Blade of Fearsome Size: Difference between revisions

[[File:CloudBFS.jpg|link=Final Fantasy VII|frame|If you can wield it, you can have it.]]

 

 

Usually, no other character in a game or series is the possessor of a sword that is anywhere close to as huge as the BFS. Sometimes, even when unusual swords and weapons are an everyday occurrence, characters are still surprised by the size of the lead's BFS, as it is a physical manifestation of its owner's potential power.

An ancient trope. Oversized, unrealistic swords aren't unheard of in medieval or earlier fiction, poetry, and artwork. To make matters more confusing, most societies employing swords also made huge ceremonial swords for display, which laymen of later periods may mistake for actual war tools. Swords employed in combat or dueling were [http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm lighter] than even the typical, non-BFS fantasy sword—which makes a lot of sense, if you remember it's about swinging one hundreds of times and quick enough—while the only purpose of a ceremonial or executioner's sword is to be carried along or make one strong cut respectively, there's not a lot of swinging around. Even the really ''big'' swords that were used for "fencing" with (batting aside or cutting) ''[[Blade on a Stick|polearms]]'' or punching through thick armor [http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGS.html were far lighter] than we are lead to believe by various sources.

 

If it's being wielded with just one hand, it's a [[One-Handed Zweihander]]. Compare [[Dual-Wielding]], [[Heroes Prefer Swords]], and [[Infinity+1 Sword]]. May be used to create a [[Sinister Scraping Sound]]. Obligatory links to [[Freud Was Right]] and [[Compensating for Something]] are here for your convenience.

 

* Being that ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is more a comedy than anything, it doesn't allow many blades of any size to get in. That said, [[Anime Chinese Girl|Shampoo]] still manages to get away with swinging around a massive sabre in her first appearance, even if she does trade it for [[Carry a Big Stick]] afterwards. How big is it? The blade alone is roughly the same length as the distance between the bottom of Shampoo's pelvis and the top of her head. And she swings it around in ''one hand''. While carrying a chui (a long-handled mace with a basketball sized ''solid steel'' head) in the other.

** That's the actual size of real Chinese dao, and they're a ''lot'' lighter (and flexible) than they seem.

* ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'': Fuu's upgraded sword is long and large compared to Hikaru's and Umi's. Should anyone else hold it, the weight would bring them down (as the sword was made purely for her, she is able to lift it with ease, thus allowing some [[Justified Trope|justification.]])

* Susanoomon from ''[[Digimon Frontier]]'' has what is, proportionally, the biggest effing blade ever with his "Zero ARMS: Orochi" weapon. He creates what looks like a BFG that's bigger then he is (which is made even bigger by the fact that he's probably more than 20 feet tall; there may be no "proportionally" about it) that creates a [[Laser Blade]] BIG ENOUGH TO BISECT THE ENTIRE DIGITAL WORLD WHENEVER IT IS SWUNG.

** Most other blades belonging to individual Digimon are very large, if not quite to the same degree as that of Susanoomon. Memorable examples include [[Digimon Adventure 02|Imperialdramon Paladin Mode]], [[Digimon Frontier|KaiserGreymon]], [[Digimon Savers|ShineGreymon]], [[Digimon Next|VictoryGreymon]], and [[Digimon Xros Wars|most of Shoutmon's Xrossed forms]]. ''[[Digimon World 4]]'' is a game more or less devoted to taking several famous Digimon and giving them BFSs.

* [[Inuyasha]]'s sword Tessaiga is a normal-sized and rather dull-bladed katana in its unempowered state, but transforms into a BFS for use in battle whenever he has the desire/resolve to protect a human. Bankotsu's Banryuu, though technically a [[Blade on a Stick|halberd]], makes an even bigger BFS than Tessaiga.

** On the other hand, the three swords wielded by [[Master Swordsman]] Sesshoumaru are all of normal size.

* Mikoto from ''[[My-HiME]]'' fits the main trope when she becomes a [[Dark Magical Girl]] later in the series.

** Arika gets [[Up to Eleven|one-upped]] by her own ''mother'' in ''[[Anime/Mai-Otome 0 Sifr|Mai-Otome 0 Sifr]]''. Her version of the [[Infinity+1 Sword|Sword of Akatsuki]] is large enough to cleave an asteroid in half from several hundred meters off.

* Zabuza, an ex-Seven Swordsman of the Mist and the first major villain that Team 7 faces in ''[[Naruto]]'', has a rather nasty BFS named ''Kubikiribouchou'' ("Decapitating Carving Knife") {{spoiler|that can [[Healing Factor|repair itself]] with the iron from the blood of its victims}}. Kisame (also a former member of the Seven) has another BFS named ''Samehada'' ("sharkskin") that [[Loyal Phlebotinum|only he can use]], and which is more or less a sword-shaped bundle of ''hooks'' as opposed to an actual blade. Its main strength is its ability to [[Energy Absorption|absorb the chakra of others in order to aid its master]], and Kisame can also {{spoiler|fuse with it if need be}}. It also happens to be ''[[Empathic Weapon|alive]]'', to the point where it's capable of {{spoiler|abandoning its master if it finds someone else it likes better}}.

