DCFFVII Glitch: Logo State, The Shera Shademp 2023-01-04 | If you select "Tempsave" or "Quit" a few frames before entering- or leaving the sickbay of the Shera the game won't return you to the game logo screen but will instead let you proceed in a glitched state.Two effects occur: Motion blur and almost complete HUD removal.The motion blur will disappear once you've entered- and skipped an FMV. The HUD glitch remains until you select Restart, Quit or make a Tempsave. The HUD glitch can be carried onto later game chapters.The video was recorded on console. On emulator it's been confirmed that you only have a 2-frame window to activate the glitch. You need to pause the game at just the right time. Too early and you'll just enter the logo screen, too late and you can't pause the game to select Quit or Tempsave.The Logo State is a purely visual glitch and has not been found to affect any other game behavior. Items, weapons, shops, money etc all act as normal.
DCFFVII Glitch: Logo State, Train Graveyard Shademp 2023-01-04 | See other video for explanation:DCFFVII Glitch: "Logo State", The Sherayoutube.com/watch?v=mI9RGYfDCMoYou can carry the HUD aspect of the logo glitch even to later chapters. The motion blur will have disappeared by this point. It looks cool to navigate the game without the HUD but you are also quite blind in this state. Not knowing Vincent's HP or exactly where your reticle is can be very limiting.FMVs will still display subtitles correctly and show the "Skip" function, even with Logo State active.
DCFFVII Unlocked: Events Disabled Shademp 2022-12-29 | Emulator footage was quickly strung together using FFmpeg, so no fancy transitions in this video.By setting a certain pointer to value 0 you can temporarily disable events. Most standard gameplay is still possible but things like cutscenes don't activate.00:00 Ch1-4, Kalm office.00:47 Ch2-2, Wastelands.01:38 Ch2-3, Wastelands.03:07 Ch8-2-2, Central Complex.04:28 Ch9-2, Shinra HQ.05:32 Ch10-2, Deepground bridge.06:33 Ch11-5, Weiss.06:54 Ch12-1-3, Inside Omega.
DCFFVII Glitch: Faux-jumping onto ladder Shademp 2022-12-20 | Video description on my alternate channel explains the "Faux-Jump".youtube.com/watch?v=4ODSi9OlMAAThe faux-jump will be cancelled if you move with the left analog stick. But the jump button and the action button are the same. So to align yourself with the ladder prompt, you need to rotate with the right analog stick as you perform the special jump and then interact with the ladder.It happens too quickly to see, but you start climbing the ladder when Vincent is in midair. Normally the game does not allow this. The result is a glitched state where the game remembers your Z-axis coordinates when you first interacted with the ladder. Thus when you release from the ladder you appear to teleport. Vincent's momentum is also preserved.
DCFFVII, Tempsave Glitch: Reversed Reticle-vs-Posture Status Shademp 2022-12-19 | Tempsave Glitch: Reversed Reticle-vs-Posture StatusWhat happens, in the original JP release, if you load a tempsave that was created just before Vincent took blowback damage with the reticle raised?Vincent takes damage and falls back as expected but with one difference: The reticle stays active. When Vincent recovers, he remains in an idle standing animation. Moving around with the left analog stick in this state will be the same as though you have your gun raised. If you shoot while moving, Vincent's gun posture won't change! The end of the barrel flashes and a shot is fired straight ahead but your gun posture doesn't change.If however you are standing still while shooting, Vincent will finally animate to stretch out his arm and gun. Then when you lower the reticle...Vincent is frozen in this animation state, allowing you to run around and see this posture from a different POV than usual.Many actions undo this glitched out reticle-vs-posture state. Sometimes when you load the tempsave, the reticle will initially be active but then get lowered seemingly at random. I experienced this issue often enough that I would definitely rate this glitch as more inconsistent in execution than the PBM of the post-original versions.Tempsave-Restart Glitch: Gun raised by defaultAt the end of the video, embedded at the start of this post, Vincent immediately raises his gun when the stage is restarted. This is not normal behavior for Ch11 and indeed not the usual behavior for most checkpoints.The glitch works on all game versions and actually has nothing to do with the blowback experiments of these last two videos. All that's required is to have an active reticle, make a tempsave, load that tempsave, select Restart and suddenly starting out with a raised gun is the default behavior!Several checkpoints allow the glitch while others seem impervious. A random sample shows the glitch working in Ch5-4, Ch8-1-2, Ch10-3, Ch10-4 and Ch11-1. Meanwhile Ch5-1, Ch8-1-1 and Ch9-2 refuse to change the default behaviour for when Restart is employed.The fact that a tempsave can influence the Restart function in this way blows my mind.Fun fact: A tempsave can't retain your first-person zoom status from when the save was made, regardless if you are using sniper scope or not. When you load the tempsave you'll be forced to third-person view.Video was recorded on emulator. The glitches shown are the same on console.
