By keeping track of Cloud’s steps and ensuring that you run or walk at specific moments, the runner can manipulate to a powerful degree what battles they face. It is possible to memorize exactly where Cloud will encounter a battle and whether that battle will be a pre-emptive strike. Well, not if you refrain from turning off the console or reaching a game over. You see, FFVII’s encounter rate isn’t actually random at all. The true VIP of the run has to be the runner himself, Ajneb174, who memorized the locations of all of FFVII’s random encounters. I totally didn’t fall for it (just kidding, yeah I did). The couch also had the nerve to pull a practical joke on viewers by pretending Ajneb174’s self-inflicted party wipe – pictured below – was an accident, overreacting and asking each other how long it’s been since their last save. During the Wall Market sequence, the commentators even led the live audience through a squat routine in tandem with Cloud, perfect for combating the need for sleep. Together they ensured this 8-hour run would be without a dull moment by offering informative, yet down-to-earth explanations on FFVII’s mechanics and story. The commentators deserve a huge shout-out. I’ll forever remember the swift adventure of SpikeVegeta and his fateful encounter with the flower girl COOLRANCH. This included a bid war over what to name the game’s mandatory characters and whether to end the run in style by unleashing Omnislash in the final battle. Donation incentives were made available beforehand to add a bit of flavor to the night. FFVII was played under the game’s “Any% No Slots” category, meaning the runner had to reach the credits without the use of Cait Sith’s Slots limit break to one-shot bosses. With speedrunner Ajneb174 at the controller and couch commentary from Davesterio and J2_JATWo, the run took place through the wee hours of the night (local time the event was held in Minneapolis, MN) to a consistent audience of over 100,000 Twitch viewers. Speedrunning community member KartSeven put significant research into mapping a route through the entirety of FFVII in order to ensure the run was “marathon-safe”. Described in the pre-show as the “trifecta of JRPGs,” the three games chosen to meet this commitment were Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Final Fantasy VII. This year, however, GDQ committed to shining the spotlight on longer runs to give them their due chance. Lengthy RPGs such as FFVII are typically avoided during speedrunning marathons in favor of shorter, more action-oriented titles. With a final time of 7:48:04, FFVII takes the record of being the longest single-session run in GDQ history. The addition of FFVII into this year’s lineup is noteworthy due to run’s length. Games Done Quick (GDQ) is a semiannual, weeklong charity event that raises money for organizations such as Prevent Cancer Foundation and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

In this guest article, cold_spirit takes a look back at Final Fantasy VII’s incredible speedrun at Summer Games Done Quick 2017. Spotlight Final Fantasy VII at Summer Games Done Quick 2017

Games done quick 2017 game list