Unity has a great capabilities for special effects in three categories: Particle System, Trail Renderer, and Line Renderer. These are available via the GameObject | Effects top menu.

Adding an Effects component to a GameObject is accomplished by using the Add Component | Effects option in the Inspector panel. As you can see in the following screenshot, the Particle System, Trail Renderer, and Line Renderer options are available via this method. There are also additional options, such as Lens Flare and Halo:

In this section, we will discuss the Particle System and Trail Renderer effects.