Here's the weapon list, in the order the game stores them. Graphics found on the (now defunct) Japanese icon site 16x16 (previously found at http://finefeather.cool.ne.jp/1616), saving me the trouble of extracting them myself.

Warning: May contain spoilers

Attack Power Summary

Nearly all weapons fit into a simple chart as far as attack power goes. So here it is.

* The Moogle Claws (level 3 Glove) have 11 attack power instead of the expected 12.

** Being special, the Sword of Mana (level 9 Sword) has an overwhelming 127 attack power instead of 54.

For being "ultimate", and considering the amount of trouble it tends to be to get them, the level 9 weapons are fairly underwhelming all told—except for the Sword of Mana, of course. The Fuuma Shuriken (level 9 Boomerang) keeps the Shuriken's +10 critical rate, but none of the other six weapons have any special properties whatsoever, and all they get in exchange are unusually small gains in attack power, especially for the Bow, Axe, and Pike. Without the +5 strength of the Daemon's Axe, the Axe actually loses damage after reforging, except for The Boy when he's a high enough level to run up against the stat cap of 99.

If I were designing the game, I would have gone the other way and given the ultimate forms all the special properties of their earlier incarnations. These are supposed to be the weapons at their full strength, after all. As it is, the ninth weapon level feels like an incompletely-implemented last-minute addition.

On the other hand, as noted in the Techincal Stuff section at the bottom of the page, none of the "effective against" bonuses actually do anything to begin with, thanks to a glitch, so there's no point to keeping them around regardless. Most stat bonuses are insignificant, too. They all really ought to be at least +4.