DCFFVII, Tempsave Glitch: Preserved Blowback Momentum Shademp 2022-12-18 | When Vincent has a raised reticle and is about to take blowback damage you can enter a curious state by creating a tempsave at that very moment. Load that save and instead of getting knocked back onto the ground, Vincent flies back as though the player did a controlled jump. On the ground, moving the left analog stick will only rotate Vincent. Getting airborne forces Vincent in the direction that the previous explosion sent him.Inevitably you'll end up against a wall but numerous actions can cancel the glitch: Melee, dashing, transforming and being staggered.The airborne velocity here is 3 meters/second, with inevitable deceleration happening as you land. If you repeatedly jump then your average velocity lands at around 2.7 m/s. Compare this to Vincent's maximum running speed of 6 m/s.Any attack that cause blowback stagger can be used to trigger the glitch. Explosions, missiles, sword slashes, the Black Widow's laser etc. The main restriction is the timing required for this completely useless bug. If Vincent has already taken damage when you pause the game then it's too late to create Preserved Blowback Momentum (PBM). Often you need to pause the game 1 frame before you take damage, though sometimes the game is lenient and allows you 2-4 frames of leeway.PBM can also be achieved with Chaos Vincent and has the same effects. Having a raised reticle is required for the glitch which is why PBM can't be achieved with Galian Beast and Cait Sith. Tutorial Mode does not offer the tempsave function, so PBM can't be unlocked with Turk Vincent.It does not matter what your Sight Support is (Manual, Semi-Automatic, Automatic) or what your perspective is (third person, first-person) or if you are using the sniper scope. The glitch works all the same.PBM can't be triggered in the original Japanese version. Any of the three post-original version (NA, PAL & INT) will do if you want to try it out for yourself.I actually discovered this bug on September 1st this year. Only now did I decide to make a video and perform additional research. It was unknown to me before today that the raised reticle was a required component for PBM.Played on emulator but the trick works on console too. The glitched disc icon 9 seconds into the video is an emulation error.
DCFFVII: Ch4 Cutscene Shenanigans & Ghost Azul Shademp 2022-09-11 | Strangeness ensues if you just exit Shelke's boss room without defeating her.For ease of demonstration I am using a turbo controller to zoom climb. Played on console.Not shown in this video:After activating the Ghost Azul fight you can still return to Shelke's boss room. Defeating Shelke in this state won't trigger any cutscenes and she will simply fade away. At this point the Azul boss room will have despawned, though you can still defeat Ghost Azul. Doing so will result in the post-battle cutscene playing but without the environment loaded.
DCFFVII: Turbo Climb to Ghost Rosso *Flashing Images* Shademp 2022-09-09 | Using a turbo controller to zoom climb you can avoid the triggers that would normally let Rosso spawn properly. She will be invisible and neither attack nor move on her own.Rosso the Crimson phase transitions to Bloodburst Rosso after taking 4080 or more damage. This is true even with Ghost Rosso. Normally however, she only has 17000 HP total. Ghost Rosso has 27000 HP and only takes normal-level damage. You can't deal critical hits to Ghost Rosso.These general rules of extra HP and having only a very basic hitbox is common for bosses loaded in their "ghost" form.Played on console.
