Zell's Limit Break Guide & Link Chart - Guide for Final Fantasy 8

                       Zell's Duel Limit Break Link Guide
                       ----------------------------------
                              (For All Formats)
                         By Loopy ([email protected])
                                (Version 1.0)
                           (Alpha Release Version)


*****************************************************************************

			  *COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER*
 			  ------------------------
Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VIII
are all Copyright (C) Squaresoft. No infringement of any kind has been
intended by the production of this FAQ. This FAQ is Copyright (C) Loopy
2001

*****************************************************************************

Zell's Limit Break is like Sabin's Blitzes from FF3/FF6 and Tifa's Limit
Breaks from FF7. The only major difference here is that Zell has a time limit
in which to pull off *as many* combos, not just one (like FF3/6/7.) The time
limit varies depending on the amount of HPs Zell and his team mates has. So
you'll have more time to perform the links if you have only 1HP than if you
had 200HPs. You'll have even _more_ time to do the links if all of your team
mates have 1HP as well.

The linking of the combos is crucial to defeating the enemy. Will you pull
off a short combo that is easier to do, but may not kill the enemy? Or will
you pull off a long one that does can potentially lead to more damage, but
will leave you more open to miss-linking (i.e. screwing up the links)?


Key to moves
------------
(I wrote this guide whilst playing the PSX version of FF8. Therefore the
motions for Zell's moves may not be the same as if you're playing say a
Windows version of FF8. However, I will use the _names_ of the moves rather
than the motions so you will not be confused. I am 99% sure that the names of
the moves will be the same regardless of game platform.)

*Key*
1,2,3,4 = Square, Triangle, Cross, Circle (Respectively)
L,U,R,D = Directions (Left, Up, Right, Down.)
L1,L2,R2,R2 = "Shoulder" buttons at top of controller

*Starters*
When you first start the Limit Break, Zell will randomly pick either one of
these two. They are the starters and you can link from these into many other
moves -- see later on for a complete link list.
Punch Rush      3+4 (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Two straight punches
                followed by an uppercut to the jaw of the enemy. The most
		common starter and can be linked into the Booya by using
		R,L.
Booya           R,L (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Zell pulls the enemy
                towards him and knees them. Second most common starter can
		be linked to the Punch Rush by using 3+4.

BTW: If you're having problems with the Punch Rush motion, try holding down
3 and pressing 4 while holding down 3. Vice versa works as well.

*Combos & Linkers*
From the starter moves, you can link into other moves, for example, you can
link from the Booya into the Heel Drop and then into the Mach Kick. The link
moves are as follows:
Punch Rush      3+4 (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Two straight punches
                followed by an uppercut to the jaw of the enemy.
Booya           R,L (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Zell pulls the enemy
                towards him and knees them.
Heel Drop       U,D (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Zell raises his leg into
                the air and brings his heel crashing down on the enemy's
                head. Good damage.
Mach Kick       L,L,4 (Learnt when you get Zell) -- A powerful roundhouse
                kick. Good damage.
Dolphin Blow    L1,R1,L1,R1 (Combat King 01 -- One the first floor of the
                Prison Tower, after the failed assassination of Edea and
                after battling both her and Seifer.) -- A Dragon Punch-style
		uppercut, with Zell being accompanied by two Dolphins on
                either side. Powerful damage.
Meteor Strike   D,4,U,4 (Combat King 02 -- Battle prize after defeating both
                Raijin and then both Fujin and Raijin at Balamb Hotel.)
                -- Dunno why they called this Meteor Strike, Zell grabs his
                opponent, lifts them up above his head. Jumps up and throws
                them down. Ineffective against flying enemies and does poor
		damage against Bug enemies.

*Finishers*
These moves are only available as a final link to the combo. Think of Mortal
Kombat's Brutality finisher -- they always end with an uppercut. Now, just
imagine if you could choose the finisher and this is what you get. I've also
explained which magazine you learn the move from and how to get it. To learn
a move, use it from the "Item" menu option in the O-button (4) menu, read the
magazine and then you look at Zell's "Special" section in the Status screen,
you'll find the move there. After you've learnt the move, feel free to sell
the magazine -- you won't be needing it again.

