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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | %% Image restored per Image Pickin' Thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1483058402085746900 |
| 8 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
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| 10 | [[quoteright:269:[[Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kirby_sword_beam.png]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:269:[[GratuitousEnglish SODO BIMU!]]]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"You hold in your hand''\ |
| 14 | ''A sword that shoots laser beams."'' |
| 15 | -->-- '''Music/{{Brentalfloss}}''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3hE8TOVxU "Zelda with Lyrics"]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[CoolSword Swords]] are [[KatanasAreJustBetter awesome]]. [[HeroesPreferSwords For a hero worth their salt]], they are practically a requirement, [[{{BFS}} the bigger the better]]. But there's one tiny little flaw: [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight a complete lack of range]]. Now, how would your OneManArmy hero be able to routinely face and prevail over entire groups of enemies packing (cross) bows, firearms or ranged magic? Well, there are many ways (carrying a [[SwordAndGun gun]], [[BowAndSwordInAccord bow]], or just knowing [[MagicKnight magic]]; using a sword that can [[RetractableWeapon become longer]], or just [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throwing it]]) depending on your setting, but there's hardly anything that is a more distilled RuleOfCool than Sword Beams. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | A character will make a slashing motion with their CoolSword, but at a distance, optionally [[ChargedAttack charging the weapon with power right before this]]. What springs forth is a beam of PureEnergy, usually crescent-shaped. It travels through the air or on the ground, either keeping the original size and shape or covering a full sector of the swing, thus growing larger with distance. Often features AbsurdCuttingPower, allowing TheHero to fell entire companies of {{Mooks}} in one fell swoop. ArbitraryWeaponRange prevents it from cutting anything outside of the intended battlefield. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Another version is [[SwordPlant stabbing or smashing the blade into the ground]] and creating a GroundWave that may or may not actually tear through the earth as it crashes towards the enemy. Sword Beams fired by ''thrusting'' a sword at its target (or even just [[SwordPointing pointing the sword in their direction]] and using it as a MagicWand) are rarer, but they do exist. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | When magical this is a type of FullContactMagic, and when not it falls under ImplausibleFencingPowers. If the "beam" is a shockwave of compressed air which cuts things, then it's also a RazorWind. If used with a LaserBlade, it often looks more like the blade is extending to strike the target. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | See also BayonetYa (for guns with what are basically swords attached) and MixAndMatchWeapon (for swords that are ''also'' guns), and ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks (for another, less magical way of using a sword as a ranged weapon). Compare EnergyBow (for bows that shoot beams) and BoomStick (for the MagicStaff, which is usually [[InvertedTrope a magical tool first, and a weapon second]]). Can be combined with BladeSpam for a unique variant of BeamSpam. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Not to be confused with a LaserBlade or with [[ShapingYourAttacks Beams Shaped Like Swords]] (though [[Webcomic/EightBitTheater a sword made of beams that shoots beams made of swords]] would be [[RuleOfCool pretty awesome]]). |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | !!Examples: |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 34 | * ''Manga/BlackClover'': |
| 35 | ** Asta's AntiMagic swords, particularly the Demon-Dweller Sword [[spoiler:and the Demon-Slasher Katana]], can do this once he masters the properties of the weapons to unleash flying beams that cancel out enemies' spells. |
| 36 | ** Yami uses his [[PowerOfTheVoid Dark Magic]] with his katana to shoot beams made of darkness as massive crescent waves. His spell [[DimensionalCutter Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash]] unleashes a vertical slash with great range and cutting power that is capable of cutting through [[SpaceMaster Spatial Magic]]. When combined with [[BackgroundMagicField Mana Zone]], its range and power become devastating. |
| 37 | ** Licht's Sword Magic revolves around this, unleashing giant slashes of mana from his sword swings. His [[LimitBreak Ultimate Magic]], Conquering Eon, is an extreme version of this trope: [[CombinedEnergyAttack after gathering the collective magic of his allies]], Licht unleashes a magic slash massive and powerful enough to utterly disintegrate his target, along with whatever was behind them. |
| 38 | ** Zenon's Demon Sword Dainsleif combines his [[BadWithTheBone Bone Magic]] and Beelzebub's [[SpaceMaster Spatial Magic]] to create a bone sword capable of releasing flying slashes of Spatial Magic with every swing, carving cleanly through everything they cut. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': |
| 40 | ** Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō, a crescent-shaped blast of energy which causes anything struck by it to be cut in half, disintegrate or explode, depending on how concentrated it is. His [[SuperMode Bankai]] allows him to control the path and shape of the blast for better versatility. He also figures out other ways to use it like keeping the Getsuga Tenshō energy around his blade to enhance its cutting power, or cutting into an enemy and ''then'' firing a Getsuga Tenshō from inside their body, both of which take away the ability to dodge. [[spoiler:And after reforging Zangetsu into its true form, which consists of two separate swords that he [[DualWielding dual-wields]], Ichigo can fire a sword beam out of each of them to form the cross-shaped Getsuga Jūjishō.]] |
| 41 | ** Kenpachi and Urahara can do similar moves as well. Urahara's "Nake, Benihime" fires a beam of ''[[BloodyMurder blood]]'', while Kenpachi doesn't name his attacks and just forces his spirit energy into a wave-like blast. |
| 42 | ** Hitsugaya can do an ice version of this. |
| 43 | ** Now we also have [[spoiler:Ichigo's father also showing off his own Getsuga Tenshō, and teaching his son how to perform an advanced version of it.]] |
| 44 | ** Ukitake's shikai produces this sort of effect (-ish?) when it [[AttackReflector redirects]] multiple Ceros. The downside is that somebody else has to fire a beam at him before he can fire it back. The upside is that his redirection of energy attacks makes them much faster and thus harder to block or dodge. |
| 45 | ** Harribel has three separate sword beams, one being her fanned-out Cero, one being her Ola Azul attack (Which is yellow. It actually makes a bit of sense), and one called La Gota, which is an upgraded version of Ola Azul. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': [[InvertedTrope Rather than shooting energy beams]], the katana buso renkin "Sword Samurai X" has the ability to [[EnergyAbsorption absorb and nullify enemy energy attacks]]. The writer, Creator/NobuhiroWatsuki, dislikes swords that fire energy attacks, believing that they defeated the very purpose of a sword, so he gave the weapon the ability to nullify such attacks instead. |
| 47 | * Kamika from ''Manga/CorpsePrincess'' can fire explosive blasts of energy from her {{dual|Wielding}} katanas. |
| 48 | * ''Anime/CuteyHoney'' had this power in the '70s series, though she used it sparingly. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': Kokushibo can create large beams from his sword when his sword enlarges. It greatly increases his range and puts Himejima and Sanemi on the defense. |
| 50 | * Snimon of ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' demonstrates this ability when it launches its Twin Sickles technique. |
| 51 | * Ryuuji from ''Literature/DragonCrisis'' uses these as his primary means of attack. Technically an example of 'Knife Beams'. |
| 52 | * In ''Manga/FairyTail'', Erza's Morning Star Armor's special attack Photon Slicer. |
| 53 | * Miaka throws out one of these in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' to fire Soi's lightning attack back at her. Justified because the sword she's using is a [[CoolSword holy sword]] given to Hotohori by Taiitsukun. |
| 54 | * ''Manga/InuYasha'': |
| 55 | ** Inuyasha's {{BFS}} has a number of ranged attacks, two of which (Wind Scar and Backlash Wave) clearly are instances of this trope. |
| 56 | ** Sesshomaru took the head of a youki to forge the sword Tokijin, which has a Sword Beam Attack. His reforged Tenseiga shoots a beam which is actually ''a portal to Hell'' which sucks the enemy in. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has shown examples of the RazorWind off a sword stroke version. Shigure fought someone with that technique, and has done ranged attacks not only with a sword ''but with a wooden spoon''. |
| 58 | * ''Manga/LinebarrelsOfIron'': Linebarrel's "Executor", who function as both {{BFS}} and {{BFG}}. |
| 59 | * ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': |
| 60 | ** From ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', we have Fate's [[http://nanoha.wikia.com/wiki/Plasma_Zanber_Breaker Plasma Zamber Breaker]], a massive beam fired from the blade of [[{{BFS}} Bardiche's Zamber Form]]. It's roughly the equivalent of Nanoha's [[WaveMotionGun Starlight Breaker]] in power. |
| 61 | ** Before that, Fate had the "Arc Saber" attack, which basically threw the LaserBlade of her device's [[SinisterScythe Scythe Form]] at an enemy, then regenerated it. |
| 62 | ** Signum, meanwhile, has the Fire Dragon Flash/Karyuu Issen, where she creates a shaft of flames and throws it at her target... such as an entire army of MechaMooks. |
| 63 | * In ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', Lafarga uses the RazorWind type -- he's a BadassNormal, but he's [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower just that strong]]. The second season of the anime also has Hikaru use these after [[ReforgedBlade she resurrects her broken sword]]. |
| 64 | * In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', the {{Samurai}} of the Land of Iron are all capable of doing this, once they've channeled chakra through their swords like {{Laser Blade}}s. |
| 65 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': |
| 66 | ** The Shinmei Ryū Hidden Technique, ''Zanmaken: Ni no Tachi'' [[spoiler:"In Celebration of my FirstKiss with Ojou-sama Special"]] (spoilered part of name courtesy of Jack Rakan, natch). When Rakan demonstrated it, the crescent-shaped energy projectile it produced bypassed all of Negi's DeflectorShields and damaged the building behind him before finally slicing a giant floating rock some distance away behind that in half. |
| 67 | ** The attack originally comes from ''Manga/LoveHina'', where it was used by Motoko and its development was the focus of an arc for her. The Shinmei Ryū school has a large number of ranged attack techniques, some of which have the ability to "skip" the first thing in its path and strike a target behind it. |
