- AKA
- So many names
I was very bored last night, and my mind began to wander. This is where my mind wound up in its meandering.
So, everyone in the playable party of FFVII has an ultimate fighting technique of some sort, which they learn from a manual found at different places throughout the game. Here are my thoughts on the matter, in no particular order.
Highwind: Found at the Sunken Gelnika. Allows Cid to call in an airstrike from the airship of the same name.
Origin: It seems clear from dialog during the game that the Highwind has been modified somewhat between Shinra taking it from Cid and the time the party takes it back. The manual found on the Gelnika is likely a technical manual describing the weapons modifications.
Final Heaven: Found along with a letter from Zangan to Tifa in Nibelheim. Allows Tifa to release explosive force through her fist after a moment of concentration.
Origin: A martial arts technique, created either by Zangan himself or another teacher back along the line of Masters in his school of martial arts. The manual is very likely to be the same sort of training manual used in real martial arts schools to describe and document secret techniques.
Chaos: Found in the Crystal Cave behind the waterfall, after meeting Lucrecia there. Allows Vincent to transform into Chaos.
Origin: As shown in DoC, Lucrecia and Grimoire Valentine discovered Chaos and Omega during research in the very cave where the manual is found. In all likelihood, the manual is a scientific report from Lucrecia much like those later found in DoC, which makes Vincent aware of Chaos inside him, thus allowing the transformation.
All Creation: Obtained from Godo after completing the Pagoda of Five Mighty Gods. Allows Yuffie to gather and fire a wave of destructive energy.
Origin: Based on it being obtained alongside Leviathan after defeating Wutai's strongest fighters, this manual is likely a training manual describing a secret technique of Wutai's ninja arts.
Great Gospel: Found in the home of the Weapon's Seller, after providing him Mythril to work with. Allows Aerith to call upon the Planet for the ultimate restorative magic.
Origin: The Weapon's Seller is a known collector of Cetra artifacts, as evidenced by his once having the Keystone in his possession. Dio strong-arming him into selling the Keystone may be why he keeps the manual hidden/locked up. This manual was likely written by a Cetra in times gone by, to teach the technique to Cetra healers.
Cosmo Memory: Found in the safe of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. Allows Nanaki/Red XIII to summon an explosive force of energy.
Origin: The Shinra have been shown to have some interest in Nanaki's unnamed species, or tribe, in several Compilation titles. This manual is likely a scientific report concerning the tribe's ultimate fighting technique, as evidenced by its storage in Shinra Manor, a known site of Shinra's research. This may be one of the reasons for Hojo's interest in the species in later times.
Catastrophe: Obtained from a grateful citizen of North Corel. Allows Barret to fire a blast of energy from his gun-arm.
Origin: More difficult to theorize on than most others, this training manual may perhaps have been written by Old Man Sakaki, the scientist who designed and installed the gun-arm used by Barret. The technique itself seems to be a variation of his original Limit, Big Shot. Both involve gathering and concentrating spirit energy to be fired from his weapon. Catastrophe is to Big Shot what, in DBZ, Final Flash is to Big Bang Attack (forgive the out of universe analogy please) in that one is a ball of energy while the other is a beam or wave of it that has more destructive potential.
Omnislash: Obtained from Gold Saucer's Battle Square. Allows Cloud to rapidly and repeatedly attack with powerful slashes and thrusts of his sword.
Origin: The most difficult Limit Technique to pin down with any theory. I do, however, have one *cough*crack*cough* theory (and this is for you, Tres). In the story Maiden Who Travels the Planet, Zack utters the line "That one was all mine" in reference to Omnislash. This is one of many occurrences that are looked down on, as it makes Zack appear overly flippant/outright dishonest. However, I posit that, as an accomplished swordsman, Zack could in fact have created the technique and written/drawn diagrams in a manual, though he never mastered the technique himself. After his imprisonment/escape/death, the manual eventually fell into the hands of Dio, not surprising as he is a known collector. He then proceeded to place it as a prize at his favorite attraction, the Battle Square, assuming that any warrior who could gather the high amount of BP needed to win that prize would appreciate the powerful technique even if they were not a swordsman themselves. Thus that technique is, in fact, all his.
Sorry to all three of Cait Sith's fans for not writing a section for him, but he has no Lv 4 Limit at all, and his two Limits that he does have are impossible to explain, at least for me.
So, thoughts anyone?
Edit: Slight alterations to Catastrophe to better explain the DBZ analogy and to correctly identify the designer of Barret's prosthesis, as per info given later in the thread. Thanks guys!
