Where would we be without healing items in video games? Probably getting a refund after rage-quitting roughly five minutes in. Unless you’re one of those wild stallions who goes all out by playing Dark Souls with a Power Glove or something, you likely owe many playthroughs to the existence of healing items.
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If you’re down, these characters are the best of the best at their job; bringing you back and healing your wounds is second nature.
Any game that has some sort of action almost inevitably has some form of health item to help mitigate the damage. There are exceptions, of course. But among those that follow that tried and true formula, there are a number of iconic items that absolutely deserve praise for their implementation.
8
E Tank
Mega Man
- Save it for later
- Perfect for dire situations
The Energy Tank, or “E Tank,” in the Mega Man games remains one of the most recognizable visuals not just from that series, but gaming in general. That’s largely due to its utility, serving as an early example of a healing item in an action game that you can collect and store for when you really need it.
It’s appeared in various forms throughout the famously difficult series, starting in Mega Man 2, consistently remaining a hopeful oasis every time it appears unless you’re doing a no-damage run. Perfect in a pinch when you’re low on health and about to face a boss, it’s no wonder nerdy businesspeople turned it into a coffee mug.
7
Potion
Final Fantasy
- Simple and easy to understand
- Has inspired tons of games since
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most likely to really permeate the culture. The idea behind the potions since the very first Final Fantasy in 1987 is that you drink them to regain health. What are they made of? Who knows? All that matters is they do the thing. The easy-to-grasp concept of potions makes them that much more iconic.
Regardless of the form they take, from nondescript items in early games to elegant glass bottles that surely can’t stand up on their own in later Final Fantasy 7 remakes and spinoffs, they’ve remained a staple. Final Fantasy’s potions have even inspired countless games, from Pokemon to Baldur’s Gate and beyond, to follow suit.
6
Potion
Pokemon
- More clever in execution than name
- Apply directly to the forehead (or anywhere)
Pokemon Red and Blue
- Released
-
September 28, 1998
- ESRB
-
e
- How Long To Beat
-
26 Hours
While obviously not the first game series to use the all-encompassing “potion” as a healing item, Pokemon’s take on the idea remains its own brand of stand-out. It would be enough if the only difference was its cool bottle design, but its functionality in lore is particularly ingenious.
Pokemon is about training your own team of little beasts, and if you’ve had pets, you know exactly how easy it is to get them to take their medicine. So rather than making potions a drinkable liquid in these games, it’s been turned into a balm or spray (depending on the game). Trying to make a Pokemon drink it would end with them covered in the stuff anyway, so this cuts out the middle man.
5
Gel
Tales Of Series
- Heals percentage rather than exact HP
- Looks yummy
The Tales of games, aside from having extremely fun wording when trying to discuss the series as a whole, expertly carved out their own niche among several other more seasoned JRPG juggernauts like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. One way they did this is with their sense of identity, right down to the items.
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These games use healing items known as gels, seemingly the size and consistency (and flavors) of your average fruit snack or vitamin gummy. This little difference not only makes the items themselves unique among games as a whole, but that kind of makes them sound delicious. Plus, rather than healing a set amount of hit points, the various gels heal by percentages, adding an element of strategy.
4
Stimpak
Fallout
- Easy fix for nearly any injury
- You can make them yourself
Fallout
- Released
-
October 10, 1997
- Developer(s)
-
Interplay
- Publisher(s)
-
Interplay
- ESRB
-
m
- How Long To Beat
-
16 Hours
The Fallout games turn the increasingly less distant-sounding apocalypse into your playground. So it would make sense that they’d want to make some of the more “real” concerns of the concept go down easier. Healing, for instance, comes down to sticking yourself with a pointy thing and calling it a day.
Stimpaks in Fallout games are as integral to the series as Super Mutants and crashing to desktop. They’re easy to use and heal you right up from any injury. You can even make them yourself, which really inspires some questions about human biology. But stimpaks became such a memorable part of the series that they predictably showed up in the Fallout TV show, thankfully continuing to make about as much sense as they always have.
3
Punching Dudes (Glory Kills)
Doom (2016)
- Make your own health
- Destroy in order to create
True, the act of punching is a verb by definition, making it ineligible to be an “item.” But while any game can just give you some box with a red cross on it, only a select few augment that system by also allowing you to heal through straight-up carnage.
In the 2016 Doom and Doom Eternal, while there are health pickups, you’re going to keep yourself going via Glory Kills. These are melee attacks you perform on enemies once you damage them enough. Punches, kicks, ripping them apart, it’s all part of the game, and these gory executions spill extra health pickups out of the unfortunate demon at the business end of your fists.
2
Mushroom
Super Mario Bros.
- Iconic gaming item
- Adapts to every genre
Super Mario Bros.
- Franchise
-
Super Mario
- Platform(s)
-
Nintendo Entertainment System
- Released
-
November 17, 1985
- Developer(s)
-
Nintendo R&D4
- ESRB
-
e
- How Long To Beat
-
2 Hours
Health takes many forms in games. Sometimes it’s a meter, sometimes it’s a red haze over your vision. Other times, it’s a little guy becoming a big guy. Mario doesn’t usually have a health bar, but when he’s a big guy, you know he’s got one more hit in him.
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This happens thanks to the humble mushroom, an item nearly as old as the Super Mario Bros. series itself. Whether it makes Mario big in his platformers, restores hit points in his RPGs, or does whatever the Weird Mushroom does, you absolutely know where it and its many forms are from the instant you see them.
1
Rings
Sonic The Hedgehog
- Ooh shiny
- Second chance after getting hit
4.0/5
Sonic the Hedgehog
- Released
-
June 23, 1991
- Developer(s)
-
Sonic Team
- ESRB
-
e
- How Long To Beat
-
2 Hours
You know Sonic the Hedgehog has something special when his games retain a certain mechanic that so few others have managed or even tried to replicate. If you see a Sonic game without rings, something immediately feels off, like if Mario was green or the Doom Slayer went to therapy.
In Sonic games, rings are his health. Whether you have one or 100, one hit is all it takes to send them all flying, giving you a chance to grab a few before they disappear. If you get hit again without picking any up, that’s it, no run for you. The rush of grabbing that last ring just before a boss lands a hit remains a high point in nearly every game. The fact that this clever health system has been in place since the very first game is genuinely impressive.
