History Main / NerfArm

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneAmnesty'', Ned Chicane metes out surprising helpings of justice with the help of his enchanted Super Soaker.
[[/folder]]

* The vast majority of injuries in fencing are due to folks crashing into each other or twisting an ankle. The only reason jackets are worn is because blades on very, very rare occasions snap (and also because being poked repeatedly with stiff bits of metal ''hurts''). If this happens, it's often user error. It also results in a very jagged piece of metal which can wound or kill an opponent. Historically, the methods of nerfing (back then, they called it "foiling") lethal swords was remarkably unreliable. Plenty of foiled weapons accidentally (or [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident "accidentally"]]) killed someone.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', the Joker has the choice to fight the Phantasm with either a [[{{BFS}} giant, menacing, kitchen knife]] or a processed Bologna log. [[CrazyAwesome Guess which one he chooses]].

* In ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' you unlock the "Sicilian Slicer" sword by entering "[[LetsPlay/StephenPlays STEPHENPLAYS]]" as a cheat code when you start a new file. It's a decent starter weapon that outclasses the starter gear like the Kung Fu Shoes and is on par with the Mace you get a ways later, and is a literal slice of dripping pizza mounted on a hilt.

* LetsPlay/{{Pewdiepie}} made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgdVmVgUITg video]] dissing a rival channel called "Cocomelon", where he and a bunch of children use cardboard weapons to destroy watermelons. Sadly, Youtube took it down and the linked video is only the audio.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''

* The TournamentArc in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' disallowed bladed weapons, so [[{{Samurai}} Setsuna]] improvised with a deck brush. It was still effective thanks to her [[KiManipulation Ki]].

* In the FanFic/DokiDokiLiteratureClubLoops, one of Yuri's knives is made out of cardboard. It's still far, far more effective than any normal knife.

* In the game ''TableTopGame/{{Battletech}}'', swinging the blown-off arm of an enemy mech can do more damage than firing a mid-grade or even high grade cannon, depending on your mech's size -- for a ''lot'' less heat buildup.

* In [[Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance]], one of the possible weapons that Raiden can unlock is a (mostly) non-lethal high-frequency wooden sword. Unlike the regular kills caused by other swords, where the enemies get sliced to pieces, the enemies defeated by this weapon just fall unconscious and fade away.

* The main character in ''Videogame/ChronoTrigger'' can equip a mop, which is treated as just a really weak sword.
* In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'', you can find certain goofy weapons for your characters, such as a parasol for Aeris, a mop for Cid, a boxing glove for Barret, etc. They're the most powerful weapons you'll find for a while, but the catch is that they have no slots for Materia. If you use them regularly, you'll be gimping your magic in the long run. These weapons are very useful to have when Yuffie steals all your materia.

** And before that, ''Covenant'' had [[OurVampiresAreDifferent J]][[LargeHam o]][[AmbiguouslyGay a]][[ImprobableWeaponUser c]][[MaskOfPower h]][[WrestlerInAllOfUs i]][[NinjaPirateZombieRobot m]] using such weapons as a large segment of pipe, a rolled-up package of textiles, a locker, the desk of a wrestling emcee, a miniature skyscraper ''with actual miniature people in it that [[NightmareFuel scream when he swings it]]'', and a miniature nuclear submarine that was not only a StealthPun to the name of the developer but also contained enough firepower to sterilize the Earth of life (but was never used to do so due to a gentlemen's agreement).

* A cheat in ''VideoGame/HitmanContracts'' can grant you a "Cardboard Tube" (in homage to the ''WebComic/PennyArcade'' example below) which the description lists as being "constructed from five-star ultra-dense musashi cardboard". Hitting an opponent with it sends them sailing in a nearly flat trajectory, usually only stopping when they strike an obstacle. Awesome.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''

** The [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}} first]] [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}} two]] games both have the Red Ryder Limited Edition BB gun, which has the same average damage as a sniper rifle with half the weight, a 50% faster fire rate, and a 100-round magazine. Its best use is putting someone's eye out (no coincidence, since it's a ShoutOut to ''Film/AChristmasStory''.)

