Final Fantasy

Port-specific

NES

This game has a run page on SDA!

• The RNG (random number generator) is not really random. If you power cycle (save, turn the machine off, then back on), you can predict very specifically when you'll encounter monsters and what they'll be. A good example of this is finding Kyzoku. If you power cycle, load, and board the ship, the first battle will always be against Kyzoku. This is one of the best sources of GP at the beginning of the game (only the Peninsula of Power is better). Obviously, more involving uses can be employed. The number of steps until the next battle is constant.
• The spell Heal 2 (HEL2) is bugged in battle and restores far more HP than it should. It actually gives as much as Heal 3 (HEL3) does, which means more HP for a lesser charge. Heal 2 is a level 5 spell while Heal 3 is a level 7 spell.

PS (Final Fantasy: Origins)

This game has a run page on SDA!

Ship minigame

• The game has two difficulties you can choose from: Normal and Easy. Easy greatly reduces difficulty, most noticeably by needing less experience to level up and by capping spell charges at 99 instead of 9.
• The ship mini-game, 15 tile puzzle, can be used to get loads of Gil in a very short amount of time. Every time you break the #1 record, you get 10,000 gil, a potion, an antidote, and a gold needle. Second place gives 5000 gil, and third place gives 1000 gil.
• All four fiends (plot and final dungeon) and Chaos have double HP from their NES numbers.
• Several bug fixes from the original, including elemental attributes on weapons, the spell "Steel," and (unfortunately) running away from battles.
• It is possible to single-segment (SS) the game and never encounter one random battle. However, because of the quirkiness of the RNG, it's only plausible in a TAS currently. However, with the addition of memosave, you can achieve similar results by pressing R2, saving, then continuing until the next memosave with no battle, or soft resetting (L1+L2+R1+R2+start+select), and load the memo file. The memo file will last until the system is turned off or reset.
• Unlike its NES predecessor, Origins' formations chosen for battle is entirely random. More research is being conducted to determine the battle, so stay tuned.

GBA (Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls)

• Dawn of Souls is the easy version that came with Origins. You gain experience more quickly. In addition, bosses have altered HP, such as Garland's double HP. It doesn't follow any formula, so consult a bestiary guide.
• Instead of memosave you can save anywhere you wish, which also allows you to skip all random battles entirely like Origins does.
• The old "charge" MP system was replaced with a "normal" one. This allows for much freer reign on spell casting and generally makes the Mage classes really powerful. To further assist with this, the intelligence stat actually works now and all magic damage is boosted with higher intelligence.
• The game also adds four "Soul of Chaos" dungeons, each accessible after you defeat the respective element's fiend. Each dungeon holds bosses from FF3-6 who drop much more powerful equipment.

PSP (Final Fantasy: 20th Anniversary Edition)

This game has a run page on SDA!

