Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Hey, haven't posted for a while but I’m back, and in need of friendly help and advice.

Basically myself and a group of friends are having a final fantasy VII marathon with a prize for the victor. The rules are simple

- All competitors meet at the race venue
- All are given one screen, one playstation and a copy of FFVII
- NO MEMORY CARD
- You die you're out
- If you die within the first five hours you may start again
- First to kill Sephiroth in the crater WINS!

Although we can't have help during the race, I was wondering if any of you could give me any useful suggestions. Or if anyone has done this (or similar) before?

.......


--------------------

oooooooOOO you guys'll like this http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?...46477&items=250

Sure. Get Aqualung ASAP (IE the desert near Correl) and then Magic Breath later on. You'll clear the game in no time. E-Skills can set a high advantage in FFVII.

--------------------

The Arcana are the means by which ALL is revealed.

i definately second that. aqualung is(for me at least) quite possibly the single most helpful magic spell on the game. never leave home without it.

--------------------

moé in the streets, senpai in the sheets

Ignore everything uneccesary or vital. I know the Ultima Mocks you, but kill his flying ass later, unless you have enough time because you're so far ahead. Also- Skip Yuffie and Vincent as well as the safe in the shinra mansion. Whenever you get a little advantage try to elongate it so you can have some time to level up witout being caught.

--------------------

If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I third the Enemy Skill notion. Definitely also go for Beta, White Wind and Big Guard. It's best to have E-Skill equipped on Cloud because you (almost) always have him.

I'd say, pick three non-Cloud characters to level up and ignore the rest (you can't get by with just two because you later temporarily lose just about every character including Cloud if you think about it). I'd guess Tifa Barret and Cid.

HP Plus and the other Plus Materias (as always) will be a band-aid for low levels. 2x and 3x Materia growth might be advisable.

Remember: Hyper = performing more Limit Breaks = learning more Limit Breaks.

Buy mucho Ether so you don't get caught with low MP,

.... and of course skip the dialogue.

--------------------

Get me off this Disciplinary Committee so I can play any FF except for FF8!!!

Wow, marathon is definitely the word for that. I don't think I could pull one of those without getting either tired, hungry, or bored. I mean, FF games last for days of playing time.

I would try to get by for a while without leveling up. I can't place a good time period to really begin but maybe around temple of the ancients? Leveling up definitely would help in the long run though, because of that "die and your out" rule. How many people are playing?

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Well, if since this is a race to get to Sephy first, then you'll probably want to skip out on extraneous materia you probably won't use (Mystify, Barrier, etc.) and put the ones you do use into double- and triple-growth weapons to make up for lower levels (which I'm assuming you will have).

As for vital skills, you will almost need Big Guard, White Wind, Magic Hammer, and Beta/Aqualung just to compensate for lower levels and materia you don't need--again, I'm assuming you're going to try to go for Sephy instead of wasting time balancing your team and materia usage, etc.

You can get White Wind from Zemzeletts near Fort Condor; Big Guard from Beachplugs on the Gongaga Beach; Magic Hammer from the weed things on the Wutai continent; Beta from the Midgar Zolom; and Aqualung from the Harpy creature that appears on the Gold Saucer chocobo tracks or in the desert once you get the buggy.

Anyway, good luck!

--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

Not much here. Skip all unecsessary and uneeded. Rapid click through dialouge, and if you need it to be more fun then substitute your own dialouge and try and make yourself laugh? I would just try and have fun in the marathon.

For strateegy though, talk to no NPCs that you mustn't (I'm presuming you've beaten it several times before). Skip Wutai, don't take the stairs in the Shinra building. You can probably get Yuffie while just walking around, but she's useless enough as it is, it doesn't matter. Take the time to ensure you live. Use your summon Materias (Lots). Skip Chocobo breeding (Of course). Stock up on items (It's not like you'll need the money for anything else).

But as for battle knowlege I'm at a loss there. I don't know much strategy. I'd actually take the time to get the Ultima materia AND equip it. Use double materia growth weapons. Get powerful summons. Use em. I wouldn't bother to take the time to enemy skill. Possibly review a online guide once or twice before the marathon? Just do what you can, I think you'll know when to make a certain choice.