* Kamina from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' has one of these. The series even subtly [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it when he first fights Viral: by the time you think he's finished drawing the sword from its scabbard, he still has that much further to go.

** It took him exactly 8,47 seconds to draw that sword.

** Also, in the {{spoiler|second TTGL movie}} Viral pilots a {{spoiler|galaxy sized mech with 14 arms. Guess what 11 of those arms are wielding? Granted, they're not as big as the TTGL's BFS, IMO quantity over quality in this case.}}

** Also, in some {{spoiler|official art of the Tengen Toppa Gurren, King Kittan, and Agodega, (which never appeared in the manga/anime/movies, you clearly see that the TTG is wielding a katana, like Kamina. The TTG is, you guessed it, galaxy sized. Considering Kamina's normal katana is already a BFS, the TTG's katana is a BFS of a BFS.}}

* After using the Goldion Hammer (not a BFS, so much as a Big Friggen Hammer) during the original series run, ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' gets to use the Goldion Crusher—a hammer of light made out of battleships—during the OVA.

** And yet, when the main villain of the OVA Pulls out a regal-looking mech-sized blade, ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' counters with a green crystal version of Gai's "Will Knife", just scaled up to [[GaoGaiGar]] size.

** Smoker's sword isn't nearly up to Mihawk's standards, but it is still pretty huge. And then there is Whitebeard. He is around, what, twenty feet tall? His sword is in proportion to his body.

* In ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'', Sorath has one he calls [[Gratuitous German|Blutsauger]]. Both Tanaka and Satou later make several attempts to lift it, but neither of them succeeds to get it off of the ground completely. In Season 2, Yuji [[Took a Level in Badass|takes a level in badass]] and wields it with ease, at one point [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works|throwing it]] one-handed as a finishing move.

** There's also the Double Zeta's Hyper Beam Saber, which is one of Double Zeta's beam cannons that can be converted into a beam saber. The more recent appearances in [[Super Robot Wars]] really ramp up how big the sword gets.

** ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' has Epyon, the [[Evil Counterpart]] to the main character's Wing Zero. While Zero wields a [[BFG]], Epyon has a beam sword that's powered by a direct connection to its nuclear fusion reactor, meaning it can grow to incredible lengths. This can be seen in one episode where Epyon's pilot extends the sword to incredible size and uses it to slice through the massive space fortress Barge.

* Ideon from ''[[Space Runaway Ideon]]''. One of its weapons, the Ideon Sword, a beam of pure light emitted from each of Ideon's hands. While the beam's destructive power is immense (even cleaving an entire planet in half at one point), its most peculiar quality is its length. While adjustable, the maximum length of the sword is depicted as being quite possibly infinite.

* Balgus from ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'' gets one in the second episode, when facing off against the Zaibach cloaked Melefs. Considering these things managed to incapacitate with ease several other melefs (for reference, melef=15 foot tall mecha), the fact that Balgus proved harder to kill when on foot and armed only with his 8-foot long sword makes him [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|even more awesome.]]

** A scythe example, Soul's Witch/Demon Hunter form is also massive. One of [[Talking Weapon|Ragnarok's]] equivalent modes makes him considerably larger than usual.

* Some of the [[Humongous Mecha]]/Samurai in ''[[Samurai 7]]'' use swords so large that they are actually ''independently pilotable vehicles''. In the last few episodes {{spoiler|the titular heroes use one as transportation. And Kikuchiyo actually ''wields one'' during his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] scene. }}

* The Shining Trapezohedron of ''[[Demonbane]]'' looks unweildy but it has the ability to cut through dimensions and seal away powerful gods.

* Gretel in ''[[Otogi Juushi Akazukin]]'' has the Missing Grave, a giant Sword with flowers growing on it. It can only be used because she wears a pair of Oven Mitts that give her strength like an Ogre. The sword is taller than most of the cast.

* Tessai in ''[[Ninja Scroll]]'' has one, and it plays a big part in {{spoiler|his own death.}}

* Surprisingly enough, its a [[Super Robot]] known as Ganbarugar that had one of these and played it pretty realistically in its use. The sword is huge of course, but because of that its really hard to accurately swing it at a moving opponent, so the mecha has to paralyse the enemy first.

* Mewtwo from ''[[Pokémon Special]]'' has a Big Friggin' ''Spoon'', formed from his energy. No matter how stupid it may sound, it serves as an extremely effective close-range melee weapon, not to mention it can stretch, curve, and turn into a ''fork'' to spear things with. And he once used it to deliever a [[Diagonal Cut]] on the ''Trainer Tower'', slicing the building in ''two''.

* Lapis from ''[[Kaze no Stigma]]'' carries a BFS which can nullify jutsu/magic.

* A number of monsters in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', including Flame Swordsman, Swordstalker, Buster Blader, Amazoness Swordswoman, and Gilford the Lightning. A monster with a sword that is not a BFS is just out of place.

* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' gives us monomolecular cutters for use by ten meter tall mechas. Mind you, swords with a chainsaw-like edge. Mao was shown to even have a holster for one. Although the first season only showed that one instance, ''The Second Raid'' had Clouseau owning Savages with a similarly sized scimitar.