** ''VideoGame/Fallout3''

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'':

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}:

** Less nerfy, but still somewhat in the spirit of this trope, are the starting weapons in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', like the protagonist's golf club, Yosuke's wrenches, and Kanji's folding chair. The protagonist can also get some AwesomeButImpractical baseball bats, which have high power but terrible accuracy. Sidequests in ''4'' can get you weapons for Yosuke modeled after ''trout'' and ''grilled corn''. These are actually really good weapons. The grilled corn, in particular, has a high chance of casting Silence on any enemy not immune to it; in a game where hitting elemental weaknesses is a major part of the combat system, this is not to be sneezed at.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}'', completing all the chapters on [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels 3rd Climax]] (Hard) unlocks the final weapon: A Chain Chomp. An actual living Chain Chomp straight out of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' that's chained up to Bayonetta's leg. Crazy as it sounds, it makes for a powerful mix of an EpicFlail that'll smack angels and demons flat and an AngryGuardDog that'll bite them into submission. And the best part about it? Not even Rodin, who makes a living from taking down demons and turning them into weapons for Bayonetta and is very much one of the biggest badasses of the series, could tame this beast!

* The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series; Naughty/Sexy Underwear, an "armor" item for the girls that appeared through some iterations of the series; although the joke is only in the nature of the item, as its effects and atributes are generally great, making it a great equip. Also, due to the blatant name, and its implication of the wearer venturing the land in nothing more than sexy lingerie, the item is widely referred in [[{{Rule34}} Fanarts]] and {{Doujinshi}}.

* ''Videogame/{{Hedgewars}}'' follows the steps made by ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' when it comes to ridiculous powerful weapons. Bazooka? Shotgun? Desert eagle? Pff. Watermelon, a piano, a colorful ball launcher, or a birthday cake, among others? Consider yourself dead!

* In ''Videogame/LandOfTheDeadRoadToFiddlersGreen'', the kung-fu fists are so powerful (and fast-firing) they are also a GameBreaker. After finding them [[spoiler:in a closet in your murdered neighbor's house]], the game becomes a breeze, even with mods that add several thousand zombies, or turn your character into a OneHitPointWonder. After getting the kung-fu fists, the only difficult mission is "Heavy Gunner", because you are given a minigun and must use it instead of the kung-fu fists.
* ''Videogame/MagnaCarta2'' has the 1000 Ton Hammer, a weapon for Argo. It is a massive black hammer with the words "1000 TON" written on it, with flying birds above it to slam down upon enemies.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'', defeating the BonusBoss of [[SidequestSidestory a long sidequest arc]] rewards you with two weapons for Riki. One of them looks like an oversized half-eaten fish, and it just so happens to be one of Riki's best weapons. This in contrast with the other weapon: A JokeItem with an impressive damage range of 1-1.
* ''Videogame/{{Touhou}}'': While it's not something in the player's hands, in the Extra Stage Boss of ''Great Fairy Wars'', Marisa does this, with spell cards such as Love Sign "Master Spark-like Flashlight" and "Blazing Star-like Tag", where, instead of powering them using her Mini Hakkero, she powers these attacks using a flashlight.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Motoko in ''Manga/LoveHina'' is one of many KidSamurai whose wooden sword (''bokken'') is just as effective at dealing damage as a real katana, [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter and sometimes more so.]] There is evidence that it was as much to keep his opponents alive so that he could then take them on as students as it was to show off his own skill. Only a handful of the duels he fought with bokken ended in death.

** The Jade Ham from the ''Jaws of Hakkon'' DLC is a carved ham roast stuck on top of a stick. It's one of the best one-handed weapons in the entire game. (Notably, you can put a magical rune on your ham roast to upgrade it. The weapon also has a chance to inflict poison, which has some [[CordonBleughChef less savory implications]].)

*** The Dart Gun, which ''looks'' ridiculous, considering a main part of its construction is a little toy car. It only does a small amount of damage due to its poison effect... and instantly ''cripples'' the target's legs, reducing their speed to a crawl. Make one and show it to your [[DemonicSpiders DeathLightningBruiser claw]] friends! One should also note that the poison damage caused by this weapon completely ignores armor, meaning it's just as effective on a raider as a guy in full power armor.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic,'' we have the episode "Over A Barrel", In which pony settlers fight off a stampeding herd of buffalo with apple pies. The pies apparently hit with enough force to knock a charging buffalo flat.

