Time Flies Like an Arrow

Reimi Saionji was born into one of the most prestigious families on Earth and bestowed with enhanced DNA that gave her adaptive cell-regeneration abilities. She may have won the genetic lottery, but her skills as an archer are the result of a lifetime of hard work. Reimi has access to a wide number of bows and can master a variety of arrow-based attacks. Her arrows can explode into spheres of smaller arrows that rain down upon the enemy. She can also shoot arrows into the air that result in powerful bolts of lighting being released from the clouds. She can even fire arrows that function like homing missiles. Reimi is fragile against direct enemy assaults and only has a few techniques that are effective at close range. Fortunately, she’s generally able to stay out of harm’s way and is skilled enough to move and shoot at the same time.

Rufus was born in the Forest of Spirits as one of only two half-elves in existence. The other elves basically treated him like an animal when he was growing up, so it wasn’t surprising when Rufus left the forest in search of a more meaningful life. His upbringing made him distrustful of the gods and weary of other elves, but he’s generally optimistic and easy-going. Rufus’ scraggly appearance could be likened to Jack Sparrow, and he has the attitude to match. He’s enthusiastic and even a bit cocky at times, but he has every reason to be. His skills with a bow are beyond reproach, and he’s arguably the best marksmen in the entire Valkyrie Profile series. He can rain down arrows infused with the power of lightning, turn his opponents into stone with enchanted arrows, or simultaneously fire off arrows in multiple directions.

While attempting to fend off a group of assassins, Ashe stumbled upon an elegant bow carved from ice. The weapon enveloped her hands in ice when she reached for it, but tremendous powers were awakened as the coldness flowed from the enchanted weapon into her body. Relying on instinct alone, Ashe willed the bow to create arrows of ice and ended the insurrection. Her tribe viewed the weapon as a blessing from the ancient Freljord queen herself, and Ashe aimed to unite the peoples of her land. Ashe is an expert marksman who brings unrivaled crowd control and vision to the battlefield. She can fire multiple arrows at once or bombard her opponents with huge ice missiles that hit multiple targets. Ashe was thrust into a leadership role at a young age, but she fought through adversity and became a great champion.

Farah is one of the most underappreciated heroines in gaming. The beautiful Indian princess proved herself to be every bit as capable as the eponymous Prince in The Sands of Time. She’s a confident woman, a proficient athlete, and a master of archery. She saves the Prince’s life on countless occasions by firing her arrows from afar and stands her ground even when she’s surrounded by sand monsters. Her aim is astonishing and she rarely misses, but the Prince has a propensity to walk into the line of fire every now and again. It’s only natural that Farah would eventually hit him with Cupid’s arrow. The sexual tension between Farah and the Prince was as taught as the string on Farah’s bow. In the 2008 reboot, however, Farah was the name of the donkey! I told you she was underappreciated.

Shinon is a mercenary with a sarcastic tongue and an inflated sense of self worth. Despite his bad attitude, his talents as a sniper are apparent from the moment he’s introduced in Path of Radiance. Archers in Fire Emblem are often underwhelming on the battlefield, but Shinon makes an immediate impression. His arrows are accurate, his attacks inflict incredible damage, and he has a knack for landing critical hits on his opponents. Shinon’s a pain to recruit and he doesn’t play well with others, but he deserves some level of respect for taking a young man named Rolf under his wing. One of Shinon’s greatest moments as an archer occurs when he saves Lady Lucia from a public execution. With one clean motion, Shinon fires an arrow that severs her noose and allows his fellow Greil Mercenaries to escape with her unscathed.

Lara Croft was closely associated with handguns during her early adventures and had the “John Woo” look down pat. For the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, Lara’s primary weapon was changed to a hunting bow in order to paint her in a grittier light. Whether the bow was being used as a tool for hunting or a weapon against human scavengers, it fit perfectly with the game’s theme of survival. As a silent weapon, the bow lends itself well to stealth-based gameplay and is much more practical than a firearm. The fact that Lara has to build her own makeshift bow in Rise of the Tomb Raider helps accentuate her resourcefulness. There’s an undeniable primal quality to making your own weapon, and Lara’s bow feels like a natural extension of her personality. In some ways, the bow is a better fit for Lara than her guns ever were.

A lethal bowman who strives to prove himself as a warrior, Hanzo Shimada is a versatile assassin without an equal. He was trained with a bow from a young age and continues to hone his skills as he travels the world in an effort to atone for his past indiscretions. Hanzo is always looking for a way to gain the upper hand in battle. He often scales walls to fire his bow from on high, and his sonic arrows can track his enemies with sonar and make them easier to hunt down. He’s so proficient with the bow that he is able to hit multiple targets at a time by ricocheting his arrows off walls and objects. The ultimate display of his skills can be seen when he summons a spiraling dragon spirit that passes through walls and devours anyone in its way. Firing arrows is one thing, but it takes true skill for an archer to fire off a monstrous dragon.

The bow was the secret treasure of the first dungeon in the first Zelda game. It ended up being one of the most important sub-weapons since silver arrows were needed to defeat Ganon. The weapon became even more useful after the series made the jump to 3D. The introduction of “Z-targeting” in Ocarina of Time made it easy to focus on nearby targets while the ability to aim in first-person made it more practical to shoot arrows over long distances. The option to fire arrows while riding horseback added yet another layer of depth to the weapon. The motion controls in Twilight Princess received mixed reviews, but almost everyone seemed to appreciate how fast and responsive the bow and arrow controls were. They worked so well, in fact, that Nintendo saw fit to base an entire game around Link’s archery skills.

When Angel Land was overtaken by darkness, Pit took it upon himself to work his way up from the underworld, defeat the wicked Medusa, and rescue the Goddess of Light. His initial bow was so underpowered that it could only shoot arrows a few feet in front of him, however, so Pit’s true potential as an archer wasn’t realized until Kid Icarus: Uprising was released. He had a dozen different bows at his disposal in the game, and each one had its own unique attributes. Arrows fired from the Angel bow had uncanny homing capabilities, the Hawkeye bow was ideal for long-ranged attacks, and the Sagittarius bow could pierce through multiple opponents at once. Arrows fired from Palutena’s bow would somehow increase in strength in accordance to how far they traveled.

Thief was one of the earliest examples of a stealth game, and the bow and arrow was a perfect fit for the genre. Arrows can be fired from safe distances and are relatively quiet. This means they can be used from the shadows without blowing your cover. In addition to garden variety arrows, Thief also featured water arrows to extinguish torches, rope arrows that allowed Garret to climb over walls, and moss arrows that could be used to dampen the sound of footsteps. The noisemaker arrows are also worth mentioning, as they were extremely useful for creating distractions. Although other weapons are used in the series, Thief is more or less defined by its archery mechanics. The series also deserves credit for a realistic physics engine that allowed arrows to arc through the air rather than simply being fired in a straight line.