Limit (Final Fantasy VII)



The Limit command (Special command in the 1996 Aeris Demo release) is a means to using Limit Breaks, also known as Limits, Limit Techniques, or Special Abilities in the 1996 Demo release.

Limit Breaks are a set of abilities unique to each character in Final Fantasy VII. They function similarly to the Desperation Attacks of Final Fantasy VI, except there is slightly more player control over the system. Each character has a Limit gauge (a Special gauge in the 1996 Demo release) which fills as the character gets angrier as they are attacked by opponents. When the gauge is filled, it will flash, the pink battle message "LIMIT BREAK" appears, the term preceded by the character's name, and their Attack command is replaced with the "Limit" command, which flashes in different colors. Also, if the gauge is filled after selecting a command, not on the command menu, the time gauge will fill up far quicker than usual. It will fill up at normal speed on future turns if the player does not use a Limit Break.

When using a Limit Break, the camera angle focuses in on the character, a flame-colored light emits outwards from the ground beneath them while a sound is played before the technique is used.

In the PC version re-release of Final Fantasy VII using the characters' first Limit Breaks, and obtaining their final Limit Breaks, unlocks achievements.

Development
It is unknown how far along in the planning stages the Limit Break system was designed, but it seems to have been an idea even in the earlier development stages. The first screens of the game with the less defined models in 1995 shows the Limit gauge next to the character's name on the left of the HP. Barret also seemed to use Hammer Blow Limit Break as a normal attack, indicating his gun-arm was only initially meant to be used for Limit Breaks.

It appears the text in the upper portion of the screen next to each character's avatar would have indicated character status changes. The Japanese kanji characters for 8 different statuses appear all the time, with them likely to have been highlighted in some way should the character have a given status.

The release of the Japanese 1996 demo showed the reorganization of the status window to the format used in the game's final version and a working system and animations. In the English version of the 1996 demo release, there were a number of differences that could be seen from the final English version concerning Limit Breaks. Firstly, they were renamed to "Special Abilities", and to the "Special" command, despite being called "Limit Breaks" in the Japanese demo. Cloud has his first two Limit Breaks available, Braver, a strong attack, and Cross Slash, a strong attack which inflicts Paralysis. Barret can use Heavy Shot, a stronger version of his attack, and Aeris has Healing Wind.

While there were no changes for the Japanese version from the Japanese demo to the final release, the 1996 Aeris demo saw a number of changes between itself and the 1997 Tifa demo that would make it closer to how the final version would be, mainly because the game had been released in Japan by that time. The translation had been altered, and the functionality of Braver and Cross-slash has been changed to what is seen in the final game.

The most notable change to the Limit Break system for the final game was the chance to explore the system fully.

System
The Limit Break system is more in-depth than the Desperation Attacks of Final Fantasy VI. Characters have four Limit Levels, each containing one or two Limit Breaks. Only one level can be set to a player at a time, and therefore only one or two Limit Breaks are available when the gauge is filled, not all previously learned. The first Limit Break of a character is available automatically, while the others require the player to use Limit Breaks a certain number of times, or to kill a certain amount of enemies, to be unlocked. The final Limit Break for most characters is taught through the use of a unique item.

There are two methods of using a Limit Break: The first is to fill up the gauge, selecting the "Limit" command, while the second is to have previously used the Limit command, not used another attack since then (including counters), and using the Mime command. Characters can only Mime their own Limit Breaks, not other characters'. This can be exploited particularly in the Battle Square where only one player can battle at a time, and after the series of battles end, the stats are reset to before the series of battles were initiated.

When trying to Mime another character's Limit Break, the sound plays and the flame-colored light is emitted, but the command will fail.

Tutorials


In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud gives a number of tutorials about Limit Breaks while in 7th Heaven for the benefit of the player. For the short time towards the start of the game, the player can visit the Beginner's Hall before leaving for the train.

The first tutorial is given to the guy outside the cage. Cloud explains the Limit gauge is based on how angry the character is and the basics about Limit levels. Cloud will briefly talk about the system if the player selects the option about the status window, but explains the functions of the Limit window if the player asks about the Limit status in particular.

A second tutorial can be given to the men standing on the boxes focusing on the functions of the Limit system in battle when asking about the gauges.

Cloud can also give a visual tutorial for the benefit of the player to the kids standing on the boxes. The boy will repeatedly attack the girl until a light flashes, she glows white, and inflicts a combo attack and knocks her opponent over.

Limit Levels


In the menu, each character has four Limit Levels. Each level contains two Limit Breaks apart from Level 4 where there is only one; Vincent, who has one for each level; and Cait Sith, who has only two Limit Breaks in total, one for Level 1 and one for Level 2.