** Kanzaki has one as well though Nanasen is "only" 2m long katana

* A subversion from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'': The sword wielded by Syaoran looks to be more-or-less realistically sized...but because Syaoran is just a little boy, it looks huge in his hands.

* While [[Mazinkaiser]] wields three swords named Kaiser Blade, the main one is the technical BFS. It is ejected from its chest, requires both hands to wield and is powerful enough to cleave Hell King Gorgon in quarters. It's no wonder that ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' games that use the ''Mazinkaiser'' OVA storyline refer to this weapon as "Kaiser Blade Full Power".

* In the first ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' movie, Achika ends up turning Tenchi's sword, usually a lightsaber-ish weapon, into a massive energy blade, capable of cleaving [[Big Bad]] KAIN in half.

* In the manga ''Rikon Choutei'', the protagonist has a really big sword, so big that {{spoiler|he is cutting the Earth to the core with his sword. It's actually part of a divorce process. [http://mangafox.me/manga/rikon_choutei/v01/c001/28.html See here].}}

 

* In Marvel's ''[[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]'', the concept is taken to its logical extreme with the [http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/8/87/Odinsword_Thor_300.jpg Odinsword]{{Dead link}}, which is many times the size of ''anybody'', human or Asgardian. Thor has successfully thrown it, but he could never wield it... not least because drawing it from its sheath causes the end of the universe.

** Unfortunately it was badly depowered in Roy Thomas' Celestial/Ring Cycle storyline, in which we learn its origin and that drawing it, rather than destroying the universe, {{spoiler|will merely(?) bring on the day of Ragnarok}}. We also find out why it's that big: {{spoiler|it's meant to be wielded by a giant-size Destroyer, powered by Odin and all the other Asgardians except Thor, when he defends Earth from the even larger Celestials}}.

* The Power of Understanding from ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]''.

 

* The Estonian animation ''[[Suur Toll]]'' gives the towering leader of the second horde one. He towers over every one but the giant eponymous character, and his sword is as big as he is.

 

* Blackfire in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. It probably changes size, too.

 

* The Kurgan in the original ''[[Highlander]]'' carries a large claymore. It's large enough that the Kurgan can't get away with pulling the sword from the [[Hammerspace]] in his trenchcoat like other immortals. Instead, he assembles it from pieces stored in a briefcase, with each piece clicking into place like a Snap-Tite model.

* William Wallace (also see Real Life examples below) wields one of these in ''[[Braveheart]]'', and does the usual things of chopping horses' legs off and then the heads of their riders with it.

** Ditto for ''100 Tears''.

 

* In the ''[[Codex Alera]]'', [[Dishing Out Dirt|Knights Terra]] usually carry enormous swords, mauls, or waraxes that would be nearly impossible for ordinary soldiers to use, but thatthey have no trouble wielding due to the [[Super Strength]] that comes from being an earthcrafter. They are usually organized into groups that a particular Legion uses as a battering ram or stopgap. Even [[Wolf Man|Canim elites]] and [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Vord warriors]] have to give way under that kind of assault. And they become ''real'' terrors if they're [[Extra Ore Dinary|metalcrafters to boot.]]

** The sword was actually forged to be fairly normal-sized by its original wielder, Riva Iron-Grip. Only problem was he was about two or three feet taller than most people.

** Even though it's normal-sized for the seven-foot-plus Riva Iron-Grip, it's still much, much more heavy than steel would be. When it was newly made, [[The Mentor|Belgarath]]—who helped with the forging by supplying the tools, heat, and water—told Riva to not remove the Orb when he was holding the sword in one hand if the occasion came up, as the sudden return of the weight would probably break his wrist.

* Robert Baratheon in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', a [[Big Eater|big eating]], [[Boisterous Bruiser|boisterously bruising]] [[The Big Guy|big guy]] [[Deconstruction]] owns a [[Drop the Hammer|massive warhammer]] that his friend Ned claims many men would have hard time even lifting. Gregor Clegane, [[Giant Mook|"The Mountain that Rides"]], inverts this trope. Being a huge man, he dwarfs his standard greatsword and wields it in one hand, like a longsword.

** Ned Stark's ancestral greatsword, Ice, definitely counts too.

* ''[[Dragaera]]'''s Aliera e'Kieron wields her ancestor Kieron's greatsword for several books. It's literally taller than she is. But then, she's an elf by any other name, and {{spoiler|her mother is a goddess}}, so at least there's a reason she can lift it.

** This trope is also [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by Vlad on seeing Telnan with Nightslayer. He wonders if some Dzur strap hilts on with no sword underneath.

* Duke Venalitor from the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]] [[Grey Knights]]'' novel ''Hammer of Daemons'' is introduced with a blade as long as he is tall.

* Malfallax from the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]] [[Blood Angels]]'' novel ''Deus Sanguinius'' brings to bear a warpblade explicitly said to be ten metres long. He is a giant [[Eldritch Abomination]], though.

