Limit break

Limit Breaks (sometimes shortened to just Limits) are powerful combat moves featured in Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series.

Limits Breaks generally occur when a character has taken a large amount of damage in combat, and offers the possibility of dealing large amounts in return. Subsequent games in the series have used similar mechanics with different names. Limit break has been a popular slang to refer to similar attacks or abilities in other RPGs. Several other games have adopted systems similar to the Limit Break mechanic.

Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy VI featured a precursor to the Limit Break in its "Desperation Attacks." If a character was at very low HP, there was a small, random chance that they might use a Desperation Attack when the normal Fight command was issued.

• Terra: Riot Blade
• Locke: Mirager
• Edgar: Royal Shock
• Sabin: Tiger Break
• Cyan: Back Blade
• Shadow: Shadow Fang
• Celes: Spin Edge
• Setzer: Red Card
• Strago: Sabre Soul
• Mog: Moogle Rush
• Relm: Star Prism
• Gogo: X-Meteo

Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VII

In Final Fantasy VII, each character has a Limit Bar that fills up as the character takes damage. When the bar is full the character can unleash a powerful attack. Not all Limits have damaging effects; some, like Aeris Gainsborough's Healing Wind, heals the party.

Limit breaks are divided into 4 levels. The first three levels contain two limits, while the fourth level only contains one limit. Each character starts with their first level 1 limit break. By performing the limit a given number of times, the character will obtain the second level 1 limit break. When the player has killed a set number of enemies, he or she will learn the first level 2 limit break. The process then repeats. The only exception is the level 4 Limit, which must be learned by obtaining a special item for each character.

The player must choose outside of battle which level of Limit Break they want to use, but within battle all limits from that particular level are available. Higher-level limits are stronger, but require the absorption of more damage to charge the Limit bar fully. Once obtained, the Limit attack may be saved for later, but as the Limit option replaces the Attack option, the character's repertoire is limited to magic-based attacks and any command materia that they have equiped.

All characters besides Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine and Tifa Lockheart select their limit attacks from a menu. The other three select their limits as follows:

Cait Sith

Cait Sith only has 2 limit breaks, Dice in Level 1, and Slots in Level 2. Slots is obtain after Cait Sith kills a several amount of enemies. When Dice is used, Cait Sith rolls several large dice. The numbers that are rolled determine the damage dealt. Slots brings up a slot machine with spinning wheels, the pictures that appear cause a random affect to happen. Some deal damage or heal the party, others make them temporaily invulnerable, and two commission very powerful attacks. A combonation of slots, on the other hand, can either instantly kills an opponent or even the player's party.

Vincent Valentine

Vincent only has 4 Limit breaks, one for each level. Vincent's level 2 and level 3 limits are obtained after he kills a several amount of enemies. When used, Vincent turns into a powerful monster. His maximum HP increases dramatically. The player loses control of Vincent and he attacks relentlessly with one of two attacks; at the end of the battle he reverts to his normal form.

Level 1: Galian Beast Vincent transforms into a purple, horned beast. He has a physical Attack and a fire-elemental one.

Level 2: Death Gigas Vincent becomes a Frankenstein's Monster like creature. He now posesses a powerful physical Attack and a lightning-elemental one.

Level 3: Hellmasker Vincent turns into a chainsaw bearing maniac. He uses a physical Attack with his weapon or effects bad statues to the enemy.

Level 4: Chaos Vincent transforms into a huge, gargoyle like demon. Unlike the other Forms, this one doesn´t use elemental-based Attacks.