Level 4 Limit Breaks act like summon scenes where the camera changes regardless of config settings, and the player cannot choose the targets for commands by other characters.

To obtain the second Limit Break of a level, the character must have used the level's first Limit Break a specific number of times. To obtain the first Limit of a level, the character must have killed a specific number of enemies. It is possible to obtain the first Limit Break of a Limit Level before having obtained the second Limit Break of the previous Limit Levels by killing the prerequisite number of enemies without using enough Limit Breaks to meet the Limit Break requirement. The character's next Limit Level can still be set. However, each character's Level 4 Limit Break can only be taught through an item once all of their other Limit Breaks have been learned. If one is missed, the player must go back and reset their Limit Level and continue in getting the specified amount of uses of the first Limit Break of that level to learn the second one before being able to add the manual.

Vincent has one Limit ability per level, so it is possible to learn all his Limit Breaks without having to use any since the first Limit abilities of a Limit Level are obtained by kills on the preceding Limit Level.

Tifa is the only character who has access to all her Limit abilities at once, since she doesn't have sub-commands beneath her Limit command, but slot reels that decide whether each ability misses, hits, or deals critical damage.

Players who grind at early stages often obtain most of their Limit Breaks on the first disc. The earliest convenient stage of the game for a player to grind for Limit Breaks is in Midgar's Sector 4 Train Tunnel, where, if the player backtracks far enough, they will get into a series of battles that only stop when the player chooses to, and after healing, or switching Materia with characters who still have MP remaining, can re-enter another series of battles. This is the best place for quick kills, and with Level 1 Limit Breaks, the player's gauges should fill quickly.

The Matra Magic Enemy Skill attacks all enemies with typeless magic for 8 MP; players may use this to get quick kills against enemy groups near the Chocobo Farm, in the Mythril Mine, or in the Junon Area. And since the Levrikon enemies' Flaming Peck attack gives the Fury status (unless the character already has the Sadness status), the Limit gauge can be filled faster.

With an average of 4.4 relatively weak enemies per encounter, the large forest in the Nibel Area past Mt. Nibel is is a good place for grinding Limit Breaks. It is the only area featuring an enemy formation containing six enemies (Battery Cap x6), and contains the enemy Valron, who can be manipulated and whose Gravity-based Dive Kick attack quickly fills a character's Limit gauge.

After obtaining the Tiny Bronco it is possible to have all nine characters in the party, and players may use the Mideel area large groups of enemies and the Fury status, granted by Hypers, to get kills and fill Limit gauges. A sufficiently-leveled Restore Materia containing the Regen, or at high enough levels, the Fury Ring to keep the party in Berserk, can make gaining kills quick and easy.

Aeris has the Limit Break Fury Brand which fills the other two allies' Limit gauges. This is a quicker way to get other characters to use their Limit Breaks to learn new ones, and is a net gain of one Limit Break when her teammates' limit levels are set to 2. It is even better if they are set to 3, as her Level 2 gauge fills quicker than all Level 3 gauges. If Aeris's full Limit gauge is withheld, the player can wait for the other two characters to use their Limit commands before Aeris uses hers so there is no wasted build-up.

The Cover Materia can be used to divert limit-building damage to one character. Damage is halved when characters are in the back row; characters can be moved from the front to the back row during combat with the button command Change. The Manipulate Materia can be used to apply known and measured amounts of damage to characters from hard-hitting enemies with little risk. This is effective for spells that hit all characters at once. Before Manipulate is obtained, Sleep can be used to give characters time to heal up. Filling Limit meters combines well with stealing.

Half of the characters can get all their Limit Breaks on the first disc, while the rest only find them starting from the second. Aeris requires a prerequisite item to get her ability manual item, Mythril, which can be obtained before any other characters receive their manual items. The earliest available manual is Red XIII's Cosmo Memory; Aeris's Great Gospel and Cloud's Omnislash are available at the same time, and next is Yuffie's All Creation. The character with the latest opportunity to obtain their final Limit Break is Cid who has his item inside the Gelnika, requiring the use of the submarine.

Limit Gauge


Four variables affect the increase of the Limit Gauge: the attack damage, the character's maximum HP, the character's limit level, and whether the character is affected by Fury or Sadness.

In general, taking more damage fills the gauge faster, with higher maximum HP requiring more damage to fill the gauge than lower maximum HP. A manipulated enemy still increases the character's gauge, but characters attacking each other or themselves do not (including from Confuse). Restoring HP does not reduce the gauge.

Each character has four Limit Levels, except Cait Sith who has two. Higher Limit Levels require more damage to fill the limit gauge. While this difference is small for Cait Sith between levels 1 and 2, it takes over twice as much for Cloud.

