Broadsword

A powerful melee weapon featured as a selectable sword in the Bushido Blade series and an upgradeable blade in MediEvil.

Action

Games

1997–1998

Years

Platforms

About

In the realistic fighting games Bushido Blade and Bushido Blade 2, the Broadsword is a heavy, European-style weapon offering high power and reach at the cost of speed. In the action-adventure game MediEvil, it serves as a primary melee weapon for Sir Daniel Fortesque that can be charged for stronger attacks and temporarily enchanted.

Within the weapon selection screens of Bushido Blade and its sequel Bushido Blade 2, this weapon represents a deliberate cross-cultural inclusion by developer Light Weight. Placed alongside traditional Japanese armaments like the katana and naginata, it highlights the developers' interest in contrasting Eastern and Western martial disciplines. In the 1997 original, it serves as the signature starting weapon for the character Tony Umehara. Because both titles employ the "Body Damage System" rather than traditional health bars, players utilizing this weapon must rely on precise stance transitions—high, middle, and low—to bypass an opponent's guard, making its defensive blocking capabilities just as crucial as its offensive capabilities.

In MediEvil, the weapon is awarded to the protagonist by the spirit of Canny Tim in the Hall of Heroes, specifically after the player secures the Chalice of Souls from the Hilltop Mausoleum. It acts as a permanent upgrade to the starting Small Sword. The weapon's utility extends into the game's various re-releases, including the PlayStation Portable reimagining MediEvil: Resurrection and the 2019 PlayStation 4 remake, maintaining its role as a mid-tier progression milestone before players unlock the Magic Sword.