Heroes Prefer Swords: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''I'm pretty sure I'll be the main character. The people with swords usually are.''
In an [[RPG]], the main character ''always'' uses a sword, or at least has the option of using a sword. Even if the character has no training. Even if there are more efficient/advanced weapons. Always.
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And it's even rarer for the main character to be able to use both swords and non-sword weapons, but not start with a sword. Rarer still is the hero who starts with a sword and then moves on to something else.
Given that a sword is a fairly useful melee weapon with a [[Jack of All Trades|wide variety of uses]] (and historically, pretty much everyone who could get a sword would have one) this makes some sense. Still, given modern society typically prefers ranged weapons, it looks out of place. This can lead to improbable weapons that take the coolness of a sword and combine it with the effectiveness of a weapon modern to the work's universe, such as "gunswords." This is more of a [[Justified Trope]] than one might think, since at the very least, bayonets are still used, both for their practical uses in close combat when bullets run out, but also because they are able to puncture body armor that bullets can't (according to a [[wikipedia:Bayonet|bayonet]] article, a prototype was able to pierce a punching bag covered with aircraft aluminium and a ballistic vest).
It's very often [[BFS|implausibly large]]. Or just very, very [[Cool Sword|cool]]. Expect [[Implausible Fencing Powers]].
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For whatever reason, dissidents seem to cluster around firearms (and the modern sword, [[Handguns]], in particular) and fighting barehanded. In fact, this trope is so widespread that it's probably more efficient to list examples that play with this.
----
{{examples}}
=== Action Adventure ===
* The Belmonts of ''[[Castlevania]]'' all use the same whip, the Vampire Killer, to battle Dracula. When it's a hero that isn't a Belmont, he usually has other types of weapons available, not just swords. Played relatively straight with Alucard, though, since he specializes in swords (though some of the things he wields are swords by a very loose definition).
* Ark, the protagonist and only playable character of ''[[Terranigma]]'' exclusively uses spears, staffs, and similar weapons, though several other characters use swords.
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** In the third game, a variety of weapons and powers are available to Kuros. It's just the one needed to kill the [[Big Bad]] and [[The Dragon]] happens to be a sword.
* Kratos from ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' prefers his chainblades over the two "traditional" swords he gets. Before he got the blades, his favored weapons were the spear and shield of Sparta.
* ''Averted'' in ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]''. Yes, Wander has a [[Cool Sword]]. He is probably the only main protagonist owner of a [[Cool Sword]] in video game history to have, judging by his animations with it, not an everlovin' ''clue'' what to do with a sword beyond "pointy end goes into the thing I want dead." The weapon he ''prefers'' is his [[The Archer|bow]], as one can tell by the fact that he can do feats with it that would make [[The Lord of the Rings|Legolas]] stare.
== Beat Em Up ==▼
▲=== Beat Em Up ===
* Two of the three playable heroes in the original ''[[Golden Axe]]'' use swords, but Gilius Thunderhead used an axe, because [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same]]. About half the villain [[Mooks]] use distinctively non-sword weapons, including [[Big Bad]] Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
=== First Person Shooter ===
* Inverted in ''[[Clive Barker's Jericho]]'', as the heroic protagonists carried rifles. The sword-wielder was an [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroic]] [[Combat Pragmatist]], who relied on stealth and [[Blood Magic]].
* In [[Team Fortress 2]], the nine main classes each had a melee weapon suited to them. Oddly, none had swords when the game launched, the closes being the Spy's knife, Sniper's Kukri, and Medic's Bonesaw. Later on, the Demoman and Soldier both got access to true swords, at first a pair of Claymores, and later on a [[Katanas Are Just Better|Katana]]
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=== [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPGs]] ===
* ''[[Guild Wars]]''
** Of the ten professions in , only Warriors have any sword-based attributes or
** Devona, one of the four NPC heroes featured in the first campaign, is typically shown in official artwork with a sword... in the game however, her preferred weapon is a hammer. A ''large'' one. In fact, of all the major NPCs in all three campaigns, only Prince Rurik wields a sword.
