Well it is more blade than gun as opposed to a bayonet which is more gun and less blade
ah, a connoisseur.It's so freakin' awesome! If the Gunblade fired ammunition, then it'd be dumb. The firing mechanism is for added cutting power and close range explosive force. Now that's galaxy brain entertainment, lol.
Cool because it's a gun and a sword, but also dumb because pulling the trigger vibrates the sword in FFVIII.
In XIII it could at least turn into a gun that fires.
I think in XIV it uses magical bullets to enhance it? Honestly that sounds the coolest, any FFXIV Gunbreakers want to elaborate on it please let me know.
XIV gunblades used cartridges (ammo) powered by the user's magic to shoot them as small explosions at enemies, or to at a close range explosion to their slashes. They can even shoot barriers to help themselves or allies. Their unique limit break animation shoots a bunch of cartridges at once to make a massive barrier to protect the party.
If I recall correctly the lore says the shot "vibrates" the blade to cut better or something like that. Which indeed is dumb. In game you have to time every slash with a push of the shoulder button which triggers an explosion on contact. Feels very satisfying during limit breaks though.