• This game is Origins + Dawn of Souls + one new dungeon, the Labyrinth of Time. Like Dawn of Souls, it is the easy version of Origins, following the same experience tables Dawn of Souls and Origins' easy mode used.
• Equipment glitch - There's two bugs at work here:
  • The first allows you to equip gear you have onto members that cannot normally wear them. There are two caveats to this. First, you must have someone in your party that can wear whatever you want to put on to another character. And second, the character you want to glitch an item on to must be next to the starting character in your formation. Example, you want to put an Excalibur on a White Wizard. Go to a Knight's equipment screen, remove the Excalibur on him if he has it, and cycle left/right to get to your White Wizard. Move the cursor to the weapon slot of both characters. Now, on the Knight, you must hit confirm (X by default) and L/R (whichever direction the White Wizard is in) at the same time. If timed correctly, you should have the Excalibur pulled up to equip on the White Wizard.
  • The second part of this glitch allows equipment to transform. To do this, you would set up exactly the same way as you would want to transfer a weapon/armor to another character, except you start on a weapon/armor slot and the next character is on the opposite slot (armor/weapon). One example is the Longsword that can be dropped by Garland. Start on a weapon slot for a Fighter, and swap to a character's armor slot (any of the 4 will do), and it transforms into a Ruby Armlet. By doing this, it will first check your inventory to see if you have a Ruby Armlet, and if it does, it grabs that first. If it can't find a Ruby Armlet, one is created out of nothing. The best part about this aspect of the glitch is that the original item is never used up, so you could transform 1 weapon into 16 of the same armor. For a video demonstration of this glitch, watch Sir VG's explanation. In a speedrun setting, these are the noteworthy items to consider. For your convenience, the items on the left are the order when you would acquire them.
    • Hammer<-->Knight's Armor (sell for 18,000 gil)
    • Leather Cap<-->Judgment Staff (Casts Flare as an item)
    • Dagger<-->Dragon Mail (Fire, Ice, Lightning elemental protection)
    • Iron Shield<-->Defender (for Piscodemons and Astos)
    • Mythril Hammer<-->Thief's Armlet (+5 Agility)
    • Mythril Knife<-->Black Robe (Casts Blizzara as an item)
    • Steel Gloves<-->Barbarian's Sword (134 Attack,^[1] +18 Strength, +13 Stamina)
    • Mythril Axe<-->Black Garb (+10 Agility)
    • Light Axe<-->Survival Vest (+15 Agility and Stamina, Poison elemental protection)
      • For a full list of items utilized by the glitch, consult this FAQ.
• 15-tile Puzzle returns, but this time there's items to be had instead of gil. Each of the three placing ranks has a pool of items as rewards, plus a generic pool for finishing the puzzle. First place nets high-end items, such as Megalixirs and X-Potions. Our attention turns to the 2nd and 3rd place pools. Second place is notable for 2 items, the Emergency Exit and the Hermes's Shoes. Emergency Exit will let you escape a dungeon very quickly when you normally should not (or would not) have Exit or Warp. Notably, the Earth Cave, Waterfall, and Ice Cave. Hermes's Shoes will cast Haste on a target, which can also be handy if you should not have the spell. The third place pool has fangs, tier-2 elemental spells which would be served most notably for a non-equipment glitch run. These are the currently known items for each pool:
  • 1st place (30 seconds): Megalixir, X-Potion
  • 2nd place (60 seconds): Dry Ether, Elixir, Remedy, Hermes's Shoes, Emergency Exit, Turbo Ether
  • 3rd place (120 seconds): Spider's Silk, White Fang, White Curtain, Red Fang, Red Curtain, Blue Fang, Blue Curtain, Vampire's Fang, Cockatrice's Claw
  • Just finishing: 100 gil, Potion, Antidote, Gold Needle, Ether, Phoenix Down, Eye Drops, Echo Grass

General strategies

Peninsula of Power

• Haste doubles your hit count in battle by raising accuracy. Physical damage will significantly increase. Obviously, this is best used against bosses or powerful enemies.
• For every 32 points of accuracy, a character gains an additional hit physically, except for Monk, which when barehanded, has twice the hit count by default.
• Steel and Saber (TMPR and SABR in the NES version respectively, but they don't work) increase attack power in battles. These are also useful against bosses or powerful enemies.
• All buffs stack with themselves. For example, casting Blink three times will max out evade. This applies to all buffing spells except Haste, which does not stack at all.
• The Peninsula of Power is the greatest source of money and experience at the beginning of the game and for a long time in. It is located northeast of Pravoka/Pravoca. To get there, go east at Pravoca until you reach a north/south fork. From there, head north until you reach the peninsula. Stay on the tip of the peninsula and the monsters from the northern continent will fight you. This is accessible the instant you get the bridge built. To quickly kill some monsters there, bring mages with FIR2/Fira and HRM2/Diara to dispose of the threats. The best monsters to fight there are Minotaur Zombie/ZomBULL, and Winter Wolf/FrWolf.
• Damage tiles (ice and lava) do not increment the battle counter. As a result, more steps can be taken before the next battle.
• When taking a critical hit, the target's defense (ABSORB in the NES version) is not factored into damage. As a result, the full damage potential is taken immediately after randomness is factored in.

Routes

NES

• Coming soon...