DCFFVII: Ch8-2-1, Barrier Skip Shademp 2022-08-01 | No zoom climb required. A very precise double-jump over an invisible box prevents the next electromagnetic gate from being raised. The wave of enemies also do not appear. Performed on console.
DCFFVII Standard, Any% in 1:18:50 Shademp 2022-07-30 | Former WR in Dirge of Cerberus Any%, Standard version.I ended the timer half a second too early. Managed to greatly improve my time by practicing each segment. My first time completing a full run with splits.Offline run. "Standard" means that this game is not the original Japanese release.Good:- Shrike Thundaga- Limit Flex- 0-chair in Weiss battle- Crystal Feelers RNGBad:- Second try on some zoom climbs (no massive penalties)- Activated bugs in Beginnings (Ch11), extending my time in the room by 26 seconds- Still wonky with doing city dashes with L1 instead of R1- Accidentally pause the game sometimes because Menu is on R3Played on a Japanese PS2, SCPH-50000. DCFFVII International (SLPM-66629) is the game version played.
DCFFVII Standard, Any% in 1:29:05 Shademp 2022-07-18 | My first recorded speedrun of the main game. Run starts at 1:29 and ends at 1:30:34. Last time I completed a speedrun of the main game was back in 2019 or 2020.Offline run. No timer, no splits. "Standard" means that this game is not the original Japanese release.Played on a Japanese PS2, SCPH-50000. DCFFVII International (SLPM-66629) is the game version played.
DCFFVII Unlocked: Ch11-5, defeating Weiss the Immaculate Shademp 2022-06-09 | Weiss the Immaculate has 30000 HP but normally his HP will never go below 1. The fight is intended to be unwinnable no matter what you do. The only way to progress is to lose.While pausing the game I change the code so that his HP can reach 0, leading to Weiss being "defeated". The game has no alternate branch for this scenario so the game will just continue as normal.In the video I have invincibility activated for Vincent and I constantly use a 99-chain bonus for extra damage.
DCFFVII Unlocked: Ch5-2, defeating the Bull Heads Shademp 2022-06-08 | There are two invincible Bull Heads in Cait Sith's path. They both have a DEF stat of 255, the maximum possible. The damage output is set to 0 regardless of this enemy's defense stat however. Each Bull Head has 10000 HP.By making an adjustment to the code I can defeat these Bull Heads. The enemies themselves are not blocking your path, but an invisible box that reaches up to the ceiling.No EXP is granted by defeating DG Soldiers and Bull Heads in Cait Sith's stealth mission (Ch5-2).
DCFFVII: EM23 Rampart Rumble in 00:40.941 (00:41 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-25 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #23, Rampart Rumble. I perform the cardkey skip without zoom climbing. Skipping the cardkey and the gates save about 24-25 seconds from the speedrun.Sight Support: AutomaticW1: Sonic Griffon + Gale S Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Blizzard Materia (Blizzard Lv.3)W2: Ultima Weapon + Nova L Barrel + Sniper Scope + Power Booster Gamma + Cerberus Relief GammaW3: P Hydra Gamma + Guard N Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder Materia (Thunder Lv.3)PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: EM23 Rampart Rumble Cardkey/Barrier Skip, No ZCH Shademp 2022-05-25 | The mission normally intends that you go northeast to grab a cardkey so you can progress to the goal point on the far west of the map. Only when reaching the end of the stage are you meant to gain access to the top of the ramparts.Using some acrobatics you can make it on top of the ramparts early, bypassing the need for the cardkey. No Zoom Climb/Hover (ZCH) required. This skip saves roughly 24-25 seconds from the mission and makes it possible to achieve a clear time below 1 minute.Shooting at the end helps with additional recoil to aid with the jump. It is possible to perform the jump even without shooting in midair but it's very difficult. The red barrier blocks you from making a straight jump from one side of the rampart to the next, which is why the roundabout acrobatics become necessary.This video was recorded on emulator.
