Final Fantasy VII

2012-09-27 06:53:20 am

B+Left, Left, Up+B, ★

Those elevators were intense.

Also...
*Cloud kills Sephiroth*
*Credits roll abruptly*
"Five Hundred years later..."
*Endless empty space*

gg FF7

puwexil

2012-09-27 07:57:50 am

Professional Second Banana

Hahahahahaha. That definitely tops my zero encounter Final Descent highlight. Cheesy

Looks to me like the FMV library or something like that glitched out and the game was loading the wrong FMVs instead of the ones that normally play in the background during the Final Descent and the cutscenes before Bizarro Sephiroth. My guess is that because the Gold Saucer/Junon elevator FMVs aren't meant to loop like the correct ones do, it just stopped afterwards and went to a black screen until a reload was forced by entering the menu or getting an encounter.

BrutalAl

2012-09-27 12:02:47 pm

It happened because you changed disc when you weren't supposed to.
You were playing on disc 2, got a Game Over, and then loaded a disc3 save without the game asking for disc 3.
The game never asked for disc 3 because you had already changed the disc on the title screen, which you're not supposed to do, because it will glitch the FMVs.

For Example
- Start the game with disc2.
- On the title screen, change to disc 1.
- Now select New Game.
- The Opening FMV will be skipped completely, and you'll be taken to the Station field instantly.

Caracarn

2012-09-27 07:00:36 pm

I assumed that it was because I had changed disc on the title screen, but I had just never seen that before, and it was still wildly hilarious. So, I guess anyone could try this themselves if they wanted to :p

Carcinogen

2012-10-04 02:41:45 am

I just had a lightbulb moment, given the nature of the Stinger Glitch.

What kind of events are possible to skip if you hit a battle the same frame you walk into an event trigger?

Like, say for example, if you get a battle on the event in the Mythril Mines where you're not allowed to go any further until after the Kalm Flashback?

antd

2012-10-09 01:34:07 pm

I tested a few of these scenarios some time ago for the tas.
None of them worked (except against diamond weapon, which is useless).

I'm not sure of your specific question though.

BrutalAl

Edit history:

BrutalAl: 2012-11-13 12:25:43 am

BrutalAl: 2012-11-12 10:43:31 am

BrutalAl: 2012-11-12 10:39:19 am

2012-11-12 10:34:46 am

HOW TO SKIP THE SPLIT-SCENE IN THE NORTHERN CRATER:

The party split half way down the North Crater may be perceived as slow and long winded, especially by the speedrunner, so why not just skip it?

If a Save Point is placed where Cloud situates himself during the first split and the player exits the crater directly after, the split-scene will be replayed when you return, and this time Cloud will, thanks to the Save Point, be able to move around freely (aka Paralyze Dodge) and skip the split, this would also trigger the infamous unclimbable stalagmite-glitch, but that's of no concern to the speedrunner!

THE SPEEDRUN SPLIT SKIP
Now, having to exit and re-enter the crater just to skip the split may not sound faster, and it wouldn't be. But as luck would have it, it's actually possible to paralyze dodge already on the first visit! Just stand Cloud next to the 2nd stalactite ready to descend, enter the menu and select the Save Crystal and *hold* the Confirm-button, if done correctly Cloud will start descending with the text-box is still open, now move the cursor to "No" and wait until the game tries to use the text-box for something else before you hit confirm, paralyze dodged!

RIGHT PATH
If you plan on taking the Right path just pick "Right" for Cloud and head on out, no need to direct the others.

LEFT PATH
If you plan on taking the Left path you can *not* just hurry on, if you do the entire party will greet you on the next field. Instead you got two options. 1) You send everyone where you want them (Cloud Left) and then proceed Left, skipping all the good byes. 2) You head Left, but pick the option "Right" for Cloud just before you leave. This way no one will be waiting for you on the next field, but Cloud will also be unable go any further, that is unless you place the Save Crystal here, and perform a paralyze dodge to get past the message that normally hinders you.

SIDE NOTE ABOUT THE UNCLIMBABLE STALAGMITE
If the split scene isn't terminated correctly the stalagmite will remain unclimbable regardless of where (any field) you place the Save Point.