| 68 | * In the ''Anime/NinjaScroll'' TV series, Jubei seems to be capable of this and only this attack. |
| 69 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'' contains many characters who are capable of shooting sword beams, most of whom are formidable swordfighters. |
| 70 | ** Zoro and Mihawk are both capable of doing this, both of whom can generate sword beams of monstrous proportions, easily able to cut through entire mountains. |
| 71 | ** It's also a standard attack for members of [=CP9=], except they're able to do it just by kicking their legs, no swords needed. |
| 72 | * Tatewaki Kunō in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is capable of projecting strikes of compressed air from his blade as he thrusts, which are capable of crumbling concrete. This demonstrates that he actually has the potential to be far more formidable than he's generally portrayed in the series, when one considers that he was throwing sword beams ''long'' before ki was introduced as a viable power-up, meaning that he's making [[RazorWind razor wind]] projectiles ''[[BadassNormal by sheer muscle power]]''. |
| 73 | * ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Sailor Uranus's second attack, Space Sword Blaster, sends blades of energy using her talisman weapon. |
| 74 | * The ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' episode "Lethal Lunacy" features an outlaw named Shoryū who has mastered the ability to attack using {{ki|Manipulation}}. One of the ways he does this is through a blast of wind unleashed from his sword. Unlike other sword beams, the damage done does not reflect how the wind blast struck the target; rather, it causes what appear to be completely unrelated injuries, like slashes across the palms or devastating internal damage without any exterior signs of harm. |
| 75 | * In ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats'', Speedy Cerviche's Cat's Eye Slash is a [[DualWielding two-sword]] variant. |
| 76 | * Shannon does this in ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'' when he's using Zefiris. An interesting variation, in that the beam extends from ''both'' ends of his sword. |
| 77 | * The "Celestial Slash"/"Vacuum Buddha-giri" from ''Manga/ShamanKing'' qualifies, though it is depicted inconsistently as either a RazorWind or PureEnergy. |
| 78 | * In the second season of ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', Gourry's [[LaserBlade Sword of Light]] gains this ability. At one point it is used to blow up a ship. |
| 79 | * In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Maka's Straight Hunter used against the Clown works like this. She achieved something similar by mistake when she used Witch Hunter against Sid, and tripped up. Ragnarok's Screech Alpha attack also creates a Sword Beam. |
| 80 | * The "Reppuzan" attack used by Mio [[spoiler:and Yoshika]] in ''Anime/StrikeWitches'' is an example of this, being a beam of magical energy fired through the sky to attack ranged enemies. It's name ''roughly'' translates to "Great Gale Cut", meaning that it may be wind-based. Interestingly enough, it has several similarities to the Getsuga Tensho of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': It has a sky/wind/heavens theme, the attack is used by a main character [[spoiler:and a mentor/parental figure]], and the True Reppuzan/Final Getsuga Tensho [[spoiler:causes the user to lose their powers (both users, incidentally, having huge amount of spiritual/magical power that was difficult to control)]]. |
| 81 | * Thymilph in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' has a variation: his Alkaid Glaive fires the beam, and he calls it the Condemn Blaze. (Although it can kind of hard to tell what he's shouting.) |
| 82 | * In ''Manga/{{Tokko}}'' Ranmaru can fire powerful energy blasts from his sword. Sakura was also able to do this in the manga. |
| 83 | * ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' is a strange example as instead of using a sword, he uses his hands and legs, but they still work the same as this trope. Also they are not so much "beams" as they are "forks and knives". |
| 84 | * Hong Chunhwa's [[CoolSword Narumada]] in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has this ability when "ignited", as well as Hatz's Sword That Flies Lower Than Any. |
| 85 | * In ''Anime/WorldConquestZvezdaPlot'', members of the organization White Light wield {{Laser Blade}}s which are capable of firing energy blasts. This includes both straight bolts from the tip of the sword, and crescent arcs when the sword is swung. |
| 86 | * ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'' makes a frequent use of Sword Beam, be them [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]], [[RazorWind Air]] or [[CastingAShadow Dark Powers]]. |
| 87 | * Various blade-wielding monsters in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' use these in various ways. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 91 | * The Swordsman, an old trainer of ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' and enemy/member of ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', had a high tech sword made for him by the Mandarin using Makluan technology. It can shoot several kinds of energy beams as well as a flame blast. |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 95 | * ''Fanfic/BoldoresAndBoomsticks'': Weiss and Blake repeat the combo they did in the main ''RWBY'' entry below against a flock of Nevermores. |
| 96 | * ''Fanfic/TheGoodHunter'': Just like in ''VideoGame/BloodBorne'', Cyril's Holy Moonlight Sword can unleash waves of shadowy moonlight, so potent that even being grazed by its energy will result in seemingly superficial wounds that '''burns''' absolutely. Druella learns that the hard way. |
| 97 | * ''VideoGame/IceAndFireMinecraft'': Crafting a phantasmal ingot with a dragonbone sword makes a phantasmal blade, which when swung fires off spinning sword-shaped projectiles that can pass through solid blocks and harm ghosts. |
| 98 | %%* ''[[Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic III]]'': Phaedra's Blade Blaster. |
| 99 | * ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': Kyril's Holy Moonlight Sword is able to [[HerdHittingAttack take out crowds of enemies at once]] from a distance by erupting beams of energy. |
| 100 | %%* ''Fanfic/RWBYSecondGeneration'': Sage and Nyanza can pull this off via CombinationAttack. |
| 101 | [[/folder]] |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 104 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mr. Gao's ceremonial coin sword shoots a red beam out of the crystal in its hilt when it's aligned with a red moon. |
| 105 | [[/folder]] |
| 106 | |
| 107 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 108 | * In this case, it's energy bolts from Wakandan spears in ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' |
| 109 | * Surtur in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' can shoot streams of fire from the tip of his sword. |
| 110 | * The Ice Sword from ''Film/ThreeHeadedMonster'', a ''literal'' CoolSword, can fire bolts of white energy. It's also the only weapon that can harm the titular demon. |
| 111 | [[/folder]] |
| 112 | |
| 113 | [[folder:Gamebooks]] |
| 114 | * ''Literature/LoneWolf'': |
| 115 | ** That's how the Sommerswerd blasts any Darklord if it receives a direct ray of sunlight and there is a Darklord target within range. [[spoiler:Or just from the energy accumulated by not using it for most of Book 12 until the end.]] |
| 116 | ** Skarn-Ska ("Wolf's Blade") in ''The Curse of Naar'' can also deliver an energy bolt to soften some enemies. |
| 117 | [[/folder]] |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 120 | * ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'': At its most basic, "sword light" is a result of high-levelled skills and merely extends the range of a melee attack. More advanced practitioners can shape and control the light in various ways. Anthony is startled when one of his arena opponents grows a ''tree'' out of her sword and hits him with that. |
| 121 | --> So… I learned something. It's possible to shape sword-light into horns. Also… it ''hurts''. I dodge to the side, quick as a flash, and I swear the light ''curves'', following me before it slams into my side with the force of Tiny’s fist. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/CradleSeries'': This is a standard technique of [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred artists]] who specialize in sword [[{{Mana}} madra]]. Yerin uses Striker techniques to attack from her sword a dozen feet away. WordOfGod is that this is one of several reasons for the FantasyGunControl; in this world, swords are ranged weapons, so why would anyone need to invent piddly little gunpowder rifles when the average teenager can produce a better projectile at will? |
| 123 | * ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'': the Treasure Sword of Moye, briefly used by Huang Tianhua to defeat the evil Chen Tong, works by releasing a beam of light "wide as a rice bowl" from the tip: anyone hit by this beam of light is beheaded instantly, mixing this trope with OneHitKill. |
| 124 | * ''Literature/SaintessSummonsSkeletons'': Sofia is taken by surprise when the Sunless Warrior's sword swings start launching arcs of light that can [[ArmorPiercingAttack punch through shields and armour]]. Fortunately, after passing through multiple layers like that, the attack doesn't actually inflict very much damage. [[spoiler:Once she wins the fight and clears the dungeon, the spoils include a mana heart imprint that grants the [Arclight] skill.]] |
| 125 | * In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' Lifebinders can project sword beams if they use a sunblade [[BloodMagic forged with their own blood]]. [[spoiler:By using a huge sunstone to increase his power, Daylen is able to [[PersonOfMassDestruction slice Hamenday Island in half]] with this technique.]] |
| 126 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Starfighters of Adumar]]'' features the blastsword, a short sword that fires a laser from the tip when it makes contact with a solid object. |
| 127 | -->'''Wes Janson:''' So it's like a blaster you have to hit someone with. I've got to have one. |
| 128 | * In the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel ''[[Literature/ThousandSons Ahriman: Unchanged]]'', the Chaos Sorcerer Sar'iq can fire bolts of black lightning from the tip of his sword. |
| 129 | [[/folder]] |
| 130 | |
| 131 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 132 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'': |
| 133 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'' has the Royal Straight Flush in his King Form SuperMode. During the series it's depicted as a giant blast of energy after a sword swing, going through five cards, but ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' depicts it as a wave of energy that goes through the ground. |
| 134 | ** ''Decade'' gives Sword Waves to several past Riders, mostly because Decade's Complete Form performs its {{Finishing Move}}s in tandem with [[ThePuppetmaster artificial copies]] of the Riders in their own {{Super Mode}}s, and sometimes their finishers aren't suited to [[CombinationAttack Combination Attacks]]. Besides Blade King Form, [[Series/KamenRiderAgito Agito Shining Form]] and [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Ryuki Survive]] have them, as do [[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Armed Hibiki]] and [[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O Liner Form]] in the Hyper Battle DVD. |