PS (Final Fantasy: Origins)

• Choose Easy over Normal for difficulty, as Normal only adds time.
• Best party for consistency is 3xFighter and a Red Mage, but a more-optimized segmented run is looking at a 3xFighter and Black Mage.
• Cornelia: Buy 3 or 4 Rapiers, depending on who can equip them. Buy 3 or 4 Chain Mail for the same reason. Buy Cure1 if you have a Red Mage, buy Sleep1 regardless, buy Fire1 if you have a Black Mage.
• Cornelia Castle: Exit when able.
• Temple of Fiends: Charge straight up to Garland and take him out. He has 212 HP. Use Fire1 if you have a Black Mage, and hope for good damage numbers from your attackers.
• Cornelia Castle: After the King grants the bridge, walk up and talk to Sarah to get the Lute. Exit afterwards.
• Cornelia: Recover MP if necessary.
• Pravoca: Fight the Pirates, use Sleep1 and hope your Mage gets a good spot in the turn order.
• Ship mini game: Depending on your category, you'll want between 30,000 and 60,000 gil.
• Elfheim: If your party is 3xFighter and Red Mage...
  • Buy 4 Mythril Swords, Cure2, Fire2, Bolt2, 3 Steel Plates, 3 Iron Shields, 3 Helmets, 4 Leather Gloves, 30 Antidotes, 10 Sleeping Bags, 2 Gold Needles, 5 Tents, 4 Cottages, Haste, and Ice2.
• If your party is 3xFighter and Black Mage...
  • Remove 1 Mythril Sword and Cure2 from the above list. Add some Tents if you feel it necessary.
• If you are doing a memosave run...
  • Buy 3 Mythril Swords, 3 Steel Plates, 3 Cottages, 40 Potions, and Haste.
• Marsh Cave: Go straight to the third floor. On the third floor, go right 1 room, down 1 room, enter and grab the upper chest (Cottage), exit room and go down 1, enter and fight Piscodemons. You won't have any charges for Bolt2, so just hope everyone survives. Grab the Crown and then get out.
• Western Keep: Astos has a 75% chance to cast a spell every round, and his magic order is Reaper, Slow2, Haste, Fire2, Bolt2, Slow1, Blind, and Sleep1. Astos has 168 HP.
• Matoya's Cave: Get Jolt Tonic.
• Elven Castle: Get Mystic Key.
• Cornelia Castle: Get Nitro Powder.
• Mt. Duergar: Claim all of the treasure in the lower room near Nerrick, then talk to Nerrick.
• Terra Cavern: Proceed to the third floor, and fight the Vampire. Claim the Star Ruby, then get out.
• Titan's Cave: Give the Star Ruby, then get out.
• Sage's Cave: Get the Earth Rod, then get out.
• Terra Cavern: Proceed back to the Vampire's location, use the Earth Rod on the plate, then go down to the fifth floor to fight Lich. Lich has 800 HP, and his spell order is Ice2, Sleep2, Haste, Bolt2, Bind, Fire2, Slow1, and Sleep1. Needless to say, if you see Bolt2 you ARE dead. He has a 75% chance to cast a spell every round. Typically for the best results, Haste the fighter in the second or third slot, since they'll be targeted less. After Haste, use Steel every round. Hope everyone survives.
