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Frequently Asked Questions about Final Fantasy 1 runs

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Sep 23rd, 2013
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  1. Q: What is RNG and how does it affect this run?
  2. A: "RNG" (Random Number Generator) refers to the set of variables and formulas that determine the so-called "random" elements of the game. In FF1 that amounts to 5 things: how many steps between encounters, which group of monsters you get, how many monsters of each type appear, how the events of battle unfold (turn order, targeting, running, surprise, hits, crits, and damage), and where the NPCs walk (townsfolk, bats). In a real-time speedrun you can realistically manipulate the first 2. In this run I determine ahead of time which monsters will appear and where, but I can't control what happens in the battle. I also can't control how many monsters of each type appear, which means my XP and GP planning needs to be a bit flexible. I keep track of the minimum and the average XP/GP that I can expect to earn in each section of the game, and I adjust my fight-run decisions based on how many monsters appear.
  3.  
  4. Q: How did you figure out the encounter manipulation?
  5. A: The internet. All the information is out there, it's just a matter of putting it together. Experimentation and memory-watching on emulator also played a big role. The links at the bottom of this FAQ should tell you everything you need to know about how the game mechanics and RNG work.
  6.  
  7. Q: What console/emulator do you play on?
  8. A: Original model front-loader NES. Sometimes I use FCEUX emulator for testing.
  9.  
  10. Q: Is F/F/R/R the best party configuration for a speedrun?
  11. A: Depends. The first 3 characters are F/F/R for sure. Thief and Blackbelt are useless in a speedrun, so your options for the 4th spot are Fighter, Red, Black, or White. Any of these are viable options. The previous WR used a White Mage (who can use HARM and early LIFE). I will probably try Black Mage eventually. However for casual play or a marathon-safe run, I recommend F/F/R/R above all others.
  12.  
  13. Q: What's wrong with Blackbelt and Thief?
  14. A: Blackbelts don't start to exceed fighters until you reach a much higher level than I do in this run. I spend more than half the run below level 10 and finish the game at level 17 or less. Thief would be useful for running from battles if the running formula wasn't broken. Due to a bug in the NES version, after a few experience levels all classes have basically the same chance of running.
  15.  
  16. Q: What would be the advantage of using a Black Mage instead of a Red?
  17. A: The Black Mage gains access to certain spells at a lower level (most notably WARP, which is one of the limiting factors in when I stop the Agama grind). It also adds considerable risk, since the Black Mage has terrible HP and practically no protective gear. At any point in the game the Black Mage could be killed in a single round by even the weak-tier monster groups. Also the lack of a CURE spell has a considerable time cost (3 seconds per heal potion), and lack of a LIFE spell makes Temple Of Fiends more dangerous.
  18.  
  19. Q: Why do you play the NES version instead of one of the remakes?
  20. A: Because I like it. It's also the hardest version (the remakes were nerfed). Plus it's the original and it's a classic.
  21.  
  22. Q: Why do you stop to fight ___?
  23. A: Either I need the XP or it's an unrunnable battle.
  24.  
  25. Q: Why do you spend extra steps before ___?
  26. A: I'm doing it to manipulate the RNG in an upcoming area. Every step in this run is done for a reason, and sometimes you have to spend time to save time.
  27.  
  28. Q: Why do you always use those names?
  29. A: To make the party members easy to identify in menus and battle. And I like them.
  30.  
  31. Q: Why do you do the dungeons in the order you do?
  32. A: Ordeals before Ice Cave is so that I can get the the Zeus Gauntlets and Heal Staff, which are amazingly helpful. Volcano comes first after the airship because that's where I grind levels and earn cash to buy the Bottle that gets you into Sea Shrine. Besides these two things, the game is linear.
  33.  
  34. Q: What's the optimal time for a speedrun?
  35. A: Just over an hour -- see the TAS. As for what's realistic in a real-time run, I'd say 3:30 with great luck (give or take 5 minutes).
  36.  
  37. Q: What things tend to end your runs?
  38. A: Large groups of undead who stun-lock the party. Wizards in the Marsh Cave and Earth Cave. Lich. Mancats in Ordeals. FrostD in the Ice Cave. Kraken. Lich-2. Running out of Heal potions in Temple Of Fiends. Walking the wrong way and ruining the encounter manipulation plan. (Thanks to encounter planning I do not face any Sorcerers/Mindflayers, Mages, GasDs, or WarMechs.)
  39.  
  40. Q: Why does the party order matter?
  41. A: Slot 1 gets attacked 50% of the time, slot 2 is 25%, and slots 3 and 4 are 12.5% each. Also, the characters in slots 1 and 2 have a substantially higher chance of running than slots 3 and 4 due to a bug in how running is calculated.
  42.  
  43. Q: Which spells do you buy?
  44. CURE - An easy choice. Typically 40+ uses per run per mage, each one saving a heal potion (which would cost 3 seconds to buy).
