Scythes in Games

Recommended Videos

New Frontiersman

New member
Feb 2, 2010
785
0
0
I've always thought the use of scythes in games was rather odd because they are an impractical weapon. They're not really my thing, I prefer more practical weapons, like spears or bows.

But just to put my opinion out there the most badass scythe user out there is none other than...

Magus. Hells yeah.

Ia Cthulhu said:
You have a sickle in Harvest Moon, does that count?
I don't see why it wouldn't, although maybe the sickle in Rune Factory would fit the description better since in there you can use it as a weapon.
 

Belated

New member
Feb 2, 2011
586
0
0
Souplex said:
We've been over this before; Scythes are a poor choice for a weapon, and those who think otherwise have poor opinions.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.70517-Scythes#694172
Uh, yeah, I don't really care what you've "been over" before. If I wasn't there, it might as well never have happened. Science can decide that it's not a practical weapon, but there is no science that can decide whether it is or isn't a "poor choice" as one in a video game. That is pure opinion based on aesthetics and aesthetics alone. Aesthetics, as in beauty. And beauty is rarely scientific. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And "eye of the beholder" is another way of saying "purely subjective." Thus, as it's something purely subjective, there are no "poor opinions" about it, positive or negative.
 

random_bars

New member
Oct 2, 2010
585
0
0
We've got this far and nobody has mentioned Grim Fandango? It's an adventure game in which you play as the Grim Reaper (or one of them) and of course, you have a scythe, which you use for soul harvesting as well as as a general purpose tool.
 

TheYellowCellPhone

New member
Sep 26, 2009
8,617
0
0
Well, in Harvest Moon, you could use a scythe/sickle to cut down tall grass that you could turn into animal feed for your precious and expensive animals.

Best use, in my opinion.
 

The Madman

New member
Dec 7, 2007
4,404
0
0
Scythes look cool, but they're not a terribly good or even practical weapon. They're a farming implement. That's why they don't pop up very often.

Only for-sure game I can think of which has scythes as a weapon the main character can wield is the Neverwinter Nights games, but even in that case they're pretty damned rare and frankly just about any other weapon would be a better if not nearly as cool looking choice.
 

thedoclc

New member
Jun 24, 2008
445
0
0
Souplex said:
We've been over this before; Scythes are a poor choice for a weapon, and those who think otherwise have poor opinions.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.70517-Scythes#694172
Everyone pointing out that a scythe is a terrible weapon in the real world are right. And yes, someone can go ahead and pull up war scythes for a pragmatic adaptation for poor folk who needed a weapon.

However,the OP has already stated it's an "impractical" weapon chosen "for aesthetic purposes." Choosing a scythe as a weapon in a game is appropriate if the game values style over historical accuracy and likewise silly if you want realism. The OP ceded this point at the start and asked about STYLE, not practical combat.

So yes in fantasy, no in Total War. The death symbolism, of death as the great harvester before whom all are cut down as so much wheat in the fall, pretty much guarantees it'll show up from time to time. Also, just the choice to use a scythe immediately tells you something about the character in universe. Instant characterization for the visually oriented or just plain lazy.

Back OT: Shadows of the Damned, Castlevania, NWNs and surely some of the other D&D based games, Chrono Trigger, some of the Ninja Gaidens, VtM Bloodlines (in the form of a giant pruning hook), Darkstalkers, the Drowning Doom horsemen in Brutal Legend...I can't think of many off hand. In a stylized, actiony game, it can be pulled off with sheer chutzpah. The Drowning Doom horse looked great in that 'verse.
 

ThatLankyBastard

New member
Aug 18, 2010
1,885
0
0
I personally enjoy the Glaive more, but Scythes are also particularly badass weapons...

...and I would kill someone to have Scythes in Skyrim!

Seriously...
 

BabySinclair

New member
Apr 15, 2009
934
0
0
Make a scythe and put a spike on the end of the pole, now you have cutting and thrusting, quick point spike on the opposite of the blade and you have an effective pole arm after you adjust the angle some. If I had one to practice sparring with I bet I could make it effective.