• Crescent Lake: Get the Canoe.
• Citadel of Trials: Claim the Gauntlets in the first treasure room, it'll be handy for the Nightmares on the next floor. If you have a level 4 charge available, use it in the SECOND BATTLE with the Nightmares. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE HEALING STAFF! Nightmares have 200 HP, are weak to Ice, and neutral to Lightning. Proceed through to get the Ice Brand and Ruby Armlet. Equip the Ice Brand on a Fighter, and the Ruby Armlet on your Mage. Get the Rat's Tail, and fight the Dragon Zombie.
• Ice Cavern: Proceed to the big treasure room on B2, and pick up the Flame Sword, and equip it on a Fighter. On B3, go to the lower left room, and claim all of the treasure, which amounts to 40,784 gil. Pick up the upper right chest from the right side. Back on B1, get the lower chest for 10,000 gil, then claim the Ice Shield, and equip that on a Fighter, proceed down the hole to fight the Evil Eye. Grind until level 18. Get out!
• Ryukahn Desert: Get the Airship.
• Caravan: Buy the Bottled Fairie.
• Dragon's Cave: Class change!
• Gaia: Buy 4 Protect Rings and release the Bottled Fairie. Proceed to get the Oxyale.
• Cornelia: Buy Cure1 for your Knights.
• Elfheim: Buy Cure2 for your Knights.
• Mt. Gulg: Proceed all the way down to fight Marilith. She has 1200 HP, and should be dispatched rather easily.
• Melmond: Buy Cure3 and Life1 if you have a Red Mage, and Warp1 regardless.
• Waterfall: Proceed all the way through, get the Warp Cube, Defender, and the Ribbon. Warp out.
• Onrac: Proceed to the Sunken Sea Shrine.^[2]
• Sunken Sea Shrine:^[2] Go up to the first floor to pick up the Rosetta Stone, then warp back to the entrance floor. Proceed down to get the Giant's Gloves (get it from the right side), and the Ribbon. Proceed down to Kraken. FULLY HEAL UP FOR KRAKEN. Kraken has 1600 HP, and has enough attack power to do up to 300 damage per physical attack. Kraken has a 25% chance to use Ink every round.
• Melmond: Talk to Dr. Unne, learn the Lufenian language.
• Lufenia: Get the Bell.
• Mirage Tower: You should pick up the Healing Helmet to make things easier in the final dungeon. Get the Dragon Mail and Sunblade, skip the Thor's Hammer if you feel it useless. Give the Dragon Mail to the Fighter that WON'T GET A RIBBON. Proceed up to the Blue Dragon, then to the Floating Castle.
• Floating Castle: Get the Ribbon, White Robe, Black Robe, and Adamantite. Proceed to fight Tiamat. Tiamat has 2000 HP, has a 50% chance to use his skills, and the skill order is Thunderbolt, Poison Gas, Icestorm, and Blaze.
• Mt. Duergar: Get the Excalibur.
• Cornelia: Restock on Potions if you already haven't.
• Temple of Fiends: Long dungeon, very straight-forward. Kill Phantom, Lich, Marilith, Kraken, Tiamat, and Chaos.