** Two heroes, Koss from ''Nightfall'' and Jora from ''Eye of the North'', default to using swords, although you can change their weapons.
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* Frantz and Angela from ''[[Rusty Hearts]]'', though they get [[An Axe to Grind|axes]] and [[Sinister Scythe|scythes]] respectively as secondary weapons.
=== Platform Game ===
* Klonoa in ''[[Klonoa|Klona Heroes: Legendary Star Medal]]'' starts out wielding a magic ring that shoots wind bullets (which is his usual default, if not only, weapon in the series), but quickly acquires the "[[Laser Blade|wind sword]]" which is featured prominently in the box art and commercials. These are only two of his six weapon types, though; his others include [[Drop the Hammer|a (sensibly sized) hammer]], a [[Parasol of Pain|beam umbrella]], a boomerang, and an [[Arm Cannon]] that shoots bombs.
* In ''[[Mega Man X]] 6'', X actually has a Z-Sabre from the start of the game in addition to his usual X-Buster. The sword itself is of middling usefulness, however, as it simply doesn't have the speed or power you'd see Zero using it with. Both of the armors featured in X6 emphasize X's sword usage, though.
=== Role Playing Game ===
* Mario, in the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' [[RPG
▲* Mario, in the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' [[RPG|RPGs]]. Since they aren't traditional RPG settings, Mario uses variations of his [[Goomba Stomp]] and hammer attacks.
* Senel of ''[[Tales of Legendia]]'' fights with his fists, making him the only main character in the ''Tales'' series to dodge this trope.
** Jude from '[[Tales of Xillia]]'' likewise, uses his fists.
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** If you're going for "but he can use this too" then about half of the protagonists in the Tales series fits in that category. Cless and Stahn can both use halberd or axe-like weapons. More than 80% of the time though, they are probably going to be using swords.
* Averted in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne]]'', where the Demi-Fiend fights with no weapons other than his own fists. In the first two games, anyone could use the weapon they wanted: knives, hammers, a lotus wand, the Longinus Spear... as long as it didn't require a specific alignment or gender (Yes, only women can use whips).
* Every main character in the first four ''[[Wild
** However, note that while Ashley Winchester of ''[[Wild
** Rudy Roughnight of the first game is also a bit of an odd case: presumably because every RPG protagonist did so at the time, he used a sword in the original, and only whipped out his gun for his skills. The remake changed it to using his gun for normal attacks as well, in the same manner as ''[[Wild
** And the main in ''[[Wild
** ''[[Wild
** ''[[Wild
** Played straight with [[Manipulative Bastard]] Janus Cascade. Starts out by having a gun/sword hybrid as long as he is tall, and is able to draw it as quickly as Virginia can with her tiny revolvers. Later, his [[One-Winged Angel]] mode uses a very large spear instead.
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' has a lot of characters who [[Final Fantasy IV|are]] [[Final Fantasy VII|straight]] [[Final Fantasy X|examples]], but a lot of others who aren't:
** Zidane in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' uses knives, although he also has the option of using [[Double Weapon|double-bladed lances]]
** ''[[Final Fantasy X
** In ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', your characters lack preset main weapons and can learn to use a wide variety of melee and ranged weapons. Standard swords are a versatile but otherwise fairly generic set of weapons, much like in the real world. Yet, even here, the main character's starting weapon is a sword. Also, the main antagonist only uses a sword in certain cutscenes. His main offense is his fists.
** The installments that use the [[Class and Level System|job system]] both avert this and play it straight occasionally. While it is possible for [[Final Fantasy V|Bartz]] or [[Final Fantasy Tactics|Ramza]] to use jobs that do not use swords, they have swords as an initial equip.
* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' is unusual in that it's a high fantasy game setting with only two swords in the entire ''game''
** Considering even that one sword cannot be used as a sword and has to be "converted" to another weapon before the protagonist can wield it, this would count as an aversion...except that the ''other'' big weapons in the game were truly massive and often rather phallic. Long hard pole with a massive head on the end? It's a sledgehammer, of course.
