How To Beat A Final Fantasy Game In Under 2 Minutes

@Skitch: Best argument yet; thank you.

@h1ro: Yes. Is it possible for you to be BRIEFER? I'm trying to get more bang for my buck here. Thanks!

@ColombianBan: Power leveling is fine if you enjoy the battle system. If you just wanted to get the plot of a game, read a synopsis or a let's play walkthrough. There's actually quite a few games I couldn't be bothered to play (completely) but have the time to read the dialog/plot. There's just too many good games...

transcend

@Dash_Stryker: I think that this is awfully dumb to argue, because, you don't think its art.
Therefore, In your mind its not.
But that doesn't make it not art, only to you. As for your definition, you essentially argued my point, but a bit more eloquently.
When you try to make art, you are trying to convey an emotion, so as long as you try, you suceed, because you placed emotion in it.
And now i'm doen with this goofball argument.

6 months of my childhood, reduced to 2 minutes.
i am officially shamed.

Bobarian

@Rajolae: and jackson pollocks paintings do indeed suck.

Dash_Stryker

I usually enjoy watching tool-assisted speedruns, but this wasn't entertaining at all. I mean, who the hell cares? That was so pointless. The SMB3 assisted run was worth watching, not this.

@Paper_Luffy: Just be careful that it doesn't erase your saved games.

I really loved this game. I don't know why.

I promise to be brief.

...

Any questions?

@Rena Lanford: I agree about the work stuff...but seriously, I really don't like seeing it being referred to as an artform.

I dunno, I hate the term 'artform,' because it seems to imply that a craft/medium is inherently art through it's existence, which can't be true of all entities made in various crafts that are claimed to be artforms.

I prefer the route where individual works are evaluated as being art or not, while all disciplines of creation are simply and generally referred to as crafts.

The only reason why I say this is because I think we as gamers sometimes get hung up on the concept of trying to justify/prove that games, or in this case TAS's, are an 'artform,' when the thing is...we don't have to prove that they have the capacity to have works that are art...they already have that ability!

It's simply more important to enjoy the video, as in many case, TAS creators seem to be interested in creating a video that's simply fun to watch more than anything else.

@Dash_Stryker: You must be new to this era. We're BARELY at the point of getting a robot to play Pitfall!...which it kinda didn't do too well.

Also, yes, TAS is an artform-- not all of them are about trying to make yourself seem better than you are, instead some exist to show you the full extent that a game's features, exploits, and physics can be used.

The idiots who use TAS runs to pass as real-time play are just that-- idiots. But don't lump them all together, as making them does take honest work.

Well that was boring.

Did I just have an acid flashback or what? I mean... what the fuck Kotaku? My brain is now officially broken!

what the fuck

This was the first RPG I ever played. Me and my cousin played it together over summer vacation back in 94 on my Super Gameboy setup. I fucking loved it. The music brings back some incredible memories.

@smartpatrol:
It wasn't a bad game, it was just a departure from the two games before it. The biggest difference I remember was that there was XP.

fronsac

@Rajolae: If you're suggesting that Jackson Pollock's works weren't art, or are less of art than a TA speed run, without being aware of what makes Pollock's works art in the first place...I'd be careful of making such claims.

Just as what could be considered 'art' of a TA speed run being, say, a commentary on conventions of game design at a period of time, and/or demonstrating that pretty much no game is flawless when it comes to bugs/glitches (if that was the speed runner's intent)...Pollock's works were, from my understanding, Modernist paintings that acted as commentaries about the conventions of the process of making a painting in the first place (much like how modernist composers in the early/mid 20th century wrote music that involved mathmatics/serialism and such). The expression that made the work art wasn't what was on the canvas, but /how/ it got there, and why he was doing it at that time. It was a commentary on the process of how a work is made itself (which can be related in both some forms of modernist painting/music).

The point, though, is that something being art doesn't mean it has to be pleasant to watch/listen to...and the more important point is that something doesn't have to be art to be recognized as enjoyable to watch/listen to, or even be respected for the amount of work made to create it.