The Fury status doubles the rate at which the Limit Gauge increases, and the Sadness status halves it. Fury and Sadness negate each other. Players can use the Hyper item, normally intended to cure Sadness, to exploit the Fury status to gain Limit Breaks quicker.

Though it displays no number, the Limit Gauge internally is treated as an integer between 0 (empty) and 255 (full). To calculate the increase from an attack, the system multiplies the damage by 300, divides the result by the character's maximum HP, rounds down to the nearest integer, multiplies the result by 256, then multiplies by 2 if the character is in Fury or 0.5 if the character is in Sadness, and finally divided by a limit constant that depends on the individual character and which limit level he or she using, and rounded down again.

Alternatively:
 * $$\left\lfloor\left\lfloor {300 \times damage \over max\ HP}\right\rfloor \times {256 \times status\ multiplier \over limit\ constant}\right\rfloor$$

Each character has their own individual limit constant for each of their Limit Levels, shown in the following table:

Cait Sith doesn't have any Limit Breaks at Level 3 or Level 4, and therefore they cannot be selected for Cait Sith. Tifa has the lowest constant on Level 1 at 120, and on Level 4, she has the highest of 566.

One can calculate the proportion of a character's max HP that needs to be lost as follows:
 * $$HP\ portion={limit\ constant\over status\ multiplier}\times{17\over5120}.$$

For example, Tifa's level 1 limit while under no status effect yields
 * $$\textstyle{120\over1}\times{17\over5120}\approx0.398,$$

meaning she needs to lose about 39.8 percent of her maximum HP to fill her limit gauge.

Every character has to lose more than their maximum HP to fill the gauge on their third and fourth Limit Levels, which means the player will have to gain HP between their Limit gauge being reset and refilling it, as the gauge will deplete to zero if the character has the Death status. This also applies for Cloud and Tifa on their second Limit, while Red XIII and Yuffie lie just beneath having to lose 99.6 percent of their HP. At this level Cait Sith only has to lose 59.8 percent. If the player has the Fury status, under no Limit Level would they have to lose more than their maximum HP.

Three events deplete the limit gauge: using a Limit Break, dying, and switching limit levels (preventing players from easily building the gauge in a lower level and retaining it for a higher level).

The only time the Limit gauge fills in another way is for the final scripted battle against Sephiroth, where Cloud's Limit gauge starts full with his Limit Level automatically set to Level 4 (Omnislash), regardless of whether he previously learned the Limit or not.

Manuals


Limit Break manuals are menu items given to characters to learn Limit Breaks. Each character other than Cait Sith has one Limit Break manual which teaches them their Level 4 Limit Break. These items give no indication in-game whom they belong to, nor what their use is for, although the way they are obtained can be a strong indication. If the player attempts to use a wrong manual on a character, they will comment on it not being the right one.

Players can only be taught their Level 4 Limit Break when all their other Limit Breaks have been learned. This means if the second Limit Break of a Limit Level is not learned, the player will have to go back and learn it.

Great Gospel (Aeris)


The player can begin the search for Aeris's manual as soon as the player acquires the Buggy. Driving it into the Costa del Sol buildings allows passage aboard the cargo ship to Junon; in the north of the Junon area, there is a cave past some shallows. A sleeping man in the cave will give the player the Mythril item if the total number of battles the player has fought ends in two matching odd numbers or zeros; e.g. 11, 133, 255, 1077, 699, 200.

After the events in Rocket Town, the Mythril can then be taken to the man in the cabin between the Gold Saucer and Gongaga Village and opening the correct one of two compartments (the smaller one located on the upper floor of the house) to get the Great Gospel item. Until the player receives the Tiny Bronco, the blacksmith's house will be empty, and Cloud is immediately returned to the field screen after entering.

Cosmo Memory (Red XIII)


Red XIII can learn his final Limit the earliest; the Cosmo Memory manual is obtained from defeating the optional boss Lost Number in the Shinra Mansion safe.

Omnislash (Cloud)


The Omnislash manual is available at the same time as Aeris's manual. After getting the Tiny Bronco, it can be won at the Battle Square in Gold Saucer. The manual costs 51,200 BP at this point, and 32,000 BP after acquiring the Highwind.

All Creation (Yuffie)


Yuffie's All Creation Limit Break can be obtained after defeating Godo, the final boss of the optional Pagoda sidequest in Wutai.

Catastrophe (Barret)


The Catastrophe manual can be obtained after the Huge Materia quest in Corel by talking to a woman in the ruined building near the inn in North Corel.

