The challenge is to beat the game the quickest without using memo saves. The important time is not the game clock but the actual time you play (including any time lost from dying). I am wondering what people think the best party for beating the game in this manner is.
At first I believed 3 Fighters and 1 Red Mage was the best party for this challenge, since the 3 fighters will absorb tons of damage and also deal out a lot. The red mage is necessary because it quickens the game tremendously to have life, cure spells, shield, null ice (fire, bolt), haste, and steel. The red mage is best choice since he takes a fair amount of damage since he can equip heavier armors than the white or black mages. My best time with this party was 6 hours 10 minutes.
I also tried 2 fighters and 2 red mages, and now I'm convinced this party is superior. The main problem with the 3 fighter 1 red mage party is that you don't have all the spells you need and you often run out of spells. Also, since that party only has one person with life, if the red mage dies, you're out of luck. The 2nd red mage makes for a good insurance policy on keeping everybody alive. My best time with this party is 5 hours 20 minutes (saving 50 minutes over the previous party). My game clock read 5 hours 10 minutes, but I died twice in the ice cave and lost 10 minutes.
You could probably cut down on the 5 hour 20 minute time by running from some battles late in the game ( in the sky castle or sea shrine ). My characters were level 21 going into the final dungeon and level 23 when they beat Chaos, but they could have beat it perhaps 2-3 levels lower. I would like to see a time under 5 hours.
I realize there are speed runs with time just over an hour, but they utilize the memo save, which I am not interested in using (also I think it takes a good deal of skill and experience out of the game). The memo save allows people to get by on shear luck by playing the same section over and over again.
At first I believed 3 Fighters and 1 Red Mage was the best party for this challenge, since the 3 fighters will absorb tons of damage and also deal out a lot. The red mage is necessary because it quickens the game tremendously to have life, cure spells, shield, null ice (fire, bolt), haste, and steel. The red mage is best choice since he takes a fair amount of damage since he can equip heavier armors than the white or black mages. My best time with this party was 6 hours 10 minutes.
I also tried 2 fighters and 2 red mages, and now I'm convinced this party is superior. The main problem with the 3 fighter 1 red mage party is that you don't have all the spells you need and you often run out of spells. Also, since that party only has one person with life, if the red mage dies, you're out of luck. The 2nd red mage makes for a good insurance policy on keeping everybody alive. My best time with this party is 5 hours 20 minutes (saving 50 minutes over the previous party). My game clock read 5 hours 10 minutes, but I died twice in the ice cave and lost 10 minutes.
You could probably cut down on the 5 hour 20 minute time by running from some battles late in the game ( in the sky castle or sea shrine ). My characters were level 21 going into the final dungeon and level 23 when they beat Chaos, but they could have beat it perhaps 2-3 levels lower. I would like to see a time under 5 hours.
I realize there are speed runs with time just over an hour, but they utilize the memo save, which I am not interested in using (also I think it takes a good deal of skill and experience out of the game). The memo save allows people to get by on shear luck by playing the same section over and over again.
