Final Fantasy VI Fewest Steps Challenge

[General Spoon]

I believe that the reason that Sabin can Suplex the Phantom Train is because when Sabin Suplexes an enemy, the game checks to see if the enemy is larger than Sabin, and if it is larger Suplex fails. For some reason the Phantom Train isn't coded as being larger than Sabin, so he can Suplex it.

[Zanarkin]

Why is your step count (in post) different than your step count in the game (the pics)?

[Narga_Rocks]

Blitz isn't completely based off magic. It just doesn't care about weapons. Two blitzes are based off strength (pummel and suplex), the rest are magic (or don't even care about magic or strength).

Oh, and Terra learns Life (raise) at level 18. For the sealed gate and the thamasa stuff, you'll probably have that spell. Afterwards, of course, you won't.

Oh, and are you going to try the whole "kill everyone not Celes for the floating continent to boost your level when you re-recruit in the wor" thing? I suppose there are too many dangerous enemies on the floating continent, though.

[Life]

I believe that the reason that Sabin can Suplex the Phantom Train is because when Sabin Suplexes an enemy, the game checks to see if the enemy is larger than Sabin, and if it is larger Suplex fails. For some reason the Phantom Train isn't coded as being larger than Sabin, so he can Suplex it.

Actually, this is wrong. Sabin can stick Meteor Strike on almost any enemy with the following exceptions:

- Emerging from the ground in one way or another (Mu PL, Slagworm PL, Urok PL, Fossil Dragon PL, Trillium PL, Apocrypha PL, Cranes, Ultros 1, Fiend, Goddess, Demon, Tentacles)

- Attached to the wall or ceiling (Trapper PL, Still Life, Chadarnook)

- Attached to other 'monsters' (Number 128, Inferno, the four blades that go with these bosses, Air Force, Laser Gun, Missile Bay, all targets in the final battle.

- Obviously flying as opposed to floating opponents (Joker PL, Lesser Lopros PL, Darkwind PL, Vulture PL, Marchosias PL, Hornet PL, Nettlehopper PL, Sky Armor PL, Satellite PL, Ahriman, Speck, Deathgaze, Kefka)

- Weird opponents of which you kinda guessed they flew but couldn't be really sure of (Angel Whisper PL, Sprizter PL, Outcast PL, Bomb PL, Lunatys PL, Aspiran PL, Mover, Ghost PL, Naude PL, Utlima Weapon PL)

- Fish throwing themselves out of a waterfall just to bite you in the knee (Opinicus Fish PL)

- Miscellaneous: Typhon, Brainpan, Moonform, Outsider, Baalzephon, Mega Armor, Vargas, Shiva, Ifrit, Valigarmanda, Ultros, Siegfried, Kefka (Narshe)

PL refers to Palette Swap. Source is here.

Why is your step count (in post) different than your step count in the game (the pics)?

Note: I screwed up my steps in the Locke scenario and had to restart from the Returner Base (thank god for that second save that I made there). In the 2nd run, Locke's scenario happens first (I still hit Mirage Dive on the Heavy Armour) with Sabin's 2nd.

Hope that answers your question.

Oh, and Terra learns Life (raise) at level 18. For the sealed gate and the thamasa stuff, you'll probably have that spell. Afterwards, of course, you won't.

Oh, and are you going to try the whole "kill everyone not Celes for the floating continent to boost your level when you re-recruit in the wor" thing? I suppose there are too many dangerous enemies on the floating continent, though.

I shouldn't be dying in Thamasa. But the Sealed Gate... huh. Considering that I need Terra at Level 26 for the end of the Sealed Cave anyways since there's almost no chance to learn Teleport before this, she'll have Raise.

And no. I'm going to do some hardcore training after getting the Falcon so... yeah.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Life Admiral

[Life]

Now due to the power of friendship and plot device (I totally just stole that joke), we have half of our team in Narshe, ready for anything... or are they?

Humans? Wise? Call your dealer, I want whatever he's giving you.

Well if they were, the least they could do is send me is a competent fighter instead of Cyan.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the definition of "pussywhipped".

Just in case Kefka has a midlife crisis, writing angst poetry wouldn't be a bad idea. The man's a natural rhymster!

Ok, enough with the jokes. Let's get onto the actual game. Skip the save point, forget about outfitting your team and just talk to Banon.

This is going to take a little explanation.

The idea is to keep my step counter to as low as possible. The way to do this is by only using one team. Team #2 is the closest to Kefka and will therefore do all of the work. 1 and 3 don't matter.

As for who to bring, Celes is a given here. Kefka tosses out a LOT of Runicable spells, especially Poison. Locke exists for stealing purposes (Kefka has a Hi Ether/Elixir while the Hell's Rider has a Mythril Vest/Elixir, all of which I want) while Sabin and Edgar are by far the best damage choices.

