Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy XII)



Gilgamesh is a character in Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and appears as a recurring boss and important in sidequests. Infamous across Ivalice, Gilgamesh is a duelist and a sword collector, much like he is in his various other appearances throughout the series. Gilgamesh, much like in his other appearances, is accompanied by Enkidu at all times.

Gilgamesh uses weapons from various Final Fantasy games, as well as one from Dragon Quest (also known as Dragon Warrior). All of the swords differ from their appearances in their respective games, and the Bestiary states none of the swords are authentic.

Swords
Throughout the battles Gilgamesh wields various famous swords used by the protagonists of other Square Enix games. When he first appears he only uses unnamed katanas that use the same model as the weapon Kotetsu, but as the fight progresses he draws his other swords. However, as a reference to Excalipoor and Excalibur, Gilgamesh's weapons are counterfeit versions of the real items.

These swords are:
 * Cloud Strife's Buster Sword: the blade has the kanji for "fake"/"imitation" painted on it and four holes instead of the usual two.
 * Squall Leonhart's Revolver: instead of Griever, the blade has an image of a chocobo and chocobo footprints, and it has no keychain.
 * Zidane Tribal's Orichalcon: this is Zidane's left-hand dagger. It is longer than the original and has a differently-shaped handle.
 * Tidus's Brotherhood: the blade has two hooks protruding from the tip instead of one and is more transparent than the original. The guard has a slightly different design.
 * Odin's Zantetsuken: it has a skull emblem near the guard, rather than being shaped like a lightning bolt.
 * Two copies of the Tournesol, the game's strongest greatsword. In the first battle Gilgamesh uses one with a moon emblem on it, in the second battle he uses one with a sun emblem. The two share an extra blade running along the curved main blade, and have shorter, thicker handles than the real Tournesol. Gilgamesh's use of the two swords with differentiating emblems is a reference to Excalibur and Excalipoor.

Gilgamesh also wields the Wyrmhero Blade, his ultimate weapon that he uses in the last phase of the second battle with him. Unlike his other weapons however, the Wyrmhero Blade appears to be genuine, with no cosmetic differences from the version the player can acquire. When Gilgamesh is defeated he leaves the sword stuck in the dirt, examining it prompts the message "Appears to be just an ordinary sword of legend". As the player leaves the area, Gilgamesh reappears to seize the sword before fleeing.

Fishing Sidequest
As part of the fishing minigame, after the second battle with Gilgamesh, the swordsman will appear in a niche at the end of the bridge at the Barheim Passage Zeviah Span. He explains he wasn't there to spill their blood, but to hunt for a sword; he even refers to them as friends. He says, "There was no treasure, a useless stick I found". He hands the party the Matamune fishing rod and leaps away with Enkidu hot at his heels.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings


Gilgamesh returns for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, as a Yarhi in the mission Battle on the Big Bridge, wandering around with Enkidu at the Gates of Shattered Time. When he spots the party, he recognizes them as the people who had previously battled him, and vehemently denies that he, in fact, lost.

Deciding that fate had brought them back together to fight, he takes out his swords and attacks Vaan and two other party members. Gilgamesh is defeated and flees for his life, but not before alluding to his position as a summon upon being defeated. Afterward, the party unlocks his sphere on the Ring of Pacts.

Gilgamesh is a Rank III non-elemental melee Esper, sharing the same rank and spot with Odin, although Gilgamesh is the more powerful one and also has a special attack. His normal attack, Slice Thrice, hits the enemy three times, while his special attack, Masamune, deals physical damage to one target ignoring their defense.

Voice
Gilgamesh is voiced in the Japanese version by, who voiced Fungus in Final Fantasy: Unlimited, making it his final voice role in the Final Fantasy series before his death. In the English version Gilgamesh is voiced by John DiMaggio of Futurama fame, who also voices Migelo, as well as the Final Fantasy X characters, Wakka and Kimahri.

Musical Themes
Gilgamesh' iconic theme, "Battle on the Big Bridge", appears in Final Fantasy XII. It is an arrangement by Hitoshi Sakimoto titled "Battle on the Big Bridge [FFXII Version]", and is the background theme for the two encounters with Gilgamesh and Enkidu at the Lhusu Mines.

The theme was released as the thirteenth track of Final Fantasy XII: Original Soundtracks third disc.