* Yuri Hyuga of ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'', as befits his street-brawler personality, fights with his fists. The game's sword-wielder, Keith, doesn't appear until past the halfway point, and he uses a rapier as opposed to the standard flat blade.
** In ''Covenant'' Yuri continues to let his fists do the talk. This time, the sword-wielder is Karin who also uses a rapier, beffiting her [[Lady of War]] Status.
** In ''From The New World'' [[Kid Detective]] Johnny Garland wields an assortment of knives and daggers. It's [[Highly-Visible Ninja|Highly Visible]] [[McNinja]] Frank who gets the swords. And by "swords", we mean [[Improbable Weapon User|"anything that can be put on a hilt"]] ranging from a cactus to a bus stop and ''a dead swordfish''. And not to mentioned his [[Infinity+1 Sword]] {{spoiler|'''''A hot pippin shishkebab!'''''}}
* In ''[[Xenogears]]'', Fei uses his fists as weapons, as do Rico and Emeralda. Other characters use whips, firearms, and combat rods. The only playable character who gets a sword, Citan, gets it after the first disc, a good way through the storyline... instantly making a massive leap in combat power. Not that he was ''ever'' a slouch in that department, even barehanded.
* Similarly, Shion Uzuki in ''[[Xenosaga]]'' uses the MWS, a combination mechanical hand/energy cannon strapped to her arm. The other arguably main character of the series, Jr., uses pistols. In fact, the one sword user in the series doesn't even show up until the second game.
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* Serge of ''[[Chrono Cross]]'' uses [[Improbable Weapon User|oar]]-like bladed weapons called Swallows, which feature [[Double Weapon|two wide one-sided blades connected to the opposite ends of a single long pole]]. For one fight, he is forced to use his antagonist's scythe, but he never touches a conventional sword. In fact, very few of the [[Loads and Loads of Characters|50 or so characters]] use a conventional weapon, with characters armed with such devastating weaponry as [[Improbable Weapon User|carrots, wooden spoons, walking sticks]], and [[Frying Pan of Doom|frying pans]].
** Worth noting is that right before Serge obtains [[Infinity+1 Sword|the Masamune]] it turns into the Mastermune, a swallow. This is the closest Serge ever comes to touching a sword.
* In ''[[
** This applies to all three of the games in the MOTHER
* In the original ''[[Breath of Fire]]'', Ryu could equip boomerangs, instead of swords. They were slightly weaker than his swords, but made up for that by hitting multiple enemies. In fact, his [[Infinity+1 Sword|Infinity + 1 weapon]] is the Tri-Rang, which hits every enemy onscreen, instead of just those in the weapon's arc.
* ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'' has six different characters for you to select as your main character. While each could potentially be the hero of the story, many fans favor Duran simply because he's the only one who wields a sword as his weapon.
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* Yuuto Kannagi (known as York Neely in the U.S. version) of ''[[Cross Edge]]'' uses guns. Apparently his father taught him jujitsu but he deemed that obsolete and instead went with science and the forces of firepower, so he probably would end up avoiding swords anyways.
* ''[[Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana]]'' is interesting in that not only does the protagonist, Klein, not use a sword (he uses maces and staves), he's both a mage-type ''and'' your party's primary healer.
* Hilbert, the protagonist of ''[[Last Scenario]]'' uses a bow. In fact, for most of the game, the entire party consists of non-sword-users. The work consistently ignores a number of weapon
* ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' - Mega Man's default weapon is still his arm cannon. And while sword chips do exist, shot chips are still quite good.
* ''[[Mega Man X Command Mission]]'' has the hero X wielding an [[Arm Cannon]]. [[The Lancer]], Zero, is the one who uses a [[Laser Blade]].
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* The hero in ''[[Jade Empire]]'' can use a sword, but they aren't inherently superior in any respect, and you're probably most likely to be a bare-fist kind of fighter.
* In ''[[The Last Remnant]]'' RPG, the main character is given a sword for the first battle, but after that can switch to any number of different weapons and combat styles. Rush happens to be the most versatile character in game, and so can wield practically anything.