* In ''[[The Riftwar Cycle]]'', Prince Arutha gets some visitors from the Empire of Great Kesh. One of them carries a ''flasher'', which is apparently to a scimitar what a greatsword is to a broadsword.

* [http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ado_Edem_Slash_Emperor.png The Slash Emperor] from [[Kinoko Nasu]]'s short story ''[[Angel Notes|Notes]]'' is several times taller than its user Ado Edem, and is ''more powerful than your average nuke''. Ado Edem uses it to slice apart {{spoiler|[[Eldritch Abomination|Type Jupiter]]}}.

* In the John Silke novel Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, the main character uses a large axe named the elephant killer, which is described as being heavier than an average breastplate. later, 2 [[Giant Mook|giant mooks]] appear. one of them uses a scimitar whih is almost as long as th other man, while the other uses an axe which is described as being "big enough to be his brother"

* Shardblades in ''[[The Stormlight Archive]]'' normally fit; the ones described in detail are about six feet long. They are also effectively weightless, which probably has something to do with the fact that used to be wielded by [[Gravity Master]]s. Note that these things will kill you with even the smallest hit to the body, so the [[BF Sness]] is mostly for [[Rule of Cool|show]], although the increased reach probably helps too.

 

* Zeronos from ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]'' has one of these, the ZeroGasher, that also becomes a crossbow.

** There's also Den-O's DenKamen Sword.

** [[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger|Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger's]] takes it [[Up to Eleven]] by giving a Rekka Daizanto to '''their giant robot''' as their Shinkenger Mode finisher. Even larger still is the sword used by the robot's [[Himitsu Sentai Goranger|Goranger]] Mode.

** This trope isn't just limited to the characters, but it stands to reason that giant robots will be armed with giant swords. And it doesn't seem to matter how technologically-advanced your culture or civilisation is, because the primary weapon for your Giant Robot of Doom will ''always'' be a BFS. Even if a Megazord has a cannon or flaming fists or something, you can rest assured that another robot will show up, at some point, armed with a BFS.

* In ''[[Garo]]'', the title hero wields a reasonably-sized sword. With one of his later powerups, it can grow to grotesque proportions, allowing him to throw it, then jump on and ride it like a surfboard.

* ''[[CSI]]'' almost called it by name.

'''Sara:''' ''(smirks)'' Big knife. Great. }}

* Richard [[Sharpe]] carries a heavy cavalry sword despite being an infantryman. It was reforged into a more manageable form by Harper, but it's still a BFS.

 

* Sando's sword from ''[[Shin Angyo Onshi]]'' is bigger than she is.

* Batu and Yuda from ''[[Shaman Warrior]]'' both employ these.

 

* [[Older Than Dirt]]: In [[The Epic of Gilgamesh]] "They cast great daggers/ Their blades were 120 pounds each/ The cross guards of their handles thirty pounds each/ They carried daggers worked with thirty pounds of gold/ Gilgamesh and Enkidu bore ten times sixty pounds each."

* Former adversary and later vassal of King Arthur, Osla Big Knife, carried Bronllavyn Short Broad, a sword whose dimensions are never completely specified. However, it is stated that it was large enough to be used as a bridge and that Osla himself died when the sword fell out of its sheath, allowing the sheath to fill up with so much water that he was dragged under and drowned. Osla appears twice in the Welsh [[Mabinogion]], with the earliest text he appears in dating back to 1160 or thereabouts. This constitutes one the trope's few non-Asian and non-Asian-influenced appearances.

** It should also be noted that, because of close cognates in Welsh legends, some scholars believe that the stories of Caladbolg were the template for '''''[[King Arthur|Excalibur]]'''''. Maybe ''that's'' why Arthur's reign persisted for so long in the stories...

 

* One of the big feature of ''[[Exalted]]'' are BFS called Daiklaves. Weapons can be made from one of the five magical metals of the setting (Orichalcum, Moonsilver, Starmetal, Jade and Soulsteel) and then attuned to by the right sort of [[Player Character|person]]. In general the weapon is called an artifact. When the weapon is a sword, it's called a Daiklave.

** Noted to be impossible to wield by normal people... Exalts who can 'attune' to the weapon can carry and wield it as if it were lighter than a conventional sword.

* One sample ''[[Mekton]] Mecha Manual'' robot was designed to absorb enemy energy weapons fire, to power an upgrade from its normal [[Laser Blade]] to a ''humongous'' one known as the Atomsplitter Sword. It makes a kickass [[Finishing Move]].

* ''[[Anima: Beyond Fantasy]]'' has several (just look at the artwork or the miniatures). Some examples are the ''Angelus'' used by [[Meaningful Name|Abel]], the Lawgivers he gave to his followers, or Kronen's one.

 

 

* Most swords in ''[[Bionicle]]'' are [[Awesome but Impractical|absurdly large, ornate and impractical]]; this is partially [[Enforced Trope|enforced]] by [[LEGO]], [[Blatant Lies|who claim they "don't make]] [[Insistent Terminology|realistic weapons"]]. Lhikan and Tahu's swords are literally big enough to be used as a [[Cool Board|surfboard]]. [[Lava Adds Awesome|On lava.]]