FINAL NOTE
I originally uploaded and released this video "in Japan" to congratulate youtube user "letrangerstranger" on his FF7 RTA done in late 2011, clocking in at 8h 22m 26s (US/NTSC-timer, SDA-timing), so anyone following Japanese speedrunners may have seen this skip before.

HOW TO SKIP THE SPLIT-SCENE IN THE NORTHERN CRATER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfuSVyhVh84

The party split half way down the North Crater may be perceived as slow and long winded, especially by the speedrunner, so why not just skip it?

If a Save Point is placed where Cloud situates himself during the first split and the player exits the crater directly after, the split-scene will be replayed when you return, and this time Cloud will, thanks to the Save Point, be able to move around freely (aka Paralyze Dodge) and skip the split, this would also trigger the infamous unclimbable stalagmite-glitch, but that's of no concern to the speedrunner!

THE SPEEDRUN SPLIT SKIP
Now, having to exit and re-enter the crater just to skip the split may not sound faster, and it wouldn't be. But as luck would have it, it's actually possible to paralyze dodge already on the first visit! Just stand Cloud next to the 2nd stalactite ready to descend, enter the menu and select the Save Crystal and *hold* the Confirm-button, if done correctly Cloud will start descending with the text-box is still open, now move the cursor to "No" and wait until the game tries to use the text-box for something else before you hit confirm, paralyze dodged!

RIGHT PATH
If you plan on taking the Right path just pick "Right" for Cloud and head on out, no need to direct the others.

LEFT PATH
If you plan on taking the Left path you can *not* just hurry on, if you do the entire party will greet you on the next field. Instead you got two options. 1) You send everyone where you want them (Cloud Left) and then proceed Left, skipping all the good byes. 2) You head Left, but pick the option "Right" for Cloud just before you leave. This way no one will be waiting for you on the next field, but Cloud will also be unable go any further, that is unless you place the Save Crystal here, and perform a paralyze dodge to get past the message that normally hinders you.

SIDE NOTE ABOUT THE UNCLIMBABLE STALAGMITE
If the split scene isn't terminated correctly the stalagmite will remain unclimbable regardless of where (any field) you place the Save Point.

FINAL NOTE
I originally uploaded and released this video "in Japan" to congratulate youtube user "letrangerstranger" on his FF7 RTA done in late 2011, clocking in at 8h 22m 26s (US/NTSC-timer, SDA-timing), so anyone following Japanese speedrunners may have seen this skip before.

Caracarn

2012-11-12 06:37:27 pm

fortunately, I already figured this one out from watching Japanese RTAs, but it's still nice to have a detailed explanation of it. Now I just need to learn how to do the one in the Wall Market bar.

Carcinogen

2012-11-12 06:53:21 pm

There's one in the Wall Market bar? That one's news to me. Got a video?

Caracarn

Edit history:

Caracarn: 2012-11-12 10:25:33 pm

2012-11-12 10:25:00 pm

check the previous page carc, or maybe 2 pages back depending on how many posts per page you have

BrutalAl

Edit history:

BrutalAl: 2012-11-13 11:25:47 am

2012-11-13 10:57:02 am

By the Way
For anyone interested this Split Skip video is accompanied by a hidden bonus video showcasing another glitch. The glitch in the Hidden bonus video is *not* speedrun related (it's more perfect-file related), but if you like glitches in general and like solving secret puzzles I say go for it!

Carcinogen

2012-11-13 09:54:05 pm

Quote from Caracarn:

check the previous page carc, or maybe 2 pages back depending on how many posts per page you have

Whoops. =X

antd

2012-11-15 12:41:36 pm

Detailed information:
http://antdgar.com/final-fantasy-vii/the-emerald-glitch-final-fantasy-vii/

Quick information:

1. Change battle config to 'wait'. (Optional; however this makes it much easier to perform)
2. Find Emerald Weapon on Disc 2 and enter the battle. (Disc 3 almost always crashes, in my experience)

3. Inflict enough damage so that Emerald Weapon is left with a very low amount of HP.
4. Force an in-battle 'wait' by placing the cursor on a character, or by entering a menu.
5. Wait until the countdown timer reaches 10 seconds.
6. Deliver the killing blow to Emerald Weapon before the timer reaches 0. Ideally Emerald Weapon should turn red on the 8 second mark.
7. Start a new game or load a game from a memory card.