As soon as the battle starts, head straight to Kefka. If you do it correctly, you should fight 2 Green soldiers, 2 Brown soldiers, the Hell's Rider and Kefka. And all this before the soldiers touch Banon. If you don't do it correctly... game over.

This is why I made sure that I nabbed the Bioblaster from the Tunnel Armour. On a regular run, Edgar destroys everything here with this thing since it hits weaknesses.

This guy can be tough if you try to prolong the battle to make sure that Locke steals. Venomist hits the whole party doing crap damage but inflicting Poison while !Silver Lance hits... hard.

Here we go. The big cheese himself. Thing is, he's hilariously easy. Runic basically neuters him to the point where his physical is doing the most damage. Auto Crossbow and Aura Cannon deal some pretty major hurt to the guy. Once he runs away, you've won. I also snagged the Hi Ether off of him but hey, I'm not complaining.

OK, that can't be good. Three of my party members are holding onto a cliff for dear life. And I kinda need two of them. Why can't Cyan drop off a cliff instead of Edgar?

Who's more of a furry? Terra or Zidane? I have no idea right about now.

Anyway, when Locke wakes up, we head out for Terra. Grab Locke, Celes, Edgar and Sabin for the trip down to Zozo. Leave Narshe and save.

3323 Steps. Now back on track.

Edited January 13, 2011 by Life Admiral

[Life]

Analysis time! I'm in the mood for a good argument too.

Clyde "Shadow" Arrowny:

Shadow is surprisingly... ordinary. His availability is pretty shit in the WoB (Sabin's Scenario to Baron Falls, Kohlingen to Opera House, Empire Boat to Thamasa and FC part 1) but when he exists, he's pretty good. His Shurikens are dirt cheap (2970 for 99) and do nice ST damage that can actually be targeted. Even if the next time you see him after Sabin's Scenario is the Floating Continent (trip to Thamasa is like one or two battles), he's still pretty good. He's kinda behind on Esper time and spells though.

Once you get to the WoR, Shadow's no longer a runaway. Sure you gotta beat the Undead Behemoth twice (toss a Phoenix Down on the 2nd for an instant kill) but that's not much work. Fuma Shurikens are 500 gil a pop but money is no longer an issue at this point. You can also toss the elemental swords (Icebrand, Flametongue and Thunder Blade) for good elemental damage. Shadow doesn't have many tricks but for what he can do, he can do quite well.

Weapon and Equipment wise, Shadow's pretty generic. I mean, the Ichigeki casts Stop, the Swordbreaker can be equipped on just about anyone... I know I'm forgetting shit here. The thing is that Shadow just doesn't stand out positively or negatively with regards to equipment (hence why I can't remember stuff). He does, however, get the Memento Ring. This is basically a free Safety Bit for him and Relm and considering that Safety Bits are kinda rare in this game (and good since they stop ID while Ribbons don't), I'd say that's pretty good. But that's pretty much is.

Cyan Garamonde:

Fuck. I was kinda dreading writing this one...

Cyan is probably the 2nd worst character in this game and feels like more of a liability in the beginning. His Bushidos are fucking annoying since they require Real Time to charge up and then they're just not worth the wait. Fang is probably the only good Bushido he has and ignores defense (thank god for that). Tiger is kinda pointless since you're just waiting for Cyan to get attacked, Sky is an early Gravity spell that works up until you get Shoat (that being said, Cyan shouldn't be in the IMRF in the first place) and Flurry is a multi-hit move that does decent damage if all four strikes connect on the same target. Mind you, the wait time for Flurry is already aggravating and when you consider that Flurry doesn't ignore Defense... Yeah.

The rest of his Bushidos are pretty mediocre to say the least. Dragon drains HP/MP, Eclipse causes Stop on all enemies, Oblivion is ID and Tempest is a stronger Flurry. These would all be pretty good... if not for the wait time. Cyan's weapons aren't even that good. The Kazikiri (good luck getting two of those, stealing from Number 128 is a bit of a nightmare) unleashes Wind Slash which does pretty crap damage, the Nutsunokami has 20 Evade on it and that's pretty much it for his weapons. Armour is nothing special aside from the fact that he wears heavy stuff (no Gaia Gear which means no Quake healing for Cyan). His stats aren't even that good thanks to low Speed and 25 base Magic. Narga, you can rip on me all you want for Relm having 5 more magic than Terra but Relm has double this number at base. And she has Magic boosting equips. That's how bad Cyan's Magic is.

So we have a physical character who can't even do his job well. Great. Next please.

Gau:

Umm... Gau. Gau is god in a low level game and horrible in a fewest steps run. The kid is either one of your best fighters out there or he's sitting on the bench for the majority of the game. It all matters on how much Veldt hunting you're willing to put up with (I get frustrated by it too quickly).

