Gaze upon an amazing replica of Final Fantasy VIII hero’s (Squall Leonhart) gunblade from Final Fantasy Dissidia.
If there’s one thing you can count on Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series for having, it’s stylish, bold, if not bordering on the absurd, art design. Down to way characters look, Final Fantasy VI’s Terra Branford for example, their outfits – yup, they do love them zippers – and weapons, to which, have always been spectacularly crafted.
Personally, my top-two Final Fantasy’ weapons go something like this: at 1) is Cloud Strife’s broadsword, the iconic and always awesome Buster Sword (how Cloud is able to wield such a humongous thing, I’ll never know), and at 2) it’s the gunblade, which served as Squall Leonhart’s weapon of choice in Final Fantasy VIII.
And dig this duders, a clever Reddit user by the hacker-alias, benmeetsworld, has forged an excellent replica of that sword and gun fusion and posted photos for the whole web to see. Technically – because I’d become the target of Internet-tomatoes if I didn’t get this right – it’s Squall Leonhart’s gunblade from Final Fantasy Dissidia.
What’s the difference between the Final Fantasy VIII version and this one? I haven’t the foggiest, but it sure does look mighty rad. The construction of this gunblade is craftily comprised of medium-density fibreboard with sturdy balsawood used for most of its graceful features, i.e. the long, steel blade that looks almost metal-ish.
Meanwhile, the revolver-esque chamber itself is built from a rather surprising component, a can of Pringles. Geeze, a potato snack that’s so flavorful and addicting that “once you pop, you can’t stop” – plus – gunblade building material; is there nothing you can’t do, Pringles! (The answer is, obviously, no.)
WARNING, INCOMING NERD RANT: There’s a few dissenters out there that love to point out that the gunblade is all style, no function. These pot-shots are mostly misconceptions about how the weapon is actually used; the gunblade isn’t traditionally handled like a gun in battle, instead, it’s used like any other normal sword.
You see, the gun-side is typically reserved for when its user strikes an opponent, and when so, is thus triggered, firing a round and sending a shock wave through the blade increasing the damage dealt. In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall actually reverses this method as a rocket-boost of sorts, allowing him to quickly attack his enemies. Cool, huh?
Benmeetsworld’s gunblade prop might not do any of that explosive stuff (version 2.0, maybe?), but it gets the atheistic bit down with flying colors. Good show, benmeetsworld. Good show. For more examples of gaming passion at its finest, keep it glued here on Walyou as we explore the walls of Bethesda Studios, and learn all about Capcom’s Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set.
