Gunblade (weapon type)

NOTE: While there are numerous weapons of similar appearance and function that appear throughout the Final Fantasy franchise, this article covers only those officially designated as "Gunblades" by official material.

The Gunblade (ガンブレード, Ganburēdo) is a recurring weapon in the Final Fantasy series, first appearing in Final Fantasy VIII. Designed by Tetsuya Nomura, it is an original weapon: a fusion of the Sword and Gun, thus the name "Gunblade". The Final Fantasy VIII Gunblades could not actually fire projectiles. Later versions in other games, like in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIII, have changed these weapons to work as both a gun and a blade, although they seem to be more of a gun with blades on them, rather than a sword with a firing mechanism.

Design and Execution
In Final Fantasy VIII, all forms of Gunblade consist of some sort of sword blade with some type of gun action built into the hilt, with its barrel running inside the length of the blade. They are mostly used like normal swords, but triggering a round sends a shockwave through the blade, creating a vibration as the weapon passes through an opponent to increase damage.

In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Squall Leonhart's use of the Revolver is refined beyond the normal slashes seen in Final Fantasy VIII, incorporating the use of the Gunblade's recoil for a unique combat style. Using the Heel Crush and Rough Divide techniques, Squall triggers a round while holding the Gunblade behind him, the recoil quickly pushing him forward. Using the Solid Barrel and Beat Fang techniques, Squall thrusts the blade into the enemy, only to trigger a round (which also damages the enemy), the recoil of the shot pushes the blade back, where Squall immediately thrusts again, repeating the process several more times.

So far the combat styles demonstrated for Gunblades capable of projectile firing (as seen in Final Fantasy XIII and the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII) are simply alternating between ranged and melee combat with the favored style depending on the Gunblade used. For example the Velvet Nightmare is more adept for ranged combat than melee.

Final Fantasy XIV introduced a variant named Gunhalberd, which had a halbeld base rather than a sword base.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Various copies of Genesis Rhapsodos wield gunblades capable both of firing bullets and rockets. They first appear during the attack on Junon and can be encountered on missions.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Yazoo and Loz both use two ornate Gunblades called the Velvet Nightmare in the film. Despite the fact that they are officially considered Gunblades, they are not seen possessing any notable cutting ability and are used mainly as guns, although they do possess a blade running along the top of the barrel, and a smaller blade along the bottom forming the front end of the trigger guard.

Final Fantasy VIII
The weapon's debut appearance, the Gunblade is the weapon of choice for Squall Leonhart and his rival, Seifer Almasy. It is a sword with a fire mechanism, such as a pistol (as with Seifer's Hyperion), or revolver (as with Squall's Revolver), which serves as the hilt for the blade. Despite its name, it cannot 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. The firing of the Gunblade's rounds induces a tremor in the blade, causing it to deal additional damage to whatever it strikes.

It is said in Dissidia that, because of how the Gunblade is used in order to achieve optimal performance, the weapon is considered an old-fashioned and notoriously difficult weapon to use in comparison to regular swords. In gameplay, one must press the R1 button just as Squall strikes his opponent to pull the trigger. When Seifer is a playable character, using this technique is slightly more difficult because Seifer attacks much quicker. Squall and Seifer are the only ones who can use a gunblade in combat, while Laguna Loire uses one in a flashback mini game and also mentions he trained with one in his early years as a Galbadian soldier.

There are seven gunblade models available for Squall to use throughout the game, plus Seifer's own model. Below is a list of the Gunblades present in the game.


 * Revolver
 * Shear Trigger
 * Cutting Trigger
 * Flame Saber
 * Twin Lance
 * Punishment
 * Lion Heart
 * Hyperion

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, no trigger and lacks the chain and Griever symbol.

Final Fantasy XIII
Also known in Japan as Dualweapon (デュアルウェポン, Dyuaruwepon), this unique weapon has the ability to transform between gun-mode and blade-mode. Used by Lightning, the gunblades are capable of both melee and long-range properties. Lightning's gunblade has a holster that swings behind the back of the wielder for the weapon to rest. In the web novelization Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, Sergeant Major Amodar mentions that Lightning's initial weapon, the Blazefire Saber, is a weapon only used by the most skilled soldiers.

The idea for Lightning to have a sword that can transform into a gun relates to the game's Eidolons; one of the gameplay themes chosen for Final Fantasy XIII was transformation, and the Eidolons can turn into vehicles; if summons could transform, the developers thought weapons should be able to as well.

Below is a list of the seventeen gunblade types/models available for Lightning to use throughout the game.