* Standard zombie enemies in ''The Typing Of The Dead'' weird silly items such as squeaky hammers or maracas in place of the standard weapons they would have in ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDead''. However, their attacks still hurt just as much.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', the Joker has the choice to fight the Phantasm with either a [[{{BFS}} giant, menacing, kitchen knife]] or a processed Bologna log. [[CrazyAwesome Guess which one he chooses]].

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' has a joke weapon for each weapon type, but some of them (the Toy Bow especially) can be acquired early enough that they're not jokes at all, and can serve well for a long stretch of the game.

** Becomes a JustifiedTrope in ''VideoGame/Persona5''. The Phantom Thieves fight with replica weapons and model guns, but they cause real damage due to the YourMindMakesItReal nature of the mental world. As long as the Shadows ''think'' the weapons are real, they can be hurt by them. [[SixthRanger Goro Akechi (AKA Crow)]] plays it straight the most, utilising toy swords and ray guns in battle.

* ''{{Videogame/Touhou}}'': While it's not something in the player's hands, in the Extra Stage Boss of ''Great Fairy Wars'', Marisa does this, with spell cards such as Love Sign "Master Spark-like Flashlight" and "Blazing Star-like Tag", where, instead of powering them using her Mini Hakkero, she powers these attacks using a flashlight.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'''s "Cardboard Tube Samurai" strips recast Gabe as a wandering samurai in feudal Japan--only, instead of a katana, he wields the titular cardboard shipping tube.

* Lots of ''{{WebComic/Homestuck}}'' weapons are alchemized from a weapon combined with other, often random objects, and have a tendency to look very silly (and be named silly things as well.) Some especially silly examples:

** Dave's ''[[Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff]]'' Sword.

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* There's always a few gag weapons such as this in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', though with some of them it is possible to kill an enemy with some creativity. A kill was made in v3 by smashing an ocarina in the victim's face, then stabbing him in the neck with a broken shard and knocking him off a cliff.

* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' sometimes uses a [[LightGunGame Zapper]] as if it were a real gun.
* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': Invoked by Linkara's "Arsenal of Freedom" which is made up entirely of toys and prop replicas; handwaved in that they turn out to be enchanted to work like their "real" counterparts.

* ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder'': Has a broom capable of dealing damage to an omniscient being and an extremely overleveled weapon that happens to be a fish wrapped up in a newspaper.
* Zombie Go Boom tested a plastic toy ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' pickaxe, PVC pipes, toilet tank lids and extension cords. All of these proved to be capable of fracturing a skull.

* In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVII'', you can find certain goofy weapons for your characters, such as a parasol for Aeris, a mop for Cid, a boxing glove for Barret, etc. They're the most powerful weapons you'll find for a while, but the catch is that they have no slots for Materia. If you use them regularly, you'll be gimping your magic in the long run.[[note]]These weapons were very useful to have when Yuffie steals all your materia.[[/note]]
** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', Zack goes to Costa del Sol and fights with an umbrella rather than his normal sword. However, since all his damage comes from his base stats and accessories, it's just as powerful as the ''Buster Sword''.

** There's a whole subcategory of fishing poles in [=WoW=]. It has to be equipped to fish with it, but sometimes bored PVPers would equip it just so they can say they beat someone to death with a fishing pole. Mostly rogues, because it's the only two-handed weapon rogues can equip, aside from a ''Wrath of the Lich King'' weapon entitled "The Fire Extinguisher." If you are fishing for any length of time while waiting for a queue to pop, expect to realise at some point that the reason your DPS is so low is because you have forgotten to re-equip your sword after entering the dungeon.