The Weapons and Their Forms

Gloves
The Gloves have low attack power and minimal reach. At least some of the attack animations are interesting. I've made all glove-class weapon names plural since they appear to be used on both hands.
	カイザーナックル	Kaiser Knuckles	SPIKE KNUCKLE
	パワーグローブ ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Power Gloves Inflict more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	POWER GLOVE INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	モーグリのツメ モンスターをこうげきすると 「眠り」にさそいやすい	Moogle Claws Tend to induce Asleep when attacking monsters	MOOGLE CLAWS PUTS ENEMIES TO SLEEP.
Asleep is a mixed bag. It keeps enemies from attacking, certainly, but some enemies cannot by harmed except by magic when asleep. From my FFVI comments: I don't see how you could possibly get "Moogle" from モーグリ (MOUGURI)—it's a lot closer to "Moagly"—but the term "Moogle" is so well-known I'm not even going to bother trying to argue with it. According to a post by Kawaii Ryûkishi on the Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums, モーグリ is a combination of the Japanese words for "mole" and "bat", which are (spelling corrected) モグラ (MOGURA) and コーモリ (KOUMORI). They do look a lot like while moles with bat wings, so that's probably right.
	チャクラハンド そうびすると 「ちせい・せいしん」が、２アップする	Chakra Hands Intelligence / Spirit up 2 when equipped	CHAKRA HAND RAISES INTELLIGENCE/WISDOM.
To oversimplify, chakra is a network of energy thought to exist in the human body. The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	メタルグローブ ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Metal Gloves Inflict more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	HEAVY GLOVE INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ハイパーフィスト スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Hyper Fists Inflict more damage on slime / lizard monsters	HYPER-FIST EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	グリフォンのツメ モンスターをこうげきすると 「毒」をあたえやすい	Griffin Claws Tend to inflict Poisoned when attacking monsters	GRIFFIN CLAWS POISONS ENEMIES.
	ドラゴンのツメ ドラゴン系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Dragon Claws Inflict more damage on dragon monsters	DRAGON CLAWS EFFECTIVE AGAINST DRAGONS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	オーラグローブ きゅうきょくのグローブ	Aura Gloves The ultimate gloves	AURA GLOVE THE TOP GLOVE!
The Griffin Claws might be worth keeping for the status effect, but you're probably better off just hitting harder instead of poisoning. The Aura Gloves outclass the Dragon Claws, especially since the bonus against dragons wouldn't help in the endgame even if it worked properly, so feel free to finish forging this weapon all the way... assuming you've managed to collect enough weapon power, of course.
Sword
The Sword has moderate attack power and fairly good reach, and frequently gains weapon power earlier than other weapons. It can also cut down bushes and other comparatively flimsy barriers.
	さびた聖剣	Rusted Holy Sword	RUSTY SWORD
	ディフェンダー そうびすると 「すばやさ・かいひりつ」が、２アップする	Defender Agility / Evasion up 2 when equipped	BROAD SWORD RAISES AGILITY/EVADE %.
The actual stat increase is +1 Agi, not +2. Evasion is only indirectly affected, and only if that +1 is enough to bring Agi to a multiple of 4.
	クサナギの剣 スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Kusanagi Sword Inflicts more damage on slime / lizard monsters	HERALD SWORD EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
A blade of Japanese legend, supposedly found in the body of the slain Orochi, a giant eight-headed snake, and later presented to the sun goddess Amaterasu. The sword was originally called the 天叢雲 (ama no murakumo, roughly "heavenly cloud mass"). Legend holds that the hero Yamato Takeru used the blade to cut back the grass fueling a brush fire set to kill him, giving it the name 草薙 (kusanagi, grass-cutter). An alternate explanation claims that the name Kusanagi actually comes from an archaic reading of 臭蛇 ('smell' + 'snake'), making it more like "sword that reeks of serpent". Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	オリハルコンの剣 ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Orichalcum Sword Inflicts more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	CLAYMORE INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Orichalcum is a legendary metal, possibly an alloy of gold and copper, that was supposedly used in Atlantis. Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	エクスカリバー アンデッド・アクマ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Excalibur Inflicts more damage on undead / demon monsters	EXCALIBUR EFFECTIVE ON EVIL/NON-LIVING ENEMIES.
The legendary sword of King Arthur. Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	マサムネ モンスターをこうげきすると クリティカルヒットが出やすい	Masamune Tends to produce critical hits when attacking monsters	MASAMUNE RAISES % OF CRITICAL HITS.
Masamune was a legendary Japanese swordsmith. The critical rate bonus is +10 out of 256, giving the Masamune a base critical hit rate of about 10.9% at 6 weapon skill, instead of the usual 7.0% for a weapon with 6 skill.
	ズールトの剣 そうびすると 「ちから」が、２アップする	Surtr's Sword Strength up 2 when equipped	GIGAS SWORD INCREASES STRENGTH 2 PTS.