Again, my take of it, but at the end of the day, here's what I thing - Pollock's paintings are things I'd consider art...I wouldn't consider THIS particular TAS a work of art, but it's more interesting/fascinating to watch for me personally, and took a formidable amount of time/research to do, most likely.

@notquitedeadyet:

@Ferkner:

There's more art to it than a Jackson Pollock painting.

Rajolae

That music sounds amazing even running through pro logic cinema mode.

@Ozymandias:

Hearts to you, man, even for dealing with a lame troll.

WoozyB

That wasn't under 2 minutes. I am unimpressed.

MarioG

@m9105826: Thank you, all three, for the clarification. It's been a while since I dove into my Gameboy's back catalog and RPG'd it up. Maybe too long.

@Dash_Stryker: While I agree with your definition of what constitutes a work as being art (at least partially), I still think that you are discrediting TAS-based speedruns far too much.

I love the music from this game. I can't believe I've never heard of it, it's amazing!

Itri

@Ozymandias: A work meant to convey a concept, that being an emotion, moment in time (a story), or thought.

Dash_Stryker

@Dash_Stryker: Not to continue feeding you or anything, But to be honest, that is exactly what art is. Calling something art makes it art. Others may disagree and disregard it, but you made art.
So if i'm wrong, and dumb:
Please define art for me so that i can get that grade up there, champ.

I'm someone who's fairly lax on what is and isn't art, and all I will say is this:

Speed runs, TAS or otherwise, are demonstrations of skill, and are in and of themselves crafts, just like any other endeavor to create something (painting, writing, programming, etc.)

However, that doesn't inherently make it, or ANYTHING else that is a craft, art.

To me, all these things have the potential to be art, if they are, essentially, being done as a means to communicate some message/point through the craft/medium. Now, granted, just because something achieves that requirement and can be viewed as a work of 'art,' doesn't mean that it's even well crafted, or took a lot of skill to create.

The point I'm making is that whether something is or isn't art is, to me, a meaningless, secondary element/quality that speaks nothing of the underlying quality of the work, or the amount of time, effort, or skill that is/was used to create the work.

This particular speedrun isn't something I'd call art, but I WILL say that it's highly well crafted, and took a lot of skill/knowledge of how the game worked to achieve, so even if it was a TAS, it still gets heavy kudos from me.

I had FF Legend 3, which played more or less the same. It was very hard though.

elmorepow

come on now, this was a really good game. Why would you want to speed through it?

,.......runs to play it on iphone

Ur-Lord-Crypy

@Skyburnbright: I've watched both TAS and legit 120-star Mario 64 runs. The TAS one is fun to watch because of some of the crazy moves and optimizations they found throughout the levels (it's not at the 0-star Mario level of optimization, but no other TAS in the world really is). The legit one was amazing to watch because it was a legitimate show of crazy skill and practice with the game (it still had its small foibles, but all things considered it was pretty damn good). The thing is I know both took their creators about the same amount of time to plan/execute, so in that sense they both "count", one just requires reading some of the background stuff (which in this TAS' case is 2 links away and in Japanese) to fully appreciate.

Of course anti-TAS people will always be that way or so I've seen, trying to convince them otherwise is really just a waste of everyone's time.

a speed run of mario is one thing, this is just dumb.

i bet you can get a perfect strike in Wii sports bowling every time and I bet you could kill everyone in halo after hitting that standby button.. chump./

Eric Marty

Hmm I actually played that game properly over 40 times start to finish... none of this 2 minute crap!

Pudgie'sSmokerGivesAGoodTongueing

Thats not a speed run, thats just fucking cheating. A speed run is PLAYING through the entire game as fast as possible.

