History Main / LimitBreak

* The tabletop wargame ''[[TabletopGame/IronKingdoms Warmachine]]'' from PrivateerPress features similar abilities amongst the warcasters called feats. Feats can only be used once per game, but when used properly can turn almost certain defeat into victory.
* Also from PrivateerPress, ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterpocalypse}}'' has Hyper Mode. Every monster can hyper-up by spending power dice, entering Hyper Mode (depending on the figure, Ultra, Mega, or Quantum). Both the Alpha and Hyper forms need to be defeated, so this crosses over with TurnsRed.

->''"My Limit Break involves a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object. It takes four hours and you can't skip any of the cutscenes."''

* [[ComiBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk's]] transformation could be seen as this, as it can only be triggered when Bruce Banner is in danger or under emotional stress (typically anger).

The inverse of BreakMeter. For when you can make a vehicle do this, see {{Overdrive}}[[note]]Which has nothing to do with the limit breaks used in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''.[[/note]] or NitroBoost. See EXSpecialAttack for a {{downplayed}} version of this trope. Not to be confused with limit breaks in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', which are more like SanitySlippage.

The inverse of BreakMeter. For when you can make a vehicle do this, see {{Overdrive}}[[note]]Which has nothing to do with the limit breaks used in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''.[[/note]] or NitroBoost. Not to be confused with limit breaks in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', which are more like SanitySlippage.

-->--'''Pintsize''', ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' #707

** Inuyasha's Bakuryuuha (Backlash Wave) fits, since [[AttackReflector it turns an opponent's ranged attack back upon him]] and the opponent's aura has to be very strong, but at the same time weaker than [=InuYasha=]'s.

** In ''Advent Children Complete'', Cloud also uses the original Omnislash against Sephiroth. [[spoiler:Sephiroth ''dodges'' Omnislash, which, for those who don't know, was the attack that, two years ago, finished off Sephiroth, banishing him from Cloud's mind. Sephiroth casually dodges it and then impales Cloud before he can come down with the final slash]].

* Although never said to be this, Film/{{Thor}}'s use of tornadoes and thunder seems to have one.

* In any {{Shonen}} anime, TheHero will achieve an [[SuperMode ascended power boost]] after an [[AngstNuke emotional trigger]]. Afterwards, they can activate it on their own.

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'' calls Nanoha's Blaster System and a few other attacks limit breaks with some GratuitousEnglish. And her [[WaveMotionGun Starlight Breaker]], which recycles recently-used mana in the vicinity, and so gets more powerful the later in the fight it's used.

The inverse of BreakMeter. For when you can make a vehicle do this, see {{Overdrive}}[[note]]Which has nothing to do with the limit breaks used in VideoGame/FinalFantasyX.[[/note]] or NitroBoost. Not to be confused with limit breaks in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', which are more like SanitySlippage.

->''"My Limit Break involves [[NoodleImplements a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object]]. It takes four hours and you can't skip any of the [[{{Cutscene}} cutscenes]]."''

->''"My Limit Break involves [[NoodleImplements a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object]]. It takes four hours and you can't skip any of the [[Cutscene cutscenes]]."''

->''"My Limit Break involves [[NoodleImplements a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object]]. It takes four hours and you [[UnskippableCutscene can't skip any of the cutscenes]]."''

->''"My Limit Break involves [[NoodleImplements a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object]]. It takes four hours and you [[UnskippableCutscenes can't skip any of the cutscenes]]."''

->''"My Limit Break involves a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object. It takes four hours and you can't skip any of the cutscenes."''

->''"My Limit Break involves [[NoodleImplements a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object]]. [[OverlyLongFightAnimation It takes four hours]] and [[BladderOfSteel you can't skip any of the cutscenes]]."''

->''"My Limit Break involves a moose, the demon Baphomet and a Kuiper Belt object. It takes four hours and you can't skip any of the cutscenes."''

** Inuyasha's Bakuryuuha (Backlash Wave) fits, since it turns an opponent's ranged attack back upon him and the opponent's aura has to be very strong but at the same time weaker than [=InuYasha=]'s.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' does this as traditionally as ''Dragonball''. Naruto's first activation of the Nine-Tails Chakra occurs after believing that his friend/rival has been killed, enraging him and tapping into his hidden power. [[spoiler: Eventually Naruto learns how to activate this power at will, so it's not really a Limit Break anymore. Prior to this, though, it manifested primarily when Naruto saw his friends being injured or killed, ironically, in one incident, this actually caused further harm to his own team.)]]
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Luffy's first use of the Gears is considered a Limit Break, especially Gear Third. So much so that Gear Third shrinks him down to a small, kid-like chibi form [[spoiler: (Before the timeskip, anyway)]]. Gear Second, on the other hand, is CastFromHitPoints.
* Shinji of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' can trigger one when he's under extreme emotional duress, whether from battle fatigue or just sheer pressure. His EVA 01 unit goes berserk in a scene usually complete with horror. Unit 01 goes berserk whenever Shinji's life is in danger to the point that he's almost pissing himself in fear. The other, much more powerful kind appeared in the second ''Rebuild'' movie and was triggered by his BerserkButton; as such, his opponent is completely fucked. In fact, him going full-power had [[spoiler:triggered literally TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]] and turned Unit 01 into a PhysicalGod by vaporizing it's {{Restraining Bolt}}s. In the same movie, Mari was able to manually activate and control EVA 02's limit break by disabling its [[RestrainingBolt Restraining Bolts]].

