Edit: Tracks updated in description! Also. the Japanese letters were put into google translate and that’s why they’re so wonky in the video. They’ll be handled differently in future videos for accuracy Thanks for watching!
Ah, yes. That strategy is exactly how I handle things in real life. When I'm trying to get to work and get through the work day as quickly as possible, I just walk up and down the stairs in my apartment 32 times. Then I collapse from exhaustion and wake up having completed my day in record time.
And the cool thing is that this will only take 1 min and 39 seconds just like in the speedrun! Man, who knew Sakaguchi was such a genius that he was actually making a real-life simulator back in 85?
This was a super good overview of FF1 speedrunning - as a multi-FF1 runner I really appreciated the survey! There is one note I'd say and it's that GBA doesn't just do the 15 puzzle for cash - it's for the Megaxilirs that the party needs to survive the Chaos fight, which requires hitting that many first place times in a row. That minor detail aside, I really enjoyed the video (and many of your others)! Keep up the good work!
Depends on the game and technique of RNG manip - I think that using in-battle inputs to manipulate damage is cool, but constantly resetting the game to manipulate random encounters is BS since soft or hard resetting is little better than segmenting a run and goes against the spirit of what makes a speedrun.
I do think things like credits warps are... uninteresting isn't quite the right word. Some of them are technically cool, and exploring *how* it's done is interesting... but if it's not primarily about playing the game then I don't care anymore about how *fast* you can do it. I just see it as a case of "okay cool, now that that's out of the way, can we get back to speedrunning?".
@@a2pabmb2 "Imagine being so smoothbrained as to complain that speedrunners are speedrunning too good." Nobody said that. Some people enjoy watching high-skill "intended" play and don't find the technical details or glitches entertaining. Just think of your favorite speedrun game, and then pretend there's a controller sequence that's very hard to do, but it warps you to the end credits from the title screen. Not fun to watch.
As an avid MSX gamer and collector, I just wanted to note that capturing footage from an MSX directly is actually... super easy. Almost all MSX systems have composite output standard, and some models have RGB out and sometimes even S-video out. MSX2s also aren't prohibitively expensive, though Final Fantasy very much is, with the game typically going for upwards of $400+. However, since it's a floppy disk game, it's actually pretty easy to just find a DSK file of it on the internet and just write it to a blank floppy, or use a flash rom cartridge (think Everdrive for MSX) if you really wanted to play it on actual hardware. Was cool to see it mentioned, though, and I definitely appreciate the deep dive you've taken with this video -- I just figured I'd let you know for the future, in case the MSX should come up again in your travels. ;) (Also, I wanted to take this chance to talk about the MSX, as it's an absolutely awesome system to collect for, even if it can be a bit expensive. It's so plug-and-play that it honestly might as well be a game console; as a retro computer, there are few options I can think of that are easier to get into than MSX, and the game library for it is vast, interesting, and continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year since its modern homebrew scene is still VERY active and constantly produces tons of great stuff!)
I think Lagoon is also an MSX game, if I'm not mistaken. I played the SNES version, and while the gameplay was pretty good, I absolutely LOVED the soundtrack, and it sounds so much better on the original version.
@@hannukahcelt2027 Nope! Not MSX. Lagoon is an X68000 game. That's a much beefier, much bulkier, much more expensive microcomputer. Apparently the X68000 version of it is VERY good, though!
@@Wyrdwad Yes I remember watching a short playthrough of it. I had forgotten the computer it was played on, but I remember being surprised that you were able to visit previous areas, unlike the SNES version which I myself had played. Not being able to revisit previous areas meant that if you wanted to have the best chance of beating the last boss, you would have to not use any healing items, as some of them were only available earlier in the game.
@Tom Ffrench I somehow completely missed this comment previously, and didn't recommend you anything. Sorry about that! You're asking a pretty loaded question, as I own hundreds of games for MSX at this point, and there are a ton of them I absolutely love. ;) The answer will also change depending on whether or not you can read Japanese. Safe bets do include a lot of the Konami and Compile stuff, though, like Maze of Galious, Magical Tree, Penguin Adventure, MSX Castlevania/Vampire Hunter (the superior Castlevania in my opinion, though that opinion is the minority!), Space Manbow, the Aleste games, the Golvellius games and Super Cook, etc. But then on top of that there are some outliers that I think almost anyone would enjoy, like Psycho World, Hydefos, Fire Hawk, Jackie Chan's Protector, Yuurei-kun/Mr. Ghost (though that one is expensive as hell!), Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, A Life M36 Planet, Robo Crush if you can read Japanese, Rune Worth if you can read Japanese, etc. Then there are also dozens upon dozens of indie homebrew games -- mostly from Spain and the Netherlands -- that are 100% worth tracking down and playing, like the Pumpkin Adventure trilogy, Kyokugen and Pleasure Hearts, The Sword of IANNA, Singular Stone, Ghost, Tina's Adventure Island, The Cure, Tales of Popolon, Children of the Night... the list goes on. It is, after all, an entire gaming platform with tens of thousands of offerings from all over the world, with new ones still being developed to this day, so the sky is very much the limit! I'm still constantly discovering new games I never knew existed, and greatly enjoying my time with them.
The stack explanation at the two minute mark also explains how the spell WARP works. It makes the game think you went backward on the most recent screen transition. I think they caught it in testing by locking it to the wizards since you could use it to break the Citadel of Trials and the ice cavern. It's a common thing in the randomizer.
I guess I didn't realize RNG manipulation was such a hot topic. It's used in tons of speedruns. I guess it's subjective but I figure as long as it is a human doing the inputs 100% of the time it's still legit.
