I honestly don't know what you expect and this is a completely pointless argument. I want to assume you're completely new to speedrunning or something and have never realized there might be globalized rules regarding emulators and the clear advantages they'd hold over consoles if every feature were allowed. However, your profile here shows that you have been running games the last 10 months or so, among them many Mario games. I looked at the leaderboards and none of them have rules stating savestates are disallowed. Try posting in their forums asking if you can use it in runs for them or even in the general speedrunning forums on this site and you'll get the same answer everywhere.

Pokemon is probably the one outlier in the speedrunning community you'll find that makes a big deal out of everything and specifies every minute detail regarding their runs. Using them as an example doesn't work well.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I've given this response more time than it was even worth. Sorry for your bad experience with this game and speedrunning in general.

Pretty much everything that Fell has said here. If emulator features that weren't present on the original console were allowed, there would be absolutely no point in ever running the game as it were released. Emulator is an option for those that cannot afford or have no viable way of recording gameplay off of an actual cartridge or official release like the virtual console on the Wii U.

I'll add clarification to the rules but I assumed that something like this would never have to be stated anywhere.

My run was before the route change that saves around 15 minutes. It was the same one that Romi used and made the tutorial for. I'm not sure if I ever made any small adjustments to it back when I ran the game, but it's probably worth watching either of the top two runs since they probably do slightly different things throughout the run.

If we're talking 100% routing, I never bothered with that kind of thing since it would involve Norende being completed meaning the run would be locked to a firm time due to it rebuilding in real-time. But if you're interested in just Any% notes I might have them somewhere still if I'm lucky.

I should honestly just remove my True Ending time since I never got a recorded video for it despite streaming. I never finalized my notes for it either, but I do remember what the post-Any% portion was like. The only battles done are the extra crystal bosses. During those the primary job to focus on is Arcanist while usually leaving one person as Black Mage to be able to kill the bosses. The goal was to get Status Amp, which is crucial for the final boss.

With Status Amp it's possible to sleep Ouroboros with 25% accuracy. This makes the last five fights (all the same boss) relatively safe as long as you can land the sleep. After that it's just managing turns and making sure you never go into negative turn counts in case he wakes up. It's a cheesy strategy but negates any need for grinding out extra levels.

My one run was more or less just a route test to see if it would work out in the end. That should be enough now for anyone that is interested to work with to rebuild the route.

Sadly, FFTA at it's core is an almost entirely RNG-dependent game. Every action, every outcome, is decided on a frame by frame basis. Manipulating in real time can only be done via save and reload, and only works for a few things specifically. Even then, it's not so much manipulation as it is hit a different frame, hope for a better result.

The loot does make the run interesting, I agree. Firewheel and Sleet Rods are super useful for the standard fights, but not as much for killing Famfrit. Kaiser Knuckles are still one of the best items to get early on for Air Render since it does more than a normal attack and has a range to it. Again, due to the way RNG is handled, they're impossible to manipulate without wasting way more time than they'd save in this category.

I agree with the map setup as well, except for Eluut Sands. I'd suggest putting that a few spaces away from the rest of the group since there's always a bit of travelling to get it to the 15th before the mission. By leaving some space, it lessens the chance of a clan wandering in the way or onto that spot. I've always just gotten so used to the Any% setup I keep forgetting to change that.

I'm fairly certain versions are the same for running, with the exception of JP and it's different (and bullshit) laws. As for gameplay speed though, all versions run that same.

I'm not too sure on the Jambiya. The Silver Sword has added evasion, I believe one point more than the Jambiya, but also allows for use with a shield. Even though a Thief should be able to evade naturally, I feel like it might die easier.

The Char Bow is a good idea since the Viera isn't really needed too much for damage. Immobilize is a good temporary solution, but blind will last much longer. If used on Famfrit himself, that would pretty much guarantee never being hit by Counter or his standard attacks.

As for buying the two pairs of Battle Boots right away, that's a waste of precious time. They aren't needed until the Cheetahs and can even be held off until Desert Peril to cut down on extra shopping trips.

Still feel free to try out these ideas though! I like the theorycrafting going on. That's how solid routes get made.

This is based on what I do for my attempts and is very much open to any sort of change or optimization as each person sees fit. Basically use this as a guideline for what you'd like to do and go from there.

After clearing the tutorial Lizard Men fight, place the Sprohm icon next to Giza Plains. This can be any of the three directions, it's not important which.

Purchase the next mission, Herb Picking. Purchase: Silver Sword x2, Rod x1, Thorn Bow x1, Rising Sun x1. Sell: Bandages x4 Change the Nu Mou to a Black Mage, equip everyone but Montblanc with new weapons that were purchased. Equip the item ability on Marche.

Herb Picking

• Place the soldier in the bottom location so he can get a first turn kill on the Fairy when he moves

After the mission, place Lutia Pass on any space directly next to Sprohm. Again, exact location doesn't matter, just so long as it's next to the town. This is so Knives will be against the law during the next mission, rendering two enemies completely useless in terms of damage.

Purchase the next mission, Thesis Hunt.

Thesis Hunt

• Make sure to kill the White Mage before he heals his party too much, otherwise standard battle

After Thesis Hunt, place Nubswood wherever you'd like. Head to either Cyril or Sprohm. Purchase the next mission, The Cheetahs.

