Current Events > What games have the best health bars in gaming?

(+) Yeah! (+)

No example provided because I only just thought of the question.

Having now thought about it, Dead Space is definitely top tier.

Diablo

I forgot the name of the game, but there was one where AVGN reviewed where the health bar was a tatoo on your breasts...more creative than best though.

fighting games.

they understand that the player is going to need to pay strict attention to what is going on in the actual game, so the health bar has to communicate to the player while minimizing the attention ask. you need to be able to interpret how much health you have left without dedicating any brain cycles to it.

they generally accomplish this by having the bar be a different color as you get closer to 0% or by having it be a different shape.

Prestoff posted...

I forgot the name of the game, but there was one where AVGN reviewed where the health bar was a tatoo on your breasts...more creative than best though.

Jurassic Park: Trespasser

I like KH1's health bar where it slowly begins to encompass the entire bottom of the screen as you get to a high level

MvC3 since Deadpool can use his as a weapon.

Dead Space

Diablo

i once made my own diablo-style health bar UI in WoW, you know. with the power of weakauras.

it used to be that they'd have health on one side and mana on the other, but it looks like they changed that with diablo 4. maybe.

i think it could be better. i think red/clear as a color scheme aren't the easiest to pick up on visually.

I second Kingdom Hearts. I like that it circles around a little portrait of your character's face. When you get hit or are at low health, the portrait changes to reflect that. Same if you change into a different form.

Also Kirby Triple Deluxe has a fun bit where you encounter a boss while you have a super powered suck. You suck up the boss in one go, and instead of its health bar depleting, you suck that up too.

Let's get a little love in here for Mega Man.

Dead Space series is perfect with the health bar on the spine of the player.

The Callisto Protocol is similar but instead it is on the neck.

non-visual healthbars are the best, eg. Ghosts n goblins.

it doesnt get more clear youre close to death when youre walking around almost naked.

another game(which absolutely needs a modern remake btw) is bushido blade with limb specific injuries inching you closer to death for each limb.

Doom 93.

I've always liked games where the character's portrait indicates their health, and they get more tired/ragged looking as they take damage.

Like 'Doom' or even 'Banjo-Kazooie'

SoTN

KH1&2 I hated how in 3 its no longer a 2D drawing but just his 3D head

DBZ Budokai 3

there was something truly satisfying about watching your opponent's HP bar fucking shatter after hitting them with an ultimate

Srk700 posted...

MvC3 since Deadpool can use his as a weapon.

this is exactly what i was gonna post lol

Ghostbusters the video game, where it was on your proton pack.

I don't know about the best but Silent Hill 2 remake has the worst. Either some shit that fucks up the whole screen that isn't easy to judge or nothing at all.

another game(which absolutely needs a modern remake btw) is bushido blade with limb specific injuries inching you closer to death for each limb.

i don't have anything to add, i just thought bushido blade was fucking sick

but honestly any 'health bar' that communicates to the player efficiently is good. i'd ask what you guys consider to be bad ones.

Looking around some more, I really like how they did it in Darksiders 1 and the DMC games.

there's a game where the bars are thin towards the side with more health and thicker towards low, but i can't remember what it is.

More of a gameplay reason to like a healthbar than an aesthetic reason, but Earthbound's health meter and how whenever you took damage your health would slowly roll down so you had a chance to heal yourself even if you took a fatal hit if you were quick enough.

Earthbound. As far as I know no other rpg allows you to take a fatal hit early on in a match yet still allow you to claim victory if you're able to defeat your opponent before your healthbar actually ticks down to zero.

don't get me wrong, rolling health is a great system and a great idea but it's more of a combat design thing and less of a health bar design thing.

AsucaHayashi posted...

another game(which absolutely needs a modern remake btw) is bushido blade with limb specific injuries inching you closer to death for each limb.

Time Killer also did this, and even if the characters lose their arms and legs, they could still be alive

If I had to pick a more visual thing.

Yoshi Story's flower health bar where losing all petals meant you lost a life was very creative.

Dead Space for sure, but as others have said I also enjoy KH1's.

KFHEWUI posted...

Time Killer also did this, and even if the characters lose their arms and legs, they could still be alive

You also got a huge bonus if you beat your opponent after losing both arms

Bump.

GameGodOfAll posted...

Jurassic Park: Trespasser

They should remake this game as a VR game.

HylianFox posted...

You also got a huge bonus if you beat your opponent after losing both arms

You could also cut off heads but this was a OHKO

Was said at the very start but I also really like diablo's (and the other games that copy it)

The Force Unleashed always stuck with me. I used to play that game on a non-HD TV and it all just looked like one green bar but when I eventually had a TV capable of HD and replayed it, turned out it was all tiny green segments.

Wolfenstein 3D is probably my top one, though. B.J.'s face getting more beaten and bloodied the more damage you take was really cool.

EDIT: Special mention to Zelda, it's iconic and always so aesthetically pleasing to look at once you have all the heart containers.

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On that note, DMC1 also had the best representation of the devil trigger bar and how the transformation itself looked.

The games that don't have them. Most games would be improved if they just removed enemy health bars.

Mechwarrior 2 with the sections going from yellow to red then black if they're removed.

Kingdom Hearts

On a related note, games with infinite health codes or unlocks should always make your health bar disappear. Looks way better than having it persist but never go down.

So, in this regard Banjo-Tooie is GOAT.