For the most part, it's not a hot topic as much as it's trolls in TH-cam comments who are offended in some way have to loudly make their opinions known. Either people with somewhat unusual morality who feel that RNG is inherent to RPGs and therefore manipulating it is straying too far from what makes it an RPG speedrun to begin with, or lazy people, like me as a minor example, who would like to speedrun a game but look at the daunting prospect of trying to manipulate RNG to ensure a good run and get frustrated by it and have to ruin the fun of others. (Not that I want to ruin others' fun, but, for example, FF4 and FF6 are far and way my favorite FFs and I've thought of speedrunning them, but the idea of needing to reset for a step route and such to get a competitive time seems tedious and deflating. But I love watching others speedrun these regardless, and some speedruns being totally broken by RNG manip--like Chronotrigger--is delightful. Some of the RNG complainers are people like me who can't be bothered to try any kind of manip like that and have to let their frustration out on others)
It's absolutely legitimate, it's just one of those things some rpg speedrunners don't find enjoyable. It makes it a lot less about response to circumstances and more about memorization, and for many that's not what attracted them to the run in the first place.
@@inthefade Key word is 'biggest'. Neither FF4 or FF6 are actually very big, and most of the attention is payed to specialized glitched categories like the 64-floor glitch and the Sketch glitch. The glitchless categories don't receive a lot of attention, and even in the glitchless categories those that do run it use a step route. Chronotrigger's RNG manip is much stronger, capable of dictating almost the entire run, so it IS banned in glitchless. But the 'step routes' of FF4 and 6, by comparison, are minor things that just optimize encounters rather than dictating the game, so even if the glitchless runs were more popular it's unlikely most serious runners would consider it worthy of 'banning'
Yeah, it honestly shouldn't even be a debate. Why prioritize getting lucky and dedicating yourself to a stupid "grind" when you could utilize tricks (most of which require actual skill and knowledge to do in games!) To minimize the amount of grind and RNG and make it all about the skill of the runner as much as possible.
It is I, Yoru Ecki. I really enjoyed this video, and I think your editing is getting even better, not to mention how strangely hilarious it is that people can supposedly save the world by doing stepmaster routines in royal places on multiple occasions. I do think that if anything, the fact you cover both the MSX2 and WonderSwan Color releases is amazing. Not many do that! And now, with that in mind, Dan is canonically the strongest Final Fantasy protagonist in the franchise, seeing as he is able to save the universe even when bonked unconscious. Even I've studied his ways. Just because one is at the bottom doesn't mean you can't lift the top from under you.
The only trick you need to know about FF1 is you cross class your fighter into a fighter. Then your double fighter will be able to wield the sword-chucks!
th-cam.com/video/CTOUOeec4Qc/w-d-xo.html That's not a deep dive or anything. Just a TAS run but it talks about it a little and it's super interesting to watch.
Is "documentary about the specifics of speed running with synthwave music in the background" just a genre now? I really hope so. I like it. Maybe we could call the genre Salt-likes.
I've got the Windows Mobile version! It was, in fact, the only reason I kept my phone dual-booting instead of hacking Android onto it back in the day. Once I beat it (a few minutes at a time on the bus, so it took a while) I wiped Windows off and just ran Android exclusively.
My favorite FF1 speedrun is the earlier variant of the original Famicom, where instead of climbing stairs repeatedly to warp to credits they climb the stairs until one of the castle guards turns into Chaos, who runs away from the party's thief to secure victory for the heroes.
I grew up on the GBA version. Can confirm, monk is stupid good. Good health, crazy high attack, and you don't need to spend money on it really. I went for the same rosta as the speedrun it seems.
As someone who doesn't speedrun final fantasy and only plays casually, I find the GBA port to be the most enjoyable to play. All the spells work, all the classes work (though it is a bummer that my favorite class got nerfed) and there are bonus dungeons where you can acquire the best gear and items to max out everyone's stats...assuming you're willing to run the bonus dungeons over and over and over for the items you need.
Also my favorite till I just recently started the Pixel Remaster is the PSP version, it just looks so good, however the music on the Pixel Remaster is top tier.
"This is cheating". You seem to forget that cheating is participating in a competition and then using unfair tactics to gain an advantage. But guess what? It's only unfair if the rules don't allow it. Speedrunning is literally built on the very idea that you can make competition out of everything and that's beautiful. Yes, it may not be the kind of competition you enjoy; but guess what! There are categories for OTHER styles of play. It's not "cheating" just because you wouldn't play like that. Don't get me wrong, I would never use glitches and RNG manip because thats not how I enjoy a game. But you know whats interesting? Hearing stories about people who DON'T play games like I do. A world I'd never discover. And guess what, rules are constantly changing and people are constantly having to come together to say "this is fair and this is unfair" This even happened with the high jump with the invention of the Fosbury Flop. No one did it before then someone did and they had to decide whether to allow it. Do you now hate the high jump? Futurama has a scene where they confirm that all athletes are medically required to be on steroids. It was a great joke that played on your expectations of what we believe fairness to be. Obviously it was joking, but the message is the same. As long as everyone is on a level playing field, then it doesn't matter what the field is. And if you don't like the field, then fuck off and find another one.
@@eckitronix Oh of course, I actually love how irreverent he can be. But those comments were real and I just wanted to express my opinions on it; because it's just so strange to me. These are the kind of people that whine if a house rule is introduced during a board game. Just total melvins.
Honestly, people who whine about RNG manipulation and call it cheating are people who don't understand speedrunning, but desperately want to be speedrunners. They don't know how to pull off the insane tricks that can be pulled in their favorite games because god forbid, they don't actually know it inside and out like they think they do. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame people for not wanting to sink time into speedrunning, it's a very time-consuming thing to do. However, people who don't put time into it will never be able to do what top-level runners can do, that is a sheer fact of speedrunning. Some people just don't like that they can't be the best at a game they like because they haven't put the time to learn it inside and out, and feel entitled enough to say anything above their paygrade is cheating.