DCFFVII: EM22 Shinra Manor Prime ZCH in 01:24.819 (01:24 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-24 | ZCH = Zoom Climb/Hover.Speedrun of Extra Mission #22, Shinra Manor Prime. Major glitches allowed.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: AutomaticW1: Ultima Weapon + Nova L Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder MateriaMost of the red barriers at the end are not visible but they are still present, meaning you must still navigate around them.
DCFFVII: EM22 Shinra Manor Prime in 02:01.021 (02:01 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-23 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #22, Shinra Manor Prime. No zoom climbing.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: AutomaticW1: Ultima Weapon + Nova L Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder MateriaMy fingers were very sluggish by the time I got to this run which is why I failed the dash-jump when entering the lab at the very end.
DCFFVII: EM24 Contra Kalm ZCH in 01:13.340 (01:13 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-13 | ZCH = Zoom Climb/Hover.Speedrun of Extra Mission #24, Contra Kalm.Probably the most difficult zoom climb that I will ever perform. The red electromagnetic barrier in itself does not have high collision, but the "Kalm Victory Arc" has collision that reaches a great height even above its visual appearance.Played with a PS2 controller, doing the 50-second climb by mashing my thumbs on Triangle (Zoom) and Circle (Cancel). If you melee in midair you plummet to the ground.A human could definitely achieve a time below one minute but I am not fast enough at button mashing. For health reasons I also can't recommend this zoom climb.I keep my glitchless IGTs on my main memory card. This record achieved with a zoom climb is saved on a secondary memory card.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: EM24 Contra Kalm in 02:26.213 (02:26 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-11 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #24, Contra Kalm.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: AutomaticW1: Ultima Weapon + Nova L Barrel + Power Booster Gamma + S Adjuster GammaW2: Sonic Griffon + Gale S Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder Materia (Thunder Lv.3)W3: P Hydra Gamma + Guard N Barrel + Materia Floater + Manasoul + Thunder Materia (Thunder Lv.2)
DCFFVII: EM26 Cait Versus the Cerulean in 00:20.688 (00:21 IGT) Shademp 2022-05-08 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #26, Cait Versus the Cerulean.This run, like the mission against Rosso the Crimson, is the result of hundreds of attempts.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: EM21 Cait Versus the Crimson in 00:24.724 (00:25 IGT) Shademp 2022-04-29 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #21, Cait Versus the Crimson.This run is the result of roughly five hundred attempts. I managed to understand Rosso's AI better by the end of it.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: EM25 Missilebreaker Deathmatch - Zoom Climb Shademp 2022-04-22 | The easier way to clear this mission, so long as you have mastered the zoom climb.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: EM25 Missilebreaker Deathmatch - Only Dash & Melee, No Damage Shademp 2022-04-22 | This was difficult. I could have employed a strategy of running away from certain missiles but I decided it was important to deflect EVERY SINGLE TARGET.I realized that the deflecting property of the dash happens immediately when initiating the action. This, and the quick follow-up melee, is useful. A normal melee, while standing still on the ground, has a delay because Vincent spins around first. Thankfully with the dash, I don't have to account for this delay. This strategy makes even EM10, Missilebreaker Melee, into an *almost* trivial mission.The video is a sequel of sorts to my Missilebreaker Melee video from 2016: youtube.com/watch?v=y9YqrVzgUFIPS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
DCFFVII: Ex Hard, Dragonfly EXP Farming (Zoom Climb required) Shademp 2022-02-22 | If you are replaying Ex Hard and already have all the necessary equipment, this can be an easy method to reach max level (Level 50) early.Enemies that grant EXP based on damage can be farmed for extra EXP by using Thunder magic or melee during their invincibility-frames and their death animations. The Dragonfly who flies overhead in Ch1-2 has a Damage-to-EXP conversion rate of 0.07 and can be farmed for EXP in this way. Wearing the Lucky S Barrel will double the EXP gained.The Dragonfly will park in the area with the containers. A cutscene normally removes Dragonfly from the scene. By zoom climbing high enough we can skip that cutscene and the Dragonfly will hover idly.Initial EXP gain will be high if you are able to capitalize on Vincent's killchain and overdamage the Dragonfly for a huge amount of experience points. Subsequent EXP gains will be smaller without a killchain but still high enough that you can reach 52670 EXP (the amount necessary to reach max level) within 30-35 minutes of farming.The hitbox for the Dragonfly is huge and you can hit it with melee even while standing on the ground. Performing a double-jump makes available a 6-strike midair melee combo and I use that for efficient EXP farming with melee.EquipmentW1: Ultima Weapon + Lucky S Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder MateriaW2: Sonic Griffon + Lucky S Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder MateriaW3: Bayonet Rifle + Lucky S Barrel + Manasoul + Power Cross GammaVideo recorded on console.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629
FFVIIR Ch14: Whack-a-Box, Hard Mode - All boxes destroyed Shademp 2021-12-17 | Whack-a-Box: Hard Mode- Iron Blade- No Materia- All boxes destroyed- Maximum possible score: 48200 points- Personal style points: Cleared with just below 7 seconds to spare.Recorded on PS4 Pro, 2020-04-16.