Chaos (Vincent)


The player must enter the waterfall cave near Nibelheim with Vincent and Cloud in the party and witness the scene, then leave the cave and fight ten Random Encounters and return to find the Chaos manual. To get to the cave, the player can either use the submarine, or get there faster through use of either the green, black, or gold chocobo obtained through chocobo breeding.

Final Heaven (Tifa)


Tifa's Final Heaven manual is discovered only after Cloud returns to the party on disc 2. The player must enter Tifa's House in Nibelheim with Tifa in the party, and play the piano.

The player must insert the following buttons:

After doing this, a letter from Zangan is discovered, containing the Final Heaven manual.

If the player plays the piano on disc 1 they will only get a gil. If they play it with Tifa as the party leader, and if in the Kalm/Nibelheim flashback when Cloud first played the piano the player selected "I remember" and then pressed one of, , , or , an Elemental Materia is uncovered.

Highwind (Cid)


Cid's Highwind manual is found inside the optional dungeon Gelnika, only discoverable with the submarine. The chest containing the manual is on the left of the hall after entering, past the room where the optional bosses Reno and Rude are fought.

Limit Breaks
Each Limit Break does a different thing. Most of them inflict damage to one or all enemies based on the same stats as an ordinary attack, albeit multiplied. Others use different variables to calculate the damage, and a number of them also inflict statuses to either enemy or party.

Every character has seven Limit Break commands except Vincent and Cait Sith, and every character has seven Limit Break abilities except both Vincent and Cait Sith who have more. Vincent's four Limit Breaks each can use two abilities, giving him eight different abilities. Cait Sith's first Limit Break is one ability, and his second one has eight results.

Due to the nature of two of them, he can summon one of sixteen summons, and use one of seven abilities in Toy Box, technically giving him a total of 29 abilities. So while Cait Sith and Vincent both have the least amount of Limit commands, they have the most Limit Breaks. Also, since Tifa doesn't select a Limit to use, it could be said that she doesn't have any sub-commands, just the main Limit command.

Young Cloud and Sephiroth do not have Limit Breaks. Through use of the GameShark, Sephiroth's and Young Cloud's Limit Break will display Vincent's and Cait Sith's respectively, however it is not possible to use them. Every time the player enters a battle with one of these characters in their party, their Limit gauge will be empty.

Cloud

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Of the Final Fantasy VII party members, Cloud's Limit Breaks are the strongest of all. However, they are learned much slower, and Cloud typically needs to kill twice as many enemies as his comrades to learn his stronger techniques. His ultimate Limit Break, Omnislash, can be among the most powerful moves in the game providing that Ultima Weapon is equipped and Cloud has full HP. Against single enemies, this is even stronger than Knights of Round.

Barret

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Barret's Limit Breaks mostly consist of physical blows, and one, the Angermax (called Ungarmax in the PlayStation version), is part of a strategy to defeat Emerald Weapon. It is of particular note that Mindblow is one of a limited number of attacks available to the player that drains enemy MP. If the player is keen in their leveling, Barret can learn his level 2 technique Hammer Blow early, making it useful for dispatching enemies instantly.

Tifa

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Tifa's Limit Breaks are unlike most Final Fantasy VII characters'. Instead of selecting a move from a list, Tifa's Limit Breaks consist of consecutively hitting the opponent with each move adding on to the previous. Each move deals physical damage to a random opponent.

The Limits are selected through a selection process similar to the Slot skill from Final Fantasy VI. Each time the reel hits "Yeah!" damage is doubled, but each time it hits "Miss", the attack does not connect. Stopping the reel on "Hit" allows the attack to connect, but does not increase its power. Later skills have "Yeah!" harder to hit and surrounded by "Miss".

Aeris

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

As a White Mage-like character, most of Aeris's Limit Breaks revolve around healing the party, and a few buff the party up. They also have the theme of drawing power from the earth, as Aeris was originally planned to be a Geomancer. Of particular note is Fury Brand, which instantly fills the other two party members' Limit Break bars. Aeris's ultimate Limit Break requires a bit of work to find and teach, but fully heals the party and makes them invincible.

Red XIII

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Red XIII's lower-level Limit Breaks involve increasing his stats, particularly through the use of Haste, which boosts his speed. His later Limit Breaks hit multiple enemies, and his ultimate Limit Break, Cosmo Memory, hits all enemies for almost eight times damage, allowing it to easily do 9,999 damage at a relatively low level.

Yuffie

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Yuffie's Limit Breaks have fair power, and most of them hit multiple enemies. She also learns her Limit Breaks slightly quicker than other party members. Of particular note, her Clear Tranquil ability is one of the two healing Limit Breaks not learned by Aeris; the other one is Cait Sith's Moogle Dance. All of Yuffie's Limit Breaks, besides Clear Tranquil, are ordinary Limit attacks.