@@odditykid7898 I actually don't agree at all. I don't think jealously plays any part of it at all. In fact, ironically most people don't know how hard the tricks are and most assume they are very easy to perform. It comes down more to a persons principles. Most people play games as they were intended because thats the experience presented to them. They (and myself) love the wonderful relationship of developer and player; immersing themselves in the world and systems they created. But unlike them, I understand that others love breaking those systems and playing completely in a way that was unintended. I love hearing that perspective because I try to remain open minded. It's the same as watching console hacking videos. I love seeing the ingenuity of people even if I don't pursue it myself. Problem is, most people see this as an insult to the game developers. Imagine it like a lego set. 99% of people will turn it into the millennium falcon. Whilst 1% will turn it into the Starship Enterprise. They will call foul and say "but this is a starwars set!" I don't blame them for not understanding how other people think, I just hate that they try to call it out and invalidate it.
@@novelezra Personally I think that scrubs who have no idea what goes into Any% speedrunning should not be allowed to hold an opinion on Any% speedrunning. Like, what are the morons who come to the comments sections of videos like this to complain even doing here? Wasting 15 minutes of their lives so they can whine about something that isn't even meant for them?
your videos are the most interesting, unique, and nerdy videos and I love them. I've never actually been able to speedrun games because of lack of time, but I have always found them very satisfying and interesting and would love to try them some day. JRPGs have also always been my favorite genre of game, ever since I first played FF1 years ago.
The funny part is that the equipment glitch actually exists on the GBA...but only as a visual glitch. So instead of fixing it, they made it infinitely crazier by actually making it have a gameplay-effect. Nice.
15:15 "and the Warrior using haste on the Monk." Is this an error? Haste is a Black Magic Spell, and Warriors can only learn White Magic. Ninjas learn Black Magic.
The newest FF mentioned isn't a remake of the original, it's more of a retcon filler on how the timeloop that caused the events to happen in the first place.
This is a super underrated channel right now. You're funnier than most speedrun docs and rapidly developed a personal editing style and a cool niche. Hoping the bump from r/speedrun brings you more people.
I LOVE rng manipulations in retro FF games, the way the games break (most famously ff4) plus the incredible knowledge and skill required to pull it all off is incredible
I have so much fun beating a game faster. It's why I play lots of game twice Like how I beat Dragonquest 8 with so much overlevlling and equipment I want to play again to see how fast I can do it
Go watch some goldeneye speedruns of them staring at the ground and tell me its fun. Most speedrunners seem to just have ocd and rarely even look like theyre having fun on their streams
@@serv-on The fun of it may or may not be the actual gameplay, you know. For a lot speedrunners, it's the little optimizations and tweaks, and the thrill of chasing that dopamine hit when that 0:49 finally pops up on their screen at the end of Dam. You can sit here and say how much you hate paint drying and how boring it is, but there will be people who will tell ypu they have the most amazing time staring at it and watching the latex solidify. You can't truly tell someone else how to have fun because you aren't them.
The quality has stepped up a notch in this video. Audio balance is improved, more graphic uses, a few well-timed jokes - all put this a step above your previous work. Great job! One piece of feedback; the words that jumped from one side of the screen to the other were impossible to read due to the movement. Yes, I can pause, but it would be much nicer to read what you were trying to say while watching. That’s my only gripe with it. Everything as a whole was much better!
“Why are you guys pushing the game to its limit? Just stop optimizing, you’re taking all the fun out of the game.” -People who missed the point of speed running and what makes it fun.
@@danteshydratshirt2360 and no one is forcing you to partake in it, or to even watch it. Therefore, you're the one taking the fun out of other people's enjoyment if you come just to complain
I was kinda hoping the Equipment Glitch was used in the PSP... since I pretty much wrote the GameFAQs guide for it. I was not the one that found the glitch, but I took the time to go through the whole game and find every time to see what they would transform into. Fun times!
I have only ever played the GBA version of FF 1 & 2, beat both back while in high school. Still have my copy laying around somewhere, maybe I will plug it in and try to beat them again.
For those who hate RNG manips...why are you more interested in watching a speedrun competition based in luck than skill? Genuinely curious, cause normally we all want to remove random elements from competition.
Because if RNG is the only thing left for you to improve your times you've already won IMO. I think these things are cool because they're a technological challenge, just like TAS are their own special kind of challenge. But I enjoy having to cope with whatever the game throws at me each run and putting up consistent times, then watching those times improve as I become more knowledgeable and adept. Removing that makes the game less of a decision skill check, and I don't like that. Can I afford to do X or can't I risk it this run, my HPs are too low what if I grab NulIce before Lich, when I get better at combat in Zelda I can do 3 first instead of 2, etc. When I'm at the point that RNG is the only thing that can improve my times I'm already very, very good at the game and it's time to move on to a new title. This is why @fcoughlin's Z1 randomizer is literally the top NES game all time IMO.
@@misterschifano Would you grind for a record if you knew already that the only thing that would dictate whether you beat the guy or not was a luck factor neither could control?
@@Nocturne989 No, for two reasons. For one, because my opponent is always past me, not the other guy. Like Lack does. And for two, the only thing I show by doing that is that I had the patience and time to do it and maybe he didn’t. That’s actually one of the reasons I compete with myself; current me is a busy guy, and pats me was too, so it’s “fairer” that way.
I'm confused. At around 3:11 you say the name should be ちごにむ (chigo ni mu) but what's being entered in the game footage is ちごあゆ (chigo ayu). Is there something that accounts for this discrepancy?
Oh man. The hilarity that ive had on my old hacked red psp 3k when i learned how to do the equipment glitch. I never have to peninsula when i did that and i kinda otk lich with a level 5 warrior unbuffed cuz i gave him some of the most broken equipment meant for a knight
I just completed Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster in 8 hours and 33 minutes, using a team of Warrior/Knight, Thief/Ninja, White mage/White wizard and a Black mage/Black wizard, for a normal playthrough I would say that, that's pretty fast. (For me it's the fastest I've ever beaten the game, before that though my fastest was 11 hours and 33 minutes, so I set a personal record and I'm proud of it, I even beat it this time at level 42)
As an avid gamer myself, I never play games like these but I have fun watching others break the games. And in the end it's just a matter of perspective and respecting other's fun, like, a meta player can boast about knowing best builds and grinding to high levels, that is another way of manipulating the mechanics on your advantage and in games like final fantasy, grinding makes the games super easy, so really, why judge the way others play a game? Just sit back and have fun, stop the hate.