It doesn't quite match the usual rendition, but Surtr (also Surtur or Surt), the chief of the fire giants in Norse mythology, was probably the intended reference. The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	ドラゴンバスター ドラゴン系のモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Dragon Buster Inflicts more damage on dragon monsters	DRAGON BUSTER EFFECTIVE AGAINST DRAGONS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	マナの剣 きゅうきょくの聖剣	Sword of Mana The ultimate Holy Sword	MANA SWORD THE TOP SWORD!
The Sword of Mana is only available under special circumstances, but gives Strength +5, Agility +5, and 99% hit rate instead of the usual 75%.
You cannot legitimately obtain the Sword of Mana by forging, otherwise there would be no question of whether the upgrade was worthwhile. Unless cheating or glitching to get extra sword power, the Dragon Buster is your best choice in swords, since none of the other forms have any particularly worthwhile bonuses (the Masamune's critical rate bonus, though nice, doesn't give it a much better total rate than the Dragon Buster, and fails to make up for its lower attack power).
Axe
Though a bit sluggish, the Axe has high attack power and fairly good reach. It can also cut through bushes, rocks, and other barriers, some of which no other weapon can, so you'll have to use it in numerous locations, like it or not.
	ドワーフのオノ	Dwarven Axe	WATT'S AXE
	バトルアックス しょくぶつ・サカナ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Battle Axe Inflicts more damage on plant / fish monsters	LODE AXE EFFECTIVE AGAINST PLANTS/FISH.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ブローバ そうびすると 「たいりょく」が、２アップする	Bullova Vitality up 2 when equipped	STOUT AXE INCREASES CONSTITUTION BY 2 PTS.
Kahran042 contributes that arms2armor.com gives the bullova as the traditional fighting axe of the Chota Nagpur aboriginal tribes of central India. A quick Google search shows that World of Warcraft also has an axe by this name. The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	フランシスカ しょくぶつ・サカナ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Francisca Inflicts more damage on plant / fish monsters	BATTLE AXE EFFECTIVE AGAINST PLANTS/FISH.
A throwing axe used by the Franks, the francisca has a tendency to bounce unpredictably. Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ゴールドアックス ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Gold Axe Inflicts more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	GOLDEN AXE INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ウェアバスター どうぶつ・トリ・獣人系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Were Buster Inflicts more damage on animal / bird / beastman monsters	WERE-BUSTER USE AGAINST ANIMALS/BIRDS/BEASTS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	グレートアックス しょくぶつ・サカナ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Great Axe Inflicts more damage on plant / fish monsters	GREAT AXE EFFECTIVE AGAINST PLANTS/FISH.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	魔人のオノ そうびすると 「ちから」が、５アップする	Daemon's Axe Strength up 5 when equipped	GIGAS AXE INCREASES STRENGTH 5 PTS.
魔人 (majin) roughly translates to "demon-person".
	デビルアックス きゅうきょくのオノ	Devil Axe The ultimate axe	DOOM AXE THE TOP AXE!
The Daemon's Axe has a base 54 attack power and a +5 strength bonus for an additional 5 attack power. Compare that to the Devil Axe's 56 attack, and it should go without saying that reforging to the highest level is counterproductive unless the wielder already has at least 97 strength (in other words, is The Boy at a high enough level). Not to mention how long it's likely to take to get the extra weapon power from random drops twice.
Pike
I'm calling this the Pike to better distinguish it from the throwing spear (Javelin). The Japanese calls this weapon やり (yari, Japanese spear) and uses ヤリ (YARI) and ランス (RANSU, lance) in the individual names. The NA version instead avoids using the word "spear" for the thrown variety. The Pike has high attack power and the best reach of any melee weapon. Its main drawback is that it can't cut through bushes and other barriers.
	ブロンズランス	Bronze Lance	SPEAR
	スチールランス	Steel Lance	HEAVY SPEAR
	妖魔のヤリ モンスターをこうげきすると ふうせんじょうたいにさせやすい	Imp's Pike Tends to cause Ballooned status when attacking monsters	SPRITE'S SPEAR BALLOONS ENEMIES.
Ballooned status is both practical and amusing.
	パルティザン スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Partisan Inflicts more damage on slime / lizard monsters	PARTISAN EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ハルバード モンスターをこうげきすると こんらんさせやすい	Halberd Tends to cause Confused when attacking monsters	HALBERD CONFUSES ENEMIES.
	サンゴのヤリ モンスターをこうげきすると 「眠り」にさそいやすい	Coral Pike Tends to induce Asleep when attacking monsters	OCEANID SPEAR PUTS ENEMIES TO SLEEP.
Asleep is a mixed bag. It keeps enemies from attacking, certainly, but some enemies cannot by harmed except by magic when asleep.
	巨人のヤリ そうびすると 「ちから」が、２アップする	Giant's Pike Strength up 2 when equipped	GIGAS LANCE INCREASES STRENGTH 2 PTS.
The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	ドラゴンランス ドラゴン系のモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Dragon Lance Inflicts more damage on dragon monsters	DRAGON LANCE EFFECTIVE AGAINST DRAGONS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ダイダロスのヤリ きゅうきょくのヤリ	Daedalus's Pike The ultimate pike	DAEDALUS LANCE THE TOP SPEAR!
