Gunblade (weapon type)

The Gunblade is a recurring weapon in the Final Fantasy series, first appearing in Final Fantasy VIII. 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 favoured style depending on the Gunblade used. For example the Velvet Nightmare is more adept for ranged combat than melee, while the paired blades Earth and Heaven are used primarily as melee weapons, although ranged combat is indeed an option.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
During the attack on Junon, Zack Fair is attacked by copies of Genesis Rhapsodos wielding a large grenade launcher/sword hybrid. These type of Genesis copies later appear in many 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.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Weiss the Immaculate uses two lever-action rifle/katana hybrids that are similar to Gunblades in battle against Vincent, named "Earth" and "Heaven". These katana are capable of long-range fire albeit in single bursts, similar to a shotgun or rifle. Rosso the Crimson also has a Gunblade of a different variety, a dual-bladed sword with an ornate handle. The blades are capable of being rotated back in on themselves for ease of storing when not in use. A gun barrel emerges from the center of this handle at a ninety-degree angle to the blades, as opposed to many other models of Gunblade which feature the gun barrel running parallel along the blade. One of the Restrictors also carry a pair of automatic pistols (or Uzi) with blade attachments over the barrel that closely resemble bayonets.

Final Fantasy VIII
The weapon's debut appearance; the Gunblade was the weapon of choice for Squall Leonhart and his rival, Seifer Almasy. It was 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 could not be used as an actual gun, meaning it didn't fire projectiles, and could 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 induced a tremor in the blade, causing it to deal additional damage to whatever it struck.

It is revealed 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. Gameplaywise, 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.

There are seven gunblade types/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 X-2
Though not appearing in the finished product, designs for an unused class showing Yuna wielding a dagger sized gunblade can be found in the game's Ultimania guide among numerous other potential classes.

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.

Two of the guns in Final Fantasy XII, the Ras Algethi and the Antares, are guns with blade-like attachments on their barrels similar to Gunblade. The Ras Algethi gun looks similar to the Lion Heart: it has a light blue blade-type of barrel, along with a hammer shaped like a wing and a key chain on the handle similar to the Griever symbol. However, any similarities these weapons bear to Gunblades are purely cosmetic, and they cannot be used for melee fighting.

Final Fantasy XIII
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. The Blade-mode does not possess the same trigger mechanism as the gunblades from Final Fantasy VIII, it just functions as an ordinary sword. 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 Amoda mentions that Lightning's initial weapon, the Blazefire Saber, is a weapon only used by the most skilled soldiers. Below is a list of the seventeen Gunblade types/models available for Lightning to use throughout the game.


 * Blazefire Saber (Blaze Edge)
 * Flamberge (Magnum Blaze)
 * Axel Blade
 * Enkindler (Ignite Blade)
 * Edged Carbine (Saber Carbine)
 * Razor Carbine (Slash Carbine)
 * Lifesaber
 * Peacemaker
 * Gladius
 * Helter-Skelter
 * Ogrenix
 * Apocalypse
 * Hauteclaire
 * Durandal
 * Lionheart
 * Ultima Weapon
 * Omega Weapon 

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Squall Leonhart wields his Revolver in combat yet again, although this time the gun rounds can not be triggered by the player, instead becoming part of the attack combo. Squall's attack style, called the "Relentless Revolver", centers around using the round to quickly recoil the blade back for a second strike, allowing him to use powerful multi-hit combos. Squall uses the Lion Heart in his EX Mode, increasing his range and letting him fire rounds while attacking for extra damage.

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 was aptly named "Gunblade".

World of Warcraft
In the massively multiplayer online role playing game 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 weilds a black gunblade called the Vanishing Star. It possesses a revolver gun component with duel 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 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.

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

 * At one point in Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna Loire also uses a Revolver Gunblade despite not being a prominent Gunblade user.
 * In Dissidia Final Fantasy Bartz Klauser can utilize Squall's Revolver, along with the weapons of the other heroes, in his attacks due to his Mime abilities.
 * 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.
 * Some Gunblade models bare similarities to the real-world s from medieval europe.
 * The character Juji Kabane from the game uses gun/sword hybrid "Gun Blades" called Tsumuji and Hayate.
 * Some of Squall's gunblades (Revolver, Twin Lance, Punishment & Lion Heart) featured as Squall's exclusive weapon in Dissidia.
 * The Gunblade holds bearing in reality. Six shot flintlock guns and rifles with large blades mounted under the barrel exist.

Gunblade