I have no clue how Gau performs in the WoR (rage Io for Flare Star, Holy Dragon for Holy, Magic Urn for Curaga, Rafflesia if you don't mind being an evil bastard and you're pretty much set) but I can comment on WoB. Grabbing Guard Leader before leaving the Veldt for Narshe will save you a lot of headache but stuff like Mu (Snare), Lesser Lopros (Fireball), Templar (Fira) and Cloud (Thundara) are pretty sufficient for the first part. I don't expect most players to run to the Veldt right afterwards but Anguiform and Aspiran stomp the next two dungeons so neither is a bad idea. After that, Litwor Chicken along with Gaia Gear is full party healing, Intangir makes Gau near impossible to kill, Briarius has Cyclonic (Banish doesn't exist yet) and I think Chimera also has Aqua Breath (in case you didn't get Anguiform or don't like going blind).

All in all, with the right rages, Gau is fantastic. The problem is building him up. If you're willing to do it, you won't be disappointed. If you don't, you're not missing too much aside from Entice which is evil in its own right.

Celes Chere:

She's Terra. Well, almost. Celes is available in the WoB when Terra isn't and starts off the WoR. She's got Runic, a defensive skill that lets her catch the first spell that's shot out from either side (certain stuff like Flood or Meltdown escape Runic) and... yeah, she's Terra.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about Celes that I haven't mentioned about Terra. She's a bit worse since Terra rejoins when all the good Espers show up (stuff from the IMRF, Zona Seeker, Golem, Seraph) while Celes doesn't get her shot at those until the tail end of the Floating Continent (she does have the whole first part of the WoR though). And then Trance is just generally better than Runic since Runic is way too situational and can even screw up your team.

That being said, Celes is far from bad. In fact, Celes is still one of the best characters in the game even after being compared to the furry. She's got the Minerva Bustier (score), the Enhancer (double score) and other nifty stuff like a couple of already learned spells. So sorry if it seemed like I was ragging on her a bit but she's basically an inferior Terra that is still better than everyone else.

[Narga_Rocks]

Poor Cyan. He's such fun in the original if you imp him, though, along with a couple of other details. Not that I ever do that for more than a hoot.

And Gau also looses out on his funnest thing, Catscratch Wind Slashes with Tempest and Merit Award. They were so mean to these guys in "fixing" the game. And Snare on Intangirs no longer kills them at all. It was so nice since in the WOB it was the only way to kill them without a counter. They were so mean in the GBA game. While I can agree to fixing the bug for tons of other stuff, they should have removed the ID immunity of intangirs so we'd still have the training method. Now they are slower than magic training on the veldt since it takes so long to kill them and you need to use the recovery in the airship much more frequently. Jerks.

Anyway, in a game where you keep a low level and give everyone all the spells and get a couple of economizers, Cyan isn't actually so bad. He's still not good, I suppose, and when everyone has quick and an economizer it's not like anyone makes much of a difference. It's still fun.

Also, doesn't Relm have 44 magic power? That's not double 25. Last I checked.

The more I analyze this game, the more I like ffv, actually. I still like the story more in ffvi, and some of the spells (merton) and abilities (morph) are just so fun that I still like ffvi more, but ffv is a really well made game.

[Life]

Poor Cyan. He's such fun in the original if you imp him, though, along with a couple of other details. Not that I ever do that for more than a hoot.

There's also Psycho Cyan which is fun to watch but I'm not going to bother with it on a real run.

And Gau also looses out on his funnest thing, Catscratch Wind Slashes with Tempest and Merit Award. They were so mean to these guys in "fixing" the game. And Snare on Intangirs no longer kills them at all. It was so nice since in the WOB it was the only way to kill them without a counter. They were so mean in the GBA game. While I can agree to fixing the bug for tons of other stuff, they should have removed the ID immunity of intangirs so we'd still have the training method. Now they are slower than magic training on the veldt since it takes so long to kill them and you need to use the recovery in the airship much more frequently. Jerks.

That was Wind God Gau, right? That being said, Evade actually means something. But most of the bug fixes suck. Like Vanish/Death, Merit Award on Gau... At least they kept Entice. Fuck, that rage is EVIL.

Anyway, in a game where you keep a low level and give everyone all the spells and get a couple of economizers, Cyan isn't actually so bad. He's still not good, I suppose, and when everyone has quick and an economizer it's not like anyone makes much of a difference. It's still fun.

Even with Quick, fuck it. Raiden's no longer the only guy who teaches Quick (but Crusader teaches Meteor and I have no clue if he was in the original or not) but at the same time, I'd rather just have more important people learn it.

Also, doesn't Relm have 44 magic power? That's not double 25. Last I checked.

Doesn't she have 50?

The more I analyze this game, the more I like ffv, actually. I still like the story more in ffvi, and some of the spells (merton) and abilities (morph) are just so fun that I still like ffvi more, but ffv is a really well made game.

