Masamune sword of Sephiroth: Final Fantasy VII movie sword

 

Sephiroth is an iconic villain in CGI motion picture Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. (The film is sometimes dubbed as FFVII or FF7 by fans.) Sporting a long carefully moussed hair, Sephiroth wishes to become a god and rule the earth with an iron fist.

 

His Masamune sword, which he uses with masterful ease, is awe-inspiring. It is extremely long—its massive length is six feet—with a relatively thin blade width.

 

With its two-handed grip, a rectangular but round-edged tsuba, and a gracefully curved blade, it is a Japanese katana sword or to be exact, an odachi.

 

Fusion swords of Cloud Strife: Final Fantasy 7 CGI film sword

 

Cloud Strife was using the Fusion Sword in his fights in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children animation film, particularly in his monumental battle against Sephiroth.

 

It is a complicated fantasy sword: it is made up of six individual swords that are to be attached together or disassembled to suit the Cloud Strife’s combat needs.

 

First Tsurugi is sometimes called First Ken and Fusion Sword. (Some sources say that the First Tsurugi refers actually to the main blade, not the fully constructed Fusion Sword. However, fan communities use Fusion Sword, First Ken, and First Tsurugi interchangeably.) Although there are no official names to the six blades released by the franchise, fanatics have christened them into the following:

 

• First Sword or Vigilante or First Tsurugi is the name of the base sword. It has two distinct appearances: the first one (called the normal mode) is a large two-handed solid German sword Zweihaender with massive handguard, a long thin bar for grip, and two cutting edges. The other form (called the battle mode) is a blade cut and extended lengthwise, with the centerline revealing teeth, complex networks of holes, and jags. The other five blades can be latched onto the First Tsurugi or Vigilante only on the normal mode.

 

• Hollow Blade or Vendetta is the name for the hollow blade attached to the left cutting edge of the First Sword or Vigilante. Its cross-section reveals a V-cut construction, with a hilt situated in between the blade (instead of at the end of it). It is strong, sharp, and sturdy that Cloud Strife uses it when he sometimes loses the First Sword. In the film, the Hollow Blade or Vendetta was used in a scene fighting against Sephiroth, fending off bullets, and slicing slabs of concrete and free-falling debris in mid-air strikes.

 

• Merciless and Avenger or Back Blades are long blades with one fine, fatally sharp on one edge and a jagged line on the other. They are spitting images of each other and when combined, they have a locking mechanism so they can be mounted on the First Sword’s gigantic hilt and fitted snugly. They are positioned with their toothed edges pointing toward the Hollow Blade, their cutting edges forming the single cutting edge of the Fusion Sword.

 

• Ascalon and Sidewinder or Side Blades are single-edged which can be folded, akin to a switchblade, with a distinct gear-mechanism found in between the hilt and the blade. The Ascalon and Sidewinder are spitting images of each other, and they are locked onto the First Sword to provide strength, added weight (and therefore force of attack), and decorations to the Fusion Sword.

 

Cloud Strife is seen to be carrying all separate blades in his motorcycle, the Fenrir. He also wears a sword belt slung to his back, so he has easy access to assemble or disassemble the Fusion Sword at any time of his need.

 

Souba of Kadaj: Final Fantasy Seven Sword

 

In the film, Kadaj is one of the three Remnants of Sephiroth—a vessel of Sephiroth’s will and spiritual energy.

 

(Sephiroth’s body was destroyed before the film’s storyline and his Remnants are scheming to bring him back to life.) Kadaj, the leader of the three that included Loz and Yazoo, is carrying a double katana called Souba.

 

A unique sword, the Souba of Kadaj has two glistening katana blades set into one rectangular hilt.

 

It is primarily constructed to trap and disarm the opponent’s blade, increase striking range, and deflect more effectively against Cloud Strife’s huge First Tsuguri.

 

Velvet Nightmare: FF7 Gunblades

 

One of the finest Final Fantasy swords, the Gunblade is again a complex weapon: it is partly a blade and partly a gun. It has many versions throughout the franchise, ranging from the sword-racket launcher hybrid in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core game to katana-revolver hybrid seen in Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus game.

 

But the most popular gunblades are the Velvet Nightmare, the swords of Yazoo and Loz (the other two Remnants of Sephiroth) in Final Fantasy VII: The Advent Children film. The Velvet Nightmare has a blade on the top of the barrel and a smaller blade on the bottom. Most of the time, they are used as guns rather than as blades. When used as blades, they are best for fending off sword attacks from opponents.

 

Famous Final Fantasy game swords

 

As what has been discussed earlier, each volume of the franchise exists for its own. This is the reason why there are about a thousand Final Fantasy swords that can be found throughout the series. However, there are some swords that are recurring and popular; they appear in several volumes more than the others. The list below contains some of the most famous:

 

• Anastasia is the sword used by Vaan, the winsome protagonist of Final Fantasy: Revenant Wings whose point-of-view the whole gameplan and story is told through. Only the select few can wield the sword. In the game, Anastasia is a high fantasy sword with soft tendrils sprouting from the tip of the tapering sword point, an angel wing for its side of the hilt, and a greatly ornate pommel.

 

• Ultimate Weapon, sometimes called Atma weapon, occurs in most of the Final Fantasy series. Considered the strongest in each game, its strength is derived from the user’s.

 

It is acquired by finishing important conquests, obtaining the raw materials for its forging (such as Ultamite and Orichalcum), defeating superiors, and gathering other important items. The Ultimate Weapon appears in a sparkling, radiant blade with a gleaming blue ray—a sign of its mystical power.

 

• Heaven’s Cloud, or Murakumo and Ama-no-Murakumo, is another recurring sword and regarded as one of the stronger weapons in the game series. It is based on the Japanese legend, particularly on the myth about a sword extracted from the belly of an eight-headed serpent. The Heaven’s Cloud is a powerful weapon for Ninjas and Assassin class.

 

• Ragnarok appears in almost all of the games. In the first few series, it is considered the best, the most powerful, and the strongest among all other weapons found anywhere else in the game.

 

The description in the sword, as it appears in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, reads “The fantastical sword said to lead toward the world’s end, and then to another world reborn.”

 

Collectible Final Fantasy swords

 

Square Enix, the holding company of the Final Fantasy franchise, has yet to grant license to any third-party distributors and manufacturers for the production, distribution, and sale of collectible fantasy swords derived from the series.

 

There are replicas around that you can buy and their quality may vary from one manufacturer to another. If you are interested to purchase them, please read first our article How to buy fantasy and movie prop swords for discussions on licensed, standard, and limited edition fantasy sword replicas.