Summary
- Action RPGs are more enjoyable with diverse weapon choices like Castle Crashers, offering over 50 strange weapons.
- Rise of the Ronin introduces unique weapons like flamethrowers in an open-world samurai setting.
- Avowed stands out with traditional and magical weapons like wands, enhancing combat diversity and satisfaction.
Action RPGs are more fun if there is a lot of weapon variety to mix things up in combat. For example, the Kingdom Hearts series is great, but all the playable heroes throughout the series just use Keyblades, which basically amount to swords. Swords can be great to use in action RPGs, but they shouldn't be the end-all, be-all of combat.
These other action RPGs acknowledge this point and give fans what they deserve: weapon variety. One character could wield dozens of weapons, or perhaps players can experience new weapons through characters. Either way, let’s rank these games based on how diverse the weapon systems are, along with the overall quality of the experience.
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Castle Crashers
Wacky Weapons, Wacky World
Castle Crashers
- Released
- August 27, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor
- Genre(s)
- Hack and Slash
Castle Crashers was a big hit in the early days of indie games on the Xbox 360. What started as a game featuring four elemental knights turned into a cavalcade of optional heroes and weapons. Now, the game features over fifty weapons — perhaps the most on this list — and they’re all very strange, like Pitchfork, Fishing Rod, Lollipop, and Lobster. Most weapons are blunt objects, which is a little disappointing, but they do offer different stats, and it’s just fun to hit enemies with food sometimes.
Rise Of The Ronin
Flamethrowers In Japan
Rise of the Ronin
- Released
- March 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Adventure, Open-World
Rise of the Ronin is an open-world game set during the steam revolution as it was entering Japan. Gamers can play as a noble samurai and slash enemies, or they can be stealthy. There’s a good amount of bladed equipment, from swords to spears, with over a dozen options, including a variety of ranged weapons. Not many samurai games give players revolvers or muskets to play with. The standout weapon has to be the flamethrower, which is called the Fire Pipe in the game.
Avowed
Putting Wands On The Map
Avowed
- Released
- February 18, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Avowed has a lot of traditional fantasy things going for it that make it easy to compare to The Elder Scrolls. The combat system is aided by a good number of weapons, which helps diversify it to be a more satisfying action RPG.
There are swords, maces, and axes, with legendary varieties imbued with magic. Then there are Grimoires and Wands that can use magic in interesting ways. Avowed’s Wands in particular may be the best implementation of wands in a video game to date, as the simple flick can bring a lot of joy in battle.
Final Fantasy Type-0
A New Class Of Hero
Final Fantasy Type-0
- Released
- October 27, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Final Fantasy Type-0 is a spinoff centered on an elite military school and its ace cadets. Each member of this class is assigned a weapon, from playing cards to dual pistols to a giant scythe. Each hero can use magic, and players can swap them on the fly during missions. Squads can also take Eidolons with them, Summons, which add another momentum to combat. Riding through battle with Odin and his giant sword is a good example, but the individual weapons for each character are varied enough that players will want to test them all out.
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
Kill Dracula With Variety
Most Castlevania games that are also Metroidvanias have a good amount of weapon variety. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow stands out as one of the better ones, because it also has a unique set of abilities to learn from monsters. As for weapons, protagonist Soma Cruz can unlock swords, guns, spears, whips, and so much more. Each weapon has drawbacks, like speed, and advantages, like distance. This helps the game stand out above other action RPGs, as players will constantly feel the push-pull of favoring weapon types over stats for strategic reasons.
Elden Ring
An Open-Wolrd Revolution
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
FromSoftware took a big leap forward for their Soulslike games by finally making an open-world adventure via Elden Ring. Players had more agency than ever to explore, fight monsters, collect loot, and even join up with other players online.
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There are plenty of classic weapons, like swords, spears, hammers, and bows, but there are many unique ones too. Twinblades are double-bladed swords, Reapers are scythes, Whips are self-explanatory, and Thrusting Shields are both offensive and defensive pieces of equipment.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Crafting Your Way Through Life
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Released
- February 28, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Monster Hunter Wilds may not have the most weapons of any game in the franchise, but the fourteen it does have are solid. Every type of player can come into the game and find something they’ll love. While the Hammer, Lance, and Bow are good (albeit boring) weapons, Monster Hunter Wilds has some cooler standouts.
The Insect Glaive is a double-bladed weapon that can also shoot players into the air, like a magical sky ballerina to flip around monsters. Then there’s the Charge Blade that starts as a sword and shield combo but can morph into a spinning blade of doom. The weight and precision of these weapon classes are unmatched.
Warriors Orochi 3
The Ultimate Crossover
Warriors Orochi 3
- Released
- March 20, 2012
- ESRB
- T // Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Omega Force, Koei Tecmo
- Genre(s)
- Action
Any Musou game will inevitably have a lot of characters who use a variety of weapons. If players like Chinese-based weapons and mythology, then Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a good pick. If they like Japan and samurai weapons, then Samurai Warriors 5 is a must-play. Plus, there are video game spinoffs like Hyrule Warriors and Persona 5 Strikers. Warriors Orochi 3 is the top pick because it combines Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors characters in one big brawl. Sickles, Nunchaku, Iron Fans, and dozens and dozens of other types await players.
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