Video games are chock full of awesome weaponry. Whether it be giant Goomba squashing hammers, God slaying whips or sexy stilettos with pistols for heels, there is a weapon for everyone. But as cool as these may all be, nothing quite inspires gamers to feats of great bad-assery like a sword, and no sword quite compares to the The Master Sword.
The Master Sword is almost an icon in and of it self, often overshadowing its games title character – Zelda. It has appeared in a whopping 10 games spanning 32 years, and that is not even including cameo appearances in games like Skyrim or Soul Calibur! So yeah, the Master Sword has cemented its place in history, but what does it do?
It stabs people. It cuts people (and grass…). That is a buy one get one free bargain right there. But like any good telemarketing product, the Master Sword comes packaged with some questionable additions.
The sword was created by the Goddess Hylia and then given full blown sentience when it became infused by Fi – an entity designed to guide the swords bearer. As the sword is essentially alive it has the power to choose who is worthy to wield it. This has some unfortunate side effects however. If you try to use the sword and you are not pure of heart, you die. If you are deemed unworthy or you are not strong enough, you die. If you are strong enough to wield the sword but are too young then you are placed into a coma and locked away in a different dimension until you are old enough to wield the sword. Side effects for forceful stasis include, but are not limited to – Disorientation, unexpected growth and/or puberty, the death of everyone you knew prior to touching the sword and waking up to a burning hellscape with all the planets guardians murdered. Fun stuff indeed.
So when you are not dying the Sword has some pretty funky uses to help mitigate those glaring flaws. Firstly, when fully powered up – a job for Sages, Gods and Princesses – the Master Sword has the power to vanquish evil. This doesn’t just extend to the final boss either. Just about any creature, object or barrier tainted by darkness will be vanquished by the sword in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, if the bearer is uninjured the bearer can use his own life force to project a beam of light that can deliver the swords sundering justice at a distance.
What really solidifies the Master Sword as an all round awesome weapon however is what it can face off against – The Triforce. Or more specifically beings who are infused with the power of the Triforce. In essence the Triforce is a MacGuffin that instils the user with unimaginable power. Unsurprisingly these powers come in the form of Wisdom, Courage and Power. Ganon, who has the Triforce of Power, can single handedly massacre a nation. And the Master Sword not only stands up to him, but beats the living crap out of him and seals him away in a dimensional limbo for thousands of years. Pretty bad-ass if you ask me.
So there you have it, a “complete” history of the Master Sword and why it is the sword that all other swords are measured against. Sure it has some fairly substantial downsides, but as long as you are not evil, a child, frail or a magical barrier you should be fine. Let me know down below what your favourite weapons in gaming are. In the meantime, I need to get me some of those pistol stilettos.
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