* The protagonist of ''Lunar: Dragon Song (Lunar Genesis)'', Jian Campbell, fights with his feet and all of his weapons are things like sandals and sneakers (although his character design has him wearing boots). His few magic spells are performed by spinning on his head. In fact, of the five playable characters, the only one who wields a sword is in the party for only a few battles; the other three use bows, claws, and ''umbrellas''.
* Subverted, the main character, [[Tales of the Drunken Paladin|Anebriate]] prefers a [[Blade on a Stick]]. Emma, despite being a warlock (and an [[Optional Party Member]]), is really the only one who uses swords.
* [[Mass Effect 3]] gives us the Omniblade, an extension of the Omnitool technology modified for close quarter combat. Sentinels are able to dual-wield, Infiltrators have an electrified version, while Engineers get one ''on fire''. Its as ''awesome'' as it sounds.
=== Turn Based Strategy ===
* Prince Ephraim in ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem:
▲* Prince Ephraim in ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones|The Sacred Stones]]'' uses lances, and the main character Micaiah of ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem Tellius|Radiant Dawn]]'' uses light magic. However, both these characters (as well as axe user Hector from ''Blazing Sword'', who isn't the main character, but comes close) share the limelight with other characters who ''do'' primarily use swords.
** Also, two temporary main characters from ''Radiant Dawn'' use lances.
*** And one of the three main characters in Part IV uses his talons, because he's the king of [[Petting Zoo People|the hawk laguz]].
** Hector, of the lords in ''Blazing Sword'' (the main character if you choose his mode) uses axes. This is in contrast to the other two lords (each one being the main character at one point during the "normal" mode) who use swords. However, upon promotion, Hector also gains the ability to use swords.
** ''Blazing Sword'' also discusses and attempts to defy it briefly: [[Chivalrous Pervert|Sain]] insists early on that "the lance is more heroic. A knight should look heroic, don't you think?" and so refuses to [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors|use a sword against the axe-wielding]] bandits they're fighting. It doesn't last.
* Most [[Nippon Ichi]] [[Turn-Based Strategy]] games avert this simply by the fact that they allow your characters to arm themselves with any weapon they like, although promotional images and videos may associate them with a certain weapon, and/or they start with a certain weapon. That said, three of the four protagonists from ''[[Disgaea]]'' start with, and have proficiency in, swords, but Adell from ''[[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories]]'' fights with his fists. Prier from ''[[La Pucelle Tactics]]'' is nominally shown wielding a baton, but she's just as likely to [[Groin Attack|kick evil in the junk]] as she is to bash it upside the head. Ash and Marona from ''[[Phantom Brave]]'' are often shown not using weapons at all, although Ash again often plays it straight like Laharl. Nippon Ichi's first heroine, Cornet from ''<nowiki>[[Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure]]</nowiki>'' uses her namesake (A trumpet-like musical instrument). Revya from ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'', who has no choice in weapon selection, wields a great sword that's also an [[Artifact of Doom]].
** Also, said games, specifically the [[Disgaea]] series, may tailor the characters specifically to wield a certain weapon even though the player still has a choice in the matter. [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/Characters|Laharl]] usually has a much higher sword mastery, although he is fairly good with other melee-type weapons.
* In the ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' series, the [[Original Generation]] characters technically use [[Humongous Mecha]], but some of these mechs utilize swords as their main melee weapon, and some don't.
** Cybuster - Sword
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** Huckebein - Beam Sword
** Grungust - Sword and [[Rocket Punch]]
** Alteisen - Stake Driver; Weissritter - Carries a Beam Sword but is more of a [[BFG|Gunner]].
** R-1/SRX - R-1 uses knives, SRX a sword.
** Grungust Type 2 - Sword and [[Rocket Punch]]
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** Vysaga - [[Katanas Are Just Better|Katana]]
** Aile Chevelaire/Geant Chevelaire - giant beam saber
** Excellence series - Varies.
*** Striker - Head- and Foot-blades, Claw
*** Gunner - Knife
*** Diver - Harpoon
*** Flyer - Beam Sword
*** Cosmo-Diver - Elbow-blades
*** Lightning - Beam Sword
*** Eternal - Bladed tails with convenient handles
** Wild Wurger - Has a sword, but it's signature weapon is a scissor-like crusher.
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* Julio, protagonist of ''[[Gungnir]]'', starts out fighting with swords but progresses towards primarily using the game's eponymous spear. Mind you, he can still ''equip and use'' swords, but Gungnir is so heavy it's pretty hard to find one light enough for him to carry while he's got it on, and Gungnir is generally much more useful.
