Introduction
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When a video game is supposed to be a power fantasy, you just want to be able to do cool crap that stomps everyone down. Hi folks, it’s Zaid Ikram, and today on Speed Tool.
Symbiote Yank (Marvel's Spider-Man 2)
Starting with number 10, the Symbiote Yank from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. You get the symbiote powers in Spider-Man 2, right? They make you wait for them. It feels like an eternity before you finally get access. Sure, they try to appease us with this robot spider arm thing. It's okay, I'm not saying it’s bad or anything, it’s pretty cool. It’s just not the symbiote, and that’s what you want in a Spider-Man video game, right? We want the symbiote. That's not a catchy chant, is it? At least the wait is worth it. Fully upgraded, a lot of these abilities are absurdly overpowered, but by far the best is the Symbiote Yank. How it works is dead simple, of course. You see a bunch of enemies, you hit the yank button, and that’s it. Fight over, done, got them. Break out the brewskis, it’s time for a celebration or whatever people say. I’m a bird, I don’t know. You just whip out a bunch of tentacles, lift everything on the screen into the air, and then slam it back down onto the ground. Whether that’s people, machines, or whatever, who cares? Okay, going away. Massive damage is incredibly satisfying and takes down large groups of enemies. It’s so ridiculous that it can cause a slowdown because there are so many particle effects on the screen at once. It’s a move so powerful, the PS5 can’t handle it.
Judgment Cut End (Devil May Cry 5)
At number nine is the Judgment Cut End from Devil May Cry 5. If you’re looking for badass abilities, Vergil is your man. Everything this guy does is badass. He’s so badass that it’s goofy. Oh, I’m quaking in my boots, it’s Vergil. It’s funny, it’s goofy. I’m not making fun of Devil May Cry, they just lean into everything that they do. But the pure power of his badassery, badassness, whatever you want to call it, it circles back to just being plain badass. It’s incredible. Dante’s got some pretty impressive moves too, but you’ve got to pick one ability from the DMC series to spotlight here. Judgment Cut End is the obvious choice. Pulling this move off requires an operator’s permit of some kind. There are so many requirements, but who cares about that? We’re here for the sick special moves, and that’s what we’re going to get. So, you need the Yamato equipped, a fully charged Sin Devil Trigger meter, and also full concentration. You target the enemy, then you press forward plus Y and B at the same time. Look at this, now Vergil goes apeshit, teleporting around, slashing everything in sight, and then he sheaths his sword like a true boss. It’s absurd and amazing at the same time. It’s like a limit break done in real-time. These are the kinds of over-the-top special moves that more games, quite frankly, need.
Leviathan Axe Recall (God of War 2018)
At number eight is the Leviathan Axe recall from the God of War 2018 reboot. This entry proves that games can make pretty much anything badass as long as they know how to sell it. Functionally, this ability is very simple, just a basic function of the gameplay. Kratos can throw his axe, and there’s a single-use button that recalls the axe, causing it to fly back into Kratos’s hand. That doesn’t sound exciting. The axe could just come back automatically, and it could be boring. But the process of actually pressing the button and watching the axe rocket back and Kratos catching it out of the air is just so well done and incredibly satisfying. It makes throwing your axe around something fun to do, not just because the axe feels powerful when it sticks into the enemy’s skull, but because you call it back in the end, and you just feel like the ultimate badass. There’s no other way to describe it other than satisfying. The sound design and animation work come together to make what would normally just be a throwaway action in any other game one of the most memorable things about God of War, weirdly enough. I love calling the damn axe back. And don’t tell me you don’t. If I see a comment that says, “I don’t like it when I call the axe back,” no. Uh-uh. I will not believe you.
