TL;DR I’m a simple man with simple tastes. Just gimme a basic longsword that looks and swings like a longsword and I’ll be a pig in sh*t.
Fair warning, rant incoming from a HEMA/Soulsborne nerd:
We’ve never really gotten a true longsword in any of the souls games imho. All of the straight swords in the Soulsborne series, even the ones literally named “Longsword” are technically arming swords, i.e. short swords designed to be used optimally in one hand. From there it jumps straight to greatswords which is an entirely different thing (yes, I know light greatswords have been a thing since SotE but I have a bone to pick with those as well which I’ll get to later).
To establish a baseline for my argument, a simplified historical definition of a longsword is a double edged straight blade with relatively equal slashing and thrusting capability, meant to be wielded primarily with 2 hands in order to get the longest possible blade length/reach while still maintaining a high amount of leverage; AKA nimbleness and speed. A functional cross guard is also a key feature (maybe you can see where I’m going with this).
While there are several notable examples that come close across the Soulsborne series, they all fall short in some way or another. To hedge against potential comments saying “but what about this one or that one”, I’ll list the ones that come to mind here:
Balder Side Sword (DS1):
As mentioned previously everything in the straight sword category across the series is far too short to be considered a true longsword, and are optimally used in one hand generally which is also reflected in their various movesets. The one that comes the closest is the BSS which is admittedly slightly longer than the others but still falls short imho. The blade design is also far closer to an estoc than a longsword, i.e. a thick narrow blade optimized for thrusting through armor at the cost of severely limiting cutting capability. Though I’m aware that historically there were longswords designed for that specific purpose, generally speaking longswords were a “jack of all trades” weapon with roughly equal cutting and thrusting capability.
Ludwig’s Holy Blade/Holy Moonlight Sword (Bloodborne):
Both of these in their 1 handed untransformed state are nearly perfect aesthetically speaking. LHB’s 1 handed moveset is fine, and while longswords can certainly be used effectively 1 handed in specific situations; they’re designed to be used in 2 optimally, which can’t be done without transforming it into a greatsword (and yes this is still bad ass af). The same can mostly be said for the HMS except the game essentially classifies it as a greatsword in 1 hand and the moveset reflects this (again, still a bad ass weapon and my personal favorite in the game).
Loyce Sword (DS2):
Aesthetically it’s quite good, maybe slightly on the big side but still well within the proportions of a historical longsword. It sports an awesome unique moveset that would feel right at home on a longsword but of course the game classifies it as a greatsword so it ends up being too slow and weighty to really feel like a longsword (definitely in my top 3 faves from DS2 though).
Drakeblood Knight’s Sword (DS2/DS3):
Once again, aesthetically it’s nearly perfect. Longer than a straight sword but shorter than a greatsword, so it’s in the perfect sweet spot. It’s still a greatsword though, and while it has one of the quicker greatsword movesets it lacks the apparent bulk to justify it being that slow and weighty.
Lothric Knight Sword (DS3):
Love this thing. The design perfectly balances fantasy with function and practicality. Looks like a sword that a wealthy noble or high ranking knight would have worn in the Middle Ages irl. Moveset is dope and fitting for a longsword. The thing is still too damn short despite being the 2nd longest SS in the game. Add a few inches to the blade and it’d be damn near perfect from an aesthetic perspective (not that it needs any more buffs, the thing absolutely dominates in PvE and PvP).
Gotthard’s Twin Swords (DS3):
Blade length is nearly spot on, but can’t be 2 handed which is obvious based on the length of the grip and would of course defeat the purpose of its design as a dual weapon. As a 1 handed arming sword, no complaints really.
Bastard Sword (pretty much every souls game minus Bloodborne):
Wonderful design. Simple and practical. No frills, just pure functionality. Proportionally and historically accurate. Still a greatsword though, and not even a good one compared to pretty much every other greatsword. This is ironic considering that a “bastard sword” or “hand-and-a-half sword” was/is just another common term for a longsword.
