The weapons system in Final Fantasy VIII goes against tradition somewhat. Gone are treasure chests, gone are special weapons dropped by bosses, and even the Equip menu is notable for its absence. Instead each character has one weapon which can be remodelled in different styles.
I suppose it does resolve the issue of how they can carry around a few hundred swords at once.
To upgrade a weapon, you first need to know about the new model. Finding or buying Weapons Monthly magazines will teach you about the latest designs. From there, visit a Junk Shop in town (or use the similar GF ability) and, for a little Gil and some items, you can walk out with a freshly tooled-up party.
Click the pictures or weapon names for more information.
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Gunblades |
| Character: Squall Leonhart | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Lionheart | |
Squall is an expert with the Gunblade, a sword with a revolver built into the handle. While in battle, the gun can be used to inflict more damage than a standard attack. To do this, pull the trigger at the moment the sword strikes. In addition to increased strength, different gunblades allow Squall to perform different Limit Breaks. | |
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Gloves |
| Character: Zell Dincht | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Ehrgeiz | |
Zell is a martial artist, and his strength comes from his fists. To boost his attack power, he must equip a pair of armoured gloves. However, Zell still needs to get in close to the enemy, and as such his accuracy suffers slightly. | |
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Nunchaku |
| Character: Selphie Tilmitt | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Strange Vision | |
Selphie fights using nunchaku, two hard bars linked with a length of chain. One bar is held while the other is swung toward the opponent. This causes a minor inaccuracy in the weapon, but the Strange Vision has a perfect hit rate. To increase the damage dealt by the weapon, stronger and spiked bars are used. | |
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Whips |
| Character: Quistis Trepe | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Save the Queen | |
Quistis uses the whip, an ancient weapon that enhances the momentum of the attacker's arm, allowing her to deal powerful blows with little effort. The speed of the whip is its downfall, as it loses accuracy. | |
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Projectiles |
| Character: Rinoa Heartilly | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Shooting Star | |
Rinoa's weapon is the Blaster Edge, a projectile launcher mounted onto her arm. With it, she can fire a variety of sharpened boomerangs at the enemy from long range. | |
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Guns |
| Character: Irvine Kinneas | |
| Ultimate Weapon: Exeter | |
Irvine is a sharpshooter, and uses a rifle to attack the enemy. This allows him to attack from long range, and his skills make sure he maintains accuracy. For normal attacks, these rifles require no ammunition. However, his Limit Break uses special ammunition items from the inventory. |