Dead Eye (Red Dead Redemption 2)
At number seven is Dead Eye from Red Dead Redemption 2. This one’s as simple as it is badass. It’s bullet time, slow-mo, whatever you want to call it, but better. It couldn’t be simpler to use. All you do is press a button, and the world goes black and white. Everything slows down, giving you time to paint your targets. The key thing that makes Dead Eye so effective is how you only start shooting once it’s done. First, you pick where you’re shooting, then the effect ends, time goes back to normal, and you just unload on whatever poor sap is standing in front of you. There are also a few different levels to Dead Eye, but by far the best is the last one where you can manually select your targets, shooting as much or as little as you want. It’s impossible to not just give in to the urge and paint a dozen targets on a single guy and just unload. But if you’re in a big shootout, it’s equally as badass to carefully draw a headshot on every single guy on the screen and kill them all instantly. It’s another instance where the sound design and effects sell it. Pumping an unlucky cowpoke full of lead before they can even lift their gun never stops being fun in the Red Dead games. Dead Eye is easily one of the all-time great game mechanics.
Biotic Charge (Mass Effect 2 and 3)
Number six is the Biotic Charge in Mass Effect 2 and 3. We spent a lot of time hiding behind waist-high walls in the seventh generation, didn’t we? From Gears of War to Uncharted to Mass Effect, everyone’s cowering behind walls waiting for their health to regenerate. The thing that made Mass Effect games stand out was their biotic powers. They let you do some amusing stuff, but for the most part, you were still doing it while hiding behind cover. Not the Biotic Charge. If you want to use this, you’ve got to put yourself in harm's way. With it, you teleport directly into an enemy, knock them down, and recharge your shields at the same time. This single ability makes Vanguard one of the most fun classes to play in the Mass Effect series. It completely changes how you approach the game and generally makes battles feel a lot more exciting and dynamic. You’re not just hiding in one corner of the battlefield anymore, slowly plinking away at distant targets. Now you’re warping around like a madman, getting right in the action. It’s high-risk, high-reward gameplay, but it would be nothing if the actual charge effect wasn’t super satisfying to use. And it is. Just look at it, it’s amazing. It makes Mass Effect 2 and 3 some of the most fun third-person shooters of that generation. And to think of how clunky Mass Effect 1 was considered going into them. I mean, it’s a single move that one class has access to, and it’s awesome.
Mikiri Counter (Sekiro)
At number five is the Mikiri Counter from Sekiro. Does it get more pure and simple than this? The Mikiri Counter is a special counter you use against spear-wielding enemies. Normally, you can’t parry attacks from these guys. A sword isn’t that effective against a spear, but who needs a sword when you’ve got your freaking foot? Enemy trying to stab you with a spear? No problem, just stomp that into the ground and completely neutralize their attack. That’s all you do. If a flash pops up telling you the enemy’s doing an attack, just dodge forward, and you’ll automatically interrupt whatever they’re doing. It takes some practice and some getting used to, but damn, does it feel badass when you pull it off. The game does a great job selling the effect too. Just look at it. It looks like you’re going to crack the earth in half with that stomp. Speaking of special counters, there’s also a completely crazy lightning counter. This can only be triggered by blocking while in midair against lightning-based attacks, which feels incredibly counterintuitive at first, but once you figure it out, it’s incredibly satisfying. That’s what makes these abilities so badass. They’re not easy to use and need some practice to effectively apply them, but once you’ve got it down, you feel like the ultimate badass.
Izuna Drop (Ninja Gaiden Black)
At number four is the Izuna Drop from Ninja Gaiden Black. Just an all-time great move. You knock an enemy’s ass on the ground, grab them in midair, and slam them back into the ground. It’s the ultimate wrestling move that’s completely impossible for a human being to pull off, but there’s no denying it looks awesome. In practice,
it isn’t just one of those moves you can pull off with the press of a button either. It’s a combo attack that requires a certain amount of precision to properly work. I’m not going to say that it’s super complicated, but you’re pressing X, then Y, then X three more times, then Y again. The air-juggling aspect of it makes it a little tougher to pull off. When you do it though, dang does it feel good just slapping guys around and slamming them into the ground? Ninja Gaiden Black is far from the only game where you can do a good Izuna Drop-in, but the move is mostly relegated to fighting games, so there’s something especially satisfying about being able to do it in a single-player action game like this. An over-the-top lunatic move in a single-player action game just feels like you’re getting away with something. It’s also just fun to say, “Izuna Drop,” especially while you’re doing it. Izuna Drop. Yeah!
