I'm just going to start a new thread here, since the last posts about this game are from 2006.
I'm finally going to finish my NG+ "perfect ending" run pretty soon, and after some testing I discovered a timing issue that applies to the current New Game run. I believe the run was timed with the NG+ save created after the final cinematic. I have confirmed the timer does count down during the final cinematic, after the player has lost control. I believe the last segment needs to be re-timed manually and added to the times of the other segments.
In any case, the route I'm using is basically identical to the one the current run uses, except I skip chests, gathering non-required dresspheres, etc. All random encounters are avoided with a Charm Bangle, and Iron Dukes are used to raise my characters' stats.
I'm finally going to finish my NG+ "perfect ending" run pretty soon, and after some testing I discovered a timing issue that applies to the current New Game run. I believe the run was timed with the NG+ save created after the final cinematic. I have confirmed the timer does count down during the final cinematic, after the player has lost control. I believe the last segment needs to be re-timed manually and added to the times of the other segments.
In any case, the route I'm using is basically identical to the one the current run uses, except I skip chests, gathering non-required dresspheres, etc. All random encounters are avoided with a Charm Bangle, and Iron Dukes are used to raise my characters' stats.