I really enjoy FF5 but some of the earlygame bosses really piss me off since I never have the right team set-up (namely Garula, Shiva and Liquid Flame). Aside from that, both were really well made. FF6 is probably the easier one, though.

[Narga_Rocks]

There's also Psycho Cyan which is fun to watch but I'm not going to bother with it on a real run.

That's what I was talking about. I don't put much merit in the "imp gear as imp" set up, if that's what you were thinking.

That was Wind God Gau, right? That being said, Evade actually means something. But most of the bug fixes suck. Like Vanish/Death, Merit Award on Gau... At least they kept Entice. Fuck, that rage is EVIL.

I miss wind god gau. A lot. The evade fix is probably good. Blindness now means more than "Strago can't learn rages". I still like only needing 127 mblock to block nearly everything rather than 127 on both.

Vanish + ID fix is actually good, since there are very few bosses immune to ID. It's kinda sad to have some supposedly epic boss come along and then us just go "vanish, doom, g'night". But Intangir's should then just get ID immunity removed.

Even with Quick, fuck it. Raiden's no longer the only guy who teaches Quick (but Crusader teaches Meteor and I have no clue if he was in the original or not) but at the same time, I'd rather just have more important people learn it.

Crusader is in the original. Only way to get Merton in the original. Well, Gau with the mover rage.

And I stated "everyone learns everything". There is no "rather just have more important people learn it".

Doesn't she have 50?

Highly doubt it. You'll find out one way or another in a bit, though.

I really enjoy FF5 but some of the earlygame bosses really piss me off since I never have the right team set-up (namely Garula, Shiva and Liquid Flame). Aside from that, both were really well made. FF6 is probably the easier one, though.

Really? Never really had problems with any bosses along the way. Of course, I go get Fire2 before taking on Shiva. Also, definitely keep 2 in the front row and 2 in the back row. Never allow 1 to be in a row on its own. I did that once. I won, but man that was a painful way to do it. I don't remember ever having trouble with Garula. That the worus tower boss? As for liquid flame, he's pretty easy, too. I hate how little damage I do to the one form that doesn't take much magic damage and I think is immune to ice. Physical hit for like less than 100 damage after having been doing 1000+ with the other forms.

One of the keys to making things much less annoying is to get someone to Knight 3 early so that they get doublegrip. Then go Mystic Knight. You do tons of damage to bosses with weaknesses, sometimes OHKOing. Generally 3 or less, though. And just keep a black mage around with a weapon that boosts an element (like ice rod powered Ice2 on Liquid Flame if your Mystic Knight isn't ready to attack yet). Doesn't take much more than that to clear most of the first two worlds. And some battles are really fun. Like taking on Gil Turtle towards the end of world two. Love doing that. And beating up on Omega and Shinryuu without abusing love song (on the first) or dragoon lances (on the second). And I love killing magic pots (all of them) the first time I take on the phoenix tower rather than giving them precious elixirs.

[grandjackal]

Hey guys, is my FF7 run chopped liver or what?

I really enjoy FF5 but some of the earlygame bosses really piss me off since I never have the right team set-up (namely Garula, Shiva and Liquid Flame). Aside from that, both were really well made. FF6 is probably the easier one, though.

That's probably why FF5 is so good, it actually takes a brain to realize the best options, or even multiple options in how to quickly take down a boss with quickplay. Lategame is probably less noticeable, but it still takes brains because lategame is basically the fruits of labor moment when the synergy of skillsets finally feels solidified through use of the Bare class.

Anyways, the bosses you mention are quite distinct. Garula doesn't really require a specific team as much as it requires a Knight with Guard. Early in the fight, you wanna do what damage you can until it starts knocking you down to low health, and you want to do as much damage as possible in one blow to avoid counters and make him go down all the faster (Monk Focus is great here). When it starts getting you down to the yellow, the Knight starts using Guard, and he'll Cover weakened damage dealers (Knight tends to be the one doing the least damage to it in the face of magic and Focus, so it's alright to have him or her sacrifice their offense later in this fight). Regardless, Guard and Cover win you this fight. If you have that, you basically can't lose.

Liquid Flame does not require a team, it requires the Ice Rod you find at the town before Dragon Mountain. Break that off his ass, and you basically win the fight.

Shiva's probably the most annoying of which you have mentioned. While a specific team isn't necessary (I would recommend 1 black mage at least, and with Fire 2), your team position does. You'll want 2 guys in the back and 2 in the front, since Shiva tends to enjoy nuking your team based on what row they're in, and switches between the two. The reason you want 2 in the back and not 1 is because hittinga single target means you feel the full force of the magic blast, and she most likely will OHKO anyone she single targets. Shiva's the first real fight you encounter in that game I feel.

[Life]

Hey guys, is my FF7 run chopped liver or what?

Not your fault really. It comes down to three reasons.

1. I'm actually providing debate fodder by giving an analysis of each character.

2. You're doing a straight up FF7 run (which is still impressive since I hate parts of that game with a fucking passion) while I'm doing a challenging FF6 run (let me just say that Zozo came THIS close to raping my ass).