Getting to the Finishers require you to perform a certain string of link
moves. Again, see later for the links.
Burning Rave    D,D,D,D,4 (Learnt when you get Zell) -- Zell charges up all
                his ki in a flaming globe around him and then punches the
                ground, sending shockwaves at the opponent(s) who get thrown
                up into the air. Works against flying enemies, too. Damages
                all enemies on screen. Easy to pull off and very useful
                during early fights.
Meteor Barret   U,3,D,2,4 (Combat King 03 -- After defeating Raijin and Fujin
		and saving Balamb Town, visit the Balamb Garden Library a lot
		-- make sure you have Zell on your team. Visit Balamb Town
		you will sometimes see a girl at the entrance of the town.
		You have to wait for her to appear. As a precaution, when you
		enter Balamb Town, wait for a bit to see if she appears. Talk
		to her. If she asks Zell if he knows a girl at Garden with a
		pigtail, (Zell must be in your party for this to happen.) go
		to Zell's house, and Zell will talk to his mom. Now, check in
		at the Balamb Hotel. The next morning, Zell goes missing.
		Save and head downstairs to find Zell and the pigtailed girl
		talking. She will give Zell the book and when Zell rejoins,
		you'll get it too.) -- Zell jumps into the air and collects
		his energy in the same way as Ryu and Ken charge up a
		fireball. Channeling this energy into his fist, he dives at
		his opponent, passing straight through whilst the enemy is
		subjected to many explosions. Does good damage against one
		enemy.
Different Beat  2,1,3,4,U (Combat King 04 -- Battle prize from an Esthar
		soldier during the attack of the Lunatic Pandora.) -- Zell
		runs at his opponent and backflips, knocking them up into the
		air. He repeatedly backflips, sending them higher up. After a
		while, he jumps on them and stamps them into the ground,
		leaving a big dent on the floor. :) Zell's best single-enemy
		finisher.
My Final Heaven U,R,D,L,2 (Combat King 05 -- Found inside Lunatic Pandora by
		using lift 03. There'll be a ladder here. Go left from here
		and to the three open doors against the north wall. Go down
		the hallway and to the left to take the magazine. This is
		Zell's ultimate finisher and although it's tricky to pull
		off, it's well worth the touble in getting.) -- Zell charges
		up his ki in a similar way to Burning Rave and channels it
		into one fist. Zell then rushes (and I mean RUSHES) past the
		opponents, sending them spinning around. Zell circles around
		the Earth once and then rushes through them again before
		doing his "Finisher" starting animation (without the blue
                fire.) The victims gets a massive explosion up their
                backsides. Good damage against all enemies on screen. Like
                Burning Rave, it also affects flying type enemies. Zell's
                best multi-enemy hitting finisher.

BTW: All of the magazines required for Zell's moves (CK 1 = CK 5) can be
bought from the Esthar Shopping Mall for low gil. CK 05 is pretty expensive,
but it's worth getting. Make sure Tonberry knows Haggle and Familar to make
things easier for you.


Recommended Combos & Short Finishing Strings
--------------------------------------------
Here are some combo strings and short finisher strings that I like to use:

Key: '|-' = linkable move; '\-' = linkable finisher move; '(Starter X)' = can
     begin with this move.

Punch Rush (Starter 1)
|- Booya (Starter 2)
   |- Punch Rush
      |- Booya
         |- Punch Rush
            |- Booya
               |- Punch Rush
                  |- .... (Infinite)
   |- Heel Drop
      |- Mach Kick
         |- Heel Drop
            |- Mach Kick
               |- Heel Drop
                  |- .... (Infinite)
   |- Heel Drop (1)
      |- Mach Kick (links to (1))
         |- Punch Rush
            \- My Final Heaven
         |- Heel Drop
            |- Booya
               \- Different Beat
      |- Meteor Strike
         \- My Final Heaven
   |- Meteor Strike
      |- Booya
         \- Different Beat
|- Dolphin Blow
   \- Meteor Barret
|- Meteor Strike
  |- Dolphin Blow
      |- Mach Kick
         \- Meteor Barret
|- Mach Kick
   |- Punch Rush
      |- Heel Drop
         \- Burning Rave
|- Dolphin Blow
   |- Mach Kick
      |- Dolphin Blow
         |- Heel Drop (2)
            |- Punch Rush
               |- Heel Drop
                  |- Dolphin Blow (links to (2))
                     \- Different Beat
               \- My Final Heaven


Complete Link List
------------------
The following is a list of move sets that you can link to. Bear in mind that
there _are_ duplicates. Punch Rush (1) and Punch Rush (5) for example, are
_not_ the same links. Although the actual animation is the same, the
linkability of the two are completely different. Punch Rush (1) can link to
Booya (2) or Mach Kick (4), but Punch Rush (5) can link to the Heel Drop
(6), the Dolphin Blow (7) or the Meteor Strike (23) -- provided, of course,
you've picked up the relevant magazines (Combat King Magazine Number 01 for
the Dolphin Blow and Combat King Magazine Number 02 for the Meteor Strike.)

The numbers in brackets, for example (1), (2) and (3) mean that performing
that link move will take you to that step mentioned in brackets and you can
link from _that_ step to another link move or to a finisher, if one is
available.