* A variation is used in ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}''. As Alucard's powers are controlled by Integra via HermeticMagic, only she can say how much of his power can be used. This is seen when different levels of Alucard's power are released, culminating in the GodzillaThreshold when [[spoiler:Alucard's full power is released, allowing him to call forth the millions of souls he has consumed over the centuries to tear the forces of Millennium and Iscariot to shreds.]]

** In omakes and anime, it's revealed that Hanatarou's zanpakutou is this, absorbing the injuries of others that fills a gauge on the side of the sword whereupon the stored power can be used as a surprisingly powerful, explosive attack.

** Kyouraku's power is based on weaponizing children's games. As a result, once activated, his zanpakutou sets the rules by which everyone - including Kyouraku - must fight. In other words, until his zanpakutou decides it's time for the rules to allow Kyouraku to use his more powerful abilities, he can't access them.

* In ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' the titular Claymores can use their strongest personal techniques and become more powerful in general only when they unleash their Yoma energy, an energy they can use thanks to the fact that they are themselves [[HalfHumanHybrid half Human and half Yoma]], this is quite dangerous however as the more ''Yoki'' a Claymore uses the more she becomes [[SuperpoweredEvilSide similar to a Yoma]] and even [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie lose control and turn into an Awakened being]]. [[spoiler: There are however those who managed to turn back even after losing control and coming very close to Awakening, these ones can use their techniques with greater freedom and become considerably stronger than how they were before.]]

* [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor's]] ''Godly Essence Blast'', often known simply as the 'Godblast' is an attack that takes a bit of charge-up time, and can even damage or destroy {{Mjolnir}} from overuse. However it lets him do things like drive away Galactus and break the armor of Celestials.

** In ''Advent Children Complete'', Cloud also uses the original Omnislash against Sephiroth. [[spoiler:Sephiroth ''dodges'' Omnislash, which for those who don't know was the attack that, two years ago, finished off Sephiroth, banishing him from Cloud's mind. Sephiroth casually dodges it and then impales Cloud before he can come down with the final slash]].

* Charged attacks in ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder'' count as this.

** The only Celestial Exalts not to suffer this are the Abyssals who have it even worse...

* In ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'', there is a skill called, word for word, ''Limit Break,'' which activates when the player has 4 or more damage (the player loses when he/she has 6 damage). Limit Break skills generally have strong effects such as boosting power, destroying cards on the field, adding extra cards to your hand, etc., to help the player turn the table.

** In the more widely-known MSPA comic ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'', characters have abilities called Fraymotifs that can be bought for astronomical amounts of money and are to be used either alone or in tandem with other members of the session. They supposedly are the most powerful attacks in the game, but since the only characters that they have been used on [[spoiler: are a dog with the powers of the First Guardians and the Troll empress]], this may be a moot point.

A powerful attack or technique available after some requirement during battle is fulfilled. In video games, this is often indicated by a refillable or chargeable gauge on the menu allowing the player to gauge when it will become available, how strong it will be, or so on; and the most common requirement is taking (or giving) damage in combat. Thus, it's usually a kind of EvolvingAttack. May overlap with SuperMode, or may be a form of DesperationAttack.

The popularity of the trope, and its assimilation into numerous forms of media is a testament to the widespread effect that ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the [[TropeNamer originator of the term]], had in making [=RPGs=] more mainstream. Although a nearly identical game play mechanic appeared a few years earlier in ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'', the concept has become synonymous with the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games series and the term is now widely used as a catchall term to describe such attacks.

* Although never said to be this, [[Film/{{Thor}} Thor's]] use of tornadoes and thunder seems to have one.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Charged attacks in [[{{Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder}} Destroy The Godmodder]] count as this.
** It is possible to create a very-powerful one-shot weapon by [[{{Webcomic/Homestuck}} alchemizing]] an already potent weapon and a [[{{VideoGame/SuperSmashBros}} Smash Ball]].
** [[{{Webcomics/ProblemSleuth}} Comb Raves]] are a confirmed feature in Act 4.

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* [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor's]] ''Godly Essence Blast'', often known simply as the 'Godblast' is an attack that takes a bit of charge-up time, and can even damage or destroy Mjolnir from overuse. However it lets him do things like drive away Galactus and break the armor of Celestials.