Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy VIII)

Gilgamesh is a pseudo-Guardian Force in Final Fantasy VIII who replaces Odin. Similar to Odin, Gilgamesh appears randomly, but can appear during boss battles and can appear any time during a battle. As a drawback, he might waste his turn for a useless ability called Excalipoor, or try to use Zantetsuken on an enemy that is immune to it.
==Characteristics==
Gilgamesh in Final Fantasy VIII is implied to be the Gilgamesh of Final Fantasy V who ended up in the Interdimensional Rift. In Final Fantasy VIII, Gilgamesh emerges from a "dimensional portal" to capture Odin's sword, and then joins the party as Odin's replacement. Gilgamesh was a sword-enthusiast in Final Fantasy V, but his search for the legendary Excalibur only found him a cheap knock-off, the Excalipoor. Gilgamesh wields both in Final Fantasy VIII, alongside Masamune, a recurring katana from the series that has appeared since the original Final Fantasy.
Since Final Fantasy VIII, Gilgamesh has gone to become a widely recurring character who travels the Void to different Final Fantasy worlds. He often appears on bridges as he first did in Final Fantasy V on the Big Bridge. In Final Fantasy VIII he appears on the flight deck of the Lunatic Pandora. Coincidentally, this place could also be called a "bridge", as the word can also mean "the elevated, enclosed platform on a ship from which the captain and officers direct operations".
Gilgamesh has a gray complexion and white pupilless eyes. He has a red tattered cloak, horns and a feathery head adornment, white-and-red polka dot trousers and black, gold, and red boots. Humorously, he has numerous arms that appear fake, as the the decorations on the right side of Gilgamesh's body appear to be wood or cardboard cutouts with arms drawn on them. This alludes to Gilgamesh having multiple arms in Final Fantasy V in his "true" form.
The dialogue he exchanges with Seifer hints that he is the Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy V:
;Gilgamesh
:"You gave me the 4th one..."
:"Huh? Was it you...?"
:"Then dodge my sword!"
:"Eat this!!!"
;Seifer
:"Ergwahhhh!!!"
;Gilgamesh
:Where is the dimensional interval...?
In the Japanese version, Gilgamesh's line "Huh? Was it you...?" was "「ん？　オマエなのか・・・・？　バ・・・・？」" ("Huh? Was it you...? Ba...?"). The "Ba...?" in the end could mean he was talking about Bartz , the main character of Final Fantasy V. Also, the "dimensional interval" may be the Interdimensional Rift.
==Obtained==
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If the party acquired Odin before fighting Seifer at the top of Lunatic Pandora, Odin will attack at the beginning of the battle. Seifer will use "Zantetsuken Reverse" and slice Odin in half. Odin's sword creates a rift in space/time, from which Gilgamesh appears and picks it up. The battle continues as normal.
Later in the fight, if it has lasted for more than 12 rounds, or the player depleted all of Seifer's HP, Gilgamesh will appear and defeat Seifer. Gilgamesh will join the player party and will appear at random during battles, just like Odin.
If the player does not have Odin when they reach the top of Lunatic Pandora, Gilgamesh cannot be recruited in that playthrough.
==Gameplay==
:See the summon sequence here.
Unlike Odin, Gilgamesh can appear during boss battles and at any time during battle, but can still only appear once per battle.
When he appears, Gilgamesh will select one of four swords to attack with: Zantetsuken instantly defeats all opponents; the purple-hilted, Masamune, and the blue sword, Excaliber, both deal heavy damage to all opponents, with the former also inflicting Slow; and the red sword, Excalipoor, deals just one point of damage to all opponents. Gilgamesh's Zantetsuken does not work against opponents invulnerable to it, such as bosses—though he may attempt it, it will miss.
===Mechanics===
Gilgamesh has a 9/256 chance of appearing at the start of a battle (or 3.5% chance), and throughout the battle, if nothing has happened for a few seconds, there is a 13/256 (or 5.1%) chance of him appearing. The chance of him using each attack is 65/256 (or 25.4%) for Excaliber, 64/256 (or 25%) for Excalipoor or Masamune, and 63/256 (or 24.6%) for Zantetsuken.
Gilgamesh uses the same coding to determine his appearance rate as Rinoa's Angelo Recover, Reverse, and Search. Once he has been obtained, he can appear before or after Angelo in a battle, but the game checks for his summoning first whenever calculating whether a battle event will activate.
The game has an invisible "Dead Time" timer that counts down from 200 when no one acts (just like the ATB bar only fills when nothing else is happening). After the timer reaches 0 (after 13.3~ seconds), the following things will be checked in this order:
:if (12 >= [0..255]) Gilgamesh is summoned (5.1%)
::else if (8 >= [0..255] Angelo Recover is used (3.3%)
:::else if (2 >= [0..255] Angelo Reverse is used (1%)
::::else if (8 >= [0..255] Angelo Search is used (3.2%)
If the player does not have the skill, its check is skipped. Gilgamesh can be summoned after the player has triggered the event where he is obtained. Angelo Recover will only trigger if there is an ally with less than 25% of their Max HP. Angelo Reverse will only trigger if there is a KO'd ally.
The damage formula for Excaliber is:
:Damage = 100 \times Level / 10 + 50 + 100
:Damage = Damage \times (265 - Target's Spirit) / 8 
:Damage = Damage \times 50 / 256 
The damage formula for Masamune is:
:Damage = 100 \times Level / 10 + 100 + 100
:Damage = Damage \times (265 - Target's Spirit) / 8 
:Damage = Damage \times 100 / 256 
The level specified above is the average level of all the Guardian Forces in the player's GF menu. Excaliber and Masamune cannot be critical hits.
==Triple Triad==
Gilgamesh is a Level 8 GF Card in Triple Triad used for playing the minigame and for turning into 10 Holy Wars with Quezacotl's Card Mod, one of the best and the rarest items in the game. It is held by the CC King of the Card Club. 
==Other appearances==
===Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy===
Gilgamesh appears as a playable character with his Final Fantasy VIII appearance as an alternate costume for him.
Gilgamesh Alt.png|Gilgamesh's alternative outfit.
Dissidia012-GilgameshConcept.png|Artwork of Gilgamesh's Final Fantasy VIII outfit.
====Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia====
Once again, Gilgamesh is a playable character with his Final Fantasy VIII appearance as an alternate costume for him, featured whenever he is a boosted character. The costume is usually part of a loot crate valued at US$36.99 before taxes and other fees are applied.
===Mobius Final Fantasy===
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
===Itadaki Street===
Gilgamesh appears in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special.
In Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable, Gilgamesh appears based on his Final Fantasy VIII appearance. Gilgamesh is a chance card in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable, the card's ability: Group all characters to target point.
==Gallery==
Gilgamesh FFVIII Sketch.jpg|Artwork by Tetsuya Nomura.
Gilgamesh Swords FFVIII Art.jpg|Concept art for Gilgamesh's swords by Tetsuya Nomura.
Gilg08.jpg|Gilgamesh up-close.
Gilgamesh-appears-FFVIII.png|Gilgamesh appears at the top of Lunatic Pandora.
Gilgamesh Zantetsuken.png|Zantetsuken.
FFVIII Masamune.png|Masamune.
FFVIII Excalipoor.png|Excalipoor.
Gilgamesh-figure-FFVIII.jpg|Figure by Kotobukiya.
==Etymology==
==Citations==
Category:Guardian Forces in Final Fantasy VIII
Category:Gilgamesh