Weapon Sidegrades

I play RPGs often, and one of my favorites is Final Fantasy (NES). In that game, there are multiple weapons you collect along the journey that are upgrades from your previous ones. But then there are sidegrades. The concept of a sidegrade is an item that functions worse than the one you mainly use in some areas, but excels in an area that the stock doesn't. For example, in Final Fantasy, the Silver Sword is what you use from mid-late game, but there is also the Ice Sword, which deals more damage against fire elementals. Axes deal more damage than swords do, but you don't hit multiple times as much than you would with a sword. sidegrades are great, because they add depth by making the player question what situations would be best to use them in, instead of having a set meta, which can get boring. I see the opportunity to add a diverse range of new medieval weaponry like morning stars, flails, maces, falchions, halberds, bucklers, and the like, which don't function better than the stock sword, but present new opportunities for creative combat.