The 9 Best Video Game Fireballs
- July 02, 2009 00:00 AM PST
Join GamePro as we name the nine greatest video game fireballs ever!
From the earliest platformer to the most modern fighter, the fireball has been a pervasive part of gaming history. Here are nine fireballs that have been burned into our memories.
By Dave Rudden, Patrick Shaw, and McKinley Noble
#9: River Zora's Fireballs
From: The Legend of Zelda series
Trying to get around Hyrule has always been an adventure, but the River Zoras can sometimes make it a giant pain in the butt. Not only do these amphibious pests hide in the water, popping out to shoot fireballs at your ass before hiding again, but some of these freaks will even get out of the water and chase you around. And I thought Girl Scouts were pushy.
Luckily, the Red Shield and the Mirror Shield were built for fire protection, or getting through some parts of A Link to the Past would have been impossible.
#8: Incinerate Plasmid
From: BioShock, BioShock 2
While this special ability doesn't much resemble your average fireball, it still fits all of the requirements for being classified as one.
In BioShock, you obtain this flesh-scorching plasmid fairly early on in the game, and while you collect a number of other plasmids as you progress, everything from Telekinesis to summoning a swarm of murderous bees, there's nothing quite as satisfying as engulfing adversaries in flames with BioShock's Incinerate. It's definitely one of the coolest examples of a modern video game fireball.
#7: Dhalsim's Yoga Fire
From: Street Fighter series
Ryu and Ken's Hadouken may be the fireball of choice for fighting game fans, but if we're going by the truest definition of fireball (a ball of fire, duh), then Dhalsim deserves a mention.
#6: Bowser's Fireball
From: Super Mario Bros. series
Before players met one of the most memorable villains in video game history, they were faced with one of the most memorable fireballs. In Super Mario Bros, when your character gets roughly 2/3rds through the dungeon stage, a series of football-shaped fireballs start to fly in from off-screen.
#5: Firaga
From: Final Fantasy series
For the most part of any Final Fantasy game, you're always stuck for the longest time with a sad little fire spell that does about as much damage as an Indian Sunburn.
But when you finally get Firaga, it's a whole different ballgame. Yes, Firaga is hands down the best fire spell in most Final Fantasy games, and the little pyromaniac in all of us just loves to burn every annoying random enemy in the game with this massive ball of flaming death. BURN. BURRRN!
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- Jul 02 2009 at 03:42:18:PM PST
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Correction: Flare is the most powerful fire spell in almost all Final Fantasy games. I don't think there is any other fire spell more deadly.
And I understand that Mario games are the most famous ever, but that doesn't mean he automatically deserves to earn number 1 spot in almost all lists.
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how'd i know mario was going to be at the top before i clicked the link................
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I knew it was going to be Street Fighter and Mario at the top of the list.
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I think that Hadoken should win this one. It's the first thing that I think of.
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wariomangreat123 wrote:
The most influenctial people always deserve to be on top of the list.
The list isn't called "The 9 Most Influential Video Game Fireballs", it is called "The 9 Greatest Video Game Fireballs". Mario's fireball isn't even close to being the greatest if we are talking about size, power, or how awesome it looks.
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I believe Ryu can throw a red fireball to set people on fire, not Ken. You think Gamepro would know that. Ken sets them on fire with his Dragon Punch, which Ryu does not.
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patsfan365 wrote:
Swarley92 wrote:
wariomangreat123 wrote:
The most influenctial people always deserve to be on top of the list.The list isn't called "The 9 Most Influential Video Game Fireballs", it is called "The 9 Greatest Video Game Fireballs". Mario's fireball isn't even close to being the greatest if we are talking about size, power, or how awesome it looks.
wtf do you have against mario? he's the most influential character of all time, and you dont like him? He deserves to be at the top, just face it.
I like Mario he just doesn't fit the category of this list.
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