@Dash_Stryker: Seriously? You don't even know the half of TASing. You actually have to know the consoles programming language (And be great with mathematics), figure out what RAM calls make for randomness, be able to control said randomness, do anything possible to shave off as many frames as you can. The skills required for a real speed run is knowledge of the game and its mechanics combined with reaction speed/memorization. The skills required for a TAS are extreme willpower (Since TAS's can be constantly improved so often that they can take upwards of a year to complete), knowledge of the systems machine code (So you can manipulate anything you might need to), and some prefer to even add in entertainment value (Like crazy feats and glitches that may or may not be needed).

It is an art, it is a technical showcase of power over a game. No matter what you want to think, it is art.

Sonicandtails

@Rozzlit: He's glitching through nonsense data to get to the last dungeon at fast speed. All is done manipulating (probably) data while the game is STILL loading all information during item switching. It glitches the game frame by frame.

Chrono Trigger got glitched this same way too.

@Dash_Stryker: The ammount of ego and prepotence in that comment is staggering. Did you even give a reason?

Just throwing this in here since someone brought it up, it's art. Period. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Duchamp.

@Dragon_Warrior: What was so bad about part 3? I had a blast playing around with the whole monster/beast/cyborg/robot thing. Beast + hand-to-hand fighting abilities = complete pwnage.

smartpatrol

@Save me: That's the one!

smartpatrol

boy i feel stupid for beating it fair and square. but then again i can say that for FF1, FF2, FF7, FF8, FFA, FFT, FFL, FFL2 Secret of Mana, and suddenly I am sweating geek juice.

ToneTheTiger

@ColombianBan: LOL i'm done with this one thank you for the entertainment at work guy's, Haha! art. opera. what will these kids think of next?

Dash_Stryker

@Dash_Stryker: Ok, could you please tell a computer to speed run a game for me? How about you show me the FIRST program that you tell it needs to speed run a game for you?

ALL of the input is human. You go FRAME by FRAME adding the input and thinking of your next move. Knowledge of the game is ESSENTIAL.

It's like creating an opera. All the computer does is play your creation

@iEro-Sennin: Did you just compare power leveling to hacking?

@iEro-Sennin: They play the "game" not the story. Everyone does that with some game every now and then.

Brings back a lot of memories. I remember preparing for days for that boss battle and then pulled out the chainsaw for my first turn and won. It was rather anticlimactic. I always enjoyed the FFL games though, but never got around to playing any of the SaGa console games.

Kdawg

@stoneteen: You should see at TASVIDEOS.org the no stars Mario 64 completion. It's like God playing video games.

@ColombianBan: "formed by constructing an input file slowly over time using an emulator as a tool to overcome human limitations such as skill and reflex, then playing the file back to give the impression that the game is played extraordinarily."
Hmmm?

Dash_Stryker

@Dash_Stryker: It involves talent. And no, a computer program does NOT play for you. Learn the facts.

@m9105826: 'General' and 'Art' are incongruous terms.

Bergerac

@[tasvideos.org]
how cool is it to let a computer program pretty much play your game? Answer not very. Where is your speed run art God now?

Dash_Stryker

@Ferkner: Tool assisted is different than manual. Manual means skill, Tool Assistance means incredible knowledge about the game, knowledge that takes years to perfect, even more than that needed to speedrun.

This is my childhood gone to drains.
This is the game that kept me entertained in the backseat during long summer drives.

Then i found this item/weapon that i think was a saw since it sounds as if you were drilling in between them and slice them in 2 pieces basically killing them with 1 blow.
Which is exactly what looks like he used in the video.

...This is how i played the whole game, even then i thought how broken this game was.

Good times.

I beat this game dozens of times, and I still have no idea what he's doing in this run-through.

did they just rip God in half?!

xblindx

@Dash_Stryker: We don't really care if you care or not. This is posted for those who enjoy TAS's. Don't comment if you don't care... unless...

YOU DO!

@Dash_Stryker:

What's so confusing here? I'm fairly certain they aren't using "art" to mean something you would display in a museum. It's more like when someone says, "There's an art to doing this"... meaning it takes a certain touch, skill, dedication, etc... required to do a given task well. Call it something else if you wish, but don't bitch about semantics.