DCFFVII Unlocked: Demo Version State (NOT actual demo) Shademp 2021-11-24 | To defeat the Dragonfly quickly I use a cheat to one-shot the target. At the end of the video I show the "Demo Version" state being undone, returning the game to normal. Being in the Demo Version state does not corrupt your save data. Game played here is the North American retail release on emulator.There is a memory region with values that indicates the current difficulty mode, the number of seconds since boot-up (Global Timer), the current locale (Japan, US, UK, Italy etc) and many other game states. Typically these are 4-byte integers. One such variable/flag is an address that checks whether or not the game is in its "Demo Version" state. If its value is 0, you are not in the Demo Version (DV) state. If its value is anything other than 0, you are in the DV state.The address of the "Demo Version" variable...204CAE48: JP Original204687D8: NTSC-US, Localization Prototype2046A3E8: NTSC-US, Retail2046B1F8: PAL2046B3F8: JP InternationalI have not found a Beta Version equivalent, nor any address for unlocking a "Beta Version" state in the retail games. I had hoped to manipulate the aforementioned memory region to make gameplay available on the beta disc but so far no luck.What the Demo Version state does:- Lists the text "Demo Version" in the lower right corner of the start menu screen. If the DV flag is activated at odd times, the game may choose to display text showing the version date of the game instead.- Tutorial Menu, Extra Features and PlayOnline options become unavailable.- If you are playing on a savefile with lots of progression, the number of checkpoints available to you is reduced. Checkpoints no longer display the time when they were last cleared. I have not done deep digging on how public demo versions were set up, ergo I do not know if the player was ever supposed to have free reigns selecting any checkpoint. The available checkpoints differ depending on if you play the JP Original, the NA prototype or the NA/PAL/International versions.- If you are playing on a savefile with zero progression, you can only select to start a new game on Normal or Hard.- When selecting a new game the intro cinematics are skipped. You are instantly greeted to the chapter title "Sea of Flames" and move on to real-time cutscenes and gameplay.- Apart from retrieving whatever equipment, gil etc you had in your current savefile, the memory card is not accessed during actual gameplay. As a consequence, shooting a memory capsule means the game won't try to save this progress. Changes in the Config settings are not saved onto your memory card either.- Options "Restart" and "Tempsave" are locked away.- The "Config" only consists of one page, just like in the tutorial where you play as Turk Vincent. You have no means of changing your button mappings.- When clearing the final checkpoint available in a given chapter you are forced to watch the ending cutscene, as the cutscene skip function is not available. When the cutscene ends you are treated to the text "To Be Continued...", followed by the flashy CG art image of Vincent descending upon the Deepground army. You are thanked for playing Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and assured that the game is coming soon. You are returned to the start menu.If you "clear the demo" in the PAL or JP International versions then the concluding text will be in German regardless of your locale/language settings.