3. Judging from the fact that Narga's using terms from FF2 and FF3 back in the old days, I'd say that he knows a shit-ton more about FF6 than FF7.

[Narga_Rocks]

3. Judging from the fact that Narga's using terms from FF2 and FF3 back in the old days, I'd say that he knows a shit-ton more about FF6 than FF7.

Very perceptive. Though I'm not sure I've been using any terms from ff4 (2 us) recently. Possible, I guess.

I just like some of the names in the snes version more. I mean, Main Gauche? Give me Guardian any day. Ultima Weapon? How many games in the series have that? Give me Atma.

Anyway, never played an ff later than 6, sadly (unless you count ffta). Much as I'd like to play X and max out the characters. Though that was before I started played FE. I don't know if I could grind for long enough to manage that these days.

[Life]

I just like some of the names in the snes version more. I mean, Main Gauche? Give me Guardian any day. Ultima Weapon? How many games in the series have that? Give me Atma.

I assume Merton is Meltdown?

Some of the old names are pretty cool but I have problems with others. Especially enemy names (Resalopros vs. Lesser Lopros comes to mind). And with regards to the Main Gauche, the name is actually pretty cool, especially when you consider that there's an enemy with the name Guardian.

[Narga_Rocks]

I assume Merton is Meltdown?

And doesn't Merton sound so much cooler than Meltdown? Besides, in some ff games meltdown is similar to self destruct. Like, ffta, I think.

In ff6, merton is a fire+wind hit all attack that hurts all enemies (if none can absorb/nullify either wind or fire) and heals yourself (if you can absorb fire). It's quite epic.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Narga_Rocks

[grandjackal]

I just like some of the names in the snes version more. I mean, Main Gauche? Give me Guardian any day. Ultima Weapon? How many games in the series have that? Give me Atma.

Atma Weapon sounds boring though, and Main Gauche is an actual type of dagger commonly used in fencing sport used as sort of a quick punch or parrying via a quick stab or cut to the sword hand.

Anyway, never played an ff later than 6, sadly (unless you count ffta). Much as I'd like to play X and max out the characters. Though that was before I started played FE. I don't know if I could grind for long enough to manage that these days.

You would grow a wizard's beard in the time it takes to max out everyone in that game due to how the sphere grid works. I can guarantee you that it would also be the most boring experience of your life, because FFX is braindead easy.

[Life]

Time to move on with the game! Head down to Figaro to travel under the mountains to Kohlingen.

Screw the actual town of Kohlingen. There's nothing there that we need. Instead, head NORTH towards the Dragon's Neck to find the Chocobo Stables. Grab a Chocobo (100 Gil, so I lied about not needing anymore money) and ride it all the way to Zozo. Try to steal some shit on the way since Iron Fists have Twist Headbands and Rock Wasps hold Gold Needles (the first is rare, the second isn't).

Once you reach Zozo, hop off to the north or east of the city. This actually minimizes steps (by like one but every step counts).

Welcome to Zozo, land of the lying thieves! Forget the Chainsaw, just head down to the Relic Shop. The goal here is to get to Dadaluma before a Hill Gigas/Veil Dancer/Harvester kills the party.

These things are tough bastards that hold Gigas Gloves (raises attack). It's a nice steal for Edgar but not needed. Watch out for Magnitude 8, it hurts.

These things sometimes accompany Hill Gigases or Veil Dancers. They can also pop up in pairs. A regular run will have them dying easily (say hello to my little friend Rising Phoenix) but the problem here is that I can't do as much damage. And they toss Mythril Daggers on their third turn. Those do a LOT of damage AKA downing a party member. Try to grab the Silver Spectacles off of them but if you don't, it's not a problem.

To complete the dangerous trio of Zozo, Veil Dancers can be found inside buildings. The second that they're alone, they will start flinging Blizzara/Thundara/Fira everywhere. Runic really helps with this battle since it also fills Celes' MP. And if Celes beats them to the punch, they're neutered. If not, enjoy using a Phoenix Down.

Here we go. A pathetically easy boss suddenly made harder due to my damage constraints. Locke can steal either the Jeweled Ring or Thief Bracer, preferably the Thief Bracer. Once you grab it, pound Dadaluma into the ground. When he calls the Iron Fists (oh, he will), try to steal a Twist Headband off of them but it's not worth a reset if you don't. Just remember that they absorb poison so it's better for Edgar to move to the Auto Crossbow until they die. And hope that Dadaluma doesn't toss anything because that's an instant kill.

Locke, I am your father... Naw, just kidding with you. Who would want someone as screwed up as you for a kid anyway?

