The Best in Fictional Weaponry: The Master Sword

*Originally published on 2/27/12



As I mentioned before, I'm not an ardent Zelda fan. I do, however, have a certain amount of respect for it. I went into all this before, so I won't bore you with the details again, but it was worth mentioning as this article in the series will focus on the famous Master Sword, the primary weapon of Link, the hero of the Legend of Zelda games.

Seeing as the games take place in a world of high fantasy, it should come as no surprise that the sword has some magical elements to it. I mean, for crying out loud, it was forged by the gods of Hyrule themselves, that fact alone earns it a spot in this derpy little series of mine.

Non-gamers may be under the impression that the sword is capable of firing laser bolts of a sort. After all, the sword had that ability in that animated mini-series that acted as a backup feature for the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. In actuality, this is not the case. While the Master Sword is powerful in its own right, it has no ranged capabilities. This makes sense in game as it would render the bow and arrow more or less obsolete.

It does, however, have some advantages. For one thing, it has the notable ability to repel evil. This comes in handy when dealing with powerful dark magic. It also prevents villains from getting their hands on it themselves. This is especially helpful as villains have a tendency to want to steal powerful weapons like this.

It's fitting that I follow up my Excalibur article with this one as this weapon does draw a lot from Arthur's sword. Link even draws the sword from a mystical stone in several games in order to obtain it for his adventure du jour.

Much like the Zeo crystals from Power Rangers, the Master Sword needs to be recharged. We rarely see it at full power, but it does give the hero a chance to build the weapon up to a certain extent when dealing with major villains like Ganon.

Beyond that, the sword is helpful in close combat. As it is a one-handed sword, it allows Link, or any other wielder, to protect them self with a shield or dual wield should they so choose. The fact that Link is left-handed doesn't even become a problem. Whether it's because the gods had it custom made for him or the sword itself had an ambidextrous design, I do not know. Both have their pros and cons, making it tough to decide which explanation is preferable.

Even without the ranged capabilities given to the weapon in the cartoon, the Master Sword is a powerful weapon that has become an icon in its own right.