As part of our special edition, we bring you a look at some of the more commonly used weapons among the special forces of today. There's been a big trend back to Melee combat, and the current weapons certainly reflect that.

Here we have a gunblade, a sword-gun weapon that is still excusively used by SeeD forces. This beauty is the actual customized Revolver gunblade used by Squall Lionheart! He's very protective of his weapons, and unfortunently all we had time to get was this quick picture, but you can still see all the basic features.

A Samurai's weapon, the No-Dachi is a fearsome sword. now that the Leauge of Roses is a political reality, many more of these enormous blades are making a show on the battlefield. Here you can see a detail of the blade alone, and a sheathed blade, though they are rarely if ever sheathed.

We see more and more of the mysterious Ninja nowadays. Here you can see an assortment of the kinds of weapons you might face if you're attacked by one. That blade in the center is their main weapon, the Ninja-To. Don't ask how we got these pictures, it wasn't easy! Ninja definently seem to be protective of their secrets, and no one knows where they come from. If they're making weapons like these, they must have a sophistcated fortress somewhere.

Segmented staves are really coming back. Larger Nunchuku have always been popular, but it hasn't been until recently that we've seen more and more of these weapons around. Look for an upgraded model in this WM issue!

This interesting little weapon is shaped like half a Sai, but it has bladed edges. It seems to be gaining in popularity from the fact that it's small enough to carry easily, but can do more damage than a Sai would. Like a Sai, it can be used to trap or break enemy swords, so we think part of this weapon's popularity is the increase in melee combat.