| 135 | ** Series/KamenRiderOOO has a variation where his OOO Bash finisher is both this and a DiagonalCut, releasing a wave of energy that seems to cut through reality itself... only for everything ''except'' the MonsterOfTheWeek to slowly slide back into place, at which point the monster goes boom. |
| 136 | ** Series/KamenRiderFourze [[SuperMode Cosmic States]]' FinishingMove, "Rider Super Galaxy Finish": Fourze changes the [[{{BFS}} Barizun Sword]] to [[CarryABigStick Boost Mode]] and tackles the Zodiarts through a portal that leads out of Earth's atmosphere. Fourze then changes the sword back to Slash Mode and attacks with a humongous beam. |
| 137 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' has more than its fair share due to its large cast. An unusual example is Gaim's Daidai Ittou attack, where he launches Sword Beams that trap his enemy in an orange-shaped sphere of energy, then dashes in and slices them in half, causing the "orange" to explode into slices. |
| 138 | * In ''Saban's Series/MaskedRider'', an adaptation of the Japanese ''Series/KamenRiderBlackRX'', the title character had this as his finisher. In fact, this was the only thing his sword was ever seen doing. This is a result of {{Bowdlerization}}, as the title character of ''Black RX'' finished his opponents by stabbing them rather violently. Naturally, the MoralGuardians did not approve, fearing children would imitate this, so they forced the showrunners to make the Masked Rider shoot his enemies to death...with a sword. |
| 139 | * Naturally, ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' have featured ''every'' version of this. The most common FinishingMove, though, is an unusual version: the wielder, facing the screen, swings, and a diagonal line appears as it passes. Scene switches to the monster, slash effect appears over him, and [[MadeOfExplodium KABOOM]] soon follows -- regardless of how far away from the wielder the real-space shots show the monster to be. What it would look like to someone watching from nearby is a good question, like many of the show's StockFootage sequences that just don't work in real space. Though arc effects, through-ground effects, and all the rest exist, you won't see a finisher that looks like this in StockFootage get done in real space and prove to be one of these. ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' is one of few series to show what its sword-slash finisher "really" looks like, with the High Octane Megazord [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8B9MglbaE striking the monster as it passes by]]. |
| 140 | * More than one Ultramen from the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' have this ability, including [[Series/UltramanGaia Gaia and Agul]], [[Series/UltramanMax Ultraman Max when equipped with the Galaxy Sword]], ''Series/UltramanMebius'' with his Brave Form's Blade Shoot and Blade Slash, [[Series/UltramanGinga Ultraman Victory]] in his Knight Form using his Knight Timbre, ''Series/UltramanOrb'' via Orb Calibur, ''Series/UltramanZ'' using Beliarok's Deathcium Slash and ''Series/UltramanBlazar'' using the Tilsonite Sword. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 144 | * In Myth/CelticMythology, the sword Caladbolg shot rainbow-coloured streams of energy when swung. Just one of them ''cut three mountains in half''. |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 148 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' |
| 149 | ** A ''Nightblade of Arvandor'' from the [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition 3.5th edition]] ''Book of Exalted Deeds'' sourcebook is a ''+2 longsword'' made of black steel that twinkles with tiny stars. Instead of making a melee attack with it, its wielder can have the sword fire [[StarPower "starlike pulses of light"]] as many times as the wielder can attack in a round. These are considered ranged touch attacks made of magical force, which means they ignore a target's armor, are NonElemental regarding damage reduction, ''and'' can even hit incorporeal targets. These star attacks deal full damage to evil enemies, while nonevil targets will have their damage received split between lethal and subdual damage. |
| 150 | ** ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFourthEdition'', Wizards can take the "Wizard of the Spiral Tower" paragon path, which allows the use of your sword as an implement (i.e. spell origin point) for things such as ''{{magic missile|Storm}}''. This edition also includes the Swordmage class, that naturally uses their sword as their implement. |
| 151 | * The Sandstorm-Wind Attack mode of the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' Charm Iron Raptor Technique is basically this, as is its follow-on Blazing Solar Bolt. Lunars have a version of this called Wind-Wings Carry Technique, although since Lunar charms by their nature have fairly broad effects, it increases the effective range of '''any''' weapon, melee or ranged. |
| 152 | * ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has the Ranged Blow spell, which simply allows the caster to make ranged attacks with melee weapons by slightly distorting intervening space. The Brotherhood of the Demon Wind, a group of MagicKnight [[MasterSwordsman swordmasters]], gain an equivalent ability that's innate and doesn't risk Paradox. |
| 153 | * Can be invoked, yet still downplayed, in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' with a cheesy fighter build that relies on the Warrior Spirit advanced weapon training option and the Energy Mastery feat, that lets the fighter enhance a weapon they choose at the beginning of the day with magic weapon properties and shoot cones of fire, cold, acid or electricity out of it. |
| 154 | ** The third-party system ''[[TabletopGame/SpheresOfPower Spheres of Might]]'' has a legendary talent called Vacuum Cut (part of the Duelist sphere) that lets you make a melee attack at a distance if you've drawn your weapon this round, though it deals less damage than a regular attack. |
| 155 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'''s Prince Tyrion carries the runesword Sunfang, which can channel the fires of its forging into a blazing bolt of white-hot fire once per game. His brother Teclis's sword is supposed to be able to do the same with lightning bolts in the background (Teclis forged it himself, taking the intricate construction of Sunfang as his model), but it hasn't had this ability in the game for many editions. |
| 156 | [[/folder]] |
| 157 | |
| 158 | [[folder:Theme Parks]] |
| 159 | * In the climax of ''Theatre/{{Fantasmic}}'', Mickey fires one from ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' to take out the dragon form of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] and vanquish the Disney villains invading his dream. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 163 | * ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': In the fight against [[BloodKnight Absalom]], his blade is able to shoot off energy waves when he attacks, he can even form several tornado attacks comprised of slash beams. |
| 164 | * [[{{Samurai}} Kamui]] of ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'' can do this, performing two quick slashes in the air to create an X-shaped energy projectile. |
| 165 | * In ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'', it's possible to launch the energy off an energy blade, although you need either a [[CoolSword special sword]] or Human+ (or that particular game's equivalent) to do it. |
| 166 | ** Removed as of ''Armored Core 4'', however. |
| 167 | ** Done with the Human+ and the Moonlight blade in ''Armored Core 2'', you end up with a sort of [[{{Pun}} Infinity Plus One Sword Beam]]. |
| 168 | ** In some games, like Armored Core: Nexus, it's possible to do a Sword Beam with every LaserBlade. You just have to boost mid-swing. |
| 169 | ** The bipedal Pulverizer fought at the end of one of the possible endings in "Last Raven" will fire a cross-shaped blade at you. |
| 170 | ** ''Armored Core 6'' brings them back in a meta example with the C01W2: MOONLIGHT which exclusively fires powerful sword beams and an even stronger, larger blade when charged. It has a Coral counterpart that's stronger by default. |
| 171 | * ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': Firing energy blasts is one of the abilities possessed by a Sword of Eden. |
| 172 | * Augus's blade, Wailing Dark from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' uses this as it's projectile, and can be curved sideways and can utilize multiple sword beams at once by default. |
| 173 | * From ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'': |
| 174 | ** Rath has two sword beam attacks. Crossblade has him use his two main swords Axiom and Praxis to fire off an X-shaped projectile by slashing into the air. Catalytic Smash has him use his third sword [[{{BFS}} Precept]] to unleash a shockwave, extending directly ahead of him. |
| 175 | ** In an obvious ShoutOut to ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', Galilea's "It's Dangerous to go Alone" augment gives her the ability to unleash a ranged blast of energy with each swing of her Greatsword while her health is full. |
| 176 | ** MX.Ronin minions are capable of sending crossblade attack waves to attack at long range. If an attack wave hits a Battleborn, it will return to the Ronin that sent it. If it hits again on the return, it will deal more damage and inflict slow for a few seconds. |
| 177 | * In NES side-scroller ''VideoGame/TheBattleOfOlympus'', you can do this while wielding the Divine Sword. Each beam costs HP, though, unless you have the Bracelet of Power. |
| 178 | * ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'''s sword beam is really AwesomeButImpractical as it takes like 10 seconds to shoot. Nobody ever waits around that long so it's pretty pointless anyway. |
| 179 | * An EpicFlail version of this appears in Creator/{{Capcom}} game ''VideoGame/BlackTiger'', the protagonist shoots a 3 way stream of daggers out of his various flails. |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/BladedFury'' has an early boss, General Wu, whose main ranged attack is releasing red crescent-shaped projectiles with each swing of his sword. |
| 181 | * ''Franchise/BlazBlue'': Jin Kisaragi and Hakumen have this as a super. One is actually a wave of cold from his sword (Jin), whereas the other is played straight (Hakumen). |
| 182 | * Female demons from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodhound}}'' carries dual, curved blades, and can release a shining, red, cresent-shaped projectile with each swing. That deals greater damage than bullets or melee attacks. |
| 183 | * ''VideoGame/BlossomTalesTheSleepingKing'': This classic attack from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' makes its appearance. However, you only get it ''very'' late in the game, and as usual, it only works at full health. |
| 184 | * Your sword-wielding feline protagonist in ''VideoGame/BoundByBlades'' can spam energy bolts from his magic sword, non-stop as a projectile attack. Bonus points for having some of the projectile attacks sounding like ''gunshots''. |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Stratos can fire shockwaves with his sword in his boss fight. Leif notes that it's not even magic; he does so via pure strength alone. |