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a genius inventor, known for such feats as building the minotaur's labyrinth and constructing artificial wings to escape imprisonment.
Daedalus's Pike only adds 2 attack power over the Dragon Lance, but it's not like the bonus against dragons would help in the endgame even if it worked properly. Though the forms that inflict status effects might be nice, their attack power is probably too low to make them worth keeping.
Whip
The Whip has low attack power but long reach, can hit multiple enemies at once, and strikes as soon as it attacks without having to worry about travel time for any projectiles. It can also latch on to various posts to cross gaps, so you'll need it in numerous locations, like it or not. Unlike the other long-ranged weapons, it cannot strike enemies at different elevations (barring mapping oddities), but its critical rate isn't halved like theirs are, either.
	革のムチ	Leather Whip	WHIP
	ブラックウィップ モンスターをこうげきすると 「おもり」をあたえやすい	Black Whip Tends to inflict Heavy when attacking monsters	BLACK WHIP SLOWS ENEMIES DOWN.
	はやてのムチ そうびすると 「すばやさ・かいひりつ」が、２アップする	Gale Whip Agility / Evasion up 2 when equipped	BACKHAND WHIP RAISES AGILITY/EVADE %
The actual stat increase is +1 Agi, not +2. Evasion is only indirectly affected, and only if that +1 is enough to bring Agi to a multiple of 4.
	チェーンフレイル スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Chain Flail Inflicts more damage on slime / lizard monsters	CHAIN WHIP EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	シルバーフレイル アンデッド・アクマ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Silver Flail Inflicts more damage on undead / demon monsters	FLAIL OF HOPE EFFECTIVE ON EVIL/NON-LIVING ENEMIES.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	モーニングスター ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Morning Star Inflicts more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	MORNING STAR INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	ハンマーフレイル モンスターをこうげきすると 「おもり」をあたえやすい	Hammer Flail Tends to inflict Heavy when attacking monsters	HAMMER FLAIL SLOWS ENEMIES DOWN.
	ダイヤフレイル ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Diamond Flail Inflicts more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	NIMBUS CHAIN INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work. However, this weapon also has an unlisted +10 (out of 256) to critical hit rate, giving the Diamond Flail a game-best critical hit rate of about 13.3% at 8 weapon skill, instead of the usual 9.4% for a weapon with 8 skill.
	ギガースフレイル きゅうきょくのフレイル	Gigas Flail The ultimate flail	GIGAS FLAIL THE TOP WHIP!
It comes down to whether you prefer the Diamond Flail with 47 attack and 13.3% critical rate (at 8 weapon skill) or the Gigas Flail with 53 attack and 9.4% critical rate (also at 8 weapon skill). I feel that the Diamond Flail wins out, especially against enemies with high defense.
Bow and Arrow
弓矢 (yumiya), in many of the names, properly translates to bow and arrows, but writing that out gets cumbersome and adds nothing important to the meaning. The Bow has medium attack power and hits from a distance, though at a slight delay thanks to the flight speed of the arrows. Charging up increases range as well as damage, and may fire multiple arrows at once. Note that, when fired to the left or the right, the arrows curve downward at the end of their flight, which may allow them to hit enemies further down on the screen than a straight-line weapon could. Base critical hit rate is halved for the Bow.
	ポロンの弓矢	Poron's Bow	CHOBIN'S BOW
	鉄の弓矢	Iron Bow	SHORT BOW
	ロングボウ どうぶつ・トリ・獣人系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Longbow Inflicts more damage on animal / bird / beastman monsters	LONG BOW USE AGAINST ANIMALS/BIRDS/BEASTS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	グレートボウ モンスターをこうげきすると こんらんさせやすい	Greatbow Tends to cause Confused when attacking monsters	GREAT BOW CONFUSES ENEMIES.
	銀の弓矢 アンデッド・アクマ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Silver Bow Inflicts more damage on undead / demon monsters	BOW OF HOPE EFFECTIVE ON EVIL/NON-LIVING ENEMIES.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	エルフの弓矢 そうびすると 「ちせい・せいしん」が、２アップする	Elvish Bow Intelligence / Spirit up 2 when equipped	ELFIN BOW RAISES INTELLIGENCE/WISDOM.
The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	ウイングボウ モンスターをこうげきすると こんらんさせやすい	Wing Bow Tends to cause Confused when attacking monsters	WING BOW CONFUSES ENEMIES.
	ひっさつの弓矢 モンスターをこうげきすると クリティカルヒットが出やすい	Deathstrike Bow Tends to produce critical hits when attacking monsters	DOOM BOW RAISES % OF CRITICAL HITS.
The bonus to critical hit rate is +20 (out of 512), giving the Deathstrike Bow a critical hit rate of about 8.6% at 8 weapon skill, instead of the expected 4.7% for a Bow with 8 skill.
	ガルーダバスター きゅうきょくの弓矢	Garuda Buster The ultimate bow and arrow	GARUDA BUSTER THE TOP BOW!
The Garuda is a large birdlike creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
The Deathstrike Bow's unusually high critical rate (at 8 weapon skill, 8.6% compared to 4.7%) ought to overwhelm the Garuda Buster's meager gains in attack power (54 compared to 52). Don't bother reforging this one.
Boomerang
