Dead Rising 3's Ridiculous Combo Weapons Revel in Capcom Nostalgia

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Has Dead Rising 3 become too serious for its own good? We'll put it this way: this is a game where you can outfit yourself in a flowery summer dress, and then twirl in circles as you mow down zombies using crudely modified gloves with machine gun barrels for fingers. But as crazy as that visual is, some of the coolest and most ridiculous weapon combos in Dead Rising 3 are those where the development team at Capcom Vancouver offers a very absurd wink and a nudge toward the history of its parent company.

One of those weapon combos is a handy little number called the Dragon Punch. Take a pair of boxing gloves and a motorcycle engine, slap them together using the type of mechanical prowess you can find only in video games, and you've got an ultra-powered pair of boxing gloves capable of letting you live out your inner Ken or Ryu. Dead Rising 3 protagonist Nick Ramos shouts "Shoryuken!" as he uppercuts a throng of undead foes, or "Hadoken!" as he dashes toward them with arms extended and hands held together.

All the while these poor zombies are getting the living daylights clobbered out of them thanks to the extra power of that motorcycle engine. It's a sight to behold, thanks in no small part to just how ridiculous those makeshift gloves look in concert with whatever Nick might be wearing at the time. Now if only Nick had the lower-body strength to pull off a convincing Tatsumaki.

If Ryu and Ken aren't really your thing, you can always craft an item called the Roaring Thunder. This guy requires you to find a Blanka mask and a car battery, and from there you can pretty much use your imagination as to what might be the result. But here's a spoiler: it's a mangled monstrosity of a mask, with pulsing electricity and exposed metalwork bolted atop Blanka's otherwise handsome visage. Trigger your attack, and Nick will crouch down and zap any nearby zombies with a rather impressive rendition of Blanka's signature special. Almost makes you wonder why Capcom hasn't given Blanka his own zombie survival game yet.

It's worth noting that Dead Rising 3's weapon-crafting system won't always require these specific combinations of weapons. As you work your way through the role-playing-game-inspired leveling system, you'll be able to unlock expanded crafting in over a dozen different item categories, ranging from melee weapons to novelty items. What this means is that you no longer need that specific pair of items, but rather a pair of items with similar traits. So instead of crafting that Roaring Thunder with a car battery, you might be able to use a flashlight, since they both share the electrical trait. Capcom's aim is to make it so that you can eventually combine one item with any other item in the game.

It's good to see that Dead Rising 3 hasn't lost its penchant for silliness. Yes, the story and setting are dark and gloomy, but the humor in this series has always stemmed from the contrast between the dire situation you're faced with and what you choose to do with the sheer assortment of items around you. And in this case, it's clear that Capcom Vancouver wants you to be able to do some very silly things.

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