Rng manipulation can make people upset and it is understandable given the purity aspect of the game but I think a solution that often gets used and is effective is to make multiple categories usually any% and no major glitches
Those who complain don't care, they still yell that you're a no good cheating basement dweller even though you did nothing wrong nor did you directly do anything to ruin their enjoyment of the game.
I will never understand people who choose to watch speedrun videos but hate glitches and manipulation stuff. That's like watching cooking channels but being like "I hate mixing food".
You can speedrun without glitches and manips. You don't have to enjoy all the speedrun categories. A better version of your analogy is like saying "how can you claim to like baking if you don't like oatmeal raisen cookies...?" Absolutely ridiculous.
Of all the things here to catch me off guard, it was the fact that the MP system was only introduced in the GBA version (I've only ever played the PSP version). Well that, and the fact that there's that Action RPG remake demo thing Also, can I just talk about how good the WonderSwan games look? Unironically I think the WSC version looks better than the GBA version, graphically
Personally i have fond memories of the gba version since it was one of the games i bought myself and was around the time when i ended up binging FF1-5 back to back. I cant really say i like the art style that was adopted for the psp version, its like 32bit smooth graphics that looks like it was directly taken out of a cheap mobile game using pre-made assets. That said i am on board with the current pixel remasters, they are updated enough to look like they are in line with current day popular indie titles, but still has that nice pixel look with more frames of animation so its becoming my favourite to play casually.
People who think number crunching and RNG manipulation takes the fun out of RPGs don't get that for many people that IS major part of the fun. Back in school I had periodic urge to fire up Final Fantasy Tactics and make plans for party with perfect leveling classes, zodiac signs etc., and it's also the reason I never finished either of the Icewind Dale games. Kept re-rolling parties.
@@JoelHernandez-tz3vk It's probably in there, but Super Paper Mario is the only one I've actually beaten (and Sticker Star but it's definitely not from there) also am I the only one that thinks Sticker Star is actually really good?
Guys, I know this might not be the place but I assume a lot of FF fans are gathered here: How do you input suplex on SNES (FFVI) ? I know it's X Y Dw Up, but whenever I press Y the blitz cancels.
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | Survival Stage วันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVFT-PFwU80/mqdefault.jpg)
Edit: Tracks updated in description!
Also. the Japanese letters were put into google translate and that’s why they’re so wonky in the video. They’ll be handled differently in future videos for accuracy
Thanks for watching!
20:15 "The Chaos fight is highly unpredictable". You might even say it is chaotic!
Ah, yes. That strategy is exactly how I handle things in real life. When I'm trying to get to work and get through the work day as quickly as possible, I just walk up and down the stairs in my apartment 32 times. Then I collapse from exhaustion and wake up having completed my day in record time.
A goal all should aspire to.
The real tip, as always, is found in the comments
actually that was super easy, barely an inconvenience!
And the cool thing is that this will only take 1 min and 39 seconds just like in the speedrun! Man, who knew Sakaguchi was such a genius that he was actually making a real-life simulator back in 85?
@@vegamineral207And on the Famicom no less!
This was a super good overview of FF1 speedrunning - as a multi-FF1 runner I really appreciated the survey!
There is one note I'd say and it's that GBA doesn't just do the 15 puzzle for cash - it's for the Megaxilirs that the party needs to survive the Chaos fight, which requires hitting that many first place times in a row.
That minor detail aside, I really enjoyed the video (and many of your others)! Keep up the good work!
Imagine thinking that bending the games randomness to your will with perfectly executed inputs isn't super dope
Depends on the game and technique of RNG manip - I think that using in-battle inputs to manipulate damage is cool, but constantly resetting the game to manipulate random encounters is BS since soft or hard resetting is little better than segmenting a run and goes against the spirit of what makes a speedrun.
@@TheBlackSeraph That's what 'no-reset' categories are for. Imagine being so smoothbrained as to complain that speedrunners are speedrunning too good.
Yeah, there are categories for everything imaginable. If you don't like a certain category, don't shit on others for it.
I do think things like credits warps are... uninteresting isn't quite the right word. Some of them are technically cool, and exploring *how* it's done is interesting... but if it's not primarily about playing the game then I don't care anymore about how *fast* you can do it. I just see it as a case of "okay cool, now that that's out of the way, can we get back to speedrunning?".
@@a2pabmb2 "Imagine being so smoothbrained as to complain that speedrunners are speedrunning too good."
Nobody said that. Some people enjoy watching high-skill "intended" play and don't find the technical details or glitches entertaining. Just think of your favorite speedrun game, and then pretend there's a controller sequence that's very hard to do, but it warps you to the end credits from the title screen. Not fun to watch.
As an avid MSX gamer and collector, I just wanted to note that capturing footage from an MSX directly is actually... super easy. Almost all MSX systems have composite output standard, and some models have RGB out and sometimes even S-video out. MSX2s also aren't prohibitively expensive, though Final Fantasy very much is, with the game typically going for upwards of $400+. However, since it's a floppy disk game, it's actually pretty easy to just find a DSK file of it on the internet and just write it to a blank floppy, or use a flash rom cartridge (think Everdrive for MSX) if you really wanted to play it on actual hardware.
Was cool to see it mentioned, though, and I definitely appreciate the deep dive you've taken with this video -- I just figured I'd let you know for the future, in case the MSX should come up again in your travels. ;)
(Also, I wanted to take this chance to talk about the MSX, as it's an absolutely awesome system to collect for, even if it can be a bit expensive. It's so plug-and-play that it honestly might as well be a game console; as a retro computer, there are few options I can think of that are easier to get into than MSX, and the game library for it is vast, interesting, and continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year since its modern homebrew scene is still VERY active and constantly produces tons of great stuff!)