Killing Emerald too soon or too late will not reproduce the glitch properly.

Effects: High Stats / Weird limit breaks / Instant win all battles/bosses

Carcinogen

Edit history:

Carcinogen: 2012-11-17 07:49:42 pm

2012-11-17 07:46:17 pm

This seems similar in principle to the Lv. 1 Yuffie Glitch in Japanese FFVII. Will this perhaps also work during the first countdown sequence? I would assume since a count of 0 triggers a game over as well, that it would have the same effect.

antd

2012-11-17 07:50:43 pm

The first countdown triggers an fmv (bomb explodes in the reactor). Maybe that's why it doesn't work there!

antd

Edit history:

antd: 2012-11-20 11:27:25 am

2012-11-18 12:28:31 pm

Long version showing graphical issues:

puwexil

2012-11-24 01:05:28 am

Professional Second Banana

Got a 9:05:17 single-segment w/resets (NTSC-U, no turbo) - run had 3 deaths (1 to Materia Keeper, 2 to Demon's Gate) and 3 resets (1 in Corel Prison for having my Hyper Wrist stolen, 1 in Gaia's Cliff for forgetting to set ATB to Wait before Schizo, and 1 in Midgar Sector 8 for messing up the Turks skip).

Before doing this run I put in some practice at menuing and movement, and I definitely felt more confident in those (still a ways to go before getting close to ping_values' level). Final time probably would have been around 8:50 without the above deaths/resets and without losing time in Shinra HQ to the Inescapable Glitch, so hopefully I'll be able to cut that next time.

http://www.twitch.tv/puwexil/b/342356499 - Part 1 (1st hour)
http://www.twitch.tv/puwexil/b/342368260 - Part 2 (rest of run)

BrutalAl

2012-12-13 03:46:06 pm

DUPING THE ADDED CUT MATERIA
In my 12/12/12 Video I made public how to dupe *any* pick-up in the Great Glacier, and any pick-up does of course include one rather important materia in many speedruns, the Added Cut.

So will this glitch change FF7 speedrunnig as we know it? Well...
Duping in the Glacier comes with a price, unfortunately a rather high price for the speedrunner at that, it takes time.
If one wanted to dupe the added cut, the first extra copy would in travel time alone cost just above 2½ minutes (118s in order to pass out when you first pick it up, 37s due to backtracking).
Since you have to pass out you would also have to to sit thru Mr. Holzoff's climbing tutorial.
And all the extra traveling would likely also result in at least one extra battle (possibly two, but some running can be replaced with walking which reduces the risk for extra encounters).
Total cost would probably end up somewhere in the vicinity of 3½ minutes, pricey.

But as they say, knowing is half the battle, and at least now we know.

DUPING THE ADDED CUT MATERIA
In my 12/12/12 Video I made public how to dupe *any* pick-up in the Great Glacier, and any pick-up does of course include one rather important materia in many speedruns, the Added Cut.

So will this glitch change FF7 speedrunnig as we know it? Well...
Duping in the Glacier comes with a price, unfortunately a rather high price for the speedrunner at that, it takes time.
If one wanted to dupe the added cut, the first extra copy would in travel time alone cost just above 2½ minutes (118s in order to pass out when you first pick it up, 37s due to backtracking).
Since you have to pass out you would also have to to sit thru Mr. Holzoff's climbing tutorial.
And all the extra traveling would likely also result in at least one extra battle (possibly two, but some running can be replaced with walking which reduces the risk for extra encounters).
Total cost would probably end up somewhere in the vicinity of 3½ minutes, pricey.