The Boomerang has low attack power, but hits from a distance, though at a slight delay thanks to the flight speed of the boomerang, and can also strike multiple enemies on a single throw. Charging up increases range as well as damage, and may throw multiple boomerangs at once. Charged attacks may also include a "wind-up" before the throw, which in addition to looking nice also works as a close-range attack that inflicts as much damage as the thrown attack. Base critical hit rate is halved for the Boomerang.
	ブーメラン	Boomerang	BOOMERANG
	チャクラム スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Chakram Inflicts more damage on slime / lizard monsters	CHAKRAM EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
A bladed disc used as a throwing weapon in ancient India. Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	鉄のブーメラン モンスターをこうげきすると 「おもり」をあたえやすい	Iron Boomerang Tends to inflict Heavy when attacking monsters	LODE BOOMERANG SLOWS ENEMIES DOWN.
	円月輪	Full Moon	RISING SUN
円月輪 (engetsurin, えんげつりん, literally "round moon ring") is another name for a chakram in Japanese.
	チタンブーメラン ムシ系・カラダのかたいモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Titanium Boomerang Inflicts more damage on insect / hard-bodied monsters	RED CLEAVER INFLICTS DAMAGE ON INSECTS, ETC.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	バグナグ モンスターをこうげきすると 「毒」をあたえやすい	Bagh Nakh Tends to inflict Poisoned when attacking monsters	COBRA SHUTTLE POISONS ENEMIES.
"Tiger claw" in Hindi, it's a type of concealable claw/knuckle weapon. It's anyone's guess why they named a thrown weapon after it.
	バトルフリスビー スライム系・リザード系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Battle Frisbee Inflicts more damage on slime / lizard monsters	FRIZBAR EFFECTIVE AGAINST SLIMES/LIZARDS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	手裏剣 モンスターをこうげきすると クリティカルヒットが出やすい	Shuriken Tends to produce critical hits when attacking monsters	SHURIKEN RAISES % OF CRITICAL HITS.
The bonus to critical hit rate is +10 (out of 512), giving the Shuriken a critical hit rate of about 6.6% at 8 weapon skill, instead of the expected 4.7% for a Boomerang with 8 skill.
	風魔手裏剣 きゅうきょくの手裏剣	Fuuma Shuriken The ultimate shuriken	NINJA'S TRUMP THE TOP BOOMERANG!
Literally "wind demon shuriken", fuuma shuriken are the ridiculously huge ones seen sometimes in manga and so on. An unlisted +10 (out of 512) to critical hit rate gives the Fuuma Shuriken a critical hit rate of about 6.6% at 8 weapon skill, instead of the expected 4.7% for a Boomerang with 8 skill.
Surprisingly, the Fuuma Shuriken keeps the Shuriken's critical hit rate bonus, so there's no reason not to reforge it all the way, unless you'd rather keep the Bagh Nakh to poison enemies instead. Raw damage probably helps more, though.
Javelin (throwing spear)
The Japanese calls this weapon スピア (SUPIA, spear) and uses スピア and モリ (MORI, harpoon) in the individual names. The NA version instead avoids using the word "spear" here. I'm breaking with the Japanese and going with Javelin as the generic name, to limit confusion with the melee spear (Pike). The Javelin has low attack power, but hits from a distance, though at a slight delay thanks to its flight speed. Charging up increases range as well as damage, and may throw multiple javelins at once. Note that, when thrown to the left or the right, the javelins launch upward at the beginning of their flight, which may allow them to hit enemies further up on the screen than a straight-line weapon could. Base critical hit rate is halved for the Javelin.
	スピア	Spear	POLE DART
	ジャベリン	Javelin	JAVELIN
	サハギンのモリ どうぶつ・トリ・獣人系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Sahagin's Harpoon Inflicts more damage on animal / bird / beastman monsters	LIGHT TRIDENT USE AGAINST ANIMALS/BIRDS/BEASTS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	トライデント モンスターをこうげきすると ふうせんじょうたいにさせやすい	Trident Tends to cause Ballooned status when attacking monsters	LODE JAVELIN BALLOONS ENEMIES.
Ballooned status is both practical and amusing.
	シルバーピラム アンデッド・アクマ系モンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Silver Pilum Inflicts more damage on undead / demon monsters	FORK OF HOPE EFFECTIVE ON EVIL/NON-LIVING ENEMIES.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	チビデビルのモリ モンスターをこうげきすると ふうせんじょうたいにさせやすい	Mini Devil's Harpoon Tends to cause Ballooned status when attacking monsters	IMP'S FORK BALLOONS ENEMIES.
The amazing Ballooned status returns, now with more attack power to back it up.
	ルーンスピア そうびすると 「ちせい・せいしん」が、２アップする	Rune Spear Intelligence / Spirit up 2 when equipped	ELF'S HARPOON RAISES INTELLIGENCE/WISDOM.
The actual stat increase is +1, not +2.
	ドラコンスピア ドラゴン系のモンスターに 大ダメージをあたえる	Dragon Spear Inflicts more damage on dragon monsters	DRAGON DART EFFECTIVE AGAINST DRAGONS.
Due to a bug, racial bonuses do not work, so this form effectively has no special traits.
	バルキリースピア きゅうきょくのスピア	Valkyrie Spear The ultimate javelin	VALKYRIAN THE TOP JAVELIN!
The Valkyrie Spear outclasses the Dragon Spear, especially since the bonus against dragons wouldn't help in the endgame even if it worked properly. However, the Mini Devil's Harpoon may be worth keeping for the status effect, as ballooned enemies are both helpless and completely vulnerable to ongoing attacks.