Lightning Storm (Infamous 1)
At number three is the Lightning Storm from Infamous 1. Maybe one of the most overpowered abilities in any superhero game ever. It is so absurd and so satisfying to use. It’s the most powerful ability you can unlock in the original Infamous. Hell, it was so good they had to give it a pretty serious downgrade in the sequel. That’s how OP it is. You unlock it late in the game, but the wait is worth it because just freaking look at it. It’s an electric death ray from the sky that you control using the DualShock 3’s built-in motion sensor. Very few times was this used effectively. Also, very few times did Infamous use the gimmick, but man does it work. The missions that let you cut loose with this power are a sight to behold. You’re just mowing down dozens of enemies at a time. You do feel godlike by this point. At the start of the game, you’re struggling to take out one or two guys, but by the end, you’re calling down death from the heavens and clearing out entire armies single-handedly. It is amazing. It’s an ability that’s so freaking badass, the series couldn’t even use it again, at least not in its original form.
Shoot Dodge (Max Payne 1, 2, and 3)
Moving on to number two, the Shoot Dodge from Max Payne 1, 2, and 3. Sometimes you just have to respect the classics. Max Payne didn’t coin the term bullet time, but it was the first video game to use it and probably the best one. But the real iconic ability of the franchise is the Shoot Dodge. It’s exactly what it sounds like. You press a button, and Max dives through the air, triggering bullet time so you can simultaneously dodge bullets while firing bullets. It’s simple, it’s effective, and most of the time, it’s straight-up badass. The original two games are kind of creaky at this point, but Max Payne 3 still holds up pretty well and has the riskiest but easily the coolest Shoot Dodge of the entire series. In that game, Max is affected by physics, so your dodge can be interrupted by colliding with the scenery, which can lead to an early death. But the way you’re bouncing around or sliding down stairs makes the dodge look even cooler. Combine that with Rockstar’s incredible physics effects, and it makes for some visually spectacular gunfights. Like real life though, if you don’t kill everybody while you’re in the air, you’re just a fat old guy sitting on the floor. So, make sure you do, otherwise, this extremely badass move just leaves you on the floor looking like an idiot.
Ghost Stance (Ghost of Tsushima)
And finally, at number one, Ghost Stance from Ghost of Tsushima. Few games manage to be so cool doing so little, and Ghost of Tsushima is just a game that gets it. Many action games have some kind of Devil Trigger move where you’re unstoppable for a little while, and almost all of them are great in their way. But this one, called the Ghost Stance, is on another level. You trigger this ability after killing so many enemies without taking damage or by killing a Mongol leader. So it’s not just a generic meter. There’s a thematic reason for doing it. You’ve done enough damage to become truly terrifying in the eyes of the enemy. With Ghost Stance active, the screen turns black and white, everyone around you freezes in fear, and all your attacks are instant kills. You just brutally demolish anyone you attack, and it’s incredible. Sometimes this causes enemies to literally run away in terror or fall back and start crawling away, all while this dramatic music starts playing. It’s in service of making you feel like a force of nature, and that’s how your enemies see you at this point. You can’t just spam this ability whenever you want. It’s only available if you’re already doing well, so it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card, which a lot of moves like this are. It’s more like a reward for playing well. It’s a great system that’s thematic, a clever integration to both gameplay and world, and it’s just brutal as hell.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today. Leave us a comment, and let us know what you think. And as always, we thank you very much for reading this blog. I’m Zaid Ikram. We’ll see you next time right here on Speed Tool.
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