| 186 | * The final form of Vaugh in ''VideoGame/CTwelveFinalResistance''; in the final stage where he narrowly escapes UnwillingRoboticisation with his mind intact but half his body converted into a {{Cyborg}}, he managed to re-obtain his default energy blade. And finds out in his new cyborg body, he can release a powerful energy ball with every slash. |
| 187 | * Both [[Creator/SquareEnix Square Soft's]] ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' and Enix's ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' contain sword-swinging attacks that produce projectiles of hardened wind (Slash, Air Slash). |
| 188 | * Enemies in ''VideoGame/TheCrownOfWu'' whose swords or spears ''[[LawOfChromaticSuperiority glows red]]'' has the ability to release crescent-shaped projectiles with every swing. Including one of the bosses, who spams the area with his spear beam unless you manage to stun it first. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/{{Crystalis}}'' has five swords, which can be charged by staying in place to launch a ranged attack, most of them are necessary to break through barriers. Some charged attacks (based on power and type) behave differently than a simple projectile, such as being an area-attack instead. |
| 190 | * The first ''VideoGame/CustomRobo'' released in North America has a partial example. It has two sword-shaped guns that in turn fire sword-shaped lasers at the target with different trajectories. The swords cannot typically be used as melee weapons, though; some Robo models swing the sword while using melee attacks, but the effect is purely cosmetic. |
| 191 | * The Moonlight Greatsword in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' unleashes this as its strong attack. Notable in being one of the few ''exploding'' sword beams. The Drake sword also unleashes slightly different sword beams, The Iron Golems axe fires... Axe Beams, and the dragon slayer spear shoots electric spear beams. Creator/FromSoftware loves this trope. |
| 192 | ** The Moonlight Greatsword returns as the Holy Moonlight Blade in the DLC of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', and retains its Sword Beam properties. Also from the DLC is the {{Squick}} of this trope being combined with the game's motif: [[spoiler:Lady Maria]] creates what are basically Sword Beams with their ''blood''. |
| 193 | * ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'': Susie, the team's {{Fighter|Mage Thief}}, is capable of doing this by using, in a twist, her ax. Her main Magic ability, Rude Buster, makes Susie swing her ax in the air, launching a purple energy crescent at the target; the spell eats up a large chunk of TP[[note]]Tension Points[[/note]], but also deals a lot of damage — even more than her already fairly beefy normal attack. |
| 194 | ** Susie also uses this in cutscenes to knock away other Darkners. At one point, [[CutscenePowerToTheMax she uses it twice at the same time]]. |
| 195 | ** During her Boss Battle in Chapter 1, before her HeelFaceTurn, she fires a volley of energy axes at the player by swinging her ax repeatedly. |
| 196 | * The Daybreak super for Dawnbreaker Warlocks in ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' functions like this. The [[PlayerCharacter Guardian]] summons a flaming sword and throws arcs of fire with each swing of the blade. |
| 197 | * Dante has this in the form of his "Drive" attack in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', which causes a shockwave to jet across the ground and damage all enemies in its path. In ''4'', Nero has Maximum Bet, a [[SuperMode Devil Trigger]]-exclusive move where he uses his sword(s) to fire off a wide X-shaped energy wave that also pierces through targets, but the crescent beam he uses is only seen during cutscenes. Vergil in ''3'' (and Dante in ''4'') has the Yamato, which can slash enemies far outside its normal range with a delayed effect. It does this for all of its moves, but Judgement Cut is the only one that's actually a projectile (to be precise, he does a quick draw slash and then a sphere of "slashes" appear in front of him). Trish in the [[UpdatedReRelease special edition]] of ''4'' can use a Drive move using the Sparda sword. |
| 198 | * The Dimension Slash attack (which has the user focus energy into their weapon before unleashing a gigantic, battlefield-rending sword beam) is a staple of Creator/NipponIchi games, especially in the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series where it's first appearance was in the first game. ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'''s strongest sword, the Yoshitsuna, has the range of a gun. |
| 199 | * The ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' series has Yajirobe, who wields a katana. His 'Ka-Blam Slicer' attack sends an energy wave at the opponent. In the 3rd installment of the series, Future Trunks (Sword) in his base form can perform rapid-fire blades of energy with his Ultimate Blast move called 'Lightning Sword Slash'. |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/DragonballZTheLegacyOfGoku II'': After his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Vegeta, Future Trunks gains the ability to shoot crescent shaped energy waves with his sword. |
| 201 | * The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Swordsman]] subclass in ''VideoGame/DragonNest'' has half of its skill tree dedicated to this Trope. For the third job change (not released in NA yet), they can become Lunar Knights/Moonlords to get a move that lets them spam 5 huge Sword Beams from midair. Consequently, ''Bleach fanboy noobs'' is often used as a blanket description of Swordsmen, who are ''vehemently'' hated by much of the community. |
| 202 | * ''VideoGame/DragonUnit'' grants you this ability by default if you're using a sword. And your sword's crescent-shaped projectile attacks can be upgraded into a massive wall of thunder that takes out almost everything immediately in front of you. |
| 203 | * The [[MagicKnight Asura]] subclass in ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' specializes in these. |
| 204 | * Several characters from ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' are capable of firing beams out of their bladed weapons. Given [[Creator/{{Koei}} their relation,]] some ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' do this as well, as well as other characters across all their other titles. |
| 205 | * In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam Reborn'', many previously melee-focused suits such as the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Epyon]] can send [[LaserBlade beam saber]] slashes flying at enemies as their 'charged shot' attack. The best example is probably the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Susanowo]] piloted by [[CharClone Mister Bushido]], which has a charged LimitBreak consisting of an enormous horizontal beam-slash the width of the screen that flies nearly to the edge of the game's draw distance. It is basically instant death to any {{Mook}}s caught in its path and will usually bring enemy aces or Mobile Armors to their knees. |
| 206 | * ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'''s ''Dragonborn'' DLC introduces the Bloodskal Blade, which fires blood-red Sword Beams at varying angles, depending on the power-attack performed. The beam is also used to open doors in the dungeon where the sword is found. |
| 207 | * ''VideoGame/EndlessNightmare: Shrine'' has an undead Pharaoh boss who can use a ''Spear'' Beam on you. |
| 208 | * In ''Videogame/EnterTheGungeon'', The Bullet's starting weapon is a sword that can fire powerful sword-shaped projectiles when the player is at full health. The sword and the character are both a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. |
| 209 | * ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce EXTRAPOWER Attack of Darkforce]]'': How [[MagicalGirlWarrior Blue Hikari Warrior]] Ruritia attacks with her magical sword. She holds it aloft, charges power, then swings it level and fires a rainbow beam at her foes. |
| 210 | * ''Franchise/FateSeries'': |
| 211 | ** ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': |
| 212 | *** {{Excalibur}} the Sword of Promised Victory, Saber's weapon, can release blasts of destructive power capable of annihilating entire buildings with ease and could wipe out a good chunk of a city if mis-aimed. Due to flawed summoning and Shirou's low prana capacity, Saber cannot use this attack freely. ''Literature/FateZero'' and ''VideoGame/FateExtella'' reveal that it's powerful enough to destroy [[spoiler:a literal Cthulhu and an alien superweapon powerful enough to defeat ''gods'']], and in the latter entry it can also fire smaller beams of lights combined with [[BlowYouAway explosions of wind]]. |
| 213 | *** Caliburn, a lost Noble Phantasm that once belonged to Saber before she broke it, has a similar if less powerful attack. [[spoiler:When Projected by Shirou and wielded together with Saber, the resulting wave killed Berserker ''seven times'' (Berserker has ResurrectiveImmortality and had seven lives at the time).]] |
| 214 | *** [[spoiler:Excalibur Morgan has a similar power, except PaintItBlack fully applies. Since Saber Alter is also hooked up to a nigh infinite source of mana, she can spam it and show off just how devastating it really is. In ''Fate/Grand Order'' during the Shinjuku chapter, it was strong enough to vaporize the large cloud of fragments from a meteor that would have destroyed the planet.]] |
| 215 | *** Ea the Sword of Rupture[[labelnote:*]]often [[IAmNotShazam mistakenly called "Enuma Elish"]] after its [[{{Invocation}} activation phrase]][[/labelnote]] is a [[ForgedByTheGods god's tool]] that Gilgamesh acquired. Fully powered its beam can [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroy planets]], but Gilgamesh [[IAmNotLeftHanded refuses to use it against unworthy opponents]] and against those worthy he only uses a fraction of its power. |
| 216 | *** The attacks of Berserker are so powerful that the wind following the swings of his gigantic sword cuts whatever is standing even a meter away. |
| 217 | *** The Jewelled Sword of Zelretch is one of these in the hands of Tohsaka Rin, which draws in mana from all Rins across parallel universes to unleash waves of mana comparable to a fully-released Excalibur. And ''spam'' it. |
| 218 | ** ''VideoGame/FateExtra'': |
| 219 | *** Gawain's Excalibur Galatine is considered a sister sword to Excalibur, and has a similar beam attack. The difference is that this one is [[PlayingWithFire fire-based]] and at full power it's claimed the beam reaches about 13 kilometers. |
| 220 | *** [[VideoGame/FateExtella Altera's Sword of Mars]] fires multi-colored lasers for several attacks, though the actual "beam" used for the Noble Phantasm Teardrop Photon Ray is more comparable to a KillSat in appearance. |
| 221 | ** ''Literature/FateApocrypha'': |
| 222 | *** Siegfried's Balmung fires a teal-colored wave of energy that carries [[TheDragonslayer anti-dragon properties]]. At its full power, it can match up against Karna's Brahmastra Kundala, a massive fire spear with ''nuclear weapon'' capability labelled as an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm. |