* Fellow Sting game ''[[Blaze Union]]'' features lance-wielding horseman Garlot as its lead character. He switches to using scythes towards the very end of the canon route of the game.
* Averted in [[Resonance of Fate]] marketed itself as a Steampunk flavoured game with lots of guns. The heroes weren't limited to guns, though. They can still fight with grenades or fists - just no swords for them.
=== Non-video game exceptions: ===▼
== Anime and Manga ==▼
▲=== Anime and Manga ===
* In ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'', most of the cast uses a variety of realistic to fanciful guns. The only major exception is the villain, Creed, who channels Sephiroth's appearance almost completely, including a very similar sword.
* In the second season of [[Neo Angelique]], Angie, the main character, gets sick and tired of being a burden to her [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys|friends]], learns to use a rapier. Whether this counts as [[Took a Level
* Luffy from ''[[One Piece]]'' fights barehanded, and the one time we see him trying to use a sword he fails miserably. His [[Lancer]], Zoro, is the swordsman.
* In [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]], Kamina uses a sword. But he's not the main character, even though that's not readily obvious until the second story arc. His apparent sidekick Simon is really [[The Hero]], and his weapon of choice is a drill.
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'''s Spike wields a gun, in contrast to [[Knife Nut|Vicious's]] [[Up to Eleven|katana]]
* Though swords later became a staple weapon for many [[Super Robot
** It was it the next [[Humongous Mecha]] from the trilogy, ''[[Great Mazinger]]'', who introduced the staple in mecha shows. This trope was followed by shows such like [[Voltes V]], [[Mobile Suit Gundam]] (although it used energy weapons), [[GoLion]] or [[Panzer World Galiant]]. Some [[Humongous Mecha]] avert the trope are: ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' (double-headed scythe), ''[[Getter Robo]]'' (axes, drills or missiles), ''[[Kotetsu Jeeg]]'' (drills, chainsaws, missile launchers...) ''[[Combattler V]]'' (swords is maybe the only weapon it has NOT), ''[[Daimos]]'' (who preffers to use its fists. It also uses daggers and nunchakus), ''[[Daitarn 3]]'' (a trident), [[Gunbuster]] (it uses axes, even though they are not used in the show), [[GaoGaiGar]] (a hammer)...
* [[Ushio and Tora]] averts this with the protagonist being a spear-wielder.
* In [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]], [[The Hero|Madoka]] uses a bow, though [[The Cape (trope)|Sayaka]] uses a cutlass. Sayaka is a heroine wannabe.
* Guts from ''[[Berserk]]'' was at one point offered a magical battle axe to replace his [[BFS]] the Dragonslayer, but he declined since he's [[Weapon of Choice|more familiar with wielding large swords]] (plus it's been stated that [[Evolving Weapon|its becoming magical itself]] from how many supernatural creatures he's slain with it). However, being the [[Badass]] that he is, Guts also wields a [[Automatic Crossbow|repeating crossbow]] AND [[Arm Cannon|a cannon]] - [[Swiss Army Appendage|all in the convenience]] [[Artificial Limb|of a single iron]] [[Badass Transplant|arm.]]
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* Averted hard in issue 4 of ''Jennifer Blood'', in which the eponymous antihero easily dispatches three ninja assassins by shooting them. When questioning the leader of the ninja, she actually says how ridiculous it is to be using a katana in an age of automatic firearms. She then pretends to let the ninja leader go, but then decapitates her with her own katana as she (the ninja leader) turns to leave. She then says that she actually is impressed that the sword could take a person's head off with a single blow, but that it's still silly to use one in modern times.
