Every Weapon Type In Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, Ranked

Each different weapon type in Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song has its advantages, but some of them outweigh the others.

As with nearly every game in the series, Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song allows characters to learn techniques in weapon-centric skill trees by triggering what is called a "Glimmer". While Glimmers occur at random, there are plenty of things you can do to influence the chances that a Glimmer will happen, as well as increase the likelihood of what particular skill might be triggered by that Glimmer.

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With 15 weapon types available in the game, and the fact that grinding out Glimmers can be a very time-consuming process, one might worry that there are far too many directions to go in terms of character growth, and that can be quite overwhelming.

Yeah, we know—this one hurts. Katanas are cool. In Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song, however, katanas are more specialized weapons and not great all-rounders.

A lot of katana techniques are engineered to focus on specific enemy weaknesses or to cause debuffs, which can be highly beneficial in certain encounters. But this speciality focus comes at the cost of overall attack power, where katanas tend to come in last.

Bows are similar to katanas in that they are primarily speciality weapons. But while katanas focus on debuffs, bow techniques tend to highlight status ailments.

There are a few really useful status ailments, especially in some long-haul boss fights, but, overall, bows not only lack oomph when it comes to damage, but bow techniques also tend to be slow, with only one fast tech in its skillset.

Hand axes are pretty average all-around weapons. They’re versatile in that they share some techniques from the sword skillset and the two-handed axe skillset, so you get a decent sampling of some good attacks.

That said, hand axes just don't excel in any particular area. They’re just there. There's no hook to them or any of their techniques, and most of their best techs are available in other skill sets. The best hand axes are about on par with mid-range swords or two-handed axes.

Long Swords are very similar to scimitars, short swords, great swords, and two-handed swords. They end up a nice compromise between the speed of scimitars and short swords and the power of great swords and two-handed swords. They are average, and don't slip too far in any direction.

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Unfortunately, long swords suffer a little bit in their skill pool. Because they are in the middle of the sword spectrum, they miss out on some really great skills like Kaleidoscope and V-Impact. Even balance comes with a price, it seems.

Scimitars are like a marriage between katanas and more standard swords, taking benefits and detriments from both camps. In Defense Mode, they play more like katanas, with skills that debuff, and in Trick Mode, they focus on exploiting particular enemy weaknesses.

Sadly, scimitars don't have any real heavy hitters when it comes to truly damaging attacks, even with mastery. The best skills scimitars have, like Kaleidoscope and Doppelgangers, are available on other sword skill sets, and those other sword types also tend to have even better attacks, like Upper Smash or Eulogy.

Now we’ve left behind the more bottom-tier weapons and have moved into the "decent" category—and great swords happen to be a great place to start. Great swords might evoke images of big, sluggish wedges of metal like something out of Berserk, but most of their attacks come out at normal speed, with a few slower attacks here and there.

Great swords also have access to Upper Smash, which is one of the most powerful single attacks in the game. The only problem is, two other weapon types also have Upper Smash in their skillset, and both of those other types have additional benefits that make great swords more or less obsolete.

Two-handed axes have a very similar skillset to great swords with some extra perks. The vast majority of their techniques come out at pretty average speed, and they do decent damage.

Playing in Defense Mode is the way to go for two-handed axes, as that skillset will cause enemy debuffs—particularly for Agility, which can be a game-changer in a boss fight with a particularly fast opponent. In short, you can't go wrong with two-handed axes.

Yet another weapon that has access to Upper Smash, and of the three, this one is the most valuable. Even aside from Upper Smash, two-handed swords have access to Vandalize—another great tech with A-rank growth, and V-Impact.

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Where two-handed swords really shine, though, is in battles against the undead, which makes them really valuable for places like Estamir Sewers and the Vampire Den. Both Attack Mode and Defense Mode have techs that specifically target undead enemies for huge damage bonuses.

