Beam Sword

The Beam Sword is an item seen in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros., the weapon was composed of a long pink blade of energy and had extremely long reach. The Beam Sword can also be thrown as an excellent projectile weapon for moderate damage. A thrown Beam Sword would also knock the foe back quite a ways.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Beam Sword had purple hue and its blade was shorter. However, the length of the blade would change depending on who picked the weapon up. The size also changed according to the strength of the attack – A Smash Attack gave the blade its maximum length. Throwing the Beam Sword resulted in minimal damage in this game, as well as a severely reduced knockback.

The Beam Sword has returned again in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it takes on a new bluish-white hue. In this game however, when used with a smash attack, the sword extends, allowing for the weapon to have a longer range.

Beam Swords will reappear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U with a new design. The blade has a shape most similar to that of Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as graduated colors of red and blue.

Trivia

 * Originally, the Beam Sword was called a "lightsaber", and its sound effects were taken from the Star Wars films. Due to copyright problems, the item was renamed a "Beam Sword" and the sound effects were changed, although Super Smash Bros Brawl retains the sound effects.
 * It may be worth noting that another (though more recent) element of the Super Smash Bros. series may have also been inspired by the Star Wars 's lightsaber: At the very least in retrospect, Masahiro Sakurai considers the dual blades Pit uses in Super Smash Bros. Brawl similar to Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber and is also revealed to be a fan of the Star Wars series.