| 223 | *** Mordred's Clarent Blood Arthur is similar to Saber's Excalibur, but replace "golden light" with "blood-red lightning". At its full potential, Mordred mused she could destroy a whole ''mountain'' with it during the Camelot chapter of ''Fate/Grand Order''. |
| 224 | ** ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': |
| 225 | *** Lancelot's Arondight-Overload, though it differs from the normal sword beams used by fellow Knights of the Round Table. Lancelot stores the energy within Arondight to turn it into an ultra-powerful ''slash'', then releases the energy while he's cutting through the target to deal maximum damage. |
| 226 | *** Miyamoto Musashi's Rikudou Gorin saves the beam attack for her finisher after slicing the shit out of her target with a four-armed summoned Buddha. |
| 227 | *** Okita Souji Alter's Zekken fires a black and gold beam from her katana that's classified as ''Anti-World'' because it can even destroy things that are otherwise invincible. |
| 228 | *** Lostbelt Chapter 6.5 Traum released a slew of mobs intended to be the Generic Servants on the backs of the Class Cards. The Generic Saber, of course, fires a sword beam for its Extra attack. It could be a reference to the joke below, given that these Servants represent the very base of their class. |
| 229 | ** And these are just the actual Saber-class Servants who have these. A Drama CD jokes about the overuse of this trope with Sabers by declaring that Sabers must be able to shoot beams. In actuality though, there are about as many Sabers who don't shoot beams as there are that do. |
| 230 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' features this very often. Many characters have an extension attack that will often create a wave of energy to increase the sword range. |
| 231 | ** Cloud and Sephiroth from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' both feature an attack literally named Blade Beam that makes them fire off a wave from their sword. Cloud being a Blow Smasher will do this in a single giant ground based blast while Sephiroth will do so in smaller waves but in more accurate and greater quantities. |
| 232 | *** Cloud's "Blade Beam" attack not only does four times as much damage as a regular attack, but also dissipates after hitting the intended target, hitting every other enemy for regular damage. In addition, he also has Meteorain (or Meteor Shots, whichever you prefer) that literally throws meteors from his sword. |
| 233 | *** Sephiroth evidently follows the "hardened air" attack pattern, slashing so quickly with his Octaslash that it hits ''after'' he's finished slashing. |
| 234 | *** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', during the cutscene of Sephiroth's fight with Genesis, Sephiroth uses a flurry of Blade Beam attacks to neatly slice chunks off the Junon Cannon. |
| 235 | *** Zack Fair apparently taught Cloud the Meteorain/Meteor Shots skill, as he uses it in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. |
| 236 | *** Though he himself only learns it AFTER meeting Cloud. Kinda weird when you think about it, and the other DMW Limits are actually taught TO Zack by someone else. So maybe Cloud taught Zack Meteor Shot? |
| 237 | ** Squall from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' pulls this off with shining colors. His Fated Circle, Blasting Zone and [[strike:End of Heart]] Lion Heart techniques all have an expansion wave swing that increases your range to many times its original size. This is referenced in Dissidia, when, during his EX Mode, Squall's range increases significantly (the model of his blade becomes the much longer Lionheart, but the range is almost half again the length of THAT blade). |
| 238 | *** Blasting Zone is really more of a Blade Extension Beam...that's roughly several thousand feet long. |
| 239 | *** Seifer also does the same. |
| 240 | *** Squall also has a ''delayed'' sword beam attack: Rough Divide involves slashing upwards, followed by a massive upwards explosion from directly below the enemy it hits. |
| 241 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' features this with the Earth Render technique where it strikes everything in a straight line regardless of range. |
| 242 | *** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' features the Gria with an attack called blast wave which is an attack using a sword that hits things in a straight line. (much more limited than Earth Render) |
| 243 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Gabranth uses an attack where he slashes the air rapidly to send out several energy waves from the blades. |
| 244 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': |
| 245 | *** Certain high-ranking Garlean officials use sword beams. This appears to be a function of [[MixAndMatchWeapon Garlean-model gunblades]], as Garleans are unable to manipulate aether on their own; in ''Stormblood'', [[spoiler:Fordola rem Lupus]] doesn't use the technique until she receives a Garlean gunblade, and a scene in ''Shadowbringers'' has [[spoiler:Gaius Baelsar]] change cartridges when using different sword beam attacks. What's unique about this technique is that rather than fly off of the blade after the swing arc, the sword beam simply stays in place until it flies off on command. Most encounters will have enemies try to flank you with multiple of these. |
| 246 | *** Dark Knights have the "Flood of Darkness"/"Flood of Shadow" attack, which launches a pulse of darkness from their sword. At Level 90, they get access to Shadowbringer, a separate attack. There is also the [[DummiedOut]] Dark Passenger from before the days of Shadowbringers. |
| 247 | *** Gunbreakers have the "Lightning Shot" attack, which takes the form of a sword wave that is launched from an upward slash. |
| 248 | *** Samurai get access to several. Enpi is their basic projectile attack that allows them to continue chipping away from a safe distance. Their second stage Iaijutsu technique, Tenka Goken, fires off several around them and Hissatsu: Guren firing a flurry of cuts in front of them. |
| 249 | *** Red Mages have sword shaped ice beam techniques called Contre Sixte and Fleche which are single and multi-hitting attacks. They can also spend their stored acclerated mana for an enchanced version of Reprise for a quick sword beam. Their level 90 combo finisher Resolution, is more of the standard particle beam variety, but fired from the scepter end of their hybrid weapon. |
| 250 | *** Typically, any boss wielding a sword is bound to have a sword beam technique or two. One common attack wielded by level 50 or higher Gladiator/Paladin bosses have access to an exclusive enemy attack called Sanguine Blade that cleaves everything in front of them. The only way to dodge it is to stand behind them before they finish casting. |
| 251 | |
| 252 | ** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', Squall, Cloud, Sephiroth and Gabranth return with their signature sword beams. Warrior of Light and the Onion Knight take it a step further with Radiant Sword and Swordshower. Radiant Sword has the Warrior swing his sword to create beams of light that look like swords, while Swordshower conjures a swarm of sword-shaped energy beams to hit the opponent from all angles before Onion closes in for a finishing blow. So yeah, not only do they use Sword Beams, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment but their Sword Beams look like swords]]. |
| 253 | * Ragnell and Alondite, the twin {{BFS}}'s from ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' 9 and 10, can do this. |
| 254 | ** There's also the Wind Edge, Storm Sword, and Tempest Blade as well. And [[WhiteMagicianGirl Mist]] has a unique weapon that shoots Sword Beams. |
| 255 | ** And in the earlier games there's swords that cast magic as a form of a sword beam-- just wave the sword and boom, you've got a spell like a mage would with a book. Notably, in FE 4, Mages could wield swords after promotion, and since the swords were not affected by silence, unlike normal spells, and were "El"-level (Except the Light Brand, which cast the basic light spell), they were good options if you wanted to get around silence. |
| 256 | ** ''FE 6'' has the "King's Lance" Eckesachs -- wielded by the [[DiscOneFinalBoss not so]] FinalBoss, a HUGE {{BFS}} that splits into a trident. Swinging it around launches one even if said Boss smashes your face with it. |
| 257 | ** The Sword Of Seals launches [[KillItWithFire fire]] these at range, and causes huge explosions when it scores a CriticalHit. |
| 258 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has Xander's unique sword, Siegfried, which shoots [[CastingAShadow beams of darkness]] for its ranged attack. |
| 259 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ghostrunner}}'': One of the abilities the Ghostrunner acquires, Surge, allows him to create an arced laser when he swings his sword. He learns this after beating the second boss, Hel, who uses this same technique to pick you off from afar. |
| 260 | * Huang-He from ''VideoGame/TheGladiator'' can fire crescent-shaped sword beams, shaped into an "X", with her ''jians'' which she [[DualWield wields two at the same time]]. |
| 261 | * Kratos in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'' does this with the Blade of Olympus on the last strike of his heavy combo. Furthermore, fully upgrading the Blade allows it to be done ''with every swipe!'' |
| 262 | * ''VideoGame/GrandChaseDimensionalChaser'' has Sieghart's Infernal Fear (based on Mortal Fear from the PC predecessor). It accelerates his attack speed to maximum and fires purple waves at the speed of light with every regular attack. |
| 263 | * In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', Mesmers use greatswords as ranged weapons that shoot [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]]. |
| 264 | * Ky and Sol from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear''. Ky swings his sword, while Sol stabs the ground. |
| 265 | * The "Grubberfly's Elegy" Charm, the reward for doing Papa Grub's sidequest, from ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' allows for this It creates a shockwave-shaped blast from the tip of the Kight's sword, and does 50% weapon damage. It can be stacked with "Quick Nail" for BeamSpam. However, it only works at full HP (but this can be cheated with Lifeblood charms, which grant temporary HP). |
| 266 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Hook}}'' game for Sega Genesis had a power up that allowed you to do this. |
| 267 | * Hype's sword in ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'' produces some kind of medium-ranged razor beam when swung, which deals as much damage to the enemies as a hit from the blade itself. |
| 268 | * In ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'', Will's two alternate forms possess variations of this. The first is used by Freedan, and is called the "Dark Friar". By attacking once and holding down on the attack button, Freedan can charge his sword to fire off what amounts to a cross between this and fire magic. Later in the game, when the player gets to Euro, one of two power-ups available in a side-area allows Freedan to upgrade the Dark Friar, resulting in the player being able to push the attack button again when the Friar is either flying away or hitting an enemy. This results in the attack splitting into four smaller fire-ball beams that then spin away and increases the range of the attack. [[EleventhHourSuperPower At the end of the game, meanwhile]], Shadow gains the "Firebird" attack, which allows the player to attack at range by simply hitting the attack button and watching phoenix-shaped projectiles fire at the Final Boss. |