Effective Weapon Bonuses

Keeping in mind that racial bonuses don't work, here's a summary of what each weapon actually gives you.

* Only legitimately available in a special situation, The Sword of Mana gives Strength +5 and Agility +5, plus a 99% hit rate instead of the usual 75%.

That's a lot of blanks, which is sad considering that just about every weapon was supposed to be somehow special.

Weapon Experience and Skill Levels

Weapon skill level per character displays on the Weapon Level screen of the menu in a form like 2:48. In this example, the 2 is the current skill level, and the 48 is experience gained toward the next skill level. Normally, maximum skill level is equal to the level of the weapon itself, so a character can have up to 5 skill with the Excalibur, for example. The exception is that weapon skill can never reach level 9, so level 9 weapons have a maximum skill:experience value of 8:99. With one late-game exception (refer to the Mana spells), there is no benefit to going above 8:00 other than bragging rights.

Normally, weapon skill level has two benefits. The obvious one is that characters can charge their attack bar to a level equal to their weapon skill. Charged attacks each have their own animation, and charging increases effective attack by +50% per charge level. For instance, a level 4 charged attack adds +200% attack power, or triples it in other words. Increasing weapon skill level also passively raises critical hit rate with that weapon by 3/256 per level for most weapons or 3/512 for the Bow, Boomerang, and Javelin. Unlike with magic, higher weapon level does not otherwise raise effectiveness. Between the time it takes to charge attacks to a high level and the limited gains in critical hit rate, building weapon levels shouldn't be as much of a priority.

Experience gain uses a fairly simple formula. A character who delivers a killing blow normally receives (9 - current skill level) experience for the weapon used. This value is halved (rounding down) if the character is at least two levels higher than the monser killed. Either way, any other characters who are present and alive gain half (rounding down) of what the killing character does. Since I'm rather fond of charts, here's another one. "Strong" monsters refer to those that are no more than one level below the killer, and "weak" to those that are at least two levels below the killer, as explained above.

Experience gains are calculated as usual, and the partners awarded the usual amount, even if the character making the kill cannot gain any more experience with the weapon used. For example, if The Boy has 2 weapon skill with the level 2 Sword and kills a weak monster, while he can't gain any more Sword experience for now, The Girl and The Sprite still each gain 1 weapon experience for their equipped weapons, assuming they haven't also reached their current maximums.

Since monster levels only go so high, it may become impossible to gain experience past level 8. If you really want to reach 8:99 for whatever reason, the most reliable way to do so is to deliberately keep one or more weapon skills—or the weapons themselves—at level 5 or below for another character, then use the ambient weapon experience from their kills.

At one point I was under the impression that you could only gain weapon experience beyond level 8 in the final dungeon, and even then only unreliably. Considering that the highest-level monsters in the game appear there, I wasn't entirely on the wrong track with that notion.

Technical Stuff:

Weapon attribute data is found in 12-byte records starting at offset 0x101208 in the Japanese ROM. Names are stored elsewhere.

Type (byte 0)

Determines the weapon's attack method, appearance when held, which type of weapon experience it gives, and which weapon skill applies to it. 0 = Glove, 1 = Sword, 2 = Axe, 3 = Pike, 4 = Whip, 5 = Bow, 6 = Boomerang, 7 = Javelin. Values higher than 7 are glitchy.

Stat Bonuses (bytes 1 and 2)

The (binary) values for the known parts of these bytes affect character stats as follows: 00 = no effect, 01 = +1 (even though the weapon descriptions say +2), 10 = +5, 11 = -5. No weapon uses the value 11, but it works nonetheless.