Edit

Actually now that I think about it try not to use long, lengthy summon videos, at expense of time

This post has been edited by FallingHeart on 1st November 2004 05:18

--------------------

"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting... fighting was the only thing I was ever good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in." - Frank Yeager (a.k.a. Grey Fox)

Getting Beta the moment you meet Midgar Zolem seems a bit risky though. I usually get it the first time I can (Beta the snake right back after linking a fire materia for defense), but in your case, it might not be wise. One bad move and you're toast.

Of course, if you get Beta that early, you can probably snooze through most of the first CD.

But I will echo everyone else's sentiments. Enemy skills are incredibly useful in this game (like Deathhand in FFV). Go forth and learn from your enemies.

This post has been edited by Elessar on 1st November 2004 13:34

--------------------

Visions of Peace - Four Generals, One Empire, and the Returners caught in the middle.

Cheers people, lots of good stuff to get me going, I really appreciate it . Was also wondering are there any bosses that you've found particularly hard? I find it difficult to tell because I usually do loads of levelling up. Would people who tend to play through games fast be able to tell me?

So far there are 5 definite competitors battling it out at the end of the month, with 3 undecided. There's an entrance fee and the winner takes all at the end, but its mainly the glory I'm after.

--------------------

oooooooOOO you guys'll like this http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?...46477&items=250

Scitzo t/o i found that impossible, it took me a lot of trys. If that is any help.

Temple of the Ancients, whatever Wall (the second boss) is the stereotypical tough boss to watch out for. He'll really mess you up at low levels. Big guard and white wind are a must in your situation.

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Quote (edgarsfanclub @ 1st November 2004 07:35)

Was also wondering are there any bosses that you've found particularly hard?

Since your levels are going to be considerably lower than when you first run through, I'd say that some bosses that you faced with ease on other levels are going to be a lot harder. There is a lot of generalities you should use for bosses, so I'll just do one of the tricky buggers:

Materia Keeper - Mt. Nibel

Since you're playing on time constraints, chances are you aren't going to have a wallet full of gil to contribute towards HP- and MP-upping materia, so you'll need to lower the damage caused.

As with any tough battle, Big Guard and White Wind are your friends, and you should have them on two materia by the time you get here (Getting the Junon E.S. materia is definately not a waste of time or effort).

Lower levels allow for fast-filling limit bars, so you could take advantage of that by just repeatedly healing. Another way to do it is to just use Beta/Aqualung repeatedly as to drain its health. The Materia Keeper can also be poisoned, so make sure to remember that.

Item conservation. Make sure you have White Wind'ers ready because Trine could easily kill you or drain your health, so make sure you still have megalixirs and elixirs to help refill your life. White Wind's effectiveness depends on it, remember.

----------
General Rules:
----------

• Conserve items
• Sidequests are time-wasting, but they can save time later on (if they had a use)
• Steal-'n'-sell.
• Sell anything you don't need (weapon-wise, keep the best one. You need to use each of the mandatory characters in some instance, so be prepared.
• Use extreme caution. Facing some enemies for items or skills can blow your party away. Case in point: Harpy, from which you get Aqualung. Aqualung helps, but is not imperative to get, so don't throw away your level just because you'd like to have a good skill.
• If you can afford one, an Exit materia may help.
• Status prevention takes precedent over stat upping. A couple confused characters can throw your level down the drain.
• If you can get it, the Final Attack materia would be a wonderful addition to your materia stock. Losing in the Battle Arena doesn't add up in a Game Over, but you also have to have an exorbatant amount of money to even get to the Special Battle, so....yeah. The best safeguard from death you can find though.
• Collect the following enemy skills: White Wind, Death Force, Magic Hammer, Big Guard, Bad Breath (Gaea's Cliff, on the outside ledges). Any others you get would be nice, too.
• Don't dilly-dally around if you know what to do. Like someone said above, don't waste time conversing with non-mandatory NPCs.
• If you can get it, get the Odin summon. It might waste some MP, but when you climb Mt. Nibel on low levels, the Kyuvilduns and Twin Brains are going to have a hayday on your HP. Later on, Magic Hammer can rejuvenite all the summons' MP-wasting tendencies, which is why that is one of the few skills you need. They're found around Wutai, but going far into the terrain will initiate Yuffie's sidequest, so run around on the continent's green spots to fight little weeds (manipulate 'em). You can also find Adamantaimai from which you can steal Adaman Bangles (93 Def, I believe) and get Death Force.
• Summons also help reap EXP and go towards limit breaks, so finding crappy enemies that appear in large numbers would be a nice contribution towards said causes. Case in point: the monsters that use Grand Spark in Junon forests and appear in fives. (can't remember their name).