* In ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Assassin's Creed 2]]'', due to a quirk or easter egg in the weapons system, you can knock someone down, pick up their broom from the ground, and use it just as effectively as any other one-handed-mace in the game.
** The creators picked up on it too; in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' there is an Achievement for killing a guard with the broom.
* The tool with the highest attack points in ''VideoGame/RuneFactory'' is your watering can.
** In the sequel, your strongest tool is your fishing rod.
** Also, the Back Scratcher in ''Rune Factory 2''.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' featured a purple double-ended dildo (which can be found the Los Santos Police Station Showers among other places) as a surprisingly strong melee weapon.
** And it can be given as a gift to your girlfriends. Same with a secret silver vibrator that can be found in the westernmost town of Tierra Robada.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' gives us the Fork of Horripilation, which not only is the worst weapon in the game, but also drains 200 magicka. It's useful for an interesting side-quest, though.
** There's also the miner's pick, which is rather heavy and not much more effective (and not quest related).
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' has a joke weapon for each weapon type, but some of them (the Toy Bow especially) can be acquired early enough that they're not jokes at all, and can serve well for a long stretch of the game. Less nerfy, but still somewhat in the spirit of this trope, are the starting weapons in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', like the protagonist's golf club, Yosuke's wrenches, and Kanji's folding chair. The protagonist can also get some AwesomeButImpractical baseball bats, which have high power but terrible accuracy.
** Sidequests in ''4'' can get you weapons for Yosuke modeled after ''trout'' and ''grilled corn''. These are actually really good weapons. The grilled corn, in particular, has a high chance of casting Silence on any enemy not immune to it; in a game where hitting elemental weaknesses is a major part of the combat system, this is not to be sneezed at.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', most of the characters use their proper weapons (Yu's katana, Naoto's revolver, Akihiko's fists, etc) but Kanji still uses the folding chair. His attacks are still some of the most damaging in the game. In the sequel there's also Rise, who has never fought before and doesn't even have a Persona with combat abilities, but can stand against the others with ''[[ThePowerOfRock a microphone stand and J-pop.]]''
** Becomes a JustifiedTrope ''VideoGame/Persona5''. The Phantom Thieves fight with replica weapons and model guns, but they cause real damage due to the YourMindMakesItReal nature of the mental world. As long as the Shadows ''think'' the weapons are real, they can be hurt by them. [[SixthRanger Goro Akechi (AKA Crow)]] plays it straight the most, utilising toy swords and ray guns in battle.

*** This is FridgeBrilliance when you think about it: Of course the denizens of Hell would be weak to [[ThePowerOfLove a song about true love]] and having optimistic views about it.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' has replica and ceremonial weapons and armor, which appear in various display cases and dungeons in Cyrodiil and as their names suggest, look exactly like their normal equipment counterparts. All have stats of 1 while retaining all the weight of normal equipment. There's not even a point in selling them since the weapons have a value of 0 and the armor has a value of 1.
* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'': The ''Hearthfire'' expansion adds the wooden sword to the list of equipable weapons. Yes, it is a kid's toy. Yes, it does next to no damage. Yes, your one-handed skill still has an influence on how much damage your toy sword can do. Yes, it can be upgraded like any other sword. Yes, it can also be enchanted. Which means that a player with maxed-out One-Handed, Smithing and Enchanting skills (and optionally assorted buffing jewelery and potions) can still slaughter dragons with a wooden sword.

** Yoshimitsu gets it in a special alternate costume in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6''.

* There's always a few gag weapons such as this in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', though with some of them it is possible to kill an enemy with some creativity.
** A kill was made in v3 by smashing an ocarina in the victim's face, then stabbing him in the neck with a broken shard and knocking him off a cliff.

* Zombie Go Boom tested a plastic toy ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' pickaxe and found that it is capable of fracturing a skull.
** In a mix between this and LethalJokeWeapon, they've also tested things like PVC pipes, toilet tank lids and extension cords. All of these proved to be capable of fracturing a skull.