=== Film ===
* [[Star Wars a New Hope|Han Solo]] believes that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side. This helps establish him as [[The Lancer]] and Luke [[The Hero]].
▲* [[Star Wars a New Hope|Han Solo]] believes that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side. This helps establish him as [[The Lancer]] and Luke [[The Hero]].
* For the final duel between Brian de Bois-Guilbert and Wilfred of ''[[Ivanhoe]]'' in the 1952 movie adaptation, both are given their choice of weapon. Neither man chooses a sword for this fight; instead, Bois-Guilbert picks a morning star and Ivanhoe a battle axe (both of which are realistically better choices than a sword against a heavily armoured opponent).
* The trope is played with, then discarded in ''[[A Knight's Tale]]''. William starts out being more skilled with the sword than he is with a lance, and is champion of the sword in his first tournament. He never enters the sword ring again, officially because the prizes and prestige are better in the joust, and unofficially because he wants to beat Count Adhemar and impress Jocelyn.
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** ''[[300]]''
** ''[[Immortals]]''
* In ''[[The Crow]]'', the main villain Top Dollar is a swordsman, while the hero Eric fights him off with a lightning rod. He does briefly use one of the villain's katanas during the big mook brawl, however.
=== Forum Role Play ===
* [[Badass Bookworm|Dr. James Zanasiu]] of ''[[Darwin's Soldiers]]'' wields a full sized Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun. Granted, the time frame is [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]].
=== Literature ===
* Literary exception: In the ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series by Stephen King, guns are the most respected weapons in the world, and
* Averted with ancient Indian mythology, where the standard heroic weapon is the bow. In ''[[Ramayana|The Ramayana]]'', both Rama ([[The Hero]]) and his brother Lakshmana ([[The Lancer]]) are archers. Ditto Arjuna of ''[[The Mahabharata]]'' (famous in the west for his role in ''[[Bhagavad Gita|The Bhagavad Gita]]'').
* Funnily [[Deconstructed]] ''and'' [[Reconstructed Trope|reconstructed]] in the ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]''. The dragon riders have swords made of [[Thunderbolt Iron]]. They are way superior to any other weapons, so it makes sense to always use them. But the smith make a long lecture lampshading how stupid it is, always using the same sword. Even if you may have a favorite weapon, using the same regardless of the kind of battle is far from optimal.
* Fitz, hero of parts of [[Robin Hobb]]'s ''[[Realm of the Elderlings]]'' sequence, uses swords when he must but is only decent with them. He much ''prefers'' battleaxes, with which he is devastating.
* In [[Harry Harrison]]'s Deathworld 3, Jason states he can kill a man with a single strike of a knife, with a hand tied behind his back, no matter how the man is armed, even with a sword. Subverted, since Jason is aware he has little chance against a spear or a club. Fortunately, the referees take the bait, and arm the opponent with a sword.
* The [[Night Lords|Night Lord]] Talos provides a potential subversion of an inversion the concept: although he and his legion are [[Villain Protagonist
* In the "Dunk and Egg" short stories of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', Dunk prefers axes and maces to his sword, apparently because his strength plays a bigger part in their use.
* ''[[The Iliad]]'' portrays the heroes prefering their spears and resorting to their swords only as backup. Several heroes are better known for their archery than hand-to-hand fighting.
== Live Action TV ==▼
▲=== Live Action TV ===
* Justified in ''[[Andromeda]]'', Dylan Hunt is challenged to a duel with ancient weaponry. His opponent picks a sword, saying that he always considered himself a swordsman. Hunt answers that "People who can't fight always do" and picks a spear. Hunt's favored weapon is the [[Boom Stick|force-lance]], which resembles a spear enough in shape for the same close-combat techniques to be useful.
* While ''[[Super Sentai]]'' (and by extension, ''[[Power Rangers]]'') generally play the trope straight (with the Red hero getting a sword), exceptions do exist such as ''[[Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Wild Force]]'', where it's [[The Lancer]] who gets the sword (and [[The Hero]] gets a [[Power Fist]]/[[BFG]]), or ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'' gives no one a sword as a personal weapon and Red gets a [[Blade on a Stick]]. It must be noted, however, that swords are a very common Sentai sidearm.