| 269 | * Hero from ''VideoGame/JitsuSquad'' can release a crescent wave of blue energy from his blade when activatimg his Hanami move. Then there's TheDragon, Dash Kobayashi, who is Hero's EvilCounterpart and can let loose a wall of green blast from his katana. |
| 270 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 271 | ** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', [[BigBad Marluxia]] can launch crescents of energy by swinging his scythe. |
| 272 | ** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Vanitas, one of the game's main villains, has a basic two-hit combo that consists of a lunging slash and a somersaulting uppercut with his Keyblade. Towards the end of the game, he starts using the latter attack to shoot a fast-moving, short-ranged crescent beam and, later on, a slow-moving, homing one. Wave Motion Sword example in the same game: [[spoiler:In the second phase of his story mode's final boss fight, Ventus gains the ability to fire powerful energy beams from his Keyblade. His opponent, a souped-up Vanitas, can do the same, resulting in a [[BeamOWar Beam O War]] if the two characters launch their attacks at the same time.]] |
| 273 | * Minotaurs in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfDragons'', but using halberds instead of swords. |
| 274 | * ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'': |
| 275 | ** Kirby, as seen in the page picture, can fire beams from his sword when he becomes Sword Kirby (In the games it only works while he's at full health, in homage to the Zelda example). Final Cutter a move that can be used by Sword or Cutter Kirby depending on the game is a blade combo ending in one of these and appears as Kirby's Up B special in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games. In ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' and most future games in the series, Sword Kirby can also use Sky Energy Sword, which involves lifting the sword up to charge it and then unleashing a Sword Beam like in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. [[spoiler:Master/Galaxia]] Kirby can use a charged version of the move (that closely resembles the anime depiction of the move) in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror''. |
| 276 | ** [[MasterSwordsman Meta Knight]] is strongly associated with this ability and has had these in most of his appearances both as a playable character and as a boss. It's his SignatureMove in [[Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa the anime]] and he's the one who [[StealthMentor teaches]] Kirby how to use it. Meta Knight (and later, other people such as Tuff) actually refers to it as "Sword Beam". |
| 277 | ** King Dedede in the gamemode "Dededetour!" can fire off a "hammer wave" when at full health in a similar fashion. He can also fire an arrow-like beam that he can aim; these can cut ropes like an arrow would. |
| 278 | * One of the power-ups you can give your robot in ''VIdeoGame/KrazyIvan'', though it's called Scythe Beam in-game and replace your mech's arm with blades that shoots energy bolts. |
| 279 | * The Krut warriors from ''VideoGame/KrutTheMythicWings'', your player protagonist included, can unleash crescent-shaped energy bolts from their blades. These attacks drains your power meter however and is preferable to be saved for bosses. In the final battle against Zurah, once the Mythic Wing's true powers are unleashed and at maximum, you can BeamSpam projectiles from your swords. |
| 280 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'', Agate uses this as his final S-Craft. Every enemy will be targeted as long as they're within his attack circle range. |
| 281 | * ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'': |
| 282 | ** In the first game, the Ghost Knight family of enemies have the Windhash technique which does this. Stronger forms have the V-Windhash and Neo-Windhash. |
| 283 | ** In ''Duel Saga'', Lang's final Hyper Art, "Sleeping Dragon", is a massive sword beam. This one is a variant in that the beam is emitted as the sword is thrust in a piercing motion, as opposed to a slashing motion as is typical for this trope. |
| 284 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': |
| 285 | ** In the first ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', [[FullHealthBonus if your life meter is filled to maximum capacity]], you can fire these at distant enemies. This is notable because the beam, unlike many later Zelda titles, carries the same power level as the blade itself, and they hit everything the sword hits as well (later games have enemies that are immune to the sword beam). Needless to say, getting the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Magical Sword]] as early as possible is a major boon; even the [[InfinityMinusOneSword White Sword]] is an improvement. |
| 286 | ** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'': Blue-colored Iron Knuckles and both colors of Fokka can project sword beams from their blades in the same manner as Link. |
| 287 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': The Master Sword and its upgraded forms send forth a spinning energy blast when Link has full hearts. |
| 288 | ** In other games, Link can also fire beams from his sword. Usually, [[BreakablePowerup this can only be done at full health]], though ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' (and the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' with the right {{Ring| of power}}) also features a [[CriticalStatusBuff "Peril Beam"]] which can only be used at ''low'' health. |
| 289 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has the SpinAttack which, when combined with magic, gives off a circle of energy that expands beyond the range of the sword and damages enemies. Not the classic Zelda sword beam, but still... |
| 290 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' has the Fierce Deity's Mask, a boss-only item that gives you the most powerful sword in the game that shoots sword beams that attack from all sides. All it costs is a little magic which, for 200 rupees, you can have an unlimited supply of for the remaining 2 1/2 days of a given cycle if you buy the Chateau Romani. |
| 291 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' allows you to do this when you equip the upgraded Spirit of Courage. |
| 292 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is the first 3D Zelda game to have this as a regular ability. The Skyward Strike can be used at any amount of health, though the sword has to be raised to the sky to charge up for use, leaving Link vulnerable to possible injury. The beam can be shot off vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and as a tiny bullet using a thrust, or used to power up the SpinAttack, extending its range. The charge time is reduced throughout the game as the Goddess Sword is upgraded into the Master Sword, and becomes practically zero in [[UnlockableDifficultyLevels Hero Mode]]. |
| 293 | *** [[BigBad Ghirahim]] can use his own sword beam during the second phase of his third fight. |
| 294 | *** Notably, during the final fight against [[spoiler:[[GreaterScopeVillain Demise]]]], the battle takes place in a pocket dimension that deprives Link of the ability to use the Skyward Strike until the second phase, whereupon he charges the Master Sword with ''[[BoltOfDivineRetribution lightning]]''. |
| 295 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes'' requires you to wear special outfits on top of having full health to use sword beams, with the InfinityPlusOneSword outfit's special ability being to shoot four sword beams at the same time whenever you do a spin slash, regardless of health. |
| 296 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', in one of many nods to the original game, reintroduces the sword beam as a basic ability that can only be used at full health, but is limited to the Master Sword, and uses the game's throwing mechanic to activate. |
| 297 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' is the first game in the ''Smash Bros.'' franchise to reference Link's history with sword beams and allows the ''Breath Of the Wild'' incarnation of Link to shoot a sword beam when he does his forward smash attack at 0% damage (or full stamina). |
| 298 | ** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': When wielding the Master Sword, every attack at full health sends a wide, short-ranged beam slicing towards the enemy. |
| 299 | * In the PC game ''Little Fighter'', Deep does this, while Woody does it ''with his ARMS''. |
| 300 | * ''VideoGame/{{Loopmancer}}'' have the CyberNinja boss, Hiroyuki Ogata, who can unleash red, crescent sword-waves as tall as the boss arena as a ranged attack. Jump and dash to dodge! |
| 301 | * ''VideoGame/LostSoulAside'': Performed by Ventas in the 2016 trailer. |
| 302 | * In ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', the TrueFinalBoss fight against [[spoiler:Erim]] in a NewGamePlus has the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Dual Blade]] gain this ability as its standard attack. Unfortunately, the game doesn't tell you this, and many players were too busy engaging in close combat to notice. |
| 303 | * In ''VisualNovel/MarcoAndTheGalaxyDragon'', Gargouille can project a giant blade of energy from her sword Coelacanth. She uses this to bisect one of Astaroth's warships when it interrupts a baseball game. |
| 304 | * Kai Leng in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. The N7 Slayer Vanguard in multiplayer that comes with ''[=ME3=]: Earth'' DLC features the Biotic Slash ability, which allows you to fire biotic {{razorwind}} from your sword. |
| 305 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Medabots}}'', the [[FinishingMove Medaforce]] takes this form when used by Rokusho, as does Sumilidon's [[DiagonalCut Extreme Shadow Sword]]. In the RPG, a sword wave is the general form of [[LimitBreak Medaforces]] for Kuwagata types. |
| 306 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': |
| 307 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'''s [[MyHeroZero Zero]] does this all the time with his Z-Saber, usually in a boss fight against him; in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX5 X5]]'' if you go the bad ending route and don't defeat him under around 2 minutes, he'll turn invincible and fire massive sword beams of OneHitKill. Playable Zero only gets it in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX7 X7]]'', called Hadangeki. |
| 308 | *** Both moves would become part of Zero's moveset in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''. Hadangeki can be used to fire two waves in quick succession as a single double-hitting projectile, while the attack from Zero's bad ending route boss fight in ''X5'', called Genmurei (or Genmu Zero), is his most powerful Hyper Combo attack: it can't one-shot opponents like in ''X5'', but it is still incredibly damaging. |