 

* ''[[Adventure Quest Worlds]]'' has quite a few of these. The most notable is Vordred's sword, which is literally as large as a regular human adventurer!

* The Sheriff Sword blade in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]''.

** Interestingly, the Player can obtain the sheriff sword through a cheat code, and when this is done, the sword is wielded like a [[Katanas Are Just Better|standard size Katana.]] Good thing for Vampiric super-strength, huh?

** Angela has a Big Fraggin Spear and Liesel a Big Fraggin Hammer.

* Common in the later ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games. The most well-known video game example is Cloud's Buster Sword from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', and the [[Katanas Are Just Better|Masamune]] used by [[Arch Enemy]] and [[Big Bad]] Sephiroth. The Buster Sword is simply a really big sword, while the Masamune is a six-foot katana that aside from length has normal proportions.

** By ''[[Advent Children]]'', Cloud has ditched the Buster Sword and left it on Zack's grave. He replaces it with the equally huge Fusion Swords, a set of six individual swords that combine into one. Each of the individual swords is also a BFS, the proportionally smaller "side blades" being normal-sized.

** Though it's likely due to graphical limitations, Cloud and Sephiroth are hardly the original examples, though there are the Trope Codifiers for the series. [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:FFI_Broadsword.png A]{{Dead link}} [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:Broadsword_FFII_iPod.png few] [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:FFIII_NES_Ashura.png samples] [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:IV-cecilDK_sd.png from], [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:FFV_Critical_Hit.png earlier] [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/File:FFVI_Ragnarok.png games]{{Dead link}}.

** Squall's Gunblade in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' is pretty reasonable in it's default form, but some of the upgraded forms are humongous, especially Punishment and Lion Heart.

** Garland in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' brandishes a BFS bigger than ''entire characters'', and it's so heavy he has to drag it around behind him when he walks. However, The end-all BFSes are the blades [[Field of Blades|found in]] the Edge of Madness stage. Each one is easily three stories tall ''at least''. And for Chaos's ultimate attack, he [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|gets big enough to use them]].

** ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'''s Ultima Weapon was a big fraggin' sword that drew its power from its wielder's HP.

* [[Bonus Boss|Extra boss]] Flandre Scarlet in the ''[[Touhou]]'' game ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' has a spell which summons an energy sword called Laevatein. Given that this is a 2D shoot 'em up, that doesn't sound too dangerous... until you realize that it's 10 times her height—nearly as long as the ''screen''.

* In ''[[Ninja Blade]]'', one of the three weapons available to you is a huge sword that's about as long as the protagonist is tall. The game actually seems to acknowledge that a weapon so large, regardless of whether or not it actually has sharp edges, will probably do more crushing than cutting anyhow, since a few of its upgraded versions lack sharp edges entirely, making them more like clubs. As such, it's the only weapon that's any good at breaking armor.

* Emelius in ''[[Grandia III]]'' carries a massive, jagged sword.

** Not to mention the Granasaber in ''[[Grandia II]]'', which turns out to be a sword-shaped spaceship. Which is implied to be based off the actual sword the Light god used.

* In ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', Frog wields the legendary Masamune, which is a pretty big sword for anyone to wield. However, because Frog is effectively 3 feet high, the resulting effect is this trope.

* Kliff in ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' carries a sword that's larger than he is tall—but then, Kliff's a [[Miniature Senior Citizens|Miniature Senior Citizen]]. But then ''again'', some of his special moves de-age him, and the sword's ''still'' as large as he is tall....

** Note that neither character's sprite is consistent with his artwork in this regard. The art depicts their swords as being closer to historical Zweihänders in size.

** Considering Arngrim is an [[Expy]] of Guts to begin with, his choice of weaponry is hardly surprising.

** Shown case-in-point is actually on the average side for the game. The more epic items can fairly easily [http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/551/cduc1.jpg dwarf the character who carries them].

** Also, Gnomes. Gnome Melee Classes (such as the Warrior and Death Knight) can wield two-handed swords. Often these swords are ''longer than the character is tall'', causing them to clip ''through the ground'' when carried on the character's back. Especially ludicrous in the case of Death Knights, where the starter swords are more than one-third of the width of the character's back! Gnome Fury Warrior with Titan's Grip. A tiny little gnome ''dual wielding'' weapons bigger than themselves. It doesn't get much more ridiculous than that.

** The most well-known BFS in ''World of Warcraft'' is probably the legendary [http://www.wowwiki.com/File:Fordring_Ashbringer.jpg Ashbringer].

** Another is the epic troll sword [http://www.wowhead.com/item=64377 Zin'Rokh, Destroyer of Worlds]. Even on taller characters it visibly stands out.

** If you look closely, it even appears that said axe is part of Hymir's Finger, which makes sense since the blade was forged from the pretty much scrap of everything the guy who forged it ever killed.

* The Biggoron Sword from the ''Zelda'' series. Then there were the Darknut swords from the ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]''. Those things were so huge that they were only good for throwing and for breaking pillars. But they were very good as thrown/demolition weapons.

** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'', {{spoiler|Link will need to use Koloktos's swords against it after unscrewing its arms. Said swords are bigger than Link.}}

** Later in the game, {{spoiler|Ghirahim uses one in the third phase of the third fight against him. It also turns out that Ghirahim ''[[Equippable Ally|is]]'' a BFS, namely, the one that belongs to Demise.}}

* The last fight in ''[[Rogue Galaxy]]'' is the main character Jaster vs. a giant monster ship-sized evil... thing. Lucky for you, Jaster just got a blade the size of a school bus!

** It starts off the size of a school bus, but is extended to ridiculous proportions during said fight. We're talking 10x Sephy's Masamune.

** Also, the new Tian Weapons set is 'built' on this trope.

* The entire point of the Flash game ''[[Ginormo Sword]]''. If you can't hit the entire screen with your sword, you haven't done enough [[Level Grinding]].

* {{spoiler|Nyx Avatar}}, last boss of ''[[Persona 3]]'', stands about 18 feet tall and wields a massive zweihänder roughly twice that size. In one hand. It's large enough that you're never quite able to see the sword in its entirety during the fight. Then again, if anyone deserves to wield a BFS, it would be the {{spoiler|[[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of Death}}.

** Junpei can wield some, too.

* Duke, Balga, Gaia and Tau each wield a BFS in ''[[Battle Arena Toshinden]]''. Gaia even uses his ''one handed''.

* A form of [[Kingdom Hearts|Sora]]'s Keyblade, Metal Chocobo, qualifies for this. As you could quess, he got the corresponding keychain from Cloud Strife himself. He also gets Fenrir (from Tifa), Lionheart/Sleeping Lion (from Squall), Oblivion, Guardian Soul (from Auron), and ''two'' Ultima Weapons, among others.

** The KHII Ultima looks particularly silly on the Pride Lands, since Sora is a lion ''cub''. The weapon he's carrying in his mouth is longer than he is.

** Saix's weapon, Lunatic, is called a "claymore" in game text but can really only be described as a Big Spiky Sword-thing.

* In ''[[Bunny Must Die]]'', the little girl main character can obtain and swing a sword three times her height. Justified in that it's a [[Laser Blade]].

* Nariko, the red-headed fantasy caucasian Norse-analog with an Asian father and a Japanese name (WTF?), is the protagonist of ''[[Heavenly Sword]]'', a rare of example of the BFS being right there in the title of the game. As [[Zero Punctuation]] pointed out, much of the time this stupidly gigantic magicaly sword is split into two smaller swords, though in power stance it's one huge chunk of metal about the same size as the slim young woman who wields it.

* ''[[No More Heroes]]'' Death Metal, your first assassin to face off with, wields an impressive transforming Orange MK-II. Plus, Travis gains one [[Laser Blade]] comprised of five beams at Buster Sword length.

** Dark Star has a katana large enough to be the ''stage'' of one fight. In the sequel [[No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle]], Travis gets one named Peony, which ''gets longer'' [[Freud Was Right|as his Ecstacy Gauge rises]].

* The Queen's Sword in ''[[Ico]]'' is almost as large as a grown man, and {{spoiler|when Ico wields it, he has trouble standing upright or even bringing it to bear}}.

** As a bonus weapon in ''Shadow of the Colossus'', it gets downsized quite a bit. Of note in the non-American versions of ''Ico'' is another bonus weapon—a Big Fuckin' ''Laser Sword'' that [[Unfortunate Implications|triples in length while he holds Yorda's hand.]]

** Subverted in that Exor is stationary, and you'd have to be stronger than twelve thousand Supermen in order to be able to actually lift him.

* The [[Ancestral Weapon|Holy Daedalus Blade]], the Dark Cloud, the Chronicle Sword, and the Island King in ''[[Dark Cloud]] 2''. The latter, in particular, is actually a surfboard-sized Tiki-mask with a pinwheel on one end and a hilt on the other.

* [[Big Bad|Sigma]] uses one in ''[[Mega Man X]] 8'', made out of scrap metal (not making this up); {{spoiler|Sigma himself is nothing more than scrap held together by [[The Virus]], in what is believed to be his '''final''' appearance}}. Oh, and {{spoiler|Zero can use it as his own on a [[New Game+]], effectively an [[Infinity+1 Sword]]}}.

** In the [[Finishing Move]] added to the gameplay in the same game, Zero's own sword grows to BFS levels. As if being a [[Laser Blade]] [[Rule of Cool|wasn't enough...]]

* In the ''[[Tales (series)]]'', we have the spirit Undine's blade in ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'', Philia Philis' Clemente (heavily magic-tilted and terrible for offense, unlike most examples here) in ''[[Tales of Destiny]]'', Ruca Milda's signature weapon type in ''[[Tales of Innocence]]'', and Decus's sword (which he keeps stored in a man-sized iron maiden) from ''[[Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]''. There are also massive [[An Axe to Grind|axes]] to be found, specifically [[Tales of Symphonia|Presea Combatir's Gaia Cleaver]] and [[Tales of Hearts|Innes Lorenz' Folseus]] (and both characters are [[Mighty Glacier]] types to boot).