DCFFVII: Fast Shrikes + Shrike EXP Farm Shademp 2021-11-03 | Most bosses grant EXP based on how much damage you inflict on them.The Shrikes in Midgar Assault (Ch8-1) have the highest damage-to-EXP conversion rate of all, with the formula roughly being "Damage * 0.20 = EXP".If you deal 9999 dmg on a Shrike, then you will usually get 2000 EXP.With a high enough killchain you can easily deal 9999 damage on a Shrike by using Thunder Lv3. Using the specific setup shown in the video, you can defeat 4 Shrikes simultaneously, netting you 2000*4=8000 EXP. There are still two shrikes left to defeat, granting you normal amounts of EXP (about 150-200 EXP per Shrike) when defeated with the gun.If you had defeated the Shrikes by using only low-power bullets, your EXP from the boss fight would end up at around 1000-1100 EXP. The EXP farming method using Thunder Lv3 thus grants the player 7000 more EXP compared to normal.EXP can be converted to gil, with 1 EXP = 10 gil. In other words we get 70000 extra gil with the EXP farming method.The most difficult part of the strategy is building a high killchain, as the chain can easily be cancelled or you don't build a high enough chain.Shooting the four Shrikes simultaneously is done with the following setup:- Jump into the boss trigger by the lamppost, facing forward.- Tilt the camera STRAIGHT UP so you are looking at the sky at the highest possible inclination. Vincent's head should line up with the metal beam.- Tilt the camera slightly to the right, matching Vincent's head roughly with the spot where two segments of the metal beam are welded together.- Just as the horizontally moving Shrike passes above the metal beam, perform a double-jump. Use Thunder Lv3 at the peak of the double-jump.The remaining two Shrikes will always be on Vincent's left and behind him, relative to his position and direction when the magic shot was fired.Video recorded on console.
DCFFVII: Infinite Machine Gun Ammo Glitch Shademp 2021-10-25 | Glitch discovered by SCREAMO TV: youtube.com/watch?v=fbdbNrZXd_EThe bug can only be activated in Ch8-2 (Fight for the Central Complex) and in Ch11 (Beginnings). It requires that you have 0 machine gun bullets in your inventory. The trick will not work if you have machine gun bullets stashed away in any magazine across your weapon slots.With your weapon set to a machine gun, mount and dismount from any gun turret in Ch8-2 or Ch11. You will now have infinite ammo with zero need to reload.Many things cancel this glitch:- Switching weapons- Acquiring machine gun bullets- Changing the weapon frame (even when it's to another machine gun)- Changing equipment two times after initiating the glitch- Changing equipment once, when the infinity symbol is present- Mounting a gun turret when the infinity symbol is present- Mounting any gun turret not in Ch8-2 or Ch11- Transitioning to Ch12 (the Chaos Vincent chapter)The "infinite machine gun ammo" state can be carried all the way from Ch8-2 up to the end of Ch11 if you are careful not to cancel it. Cutscene transitions will not remove the glitch and the bug will still be active if you load a checkpoint where you had the infinite mg ammo active.
DCFFVII: RTA Zoom Climb, Short Shinra Manor Basement Shademp 2021-10-14 | The ceiling close to the elevator at the start of Ch5-3 (Shinra Manor Basement) lacks collision so we can use that to skip a portion of the basement.Avoiding the initial cutscene with Lucrecia means you'll never acquire the first Omega Report and Vincent will spawn in a void when cutscenes are triggered later on.For speedrunners the faster method would actually be to get the Omega Report first and do the zoom climb afterwards. This is faster because now Vincent will no longer spawn in a void, eliminating the need to select Restart to load the area properly.Video recorded on console.
DCFFVII Unlocked: Exploring the Deepground Monorail Shademp 2021-09-24 | Skipping the cutscene trigger for this auto-scroller, Vincent can run along the rails just fine. In the video I use cheats for moon jump and high movement speed.Areas behind you will unload as you progress.There is no way to reach the door beyond the falling platform.
