I've gotten a few requests since I picked up this game to do some kind of tutorial video on how to run it, and I finally got around to making one that showcases the latest route in the English version. It includes some safer strategies and how to get the visiphone right off the bat as well. Things also don't go perfectly, so it shows some of the stuff that can go wrong too, which was pretty nice. Hopefully this helps out people who are interested in running this, or at least satisfies some curiosities about the run. I probably missed some stuff, so if you have questions feel free to ask.
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I've found out some stuff that should help speed up Mota. If you dupe Tiem before going through the tube to Oputa, go through the scene, then enter again from the west, you get the beginning of the cutscene playing out on the world map (just the walking). At the end of this, it displaces your character so that they appear one tile above where they actually are on the map. What makes this so useful is that you can't get any encounters while this is happening, so the walk to Oputa is a lot less dangerous and in 99% of cases, faster. Pressing A/C while this is going on softlocks the game, but if you enter a new area (Oputa) the game fixes itself. In addition, it seems that most fights on the water are easier to run from than I had remembered. It was about an 80% escape chance in my testing, so it might be worth the risk of running most of the time.
Leader of Starbirdia!
I'm glad you were able to make a tutorial video. The dupe glitch makes a lot more sense now.
Also, I know you mentioned after the green dam you can either go to the blue or the yellow but it didn't matter. Getting to the Yellow Dam from the Green Dam is actually quicker than to the blue because there is more coastline to follow going east, and having to move more means you could have more encounters.
And you can start getting the Star Mist when anybody reaches Level 21.
Also, I know you mentioned after the green dam you can either go to the blue or the yellow but it didn't matter. Getting to the Yellow Dam from the Green Dam is actually quicker than to the blue because there is more coastline to follow going east, and having to move more means you could have more encounters.
And you can start getting the Star Mist when anybody reaches Level 21.
Dapper as fuck.
Quote from Jiseed:
I've found out some stuff that should help speed up Mota. If you dupe Tiem before going through the tube to Oputa, go through the scene, then enter again from the west, you get the beginning of the cutscene playing out on the world map (just the walking). At the end of this, it displaces your character so that they appear one tile above where they actually are on the map. What makes this so useful is that you can't get any encounters while this is happening, so the walk to Oputa is a lot less dangerous and in 99% of cases, faster. Pressing A/C while this is going on softlocks the game, but if you enter a new area (Oputa) the game fixes itself. In addition, it seems that most fights on the water are easier to run from than I had remembered. It was about an 80% escape chance in my testing, so it might be worth the risk of running most of the time.
You may have just made me want to run this again lol.
Bit of a development I'd like to share thanks to Kruskader. Turns out that I was semi right in the fact that Dark Force uses his curse based on the character. However, it's not based on character join order as I had originally thought, but it's actually based on agility. It seems that if you underflow a character's agility, it will make them unable to be targeted by his curses. This means that using the current route, we can make both Amy and Nei immune. Rudo might be a possibility as well, but it would be quite the trip down Rolf's inventory (100+). Underflowing Nei's inventory could work too, but I'm not sure how much room we'd have given we need so many key items for the end game (plus the loss of the additional storm gear on Dezo). This is could be huge for what is easily the most frustrating part in the run.
Leader of Starbirdia!
so would it be more beneficial to hang on to Nei's Sandals and Amy's Shoes and on the last part before dark force, equip them, remove the agility value in the inventory glitch, then remove their footwear to underflow it?
EDIT: So I attempted this out and indeed it does keep Nei and Amy from getting targeted by Dark Force, but it does add about a minute or two for having to go through to their agility values and do all that again. It is a LOT safer though and is a bit more marathon friendly that way. It did allow me to cut down my PB time by 6 minutes though.
The process added a couple key items that I didn't need but there is always a chance it can be a normal item that can just be tossed anyway. Sometimes though (and this is true for Nei more than anything) you need to do it a couple of times in order to fully underflow her agility. Underflowing Rudo's agility I didn't find would be easy or time saving.
The development is huge, that's for sure.
EDIT: So I attempted this out and indeed it does keep Nei and Amy from getting targeted by Dark Force, but it does add about a minute or two for having to go through to their agility values and do all that again. It is a LOT safer though and is a bit more marathon friendly that way. It did allow me to cut down my PB time by 6 minutes though.
The process added a couple key items that I didn't need but there is always a chance it can be a normal item that can just be tossed anyway. Sometimes though (and this is true for Nei more than anything) you need to do it a couple of times in order to fully underflow her agility. Underflowing Rudo's agility I didn't find would be easy or time saving.
The development is huge, that's for sure.
So I was experimenting a bit with the glitched characters and stumbled on something pretty big. Normally we cant "fill up" the expanded inventory by transferring items, but we can if we have the glitched character buy items from the shop. This places the items in the various status values for Nei/Amy, including attack, which gives them a value of what I guess to be in the tens of thousands (using monomates). Of course, attack is really bugged once we get into the hex values, but it seems decently consistent, and can be manipulated somewhat by using different weapons. For example, Nei will never do any significant damage to Dark Force with both her easily available weapons (I haven't tried the laser claw yet), but Amy can kill him in 16 attacks if she has 2 ceramic knives equipped, while fire staves wont do anything. Both of them can kill Mother Brain in 16~ hits as well. The first battle you do after filling up the expanded inventory is pretty interesting as it makes the character start off being cursed by Dark Force (a little humourous since you're fighting froggies), but goes away after the battle - which tells us a little something about the Dark Force curses. I need to do more experimenting, but I thought I'd share my early findings in case someone else wanted to take a look.
Leader of Starbirdia!
Jiseed's new glitch has opened doors to not only much faster Any% runs (which a sub 40 is possible if you bleed for it as he once said), but also for All Boss and 100% runs. What used to take the game a long time to play at 100% (all dungeons, characters, and bosses... typically similar to a casual playthrough) now is much faster. I played 100% earlier today and finished the game in 2 hours 45 minutes. Lots of room for improvement, but the bar is set.
100% category uses the Item Placement glitch that Jiseed found and even pieces of Inventory and Dupe glitches. The big difference is that you can NOT pull out key items such as the key cards, the Nei items, or any other item to advance the plot. In other words, if you cannot sell the item, you cannot pull it out. This category showcases the entire game, which can be dull for the most part.
I ended up using Rudo, Anna, and Shir for my final team. There is still a bit of testing that needs to be done, but Anna is a must with her slashers. It makes taking out large mobs in Dezo much easier.
Glitching a Storm Gear MIGHT be faster still, but I need to investigate a way to pull it out fast and early with what I have.
100% category uses the Item Placement glitch that Jiseed found and even pieces of Inventory and Dupe glitches. The big difference is that you can NOT pull out key items such as the key cards, the Nei items, or any other item to advance the plot. In other words, if you cannot sell the item, you cannot pull it out. This category showcases the entire game, which can be dull for the most part.
I ended up using Rudo, Anna, and Shir for my final team. There is still a bit of testing that needs to be done, but Anna is a must with her slashers. It makes taking out large mobs in Dezo much easier.
Glitching a Storm Gear MIGHT be faster still, but I need to investigate a way to pull it out fast and early with what I have.