Now for the Light Greatswords. Easily my favorite weapon class in the entire Soulsborne series, an opinion shared by many I know. Length, proportions and movement speed is perfect. And the moveset… my god the moveset… need I say more? It feels like we finally got a proper longsword but unfortunately each of the 3 available options have flies in the ointment.
Rellana’s Twin Blades (Elden Ring SotE):
Design is cool as hell. Extremely fancy and fantasy-esque but still looks functional enough and makes sense lore wise. It’s brought down by its high stat spread requirements which makes it impractical to use outside of a few specific build types. It’s also not infusible. The ash of war is great in many respects but it can’t be swapped, which is a real bummer especially in PvP. It’s in the same camp as Gotthard’s where it can’t be 2 handed, which would defeat the intended design of the weapon anyway. While definitely being cool that, still knocks it down another peg in my book.
Leda’s Sword (Elden Ring SotE):
Similar to Rellana’s in many respects including most of the drawbacks but to a lesser degree. Cool fantasy design while still looking practical enough. The stat spread issue is still there, and although it’s not nearly as high as Rellana’s the faith investment required is significant, especially if you prefer playing in the 125-150 level bracket. The ash of war is actually pretty damn useful in both PvE and PvP but it’s still inferior to being infusible with a swappable ash of war. Lastly, although it’s an extremely minor nitpick I don’t like the little ridges that are spread out along the blade. I get that it plays into the whole needle design theme of the weapon but practically speaking that would all but nullify any meaningful cutting or thrusting capacity on the weapon. That all said, it’s probably my favorite of the bunch if I had to choose.
Milady (Elden Ring SotE):
I just can’t fully get behind the aesthetic design, and I know I’m not the first to point this out. I need a f*cking cross guard dude. Seems petty I know but it bugs me to no end. I’m aware that it’s essentially supposed to be a Chinese jian sword. I’m all for representing the historical weapons of any and all cultures in FromSoft games, and for the most part they’ve done a very good job at this. That said, for me personally it’s a bit immersion breaking for a 2 handed double edged straight sword to not have a cross guard. Functionally you’re robbing yourself of essential hand protection, along with the ability to catch and bind your opponents blade. To be honest I’m probably just ignorant about historical Chinese swordsmanship and I’m sure the jian was perfectly functional for its intended use. There’s also something to be said here about how katanas fit into all this but that’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t get into here. I guess at the end of the day I’m a product of western culture and the biases/preferences that come with that. Not to mention that the fantasy genre as we know it is rooted in western medieval culture for the most part. That isn’t to say it’s any better or worse than any other historical culture, I’m just acknowledging that bias and cultural conditioning is a thing that affects everyone. I really wouldn’t mind the design at all if it weren’t for the fact that Milady is hands down the best in the LGS class due to being the only one that’s infusible with a swappable Ash of War.
I know it’s a bit silly to nitpick about stuff like this in a fantasy game, but some of us do prefer to inject some amount of realism into our fantasy worlds. When I saw the leaked info about the new Knight of the Ides class starting with an LGS in Tarnished Edition I was absolutely elated… until I saw that it basically looks the same as Milady, if not just being Milady itself. Don’t get me wrong, starting out with Milady is great and all but I can’t help feeling that it’s a huge missed opportunity to diversify the LGS class a little.
I want an infusible LGS with a cross guard. Make it look simple or fancy, I don’t care. I just want a longsword that looks and swings like a longsword. You know, the most common stereotypical medieval fantasy weapon. That’s literally it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. FromSoft has come a long way in this regard with the addition of the LGS class but tbh it’s kind of baffling that they still haven’t gotten it right after all this time but I’ll take what I can get I suppose.
This is all said with love of course, otherwise I wouldn’t bother writing such a long post. I’m curious how many other souls/HEMA fanboys feel the same way.