It's hard to talk about legendary RPG franchises without mentioning the cream of the crop, Final Fantasy. This revered JRPG series has established a stellar reputation for spawning some of the greatest role-playing experiences of all time, bolstered by excellent stories, memorable characters, and some truly entertaining combat — provided you're willing to overlook a few faults of its time.
One of the major facets of Final Fantasy that became all the rage when it was introduced for the very first time was the Limit Break system. It allowed characters to truly reach the height of their power and unleash some of the most damaging attacks in the entire series. Let's take a fond trip down memory lane — along with a look at some recent additions — and rank the most powerful limit breaks in Final Fantasy.
10 Mix (Final Fantasy X)
Veteran Final Fantasy X fans would be absolutely fuming at the fact that Mix is ranked so low, especially since this Overdrive is the entire reason why the game has the potential for some of the most entertaining challenge runs of all time.
Rikku's Mix is easily one of the most useful abilities in the game. From the Trio of 9999 helping everyone reach max damage to the Hyper Mighty Guard enhancing everyone's abilities to kingdom come, there's no shortage to the sheer number of useful buffs that Rikku's Overdrive can provide.
9 Angel Wing (Final Fantasy VIII)
At a glance, Angel Wing might seem like nothing more than your run-of-the-mill magic buff, similar to Terra's Esper mode in Final Fantasy VI. However, with the right setup, Rinoa can become an absolute powerhouse with Angel Wing.
Basically, by only placing Meteor and Ultima as the two offensive magic spells in Rinoa's arsenal, the sorceress will continuously spam Meteor for massive damage every single time, making most fights an absolute breeze.
8 Angermax (Final Fantasy VII)
Most people might think that this entry is just Ungarmax misspelled, but the truth is that the poor translation of Final Fantasy VII also led to this ability being renamed — which is somewhat similar to the entire Aeris/Aerith situation.
Mistranslations aside, Angermax can actually prove to be an incredibly powerful attack... provided you've leveled up Barret properly. Doing so will help ensure that little to no problems come in the way of this absolute tank destroying anything in its path.
7 Blitz Ace (Final Fantasy X)
Out of all the Overdrives present in Final Fantasy X, Blitz Ace is clearly the fanciest of the lot by a country mile. A multi-hit combo that is meant to harken back to the days of the Omnislash and Lion Heart, Tidus' final Overdrive is a spectacle to behold.
Just keep in mind that this Overdrive can be quite weak in the starting stages, and it takes some serious grinding for this ability to max out at 99999 damage with each hit.
6 Attack Reels (Final Fantasy X)
However, in terms of sheer power, no Overdrive in Final Fantasy X comes close to the sheer damage enabled by Wakka's Attack Reels. While you do need a fair bit of practice to get the timing down, the end result is truly worth it.
Whooping enemies left and right with a 12-hit combo is worthwhile in every sense of the word, with the best part being that this Overdrive's damage is very easy to max out... as long as you've got the timing down to a T.
5 Omnislash (Final Fantasy VII)
There's no way a list about limit breaks would be complete without what is arguably the most iconic limit break of all time in Final Fantasy. The mere fact that you close out the game by hitting the Omnislash on Sephiroth for one final time easily makes this one of the most epic limit breaks ever.
Advent Children actually made the Omnislash even more epic with a 2.0 version, making this ability even more powerful.
4 Highwind (Final Fantasy VII)
However, when one talks about the hardest-hitting limit break in Final Fantasy VII, Highwind is the clear winner. Cid's mastery over the airship pays off in the most over-the-top manner possible.
Other Final Fantasy VII fighters might also have great limit breaks, but they simply can't hold a candle to a freakin' airship shooting 18 missiles down on its enemies.
3 Lion Heart (Final Fantasy VIII)
While the Omnislash might be an iconic limit break in its own right, Squall's Lion Heart easily bests it in terms of raw power. The shots of the Renzokuken that precede it make this limit break all the more impactful.
Lion Heart's damage modifier is also excellent in its own right, meaning that players can reach 9999 damage with every hit without having to junction their magic perfectly.
2 Armageddon Fist (Final Fantasy VIII)
However, the Lion Heart has to, unfortunately, take a backseat to the exploit that fans have figured out when it comes to Zell's Duel. Instead of building up to a finisher — something that was intended to be the norm — Zell's limit break can be used to chain two attacks time and time again for massive damage.
These two attacks — which can be either a Punch Rush and Booya combo or a Booya and Heel Drop combo — can be input in milliseconds and cumulatively lead to massive damage potential.
1 Armiger Unleashed (Final Fantasy XV)
Final Fantasy XV introduced us to what could arguably be the most powerful protagonist in the history of the series — Noctis Lucis Caelum. His power to conjure up weapons in a jiffy and warp around the battlefield to deal major damage is incredibly entertaining to play around with.
With the release of the Royal Edition and Windows Edition, Noctis can also unlock an enhanced version of his Armiger limit break, called Armiger Unleased. This ultimate attack is so powerful that Noctis' friends actually take a backseat as their friend chains some of the most powerful attacks ever seen in Final Fantasy.