Tifa Lockheart

Tifa has the standard distribution of Limits (2 Level 1, 2 Level 2, 2 Level 3 and 1 Level 4) and learns them in the same way, but uses them completely differently. Her limit attack brings up a row of slots, one bar for each attack that she knows. These slots reel between "Hit", "Miss" and "Yeah!" If stopped on "Hit" or "Yeah!", she will do the corresponding attack. If a slot is stopped on a "Yeah!" the more damage is done for that attack. Too many "Misses" ends the streak. With all Limits learned and the Limit Level set to 4, Tifa's attacks are (in order):

• Beat Rush
• Somersault
• Waterkick
• Meteodrive
• Dolphin Blow
• Meteor Strike
• Final Heaven

Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy VIII

In Final Fantasy VIII, the Limit bar has been removed entirely. Whenever a character's turn comes up, there is a small chance that they will be given the option to perform a Limit; this chance rises as the character's HP goes down, resulting in gameplay styles that allow some or all of the characters to remain critically wounded. The Aura spell also raises this percentage, without associated hazards.

• Irvine Kinneas's limit, Shot, consumes special ammunition Items. Each type of ammunition has different side effects and can be fired at varying rates.
• Quistis Trepe's limit, Blue Magic, uses the skills of enemies. She learns new skills by consuming items that are stolen from or dropped by various enemies.
• Rinoa Heartilly's limit, Angelo, uses her eponymous dog to perform various effects, ranging from a physical attack to making the entire party invincible. Rinoa learns new limits by reading pet magazines and then walking across the world map, which is meant to represent her walking her dog. The effect produced is chosen randomly. Later in the game she receives a second Limit attack, Angel Wing, which causes her to use random spells, including ones the player does not own, and without consuming spells from the player's stock.
• Selphie Tilmitt's limit, Slot, performs a random spell a random number of times. Besides various normal spells (which are not consumed), it includes four special spells that do not appear anywhere else.
• Squall Leonhart's limit, Renzokuken, is the most complicated. It is a series of sword attacks followed by a finishing move. The sword attacks follow a pre-set pattern (some of which are customized to certain bosses) and the finisher is chosen randomly. The sword attacks can be enhanced by pressing the R1 button at appropriate times to trigger Squall's gunblade (a gauge appears to aid the player in the proper timing). Squall learns new finishing moves by upgrading his gunblade. Squall's final limit break, the Lionheart, is often compared to Cloud Strife's Omnislash, as both limits deliver a long series of hard-hitting blows to the enemy.
• Zell Dincht's limits require the player to hit combinations of buttons that appear on the screen, similar to a fighting game. He starts the game with several moves and can learn new ones by reading fighting magazines. The moves can also be strung together in specific hard-hitting combos.

The other playable characters--Seifer Almasy, Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill, Ward Labac, and the Sorceress Edea--have only one limit break apiece.

Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX renames Limit Breaks to Trance and returns to the Final Fantasy VII model, with only two notable differences. The first is that a filled Trance bar allows for several Limit attacks, not just one. The second is that a filled Trance bar cannot be saved for later battles; when the current battle ends, it will deplete to zero.

Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy X

As with Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X renames the Limit Break system, but retains its core function. However, in addition to each character's different Overdrives, the characters can also learn new Overdrive Modes, which change how the meter is filled. For example, characters who heal their allies often will learn the "Healer" Mode, which, when selected, will cause the character's bar to increase when they heal allies, instead of when they take damage. Only one Overdrive Mode can be selected at a time. Modes are learned after a character does a certain behavior enough times (for instance, Yuna will probably learn "Healer" first because it requires the administration of 200 healing magics or potions, which she is specialized for). Players can reserve full meters for oncoming battles.

Limit Breaks in Exalted

In the White Wolf Game Studio tabletop role-playing game Exalted, a limit break is a negative psychological effect rather than a positive combat effect. Other than the name, there is no similarity between this and the Final Fantasy Limit Breaks.

Limit Breaks in Kingdom of Loathing

In the Asymmetric Publications online game Kingdom of Loathing, the birdlike familiar known as a cocoabo is able to execute limit breaks, which enhance the power and effectiveness of its abilities for the current turn. Unlike the Final Fantasy limit breaks, this ability occurs randomly and is not related to damage dealt or other factors.