So who has gotten Excalibur II?

SiderealPassing

Ex-Soldier
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
65
Gil
0
Personally, I don't think I'd have the patience. Any side-quest that requires you to rush through the game and skip FMVs isn't worth doing in my opinion.
 
Not me. I always start doing a speedrun or challenge then come back to it a few weeks later and forget and wonder why the hell my characters are all so weak. DOH
 
I'll raise this one from the dead, because this is an aggravating one. Haha.

Okay, so you have to get to Memoria in 12 hours or less. The cutscenes take chunks away from that. Sure, you could use the old trick to skip over them, but that's still cutting it very close. It's more for the "hardcore of the hardcore" to complete, I suppose. I know I don't have such patience. :argh:

Ultimately, Steiner is more than capable without it anyway.
 
It isn't too difficult, it's really just a speed run. It only seems daunting because like with any speed run, you might miss items and will have low levels.

If you're familiar with the game, you can follow Atomos199's Excalibur 2 + Perfect Game Guide which gets you a perfect game file with Steiner's ultimate weapon. There is someone on SDA who has completed the game in 8:32, so the 12 hour time limit isn't really too bad. It does take practice and a little bit of luck, but it's not as impossible as it sounds, I've done it before and I'm not a huge fan of speed runs on Final Fantasy games.
 
It isn't too difficult, it's really just a speed run. It only seems daunting because like with any speed run, you might miss items and will have low levels.

If you're familiar with the game, you can follow Atomos199's Excalibur 2 + Perfect Game Guide which gets you a perfect game file with Steiner's ultimate weapon. There is someone on SDA who has completed the game in 8:32, so the 12 hour time limit isn't really too bad. It does take practice and a little bit of luck, but it's not as impossible as it sounds, I've done it before and I'm not a huge fan of speed runs on Final Fantasy games.

I have done this myself a fair few years back even though I can't remember how long it took me,p. I think it were closer to the 12 hours then the stated 8:32. It is like you said very much attainable just need practise.

P.S your name and sig are amazing and I can't wait for ground zeroes I'm so excited woooop!!!
 
I got it once... but really, it is not worth how much of the game you miss, even with the walkthrough mentioned above... You miss a good chunk of story and interesting facts... If you are into speed runs, go for it I guess, but me... I play too much story for it to matter
 
I got it once... but really, it is not worth how much of the game you miss, even with the walkthrough mentioned above... You miss a good chunk of story and interesting facts... If you are into speed runs, go for it I guess, but me... I play too much story for it to matter

You absolutely miss a certain part of the game's enjoyment when attempting this run (the same way you would with any other video game). However it also adds quite a bit for those hungry enough. It's a grand prize for the players who seek to totally complete the game. You really get deep into how the game plays as opposed to how the story unfolds. You need to know about proper character customization, everything on boss fights (master strategies), getting around the game's areas.

Back in 1987 when the first Final Fantasy was released, there hardly was any story. It was a skeleton, the meat of the game was knowing how to handle the encounters, proper character equipment, maneuvering through the dungeons and areas. When attempting an Excalibur II run in Final Fantasy IX, the game is throwing a well hidden reference to the earliest of games in the series, making you play a game without a solid enjoyment of a story.

This is particularly why I think Final Fantasy IX is one of the strongest in the series, it gives the player the traditional PSX-style of Final Fantasy with a very story-driven experience, and then when going for the Excalibur II it strips down to it very roots as it forces you to play a NES-style Final Fantasy with very complicated game play and a much less story-driven experience. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it made this game a masterpiece (if it wasn't one already).
 
You absolutely miss a certain part of the game's enjoyment when attempting this run (the same way you would with any other video game). However it also adds quite a bit for those hungry enough. It's a grand prize for the players who seek to totally complete the game. You really get deep into how the game plays as opposed to how the story unfolds. You need to know about proper character customization, everything on boss fights (master strategies), getting around the game's areas

Although I do agree with you on the fact that it is for those that want a challenge and have completed the game a few times before... In the end I feel that doing this, you must either A of beaten everything recently in this game, or B just really wanna play through it without looking at anything from the Hot and Cold chocobo game, to all the other side quests this game has to offer.

In the end this sword isn't even that much more powerful from Zidane's Ultima weapon. (108 vs 100) so in the end I always have to ask myself... Do I wanna rush through this game, (usually people are skipping cut scenes and all that) or actually wanna enjoy the game?

And for the First FF game back in 1987, this was about how Zelda and Dragon Quest were played also. No real plots, and a random guy says something about a village and you hope that is where you need to go. Just how RPG's were back then.
 
In the end this sword isn't even that much more powerful from Zidane's Ultima weapon. (108 vs 100)
Also, the abilities that come with it can be learned well beforehand. If people are aiming for a class S ranking, too, it really isn't necessary.

It may serve as a good test for those that want to accomplish everything, I guess. That's understandable. I certainly don't want to rain on their parade. :lew:
 
There is absolutely no way I could ever see myself completing that challenge. Which I dont have a problem with that because I love this game and I enjoy going through it at a nice normal pace. It sounds literally borderline impossible, for me it does atleast. You'd have to have ALOT of luck to even come close to doing this.
 
Getting the Excalibur II requires a definitive 'speed play', which is an exercise in skill rather then enjoying the game.

The sword is no doubt there specifically for those who are into that sort of thing. I'm not; if I pop in a Final Fantasy, I thoroughly enjoy it. I have never even seen the Excalibur II and I've played through IX many of times lol.
 
Getting the Excalibur II requires a definitive 'speed play', which is an exercise in skill rather then enjoying the game.

The sword is no doubt there specifically for those who are into that sort of thing. I'm not; if I pop in a Final Fantasy, I thoroughly enjoy it. I have never even seen the Excalibur II and I've played through IX many of times lol.

Same here I will never attempt this because when I pop in a FF game I know I'm in for a 40 hour adventure. Speed runs are just not my thing I like to enjoy the game.
 
I never attempted this. I've only ever gone through FFIX one complete time and it was to get almsot every single thing in the game and to level as many characters as high as possible. I'm not sure I'll ever give this a try as eventually I got Steiner hitting max damage without it. Not sure how enjoy I'd be rushing through the game and dying at low levels a lot.
 
I attempted a speedrun a few months back but got too frustrated after about an hour. It's just not enjoyable at all. You have to plan it so carefully, otherwise you're wasting your time.
Most importantly, it just saps the enjoyment out of the game. I really don't understand why Square added it, especially given that they've never done that sort of thing before.
 
Back
Top