Part 136: Low-Level Run - Chapter 18

Last time: so many chocobos. This time: we wrap up everything else that's in disc 3.


Well first I grab this of course.


Sneak Attack makes this all very trivial since auto-fleeing is now a thing I can do.


At least, until the swamp.

Oh uh yeah this is on emulator I hope I didn't destroy anyone's notions that I did this on console.

No that was the FF9 low level run. I don't ever want to do a low level run on console again after that.


I want to escape from most encounters here but not all of them.


These guys are Movers. I have a surprise for them.


It's called overkill.


Movers are the one repeatable encounter that gives AP but not EXP. naturally I kill one as a demonstration then move on.

I meant to set up Taft killing the WEAPONs here but it turns out I am incompetent at cheating and there's already a billion youtube videos of that so whatever.


Mega All is a really fun materia and its ability to affect things like steal that regular All doesn't makes me sad it's so late.


This absorbs exactly the elements that Sephiroth uses.


I'm real nervous about the glitch for some reason and put my save point here, even though I beat the game on this trip.


The final battles will feature a fleshy menu. Hope you enjoy!


Naturally I take the only other competent person and CLOUD's perpetually inexperienced girlfriend. Cya, sausage fest.


Tips for rock hoping: Escape works.


Anyway, we charge on heedlessly to the final battles.


Tornado is pretty strong. Maybe it's CLOUD's magic.


Taft still needs revived constantly, though. The HP<->MP doesn't matter. Everything deals 600+ to her. However, she can cast Big Guard several times in a row like this.


CLOUD and Yuckerella are nigh indestructible, compared. While both tentacles are alive we only have weak physicals and a nulled Bio2 to worry about, and there's no real reason to hit the tentacles.


Suddenly, I despise all 600 MP Jenova-SYNTHESIS has.


OH MAN ULTIMA COUNT DOWN WATCH OU


Ultima still costs 130 MP. But what's this?


Why, CLOUD and crew are dancing in delight!?


Let SYNTHESIS try to cast Ultima and the battle ends and you avoid all 60k EXP she'd normally give. Draining it with Magic Hammer or letting her cast Stop , Bio2, or Cure3 until she's out before you get her below 15k HP means she tries but fails but the game goes on anyway.

I wasn't really counting the HP since the margin is so huge.


This is also the Bizarro/Safer crew. I've met every single condition for the single party: Took way too long on SYNTHESIS, at least one person's below 34 (they all are), and the average is far below 54.

This game is taking extreme pity on me.


Hmmm


How about "all of them"?


Naturally this was after several hero drinks.


I guess I thought correctly.


Safer Sephiroth really is safer: he keeps Wall up at almost all times, and it really fuddles my double cut.


She's being killed but she's so happy to learn an enemy skill.


CLOUD and Yuckerella have ribbons, so everything Sephiroth tries besides raw damage fails. Taft has the Tetra Elemental, because thwarting Break is the only good thing her accessory slot can do.


Though I suppose I could've prevented Supernova's confusion with it, I guess.

Also blowing up the sun only dealt 65 damage to Taft. Dang. First time something's not instagibbed her since Disc 1.


The confuse isn't a big deal since Taft's so puny. Just a waste of time, you know?


Break's probably more dangerous since it can reduce CLOUD to 0 HP.


Mbarrier stops KoTR from just zapping the guy but it's still about half of his HP.


Naturally this takes a while. So much he blows up the solar system again. And a third and fourth time.

How many Jupiters are there!?


Actually killing him once KoTR is spent is the domain of W-Items and Right Arms.

God bless you Right Arms, useful to the end. :salute:


Anyway just apply a little grease to it and...


That's it!


I try Taft's slots one last time before the end.

I am not good at slots.

So that's it.

What can I say?

Closing? Eulogy? Memoir?

Well, this is much less exciting of a low level run than in FF games where bosses don't give EXP, like 5, 6, and 9. And a lot of things I did here were under the assumption FF7 is a hard game. Far too much time stealing since I got W-Item while still full of resources. A lot of things like grabbing enemy skills or Yuckerella could be excised entirely honestly and probably drive the average level down a little. Hell, the chocobo things probably aren't strictly required to not die. Still, compared to some of the shit I've done like a Berserker SCC in 5 this is easy going. As an introduction to challenge runs and how they can break some prior assumptions about what works and what doesn't, and make innocuous bits suddenly massive obstacles, like the icicles, it's not too bad. The characters still grow in strength and you can always steal shit for finances.

Anyway I think if someone starts an FFX LP I'll just ratchet it up just a little and try a NSGNSNCNONENNENBB run there.


Oh yeah and CLOUD resolves his personality problems pretty handily even at level 28.