But as they say, knowing is half the battle, and at least now we know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjlSSllj8LU

BrutalAl

Edit history:

BrutalAl: 2012-12-23 02:11:59 am

BrutalAl: 2012-12-22 09:58:10 am

2012-12-22 09:09:57 am

A new (to the western world) major glitch has been found.
And the glitch is surprisingly simple, both to execute and to understand.

The field that is the Canon's Main Frame (the one where hojo is located at during the revisit to midgar) is used during a cut-scene before you revisit midgar and then later in the game when your party reaches the field by by foot.

Since we are not supposed be there or walk around freely the first time we see this field (during a scene that shows hojo a the canon controlls) the game is scripted to among other things, disable movement at this time. The paralysis is however not instant and we actually get a frame of movement before we are paralyzed.

And as luck would have we have actually spawned right next to the trigger that triggers the Boss scene with hojo, so all you have to do is hold Down+Right+RunButton (or just Right+Run) while the game fades to this field and voila, Cloud will move onto the trigger before he is paralyzed and the boss scene will play.

Huge Sequence-break and a fairly major time-save.

A new (to the western world) major glitch has been found.
And the glitch is surprisingly simple, both to execute and to understand.

The field that is the Canon's Main Frame (the one where hojo is located at during the revisit to midgar) is used during a cut-scene before you revisit midgar and then later in the game when your party reaches the field by by foot.

Since we are not supposed be there or walk around freely the first time we see this field (during a scene that shows hojo a the canon controlls) the game is scripted to among other things, disable movement at this time. The paralysis is however not instant and we actually get a frame of movement before we are paralyzed.

And as luck would have we have actually spawned right next to the trigger that triggers the Boss scene with hojo, so all you have to do is hold Down+Right+RunButton (or just Right+Run) while the game fades to this field and voila, Cloud will move onto the trigger before he is paralyzed and  the boss scene will play.

Huge Sequence-break and a fairly major time-save.

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2012-12-23 01:15:00 pm

2012-12-23 12:25:17 am

Professional Second Banana

Wow, nice! I can definitely see this being useful in speedruns/RTAs - Slots runs would basically proceed as normal from there, and non-Slots runs (which would have a somewhat slower Hojo fight due to not having a Mystile for Tifa) would just need to get a Mystile in the Northern Crater (which can be gotten fairly quickly by sending Tifa down the right fork from the 1st party split area) to ensure 100% Deathblow accuracy against Jenova Synthesis/Sephiroth. The main thing that might affect routing for Disc 3 is missing the EXP/AP from Proud Clod.

Edit: After seeing the glitch in action though, I can't honestly say I'm that excited about it any more, since it cuts out one of my favorite parts of the game and screws up the music for all of Disc 3.

KartSeven

2012-12-23 06:47:53 am

Kart for SMK, and Seven for FF7.

For those who prefer Low Level challenges, this glitch isn't enough to finish the game at level 26. ^^ But now it's a way easier to finish it at level 27. Too bad I'm just doing a LL challenge, but I won't use it for this one, to preserve the difficulty of the challenge.

antd

2012-12-31 07:27:35 am

Midgar Skip Comparison

View the right-side for the glitch.
Saves about 10 minutes in a normal speed run.

Caracarn

2012-12-31 07:07:17 pm

I don't know if the Japanese runners are specifically banning this glitch in their community, or if they just don't feel like doing it, but Emanon and Tomato Rice have both done RTAs since this glitch was discovered and they didn't use it. I probably won't use this glitch when I do FF7 International RTAs, at least not until they start using it. If NA runners use it, it will make up for the text difference at least.

Neohart

Edit history:

Neohart: 2013-01-21 05:20:36 am

2013-01-21 04:57:45 am

Final Fantasy VII Fanatic

I'm gonna have to go with Cara on this one, But it does look like a legit skip, even tho I am just starting my Final Fantasy VII runs, Again with Cara, if they decide that they will use it then all fair game! I also agree with Puwexil about how it affects Disc 3! Best part of the game RUINED!!!!

Wypy

2013-01-21 08:07:26 am

Deal with it!

In my opinion if you allow the Turk skip in your run then there is no reason not to use the Midgar skip. It's legit skip and saves a few minutes.