10 Video Game Joke Items That Are Secretly One-Time Boss Killers

Not every item you get in a video game is designed to be useful. Sometimes game developers like to include joke items, too, which are deliberately pointless and silly for the fun of it.

That said, every now and then, the real joke is that the useless thing cluttering your inventory can be secretly used as a superweapon!

Just because an item doesn't seem to have any function, it doesn't mean it can't prove to be useful! In fact, in rare cases, it can even be the best thing to use against the game's bosses. You just have to discover its hidden functionality.

Using these items is incredibly simple, as they aren't meant to act as proper weapons. In most cases, you just have to acquire them and then figure out how to trigger their special ability in order to turn any boss of your choosing into the easiest fight of your life.

Now, the following items will not last you long, but keeping them around can be a lifesaver. They might look like a joke to you, but they are secretly the greatest weapon in your arsenal.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a lighthearted RPG set in the paper-mache version of the Mario series world.

The game is well-known for its humor and frequent jabs made at the RPG formula, some of which consist of worthless joke items that don’t really do anything.

And yet, one particular joke item is secretly the greatest weakness of the game's scariest boss, Hooktail.

Hooktail is a giant dragon that serves as the final boss of the first chapter. Normally, fighting him takes a lot of endurance and good damage output, as he’s quite resistant and his giant claws can kill your squad in a couple of hits.

However, the grumpy monster has one hidden weakness—he’s absolutely terrified of crickets!

And it just so happens that you can find a cricket noisemaker in his castle.

Attack FX R is a joke badge, and, unlike other badges in the game, it doesn’t increase any of your stats. Instead, equipping it causes your jumping and hammer attacks to make cricket noises.

In most cases, the sound is an audible reminder of how underwhelming the badge’s ability is, but when fighting Hooktail, it allows you to frighten him, instantly winning the boss fight.