That's about all I can offer at the moment.


--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

To elaborate on Shotgunnova's post.

Materia Keeper is actually quite easy if he doesn't blow you away with Trine immediately. Hopefully you have a bolt ring or massive lightning elemental defense (after all this is a marathon and not a low level/no materia game). You should have Deadly Waste items in your inventory, use one to poison him. Do absolutely nothing and let posion do the work. Materia Keeper won't retort with Trine or cure himself if you don't attack it.

--------------------

Visions of Peace - Four Generals, One Empire, and the Returners caught in the middle.

When you are ready to lvl up, Enemy Lure Is a no-brainer, otherwise save time with enemy away. Plus manipulate materia will make it easier to learn those pesky E-skills.

I would also suggest getting W-item materia. It will save you tons of money on items.

--------------------

*END TRANSMISSION*

I know this is stating the obvious however here are my suggestions.

Don't spend time to level up Aeris. There are only two parts of the game you need to have her. And even then you can't use her for long anyways.

It would also be in your best interest NOT to try and do most big materia side quests. Fort Condor alone ate up hours of my time. The ones you get from the submarine and spaceship arn't too far out of the way though.

Use double or triple times AP slot weapons as long as possible. Since you will only need to have a few select spells this will help you get the AP for them faster.

Along the same lines, use AP only on materia you need. Spells like barrier and slow aren't too useful but all materia can be your best freind. You don't get Ultima till near the end of game (At least I didn't) so skip it if you don't need it.

Sephiroths HP is dependant on what you do durring the game. So if you are careful you might be able to make his fight shorter.

Undead die instantly with Pheonix Down. That will save you time in Cosmo Canyon most enemies there are undead, even the boss.

Speaking of Pheonix Down. . . The Pheonix summon is your best bet for not getting game overs. You can't save and Pheonix attacks and revives AT THE SAME TIME. I never got Final Attack but I have heard that you can avoid game overs by coulpling it with Pheonix. Test that on your save file first. The only catch to Pheonix is you must do fort condor to get it. Tick, tock, tick, tock . . .

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 9th November 2004 20:46

--------------------

Role reversal at its finest.

Quote (Tonepoet @ 9th November 2004 14:44)

I know this is stating the obvious however here are my suggestions.

Don't spend time to level up Aeris. There are only two parts of the game you need to have her. And even then you can't use her for long anyways.

It would also be in your best interest NOT to try and do most big materia side quests. Fort Condor alone ate up hours of my time. The ones you get from the submarine and spaceship arn't too far out of the way though.

Use double or triple times AP slot weapons as long as possible. Since you will only need to have a few select spells this will help you get the AP for them faster.

Along the same lines, use AP only on materia you need. Spells like barrier and slow aren't too useful but all materia can be your best freind. You don't get Ultima till near the end of game (At least I didn't) so skip it if you don't need it.

Sephiroths HP is dependant on what you do durring the game. So if you are careful you might be able to make his fight shorter.

Undead die instantly with Pheonix Down. That will save you time in Cosmo Canyon most enemies there are undead, even the boss.

Speaking of Pheonix Down. . . The Pheonix summon is your best bet for not getting game overs. You can't save and Pheonix attacks and revives AT THE SAME TIME. I never got Final Attack but I have heard that you can avoid game overs by coulpling it with Pheonix. Test that on your save file first. The only catch to Pheonix is you must do fort condor to get it. Tick, tock, tick, tock . . .

I couldn't have said it better myself. Basically, just skip everything you don't need and try not to fall asleep. It's a long game. Good luck!

i have actually had a ff vii marathon before with 11 other friends of mine
and we had the exact same rules you have
and since i won the marathon(17 hours 43 minutes) ill tell you who i had and equipped with what

cloud lvl 62
ragnarok
aegis armlet
ribbon

materia;
ultima, Dblow, cure(+all), and lucky plus(makes Dblow work better)

cid lvl 63
venus gospel
dragon armlet
championship belt

materia/ 4x slash (took the time to get it)(9000damage+ times 4) comet

tifa lvl 62
all the best equipment i could nab for her

materia; cure, ice

the key to making it through is to always have a really good stock of items
and knowing when to lvl up(i usually get up tp lvl 30 before entering nibelheim
makes the temple of the ancients a breeze)

i did no sidequests, but i did take the time to get all there final limit breaks

against jenova ,make sure all your limit bars get filled
kill her with whatever you got just dont use their limits
then against sephiroths first form use tifas limit break, if it doesnt die(by the luck of the draw or low levels) use dblow, comet, ice etc (just dont use limits, except maybe cid's)
then on sephiroths next form use omnislash for a one hit kill
and on his third form we all know what to do

you can make changes depending on who you have

good luck with your marathon

This post has been edited by Cloud_Strife510 on 19th November 2004 07:33

--------------------

"Have you ever seen a baby do that before?"