| 309 | ** In ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', if you manage to get Zero's saber (through an intricate method), it'll modify X's ChargedAttack: With his armor's arm part, by charging to the max, he can shoot a sword beam from the saber after shooting 2 blasts from his buster. The sword beam itself can kill bosses (including [[BigBad Sigma]]) in two hits. In ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX6 X6]]'', where X gains the saber from the start, 2 of his obtainable armors have sword beams as their [[LimitBreak Giga Attack]]: a simple, shot-forward large crescent beam with Blade Armor, and 2 encircling large crescent beams with Shadow Armor. The Magma Blade weapon (from Blaze Heatnix) also makes him swing a FlamingSword that shoots a sword beam made of fire. |
| 310 | ** Colonel of ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' likes spamming these from his LaserBlade, and Double can also throw large ones from his Laser BladeBelowTheShoulder after he TurnsRed. Slash Beast launches his Twin Slasher from his feet claws, and Grizzly Slash throws his Crescent Shots with his large red claw. Sigma in ''X8'' has a variant where he smashes the ground with his {{BFS}}, causing a short-ranged wave of energy. |
| 311 | ** Carried over in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', in an EX skill in each game except the first. As does Harpuia, [[BeamSpam excessively]]. The bosses Zero gets sword beams from -- Childre Inarabitta and Fenri Lunaedge -- also can do this, with their ears and arm-blades respectively. [[spoiler:Omega Zero can do this via the "Buster-Buster-Slash" combo and can launch multiple smaller beams when doing a mid-air rolling slash.]] |
| 312 | ** Proto Man's ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' incarnation doesn't quite shoot beams from his sword, but he does fire [[RazorWind shockwaves]] from swinging his sword. In ''[=BN6=]'', Mega Man's Slash Cross form (i.e taking Slash Man's power) lets him charge any sword-based [[FightLikeACardPlayer Battle Chips]] to launch sword beams of different sizes and ranges. |
| 313 | ** Model HX from ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', based on the aforementioned Harpuia, can do this if you alternate between the two attack buttons. One of the Model H Pseudoroids, Hivolt, can perform a similar move with his wings that double as {{Laser Blade}}s. [[spoiler:Omega Zero also returns as a SuperBoss with his variations, as can Model OX once you unlock the form]]. And there's Prometheus, who technically uses a large [[SinisterScythe scythe beam]], which in cutscenes can do anything from critically wound the heroes [[spoiler:to straight up [[TheStarscream killing]] the BigBad ([[JustADoombot fake body]])]]. |
| 314 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'': Wolf's Wide Claw can function like this for ranged attacks by unleashing sword beams with each strike. |
| 315 | ** It's possible to upgrade the range of the Blade Arm in ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' to emit beams with every slash. |
| 316 | * ''VideoGame/MonsterBoyAndTheCursedKingdom'', the hero Jin can shoot fireballs with his Fire Blade and ice bolts with his Ice Sword if he has the proper upgrades and bracelts. |
| 317 | * In ''VideoGame/MSSagaANewDawn'', Tremmie, [[OneSceneWonder Rezner]] and [[SixthRanger Hal]] can learn the Sonic Boom [[LimitBreak boost attack]], which enables a mobile suit armed with a sword or a spear to fire off one of these. It inflicts mediocre damage but does not provoke retaliation, allowing a melee-oriented GlassCannon to strike down an opponent without harm to itself. |
| 318 | ** For Tremmie, Vargas and Hal, there's a high-level version called Sonic Storm that hits all opponents simultaneously; with a sufficiently high-leveled suit, it is usually a OneHitPolykill against mooks. Some high-level enemies have this move as well. |
| 319 | * Princess Kagerou from ''VideoGame/NinjaCombat'' fights with a sword that fires crescent-shaped energy blasts, which she'll use against you during her boss fight. But after her defeat she's PromotedToPlayable, at which point you can sic her blade beams on enemy mooks. |
| 320 | * Oda Nobunaga, the boss of Edo Period Japan in ''VideoGame/NinjaCommando'' can spam crescent-shaped energy beams from his katana as a ranged attack. And sometimes his energy bolts manifests as a fiery tiger's head. |
| 321 | * Shinobu's SignatureMove in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' is a technique called "Sonic Sword", which becomes a BeamSpam after she TurnsRed. Travis Touchdown himself gets Blueberry Cheese Brownie, one of his "Dark Side" SuperMode attacks. His sword beams make people [[LudicrousGibs explode]]. |
| 322 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', Reinhardt has an ability called ''Fire Strike'' which does this, except with a huge hammer. |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'': |
| 324 | ** In Fury Mode Zenkichi can swing his sword and release waves of energy from it. |
| 325 | ** Akira Konoe can shoot a bean from the tip of his sword in the second phase of his boss fight. |
| 326 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has Psycho Cut and several other moves. Any "special" (non-physical) move coming from a bladed body part is an example. Keldeo's signature move Secret Sword is an example of this as well, and actually deals physical damage despite being a "special" attack. |
| 327 | * ''VideoGame/{{Phelios}}'' is a medieval fantasy-themed arcade shooter where instead of piloting a spaceship, your hero rides a {{Pegasus}} and use a magic sword capable of firing energy bolts from the blade to take down attacking enemies. You can even use a ChargedAttack to unleash a more devastating blast from the blade. |
| 328 | * Ryoma from ''VideoGame/PowerStone'' has a couple variants of this after powering up. |
| 329 | * The [[EnergyWeapon Plasma Whip]] in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' gains a similar ability after being [[EvolvingAttack leveled up]]. Yeah, it's technically not a ''sword'' beam, but it's close enough. |
| 330 | * Aelf's Dagger and the Eternity sword in ''VideoGame/RealmsOfTheHaunting''. To note, they recharge over time and can't be used as melee weapons. |
| 331 | * In ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'', Sparkster can fling energy beams from his sword. This was taken out in the Genesis/Mega Drive version ''Sparkster'', but made a return in the 2010 ''Rocket Knight'' revival. |
| 332 | * Minazuki Zankuro's FinishingMove in ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown V Special'' is a MASSIVE sword beam that completely obliterates the victim, save for their feet. |
| 333 | * PC game ''VideoGame/SangoFighter'' did this for about half of the characters. Almost all of the characters got a fireball and half of them were armed, so in some ways, it kind of makes sense. |
| 334 | * Similar but unrelated to the above, ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' has a few characters who use blades to fire energy beams, including Yoshihiro Shimazu and Masamune Date. |
| 335 | * ''Videogame/SenranKagura'': one of Ikaruga's {{Limit Break}}s is her swinging her katana that then launches a fire bird-shaped sword beam forward. |
| 336 | * ''VideoGame/SeveranceBladeOfDarkness'' had [[HundredPercentCompletion an upgrade]] that unlocked two attacks for [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Ianna's sword]], your only ranged attacks aside from throwing your weapons (they don't come back, and you can only carry a few) and a bow which never upgrades unlike all your other weapons, and is therefore completely useless except for hitting switches. While obtaining it is optional, you don't stand much chance against the teleporting BigBad otherwise. (And if you did get it, you'll get an [[BonusDungeon extra level after it]], with TheManBehindTheMan in a {{Magitek}} PoweredArmor as final boss.) |
| 337 | * Lo Wang can use the Wing of Crane ability in ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013'' to imbue his sword with energy and send a horizontal wave slashing out. [[spoiler:The Nobitsura Kage you've been after the whole game turns out to be even ''better'' at this once it's [[EleventhHourSuperpower fully assembled]], becoming Sword BeamSpam incarnate.]] |
| 338 | * There's this nice little semi-hidden treat on ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'' for the Genesis: if you happen to finish off the final boss (bear in mind that it has three heads to be attacked separately) with a physical blow from main hero while having the legendary sword equipped, his usual attack animation is changed for a neat special animation involving a sword beam. This is the only moment in the game where the main character attacks this way. Also, hidden character Musashi's attack animation is a sword beam. |
| 339 | * ''VideoGame/Shinobi2002'' has the Ninjutsu spell Kamitachi, which grants your sword crescent shaped homing beams fired from your sword. |
| 340 | * ''VideoGame/ShuihuzhuanLiangshanYingxiong'' have the traitor general who can launch a devastating ''spear'' beam as his attack. Also, the FinalBoss, Gao-Qiu, who can use an ''ax'' beam. |
| 341 | * Vyse and Enrique use these if they attack an enemy at a distance in ''VideoGame/{{Skies of Arcadia}}''. Enrique, using a foil, naturally does a thrusting motion to release a spear-like shot. |
| 342 | * Egg Emperor in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' alternates between vertical and horizontal versions as his main attack. The same boss would return in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' 3DS, now with diagonal ones added to the mix under certain conditions. |
| 343 | * ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' of all places has this, as one of the melee weapons players can acquire is a sword that when in use will absorb incoming fire from energy weapons, and can then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard fire it back at the enemy]]. |
| 344 | * Demon Fang in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''. |
| 345 | ** In addition to the old standard (Majinken), there's [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Kyle]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia Yuri]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 Ludger]]'s Azure Edge, the recurring Fierce Demon Fang, [[VideoGame/TalesOfInnocence Ange]]'s Kouhajin, [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Shing]]'s Solar Flare and Solar Parabola... suffice it to say, most melee attackers in the ''Tales of'' games are required to have at least one somewhere. That's to say nothing of the advanced versions like [[VideoGame/TalesOfEternia Reid]]'s Double Demon Fang, [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Lloyd]]'s Demonic Circle and [[VideoGame/TalesOfHearts Kunzite]]'s Demonic Chaos. Variations include [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Senel]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Luke]]'s hand-thrown Demon Fist, Estelle's "Star Stroke", and Repede's "Demonic Charge". Yuri also has Final Gale, which is two Sword Beams combined into a bigger blast. [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Guy]]'s second [[LimitBreak Mystic Arte]] "Brilliant Overlord" turns this into an art form with several sword beams being thrown and converging into a huge energy explosion. For an axe-based variant, [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2 Barbatos Goetia]] has "Genocide Braver", a huge fire beam blasted out of the tip of his axe, and "Hell Heat" where his axe shoots an entire stream of fireballs. |
