The Most Bizarre Speedrun in All of FF?
syo is a content creator specializing in analyzing the techniques used by speedrunners in FF games. You can follow syo’s projects via YouTube, Twitch, or Patreon.
No, not Final Fantasy II (IV) on the SNES. FF II on the Famicom.
Remembered more for its unconventional (by FF standards) system for character progression than for its existence in the 8-bit era of gaming, FF II gets a special treat for fans, in the form of a feature video from FF-speedrun content-creator syo. (The system would later find a new home in the sister franchise, SaGa.)
Speaking with FFV Central about what prompted the video to be made in the first place, syo says:
I became fascinated with the NES version when I learned about the use of the poison status to skip encounters.
The whole idea is what hooked me to make the video when I first found out about the speedrun.
Tactical Toxicity
We at FFV Central certainly didn’t know why staying poisoned would make a run go quicker (before watching syo’s video, that is).
All we could imagine was the punishment of playing through an RPG with the screen continually blurring in and out (or, apparently in this case, with audio blaring).
On what else stood out when making the video, syo says:
For [the] glitchless [speedrun category], I was surprised to learn that it’s significantly faster to have Firion solo carry the game, it seems wrong but it’s just how smart people figured out how to abuse the progression system.
Here at FFV Central, we’ve also seen the surprising effectiveness of solo carries versus party-oriented approaches, and it’s interesting to see this strategy come up in FF II.
For instance, notorious in the community of JRPG achievement hunters, the All Party Combinations Subset for Final Fantasy on Retro Achievements1 was ultimately designed to require party members not only being alive but also being within a certain level range of one another.2
On what syo may have done differently in the video, syo says:
Something I wish I’d touched on a bit more too is that on the overworld, encounters are always after a set amount of steps, so its very fast to just save 1 tile before an encounter, get the encounter, and then soft reset.
This tricks the game into thinking you got the encounter and lets you continue walking freely.
Sounds only slightly harder than entering the menu to do the same in the overworld in FFV. And much easier than memorizing a step route (typically the fastest option).
Leaderboard Denied
Speaking to FF Central further, syo lamented the lack of a recognized speedrun category for FF II’s English mod, despite some of the fascinating quirks this game offers to players. Says syo:
I’d really like to see . . . [interested] reader[s] . . . try their hand at speedrunning the game. The [FF I & II speedrunning] discord is a great place to get started, and with enough interest, the goal of getting these categories made will come naturally.
What do you think? Are you a fan of FF II on the Famicom? Do you think there should be a speedrun category for FF II in English?
A Plan Forward
If you have ideas to help make the leaderboard happen, check out the speedrunning Discord mentioned above or reach out to us.
For example, for the English mod to both be eligible for a category and attract runners, the English mod would need some playtesting to confirm that all the time-saving glitches in the Japanese version remain intact in the English mod.
It’d be preferable that such runs be recorded so that they can serve as a reference for the leaderboard moderators.
Some measure of the time difference between the Japanese and English versions should also be documented.
The modding team at FFV Central can investigate porting these glitches back over from the Japanese version if needed.
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