Limit Breaks are synonymous with theFinal Fantasyseries, allowing players to unleash destructive attacks that can wallop any enemy to kingdom come after players unleash a party member’s latent strength. For the most part,these Limit Breakscan completely dwarf other offensive moves in terms of the damage they can deal.
However, there are times when these Limit Breaks can be pretty underwhelming, disappointing players who want to go on a rampage. The allure of the Limit Break makes it seem like these abilities will rend the earth asunder every time, which is why anything less than this can be underwhelming.
The first-ever appearance of the Limit Break needed to sort out some kinks before it could become an iconic part of a party member’s arsenal. When characters were critically injured, they had a chance to unleash a Desperation Attack that could cause major damage.
These Desperation Attacks are very unreliable, and the damage is great but can be replicated with other moves. This prevents Desperation Attacks from being as iconic as otherFinal FantasyLimit Breaks, but this was just a starting point for one of the most iconic recurring elements in the series.
MostLimit Breaks inFinal Fantasy 7are a joy to pull off, allowing characters to unleash immense pain on their enemies in style. However, there’s one character in the game reviled by many for numerous reasons, including his Limit Break.
There’s little to no skill involved in aligning Cait Sith’s Slots, with the effects being quite underwhelming. What makes this Limit Break such a pain to deal with is that an unlucky roll will summon the Death Joker that instakills the entire party regardless of their immunity. It’s arguably the worst Limit Break in the series, and players are better off sticking with Dice instead.
Blue Mages are a joy to control inFinal Fantasy, sporting a unique ability that lets them learn enemy techniques that can be very powerful. However, this ability is useful if players have access to it at all times, which is not the case with Quistis.
She can only accessBlue Magic with her Limit Break, which makes her ultimate attacks puny in comparison to the other party members. This makes Quistis less viable in combat than other characters, with most players sticking her in the B-team because of her underwhelming Blue Magic.
AfterFinal Fantasy 7and8wowed fans with their flamboyant Limit Breaks, it’s easy to see why Trance inFinal Fantasy 9can be so disappointing in comparison. Sure, this Limit Break enhances the suite of abilities thatparty members have access to, but it’s nowhere near as cinematic as its previous iterations.
This is an intentional choice, given thatFinal Fantasy 9pays homage to the classic games in the series and doesn’t go overboard with its unbalanced combat moves. However, fans can’t help but feel underwhelmed after seeing Trance in action, especially if they’ve seen the destruction that is unleashed with moves like Omnislash and Lionheart.
Lulu is a magical powerhouse who is a must-have against the most challenging battles inFinal Fantasy 10. However, one problem players regularly face with her character is an underwhelming Overdrive that forces players through a hellish minigame.
Rotating the right analog stick to increase the casts of a particular spell is easily the most irritating minigameout of all the Overdrivesin the game. It’s hard to rack up successive casts and the power of each spell is nerfed a bit anyway, preventing Lulu’s Limit Break from having the same effect as her other party members.
Final Fantasy 12was a huge experiment for the series, completely switching the gameplay to try and help the series evolve. As one would expect, the Limit Breaks have also been changed, appearing inthe form of Quickeningsthat must be chained to maximize their damage.
However, Quickenings can be rather random and most players will be clueless about the chaining mechanic until they spend a lot of time in the game. This causes the lengthy cutscenes of these Quickenings to become grating after a point, especially since the damage done by a solitary trigger is not all that impressive after a point.
There’s no denying that triggering Clive’s Limit Break is a huge part of the gameplay, diversifying his moveset and letting players unlock lengthier combos. However, since the protagonist’s Semi-Prime state can be triggered frequently, it’s balanced by turning this Limit Break into a minor strength buff that isn’t all that notable.
It’s still an impressive Limit Break, but Clive can unleash stronger techniques by challenging the Eikons he’s absorbed. Thankfully, players are still incentivized to combine both assets in Clive’s arsenal, encouraging him to maximize his DPS by triggering his Semi-Prime state and unleashing powerful Eikonic Abilities to wipe out enemies in no time.