I think Lagoon is also an MSX game, if I'm not mistaken. I played the SNES version, and while the gameplay was pretty good, I absolutely LOVED the soundtrack, and it sounds so much better on the original version.
@@hannukahcelt2027 Nope! Not MSX. Lagoon is an X68000 game. That's a much beefier, much bulkier, much more expensive microcomputer. Apparently the X68000 version of it is VERY good, though!
@@Wyrdwad Yes I remember watching a short playthrough of it. I had forgotten the computer it was played on, but I remember being surprised that you were able to visit previous areas, unlike the SNES version which I myself had played. Not being able to revisit previous areas meant that if you wanted to have the best chance of beating the last boss, you would have to not use any healing items, as some of them were only available earlier in the game.
I am a big La-Mulana fan and it is clear based on your description why they would use MSX for software/games like they did.
@Tom Ffrench I somehow completely missed this comment previously, and didn't recommend you anything. Sorry about that!
You're asking a pretty loaded question, as I own hundreds of games for MSX at this point, and there are a ton of them I absolutely love. ;) The answer will also change depending on whether or not you can read Japanese. Safe bets do include a lot of the Konami and Compile stuff, though, like Maze of Galious, Magical Tree, Penguin Adventure, MSX Castlevania/Vampire Hunter (the superior Castlevania in my opinion, though that opinion is the minority!), Space Manbow, the Aleste games, the Golvellius games and Super Cook, etc. But then on top of that there are some outliers that I think almost anyone would enjoy, like Psycho World, Hydefos, Fire Hawk, Jackie Chan's Protector, Yuurei-kun/Mr. Ghost (though that one is expensive as hell!), Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress, A Life M36 Planet, Robo Crush if you can read Japanese, Rune Worth if you can read Japanese, etc. Then there are also dozens upon dozens of indie homebrew games -- mostly from Spain and the Netherlands -- that are 100% worth tracking down and playing, like the Pumpkin Adventure trilogy, Kyokugen and Pleasure Hearts, The Sword of IANNA, Singular Stone, Ghost, Tina's Adventure Island, The Cure, Tales of Popolon, Children of the Night... the list goes on.
It is, after all, an entire gaming platform with tens of thousands of offerings from all over the world, with new ones still being developed to this day, so the sky is very much the limit! I'm still constantly discovering new games I never knew existed, and greatly enjoying my time with them.
Gyre’s FF1 runs at charity events are some of the most chill, easy listening runs out there.
The stack explanation at the two minute mark also explains how the spell WARP works. It makes the game think you went backward on the most recent screen transition. I think they caught it in testing by locking it to the wizards since you could use it to break the Citadel of Trials and the ice cavern. It's a common thing in the randomizer.
I guess I didn't realize RNG manipulation was such a hot topic. It's used in tons of speedruns. I guess it's subjective but I figure as long as it is a human doing the inputs 100% of the time it's still legit.
For the most part, it's not a hot topic as much as it's trolls in TH-cam comments who are offended in some way have to loudly make their opinions known. Either people with somewhat unusual morality who feel that RNG is inherent to RPGs and therefore manipulating it is straying too far from what makes it an RPG speedrun to begin with, or lazy people, like me as a minor example, who would like to speedrun a game but look at the daunting prospect of trying to manipulate RNG to ensure a good run and get frustrated by it and have to ruin the fun of others.
(Not that I want to ruin others' fun, but, for example, FF4 and FF6 are far and way my favorite FFs and I've thought of speedrunning them, but the idea of needing to reset for a step route and such to get a competitive time seems tedious and deflating. But I love watching others speedrun these regardless, and some speedruns being totally broken by RNG manip--like Chronotrigger--is delightful. Some of the RNG complainers are people like me who can't be bothered to try any kind of manip like that and have to let their frustration out on others)
It's absolutely legitimate, it's just one of those things some rpg speedrunners don't find enjoyable. It makes it a lot less about response to circumstances and more about memorization, and for many that's not what attracted them to the run in the first place.
Aren't there are no RNG manipulation categories for all those games you mentioned? Most of the biggest RPGs have it.
@@inthefade Key word is 'biggest'. Neither FF4 or FF6 are actually very big, and most of the attention is payed to specialized glitched categories like the 64-floor glitch and the Sketch glitch. The glitchless categories don't receive a lot of attention, and even in the glitchless categories those that do run it use a step route.
Chronotrigger's RNG manip is much stronger, capable of dictating almost the entire run, so it IS banned in glitchless. But the 'step routes' of FF4 and 6, by comparison, are minor things that just optimize encounters rather than dictating the game, so even if the glitchless runs were more popular it's unlikely most serious runners would consider it worthy of 'banning'
Yeah, it honestly shouldn't even be a debate. Why prioritize getting lucky and dedicating yourself to a stupid "grind" when you could utilize tricks (most of which require actual skill and knowledge to do in games!) To minimize the amount of grind and RNG and make it all about the skill of the runner as much as possible.
Still laughing at "Oops All Fighters!" XD Great videos, the speedrun commentary is fantastic.
It is I, Yoru Ecki. I really enjoyed this video, and I think your editing is getting even better, not to mention how strangely hilarious it is that people can supposedly save the world by doing stepmaster routines in royal places on multiple occasions. I do think that if anything, the fact you cover both the MSX2 and WonderSwan Color releases is amazing. Not many do that!
And now, with that in mind, Dan is canonically the strongest Final Fantasy protagonist in the franchise, seeing as he is able to save the universe even when bonked unconscious. Even I've studied his ways. Just because one is at the bottom doesn't mean you can't lift the top from under you.
The only trick you need to know about FF1 is you cross class your fighter into a fighter. Then your double fighter will be able to wield the sword-chucks!
A deep dive into FF1 step routing and rng manipulation for NES would be interesting. Great video btw.
th-cam.com/video/CTOUOeec4Qc/w-d-xo.html
That's not a deep dive or anything. Just a TAS run but it talks about it a little and it's super interesting to watch.