Cait Sith

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Unlike most characters, Cait Sith only has two Limit Breaks, Dice and Slot. Both are similar to moves used by Setzer Gabbiani in Final Fantasy VI, as Cait Sith is a Gambler-type character. The damage they inflict is random on both counts, so Cait Sith's Limit Breaks could be very strong or very weak depending on the results.

Vincent

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Vincent's Limit Breaks are quite different from those of the others. There is only one Limit Break for each of the four levels. When he initiates one, he turns into an uncontrollable monster and stays that way until the battle is over or he falls into Death status, which results in him transforming back. When he shifts his form, Vincent's stats increase and his HP refills, but he cannot shift back at will.

Thus, while his Limit Breaks can be powerful, they are risky. During his transformation, Vincent is immune to Berserk, Frog and Confusion. Vincent is also notable in that he learns his new Limit Breaks the fastest of all party members, most others of which must kill upwards of 70 enemies to learn their new techniques.

In the following table, the first attack listed in the description does damage based on Vincent's physical attack, while the second does damage based on Vincent's magic attack. He will use the physical attack 70% of the time.

Cid

 * See the Limit Break sequences here.

Cid's Limit Breaks often hit multiple enemies or hit multiple times, letting him do massive damage. His strongest Limit Break, Highwind, could potentially do 9999 x 18 damage, a feat only Barret's Ungarmax can match - even Cloud's infamous Omnislash cannot do this much damage. Cid also learns his Limit Breaks fairly quickly. All of Cid's Limit Breaks use his physical strength to determine their power.

Other Appearances
A number of the Limit Breaks have been emulated into other games in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and also beyond into appearances where characters from the universe appear. This can be largely attributed to the number of times Cloud has appeared outside the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children many of the characters perform techniques based on their Limit Breaks from the original Final Fantasy VII. Cloud uses some of his Limit Breaks, such as Blade Beam against Loz in the Forgotten Capital and later against Sephiroth, Climhazzard against Bahamut SIN, Braver against both Bahamut SIN and Yazoo and Loz (in a highway tunnel), and Finishing Touch against Kadaj.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Cloud also uses the original Omnislash in the battle with Sephiroth, but Sephiroth evades or parries every strike with the exception of the final blow, which is interrupted as he impales Cloud with the Masamune.

A stronger variation of Omnislash, known as Omnislash Version 5, is used to defeat Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The attack utilizes the Fusion Swords. The Limit Break involves Cloud separating his sword into its individual components, and attacking the opponent once with each sword. The attack was called "Omnislash Version 5" as it was the fifth version of the attack designed for the film.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, an extended version of this attack used fourteen slashes instead of the six. Due to the reasoning for the "Version 5" of the attack in the original version of the film, this attack is known to fans as "Omnislash Version 6".

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Barret fires a green energy blast at Bahamut SIN, similar to Big Shot and Mindblow. Since neither of the attacks are green, but the colors of the attacks, orange and blue, make green, it is believed to be a merge of the attack. Tifa uses attacks similar in appearance to Beat Rush, Somersault, Waterkick, Dolphin Blow (though without the appearance of water and a dolphin), and Meteor Strike when fighting Loz in the Sector 5 Church.

Vincent also transforms into an amorphous, crimson mist. Vincent appears to gain an added resistance to swords and bullets while in this form, and is also seen to levitate. Though there is no indication that this is a Limit Break, the fact it is an inhuman transformation had lead many fans to believe so, until Advent Children: Complete in which Vincent is glimpsed under his swirling cloak, firing at Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz. This could still be a variation of Chaos, much like what Vincent uses in the final battle in Dirge of Cerberus.

Aerith also uses "Great Gospel" from the Lifestream to cure Geostigma victims.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
In Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, Vincent's ability to transform into different creatures is further explained. Vincent is seen in both his Galian Beast form, and his Chaos form, albeit their designs slightly altered from their original designs to incorporate Vincent's appearance into his transformations.

Vincent transforms into Galian Beast when the Limit Breaker item is used. Chaos is also playable during the final level of the game. This form allows him to hover briefly, perform a series of attacks, perform a large jump equal to a double jump, and wield a more threatening variation of the Death Penalty gun.

Additionally, the tutorial is framed as a training session during Vincent's days as a Turk, and features a Limit Break which merely boosts Vincent's strength and defense for a period of time. The same effect appears when Vincent uses a Limit Breaker during his first duel against Weiss (when he uses Chaos' Power without transforming) and as Chaos himself.