** And then there is the {{spoiler|VBFS (Very Big F'n Sword) in the ending of ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]''}}.

* In ''[[Donkey Kong Country]] 2'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46xJiPdIWvM BFS attacks you]!

* Despite the premise of super powered cosmic swords all trying to kill each other in [[Eien no Aselia]], most of them aren't ''that'' unrealistically huge. But Karma? It's bigger than the guy wielding and that guy is pretty big.

* [[Warriors of Might and Magic]] has several two-handed sword weapons, including the Claymore, [[An Ice Person|Wild Winter]] and [[Named Weapons|Grendel.]]

* ''[[Terraria]]'' has a few. The Blade of Grass and Fiery Greatsword are already exceptionally large, but even these are dwarfed by the Breaker Blade (which also serves as a [[Shout-Out]] to [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud.]]).

* Some of the swords wielded by the Fencer/Fencer Elite classes in ''[[Valkyria Chronicles II]]'' and ''[[Video Game/Valkryia Chronicles III|Valkryia Chronicles III]]'' qualify. They're all so heavy that they have to be dragged backhanded across the field of battle (this posture also allows the fencers to carry a shield in front of them), and they're weighty enough that they can kill almost any infantry unit in one swing.

* [[Septerra Core]]. Gemma's Blade, which {{spoiler|Doskias}} acquires a ways into the game.

* The Reaver (in physical form, at least) from the ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series.

* In ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land]]'', Kirby can use a [[Limit Break|Super Ability]] called Ultra Sword that lets him grow his sword to massive proportions to cleave enemies and terrain.

* Since all of the Knight's weapons in ''[[Trigger Knight]]'' use the same sprite, even the ''dagger'' is as tall as she is.

* The Gran Centurio in [[Yggdra Union]] and [[Blaze Union]]. At five-and-a-half feet long and two wide, it is unusable by anyone not part of the Artwaltz dynasty, as the sword is specially enchanted to be near-weightless to them. Milanor tries picking it up in one of the side materials, and he can't lift it.

* ''[[Rift]]'' features two-handed swords of various types, and like most fantasy games they tend to be things that would be... [[Awesome but Impractical|unwieldy]] in real life. UNLIKE most games, however, they don't actually scale with the height/race of your character, leading both to giant Bahmi that are essentially one-handing two-handed swords, and short-to-middle sized Dwarves that are wielding blades half again as tall as they are!

* Some of the units in [[The Battle for Wesnoth]] have these; the Elvish Champion springs to mind.

* As the strongest human in the world in ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'', Magnus fittingly utilizes a BFS in combat. The player can use a copy of this large blade as he/she pleases, though it is listed as a club. The Hewdraw Club is also a sword too big to be listed as a blade.

 

* Sir Eglamore of ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' has two swords, each nearly as tall as him: A normal metal blade, for normal threats like [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragons]] and wolves; and a [[Power Glows|glowing blade]] of unknown composition, for fighting Shadow Men.

* A giftwrapped BFS in this ''[[Misfile]]'' [http://www.misfile.com/index.php?page=1034 strip.]

* Roy's [[Weapon of Choice]] as leader of ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' (and specialist weapon, being a Fighter) is an heirloom greatsword, which while being realistic by standards of this page is still damn big.

** The intro comic to the first book parodies the "oddly effeminate male leads" of the ''Final Fantasy'' series by showing one of them with a sword larger than he is strapped to his back, rendering him unable to move as with its point stuck in the ground the bearer is suspended several feet in the air with it strapped to his back.

* [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090126 Grantz] from ''[[Girl Genius]]''.

** Otila has a HUGE scabbard (we're talking past Buster Sword territory) but no BFS.

* Hakelda of ''[[Reliquary]]'' carries around a spiked club nearly as tall as [[Gentle Giant|she is.]]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110828230155/http://www.oglaf.com/obituator.html The Obituator], a one-off from ''[[Oglaf]]'' is a rare, possibly even unique, [[Literal Metaphor|literally]] literal example of the trope.

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': All of [[The Lancer|Dave]]'s alchemized swords are taller than he is in the comic's standard art style. In the various [[Art Shift]]s they are much more realistically proportioned (as is everything else), though still of considerable size.

* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', a comparision of swords [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209181953/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2182 includes the claim that one is longer and the other is heavier.]

 

* These sometimes appear in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', where Danya sometimes puts medieval swords on the list of weapons to be assigned. Such swords include a 55-inches-long Claymore, a 6-feet-long Zweihänder, and a Grosse Messer.

* Kuar in ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' is only somewhat huge, but a world with werewolves, vampires, and other supernaturally strong characters facing off against supernaturally-tough enemies who may be [[Immune to Bullets]], big honking swords are commonplace.

* [[MSF High Forum]]: Sam wields one of these. A large claymore to be specific. So does Mercurius.

* During a ''[[Champions]]'' game, one player claimed that a 40d6 killing attack was not excessive for a photon torpedo because "That's only as much damage as 25 sword hacks." That, combined with a healthy dose of [[Star Fleet Battles]], gave us ''[http://www.rogermwilcox.name/stories/buccaneer.html Buccaneer!]'', whose sword was so huge it did the equivalent of 25 sword hacks.

