Power-Ups

Holy water was referred to as fire bombs in early Castlevania games due to Nintendo’s censorship policies, but the item was equally potent regardless of what it was called. When a bottle of holy water is thrown, spectacular flames spread out across the ground and burn anything that comes into contact with them. More powerful and spectacular power-ups have been introduced as the series has evolved, but the overall importance of sub-weapons has diminished in later Castlevania games. The overall effectiveness of holy water in the first Castlevania game has still not been matched by any other sub-weapon in any of its sequels. Its potential to score multiple hits with a single use made it the ideal weapon for every single boss battle in the game. Frankenstein, Death, and even Dracula himself were all vulnerable to it.

The special items in The Legend of Zelda were so significant that they were presented to the player as part of the scrolling storyline at the beginning of the game. With a few notable exceptions, every subsequent game in the Zelda series was based on a formula that involved finding items in dungeons and then using the item to solve puzzles and defeat the boss. The series has given players an opportunity to use dozens of items over the years. Bombs blast through walls to reveal new areas, the hookshot lets you clear pitfalls, and the Pegasus boots give Link a significant speed boost. Bottle fairies essentially act as a lazy man’s health potion and will automatically revive Link if he falls in battle. They might seem like an odd choice for this list, but resurrection is a cool perk and I kind of like playing with a safety net.

The red shell is a heat-seeking weapon that automatically targets your closest rival. Whether your racing to the finish line in a Grand Prix race or chasing down an opponent in the Battle Mode, the red shell is always a welcome item to acquire. Although it’s generally more useful than the green shell, the red shell is by no means guaranteed to hit its intended target. It can be blocked by a well-placed banana peel or avoided altogether with a well-timed turbo boost. To put it another way: the red shell is not only an exciting item to use, but it’s also exciting to avoid. All things considered, it’s the perfect example of what makes Mario Kart so fun in the first place. The blue shell automatically targets the racer in first place, but it doesn’t always benefit the user directly and simply isn’t as fun to use as the red shell.

Mega Man has acquired dozens of abilities in his 25-year history, but none were more useful than the Metal Blade from Mega Man 2. One of the reason why I’m acknowledging the Metal Blade is because it finally allowed the Blue Bomber to shoot in eight directions instead of the usual two. (I only wish that Mega Man could have learned to shoot at angles with the rest of his weapons.) The Metal Blade is also noteworthy for being extremely powerful. It’s an effective weapon to use against several of the Robot Masters found in Mega Man 2, and it’s an ideal weapon for nearly every stage in the game. The best thing about the Metal Blade is that it doesn’t even require that much energy to use. The players can essentially use it as their default weapon without ever worrying about running out of ammo.

The Final Fantasy games are full of powerful weapons, helpful accessories, and useful relics, but none can match the overall practicality of the Moogle Charm. The Moogle Charm can only be used by one character and doesn’t help much in battle, but it does something that’s arguably even more useful: It allows you to avoid random battles altogether! It’s the perfect item for those times when you’re running a little low on HP and desperately need to get to a save point. More significantly, there’s something extremely liberating about being able to freely explore the game’s richly-detailed world without worrying about being pulled into a random battle every few seconds. The Moogle Charm makes the game more enjoyable, and it makes me wish that every other RPG had a similar item. (I’m looking in your direction, Phantasy Star II!)

Women are not objects, and sex workers deserve to be treated with respect. In the context of Grand Theft Auto, however, prostitutes are not unlike medi-packs, hearts, or any other item that you’d associate with health restoration. Murder is commonplace in GTA III, but it was the game’s depiction of hookers that caught the attention of the mainstream media in 2001. People who have never even played GTA know what role hookers have in the game. Recognizing hookers as glorified health restoration items might be controversial, but it’s an accurate reflection of how they are presented in the game. Their appearance on this list is merely an indication of their notoriety and should not be taken as an endorsement to treat anyone like an object in real life. For that matter, I don’t endorse sneaking around military bases in cardboard boxes either.

The Morph Ball has been a part of every Metroid adventure to date and is often the first power-up that players will come across in each game. The item allows Samus to drastically decrease her size by contorting herself into a ball. This, in turn, gives her the freedom to explore areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. There are downsides to the item, however. Using the Morph Ball greatly reduces Samus’ ability to defend herself against enemies. Thankfully, there are several upgrades available for the item, and Samus will eventually gain the ability to drop bombs, jump, climb walls, and ride around on custom magnetic rails while using the Morph Ball. The Screw Attack is a more devastating power-up and allows Samus to kill enemies with mid-air somersaults, but the Morph Ball is still the defining power-up of the Metroid series.

Solid Snake has all sorts of high-tech gadgets at his disposal (including thermal goggles and remote-controlled missiles) but his most notable gadget is a simple cardboard box. As strange as it might seem, the cardboard box acts as a disguise and helps Snake sneak around without being noticed. The box can be used as an effective form of camouflage and can also increase the mobility of its user by allowing them to sneak onto conveyor belts or hide in the back of trucks without raising suspicion. It’s almost certainly the least impressive item in the entire Metal Gear series, but the cardboard box greatly contributed to the “tactical espionage action” that the franchise prides itself on. When fitted with pop-ups of bikini-clad women, the cardboard boxes can also be effective in distracting guards.

Energizers were among the first video game power-ups, and the play mechanics in Pac-Man basically revolve around them. Pac-Man spends most of his time trying to avoid ghosts while navigating through a series of mazes, but the Energizer lets him turn the tables on his foes by bestowing him the ability to eat the ghosts. This results in a complete role reversal, and the ghosts actually begin to run away from Pac-Man instead of chasing him. Unlike most of the power-ups on this list, the Energizers are not hidden from view. Their exact locations are always known to the gamer and the entire strategy of the game is based around deciding when to utilize them. Gamers who are just trying to survive will likely eat them the first chance they get, but those trying for a high score will almost certainly save them for later.

The Super Mushroom is the most legendary power-up in gaming. After all, it’s what allowed Mario to became Super Mario in the first place. It doubled Mario’s size, allowed him to take more damage, and gave him the ability to break bricks with his fist! Admittedly, the Super Mushroom was nowhere near as cool as some of Mario’s subsequent power-ups. The Raccoon Leaf gave Mario the power of flight, the Tanooki Suit could turn him into a statue, the Cat Suit was downright adorable, and jumping around in a giant mechanical Goomba shoe was pretty much the best thing ever. The Super Mushroom is being mentioned because of how significant it was to the series. It was easily the coolest power-up ever when it was first seen in 1985, and it has been a staple in the Mario franchise ever since.