GBA (Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls)

• Coming soon...

PSP (Final Fantasy: 20th Anniversary Edition)

• Equipment glitch route (any% with glitches, however you wish to call it)
  • Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, and White Mage for party setup.
  • Cornelia: Buy 1 Hammer, turn into 5 Knight's Armor. Equip 4 overall, meaning to unequip 1 extra for selling. Buy 99 Potions, 21 Antidotes and 11 Phoenix Downs.
  • Shrine of Chaos: Take the first left and get the Leather Cap. Turn it into 4 Judgment Staves. Bop Garland over the head.
  • Cornelia Castle: After the King grants the bridge, walk up and talk to Sarah to get the Lute. Exit afterwards.
  • Pravoca: Fight the Pirates.
  • Ship mini game: You must get a time between 30 seconds a 1 minute. Then you need the 1/6 drop for the Emergency Exit. Segmented would get 2 or 3 Emergency Exits here.
  • Elfheim: Buy 1 Dagger and 1 Iron Shield, turn into 4 Dragon Mail and 2 Defenders respectively. Put the Defenders on the Red Mage and Thief. Buy 11 Gold Needles.
  • Marsh Cave: Proceed to the Crown, use Judgment Staff if there's more than 2 Piscodemons. Bop on the head otherwise. Currently experimenting if bopping 3 Piscodemons is faster than Judgment Staff.
  • Western Keep: Bop Astos over the head.
  • Matoya's Cave: Get Jolt Tonic.
  • Elven Castle: Get Mystic Key. Get Mythril Hammer from castle treasury, turn into 8 Thief's Armlets.
  • Cornelia Castle: Get Nitro Powder. Get Mythril Knife and turn into 2 Black Robes.
  • Mt. Duergar: Talk to Nerrick.
  • Melmond: Buy 1 Steel Gloves, turn into 4 Barbarian's Swords. Fighter and Red Mage can naturally equip the sword.
  • Cavern of Earth: Proceed down to the Vampire, then get the Star Ruby. Use Emergency Exit.
  • Giant's Cave: Give the Star Ruby.
  • Sage's Cave: Get the Earth Rod.
  • Cavern of Earth: Proceed down to Lich.
  • Crescent Lake: Buy 1 Mythril Axe, turn into 6 Black Garb, 2 each for Thief, Red Mage, and White Mage. Keep a Dragon Mail on everyone! Get the Canoe.
  • Cavern of Ice: Proceed through until B3. Use the ice tiles to take a lot of damage to weaken the Fighter, Red Mage, and Thief down to about 40 HP or less each. Heal White Mage as necessary. At the Evil Eye, defend until it casts Thundara, or just kill if your Fighter, Red Mage, and Thief are already dead. Pick up Levistone, and grind the White Mage until she hits level 23, which should take about 8 battles, then revive the Thief. Grind until White Mage gets to 33. Thief should get to level 28. At level 28, the Thief will be in the 7-hit threshold, but after equipping the upcoming Survival Vests, will enter into 8-hit threshold. You don't want 8 hits too early because it adds another swing to the animation, which takes up time.
  • Ryukahn Desert: Get Airship.
  • Caravan: Buy the Bottled Fairie.
  • Gaia: Fairie is automatically released, get Oxyale.
  • Waterfall: Get the Warp Cube. If you have an Emergency Exit, use it!
  • Onrac: Buy 31 Ethers, and then Healaga for White Mage. Proceed to the Sunken Shrine.
  • Sunken Sea Shrine:^[2] Proceed up to the first floor to get the Rosetta Stone, then down to the Ribbon floor to pick up the Light Axe in the upper left room. Make sure you pick up the axe from the right side, since the left and bottom sides are spiked tiles! Turn the axe into 9 Survival Vests, replacing the Black Garbs, as well as putting one on the shield slot. Proceed to Kraken.
  • Melmond: Talk to Dr. Unne and learn Lufenian.
  • Lufenia: Get the Bell and get out.
  • Mirage Tower: Proceed up to the Floating Castle.
  • Floating Castle: Proceed to Tiamat.
  • Mt. Gulg: Proceed to Marilith. Marilith has 1440 HP, and can be one-shotted by Thief with a critical hit.
  • Elfheim: Buy Haste.
  • Shrine of Chaos: Proceed through until Lich's floor. Put a fourth Survival Vest on the Red Mage, replacing the Dragon Mail, which should propel his Agility higher than the Thief's. Remove a Survival Vest from the Thief if you deem it necessary. Kill Lich, Marilith, Kraken, and Tiamat. Start using Haste on Thief for Marilith, Kraken, and Tiamat.
  • Chaos prep: Max out White Mage's MP. Replace the four Survival Vests on White Mage with three Dragon Mail, leaving the shield slot empty. Replace a Survival Vest with a Dragon Mail on the Red Mage.
  • Chaos: Haste Thief, Fighter, and Red Mage in that order. White Mage always casts Healaga. Attack and hold confirm for likely victory. The White Mage hopefully shouldn't get anymore than 1 turn before she casts Healaga before Chaos acts.

Battles you cannot escape from, excluding Soul of Chaos dungeons and Labyrinth of Time

The format is as follows: First, Monster name follows the order the versions were released: Nintendo Entertainment System, Playstation, Game Boy Advance, and Playstation Portable. Second is the number of them you would see in the fight. Finally, details where the monsters will appear in the game.