@Ozymandias: The argument of, if you call it art it is art, is for a lack of a better word, dumb. please come to me with a better more well thought out argument and we will talk about bumping your grade from a D to something higher.

Dash_Stryker

Invalid parameters.

@juggsgotcha: sweet :)))

I'm cooler than Danzel Washington

@Dash_Stryker: Speed reading a book isn't art, but doing a performance in public of speed reading is art.
Art is simply something done or created and shown to other. If the the creator means it to be art, than it is.
It may not be fine art, and it may not be interesting, but that doesn't make it not art. And just because it was simple to do or was unintended at the time, as long as someone thinks it is art, then it is.
I think you were using art as in fine art. (Paintings, Plays, Sculptures, drawings, Etc)
I just thought everybody already understood that.

My personal record for this game was 2h 11min with 1 single human male. This is a glitch run, not a real speed run.

@ZekeSulastin: >Then again, I shouldn't waste my time with gibbering morons like you who don't realize that. Good day.

You shut your whore mouth and quit gettin' mad at vidya games.

Final Fantasy Legend II is one of my favorite portable games of all time. I found a glitch in the optional cave that houses very powerful weapons just before you travel to fight Apollo. It gives almost unlimited speed or power potions to make the characters stats on a level playing field (this game is very hard w/o the exploit although I did beat it several times until I found the glitch ;)

@Rozzlit: yeah... what?

@Clarke: and glitches too

Paper_Luffy

Wowzers!!

@m9105826: I think you are confusing boredom with art. By your definition reading a book is art, and there are speed readers who push the the medium to it's limits. lets see some speed reading video's because hey reading is also a videogame ITT: things are what ever you want them to be.

No they are not. stop living in Fantasyland (your parents basement) and go outside. you will never beat Castlevania 2 in 10 minutes.... Okay, and there won't a tickertape parade for you in your home town. deal with it. Even though your girlfriend leaves you and says you will become nothing and you need to stop chasing those crazy dreams of becoming "Sexy Dash, Videogame Master". I hate my life... :[

Dash_Stryker

@fronsac: Well, they're not actually Final Fantasys, but Adventure had jumping, I think.

Dragon_Warrior

If you'd like to see more TAS, go to the source:

tasvideos.org

sits

@SketchyIndividual: If only Kotaku had a filter to prevent posts from children.

/facepalm

sits

@Ferkner: /facepalm

sits

@m9105826: This.

sits

I dont even know what just happened there. Some decent music though.

@SketchyIndividual: Hahah nice one!

SuperZombieMonkey

@Dragon_Warrior:
Part 3 was ok. I liked the time travel stuff where you went to the future and opened a chest, when back to the present and opened it again and then going back to the past and doing it a 3rd time. :)

It was the first Final Fantasy that had jumping also I think (it came out before Mystic Quest on the SNES IIRC)

fronsac

@ZekeSulastin: So people who don't thin TAS are worth much are morons? And people who defend them as "art forms" or truly challenging achievements are not? Please, man.

If someone can do what they do tool assisted MANUALLY, then I will be impressed.

Ferkner

@fronsac: Yeah, part 2 was the best. I hated part 3.

Dragon_Warrior

@m9105826: I had to really push it out once when I was on the toilet.

It was really artistic.

@notquitedeadyet: Why does art have to fit into your narrow definition of it? The skill and patience required for some of these runs takes just as much skill and precision as anything else. I think you confuse "fine art" with "general art".

@undefined: Any speed run, assisted or not, is pointless as far as I'm concerned. Unless a display of pointlessness is your aim.

Bergerac

@m9105826: Calling it an art form is a really, really big stretch of the definition of art form.

Ferkner

@Cript: It's like power leveling or botting in MMORPGs. Or hacking in FPS.

Sometimes I wonder what people actually "play" games for.

iEro-Sennin

Argh what.. what's happening..

