Top 10 Badass Lines in Video Games
#10: “Sit down in those chairs and drink your goddamn TEA!”
“Final Fantasy VII” (1997) While it may seem dated today, this was the first game in the “Final Fantasy” series to use 3D graphics, and it helped bring the characters and their memorable lines like this to life. This line, spoken by the airship pilot Cid Highwind, is both hilariously awful in that perfect “Final Fantasy” way and equally badass. Cid isn't exactly the greatest role model due to his sailor mouth and nasty temper, which is on full display here, yet he still has a good heart. This line perfectly captures the character of Cid, and helped to cement him as a badass fan favorite.
#9: “Reinforcements? I am the reinforcements.”
“Vagrant Story” (2000) Yeah, rock and roll! Nothing screams “I'm a badass character” quite like this. The line is spoken by the protagonist and playable character, Ashley Riot, which is probably one of the coolest names in video gaming. Like a great 80s action hero, Riot has the fantastically badass name to go along with his snappy one-liners, making him death and destruction incarnate. And with these menacing words come menacing actions, as Ashley is able to wield extremely powerful weapons and chain together brutal attacks via his Chain Abilities. This line is the perfect opening to the game, and gets you pumped to storm the manor and kick some ass.
#8: “Don't f*** with a witch.”
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“Bayonetta” (2010) Despite dispatching some rather formidable foes throughout her adventure, Father Balder finally proves to be Bayonetta’s match. That is, until she utters this spectacular line and curves a bullet straight into his face. The line definitely portrays Bayonetta as a hardass, and provides fans with a pretty wicked and quotable 80s-esque one liner to boot. What's also important to note is that the f-word is never uttered by Bayonetta in the rest of the game, so for her to say it here greatly heightens the impact and drama of the already super cool line. Balder certainly learned his lesson, anyway.
#7: “It's not over until I teabag every last one of you alien motherf****rs!”
“Serious Sam 3: BFE” (2011) Sure, teabagging may grow extremely annoying in online games like “Halo,” but damn it if Sam doesn't make it sound like the coolest thing ever. Like Bayonetta before him, the use of cursing definitely accentuates the awesomeness of this line, especially due to Sam’s harsh and determined vocal delivery. As badass as the line itself is, its pairing with the patriotic, “Independence Day”-esque score makes it seem even cooler, and you'd be hard pressed to find a single player who didn't raise their fist in the air and grin in delight at this gleefully immature yet satisfying moment.
#6: “God. The title suits me well.”
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“System Shock” (1994) Damn. If this line doesn't make you quiver in fear at SHODAN, then nothing will. Playing as a hacker, it is your job to stop the villainous plans of a malicious artificial intelligence named SHODAN, or the Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network. You come across this line by finding an audio log in the Research Labs near the library entrance. In it, SHODAN describes its immense power and influence, and caps off its terrifying speech with these six foreboding words. It eerily captures the possible magnitude of a rogue AI system, and it reinforces SHODAN as one of gaming’s most intriguing villains.
#5: “You want S.T. A.R.S.? I'll give you S.T. A.R.S.”
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“Resident Evil 3: Nemesis” (1999) Continuing with the great villains theme, Nemesis is truly one of the scariest antagonists in a video game due to its immense size, disgusting physical appearance, unstoppable nature, and - AH holy crap Nemesis run!! However, it is no match for Jill Valentine, a scrawny woman running around in a mini skirt that could still kick your ass. And kick the ass of Nemesis she does, uttering this great, yet still kind of cheesy line right before dispatching it for good. It's such a satisfying line and moment, as you spend the entire game running from the unstoppable beast, yet here you are, finally killing it once and for all. She gave it S.T. A.R.S. indeed.
#4: “A man chooses. A slave obeys.”
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“BioShock” (2007) When “BioShock” was first released in 2007, it pleasantly surprised professional critics and gamers alike, as it had a fully realized, lived-in world and fantastic, philosophical writing. We could write a whole essay on the thematic implications of this line, but we'll spare you the lecture. What makes it so badass is twofold: its connection to the game's theme of illusory choices, and Andrew Ryan’s confident delivery of the line right before ordering Jack to kill him, proving that Jack is a slave to his commands. It's a chill-inducing moment of the game, and a line that has been burned into gamers’ memories.
#3: “Get over here!”
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“Mortal Kombat” series (1992-) Any self-respecting video game player will instantly recognize Scorpion’s signature line, spoken (or yelled, more realistically) as he pierces an enemy with his hand snake thingy and drags them towards him for a more brutal beating. Can you imagine being pierced by a hand snake thingy and then physically dragged across the floor towards a man who can spit fire from his skeletal mouth? We can't either, which is why this line is so scary and badass. What is equally amazing is the delivery of the line, yelled in a booming and threatening voice that has been ingrained in gamers’ ears for over twenty years.
#2: “Not even death can save you from me.”
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“Diablo II” (2000) When you're face to face with Diablo himself, this is probably not something you want to hear. What is most terrifying about the line is its implication: what could be more disturbing than the inability to hide or escape from your greatest adversary? What makes these words even more badass is that this is the only line uttered by Diablo in the entire game, which definitely helps paint him as a menacing villain, especially due to the booming sound of the delivery. He may be a man (or Devil) of few words, but he certainly knows how to make those words count. The line is short, but it's oh so sweet. Before we get to the most badass line, here are a few honorable mentions. “I am matter. I am antimatter. I can see your past. I can see your future. I consume time, and I will consume you!” “Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars” (1996) “Requiescat in pace.” “Assassin's Creed II” (2009) “You'll carry your prison with you.” “StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty” (2010)
#1: “We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it.
And you will end because we demand it.” “Mass Effect” (2007) Man, could there be a cooler way of sounding so completely evil? Spoken by Sovereign, this line truly captures the essence of malice, all while sounding as badass as could possibly be. Sovereign is an extremely powerful Reaper, bent on instigating the return of the race from dark space and stopping at nothing to assure its objective is completed. It shows contempt at any lesser being, and can also indoctrinate organic life via a signal, bending anything to its malicious will. To hear such a powerful entity utter such devastating words is harrowing. And badass. Can't forget badass.