* Motoko in ''Manga/LoveHina'' is one of many KidSamurai whose wooden sword (''bokken'') is just as effective at dealing damage as a real katana, [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter and sometimes more so.]]
** Most versions of this are [[MemeticMutation Memetic Mutations]] from UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, the greatest Japanese swordsman, using a wooden sword rather than a real one as a handicap so people wouldn't be afraid to spar with him. This sometimes ignores the fact that being hit with what's essentially an edged baseball bat still ''hurts''. It's also less likely to break in combat, a common issue of the standard katana (though [[KatanasAreJustBetter not so much in anime)]].
** There is evidence that it was as much to keep his opponents alive so that he could then take them on as students as it was to show off his own skill. Only a handful of the duels he fought with bokken ended in death.
** In one instance this was because he was answering a challenge held amongst a hostile clan, and wanted to get in and out inconspicuously to avoid a fight with the entire school. So he left without weapons, carved a bokken from an oar as he sailed there, arrived just as the challenger was expecting a forfeit, and killed him. Then ditched the wooden sword and slipped away on his boat.

** Likewise, Tatewaki Kunō's wooden sword is capable of cutting trees in half and [[RazorWind shattering stone walls]]. But, of course, any unarmed character can beat Kunō with their pinky finger.

* Twilight Suzuka in ''Manga/OutlawStar'' also favors a [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter wooden sword]], and is capable of quite astonishing feats of mayhem with it, up to and including slicing an oncoming truck in half, though she describes that as [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower "a mere feat of strength."]]
** It does have one practical use: it's easy to sneak past metal detectors.

* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', the protagonist gets surrounded by a gang of mook girls armed with various weapons. The problem is that he WouldntHitAGirl. Fortunately, in the last moment, [[SexyMentor Shigure]] comes to the rescue, but Kenichi [[MartialPacifist wouldn't let her use sharp objects]] on the girls. So Shigure defeats them with a rice spoon.
** She doesn't just beat them, she slices all their weapons to pieces with her rice spoon, and while she's at it she also cuts a series of lacerations into their outfits so that when they try to carry on the fight their clothing starts falling apart.
** She later does this with a [[CherryTapping sword shaped videogame controller]] to the same group of girls, except this time the ClothingDamage was worse. She did remark on how much they had improved when their weapons weren't destroyed.

* In the Dressrosa arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', both Rebecca and the old gladiator Ricky use actual swords, but intentionally left blunt to cause as little damage as possible, with Rebecca in particular preferring to take down opponents via RingOut. [[spoiler:Fittingly, they're grandfather and granddaughter.]]
** In the past, the Corrida Colosseum battles were fought with blunt weapons and the fights were also much shorter, so the the participants wouldn't suffer from fatal injuries. After Doflamingo took the reign in Dressrosa, the Corrida Colosseum battles became much more violent; sharped and deadly weapons were allowed, and there's a weight limit to your armor and weaponry you can bring in to maximize the chance of injuries and bloodshed.

** Somewhat justifiable, in that plate armor is resistant to bladed weapons; blunt weapons are far more effective. However, it would make more sense for the actual soldiers to carry maces, flails, and war hammers.

* [[Film/TheBourneSeries Jason Bourne]] once fended off an attacker with a rolled up newspaper.
** Not to mention when he used a pen against an assassin.
** There have in fact been cases of both items being turned into makeshift shivs in prisons. Newspaper would be dunked in water, then compressed as much as possible until hardened, then sharpened.

* For most of the Destiny Island area of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', this is averted when Sora wields a wooden sword. It's so weak it doesn't even do damage to Shadows (the weakest enemies outside of Destiny Island). Oddly, when he takes up a wooden sword again near the end of the game, although it is much weaker than the keyblade he'd been using all along, it still is capable of dealing damage and even vanquishing the Heartless (Though they don't flinch when struck by it). Perhaps this is due to Sora being so very [[TookALevelInBadass levelled up]].

