No series does cool swords better than Final Fantasy

Cloud's Buster Sword is the de facto face of Final Fantasy weapons. Look at the big blade on a tiny stick and the skinny-armed kid twirling it around like it's nothing! God, please. We have looked, for almost 30 years.

I'm kidding. It's a neat sword! Square Enix deserves credit for wrapping so many layers of symbolism and storytelling into one weapon, too. But there's a whole bunch of other sick Final Fantasy swords that don't get their time in the sun. This is for them.

Gunblades

Final Fantasy has pumped out a lot of cool stuff over the years, but the gunblade has to be one of the best. It's a gun! And a blade! The gun bit doesn't work in Final Fantasy 8, where the weapon made its debut, but it's still a punk-ass piece of kit (and Squall's Leonhart gunblade is one of the most memorable weapon designs in the series).

It finally comes into its own in Final Fantasy 13, where Lightning actually uses it as a gun and a sword. But there's also a whole massive chunk of lore attached to the gunblade in FFXIV, first in the Gunbreaker class questline and then, for the more patient, in the very grindy Bozja: Southern Front mode. Gunblades aren't just for looking swish in FFXIV. They and the knowledge of how to use them are the last breath of a dying culture laid low by the imperial ambitions of a neighboring country.

Red Mage sword (Final Fantasy XIV)

Red Mages use rapiers in Final Fantasy. Red Mages in Final Fantasy XIV use rapiers with little magic devices that slot into the bottom of the hilt and enable them to use ancient, forbidden spells. (Okay, the spells are just things like Aero and Stone, but still.) Slotting it into the hilt makes a magical little tinkling sound like finger cymbals clamped down too hard, an effect that defines the job class as much as any of its abilities, and it just looks freakin' sick in action.

Save the Queen (Final Fantasy 9)

There's a lot of blades called Save the Queen in Final Fantasy, but FF9's version is the neatest. It's grounded, as this series' unique sword designs go anyway, and it basically is Beatrix. Not just because it matches her outfit theme. Well, sort of, as that's a pretty cool detail. But mainly, it tells you everything about her values and mission in life and sets her up as a foil to Steiner. Whatever Queen Brahne's wrongs, Beatrix exists to protect her and further her goals. I know the blade exists elsewhere in the series, but you can practically imagine Beatrix naming it herself and pouring her soul into it.

Engine Blade (Final Fantasy 15)

I mean, if Noctis didn't have a sword inspired by cars in the game about a car, that would just be weird, right? The engine doesn't actually do anything, unfortunately. In a world where a prince can maintain his dignity while wearing a cup noodle hat, surely making his sword go VROOM VROOM would be feasible? Ah well. It looks amazing, and it's strong, too, which is what really matters.

Brotherhood (Final Fantasy 10)

Okay, so Brotherhood is basically the Buster Sword of Final Fantasy 10 in terms of how recognizable it is. But just look at it! A giant sword with an unusual blade form that looks like it was made entirely out of water. What could be more fitting for the Final Fantasy whose core identity (and characters) are as fleeting and changeable as the wet stuff?

Omega Sword (Final Fantasy 16)

One of Final Fantasy 16's biggest sins is hiding so much of its storytelling in lore entries, but those entries are, at least, very good — especially the one for the Omega Sword in the Echoes of the Fallen DLC. Once you beat Omega Weapon, you get the Omega Sword, which, you learn, is actually alive. It's made of fake bones and living flesh, which was, apparently, common practice in the golden days of yore. Someone peeled flesh off living creatures and combined it with fake bones to make a sword, and then infused it with "that selfsame vital spirit that animated the Sagespire's mightiest of sentinels," so it's basically alive. Y'know, normal things for a blacksmith to do.

Masamune

Sephiroth hijacked the Masamune, and his ridiculously long sword (not a euphemism) is neat enough, sure — but not as much as finally getting your hands on it in older Final Fantasies. It's your reward for toughing it out through the most brutal, challenging dungeons in Final Fantasy 2 and Final Fantasy 3, an essential "well done" that gives you a better chance of surviving the even more difficult fights ahead. It's sort of the same thing in Final Fantasy 4, but with a slightly more personal touch. There, it's your prize for surviving an exceptionally difficult boss fight, but it's specifically for Edge, the final thing he needs to make his long journey for vengeance complete. Sorry, Sephiroth. You've been out-cooled.

Ultima Weapon (Final Fantasy 6)

Final Fantasy 6's Ultima Weapon — the sword, not the eponymous boss — is the closest thing Final Fantasy has to a lightsaber. It's a glowing beam of blue light that gets bigger as you deal more damage, though it has pretty crappy performance when you first get it. The only redeeming feature is that it ignores enemy defense. But, it stacks with the equipping character's strength, which means if you use the right magicite to bump their stats up, you can end up doing 9,999 damage with every swing.

Maliferous Moggle Mogtana (Final Fantasy XIV)

Samurai in FFXIV have a chance of earning this little beauty after defeating Good King Moggle Mog, a weird little guy with a surprisingly important role in Heavensward and a banger of a Nightmare Before Christmas-adjacent theme song. The blade glows an evil looking shade of pink, but the scabbard is the best part. It's sporting a fancy black motif with intertwining veins of gold, and at the top is a Moogle head, looking for all the world like it just came out of a Final Fantasy-themed Happy Meal. Just rolling up to kill god with a plastic Moogle toy, no big deal.

Lightbringer (Final Fantasy 4 Advance)

The Lightbringer shows up in a bunch of Final Fantasies, but it stands out the most in Final Fantasy 4's Game Boy Advance version. The port tacks on a new moon dungeon with a bunch of challenges for each character that tie in with their personalities somehow. Cecil has to prove he really did change up on Mount Ordeals, that he deserves to carry the Paladin title and wasn't just feeling guilty at the time. If he passes, he gets the Lightbringer, the final sign of his transformation. It's a powerful blade that also casts Holy and one of Cecil's best in this version of the game. Thematic beauty and practical utility: it doesn't get any better.