| 346 | * Several of the swords in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' have this ability. For most, it is in the form of 'thrown' magical swords generated by swinging it, but the ''Flying Dragon'' has a much more traditional crescent-shaped beam attack. The lowest of which is the Ice Sword that can only fire an ice shard every few seconds to the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Terra Blade]] that can fire beams that penetrate multiple enemies until dissipating. Being a sword, each benefits from melee bonuses, giving melee players a ranged attack of sorts. |
| 347 | * ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend'''s [[spoiler:Excalibur]] shoots out sword beams. |
| 348 | * In ''VideoGame/TooHuman'' this effect is used when using a fierce attack with either a two handed sword, one handed sword, or dual wield sword; it manifests as a blue burst of energy flying in a straight line accompanied by the howl of a wolf. |
| 349 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Resident swords(wo)man Youmu Kompaku uses her sword for both melee and ranged attacks. Of course, this being ''[[BulletHell Touhou]]'', her ranged attacks take the form of [[MoreDakka scores]] of spirit bullets. |
| 350 | ** The fighting games play it straight with both Youmu, Miko and Tenshi. Particularly egregious in Miko's case. |
| 351 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Turok}} 2'', the Juggernauts' {{BFS}}'s can do this. |
| 352 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Valis}}'' games have this as the power of the Valis Sword. |
| 353 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ubersoldier}} 2'' has Dietrich Schaeffer, the Nazi SuperSoldier wielding a high-tech blade [[BladebelowTheShoulder attached to his right arm]], which can release an electromagnetic beam with each swing that deals crazy damage on you during his boss fight. |
| 354 | * Just about every [[AMechByAnyOtherName Virtuaroid]] in the ''VideoGame/VirtualOn'' series has at least one of these for their melee weapon, unless they have enough guns/missiles to make them redundant. |
| 355 | * ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': |
| 356 | ** Excalibur gets these as part of his Exalted Blade power. |
| 357 | ** The Caustacyst, a double-bladed infested scythe, can cast a wave of corrosive acid (with the bonus of leaving behind trails of the stuff to stagger enemies). |
| 358 | ** The Syam katana turns its user into an IaijutsuPractitioner; heavy attacks quickly draw the blade from its sheath and produce a blazing shockwave that penetrates enemies and sets them on fire. |
| 359 | * ''VideoGame/{{Wrack}}'' grants you th Hyperblade, a weapon that when charged can release energy bolts in an arc with a single swing. |
| 360 | * ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'': |
| 361 | ** Shulk's Monado Purge art in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''. It's more useful for its secondary effect of disabling the target's auras then it is for its damage, though. |
| 362 | ** In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', Phonton Saber users can learn this as a battle art, Longswords have something like this too though it requires the player to be at a closer range to the enemy |
| 363 | * The red haired adventurer Adol Christin of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series can shoot cutting arcs of wind starting from ''VideoGame/YsSeven''. |
| 364 | [[/folder]] |
| 365 | |
| 366 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 367 | * A few characters in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' have used sword beam attacks. |
| 368 | ** Weiss used a Time Dilation Glyph to allow Blake to destroy a full spread of missiles. They haven't repeated this since, likely because it left them both exhausted. |
| 369 | ** Qrow Branwin used a vertical sword beam to destroy Winter Schnee's murder of crow summons and send her back a few paces away from him. |
| 370 | ** Adam Taurus has the semblance "Moonslice". It allows him to [[EnergyAbsorption absorb energy]] by blocking ranged and physical attacks with his sword. He can then release the energy as powerful sword beams. |
| 371 | [[/folder]] |
| 372 | |
| 373 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 374 | * ''Webcomic/ABeginnersGuideToTheEndOfTheUniverse'': When fully charged, the Blazing Hot Betty -- a sword created by supernaturally fusing a broken bottle, a lightbulb and a magnifying glass -- can shoot laser beams by focusing its stored energy into a single target point. |
| 375 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Roy Greenhilt unsuccessfully tries to invoke this from his ancestral sword [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1045.html here.]] |
| 376 | [[/folder]] |
| 377 | |
| 378 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 379 | * A common attack in ''Literature/ChaosFighters'', which is called slash waves. In close range, it is possible to slash enemies while launching them simultaneously. |
| 380 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Keela can send out slashes of darkness with a swing of her scythe. |
| 381 | ** Vladmare can send out slashes of blue energy by swinging his sword. |
| 382 | * ''Roleplay/FateNuovoGuerra'' features Clarent as an EvilCounterpart to Excalibur from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' above. It feeds on the hate and despair in the surroundings, and will eventually feed on the Grail itself. To a lesser extent, Tizona and Colada, when {{Dual Wield|ing}}ed, create a short-range version. |
| 383 | * ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': Jack Slash of the Slaughterhouse Nine explicitly has this as his superpower. He can kill an entire crowd of people with one swing of an ordinary knife. |
| 384 | [[/folder]] |
| 385 | |
| 386 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 387 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "True Colors", when King Andrias loses his patience with the heroes after they tear through his MechaMooks, he stabs the ground with his LaserBlade and unleashes a wave that knocks them all down. |
| 388 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko uses something very like this effect a couple of times, using his twin swords as a focus for his firebending powers. Aang has also been known to do something similar with his staff and his airbending skills. |
| 389 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BlackStar'', John Blackstar and his ArchEnemy, the Overlord can both fire energy bolts from their [[CrystalWeapon crystalline swords]], the respective Star Sword and Power Sword. |
| 390 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': |
| 391 | ** William gains the power to launch a crescent-shaped energy blast with his {{BFS}} once possessed by XANA. |
| 392 | ** Ulrich also uses Sword Beams in episodes "Franz Hopper" and "Nobody in Particular", each time with XANA's help. |
| 393 | * An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' had the kids make an uneasy alliance with a mighty skeleton warrior who was cursed by Venger. The skeleton warrior had the ability to shoot energy beams out of his sword, which he used on Venger to good effect. |
| 394 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989'' animated TV series, Link's sword is really more of a sword-shaped MagicWand that he [[SwordPointing points at things]] in order to shoot {{Disintegrator Ray}}s. He never attempts to actually swing it at enemies except when parrying or feinting in battle. Likewise, the bows wielded by Zelda are depicted as an EnergyBow with identical powers. One episode has Link foolishly trade his sword for a snazzier-looking blade, and then discovers to his horror that the new sword is useless because it ''doesn't'' shoot magic beams; simply using the weapon like a regular sword isn't so much as considered. Presumably, this is because [[MoralGuardians slashing something with a sword is imitable, but shooting a laser out of it isn't]]. |
| 395 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Raine can fire waves of sound from their viola sharp enough to cut through Darius' abomination form or a wall of thick vines. |
| 396 | * While the Sword of Protection ''can'' fire lasers in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' (as well as fixing miscellaneous articles of First One technology, [[MorphWeapon shifting shape]], turning things into unicorns, and healing people), Adora -- who is pretty ripped even when she ''hasn't'' [[SuperMode transformed into an eight-foot goddess of war]] -- only actually does it on rare occasions, generally preferring to just smack people with the flat of the sword to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. [[spoiler:In the final season, she tends to use it a lot, but usually against something non-organic.]] |
| 397 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Pearl can fire arrow-like energy blasts from the tip of her spear. She can also charge it to perform a more powerful version. In all cases, it's merely a long-range attack that isn't effective on fast or skilled foes; she's never shown firing it while moving on her own, the blasts travel too slowly to be useful on a moving target, and it seems to telegraph enough that the shots can be dodged. |
| 398 | * ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'': A number of {{Laser Blade}}s can fire energy blasts, either by being pointed at the target or waved in their direction. |
| 399 | * In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985'' and ''WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011'', the Sword of Omens can shoot an energy bolt for its chosen wielders, by pointing it at the intended target and screaming "Hooo!" |
| 400 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has the Star Saber, introduced in the episode "Legacy". It's on the higher end of the scale in terms of firepower, causing enough damage to nearly crash a warship. |
| 401 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'', the Sword of Daylight shoots out a beam of pure daylight after Jim stabs Bular through the chest, turning most of his body to stone in the process. |
| 402 | * In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', Oritel's CoolSword can shoot energy blasts when it's magically charged. Swords used by the guards on Domino can also shoot energy blasts. |
| 403 | [[/folder]] |
| 404 | |
| 405 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 406 | * The people over at Wicked Lasers had to do work to avoid this trope [[http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasersaber here.]] If they hadn't, the product would have been something more like an extra riot baton with a very powerful laser coming out the tip, particularly impressive in that the website all but outright says that their lasers can be used for self defense. |
| 407 | * By snapping their claws, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpheidae pistol shrimp]] can create vacuum shockwaves to kill other fish from a distance. So powerful is this Claw Beam that it can [[PowerGlows produce light]] as the surrounding water is briefly heated to sun-like temperatures. The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp mantis shrimp]] creates a similar but shorter-ranged effect from the force of its punches. |
| 408 | [[/folder]] |
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