Final Fantasy 13 Gunblade Views

General Goods

The Gunblade (ガンブレード, Ganburēdo) 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.

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.