Look at where I am. Check where the other Magicite (other than Ramuh) are. That's right, I'm leaving them behind. This is not going to be the last time that I do this but it's not like I'm missing out on fantastic shit (Cait Sith is only good for Float, Kirin's a pretty shitty White Magic teacher but Siren's the only one who has actual good spells with Silence and Slow along with Lunatic Voice). Ramuh, on the other hand, has Thundara and Poison on it. I will get Maduin and Shoat later but for now, Ramuh is enough to destroy the IMRF.

Once again, you get to pick your team. Cyan and Gau didn't get any better so let's go with Edgar and Sabin again. Sabin is one level away from Rising Phoenix while I have no good reason for why I wouldn't field Edgar. Probably because he's fucking Edgar.

Time to head to Jidoor. Put Ramuh on Celes for right now (she won't learn Thunder by the time we make it but it'll help for the future) and just walk. Once again, Rock Wasps and Iron Fists have stuff worth stealing (Gold Needles and Twist Headbands). Once you make it to Jidoor, head to Owser's mansion and speak to the Impressario.

I can't think of anything cooler than a gambling albino pirate with a giant facial scar on a fucking airship. That is cool shit right there. Also, Setzer is the final person of my "Holy Trinity" (Celes and Edgar being the other two) of the three people that I'm taking to the end of the game. And yes, he will get the Fixed Dice. I give you my word.

Head to the Chocobo Stable in town and grab a Chocobo. Ride it to the Opera House and save.

3992 Steps.

[Life]

Time for the Opera House scene. A lot of people like it and a lot think that it's kinda boring. I'm part of the later even though Ultros shows up. But until then... eh. Ultros does make it more fun though. That being said, doing it over about twenty or so times can really get on your nerves.

Don't quit your day job, Celes.

This is why I love Ultros. He leaves a letter about what he's going to do, watches everyone ignore it and gets upset about his letter not being read. He's an evil genius in the making!

I want to know HOW he figured that it would take him 5 minutes to push a 4t weight off of the rafters. While we're at it, did anyone forget the fact that he's an octopus and shouldn't be in the rafters in the first place? And why does he have a 4 ton weight with him?

Yeah, this isn't a mistake. If you hit the catwalk switch before hitting this one, you'll slide onto the stage (no steps) and come out with a shorter path to the catwalks. Believe it.

Auto Crossbow and Aura Cannon are the keys to downing these things. If Sabin has Rising Phoenix (unlikely at this point in this kinda of run), use it instead of Aura Cannon. Also hope that the two Goetia and three Stunner formation doesn't keep popping up since Goetia can call more Stunners (which is incredibly annoying).

Looks like this opera's a mess. Let's jazz it up a little.

And the Oscar for Best Actor goes to... Keanu "Locke" Reeves.

This is the single best line in any Final Fantasy game to date. I dare you to challenge me on this.

Welcome to the 2nd Ultros Battle. He's technically got about 2500 HP... but since he changes places in this battle, faulty programming made it so that each position has its own HP count. Great.

Basically, the general idea is to down the guy in 2 turns even though there's a very good chance that that's not going to happen. Ramuh does absolute WONDERS here. Don't even bother with stealing, Ultros has nothing on him. Locke is item boy for this battle since Ultros will counter all Blitzes with Acid Rain (sets Sap along with pretty high damage).

I'd like to see Ultros' reaction if I called him a squid. He drops 2 Gil upon losing (nice...).

If you just saw what I saw, Setzer undressed Celes and tied her up in the blink of an eye. Just imagine what he can do in bed with those skills.

Setzer is a man's man. Either tits now or get the fuck off my ship.

Anyway, Setzer will fly you to the Southern Continent. Save when you land since this next scenario is the most important part in the game, stealwise.

4354 Steps.

[Integrity]

One not only wonders how Ultros got a 4t weight into the rafters, but also how the rafters are holding a 4t weight.

[Life]

This is a stupidly short update since the next one is going to be really long.

Let me start at the beginning.

There are 31 steps between where the Blackjack lands and Vector. There are also four vital steals that I need if I want to come close to beating this game. They are the Dragoon Boots (Wyvern) and 3x Green Berets (Joker). So basically, this requires a lot of reseting to get in as many fights as possible between now and Vector.

With regard to the Dragoon Boots, they are a rare steal from Wyverns who have a Potion in the Common slot. Keep everything else alive while you steal since Wyverns will use Cyclonic when alone. Keep resetting until you grab those Dragoon Boots, they're way too important to miss.

Funny enough, the Green Beret is the much harder steal, thanks to the Joker AI script. They have a 66% chance of using Acid Rain on their second turn, two of which will kill your party. When alone, they cast Thundara a lot but stop bringing out Acid Rain, which means Celes is a godsend. The Green Beret sits in that rare slot with a Potion in the common meaning an auto-reset if you grab the wrong item. Not only that but they only really appear near Albrook. Basically, you're sitting on borrowed time here with how long you have to steal them.