• WIZARD/Piscodemon - Any number. Seen guarding some treasures in floor 3 of the Marsh Cave, seen in floors 3 and 4 of the Earth Cave, and the first floor of the Ice Cave.
• EARTH/Gnoma/Earth Elemental - Any number. Seen guarding some treasures in the Earth Cave, and on Lich's floor in the final dungeon.^[3]
• CEREBUS + WzOGRE/Hellhound + Ogre Mage - 0-1 dogs accompany 1-2 ogres or 1-3 dogs accompanies 0-2 ogres. Seen in floors 2, 3, and 5 of Mt. Gulg, and on the world map near Onrac.
• FIRE/Pyros/Fire Elemental - Any number. Seen in floors 2, 3, and 5 of Mt. Gulg, Kary's floor of the final dungeon,^[3] and guarding some treasure on floor 2 of Mt. Gulg.
• FrGIANT + FrWOLF/Ice Gigas + Winter Wolf - 1 giant accompanies 0-2 wolves, or 2 giants accompanies 2-6 wolves. Seen in floors 2 and 3 of the Ice Cave, on the world map near Gaia, and near Onrac. This battle varies from the group of 1-9 wolves, since you can flee from that group. Keep your eye out for the giant, and if you see it, you know you have to fight.
• ZomBULL + TROLL/Necrotaur + Troll/Minotaur Zombie + Troll - 1-3 bulls, or 1-4 bulls accompanies 0-2 trolls. Seen in floor 2 of the Castle of Ordeals, the top left edge of the world map beyond the Oasis, and the long forested path to Lufenia, as well as the Peninsula of Power.
• GHOST/Ghost - Any number. Seen in floors 2 and 4 of the Sunken Sea Shrine.^[2]
• PHANTOM/Death Eye - Always appears solo. Seen in the final floor of the final dungeon^[3] in the NES Japanese version, and is a spiked tile a few spaces before you must use the Lute to open the rest of the way down in the final dungeon.^[3]
• WATER/Aquos/Water Elemental - Any number as long it's a 1-9 group. If it accompanies a Water Naga, you can run from it. Seen in floors 2 and 5 of the Sunken Sea Shrine,^[2] and guarding some treasures on floor 4 of the Sunken Sea Shrine.^[2]
• ZombieD/Dragon Zombie - Any number. Seen guarding the exit chair next to the Rat's Tail in the Castle of Ordeals, as well as floor 2 of the final dungeon.^[3] If it accompanies Wizard Vampires, you can flee from that group.
• Blue D/Blue Dragon - Always appears solo. Seen guarding near the warp tile in floor 3 of the Mirage Tower, and seen on floors 2 and 3 of the Mirage Tower.
• WORM/Purple Worm - Any number. Seen in floors 1 and Tiamat's floor in the final dungeon.^[3]
• Gas D/Green Dragon - Any number. Seen in the Waterfall and the third floor of the final dungeon.^[3]
• EYE/Evil Eye - Always appears solo. Guarding the FLOATER/Levistone in the Ice Cave, and seen in floors 1 and 2 of the Floating Castle.
• VAMPIRE/Vampire - Guarding the RUBY/Star Ruby in the third floor of the Earth Cave, all floors of the Mirage Tower, and Tiamat's floor of the final dungeon.^[3] Only the battle in the Earth Cave is inescapable.
• WzSAHAG + R.SAHAG/Sahagin Prince + Red Sahagin - 1-2 princes accompanies 7-8 reds. Seen in floors 2, 3, and 4 of the Sunken Sea Shrine.^[2]
• GARLAND/Garland, PIRATE/Pirate, ASTOS/Astos, LICH/Lich, KARY/Marilith, KRAKEN/Kraken, TIAMAT/Tiamat, and CHAOS/Chaos are all bosses that are being mentioned for completionists sake.

Problematic battles

• SAHAG/Sahagin - Any number: Coming soon...

1. ↑ The Barbarian's Sword actually gives 125 attack, but you gain 9 additional attack points because of the strength boost it also gives.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Sunken Sea Shrine - The dungeon's floor numbers have been swapped between the different versions of the game. For consistency, the first floor will be referred to as the one with the mermaids and the SLAB/Rosetta Stone. The fifth floor is the one where Kraken resides.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Although it is part of the Shrine of Chaos where you fight Garland at the beginning of the game, the final dungeon doesn't begin until you step on the tile the black orb occupies. Therefore, the first floor is the room you appear in after stepping on the tile.