So, everyone in the playable party of FFVII has an ultimate fighting technique of some sort, which they learn from a manual found at different places throughout the game. Here are my thoughts on the matter, in no particular order.
Highwind: Found at the Sunken Gelnika. Allows Cid to call in an airstrike from the airship of the same name.
Origin: It seems clear from dialog during the game that the Highwind has been modified somewhat between Shinra taking it from Cid and the time the party takes it back. The manual found on the Gelnika is likely a technical manual describing the weapons modifications.
Final Heaven: Found along with a letter from Zangan to Tifa in Nibelheim. Allows Tifa to release explosive force through her fist after a moment of concentration.
Origin: A martial arts technique, created either by Zangan himself or another teacher back along the line of Masters in his school of martial arts. The manual is very likely to be the same sort of training manual used in real martial arts schools to describe and document secret techniques.
Chaos: Found in the Crystal Cave behind the waterfall, after meeting Lucrecia there. Allows Vincent to transform into Chaos.
Origin: As shown in DoC, Lucrecia and Grimoire Valentine discovered Chaos and Omega during research in the very cave where the manual is found. In all likelihood, the manual is a scientific report from Lucrecia much like those later found in DoC, which makes Vincent aware of Chaos inside him, thus allowing the transformation.
All Creation: Obtained from Godo after completing the Pagoda of Five Mighty Gods. Allows Yuffie to gather and fire a wave of destructive energy.
Origin: Based on it being obtained alongside Leviathan after defeating Wutai's strongest fighters, this manual is likely a training manual describing a secret technique of Wutai's ninja arts.
Great Gospel: Found in the home of the Weapon's Seller, after providing him Mythril to work with. Allows Aerith to call upon the Planet for the ultimate restorative magic.
Origin: The Weapon's Seller is a known collector of Cetra artifacts, as evidenced by his once having the Keystone in his possession. Dio strong-arming him into selling the Keystone may be why he keeps the manual hidden/locked up. This manual was likely written by a Cetra in times gone by, to teach the technique to Cetra healers.
Cosmo Memory: Found in the safe of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. Allows Nanaki/Red XIII to summon an explosive force of energy.
Origin: The Shinra have been shown to have some interest in Nanaki's unnamed species, or tribe, in several Compilation titles. This manual is likely a scientific report concerning the tribe's ultimate fighting technique, as evidenced by its storage in Shinra Manor, a known site of Shinra's research. This may be one of the reasons for Hojo's interest in the species in later times.
Catastrophe: Obtained from a grateful citizen of North Corel. Allows Barret to fire a blast of energy from his gun-arm.
Origin: More difficult to theorize on than most others, this training manual may perhaps have been written by Old Man Sakaki, the scientist who designed and installed the gun-arm used by Barret. The technique itself seems to be a variation of his original Limit, Big Shot. Both involve gathering and concentrating spirit energy to be fired from his weapon. Catastrophe is to Big Shot what, in DBZ, Final Flash is to Big Bang Attack (forgive the out of universe analogy please) in that one is a ball of energy while the other is a beam or wave of it that has more destructive potential.
Omnislash: Obtained from Gold Saucer's Battle Square. Allows Cloud to rapidly and repeatedly attack with powerful slashes and thrusts of his sword.
Origin: The most difficult Limit Technique to pin down with any theory. I do, however, have one *cough*crack*cough* theory (and this is for you, Tres). In the story Maiden Who Travels the Planet, Zack utters the line "That one was all mine" in reference to Omnislash. This is one of many occurrences that are looked down on, as it makes Zack appear overly flippant/outright dishonest. However, I posit that, as an accomplished swordsman, Zack could in fact have created the technique and written/drawn diagrams in a manual, though he never mastered the technique himself. After his imprisonment/escape/death, the manual eventually fell into the hands of Dio, not surprising as he is a known collector. He then proceeded to place it as a prize at his favorite attraction, the Battle Square, assuming that any warrior who could gather the high amount of BP needed to win that prize would appreciate the powerful technique even if they were not a swordsman themselves. Thus that technique is, in fact, all his.
Sorry to all three of Cait Sith's fans for not writing a section for him, but he has no Lv 4 Limit at all, and his two Limits that he does have are impossible to explain, at least for me.
So, thoughts anyone?
Edit: Slight alterations to Catastrophe to better explain the DBZ analogy and to correctly identify the designer of Barret's prosthesis, as per info given later in the thread. Thanks guys!
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