Is "documentary about the specifics of speed running with synthwave music in the background" just a genre now? I really hope so. I like it. Maybe we could call the genre Salt-likes.
I love how there are so many different versions and they all have their own huge bugs.
I've got the Windows Mobile version! It was, in fact, the only reason I kept my phone dual-booting instead of hacking Android onto it back in the day. Once I beat it (a few minutes at a time on the bus, so it took a while) I wiped Windows off and just ran Android exclusively.
I love how about 20 minutes in you used Lufia 2 music. I didn't expect that, and it was really nostalgic, even though it was only for like one minute.
Yep, I'm a big fan of the game and OST!
My favorite FF1 speedrun is the earlier variant of the original Famicom, where instead of climbing stairs repeatedly to warp to credits they climb the stairs until one of the castle guards turns into Chaos, who runs away from the party's thief to secure victory for the heroes.
I grew up on the GBA version. Can confirm, monk is stupid good. Good health, crazy high attack, and you don't need to spend money on it really. I went for the same rosta as the speedrun it seems.
No kidding. In Dawn of Souls, a Monk who is hasted and tempered can beat most bosses in less than 4 rounds, including Chaos.
As someone who doesn't speedrun final fantasy and only plays casually, I find the GBA port to be the most enjoyable to play. All the spells work, all the classes work (though it is a bummer that my favorite class got nerfed) and there are bonus dungeons where you can acquire the best gear and items to max out everyone's stats...assuming you're willing to run the bonus dungeons over and over and over for the items you need.
Yo, this was a legit video, not only the information presented but the editing is on point, great job man, straight up crushed it!
Also my favorite till I just recently started the Pixel Remaster is the PSP version, it just looks so good, however the music on the Pixel Remaster is top tier.
"This is cheating".
You seem to forget that cheating is participating in a competition and then using unfair tactics to gain an advantage.
But guess what? It's only unfair if the rules don't allow it. Speedrunning is literally built on the very idea that you can make competition out of everything and that's beautiful.
Yes, it may not be the kind of competition you enjoy; but guess what! There are categories for OTHER styles of play. It's not "cheating" just because you wouldn't play like that.
Don't get me wrong, I would never use glitches and RNG manip because thats not how I enjoy a game. But you know whats interesting? Hearing stories about people who DON'T play games like I do. A world I'd never discover.
And guess what, rules are constantly changing and people are constantly having to come together to say "this is fair and this is unfair"
This even happened with the high jump with the invention of the Fosbury Flop. No one did it before then someone did and they had to decide whether to allow it. Do you now hate the high jump?
Futurama has a scene where they confirm that all athletes are medically required to be on steroids. It was a great joke that played on your expectations of what we believe fairness to be. Obviously it was joking, but the message is the same.
As long as everyone is on a level playing field, then it doesn't matter what the field is. And if you don't like the field, then fuck off and find another one.
I think it was intended to be facetious...
@@eckitronix Oh of course, I actually love how irreverent he can be. But those comments were real and I just wanted to express my opinions on it; because it's just so strange to me. These are the kind of people that whine if a house rule is introduced during a board game. Just total melvins.
Honestly, people who whine about RNG manipulation and call it cheating are people who don't understand speedrunning, but desperately want to be speedrunners. They don't know how to pull off the insane tricks that can be pulled in their favorite games because god forbid, they don't actually know it inside and out like they think they do. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame people for not wanting to sink time into speedrunning, it's a very time-consuming thing to do. However, people who don't put time into it will never be able to do what top-level runners can do, that is a sheer fact of speedrunning. Some people just don't like that they can't be the best at a game they like because they haven't put the time to learn it inside and out, and feel entitled enough to say anything above their paygrade is cheating.
@@odditykid7898 I actually don't agree at all. I don't think jealously plays any part of it at all. In fact, ironically most people don't know how hard the tricks are and most assume they are very easy to perform.
It comes down more to a persons principles. Most people play games as they were intended because thats the experience presented to them. They (and myself) love the wonderful relationship of developer and player; immersing themselves in the world and systems they created.
But unlike them, I understand that others love breaking those systems and playing completely in a way that was unintended. I love hearing that perspective because I try to remain open minded. It's the same as watching console hacking videos. I love seeing the ingenuity of people even if I don't pursue it myself.
Problem is, most people see this as an insult to the game developers.
Imagine it like a lego set. 99% of people will turn it into the millennium falcon. Whilst 1% will turn it into the Starship Enterprise. They will call foul and say "but this is a starwars set!"
I don't blame them for not understanding how other people think, I just hate that they try to call it out and invalidate it.
@@novelezra Personally I think that scrubs who have no idea what goes into Any% speedrunning should not be allowed to hold an opinion on Any% speedrunning. Like, what are the morons who come to the comments sections of videos like this to complain even doing here? Wasting 15 minutes of their lives so they can whine about something that isn't even meant for them?
your videos are the most interesting, unique, and nerdy videos and I love them. I've never actually been able to speedrun games because of lack of time, but I have always found them very satisfying and interesting and would love to try them some day. JRPGs have also always been my favorite genre of game, ever since I first played FF1 years ago.
21:15 music from the SNES version of Dungeon Master? Now THAT was unexpected! I thought I was the only one in the world to remember that game.
I literally came to the comments just to see if anyone else recognized it lol. I played through it a few years ago and it still holds up!
The funny part is that the equipment glitch actually exists on the GBA...but only as a visual glitch. So instead of fixing it, they made it infinitely crazier by actually making it have a gameplay-effect. Nice.
you say 'RNG manip' i hear 'consistency control' i love me consistency in my speedran video games.
15:15 "and the Warrior using haste on the Monk." Is this an error? Haste is a Black Magic Spell, and Warriors can only learn White Magic. Ninjas learn Black Magic.
The newest FF mentioned isn't a remake of the original, it's more of a retcon filler on how the timeloop that caused the events to happen in the first place.
This is a super underrated channel right now. You're funnier than most speedrun docs and rapidly developed a personal editing style and a cool niche. Hoping the bump from r/speedrun brings you more people.