=== Tabletop Games ===
* Justified in ''[[In Nomine]]'', where swords routinely outperform guns in combat, to where a blade-wielder with sufficient Strength and skill can be deadlier than an M-16. Angels and demons often prefer to pack a blade, especially if it can be a [[Flaming Sword]]. Some angels even have the ability to sheathe a sword [[Hyperspace Arsenal|in thin air]] until it's needed.
== Toys ==▼
▲=== Toys ===
* On most [[True Companions|Toa teams]] in ''[[Bionicle]]'', [[The Captain|the leader]] will have a sword. Usually a [[BFS|big]], [[Flaming Sword|flaming one]].
=== Web Comics ===
* [[MAG
▲* [[MAG ISA]] -- [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119833 Eman] and [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119733 Claudita] are the protagonists and they prefer these weapons.
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', John Egbert wields hammers, if only because they were the first weapon he could find. (And due to the video-game like system the universe uses, it's difficult for him to change his [[Weapon of Choice]] once he chooses it.)
** His vastly cooler friend Dave Strider, however, uses swords, starting out with a [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana.]] But John's [[The Hero]] and Dave's [[The Lancer]], so it's definitely an exception to the "main character uses swords" rule. {{spoiler|Later it breaks in half, making this a full aversion for the heroes as Dave continues to use the half-sword}}.
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** Bro, being Dave's older brother, uses a sword. {{spoiler|As does his post-scratch self, Dirk.}} Of course, he's not the hero, but an [[The Obi-Wan|Obi Wan]].
* Averted in ''[[Guilded Age]]''. Byron uses two axes {{spoiler|named after his adoptive fathers.}}
* Fighter in ''[[8-Bit Theater
** In fact, it's pretty much all he ever talks about.
* Parodied in ''[[College Saga]]''. [[The Hero]], college student Mark Leung, gets his sword from a dorm room.
* Rosemary Ripley in ''[[The Mansion of E]]'' prefers to use a sword, since that's what she's been trained with (off and on) for much of her life.
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', Roy Greenhilt, the party leader, uses a sword.
* Subversion in ''[[Re Boot]]''. During the show's RPG parody, Bob is not content to play as a thief and wants to take Mike's sword. Bob's hand passes right through the handle and he gets frustrated about being stuck in his role.▼
===
▲* Subversion in ''[[
=== Real Life ===
* This trope may stem from the fact that in ancient times, swords were seen as weapons almost exclusive to the nobility, knights and warrior kings. Poorer soldiers would use axes, bows, or spears, whatever was more useful at the moment. The reason that the sword came to be known as a weapon of nobles is because it's one of the only "archtypical" ancient weapons that is only useful for waging war. In times of peace, an ax is useful for chopping trees. A spear is useful for hunting, and so is a bow. Back then, when most people had to spend the vast majority of their time and effort merely gathering enough food to stay alive, only nobles were rich enough to consider buying a tool which is only useful during a war.
**
* Sword was the primary knightly sidearm in the Medieval Europe. Not because only it is a weapon, but also its symbolism: hilt, quillons and blade form a cross.
* At the Battle of Agincourt, Henry V used a sword to fight the French men-at-arms, despite the fact that a war-hammer or axe would have been more effective against their plate armour. His trope-invoking reason was that the sword was a more noble and heroic weapon.
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* Bullfighters tend to use swords and spears, since guns would be (even more) unfair.
* Samurai in their earlier stages were an exception. In warfare, samurai were mounted soldiers who relied just as much in bows and spears, using their swords only in the closest of combat. Only later, during relatively peaceful times, did samurai develop the reputation for being wandering swordsmen.
** Japanese officers carried their swords into the field in [[WWII]]. While the vast majority of them were crude Pattern 97 swords, which were little else than slabs of steel ground into shape, some carried katana or tachi which were centuries
* Even today, sword is the part of an officer's dress uniform in each and every military around the world.
** Of course,
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