Final Fantasy VII G-Bike
In the upcoming Final Fantasy VII G-Bike, a game based on Final Fantasy VII's G-Bike minigame, Limit Breaks have been seen in the most recent trailer. Cloud's Limit Break while riding the G-Bike against a Guard Scorpion summoned Tifa to perform an attack which destroyed it.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn


Cloud's "Braver" and Tifa's "Final Heaven" appear as Limit Breaks for melee damage dealer classes. Aerith's "Healing Wind" and "Breath of the Earth" also appear as healer classes' Limit Breaks.

Final Fantasy Tactics
The job class Soldier in Final Fantasy Tactics, to which Cloud is the only user, can use Limit abilities only when equipped with the Materia Blade. While many of the names are the same as in Final Fantasy VII, the attacks' effects differ. Braver, later changed to Brave Slash in the The War of the Lions release, is a quick strike.

Cross-slash, renamed Cross Slash in the The War of the Lions release, is his second quickest attack where he slices twice in a cross pattern, similar to the original attack, towards the enemy. Blade Beam is an attack that inflicts damage commensurate with the damage the user has endured, while Climhazzard functions the same but commensurate with the damage the unit being attacked has already endured and with a far higher JP cost, both only sharing their names with the original attacks, not the attack itself. Meteorain summons only a single meteor from the sky.

Finish Touch, renamed Finishing Touch for the The War of the Lions release, only inflicts Death, Doom, or Petrification, but will not do damage if the enemies are immune. Omnislash is just a strong attack, while Cherry Blossom, his ultimate attack, is based on Kujata's Tetra-Disaster, and not one of Cloud's Limit Breaks from Final Fantasy VII.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Cloud's attacks originate from Final Fantasy VII, a vast number being his seven Limit Breaks. Two of his Brave attacks, Climhazzard and Blade Beam, are used but slightly redesigned. Climhazzard strikes the opponent and pulls them up before slamming them down, while the sheer size of some enemies in Final Fantasy VII means slicing up through them would have looked more plausible. Blade Beam works exactly the same, although due to battles being one-on-ones, there is no repercussion shockwaves for other enemies in the battle.

All three of his HP attacks are Limit Breaks. Cross-Slash will make three strikes with the symbol identical to the one in the original Final Fantasy VII. However, it will only make as many parts of the symbol as he hits with. Meteorain works slightly differently in that Cloud sends the meteors up in the air before slinging them down, unlike the original attack in Final Fantasy VII which just calls them down. Braver stabs them before unleashing the jump-attack also seen in the original attack.

Cloud's two Brave to HP attacks are also Limit Breaks. Finishing Touch has little in common with the original attack. Cloud jumps in the air and spins around the opponent and unleashes multiple attacks before knocking them down. The other attack is Omnislash Version 5, a weaker variation of Omnislash, which is five attacks and a leap for a final strike.

Omnislash itself isn't omitted from the game, and serves as Cloud's EX Burst. The player must tap to fill up a gauge (a Limit Gauge). If it fills he will unleash fourteen strikes before a stronger fifteenth strike. Failing to fill the gauge will cause Cloud to perform only up to three swings and an upward finishing slash.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Tifa joins Cloud. She spins slot reels the same as in her original Limit Break, then performs up to seven punch attacks followed by Final Heaven. Most of her bravery are derived from her other Limit Breaks, all of which allows her to perform feints. Beat Rush is her basic attack, combo punching a few times. Waterkick performs some low kicks, and once mastered allows her to use Somersault as her only Brave to HP attack. Dolphin Blow is an aerial uppercut that launches enemies upward.

Two of her HP attacks are Limit Breaks. Meteodrive is a ground attack that lifts the opponent up with her legs, and then slams them into the ground. Meteor Strike can be charged before she pushes the opponent forward, slams the opponent down sending them up, and then smashes them down.

Although only an assist-only character, Aerith can use Planet Protector and Seal Evil.

In addition, newcomer Laguna has two attacks derived from Barret Wallace's limit breaks: Grenade Bomb and Satellite Beam.

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade
In Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade characters from Final Fantasy VII use their Limit Breaks when they are summoned as Legends. In addition, players can obtain certain Limit Breaks to use as abilities.

Ability Cards =


 * -|Legend Cards =

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII make an appearance in Final Fantasy All the Bravest. They use their signature Limit Breaks Meteorain, Beat Rush & Somersault, Healing Wind, and Blood Fang as their primary attack.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Numerous cards featuring the Final Fantasy cast have their Limit commands as Action Abilities.