I LOVE rng manipulations in retro FF games, the way the games break (most famously ff4) plus the incredible knowledge and skill required to pull it all off is incredible
Easily your best produced video, yet. Keep it up, doc!
-noodle
I've never understood the ones who think speedrunning "takes the fun out of the game". Whk are you to judge what someone else finds fun?
I have so much fun beating a game faster.
It's why I play lots of game twice
Like how I beat Dragonquest 8 with so much overlevlling and equipment I want to play again to see how fast I can do it
"you're having fun wrong!"
Go watch some goldeneye speedruns of them staring at the ground and tell me its fun. Most speedrunners seem to just have ocd and rarely even look like theyre having fun on their streams
@@serv-on The fun of it may or may not be the actual gameplay, you know. For a lot speedrunners, it's the little optimizations and tweaks, and the thrill of chasing that dopamine hit when that 0:49 finally pops up on their screen at the end of Dam.
You can sit here and say how much you hate paint drying and how boring it is, but there will be people who will tell ypu they have the most amazing time staring at it and watching the latex solidify. You can't truly tell someone else how to have fun because you aren't them.
I was literally taking a sip as you said stay hydrated
That was freaky, stop spying on me
I remember my grandmother once telling me that "When you'll grow older, you'll come to fear stairs". She was indeed correct!
This comment is sorely underappreciated.
The quality has stepped up a notch in this video. Audio balance is improved, more graphic uses, a few well-timed jokes - all put this a step above your previous work. Great job! One piece of feedback; the words that jumped from one side of the screen to the other were impossible to read due to the movement. Yes, I can pause, but it would be much nicer to read what you were trying to say while watching. That’s my only gripe with it. Everything as a whole was much better!
i have just been binging your entire catalogue. amazing stuff dude.
15:50 I misheard this as "moist chihuaua"
Sounds better tbh
I love the "Legend of Dragoon" music in the background
I’m just learning the PR speed run and I love it. Thanks for the video
19:00 The port to the 3Ds actually has 3D elements in it, such as houses actually being 3D models, so yeah, there is a big difference in the ports.
At 3:12 they are naming their character ちごあゆ (chi go a yu), but you say they're naming them "chi go ni mu". Am I missing something?
The "charge" system of magic is called Vancian.
Love the Legend of Dragoon backroom music.. and thanks for the informative video. 👍
Love the Legend of Dragoon background muaic.
I hope the speedgame for Final Fantasy Origin turns out to be good after release. I’d love to see analysis on this channel if that’s the case.
Something to note about FF1 on Android: it does NOT have the extra content on iOS and Windows Phone.
“Why are you guys pushing the game to its limit? Just stop optimizing, you’re taking all the fun out of the game.” -People who missed the point of speed running and what makes it fun.
different strokes for different folks - speedrunning does often spoil the whole point of a game though
@@danteshydratshirt2360 and no one is forcing you to partake in it, or to even watch it. Therefore, you're the one taking the fun out of other people's enjoyment if you come just to complain
some people see wavedashing in melee as cheating. complaints about what's "taking the fun out of the game" should never be taken seriously
Yooooo never expected to hear LOD music in the background. Nice.
I remember hacking the save files of the FF1 ROM emulator for PC, a long time ago. I gave all my guys Masamune swords at level 1. Good times.
my favorite was the one where the KILL CHAOS
I was kinda hoping the Equipment Glitch was used in the PSP... since I pretty much wrote the GameFAQs guide for it. I was not the one that found the glitch, but I took the time to go through the whole game and find every time to see what they would transform into. Fun times!
Thank you for your contributions!
I have only ever played the GBA version of FF 1 & 2, beat both back while in high school. Still have my copy laying around somewhere, maybe I will plug it in and try to beat them again.
I saw the video several times now (because), and I still expect the "Gaming wonder for its time" to be the wonderswan.
real talk, all of these are gaming wonders for their time
@@DoctorSwellman I Knowww, but only one of them has Wonder in its name 😰
Certain type of people *always* get upset when someone achieves what they can't, they are a hater. RNG manip is like magic!
Another banger from the doc. Prescription has arrived
Excellent analysis video! Thanks for uploading!
Now I'm about listen to The Legend of Dragoon ost because of the background music 😂
Looking at Fred playing and knowing that he will bomb a bunch of chests with Rick in Zelda right after this. This is a true proud mama moment.
Eyyyy legend of dragoon background music. Love it!
Maybe everyone should drink water at the beginning of the episode today? Mix things up a bit
For those who hate RNG manips...why are you more interested in watching a speedrun competition based in luck than skill? Genuinely curious, cause normally we all want to remove random elements from competition.
Because if RNG is the only thing left for you to improve your times you've already won IMO. I think these things are cool because they're a technological challenge, just like TAS are their own special kind of challenge. But I enjoy having to cope with whatever the game throws at me each run and putting up consistent times, then watching those times improve as I become more knowledgeable and adept. Removing that makes the game less of a decision skill check, and I don't like that. Can I afford to do X or can't I risk it this run, my HPs are too low what if I grab NulIce before Lich, when I get better at combat in Zelda I can do 3 first instead of 2, etc. When I'm at the point that RNG is the only thing that can improve my times I'm already very, very good at the game and it's time to move on to a new title. This is why @fcoughlin's Z1 randomizer is literally the top NES game all time IMO.
@@misterschifano Would you grind for a record if you knew already that the only thing that would dictate whether you beat the guy or not was a luck factor neither could control?
@@Nocturne989 No, for two reasons. For one, because my opponent is always past me, not the other guy. Like Lack does. And for two, the only thing I show by doing that is that I had the patience and time to do it and maybe he didn’t. That’s actually one of the reasons I compete with myself; current me is a busy guy, and pats me was too, so it’s “fairer” that way.
@@misterschifano Thanks for answering. Was genuinely curious to hear different people's perspectives on this.