• Byte 1 bits 7 and 6: Agility
• Byte 1 bits 5 and 4: Vitality
• Byte 1 bits 3 and 2: Intelligence
• Byte 1 bits 1 and 0: Spirit
• Byte 2 bits 7 through 2: Unknown; always (binary) 110000. Editing has no apparent effects.
• Byte 2 bits 1 and 0: Strength

Projectile Type (byte 3)

This determines the appearance and trajectory of the projectiles that a missle weapon (Bow, Boomerang, or Javelin) fires. 0 = n/a, 1 = arrow, 2 = javelin, 3 = standard boomerang, 5 = disc. Certain Boomerang forms including the Shuriken use 5, which replaces the graphic of the weapon when held as well as when in flight. Setting this value to 4 (normally unused) causes the disc graphic to appear, but makes it "wobble" like a standard boomerang when thrown instead of using a steady graphic as 5 does. Values higher than 5 are glitchy.

Palette (byte 4)

Determines the weapon's coloration.

Racial Bonuses (byte 5)

In theory, these provide bonuses against certain categories of monster. In practice, they have no effect.

Two of these flags are not used on any weapon. Based on the monsters that have them, the categories are likely meant to be humanoid (ninjas, goblins, dark priests, etc.) and incorporeal (clouds, ghosts, and all three Gigas bosses). Regardless, here are the flags:

• Bit 7: Dragon. The only Dragon monsters in the game are five bosses, four of them fought in the second-to-last dungeon and one near the end of the dungeon before it, so this would have been of limited use even if it worked properly, and none at all after clearing both areas.
• Bit 6: Incorporeal.
• Bit 5: Undead/demon. Includes zombies, vampires, devils, the wall bosses, the Dark Lich, and more.
• Bit 4: Slime/lizard. Also includes eye stalks, and turtles and other reptiles.
• Bit 3: Animal/bird/beastman. Includes bats, owls, wolves, and more.
• Bit 2: Insect/armored. Besides the obvious, includes crabs, unicorn heads, swords, and more.
• Bit 1: Plant/fish. Also includes mimics, books, and floating eyeballs.
• Bit 0: Humanoid.

Apparently what's going on is that the game checks the target's weapon flags instead of the attacker's. Since enemy weapons never have racial bonuses, that means no bonuses against them, and since player characters aren't affected by racial modifiers, any bonuses on their weapons have no effect either. Elements granted to weapons by Saber spells are similarly bugged, but since enemies can receive Saber effects, those can matter in certain specific cases.

Critical Rate Bonus (byte 6)

Increases the weapon's critical hit rate by this value, which is 10 for the Masamune, Diamond Flail, Shuriken, and Fuuma Shuriken, 20 for the Deathstrike Bow, and 0 for all other weapons. Critical hits double attack power, and seem to additionally ignore target defense, allowing damage up to 999 even against the final boss, otherwise impossible. Base critical rate is [(weapon skill * 3) + this value] out of 256, halved for the Bow, Boomerang, and Javelin. Maximum weapon skill is 8 (or weapon level if lower), so the best possible base critical hit rates are:

• (3*8 + 10) / 256 = 17/128 (about 13.3%) with the Diamond Flail (level 8 Whip)
• (3*6 + 10) / 256 = 7/64 (about 10.9%) with the Masamune (level 6 Sword)
• (3*8 + 0) / 256 = 3/32 (about 9.4%) with level 8 or 9 weapons other than Bows, Boomerangs, Javelins, and the Diamond Flail
• (3*8 + 20) / 2 / 256 = 11/128 (about 8.6%) with the Deathstrike Bow (level 8 Bow)
• (3*6 + 0) / 256 = 9/128 (about 7.0%) with level 6 weapons other than Bows, Boomerangs, Javelins, and the Masamune
• (3*8 + 10) / 2 / 256 = 17/256 (about 6.6%) with the Shuriken (level 8 Boomerang) and Fuuma Shuriken (level 9 Boomerang)
• (3*8 + 0) / 2 / 256 = 3/64 (about 4.7%) with the Garuda Buster (level 9 Bow), Dragon Spear (level 8 Javelin), and Valkyrie Spear (level 9 Javelin)

Base critical rate is reportedly doubled against a target that is Asleep. Additionally, each character gets a flat bonus to critical hit rate, which ignores weapon type and target status. The Boy and The Sprite get +5 (out of 256), while The Girl gets +10 (out of 256), so about +1.95% and +3.9%.

Character bonuses confirmed through abuse of overflow (246 + 10 or 251 + 5 in one byte = 0). The Girl's larger bonus seems to fit her sometimes volatile personality, and also the apparent conception of her as a sort of martial artist given her starting equipment of a Kung Fu Suit and the Gloves.