Game wise, Vindictus springs to mind as Evie's alt weapon is a scythe
 

Arluza

New member
Jan 24, 2011
244
0
0
.//Hack G.U (starting with episode 2) has scythes as a weapon choice. I REALLY love them in this game.

Aika Online looks to have turned the Warlock's Staff into a Scythe in the lvl 72 armor which came out this week.

I know of no other games that feature scythes as a weapon. If they are out there, i've never played them.
 

teh_Canape

New member
May 18, 2010
2,665
0
0
how about the one in Undying?

or the laser scythe from Gundam Wing Endless Duel? those were pimp, especially when you combined the first one with the shield spell
 

aPod

New member
Jan 14, 2010
1,102
0
0
Games: Where swords twice the size of a man are weilded by children but we still find scythes too impractical.
 

viranimus

Thread killer
Nov 20, 2009
4,952
0
0
Belated said:
We don't talk about the scythe often enough on this forum site.
Well considering I saw a long multi page thread less than a month ago, for a "Weapon" that is about as practical in melee combat as a long shard of glass, I think sythes dont go unnoticed and get their due measure.

As for its style over substance. I get it. Its the weapon of death. Its big, its long. But knowing the practical applications of it as a weapon pretty much removes any wow factor it has for me.
 

dementis

New member
Aug 28, 2009
357
0
0
My mate plays as a half-orc barbarian weilding a scythe, he also wears a robe for some reason...With a bear hood cloak over the top.
 

Realitycrash

New member
Dec 12, 2010
2,779
0
0
Magus had a Scythe in Chrono Trigger used a Scyte. Making them cool and totally viable as weapons. 'Nuff said.
 

Double A

New member
Jul 29, 2009
2,270
0
0
They're large, unwieldy, and their stick is really flimsy. It would be hard to use one in a tight space. I wouldn't use it unless I was fighting evil radioactive wheat stalks.
 

Gladiateher

New member
Mar 14, 2011
331
0
0
I gotta say the scythe is just ridiculous. If nothing else is around sure I guess it could be a weapon but in terms of actual use it's a bigass unwieldy hunk of metal.
 

blaize2010

New member
Sep 17, 2010
230
0
0
CM156 said:
Belated said:
The scythe.

So epic.
We don't talk about the scythe often enough on this forum site. Scythes are just awesome. Scythes are sharp, pointy, and come in all kinds of different designs depending on who's drawing them. Scythes are intimidating, harbingers of death. And whether you're death himself [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2TVMxnrSCKY/TRDNyY212iI/AAAAAAAARMs/awPc2GYwBtQ/s1600/GrimReaper.jpg], or you just work for him, [http://gallery.fanserviceftw.com/_images/72ce1bfb8bb9e0e07d3863c3f3dfa0a5/741%20-%20maka_albarn%20soul_eater%20wallpaper.jpg] there's no denying the pure badassery of the scythe. They're just plain cool.

If you're into anime, there's plenty of scythes to be found. But what about video games? We had Dante [http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/dante_s_inferno.jpg], and we had Ryu Hayabusa [http://gaygamer.net/images/ryustatue.jpg], and we had Zasalamel [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters4/zasa-sc3-big.jpg]. And we've had plenty of others. The scythe is to blades, what the desert eagle is to guns. It's an awesome, impractical weapon mostly chosen for aesthetic purposes. And though they sometimes seem childish, you secretly love them. I'm always disappointed when a fantasy game involving swordplay doesn't have scythes. Sure lots of games have had them, but I feel like it's not enough. I need more scythes! More more more!

Maybe I just play too many shooters, and simply don't know about enough games that have scythes. So, what are some good games that have awesome scythe usage? What are some upcoming titles you hope will have scythes?

For one, I'm really hoping Bethesda will think to include them in Skyrim.
If I recall, the final boss in Neverwinter Nights 2, Mask of the Betrayer used a scythe.

It was a +10 scythe that delt negative energy damage. There was also another one in the game that, through use of the console command, you could mold a dead god's soul to form a scythe.

Haven't really seen other games to use them other than Dante's Inferno.
darksiders has one. darksiders 2 has 2
 

commodore96

New member
Aug 31, 2010
351
0
0
not a video game but the coolest gundam ever uses them, and I think you can get them as a weapon in Phantasy Star Online.