Kudos for LoD ost! Love that background music :)
before ~ 1:10 or so in the video I'd say the title was hurting my brain
but I get it now
I went the opposite route and made all my guys level 50. Took out Chaos with one turn from my Black Belt Master.
Never been anything wrong with over-leveling a tad.
@@sarcasticguy4311 Nope. I did it for fun when I DL'ed it for my Wii. I didn't know how high they could go and never did it when I played on the NES.
I'm confused. At around 3:11 you say the name should be ちごにむ (chigo ni mu) but what's being entered in the game footage is ちごあゆ (chigo ayu). Is there something that accounts for this discrepancy?
Man speedrunning is crazy to me. I was playing through the NES version and it's a very long game!
Oh man. The hilarity that ive had on my old hacked red psp 3k when i learned how to do the equipment glitch. I never have to peninsula when i did that and i kinda otk lich with a level 5 warrior unbuffed cuz i gave him some of the most broken equipment meant for a knight
Loved Nioh and Nioh 2, can't wait for the Nioh-like FF to come out
"Bullshit." -Jack Garland watching people kill Chaos with stairs, probably.
I just completed Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster in 8 hours and 33 minutes, using a team of Warrior/Knight, Thief/Ninja, White mage/White wizard and a Black mage/Black wizard, for a normal playthrough I would say that, that's pretty fast. (For me it's the fastest I've ever beaten the game, before that though my fastest was 11 hours and 33 minutes, so I set a personal record and I'm proud of it, I even beat it this time at level 42)
Why is it that THE MOMENT I GO TO PLAY FF1 for the first time in years this is uploaded😂
Maybe your choice was only pseudorandom. 🤭
As an avid gamer myself, I never play games like these but I have fun watching others break the games.
And in the end it's just a matter of perspective and respecting other's fun, like, a meta player can boast about knowing best builds and grinding to high levels, that is another way of manipulating the mechanics on your advantage and in games like final fantasy, grinding makes the games super easy, so really, why judge the way others play a game? Just sit back and have fun, stop the hate.
ngl the videos are getting better and better, keep up the great work doc!
L-O-D music was incredible
14:00 holy shit Panzer Dragoon Saga music?!
I like your editing and music choices.
Rng manipulation can make people upset and it is understandable given the purity aspect of the game but I think a solution that often gets used and is effective is to make multiple categories usually any% and no major glitches
Those who complain don't care, they still yell that you're a no good cheating basement dweller even though you did nothing wrong nor did you directly do anything to ruin their enjoyment of the game.
I've never seen the WSC version. It still looks made for a CRT screen and a very warm color palette.
My Black belt was strong in the NES version. Even the only survivor of Chaos till the end.
I will never understand people who choose to watch speedrun videos but hate glitches and manipulation stuff. That's like watching cooking channels but being like "I hate mixing food".
This is the worst take i’ve ever heard in a comments section
You can speedrun without glitches and manips. You don't have to enjoy all the speedrun categories. A better version of your analogy is like saying "how can you claim to like baking if you don't like oatmeal raisen cookies...?"
Absolutely ridiculous.
I did not know that my playstation Final Fantasy was so different from the NES version.
Of all the things here to catch me off guard, it was the fact that the MP system was only introduced in the GBA version (I've only ever played the PSP version). Well that, and the fact that there's that Action RPG remake demo thing
Also, can I just talk about how good the WonderSwan games look? Unironically I think the WSC version looks better than the GBA version, graphically
Love Final Fantasy! Thanks for the great content 😁
i know nothing about final fantasy but i heard the song you used in the intro and it slaps
Wow, Legend of Dragoon - Hoax playing after Final Fantasy X - Omega ruins...whoever chose the music for this, I salute thee
I choose the music myself!
FF1 still remains one of my favorites
0:26 Strong feelings for someone who supposedly doesn't dwell a basement
I love the slide puzzle in FFI
Personally i have fond memories of the gba version since it was one of the games i bought myself and was around the time when i ended up binging FF1-5 back to back. I cant really say i like the art style that was adopted for the psp version, its like 32bit smooth graphics that looks like it was directly taken out of a cheap mobile game using pre-made assets. That said i am on board with the current pixel remasters, they are updated enough to look like they are in line with current day popular indie titles, but still has that nice pixel look with more frames of animation so its becoming my favourite to play casually.
Great video!
People who think number crunching and RNG manipulation takes the fun out of RPGs don't get that for many people that IS major part of the fun. Back in school I had periodic urge to fire up Final Fantasy Tactics and make plans for party with perfect leveling classes, zodiac signs etc., and it's also the reason I never finished either of the Icewind Dale games. Kept re-rolling parties.
All games are like this not just RPGs....... I do it in Civilization......
21:18 He didn't lie to me. I'm special.
5:08 that sound effect is straight off of Super Paper Mario
Pretty sure I heard it in the first Paper Mario... Or am I crazy?
@@JoelHernandez-tz3vk It's probably in there, but Super Paper Mario is the only one I've actually beaten (and Sticker Star but it's definitely not from there)
also am I the only one that thinks Sticker Star is actually really good?
Fred. Totally not surprised. 🤣
Guys, I know this might not be the place but I assume a lot of FF fans are gathered here: How do you input suplex on SNES (FFVI) ? I know it's X Y Dw Up, but whenever I press Y the blitz cancels.
Great video as usual!! This reminds me that I want to learn FF1 PSP >.>
I think GBA Dawn of Souls is the ultimate version of FFI, but I still run the NES version for nostalgia's sake
I agree. Dawn of Souls is the definitive version IMO
@@straightupanarg6226 True, while the GBA audio is kinda meh, it was still better than the strangely off-tune Wonderswan version
PSP version for me, still has extras for DoS I believe just not using MP gauge, as old FF disnt have one
"they all suck"....jk another slapper from the Doc love it always a good time with RNG manip!
2:29 IM LITERALLY EATING PANCAKES RN LMAO
Origins is not FF1 and I will die on this hill.
Why do people want to die on hills so badly?