Anyway, that means the highest possible natural critical hit rate occurs when The Girl with level 8 Whip skill uses the Diamond Flail against an enemy that's Asleep. The rate under these conditions is [2*(3*8 + 10) + 10] / 256 = 39/128 (about 30.5%). The lowest rate, of course, comes when The Boy or The Sprite uses a weapon at skill level 0 against an enemy that's awake, and is 5/256 (about 1.95%).

Base Hit Rate (byte 7)

This is 0x63 (99%) for the Sword of Mana and 0x4B (75%) for everything else. Total hit rate is this plus character agility / 4. In addition to increasing the chance to hit in the first place, high hit rate also reduces both the chance of getting a dud hit and the penalty for doing so.

Ever notice how The Boy at the very beginning of the game usually inflicts 18 damage, but sometimes only hits for 14? Those are what I'm calling duds. Duds occur roughly (100 - hit rate)% of the time and reduce effective attack power to (hit rate)% of actual attack power, with no Mana Energy bonus or random variation. For example, a character with 75% total hit rate has a 25% chance to hit with 75% power. An attack that strikes multiple targets may independently get either dud or normal hits on each of them.

The Boy starts with 15 Strength plus 3 attack power from the Rusted Holy Sword for a total of 18. Rabies have no defense power and Mana Energy starts at 0, so neither has any effect and normal damage ends up at 18, as observed. The Boy's starting Agility is 15, so adds 3 to hit rate for a total of 78%. This results in 22% of his attacks using 18 * 0.78 = 14.04, truncated to 14, which matches up nicely with the less common damage value.

Chance to land a hit in the first place is roughly ( (2 * hit) - evd) / evd. This makes hits guaranteed when hit rate is greater than evasion, and impossible when it's less than half of evasion (which will never normally occur). Most enemies have no evasion and 99 base hit rate, which essentially means they can neither dodge nor miss (player block/dodge animations occur when a hit inflicts zero damage). Hit rate against the enemies with 99 evasion is roughly 2 * (hit - 50)%.

Attack Power (byte 8)

Total attack power is this plus character strength. Charged attacks add a bonus as described in the Weapon Level section above, as does the effect of the Mana spell when applicable. As long as the hit isn't a dud (see above), effective attack power is further increased by Mana Energy squared and a random factor that ranges from zero to 1/16 of the previous total. Effective attack power is capped at 999.

Editing memory to artificially raise Mana Energy early in the game can get very silly. Normal hits, which get the bonus, can easily inflict several times as much damage as duds, which don't. It's an easy way to see the effect it has on damage, at least.

Status Effects (bytes 9 and 10)

Determines which status effects, if any, the weapon can inflict.

• Byte 9 bit 7: Confused
• Byte 9 bit 6: Petrified
• Byte 9 bit 5: Snowman
• Byte 9 bit 4: Asleep
• Byte 9 bit 3: Tangled (no apparent effect)
• Byte 9 bit 2: Heavy
• Byte 9 bit 1: A message with the enemy's name (and nothing else) displays as though a status effect is being inflicted, but nothing else seems to happen. Possibly sets a hit recovery status that is immediately overridden.
• Byte 9 bit 0: A message with the enemy's name (and nothing else) displays as though a status effect is being inflicted, but nothing else seems to happen. Possibly sets a hit recovery status that is immediately overridden.
• Byte 10 bit 7: In theory, this should cause Incapacitated, but it just seems to make weapons unable to hit.
• Byte 10 bit 6: Ablaze
• Byte 10 bit 5: Poisoned
• Byte 10 bit 4: Moogle (but note that all enemies are immune)
• Byte 10 bit 3: Transformed
• Byte 10 bit 2: Barreled (but note that all enemies are immune)
• Byte 10 bit 1: Munchkin (but note that all enemies are immune)
• Byte 10 bit 0: Ballooned

It appears that, if a weapon inflicts multiple status effects, immunity to even one of them prevents any of them from working. Normally it's not an issue.

Status Effect Rate (byte 11)

This is 0x63 (99) for the Sword of Mana and 0x50 (80) for everything else. It affects the probability that a weapon that can inflict a status effect will actually do so. It's likely to work as a percentage, but whether it does or not, higher is definitely better. Not that it's relevant normally, given the lack of variation.

The fact that this byte exists at all, and is fully functional, suggests that different weapons were, at some point, intended to have different odds of inflicting status effects. It would certainly make sense if the lower-level weapons didn't work as well, or if less useful status effects were easier to apply.