Live A Live is a time-jumping JRPG from Square Enix, remade and remastered in 2D-HD style 28 years after its original SNES release. During the game, the player alternates between protagonists from different time periods, who use the same grid-based battle system but specialize in a wide variety of different moves.
Each protagonist has a specific "ultimate attack." These are usually far-reaching moves with a long charge time that cause massive damage to enemies, and can take some extra effort to acquire, but each character's is unique to them. Here's a brief overview of the whole set, for players who aren't satisfied with anything but the best.
8 Pogo: Bing Bang Boom
With this simple but devastating attack, Pogo strikes an adjacent enemy with his axe repeatedly, ending in an extra-powerful slam. The attacks rack up damage values, quickly reaching into the hundreds. It combines well with his high physical attack stat, and is straightforward to earn: it's learned automatically at level 16.
Unlike many ultimate attacks, Bing Bang Boom only hits one target, but it has no charge time. Using it constantly isn't safe, since it temporarily lowers Pogo's stats afterwards, but it's possible to work around this limitation by using it at the end of a fight, or using buff abilities or items afterwards.
7 Earthen Heart Master: Heavenly Peaks Descent
The signature art of Earthen Heart martial arts, this attack is a focus of the Imperial China plot line. The Master targets an enemy a few squares away for a colossal storm of strikes. It only hits a single target, but it has no charge time. Players fortunate enough to gain this move can use it repeatedly.
The Master learns this move at Level 16, like most other ultimate attacks, but it is also given for free in the final confrontation of the Imperial China scenario. There's a catch, though: it can only be used once during this final fight, so the player should be prepared to finish it with regular techniques.
6 Oboromaru: Death Blossom
The ultimate ninja technique, Death Blossom is a whirling barrage of slashes. Similar to Heavenly Peaks Descent, it's a special attack that hits at a distance, but this one affects an area, allowing it to hit multiple targets for large amounts of slashing damage.
The drawback is its charge time. It's not much, but it prevents the attack from being used repeatedly without consequence. In addition, despite its strength, players may prefer to use more specialized attacks causing status effects or floor tile changes, since Oboromaru has so many of those types of moves in his arsenal.
5 The Sundown Kid: Hurricane
Sundown's attacks are all variations on "shoot with gun", and Hurricane is the pinnacle of these. After a charge, Sundown fires repeatedly on all targets in a moderate area. Despite its simplicity, it ends up being one of the strongest attacks in the entire game. A high level Sundown can reach 999 damage.
It's ranged and hits a wide area, but it's another charge attack. Besides taking longer to activate, a charging character can be interrupted by certain enemy attacks, resulting in a wasted turn. It's absolutely worth it, though: even among ultimate attacks, it's especially powerful. That's fortunate for Sundown, as he doesn't have much else.
4 Masaru Takahara: Worldbreaker's Wrath
Masaru's ultimate attack is one of the strongest martial techniques. He strikes the ground hard enough to cause boulders to launch out, showering the area around him. It's a powerful area attack, notable for a character who specializes in single-target attacks. In the final chapter, Masaru can learn this move at level 16 like the others. To find it during his own chapter, however, requires some extra effort.
Normally, Masaru learns new moves by being struck with them in combat, and this is the case for Worldbreaker's Wrath. However, this attack isn't listed in-game as learnable, so many players might not know it exists to learn. In addition, its owner Jackie Iaukea won't even use it unless he is forced to do so, by having both arm attacks and leg attacks disabled. In the end, though, the attack is a bit unwieldy due to its charge time, so it isn't worth seeking out for anyone but completionists.
3 Akira: Judgment Day
As a powerful psychic, even Akira's starter attacks tend to be screen-wide status afflicters, affecting the enemies' minds. His ultimate ability is the strongest version of this: a vision of Armageddon, depicted as an angel descending from above. It causes the rare holy damage type, and similar to his other psychic assaults, it cuts the stats of every enemy on screen.
It's learned at level 16 as normal, but it doesn't come up during Akira's own final confrontation, since that battle involves a giant robot instead. It's still worth going for, though, since it comes in handy during the final chapter.
2 Cube: Maser Cannon
Cube is a special case, since most of their abilities are pre-loaded. The strongest of these is Maser Cannon, a long charge resulting in a devastating laser blast. With a bit of luck, Cube can use this ability to defeat the boss of Distant Future in a couple of turns.
As a long, piercing shot, Maser Cannon can devastate multiple enemies at once, and can be used from Cube's preferred range. Players should be careful to avoid being interrupted during its lengthy charge, however, and also be aware that the attack only fires on diagonal lines. Proper positioning is key, as usual for Live A Live.
1 Oersted: Archon's Mark
The ultimate technique of the hero Hasshe is also learned by Oersted at level 16. It's described as a legendary demonic technique, and causes Evil damage, which ties directly into Hasshe and Oersted's natures. The attack only hits one enemy, and its range is limited to two diagonal tiles away, but its massive damage is worth the setup.
This move isn't essential to learn despite its power, since Oersted can't be used in the final chapter, and the player would have already seen Hasshe use it, so it's not a secret. It does, however, make a fitting passing of the torch from hero to hero.
The remake of Live A Live is available on Nintendo Switch.