Lion Heart (weapon)

The Lion Heart (also written as Lionheart) is a recurring weapon in the Final Fantasy series. It first appeared in Final Fantasy VIII and is widely known for being Squall Leonhart's strongest gunblade.

Final Fantasy VIII
The Lion Heart is Squall's ultimate weapon, refined from rare materials around the world. It allows access to all of Squall's finishing moves. Items required to remodel a gunblade to Lion Heart are one Adamantine, four Dragon Fangs and twelve Pulse Ammo rounds. The cost of the upgrade is 2000 gil.

Though time-consuming, the necessary ingredients and GF Abilities can be amassed before the final confrontation of Disc 1. Once obtained, the Lion Heart can be made in any Junk Shop regardless of whether one has read Weapons Monthly, 1st Issue:
 * GF Quetzalcoatl must learn the Card command, which will allow it to then learn the Card Mod ability, thus granting item synthesis from Triple Triad cards.
 * GF Ifrit must also be at least Level 10, allowing it to learn the Ammo-RF ability.
 * Players must collect 20 Elnoyle cards, a Level 5 Monster card used rarely by such early NPCs as Ma Dincht and Dr. Kadowaki.
 * Use Card-Mod to turn 10 Elnoyle Cards into 1 Energy Crystal.
 * Use Ammo-RF to turn 1 Energy Crystal into 10 rounds of Pulse Ammo.
 * After the party collapses in the forest near Galbadia Garden and experiences the second Laguna Dream sequence, perspective returns to the world map (you are now in the Timber - Yaulny Canyon region). Do not leave the forest, turn to the west so you face the cliffs adjacent to the forest and keep close to them to find Grendel monsters for 100% of encounters.
 * To obtain 4 Dragon Fangs, players must keep their party's average level below 20, as they will drop fangs with much less frequency at higher levels.
 * An easy means of defeating these enemies is to obtain a Black Hole during the Dream Sequence, to teach Quistis the Degenerator Blue Magic spell, dispatching them instantly.
 * After defeating Brothers in the Tomb of the Unknown King, Card-Mod the Minotaur Card into 10 Adamantine.

Final Fantasy X
Cost: 100,000 (Variable Steel)

Abilities: Double Overdrive

A customized version of the Variable Steel is available for Tidus; the Lionheart is a level 10 weapon that has the Double Overdrive ability.

Final Fantasy XIII


The Lionheart is a model of gunblade obtainable by Lightning at the beginning of Chapter 12. It has the trait Quick Stagger, which allows Lightning to immediately stagger an enemy with any strike when the Stagger Gauge is at 90% full. Though it does not have the highest Strength and Magic stats among her weapons, Quick Stagger makes it a valuable weapon. Its upgraded version is the Ultima Weapon.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance


The Lionheart appears as a Knight Sword for Paladins, Templars and Defenders. It has 34 Attack, 2 Defense, 1 Magic Resistance, and teaches Paladins and Defenders the Defense ability. It can be bought at the shop.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift


Lion Heart is a weapon usable by Paladins, Templar and Defenders. It has 38 Attack and increases Defense by 2 and Resistance by 1. It is the Rank E item of the "Battle-tested Swords" section of the Bazaar, and requires a Tarkov Crysal, a Zinconium and a Dragon Bone to unlock, and is then bought for 1220 Gil in the shop. It teaches the ability Defend to the Paladin and Defender.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Squall Leonhart wields the Lion Heart in his EX Mode. Wielding the Lion Heart gives Squall the abilities "Lion Heart (RANGE)" and "Lion Heart (HIT)." The range boost increases the range of all Squall's melee attacks, while the second ability activates the trigger function when Squall lands a melee attack, doubling the number of hits afflicted.

The Lionheart is also Squall's Level 100 exclusive weapon. To obtain it, the player must trade in the Punishment weapon, five Unshelled Bullets and five Bless Orbs. The Lion Heart increases the player's Attack by 68, increases EX Force Absorption by 30%, and gives Squall the Sneak Attack ability.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Squall again wields the Lion Heart as his EX Mode weapon, with its effects unchanged. The Lion Heart is also retained as his Level 100 weapon.

Kingdom Hearts series
A named after the  can be obtained by defeating Cloud and Leon (Squall) in the. It has high attack power, increases 's max MP, and increases his magic and powers. In Chain of Memories, the Lion Heart Attack Card can be found in bonus boxes in Traverse Town during Sora's Story, which has high attack but performs poorly in combos. A similar weapon called the can be acquired in Kingdom Hearts II from Leon in  partway through the game. It has decent attack strength and magical abilities, and increases the amount of strikes Sora can deliver in a combo.

Both the Sleeping Lion and the Lion Heart, despite their names, look more like the Revolver and not the Lionheart, and use Squall's Griever emblem as the basis for their designs. The Sleeping Lion in particular has a bladed edge along its length unlike the majority of Keyblades, and a gun barrel set into the handle, making it appear similar to the Revolver. The Sleeping Lion also bears some resemblance to the Twin Lance weapon Squall can receive in Final Fantasy VIII, as it has a hollow gap running through the center of the blade.

When fought in the Colosseum cups, Leon will occasionally power up his gunblade, surrounding the blade with bright blue and gold aura, which makes it appear similar to the Lion Heart.

Merchandise
The Lion Heart is included in the Play Arts Arms set along with four other ultimate weapons. However, its blade is not blue like in its other appearances, but metallic-gray like the Revolver.

Trivia

 * In most appearances, Lion Heart is depicted with black hilt and blue blade, with exception for Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII where the blade is gold.
 * Squall's version of the Lion Heart appears to be able to switch between different fire settings. This can be seen most apparently in the Play Arts toy version of the weapon.

Lion Heart