 

* Parodied in the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Viru-Ron" (with a wink [[Parental Bonus|for those who get it]]) when Rufus and Wraithmaster keep expanding their swords to ever-more-unliftable size.

* William gets one of these in ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' once virtualized. It is implied that this is a subconscious choice inspired by his love.

** In "Morituri Te Salutamus", Finn says, "I can't kill my best friend [...] without a bigger sword!", and the Fight King promptly gives him his bigass sword.

 

** Several other sword schools teach like this, such as Katana schools using the larger Dachi in training.

* History tells of a Frisian pirate and rebel by name of "Grutte Pier" (literally "Big Pier") who rose to prominence during the early sixteenth century. He was reported to be an enormous man, and strong enough to bend coins one-handed with three fingers. Sources estimate his height to have been at least seven-feet tall, based around the length of the two swords reported to be his—both seven feet in length. According to legend, Grutte Pier was strong enough to behead multiple men in a single blow.

** Unfortunately, the sword was proven [[Awesome Yet Impractical]] when he drowned after the sheath filled with water.

** [http://japantrip.tripod.com/nodachi/norimitsu.html This] mind-bogglingly enormous nodachi is ''377 cm (over 12 feet) long'', and is the largest sword of its type known to exist in Japan. Other examples, though none of quite that magnitude, can be found on the linked site.

** And this particular example was made to test a forging technique, not to be actually used in a battlefield.

* Civil War officer Heros von Borke was another larger-then-usual man who needed a larger-then-usual sword. An immigrant from Prussia, the 6'4" dragoon officer became a Confederate cavalryman. And he bought his 42" German made Solingen sword to play with.

* The Scottish claymore is a real-life example; it was designed with the weight and length to take the heads off several unfortunate Englishmen in one swing once you got some momentum behind the swing. Having said that its use died out mostly because it was responsible for too many friendly fire casualties. The claymore was still definitely a BFS, albeit in a different order of magnitude than most of the ridiculously-sized blades in this trope.

** William Wallace's supposed claymore was five-and-a-half feet long.

** The Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh houses a claymore—admittedly ceremonial, but still—that is at least seven feet (a bit more than two metres) long in total. [http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/azvolrien/MuseumBFS.jpg See for yourself.]

** Function of wavy blade was to try and combine straight blades thrusting and cleaving power with curved blades cutting potential. It may have worked, but with firearms taking main role on the battlefield, whole concept was abandoned.

** Mail armor is also effective at blunting just about any kind of cutting attack, though that shouldn't be interpreted to mean that no wound will be inflicted at all—it'll hurt and likely inflict a rather nasty laceration, but it won't cleanly slash through the armor. The German longsword, though sharpened on both sides, was, in battle between two armored men, used in the "half-sword" fashion, wherein the swordsman shifted his off-hand to grasp the blade at roughly its mid-point, which effectively turned the sword into a (rather short) spear, to be used to thrust at the opponent where he was unarmored or only armored by mail, or to be used as an aid to grappling (a very important part of armored combat). Even after landing a spear or sword thrust, the armored opponent would only be weakened, very rarely mortally injured. Grappling and the use of a long dagger to inflict precise thrusts to the vitals would usually ultimately end the fight.

* Pepin the Short's sword was about 1,83 m (little over 6 feet) long. The most remarkable thing is that Pepin himself was 1,37 m (under 4 feet and half) tall.

* Not exactly a sword, but this basic trend is subverted in the sabre-tooth tiger. Many look at the sabre-tooth as being far more vicious than recent species of cats (such as lions and tigers). Truth be told, the evolution of cats canines to smaller size made them ''more deadly and effective'' than the sabre-tooth was. Sometimes smaller is better.

* See [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un1M7xbCCIs here] for a man using a real-life replica of [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud's buster sword]].

* Hasbro's Nerf, best known for its toy guns, began selling swords in 2008. The first two, Thunder and Shadow Fury, are approximately 18 inches long, a few pounds heavy; their 2009 sword, the Marauder, is almost enormous [http://www.wired.com/geekdad/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/3899391701_b309022c93.jpg by comparison.]

* Most of the real life BFSs actually are very sleek and light weapons, and well balanced. The pommel acts as a counterpoise to balance the weapon and make it wieldable. Modern testing of the actual Landsknecht Zweihänder have shown they are excellent weapons, and can be wielded without problems, providing the wielder is proficient on footwork. Most BFSs in museums are procession swords - more accurately "sword-like objects" - not intended to be used in combat, but more as ritual decorations.

* The Italian Spadone (sometimes called Spadone a due mani, literally Great Sword in two hands), and its relative, the Iberian Montante (See a training example [https://web.archive.org/web/20131204133318/http://www.armor.com/train233.html here]) were very large swords, frequently exceeding five feet in length. The montante was usually used against other weapons, while the Spadone was used in the same fashion, but also used in duels. They averaged 5–6 lbs, and were quite maneuverable.

 

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{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bigger Is Better]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]

[[Category:Sword Tropes]]