Digital Mind Wave, also known as DMW, is the Limit Break system in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. It involves a series of reels at the upper left corner of the screen which spin continuously like a slot machine, eventually falling on a selection of 3 portraits and a number per portrait. The portraits and numbers spin independently of each other. Each DMW spin costs you 10 SP, which is deducted automatically. The DMW is also used to level up, with Zack Fair only gaining a level once "777" appears in the Modulating phase. A similar system works with upgrading the Materia he has equipped.
The player begins with two characters' portraits unlocked on the wheels. During the progress of the game, more characters will be added to the DMW. It is also possible to unlock Summons or gain "Chocobo Mode" through the acquirement of items in Missions.
Zack is unique in the fact that he is able to also copy the Limit Breaks of others, and because of this, the Digital Mind Wave is obviously the manifestation of Zack's mind, thoughts, and emotions, evidenced by the images and characters that appear on it. This is exemplified in his last stand: Once his HP is down to 1 point, he enters Modulating Phase but the DMW is slowly disintegrating as memories of all the people on the DMW, sans Genesis, flash before him, and then fade away (their headshots have become static). After another battle where he is barely able to swing his sword even against three Shinra army grunts, Aerith is the only person left who appears on the DMW before it is finally destroyed altogether with Zack's death.
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As the DMW spins, the left image will stop on a character portrait. If the right image stops on the matching portrait, the DMW will enter "Modulating Phase".
When the center image stops, if all three portraits match, that character's limit break is performed, and Zack will gain some HP, MP, and AP, possibly breaking their set limits.
There are certain points in the storyline where certain character's faces will be more likely to appear than others. For example, during Zack's first mission in Wutai, the emotion of the event causes the probability of Angeal's face appearing to go up to five times higher than normal. These times are indicated with the alert, "Heightened Emotions Have Affected the DMW". Note that the chance of getting Modulating Phase depends on Zack's level. The higher the level, the lower the chance of getting Modulating Phase.
Another important feature of the DMW is Emotion status of Zack, indicated by the wavegraph above the reels. The Emotion status helps affect the rate of gaining buffs and achieving Power Surges.
There are five stages to the Emotion Gauge:
Limit breaks are performed in levels of 1-5. the higher the level, the higher the strength of each hit. Depending on the level and kind of Limit Break Zack could perform, the Emotion gauge will lower by one level until Normal status, unless the Limit Break can bring the Emotion level to a higher state.
| Character | Name | Obtaining | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three of the same silhouette | Chain Slash | Start of the game; lost once all characters and summons on DMW are revealed | Physical hit against one enemy |
| Character | Name | Obtaining | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sephiroth | Octaslash | Start of the game | Eight physical hits against one enemy |
| Angeal | Rush Assault | Start of the game | Combo of 15 physical hits total on one enemy or seven hits, seven hits, and one hit on up to three enemies. The final hit inflicts Stun. He pulls off a series of punches, finishing by speeding by the target. Ignores enemies Vitality, may grant the Endure Status, will raise Emotion level by one if it is a level five attack. |
| Tseng | Air Strike | Start of Chapter 3 | Physical attack on all enemies by use of a fighter chopper. |
| Cloud | Meteor Shots | Halfway through Chapter 6 | Physical Attack on all enemies in which Zack jumps into the air and swings his blade multiple times sending explosive blast at the targets. |
| Aerith | Healing Wave | Start of Chapter 5 | Heals HP, MP and AP fully, with possibility of exceeding maximum up to 2x, and clears status effects. Invincibility for limited duration |
| Cissnei | Lucky Stars | Halfway through Chapter 4 | All attacks are critical hits for limited duration. Emotion level goes up by 1 - 5 stages. |
| Genesis | Apocalypse | After defeating Genesis at Modeoheim | Cast spell that damages all enemies through use of a pentagram like symbol, will raise Emotion level by one if it is a level five attack. |
| Character | Name | Obtaining | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ifrit | Hellfire | Clear Mission 8-1-1 | Magical attack on all enemies. Zack summons Ifrit who sends waves of flames at the targets. Ignores enemies' Spirit. |
| Bahamut | Mega Flare | Clear Mission 8-1-4 | Magical attack on all enemies. Zack summons Bahamut who flies into the atmosphere and charges a large energy ball of destructive power. It then fires the ball at the ground below. Ignores enemies' Spirit, will raise Emotion level by one if it is a level five attack. |
| Bahamut Fury | Exa Flare | Clear Mission 8-5-6 | Magical attack on all enemies. Zack summons Bahamut Fury who in outside space, uses the moon as a conductor to fire a large focused destructive beam at the targets. Ignores enemies' Spirit, will raise Emotion level by one if it is a level five attack. |
| Odin | Zantetsuken | Clear Mission 8-1-6 | Inflicts Instant Death to all enemies. |
| Phoenix | Rebirth Flame | Chapter 9, Nibelheim Mystery #1. (check water tower) | Magical attack on all enemies. Ignores enemies' Spirit. Casts Raise on Zack and gives him Phoenix Down, which lasts until used. |
| Character | Name | Obtaining | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miss | Dud | Start of the game | Deals damage to Zack and inflicts Stun on him. |
| Chocobo | Chocobo Stomp | Treasure chest in Mission 8-4-1 | Physical attack on all enemies. Ignores enemies' Vitality. |
| Cactuar | 1000 Needles | Clear Mission 10-1-3 | 18 hits with fixed damage depending on the DMW level. |
| Tonberry | Murderous Thrust | Clear Mission 10-2-3 | Physical attack on one enemy. Ignores enemy Vitality. |
| Cait Sith | Courage Boost! | Treasure chest in Mission 8-4-3 | Cures Zack of Poison, Silence, Stop, and Stun, and inflicts Endure, Barrier, MBarrier, No AP Cost, No MP Cost, which will last until the end of the battle, Null Physical, and Null Magical. |
| Moogle | Moogle Power | Treasure chest in Mission 8-4-4 | Casts Regen. Levels up all equipped materia depending on the DMW level. |
| Magic Pot | Item Mugger | Encounter Magic Pot in certain Missions. Earliest possible is Mission 10-2-3. Use Jump, Fira, Gravity, and Assault Twister when it asks for those specific attacks. | Will give you a certain item, depending on the DMW level. |
The number reels consist of numbers 1-7. The number reels will stop spinning after the portrait reels stop. The numbers match, they will apply various status effects when not in modulating phase, or will level up Zack or Materia in Modulating Phase.
Note! An asterisk(*) is a variable for any number other than 7
| Numbers | Effect |
| 7 7 7 | Invincible (Nulls all damage) |
| 6 6 6 | Critical (all attacks are critical hits) |
| 5 5 5 | Null Physical (no damage from physical attacks) |
| 4 4 4 | No AP Cost during battle |
| 3 3 3 | Null Magic (no damage from magic attacks) |
| 2 2 2 | No MP Cost during battle |
| 1 1 1 | Invincible (Nulls all damage) |
| 7 7 * | No AP Cost & No MP Cost |
| 7 * 7 | Null Physical (no damage from physical attacks) |
| * 7 7 | Null Magic (no damage from magic attacks) |
| 7 * * | No AP Cost |
| * 7 * | No MP Cost |
| * * 7 | Endure (prevents knock down from attacks) |
| Numbers | Effect |
| 7 7 7 | Zack goes up 1 level |
| 2 matching #(1-6) | Materia equipped in matching # slot goes up 1 level |
| 3 matching #(1-6) | Materia equipped in matching # slot goes up 2 levels |
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