There's two formations you can fight. The 3x Joker one and the Joker + Don formation. In the Joker + Don formation, grab the Green Beret and then kill away. The 3x Joker takes a lot more planning and some luck too. Locke needs to follow Sabin's first Aura Cannon with a steal attempt. Edgar then hits Auto Crossbow, killing the first Joker. Locke then needs to steal from a second guy with Sabin following him with another Aura Cannon (this is the luck part since Aura Cannon has a 50% chance of killing the wrong guy). Celes then sets up Runic and Locke is all clear for the third one. If you manage to beat out Acid Rain and get a bit lucky, there's very little danger and Locke has three attempts at stealing a Green Beret.

Oh and that strategy works, for the record. Knowing AI scripts instantly makes Runic better (you can time it properly).

Once you get to Vector, for the love of God, save. There are specific steals in the next dungeon (the IMRF) which are just as important as the two mentioned above. And if you mess it up...

For the record, I managed to get all four steals in time for the IMRF. There is another point in time (Vector to Albrook) where you can make these steals but there's no real reason why you should wait on them. Especially since the Green Berets give a 12.5% bonus to HP.

4385 Steps.

[Life]

I keep wondering how the hell we snuck into the Empire so easily. Screw all the buildings and find the Returner to open the way to the Imperial Magitek Research Facility, also known as the IMRF.

The enemies in the first part of the IMRF hold nice steals for right now. Sergeants have a rare Mythril Vest and Belzecue have some Phoenix Downs stored away. The Mythril Vest should take priority simply because we have a lot of Phoenix Downs and it will immediately be used (Locke's wearing the Kempo Gi while Sabin has nothing on so I'm sure that Sabin would quite enjoy it). Proto Armours hold Mythril Mails (Edgar wants that) and even sometimes drop Bioblasters (kinda pointless right now). Everything falls to Rising Phoenix, Thunder/ara and Judgment Bolt so keep moving on.

The IMRF is actually quite straightforward if you're not looking for all of the items. Head down the stairs and catch a life on all of the conveyor belts. Eventually, you'll see...

Really, who else did we expect to see? That being said, here is my proof that Kefka planned to destroy the world since he actually mentions reviving the Warring Triad (Gestahl didn't want them to get revived but I'll check this one later). Hop down the conveyor belt afterwards to catch up with the Espers.

It's kinda hard but if you can swing it, force a random battle with Flans and grab two Magicite Shards. If I grab them (I'm currently writing this on my first attempt of this place and I am commited to NOT using Savestates yet), I'm going to try morphing some enemies into shields via Metamorphasis (on the run that I succeeded with getting the Blood Sword, I did not fight any Flan). In any case, speak to Ifrit to start a battle.

This is another easy battle turned hard thanks to my constraints. Usually, I deck my team out in Reflect Rings and laugh in the Espers' faces but now, I need to beat them mano-a-mano. Ifrit has a 66% chance of hitting the team with Fire on Turn 1 and a 33% chance of upgrading to Fira on the next turn. Shiva will aim a Blizzard/ara on the first turn and still has a 66% of doing that on Turn 2. Blaze and Snowstorm fly past Runic but there's enough stuff there that makes me want to set Runic up as my proper defense.

Offense wise, there isn't much. Sabin's restricted to Raging Fist against Ifrit and Rising Phoenix on Shiva. Celes is doing squat (she can't even damage Shiva), Locke's item boy and Edgar is jumping like there's no tomorrow (Shiva sports a Defense of 200 and Ifrit's is even higher at 215). Edgar's jumps are more for show and so that he doesn't get hit since Rising Phoenix is the only thing doing significant damage. So forget trying to kill Ifrit (damage him so that Var3 hits a value of 5 and he switches) and go after the ice goddess.

Once you calm the pair down, speak to Ifrit and then Shiva. Grab ONLY Shiva and leave. Yeah, fuck Ifrit and his 5x Fira and 10x Fire. It's not like you need him... Aww man... In any case, put Shiva on Edgar. She teaches Blizzard, Blizzara, Rasp, Osmose (thank you God) and Cure. That is fantastic.

Once you leave the Pit, the enemies change along with the steals. Generals have Mythril Shields for the taking while Destroyers will ALWAYS carry the Flash Tool (you want this). The nice thing about Destroyers is that when they're alone, they alternate between Attack and Reraise, which they don't have enough MP for. Sucks to be them.

Disclaimer: If you ever try to do this type of run, the Blood Sword is the MOST important steal in the game, with the exception of the Dragoon Boots. However, you have multiple chances at the Dragoon Boots and can abuse saves to do it. For the Blood Sword, you have to redo the entire IMRF to try again. And he's got a Rune Sword in the common slot. Ready to have some fun?