 * Blazefire SaberLightning Gunblades.png
 * Flamberge
 * Axis Blade
 * Enkindle
 * Edged Carbine
 * Razor Carbine
 * Lifesaber
 * Peacemaker
 * Gladius
 * Helter-Skelter
 * Ogranyx
 * Apocalypse
 * Hauteclaire
 * Durandal
 * Lionheart
 * Ultima Weapon
 * Omega Weapon 

Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning again wields a Gunblade. Though it is of an entirely different model than any seen in Final Fantasy XIII, it is still able to transform between gun and sword forms.

Final Fantasy XIV
Gunblades are a commonly used infantry weapon in the Garlean Empire army. The main antagonist of the game, Gaius Van Baelsar, also wields his own Gunblade, the Heirsbane, while another legatus, Nael Van Darnus, uses a Gunhalbeld called the Bradamante.

This gunblade type is capable of both melee and long-range attacks.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Squall Leonhart wields his Revolver in combat yet again, although this time he uses the weapon single-handedly. Also, the gun rounds cannot be triggered by the player (except for his EX Burst); instead, the mechanism is executed automatically as part of the attack combo. Squall's attack style, called Relentless Revolver, centers around using the recoil from a triggered round to drive the blade back after attacking and quickly move into position for a second attack, allowing him to use powerful multi-hit combos that hit several times in rapid succession. Squall switches to the Lion Heart in his EX Mode, increasing his range and letting him trigger rounds while attacking for extra damage, and the Revolver, Twin Lance, Punishment and Lion Heart appear as his exclusive weapons. As a Mime, Bartz is able to use Squall's Revolver in some of his attacks.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Lightning wields the Blazefire Saber in battle and exchanges it for the Omega Weapon in her EX Mode. As in Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning uses both the weapon's sword and gun forms, quickly switching between the two while attacking to combine close and long-range tactics, such as firing a barrage of gunfire then diving in for a sword slash. As with Squall, many of Lightning's exclusive weapons are named after her Final Fantasy XIII Gunblades - the Blazefire Saber, Axis Blade, Flameberge, Enkindler, and Omega Weapon. Bartz also uses the Blazefire Saber in some attacks.

Parasite Eve II
A gunblade makes an appearance in Parasite Eve II as a weapon that the gorilla like Number 9 uses. Upon his defeat Aya can use the weapon as one of her secret weapons if certain objectives are met. It is aptly named "Gunblade".

World of Warcraft
In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, players can obtain a Bind on Equip rare gun named "The Gunblade". Dropped by monsters of the mid-65 level range it requires a Level 65 player to equip. A bonus is that it increases attack power by 36 points upon equipping. The weapon only serves its function as a gun, and cannot be used as a sword.

Gunblades in Popular Culture
In the fanmade CG movies Dead Fantasy, Rinoa Heartilly wields a black gunblade called the Vanishing Star. It possesses a revolver gun component with dual triggers and features a blade with a white feather and the words Vanishing Star inscribed upon it. An actual gun barrel atop the weapon's blade, as well as exhaust port's on the blade itself, suggests that it can be used as ranged weapon. On said gun barrel, the words All Existence Denied are inscribed: a direct quote of Ultimecia in Final Fantasy VIII ' s last battle. Rinoa is seen wielding it one handed in a similar style to the Chinese Dao sword. When not in use it has a belt holster that it can attach to on the wielder's hip.

In the popular Dion Rogers' Rinoa concept design of Rinoa, Rinoa is seen wielding a gunblade possessing 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.

Merchandise

 * Final Fantasy Master Arms include miniaturized replicas of both Squall's Revolver and Seifer's Hyperion.
 * The Lion Heart model is included in the Play Arts Arms set along with four other ultimate weapons.
 * As Squall Leonhart's primary and iconic weapon a scaled replica of the Revolver Gunblade has been featured with every Squall figurine regardless of what media or game the figure is portraying.

Trivia

 * While it is assumed that the Gunblade models have to use specific bullets/shells to fire, only one example of a "Gunblade Bullet" has been shown through an image from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Tetsuya Nomura stated that he designed Squall's Gunblade during a time when he was into silver accessories, but on thinking back, he says it has a rather odd appearence.
 * Some Gunblade models bear similarities to the real-world s from medieval Europe and the U.S Civil War.
 * The character Juji Kabane from uses a gun/sword hybrid "Gun Blades" called Tsumuji and Hayate.
 * In Dissidia, whenever Squall uses a melee attack in EX Mode, bullet shells can be seen ejecting from the 'chamber' of the Lion Heart.
 * An ability called Gunblade is used by Squall in Chocobo Racing; allowing him to use a Turbo Boost until he reaches first place.