I have a few stuff to add to all the good advices you got so far.

Although it eats up a dozen of minutes, I would definitely take the time to get Vincent, and for several good reasons. First, he's one of the three characters that have Long Ranged weapons, and this is definitely a plus in sustaining damage and dealing it (Red XIII also have one btw, but it's quite useless). Second, his magic stat is one of the best of the game. Third, he has two weapons with a 255% accuracy, making it the reliable user of the D-Blow materia, which is incredibly powerful with these accurate weapons (the Long Barrel R also have a very decent power, and eight linked materia slots). Finally, if you take him out on your party often, he will be a god with his Ultimate weapon, which doesn't take long to get anyway (just use the submarine to visit the Cave twice and you're done). Just a reminder: Vincent's Ultimate Weapon hidden power is that it increases in strength with the number of ennemies Vincent killed. BTW, while you're getting Vincent, do take the time to open the safe: Odin is valuable, as it is an instant death attack or the first massive non-elemental damage dealing summon.

In the Temple of the Ancients, when you get to the clock part, only use two destinations: V to get the Ribbon (invaluable, since you probably won't go into the hassle of getting one by morphing the Master Tomberry. Equip it at all time) and VI to get on with this part.

Bahamut is the one summon you'll want to use for every big fight: it is the fastest of the three Bahamut summons, and takes far less time than the other two.

Go to the Gelnika, but be prepared: any Enemy Away materia will be useful, as well as an Exit materia in case you happen to run into an enemy. if you get to it during Disc 2, you'll also have an opportunity to fight the Turks, and steal from them valuable equipment (they're not much of an opposition too, so it's definitely worth it just for that part).

Get the Contain materia (great power, status effect and quick casting). Also, use the airship trick to get the Quadra Magic materia as soon as you have the Highwind.

My choice of characters would be Cloud, Vincent and Red XIII. The first two are obvious (see above why for Vincent), Red XIII is here because of his limits: I actually spent a good deal of time with his level 1 limits for the power of Lunatic High. His Stardust Ray, while not very strong, can be quite effective too. Plus, because he's setup on low-level limits, they come up faster (especially on a Fury state). He also have the opportunity to get a really good weapon at an early stage, the Seraph Comb (right after the events in Cosmo Canyon).

Finally, do take the time to get the W-item materia. It's invaluable, because once you have it, you no longer have to rely on materias to heal yourself: just dupe some Megalixirs and you're on your way (ok, it's cheap, but not against the rules you and your friends decided ).

Good luck on your attempt.

This post has been edited by Mr Thou on 19th November 2004 10:49

okay i may be able to help you out some

make sure to get your limits ( here is how you get them)

Set 1
Limit 1- you start off with
Limit 2- use limit 1 8 times

Set 2
Limit 1- kill 80 enemies after limit 2
Limit 2- use limit 1 8 times

Set 3
Limit 1- kill 80 enemies after limit 2
Limit 2- use limit 1 4 times

also note that the character must land the killing blow to have it count towards his limit break

skip all side quests

i would make sure to have a cure and an all on every character in your team if possible

summons are not good enough to bother equpping. the only one worth it is knights of the round and you won't have time to get it.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, have your characters in fury

fantastic places to level up are

the cave in cosmo canyon
mt. nibelheim
in the room where you get the black materia

you should get ultima weapon and 2x slash

get w-item and use the trick to get 99 megaelixiers because you'll need them for sephiroth.. if you ever have extra money buy tons of hp plusses from mideel and other places

--------------------

.::You think a minor thing like the end of the world is gonna do me in? -- Sabin::.

.::What I have shown you is reality. What you remember... that is the illusion. - Sephiroth ::.

.::A pro isn't someone who sacrifices themselves for a job. That's just a fool. - Reno::.