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', each member of the Organization can equip 1-2 comical but nonetheless effective "joke" weapons. These include a sandwich, a broom, light bulbs, pizza, and a giant soup ladle. Also, Roxas uses a stick for one mission while Xion borrows his Keyblade.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', the prize for making all the flavors of ice cream is a Keyblade called "Sweetstack". Said Keyblade is made of ice cream, and looks absolutely ridiculous. It also has a 100% critical hit rate, making it one of the most powerful Keyblades in the game, although its critical hit damage multiplier is pretty low.
* The starting sword in the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' is made of wood. (Or bronze. The graphics and dialog are too vague to completely rule out bronze.) Link also uses a wooden sword in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', but for a significantly shorter period of time. The latter is almost certainly a ShoutOut to the former; other equipment you get in ''Twilight Princess'' by the end of the 'wooden sword part' include the Lantern (the first equipment you get in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'') and the Slingshot (mostly pointless except as a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' or when you need to conserve arrows).
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' brings back the Bug Catching Net. It can reflect the projectiles fired by one of the main villains. But probably not like in said game, the upgraded form is a fairly viable weapon to use against enemies, doing about the same amount of damage as the most powered-up version of the Master Sword. So for someone with good timing, you end up with a fairly viable melee weapon despite it looking utterly ridiculous.
* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has an 8-bit weapon for every weapon type, meaning every character has at least one and some have several. For example, Darunia has a piece of Bait on a stick while Ganondorf has a pair of keys. Besides being at odds with the HD style of the game, they're ridiculously oversized to match the scale of the characters. They all share stats with the tier 3 version of the weapon they replace, and can have the ability to boost their strength to 450 like anything else.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' Lloyd's starting weapon is ''[[DualWielding double]]'' wooden swords. (The apparent wonky grammar is due to Lloyd's pairs of swords each being a single item in the [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplay mechanics]].) In addition, each character has an harmless-looking joke weapon that is a top tier weapon for them -- Lloyd's is a pair of PaperFanOfDoom.
** Lloyd can also get a title for only using the wooden swords until a certain point in the game.

* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series. [[BatterUp Baseball bats]] have always been a staple of TheHero, and TheChick usually fights with [[FryingPanOfDoom frying pans]]. What's more, everybody can equip slingshots and yoyos, and the characters with lethal weapons (Lloyd and Jeff's guns, Teddy's blades) start the game with nerf versions (airsoft guns and a butter knife, respectively).
** This carried over into the heroes' appearances in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros.'' series, with their forward smash attack being a bat or stick, and the Home Run Bat being one of the slowest but most powerful pickup weapons.

* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' has a literal Nerf Arm as a potential weapon: the [[Franchise/MegaMan Mega Buster]] fires little Nerf-like balls that do virtually no damage. One in-game achievement unlocks the Real Mega Buster, the InfinityPlusOneSword of firearms.
** There's also the Toy Laser Sword, which, other than cool lighting effects and pushback, does no damage at all. Getting an in-game achievement (different from the one above) gives Frank access to the Z-Saber, which looks exactly the same, but is beam ''death''.
*** That is averted in the Wii version, where the sword actually kills many enemies in one or two hits. But it does break faster than most melee weapons.

* Almost half of the weapons in the humorous MMORPG ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' are of this kind. While most of the silliest weapons (tiny paper umbrellas, balloon swords, squeaky mallets etc.) are pretty weak, a powerful character can still do massive damage with them, and some silly weapons (e.g. potato guns and cardboard swords) are actually quite effective.
** Plus almost all the magic based weapons are cooking utensils. (Iron pasta spoon, Gnollish pie server, etc.) The reason for magical utensils? The magic-using classes are known collectively as "Chef-Magi."
** The Clown Hammer is the very embodiment of this trope. "You hit (the monster) for X damage. SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"
** ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' is in love with this trope. Even some of the familiars fit the definition: Teddy bears, Volleyballs, Balloon Monkeys, Baby Gravy Fairies, etc. Beware the Levitating Potato!
** Ranged weapons seem to have a higher tendency to be silly. Among the ranged weapons with power 180 or greater (max power is 200) are a record[[note]]as in, the precursor of the CD[[/note]], a bag of candy, a Slinky, a bag of snowballs, a paddle-ball, a beer-slinging catapult, a beer bong, [[MusicalAssassin a guitar, a sitar, and a didgeridoo]].
*** Then again, 200-power melee weapons include [[strike:a stick]] the arm of a demonic snowman, a [[LawyerFriendlyCameo definitely-not-a-]][[Franchise/KingdomHearts Keyblade]], a ''[[ShamuFu halibut]]'', a lawn dart, a sword made of velcro, and a [[IncrediblyLamePun shoulder blade]], with the duct tape sword not far behind.
* Yo-yos have become common enough ranged weapons to [[Main/KillerYoyo get their own classification]].

* ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur 2'' featured an entire class of joke weapons, one for each character. In addition to having bizarre effects and, in some cases, just looking completely ridiculous ("Link has a butterfly net, LOOK OUT!"), they also cause bizarre sound effects whenever they hit, turning every ''life or death battle'' into a laugh-fest.
** Raphael's joke weapon, the Cane, actually produces cheering and applause when he successfully hits with it.
** The above mentioned "Link has a butterfly net" may be homage to the SNES game A Link to the Past, In which it is possible to reflect Ganon's attack with said implement, and it actually HAD MORE RANGE THAN THE MASTER SWORD.
** Joke weapons are more or less a staple of the ''[=SoulCalibur=]'' series at this point. They appear in the fourth game as well as the second. They also appear in the third one, but must be unlocked. Weapons such as a broom and dusters and the like.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has brooms, pitchforks, broken bottles, rolling pins, and even fish as weapons. There don't usually have any stats on them and do very weak damage, but putting a fiery enchant on a broom and running around hitting stuff with a flaming broom of death is entertaining.
** Though there was a long period of time where the best weapon for a rogue was the Barman's Shanker, essentially a smashed liquor bottle.
** there are also [[http://www.wowhead.com/?item=9391 this]], [[http://www.wowhead.com/?item=9465#tool-for this]], and [[http://www.wowhead.com/?item=19944 this]].
*** On that last one, there's a whole subcategory of fishing poles in [=WoW=]. It has to be equipped to fish with it, but sometimes bored PVPers would equip it just so they can say they beat someone to death with a fishing pole. Mostly rogues, because it's the only two-handed weapon rogues can equip, aside from a ''Wrath of the Lich King'' weapon entitled "The Fire Extinguisher."
*** If you are fishing for any length of time while waiting for a queue to pop, expect to realise at some point that the reason your DPS is so low is because you have forgotten to re-equip your sword after entering the dungeon.

*** The Dart Gun, which ''looks'' ridiculous, considering a main part of its construction is a little toy car. It only does a small amount of damage due to its poison effect... and instantly ''cripples'' the target's legs, reducing their speed to a crawl. Make one and show it to your [[DemonicSpiders Death]][[LightningBruiser claw]] friends! One should also note that the poison damage caused by this weapon completely ignores armor, meaning it's just as effective on a raider as a guy in full power armor.

* The ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' Core Rulebook introduces the Weaponry skill with a short vignette about a young woman fending off an attacker--with an umbrella.
** And it would have worked [[http://www.real-self-defense.com/unbreakable-umbrella.html with this umbrella]].

[[quoteright:278:[[Webcomic/PennyArcade https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ctsamurai_9154.jpg]]]]

* In [[Literature/WorldWarZ]], the US armed forces weaponize their standard-issue entrenching tool, dubbing it the "Lobotomizer" or "Lobo."

*** Yo-yos have become common enough ranged weapons to get their own classification.

** Vladimir Smirnov died in 1982 of fatal complications after an accident in which Mattias Behr had broken the tip of his foil on Smirnov's suit and then unknowingly pierced Smirnov's mask, driving the broken tip [[EyeScream through his left eye and into his brain]]. Although it didn't kill him outright, Smirnov died nine days later as nothing could've been done about the cerebral damage.

** And it can be given as a gift to your girlfriends. Same with a secret silver vibrator that can be found in the northern most town of Boone County.

* ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' has another literal Nerf Arm, albeit only for [[NotCompletelyUseless a single boss fight]] thanks to a GoodBadBug. The Toy Spitball Gun is just that, a toy that shoots foam balls. Normally they do no damage and just stagger foes, but since they're coded as thrown objects rather than projectiles if you take them against the helicopter boss that's coded to take fixed damage from thrown objects it suddenly becomes capable of ''shooting down a helicopter in a few shots''.

[[folder: Fan Works]]