Cloud's card, depicting his Dissidia artwork, has the Meteorain and Omnislash Action Abilities. Meteorain requires the discard of a Cloud card, two Light CP, and Dulling Cloud, and deals 4000 damage to all the opponent's Forwards. Omnislash has the same activation requirements, but needs a payment of four Light CP instead of two, and allows the player to Break a Forward of their choice. Another of Cloud's cards, featuring his Theatrhythm art, can use Finishing Touch. For the discard of a Cloud card, Dulling Cloud and paying one Light CP, the player chooses a Forward and deals it damage equal to Cloud's power.

One of Barret's cards has the Hammer Blow ability. At a cost of two Earth CP and a discard of another Barret card from the hand, Hammer Blow deals 4000 damage to a Forward of the player's choice, then grants Barret +4000 power for the rest of the turn. Another of Barret's cards can use Catastrophe. Catastrophe costs one Earth CP, the discard of a Barret card, and Dulling Barret, and deals 10,000 damage to a Forward of the player's choice.

Aerith's card depicting her promotional CG art has the Planet Protector ability, requiring the discard of an Aerith card and Dulling Aerith. Planet Protector returns all the player's Forwards to Active status, and until the end of the turn they cannot be targeted by summons or abilities.

One of Tifa's cards has Waterkick. For a discard of a Tifa card and a CP cost of one Fire CP and one Light CP, Waterkick deals 6000 damage to a target Forward.

Red XIII has Cosmos Memory, with a heavy cost of four Fire CP, the discard of another Red XIII card, and Dulling Red XIII. Cosmos Memory deals 6000 damage to all the opponent's Forwards.

Yuffie's promotional CG card has Bloodfest. For the cost of Dulling Yuffie, discarding another Yuffie card and paying one Wind CP, Bloodfest allows the player to target up to three Forwards and deal a total of 6000 damage to them in 1000 damage increments, distributing the damage among the targets however they wish.

Cait Sith's CG card has Slots. For the cost of one Thunder CP, Dulling Cait Sith and discarding another Cait Sith card from the hand. The player removes the top card of their deck from the game, and if it was a Forward, the player can Break a Backup card of 2 cost or less.

Cid's card has the Highwind ability. To use Highwind, the player must pay two Wind CP, discard a second "Cid Highwind" card from the hand, and Dull Cid. Highwind forces the opponent to place two cards from the top of their deck into the Break Zone.

Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Cloud can use a throw called Omnislash by moving the D-pad in a circle. He uses Meteorain when he uses the special button. A number of sword techniques can be used when wielding his sword, which are Braver, Cross-slash, and three attacks, Clim Hazard, Clim Slash, and Clim Mirage which originate from his Climhazzard Limit Break. Sephiroth also uses Meteorain, but his attack is called Black Materia, as does Zack, his called Meteo Shots.

Tifa can use combo attacks called Dolphin Blow, Dolphin Blow Real, and Water Kick (derived from Waterkick), throws called Meteor Drive (derived from Meteodrive), Beat Rush, Somersault, and Meteor Strike. Pressing special uses Final Heaven, hold special and down for Final Hell, and just holding special uses Hell And Heaven.

Vincent can use combos used Hellmasker, Splattercombo, Chaos Saber, two just frame move, Satan Impact, and Neo Satan Impact, deriving from his Satan Slam impact, and a throw called Giga Dunk, derived from Gigadunk. While his specials don't incorporate his Limit Break attacks, images of his forms can appear when used.

Yuffie has one attack based on her Limit Breaks. Her "The Alive Will Perish" attack derives from the same Japanese as Doom of the Living.

Kingdom Hearts
can use the three-hit chain Cross-slash, in addition to a version where he teleports behind the opponent before the attack called Chain-slash+. In the original , he also has the Omnislash ability which involves him extending his wing and flying around the arena while slashing the opponent. In , instead of the Omnislash ability, Cloud uses Omnislash ver5. In this ability Cloud circles the field while slashing the opponent and for the finale, lands on the floor and causes an explosion.

In , using a single Cloud card results in the "Slash" in which Cloud strikes with 2 slashes with a single enemy, using 2 Cloud cards in a "Sleight" results in the "Cross Slash" command in which Cloud strikes a single enemy three times, and using 3 consecutive Cloud cards results in the "Omnislash" command being used which results in Cloud teleporting behind up to 5 different enemies and slashing them, causing significant damage. When fought as a boss in Re:Chain of Memories, one of Cloud's normal attacks is "Climb Hazard", an alternate translation of Climhazzard.

In Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded, Cloud uses the Omnislash attack while battling Sora and Hercules at Olympus Coliseum. Cloud also appears in , making his debut as an actual party member. Sometimes in the turn based battles of the Olympus Coliseum, Cloud will randomly use Omnislash, slashing at random enemies several times.

uses an attack called Final Heaven, which is a combo attack, like her Limit Break is a combo of attacks.

can use a number of her Limit Breaks as attacks in Kingdom Hearts II. These are Greased Lightning where she throws her shuriken at the enemy, unlike Final Fantasy VII where she strikes the enemy, Clear Tranquil, where she heals herself, and Doom of the Living where she throws a massive magic shuriken at the enemy, instead of striking the enemy a number of times.

can use attacks similar to Cloud's Limits in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. He has a Braver-like attack called Hero's Entrance where he leaps and stabs his sword into the ground creating a shockwave, a Blade Beam-like attack where he sends a wave of dark energy along the ground, and an attack similar to Meteorain or Meteor Shots where he conjures several meteors to bombard the player. His strongest attack, Hero's Pride, is similar to Omnislash, and is a series of sword attacks with Zack rapidly teleporting around the player, ending with a downward overhead swing. The player characters are able to use Hero's Pride as a Finish Command by using Zack's D-Link.

Legacy
A number of the Limit Breaks have been emulated into other games in the Final Fantasy series as well as other games related to Square Enix. A smaller amount have grown to be traits for similar characters in the Final Fantasy series.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, the lone player character, Zack, uses a Limit Break system that relies on other characters being rolled on an automated slots system. The Crisis Core Complete Guide explains that when a person's spirit energy rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the person's body.

The Guide also mentions Zack being unusual in that he can copy Limit Breaks, such as taking Aerith's Limit, Healing Wind, from Final Fantasy VII and turning it into his Limit Break, Healing Wave. Three Cloud icons allows Zack to use Meteor Shots, the animation of which is vastly similar to Cloud's Meteorain Limit Break.

While Cissnei doesn't appear in Final Fantasy VII, her attack, Lucky Stars, gives the Critical status to Zack, much-like Cait Sith's Lucky Girl gives the status to the party. Lining up three Angeal icons will allow Zack to use a technique similar to Tifa's Beat Rush, but potentially greater in power, called "Rush Assault".

Final Fantasy VIII
Zell Dincht's Duel Limit Break functions like Tifa's Limit Breaks in terms of the combo attacks. Instead of her Slots system, Zell uses a character input system. His basic attack, Punch Rush, is similar to Tifa's basic attack, Beat Rush, the attacks Dolphin Blow and Meteor Strike are given the same name as Tifa's Limit Breaks. His ultimate Limit Break, My Final Heaven, is given the same name as Tifa's, Final Heaven.

Final Fantasy IX
Climhazzard is a Sword Art ability available to Steiner and Beatrix, an ability originating from Cloud's Limit Break of the same name. Unlike the original, Climhazzard attacks all enemies for twice normal damage.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Final Heaven, Braver and Pulse of Life appear as Limit Breaks.

Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Django, a character who is represented as a member of the same species as Red XIII, makes a number of references in his moveset to Final Fantasy VII. Sled Fang and Blood Fang are combos used by Django. Jo, who fights in a wolf-like style, uses Lunatic High when her special gauge is empty. Zack has the same moveset as Cloud with his moves renamed. Meteorain becomes Meteo Shots, Braver becomes High Braver, and Cross-slash becomes True Crosslash.

Kingdom Hearts
A number of characters from Final Fantasy VII appear in the  series as support characters or enemies who do not appear as player characters in Final Fantasy VII and therefore do not have Limit Breaks. However, due to related playable characters in Final Fantasy VII, they are given their Limit Breaks, or variations, as their attacks.

In the original , uses many of abilities named after abilities used by Safer∙Sephiroth, but he also has one ability called Omnislash, named after Cloud's Limit Break, which does a number of ground and aerial attacks before doing a final leaping blow for more damage.

appears in , controlled by darkness, where he uses multiple attacks similar to a number of Cloud's Limit Breaks. He uses an attack where he leaps and descends to unleash a shockwave, similar to Cloud's Braver, and also has a three-chain attack similar to Cross-slash, and a meteor attack similar to Meteo Shots or Meteorain. His strongest in this form is to charge dark energy into his sword, then use a sequence of dashing slash attacks from all directions that drives the opponent into the air, before Zack uses a final downward slash to knock them down. The attack resembles Cloud's Omnislash.

In Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, Sora is able to use Meteor Rain as a finish command. This resembles Cloud's Meteorain Limit Break.

Trivia

 * Except for Vincent and Cait Sith, all characters have seven Limit Breaks (two per level), hinting an allusion to the number 7.
 * The pilot of the Highwind is attributed a level when spoken to which increases with plot progression. Flying over the North Crater after defeating Diamond Weapon changes the pilot's name to "Learner Pilot (L14 Limit Break!)", with the lettering of "Limit Break" flashing in multiple colors. The pilot then becomes "Full Pilot" after the Raid on Midgar.