Locke managed to steal the Blood Sword on his first steal attempt. On my first try. Fuck. Yes. Locke. After that, it was simply a matter of killing the guy and getting away with it. Edgar uses Flash, Sabin has Aura Cannon and Locke attacks. As for Celes, summoning Ramuh comes first and afterwards, it's Runic time to counter Barrier Change. In my case, he changed himself to a Holy weakness and Sabin made him pay dearly for it.

After defeating Number 024, unequip Celes of everything. She's going to be leaving the party between now and the end of the Floating Continent, which sucks because I kinda need to build her up. Release the Espers and bask in the joy of finally having good stuff around.

Finally, good stuff! Equip Edgar with Carbuncle (I'm not crazy, he needs to learn Teleport ASAP), Unicorn goes to Locke and Sabin can get whatever he wants. I prefer Phantom for the cart ride in most cases but Maduin and Bismarck can work too.

If the last time they did this to me was a slap in the face, this one is a flat out kick in the balls with metal boots. The IMRF is not fun at all and I really want to save. Instead, I still have to face two bosses before escaping the place with the Blood Sword intact. Great.

The Magna Roaders are pushovers but this guy isn't. Most of the time, I'd have Drill and spells on Locke to help with the damage but in this case, Sabin's the only guy doing really good damage (Edgar's great for taking out the blades but Flash does meh damage on the actual guy).

Summoning Carbuncle and Bismarck can really help while Unicorn does squat-diddly-doo. After that, take out the Blades since the Right Blade likes using !Rapier for nice damage while the Left loves Shamshir. And Shamshir is Gravity. Gravity sucks. If Number 128 sticks Net on you, stop the all out attack and concentrating on keeping your party alive. You cannot risk losing the Blood Sword.

Head down the path and continue to cut corners. Setzer is so close...

The last obstacle. Both are weak to water which means that Bismarck is a GREAT summon right about now. Setzer can do nice damage with Prismatic Flash and a bit of healing with Mysidian Rabbit. One of them has a rare Noiseblaster while the other has a Debilitator, also rare. I'd go for the Noiseblaster since multi target Confuse sounds nicer to me. However, Locke's once again on Hi Potion duty so throw them if you need healing.

Once you're on the Blackjack after the Maduin scenes (too corny for decent jokes), unequip Sabin of everything. He's been fantastic up to now and it's time for him to retire. Head downstairs into the Casino to grab Terra.

Once you're there, take three steps down and WAIT. Someone will come to you and you can pick your team that way. Swap out Sabin for Terra (she's mandatory for the next few scenarios) and take the wheel. As for Espers, Setzer is going to want Osmose ASAP so he gets Shiva (having Blizzard doesn't hurt either), Terra needs Blizzard at the very least for Flame Eater (hence Bismarck) while Locke and Edgar should be continuing to learn their respective spells (Cura for Locke and Teleport for Edgar). Fly the Blackjack to Narshe and you shall finally get to save.

4949 Steps.

[Don Draper]

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Edited July 26, 2020 by Don Draper

[Life]

I haven't played this game in awhile and am somewhat uneducated on LLG/Fewest Step Challenges, but why is Setzer being used? I never found much use for him, as his stats/equips seemed rather underwhelming.

Off topic: I'm thinking Rob will definitely outlast Russell this season.

1. Setzer is actually forced in the WoR. He's part of the "Holy Trinity" group with Celes and Edgar. Sabin is NOT forced, hence his sitting on the bench.

2. There is NO way in hell that Rob is beating Russell. It's shameless to focus a season around them but I fucking love Russell to death. He is the reason why Samoa and HvV were interesting.

[Narga_Rocks]

Yeah, fewest steps challenge results in (among other things) a Celes Edgar Setzer challenge as well. That is, if you get the absolute minimum. Everyone takes steps to recruit except those 3 (since they aren't optional).

Setzer needs as much time as possible to learn magic, so you've pretty much got to use Celes, Edgar, and Setzer whenever they are available. I'd recommend only bringing those 3 to the floating continent, also.

Edited January 15, 2011 by Narga_Rocks

[Life]

Setzer needs as much time as possible to learn magic, so you've pretty much got to use Celes, Edgar, and Setzer whenever they are available. I'd recommend only bringing those 3 to the floating continent, also.

Problem is that the ribbon that Ultima Weapon holds is a required steal. Therefore, Locke needs to come.

There's other nice steals that he makes. I want at least one Hermes Sandels (for the Tentacles) and three Angel Rings (can never have too many). Alarm Earrings are also nice. The IAF also has a couple of Elixirs and a X-Ether for the stealing.

[Narga_Rocks]

You are probably right, actually. Those items are probably worth more than a level or two.

What's Angel Ring do, again? Protect against zombie?

And what's Alarm Earrings? They must have been called something else before. They prevent back/pincer attacks?

And yeah, Running Shoes are almost a must for tentacles. I hate those things.

Anyway, CES are pretty much "bring as much as possible in WoB" characters in this thing, unfortunately.

Edited January 15, 2011 by Narga_Rocks