A classic RPG character setup is a warrior who can equip a sword and a shield. A good example of a classic character would be Link from The Legend of Zelda. In most games, players can strike enemies with Link’s sword and then block or even deflect attacks with his shield.

It’s a fun gameplay loop in the Zelda series, but it’s more interesting when shields are considered more than defensive pieces of gear in games. Some characters wield shields as weapons, and that makes these games stand out. What characters wield the coolest shields, and is their gameplay fun in these titles? Let’s rank them based on how cool these shields are to use.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 was a DS spinoff that focused on Organization 13 before the events of Kingdom Hearts 2. Players went through the main campaign as Roxas, but there was a multiplayer mode players could use to go on missions, too, which supported four players.

Every member could be playable, including Vexen, the scientist who used a shield to bash enemies and controlled the power of ice. Also unlockable was Goofy, but it took a lot of effort to get this shield-toting hero, so Vexen was the better of the two.

Dead Cells has one of the biggest arrays of weapons in a roguelike. The amoeba-like hero can equip shields, which come in many varieties with powers attached. Players can simply bash their way through combat, or they can deflect attacks, which is the correct way to use shields effectively in the game.

While not the best weapons in Dead Cells, players can make quite a shield build to dominate their enemies if they want.

Full Metal Furies was developed by Cellar Door Games, the same team that made Rogue Legacy. Instead of a roguelike, this game was a brawler with RPG elements. Players could choose one of four heroines, each with a specific weapon and set of skills.

Triss was the leader and tank of the group, who excelled at defense thanks to her massive tower shield. New moves and shields could be unlocked to change up her abilities, but at the core of everything, Triss used that shield to pound enemies into dirt while keeping her fellow femme fatales alive.

Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest game in the series, and the latest game that gives players a killer shield to play with, and it’s probably the best new element in the series. Like a chainsaw, players can pull a cord and let the Doom Slayer’s shield rip.

Players can block and deflect attacks with it or throw their buzzing blades into an enemy, where it will stay until they retrieve it. It’s a good weapon to use to inflict continual damage on an enemy, and the design fits well with this heavy metal-inspired universe.

Disney Infinity 2.0 may look like an action platformer made for kids, but its gameplay elements ran deep. The theme around this sequel was Marvel, giving players plenty of heroes and villains to play with, provided they had the toys.

Captain America was playable and was easily one of the best characters thanks to his shield. Players could unlock new moves for him in a pretty diverse skill tree to make that classic shield bounce around or create sonic booms upon impact.

Hades does not have as many weapons as Dead Cells, but its shield, the Shield of Chaos, is more fun to use. When players equip a weapon, they will get the base stats, but then later they can change their Aspects, effectively changing what gets boosted and how weapons behave.

For example, players will simply strike enemies with their Shield of Chaos for basic attacks. Some charges can throw the shield out like Captain America or have it twirl around the arena like a spinning top of doom, so it’s fun for players to experiment with all Aspects of the game to find what type fits their gameplay style best.

Monster Hunter Wilds has a lot of weapon types for players to choose from, including the classic Sword and Shield. There’s another sword and shield weapon type called a Charge Blade, but this combo has a twist. Normal combos will switch hits between sword strikes and blocks with the shield, but at peak performance, players can fuse their shield into their sword to turn that shield into a spinning saw blade.

It’s one of the coolest uses of a shield in a game to date, even though it’s not directly being used as a shield. It’s a bit of a cheat, but Charge Blade players know exactly how fun the weapon is in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Most of these entries cite games from the past decade or so, but shields were used as weapons as far back as the NES. Rygar was a 1987 adaptation of an arcade game of the same name, starring the titular Rygar, who used a shield infused with saw blades called the Diskarmor. Also, it was attached to a chain, effectively making it more like a yo-yo.

Years later, the game was rebooted on the PS2 as Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, which was a more God of War-like action game, and this was before that series even debuted. While it has problems, players cannot deny how fun it is to swing that Diskarmor around, which comes in a few varieties and can even summon magic. The Diskarmor is the coolest shield weapon around by far, and it is sad this series has been dormant for so long now.