Revolver (Final Fantasy VIII)

The Gunblade is the weapon of choice of Squall Leonhart and his rival; Seifer Almasy. It is a sword with a pistol (as with Seifer's Gunblade) or revolver (as with Squall's Gunblade) which serves as the hilt for the blade. Despite its name, it can not be used as an actual gun, meaning it doesn't fire projectiles, and can therefore only be used in melee combat, making it more like a gun supplementing a sword than a blade supplementing a firearm, e.g. a bayonet on a rifle.

Appearance and Mechanics
Triggering a round in the gun chamber sends a shock wave through the blade, increasing its damage potential, but the timing required is hard to learn, which is why it takes years to master wielding a Gunblade. The player can effectively utilize this ability during gameplay by pressing the trigger button (R1 in the PlayStation version) just as Squall Leonhart or Seifer Almasy is about to hit an enemy, thereby increasing the damage dealt to the target, similar to a critical hit.

Revolver
Cost: 100G Length: 141.9 cm Limits: Rough Divide The gunblade's original model. What it lacks in power, it more than makes up for with it's reliability. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * M-stone Piece x6
 * Screw x2

Shear Trigger
Cost: 200G Length: Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle An improvement over the Revolver, Shear Trigger uses the same blade as the Revolver, but the gun aspect is now more powerful. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Steel Pipe x1
 * Screw x4

Cutting Trigger
Cost: 400G Length: Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle This Cutting Trigger is made by replacing the blade of the Revolver with the powerful Cutting Sword. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Mesmerize Blade x1
 * Screw x8

Flame Saber
Cost: 600G Length: Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle, Blasting Zone The Flame Saber got its name from its red blade. This gunblade is very similar to the Cutting Trigger. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Betrayal Sword x1
 * Turtle Shell x1
 * Screw x4

Twin Lance
Cost: 800G Length: Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle, Blasting Zone The Twin Lance is a gunblade forged with two blades. The two blades work synergistically to inflict severe damage. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Dino Bone x1
 * Red Fang x2
 * Screw x12

Punishment
Cost: 1000G Length: Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle, Blasting Zone The Punishment looks almost identical to the Twin Lance, but is lighter and more powerful. The only gunblade more powerful than this is the Lion Heart. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Chef's Knife x1
 * Star Fragment x2
 * Turtle Shell x1
 * Screw x8

Lion Heart
Cost: 2000G Length: 176.3 cm Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle, Blasting Zone, Lion Heart Of gunblades, the finest model is the Lion Heart. It requires rare items to be remodeled to its highest quality. Sporting an Assault Rifle Handle this gunblade possesses the ability to switch between different fire settings. An excerpt of this model is mentioned in Weapons Monthly Magazine.
 * The Lion Heart is a themed model, modeled after the Guardian Force Griever as shown by the lion's bust designed into both sides of the gun section and a half-closed wing protruding out the top.

Items Required for Modification to this model:
 * Adamantine x1
 * Dragon Fang x4
 * Pulse Ammo x12

Hyperion
Limits: No Mercy, Demon Slice, Bloodfest, Zantetsuken Reverse Length: Seifer's Gunblade. It uses a semi-automatic pistol, resembling that of a Beretta, rather than a revolver as a handle and it also has a unique blade. Due to a lack of mention in any source material involving gunblades it is unknown whether this is an actual model type or a custom designed model for Seifer's personal use.

Squall's Gunblade
Limits: Rough Divide, Fated Circle, Blasting Zone Length: Squall carries a customized version of the Revolver model as his default weapon, adding an etching of Griever on the blade and a Griever keychain attached to the base of the hilt. The gunblade is shown with Squall in all of Squall's other-game appearances as well, most notably in the Kingdom Hearts series and Dissidia -Final Fantasy-.

In Battle
The trigger of the gunblade is used as a part of Squall's Renzokuken and Seifer's Fire Cross Limit Break; when the trigger bar appears, hitting the trigger button at the correct time deals more damage to the enemy.

Gunblade Creation and Development
The weapons were, in their original appearance of Final Fantasy VIII, designed by Tetsuya Nomura. At the time when he was thinking of Squall's weapon, he was into silver accessories. He felt he wanted Squall to have a silver weapon as well. Another key factor in creating Squall's weapon was how he wanted some new way for the player to control the weapon in battle. With both of those ideas combined, he came up with a gunblade. Now that Nomura thinks back on it, he says it has a rather odd appearance.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Limits: N/A Length: Dubbed a gunblade by fans this gun is used by Yazoo and also possessed by Loz from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. A single-handed pistol the Velvet Nightmare is a firearm designed after two parallel swords. It is compact enough to fit into a hip holster. Although it features a blade, which is located along the top length of the gun, it has yet to be officially designated a gunblade.

Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus
Limits: N/A Length: Weiss the Immaculate uses two katana-revolver hybrids that are similar to Gunblades in battle against Vincent in Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus. Named Heaven and Earth, these katana are capable of long-range fire albeit in single bursts, similar to a shotgun or rifle.

Final Fantasy XII
In Final Fantasy XII, Gilgamesh has the Revolver Gunblade amongst his collection of Legendary Weapons. However, like all his swords, it is slightly different, having an image of a Chocobo printed on the blade, and lacks the chain and Griever symbol.

Final Fantasy XII
Cost: 7,000 Length: Limits: N/A Squall's gunblade (complete with the Griever accessories) appears as the level 3 gun, named Ras Algethi. It can be poached from a rare Pyllo monster in the Golmore Jungle. It also becomes available in Amal's Weaponry, Weapons of War and Mosphoran Highwaste Shops after defeating Judge Master B. LP: 50 Attack: 26 Evasion: 10 Location: Rabanastre, Nalbina, Mosphoran Highwaste

Final Fantasy XIII
Limits: N/A Length: This unique weapon has the ability to transform between Gun-mode and Blade-mode. Possessed by Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII this weapon is capable of both melee and long-range properties. It has a holster that swings behind the buttocks of the wielder for the weapon to rest.

Parasite Eve II
A gunblade makes an appearance in Parasite Eve II as a weapon that the gorilla like Number 9 uses.

Also one of Aya's secret weapons (a 12 gauge rifle) is called a gunblade.

Vanishing Star
The Vanishing Star is the Gunblade wielded by Rinoa in the fanmade CG movies Dead Fantasy. It possesses a revolver handle like Squall's gunblade but features a different blade with a white feather and the words Vanishing Star inscribed upon it. Rinoa is seen wielding it one handed in a rapier-like style. When not in use it has a belt holster that it can attach to on the wielder's hip.

Shotgunblade
In Dion Roger's popular Dion Roger's Rinoa concept design of Rinoa, Rinoa is seen wielding this gunblade which possesses a shotgun handle and a Griever etching on the blade. It has been dubbed the Shotgunblade by Dion Roger when commenting on the art's design.