Rozzlit

@juggsgotcha: +10

@boco: Art? Jesus Christ, everything seems to be labeled as art these days 9_9

notquitedeadyet

@Skyburnbright: It's showcasing the glitch anyways. Not to mention that a truly good TAS run is as hard or harder than a regular speed-run, especially when taking advantage of stuff like this.

Then again, I shouldn't waste my time with gibbering morons like you who don't realize that. Good day.

@juggsgotcha: lol.

This was the second cart I had for my GB, Tetris being the first.

My "speed run" was 4 hours, no glitching. The reason I know it was 4 hours was because I could play it from start to finish when my mom would drive us from St.L to Springfield, MO.

Oddly enough, the only way I have beaten Creator was with the 99 dex /Chainsaw attack, which I first tried on a whim on my first playthrough.

Good times.

saigumi

@fronsac: A chilling reminder to the inevitability of fate?

I've learned so much

@ChaosProxy: He kills God halfway through the video. The rest is just fluff.

But that video lasted over 4 minutes..

ChaosProxy

@Clarke:
that's one hell of a speed run.

bableebooblah-new and improved.

Oh god, this music brings shivers down my spine. Last time I played this I was 12 or 13 I think (29 now). I still have the catridge somewhere I think. This game was weird. There was no *randomness* to it. As in, if you loaded a game, fought a boss and did the exact same thing every single time in the same order, you'd always deal the same amount of damage and the attacks would occur in the same order. Which was really weird cause it meant if you failed, you were guaranteed to always fail with that exact sequence of actions.

If you saved and then walked X steps up before encountering a monster, you could reload your game and walk X steps up again and encounter the same monster with the same battle outcomes.

I managed to beat the Creator only once even tough I got through to the end with multiple parties with 999HP for almost everyone.

My favorite was Legend 2 tough. I must have gone through that game at least 20 times with different parties.

fronsac

speed running an rpg takes all the fun out of it....

@m9105826: Final Fantasy Legend is the first in the SaGa series. Final Fantasy Adventure is the first in the Mana series.

IvanDashSmith

Anyone else catch Nobuo Uematsu's name at 3:50?

Apparently for this entry he wasn't just composer but sound director....interesting...

CassiusLonginus

@Dash_Stryker: It takes just as much time and effort to make a tool-assisted run as a real one. It's just a showcase of art rather than skill.

i have seizures and damnit this video is just about to make me do the electric shuffle any minute.

bableebooblah-new and improved.

Whoa I remember this game. Did the cartridge have a picture of a golden chest on it with some treasure in the foreground?

@Dash_Stryker: TAS runs are an art form in their own right, especially in games like Super Metroid where there are so many places to cut corners and use crazy techniques. Some of these games have new exploits and sequence breaking routines found every couple of months, even after 12+ years of searching.

Tool assisted, doesn't count.

Skyburnbright

@Dash_Stryker: Agreed.

FrigidAir44

@m9105826: Adventure was the "Mana" series, Legend was the "Saga Frontier" series.

StriderShinryu

@Dash_Stryker: this post isn't about a speed run you jackass, its about a glitch. It's about..... oh you, you're too obvious a troll to eat my time. Good day.

@m9105826:
That was FF:Adventure yes

fronsac

Caution: Seizure!

iEro-Sennin

i can hardly tell whats going on in the vid

stoneteen

It's FF minus the boring part - leveling up.

JaztheSpaz

haha, love this game. proves yet again, that a chainsaw is the ultimate weapon

dethklokso

Thank god someone found out how to do this. I've always hated playing games just to get to the credits. Finally, I can see those beautiful scrolling Japanese names I can't pronounce quicker.

I thought the FF: Legend series was the beginning of the Mana franchise. Or was that FF: Adventure?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...Amen.

Translate this technique to WoW so that we can all be done with WoW please.

juggsgotcha

nice

devedo

Whoah! That was... interesting :0

Post real speed runs and maybe then i'll care. assisted speed run, you kids are lazy these days.

Dash_Stryker