DCFFVII: Theoretical Zoom Climb Technique (read description) Shademp 2021-09-22 | The game will never allow you to map the same button to two or more actions. With my save file editing program, McDirge, I went around this and tested how Zoom Climb might be made easier this way.Mapping Zoom and Melee/Lower-Weapon to the same button makes it so that you NEVER interrupt the Zoom Hover with a melee strike. But mashing this two-action button on one device alone, for example the keyboard, will physically not accept inputs fast enough to result in a Zoom Climb. You can't gain any height.So in order to achieve a Zoom Climb, where you are guaranteed to never interrupt with melee, you need to combine two devices. Only then will inputs be accepted by the game fast enough. Any of the following device combos work:Controller + KeyboardKeyboard + MouseController + MouseYou technically only need to have one device with a two-action button assigned and then in conjunction mash a simple Zoom with the other device, but for easiest height gain you have both devices with illegal button mapping.Video recorded on console.
DCFFVII: RTA Zoom Climb, Skipping Stage Mission and Gate, end of Ch1-2 Shademp 2021-09-21 | Performed on console. No tool-assistance.Getting the cardkey takes, at the fastest, 30 seconds. This zoom climb takes 20 seconds. Timesave primarily viable on Ex Hard where you don't have to pick up the Sniper Scope.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Hover, Ch3-1, Skipping Plaza Trigger Shademp 2021-09-20 | 1 second slower than triggering the cutscene. The snipers in the plaza won't spawn but all the snipers beyond the plaza will still be present.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Climb, Opposite Ch3-1 Route Shademp 2021-09-20 | Tool-assisted. Loses 30 seconds compared to normal speedrun strategy so it is not a viable route. The only benefit is that you pick up the Materia Floater but you can buy one in the store later anyway.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Climb, Skipping Dragonfly PT, Ch11-2 Shademp 2021-09-19 | Tool-assisted demonstration. Has odds of being useful in a speedrun if you are good at the zoom climb.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Climb, Ch10-1, Skipping Gargoyles Shademp 2021-09-19 | The cutscene trigger is not that high. Since you don't initiate the gargoyles, the EM barrier further on will not have been raised and you can proceed without a cardkey.Video is tool-assisted but the trick is easy to perform here.
DCFFVII: Fighting the Dragonfly GL Ghost, Ch1-6 Shademp 2021-09-19 | What the battle will look like if you performed the Zoom Climb to skip the Dragonfly battle in Ch1-3. Fought here in Ex Hard mode.The Dragonfly GL will now have a massive amount of HP compared to normal because the battle is not initiated the normal way.Normal mode: 17000 HPHard/Ex Hard mode: 22000 HPIn each mode, that is 10000 more HP than the boss would have in a normal playthrough.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Climb, Ch1-3, Dragonfly Skip Shademp 2021-09-19 | Tool-assisted. It's *possible* by a human but it's very difficult. Not gonna be worthwhile in RTA speedruns.Fewer enemies and allies will spawn if you move on ahead beyond the gate. You can still initiate the final battle with the Dragonfly GL at the church.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Climb, Ch6-2 Shademp 2021-09-18 | Tool-assisted. RTA viable.No cardkey? No problem.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Hover/Climb, Ch3-1, Barrier Skip Shademp 2021-09-18 | Doing the zoom-unzoom technique when Vincent is in his first jump will cause him to gain height indefinitely. If you are in your double-jump, then you can only suspend your place in midair, gaining no additional height.
DCFFVII: TAS Zoom Hover/Climb, straight to Ch4 basement Shademp 2021-09-18 | Raising the reticle gives Vincent a jolt upwards. This is the same with raising the R3-zoom, at least when exiting with the melee button. The normal first- and third person reticle is limited to one raising per midair flight. However, the R3 zoom does not have that limit.Set "zoom" to an easy-to-mash button. Jump, then press the zoom trigger and then use the melee button to exit. Repeat this process as fast as you can. Vincent's fall will slow down! If your timing is perfect, you'll slow Vincent down to a halt.Vincent can still move around in midair. This means you'll now have an immensely extended hover so long as you can keep the mashing going. This is what I initially called the "Sniper Hover" but since renamed "Zoom Hover" since the sniper scope isn't actually needed. It has multiple use cases and blows the game open. Confirmed on both console and emulator.If you do the zoom-unzoom after Vincent's first jump he can gain height indefinitely. This is the "Zoom Climb". If you do the zoom-unzoom after Vincent's double-jump, he can maintain his height or fall down. The latter would be a "Zoom Hover".The cardkey can be preserved and its best use is for Ch6 where it can be used to skip the choppers.