Remember, this list is NOT the same as the list in the previous section.
That diagram only shows you the recommended combo strings. Using this list,
you can pick 'n' mix your own combo strings. So if you can link from (1) to
(2) and then back to (1), you have an infinite string. Or you can go crazy
and do (1),(2),(1),(2),(1),(2),(1),(4),(5),(6),(4),(5),(6),(4),(5),(6) and
then finish off with Burning Rave for a crazy amount of damage. Of course,
this depends on the amount of time you have and how fast your fingers are.

On the subject of Limit Break time, here's a little cheat for you. If you
have Selphie and Zell on your team and both are low enough for their Limit
Breaks, have Selphie do Full-Cure to heal up Zell. Now, as she does her
move (it takes a while, anyway), hammer away at the Circle button (4)
until the "" comes up (indicates Limit Break activation possible.) Get Zell
to do his Limit Break and, provided that Selphie hit first with the Full-Heal,
he'll start up WITH MAX TIME. This also seems to work if you cast Aura (spell
or stone, it doesn't matter) on Zell to get him to do his Limit Break.

Anyway, here's the link list I've been promising you -- BTW: if a move has
(Finisher) under to it, it means that that move will finish the chain,
regardless of where you are in the chain (i.e. it's a Finishing Move.)
Another thing, if you haven't picked up the relevant magazine for the move,
then you can't link to that move (obviously.) So you'll have to ignore the
links that involve that move.

Step | Move          | Available Links (Next Step)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1:   | Punch Rush    | Booya (2), Mach Kick (4), Dolphin Blow (7)
2:   | Booya         | Punch Rush (1), Heel Drop (3), Meteor Strike (20)
3:   | Heel Drop     | Booya (2), Mach Kick (13), Meteor Strike (21)
4:   | Mach Kick     | Punch Rush (5), Dolphin Blow (9), Booya (2)
5:   | Punch Rush    | Heel Drop (6), Dolphin Blow (7), Meteor Strike (23)
6:   | Heel Drop     | Mach Kick (4), Dolphin Blow (9), Burning Rave
     |               |                                   (Finisher)
7:   | Dolphin Blow  | Heel Drop (10), Mach Kick (8), Meteor Barret
     |               |                                  (Finisher)
8:   | Mach Kick     | Punch Rush (5), Dolphin Blow (9) or Booya (2)
9:   | Dolphin Blow  | Booya (2), Heel Drop (12), Meteor Strike (20)
10:  | Heel Drop     | Punch Rush (1), Mach Kick (11), Meteor Barret
     |               |                                   (Finisher)
11:  | Mach Kick     | Punch Rush (1), Dolphin Blow (7), Meteor Barret
     |               |                                     (Finisher)
12:  | Heel Drop     | Booya (2), Mach Kick (13), Meteor Strike (21)
13:  | Mach Kick     | Punch Rush (14), Heel Drop (15), Meteor Strike (20)
14:  | Punch Rush    | Heel Drop (12), Meteor Strike (21), My Final Heaven
     |		   |						     (Finisher)
15:  | Heel Drop     | Booya (17), Dolphin Blow (16), Meteor Strike (20)
16:  | Dolphin Blow  | Booya (17), Meteor Strike (20), Different Beat
     |               |					         (Finisher)
17:  | Booya         | Punch Rush (18), Dolphin Blow (19), Different Beat
     |		   |					             (Finisher)
18:  | Punch Rush    | Mach Kick (11), Dolphin Blow (19), Different Beat
     |		   |					            (Finisher)
19:  | Dolphin Blow  | Punch Rush (1), Booya (2), Mach Kick (11)
20:  | Meteor Strike | Booya (17), Heel Drop (3), Dolphin Blow (19)
21:  | Meteor Strike | Booya (17), Dolphin Blow (22), My Final Heaven
     |		   |	  				         (Finisher)
22:  | Dolphin Blow  | Booya (2), Heel Drop (3), Dolphin Blow (19)
23:  | Meteor Strike | Heel Drop (24), Mach Kick (4), Burning Rave
     |               |                                 (Finisher)
24:  | Heel Drop     | Mach Kick (4), Dolphin Blow (9), Burning Rave
     |               |                                  (Finisher)

I know it's hard to read this, but think about it, if I drew all of this info
in a link chart like a bit further back, it would be even worse, since I'd
have arrows and lines everywhere! No, better have it like this -- it's easier
on your and my eyes.


Final Note
----------
Please don't rip off my work. I know there's nothing to stop you from taking
the link table and passing it off as your own, but if you decide to put this
FAQ on your page or put the link table in your own FAQ, you have my
permission, just indicate that I created the link table. Remember, I spent
_many_ hours drawing up this chart and Zell has died countless times because
of this. Please don't rip of my work. Besides, this FAQ is (C) Loopy 2001
-) -- and you thought you'd got away with it.