause, a burst of blood, a screen-splitting slash impact, digital camera shake, and a thunderous sound.
Due to the ponderous setup, you’re going to overlook extra true charged slashes than you hit. However I feel that is part of the massive sword fantasy. It’s an influence fantasy, however at its best possible, it’s additionally an effort fantasy. Yeah, we wish the energy to swing the massive sword, however we additionally need the willpower and grit to do the troublesome factor. To wrestle with the unimaginable sword day after day, understanding we are going to get higher at it, however it is going to by no means, ever, ever be straightforward.
That’s why I really like an enormous sword.