DCFFVII: Ch5-1 Barrier Skip, Ex Hard (not RTA viable without zoom hover/climb) Shademp 2021-09-18 | Not confirmed on console.The jump is extremely precise, requiring you to maximize your height gain to the greatest possible degree and to enter Sniper Scope mode as you touch the edge of the barrier's collision.After lots of attempts I am yet to execute this barrier skip on console and it's entirely possible that it's not possible on original hardware.
DCFFVII: Ch5-1 Barrier Skip Shademp 2021-09-18 | Saves roughly 14 seconds. There is no way to preserve a cardkey through this barrier skip.
DCFFVII: Ch10-1 Barrier Skip Shademp 2021-09-18 | Double-jump, perform the 6-strike midair melee combo, raise the reticle and move over the collision of the electromagnetic barrier. A well-placed midair shot at the end can help with extending airtime but it's not necessary.By first grabbing the cardkey at the bottom of this area and then jumping over the barrier you can preserve the cardkey. The best timesave this offers for speedrunners is to skip the gun turret section in Ch10-3, saving over a minute.All cardkeys in your inventory are removed when Ch10 ends, after the fight against Nero, so no extra cardkeys can be carried over to Ch11.
DCFFVII: EM19 Chamber of Ghosts in 00:03.503 (00:04 IGT) Shademp 2021-09-15 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #19, Chamber of Ghosts.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: ManualW1: Ultima Weapon + Gale S Barrel + [Empty] + Power Booster Gamma + Recoil LimiterThe target spawns in roughly a dozen different locations. Which of these locations they spawn is entirely based on RNG and I got the near-best possible pattern.The difference between RTA and IGT is highlighted here. Because of how the game's own timer works, cases like these can pop up where the game adds half a second or more and gives you a higher IGT than you technically should have.
DCFFVII: EM18 Badlands in 00:57.524 (00:57 IGT) Shademp 2021-09-13 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #18, Badlands.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: AutomaticW1: P Hydra Gamma + Nova L Barrel + Sniper Scope + Manasoul + Cerberus Relief GammaW2: Sonic Griffon + Gale S Barrel + Materia Floater Gamma + Manasoul + Thunder Materia (Thunder Lv3)Thanks to the cardkey shortcut it is possible to get a time below one minute, like the one seen here. Once the first cardkey is used, most of the enemies in the first area (including the snipers) instantly die.
DCFFVII: EM18 Badlands Cardkey Shortcut Shademp 2021-09-12 | Jump from the box with a decent amount of forward momentum. Double-jump to between the platform and the ladder. Use a machine gun with a high firing rate to clip in further. After clipping in, you can use a melee-combo to land on the platform and grab the cardkey.**Update, 2021-09-14: Further tests reveal that you actually can get the cardkey by doing a more straight jump towards it. You don't need to jump in between the platform and the ladder. The trick is primarily to optimize your height and angle. So my initial theory about collision-activation seems to be erroneous.**This trick saves roughly 20 seconds and is the only reasonable means of getting a completion time below one minute.The above recording is on emulator but the trick works on console as well. The trick does require some precision and practice.Sonic Griffon + Gale S Barrel equipped on W3.
DCFFVII: EM17 Messenger from Hell in 00:17.684 (00:17 IGT) Shademp 2021-09-11 | Speedrun of Extra Mission #17, Messenger from Hell.PS2: SCPH-50000 | Game: SLPM-66629Sight Support: ManualW1: Ultima Weapon + Gale S Barrel + [Empty] + Power Booster Gamma + S Adjuster GammaDeal at least 20000 HP worth of damage on one of the final boxes and the "Cargo Crate Boss" will count as defeated. The Boss HP bar that shows up in the top right represents 5000 HP but it becomes untouched because we already destroyed the crate boss.