Nothing's more satisfying than giving an enemy a good bonk—and to make that experience even better, clubs are actually pretty solid weapons. Both Attack Mode and Defense Mode give you access to some decent attacks that cause debuffs and target oddly-specific enemies (like turtles, for example), and one of those techniques is the amazing Aqua Luna.

The biggest downside to clubs is their Trick Mode skills. While Trick Mode tends to house most of the best techniques in any weapon's skillset, clubs have one of the worst Trick Modes in the game.

Pole arms have an extremely high damage potential, but they are very tricky to use well, as a lot of their attacks build on one another, while more straightforward attacks tend not to produce as much damage. With some practice, however, you’ll have access to some really devastating skills, like Triumvirate and Discord.

The best part about Pole Arms, however, is their Defense Mode technique: Aqua Luna. Aqua Luna hits pretty hard—but it also does LP damage, which can decimate some bosses and stronger normal enemies.

Lances are quite similar to pole arms, but with less focus on stacking attacks, which can be somewhat unreliable. In Attack Mode, they have a few good techniques for taking down golems, while their Defense and Trick Modes emphasize Stun and Paralysis—both extremely useful.

In Defense Mode with lances, you also get access to an attack called Acupuncture, which is very similar to the amazing Aqua Luna, except it does even more base damage, and still has a chance to cause LP damage. If you have a character with lance proficiency, focus on that skillset and you’ll have a boss-melter on your hands.

And now we’re in top-tier territory. Foils are essentially a type of rapier or epee used in fencing. They are more niche weapons, and thus, not a lot of characters have innate proficiency in using them. Also, they are somewhat rare and can be quite expensive in shops, so stock up on gold and jewels before you go foil shopping.

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That said, some of their attacks are absolutely brutal. Attacks like Southern Cross, Screwdriver, and Kaleidoscope not only do big damage, but the first two specifically target certain kinds of enemies. Best of all, though, is Eulogy—the best sword tech in the game, which has immense physical power while also having a chance to cause instant death.

On paper, staves don't pack a lot of punch with their base offense, and not many characters are naturally proficient with them. However, in unlocking some of the late-game techniques available to them, you’ll have discovered one of the best skillsets in the game.

Staves have access the amazing Aqua Luna attack we’ve already talked about, in addition to Discord, which can be followed up with Surging Oscillation. But, best of all, staves also have a unique attack called Time and Tide, which is not only absurdly powerful, but also knocks enemies unconscious, allowing for an uncontested follow-up attack or a round of healing between offensives.

Ironically, one of the first weapons types you get access to ultimately turns out to be the best. Short swords are extremely versatile, are a common proficiency amongst many characters, and have a really decent stock of techniques in all their combat modes, including Kaleidoscope, Insight, and the amazing Eulogy.

Not only that, but since short swords are so readily available throughout the game—including being starting equipment for several characters, it's likely that you’ll have gathered some of those great skills naturally through Glimmers out of the sheer consistency of their presence along your very lengthy journey.

And in a shocking twist, the best weapon is no weapon at all. That's right—utilizing your bare hands will take you down the path of unlocking the most powerful techniques in the game, not only in terms of pure DPS, but they also have a lot of great perks like status effects and debuffs.

In Attack Mode, you’ll have access to Raksha—a powerful physical attack that has a chance to cause instant death. In Trick Mode, you’ll have Triple Dragon, Triangle Kick, and Silent Assassin—the latter of which also has a chance of causing instant death.

Finally, in Defense Mode, you can perform Nine Marks—the single most powerful attack in the entire game. These techniques, along with the Fatestones, will make endgame bosses much less daunting.

NEXT: Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song - Best Quests

David DeRienzo is a List Writer that specializes in Japanese role-playing games, Metroidvanias, and indie games. David loves the outdoors, photography, and his three cats. Favorite games and series include Hyper Light Drifter, Hollow Knight, Ori, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Chrono Trigger, Flower, Metroid, Skies of Arcadia, Breath of Fire, Metal Gear, and Ys.