The Cheetahs

• I'd recommend deploying the two Black Mages and the Soldier, though in this battle a lot of the main damage will come from the guest characters.
• Black mages are good for area, ranged damage. Kind of useful to keep them from getting hurt too badly.
• Be wary of the White Monk and his Air Render ability, it will hurt A LOT

After the mission, place Eluut Sands wherever most convenient. Purchase the next mission, Desert Peril. Purchase with remaining Gil: Gauntlets or Battle Boots.

• Gauntlets allow for easier killing while Battle Boots add in extra defense. I usually put these on my Soldiers or Monk. If any valuable drops have been obtained, those can be sold to buy a couple more of these accessories as they are kind of costly.

Desert Peril

• Entering this battle on the 15th of the month will make lightning against the law rendering the flan completely helpless
• It's very easy to die here, try to focus one panther at a time with the melee characters before the antlion and blue panther get into the fray
• Black Mages are good at dealing area damage as always. Archer can immobilize if needed to keep an enemy or two from getting close

After the mission, place Ulei River wherever most convenient. Purchase the next mission, Twisted Flow. Purchase with remaining Gil: Hi-Potion x10, Phoenix Down x10

• If some money is leftover, more Battle Boots or even hats and armor can be purchased and equipped for extra safety

Twisted Flow

• Roulette. It will either happen or not. It's good if it takes out an enemy or two, but be prepared to revive a lot during this fight.
• Focus the additional enemies before working on Famfrit. It's impossible to bring him down while ignoring them
• Use Marche or the other Soldier to Speedbreak Famfrit at some point, lowering his turn count significantly
• Once additional enemies are dead, work Famfrit's health down slowly by attacking with the Soldiers and Monk. All other units deal terrible damage and aren't worth the time
• Mages and Archer can go on potion duty, healing the fighters that get damaged by counter and other attacks

Split when Famfrit dies and you're done!

https://discord.gg/0nY6ohcnKtKx9l0T

If interested or have questions, feel free to join the server.

2000 and 3000 are the ones to go for I'm pretty sure. I know that the 1000 model doesn't have the video out feature. Depending on the game you're interested in, some may or may not allow PPSSPP. You'd have to check with the community behind the game on their ruling. The main issue is how much time emulator saves compared to UMD, which is countered by utilizing custom firmware and ISOs on the memory stick instead for console.

I figure we might as well have a post here we can discuss the Any% route and what might be the most optimal. I'll go ahead and start by posting my current route I've been using.

System 1: 1-1: 10 Critters 1-2: 9 Critters + Capsule 1-3: 6 Critters Secret 1-2 1-4: 9 Critters

System 2: 2-1: 0 Critters + Capsule 2-2: 12 Critters + Capsule 2-3: 3 Critters Secret 2-2 Secret 2-1 2-4: 7 Critters

System 3: 3-1: 25 Critters + Capsule 3-2: 6 Critters + Capsule 3-3: 6 Critters + Capsule Secret 3-1 Secret 3-2 Secret 3-3 Secret 3-4 3-4: 12 Critters

System 4: 4-1: 0 Critters 4-2: 10 Critters 4-3: 0 Critters 4-4: 5 Critters

System 5: 5-1: 0 Critters + Capsule 5-2: 0 Critters 5-3: 0 Critters Secret 5-1 5-4: .done

This is slightly different than my current 1:19 run. The difference being the new 2-2 skip and making up the 12 critters lost there elsewhere, which I added in on 3-4 and 4-4 as boss levels don't have moons and the critters aren't out of the way at all. I was already over the 120 critters needed for the final boss, so I didn't need the full 12.

System 1 is pretty much locked in stone so long as the 1-3 skip is used, which is essentially required as it saves a significant amount of time.

My logic behind my System 3 section is that by doing all of the capsule and secret levels, it unlocks the extra fourth stage, which means later on I don't have to pick up another capsule. Not only does this save time by not having to collect it, it also means skipping critters on some stages entirely bypassing moon. This change is seen in 4-3 where the moon is a hard 35 seconds or so with no way to end it early (being large disables damage from spikes and enemies).

Secret 5-1 is chosen as the System 4/5 level mostly because it has one of the quickest corruption points and the level itself taking almost no time to complete.

I'm up for suggestions on how this route could be improved. If anything it's going to come down to testing out different critter rationing and secret levels, but for now I think this is pretty decent. I'll do a couple runs again soon with the new tricks and see if that 1:15 sum of best is possible.

¤Edit¤ - Changed critter count for levels, grabbing extra in 3-4 and 4-4 for less moon time.

Part of it is the way in which I play games naturally. As a kid growing up, I'd often find myself resetting the game a couple hours just so I could play through the beginning up until the point I had gotten to in a more efficient manner. This was more noticeable when it came to RPGs.

I don't mind playing through the same game multiple times and speedrunning just adds to the fun of it with the constant improvement and learning a game inside and out. There's also racing others for when I'm in a competitive mood.

I didn't start watching others run games until maybe spring of this year and didn't consider doing them until I watched SGDQ. That's probably what sealed the deal for me.

In terms of an artsy overlay? I have none. I've got the creativity of a stump and could only pull off the most basic of designs so I typically don't bother.

That being said, I also don't mind the simplistic approach. Splits and cam along the left side, game-play on the right. Every once in a while I'll experiment with other variations, but usually end up back to the norm.

It'd be cool to have something made by a graphic designer, but I don't want to pay for one unless I have a theme in mind for my channel, which at this point I don't :S