  45. FIRE - A marginal timesaver. Useful against Vampire and possibly helpful at Lich. It's basically free, except for the time to walk to the shop.
  46. LIT - Very helpful at the Marsh Cave Wizards. I can only afford to buy 1 without having to revisit Coneria.
  47. ICE - Practically essential for Astos. Helpful against various Ogres/Creeps in early-game, and a couple marginal uses in late-game.
  48. FIR2 - Staple attack magic. Clears out large groups of paralyzing undead in Earth and Ice Caves. Wrecks ZomBulls. Useful throughout the run.
  49. LIT2 - Used on Wizards in the Ice Cave, on Kary, and on Kraken. Other marginal uses in late-game. Zeus Gauntlet casts this as well, so only 1 mage buys LIT2.
  50. AFIR - Used only to survive the the Mancat encounter in Ordeals. Without this spell, about a third of the runs would be lost to the Mancats. I may buy 1 or 2 depending on how much gold I have after Astos.
  51. FAST - Essential for Kraken, Tiamat, Kary-2, Kraken-2, Tiamat-2, Chaos.
  52. WARP - Big time savings in Waterfall, Sea Shrine (twice), Sky Palace, Temple Of Fiends, and small savings in a few towns.
  53. LIFE - Optional, but greatly reduces risk in Temple Of Fiends.
  54.  
  55. Q: Which spells do you skip?
  56. TMPR, SABR, LOCK, LOK2 - These are broken in the NES version.
  57. HARM, HEAL - Only a White Mage can use these.
  58. MUTE - Low chance of success.
  59. ICE2 - Can not afford without revisiting Elfland later.
  60. CUR2 - Won't get used enough to justify the time or money.
  61. PURE - Clearly not worth the money. ($4000 = 53 Pure potions)
  62. BANE - Intriguing, but probably not worth the cost.
  63. Level 6, 7, 8 spells - Can't use because the mages are too low level.
  64.  
  65. Q: Why do you grind on Agamas in Volcano instead of Eyes in Ice Cave?
  66. A: The Eye's XXXX spell will instantly kill anyone with less than 300 HP. You could protect your fighters by grinding them up to level 12 off ZombieDs in Ordeals before coming to Ice Cave, but this still leaves the mages vulnerable to XXXX and everyone in the party vulnerable to GLANCE (stone). The ZombieD/Eye grind is not significantly faster than the Agamas in terms of XP, but it would allow you to earn enough gold to buy ProRings on your first visit to Gaia, rather than having to revisit Gaia later after Sea Shrine (cost of about 45 seconds). In the future, when I'm ready to move to riskier strats I might consider this.
  67.  
  68. Q: Why do you prefer to walk in lava in the Volcano?
  69. A: Lava squares do not have encounters and do not advance the step-count.
  70.  
  71. Q: Why not skip Xcalber or Masmune?
  72. A: If Chaos isn't defeated fast enough he will cast CUR4 which restores his HP to full, making the fight nearly impossible to win. Without Masmune you have probably 5-10% chance of killing him before this happens. Both of these swords are substantially more powerful than the next best weapons (45+56 vs 30+32, a total difference of 39 damage), which really adds up when you multiply that difference by 4-8 hits per attack (an extra 150-300 damage per round plus crits). Xcalber is quick to get, and if it saves 1-2 rounds of battle in Temple Of Fiends (which it definitely will at Lich-2) then it pays for the cost of visiting Dwarf Cave to get it. Grabbing the Adamant is free because I need to spend extra steps anyway to set up good encounters in Temple Of Fiends.
  73.  
  74. Q: Why do you turn the Red Mages to stone before Lich-2 in the Temple of Fiends?
  75. A: The first spell that Lich-2 casts is NUKE, which is almost guaranteed to kill both mages. Turning them to stone is the only way to get the mages through this battle alive.
  76.  
  77. Q: Why not use the PNEOP to level up fast?
  78. A: The PNEOP (peninusula north east of Pravoka) is a small patch of land near Pravoka that uses a monster set from much later in the game, due to an oversight in the monster zone gridding. Unfortunately you'd want to be at least level 6-7 before attempting to grind on the monsters here, by which time I'm already in/past Earth Cave where there are faster and safer ways to earn the equivalent XP.
  79.  
  80. Q: What resources would you recommend for someone learning to speedrun the game?
  81. Everything you need to know about the game: (note: step counter info is wrong)
  82. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/522595-final-fantasy/faqs/57009
  83. Correct explanation of step counter ("Encounter Algorithm"):
  84. http://tasvideos.org/GameResources/NES/FinalFantasy1.html
  85. Monster formations:
  86. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/522595-final-fantasy/faqs/59202
  87. Monster, Equipment, Magic info:
  88. http://guides.gamercorner.net/ff/
  89. http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/nes/ff1/
  90. Other helpful stuff:
  91. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/522595-final-fantasy/faqs/56760
  92. http://tasvideos.org/3656S.html
  93. http://slickproductions.org/ffhackster.php
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