Hey Duders,

Here is the latest Deep Look! Deep Looks are largely gameplay and commentary like a Giantbomb quicklook; however, I try to cover games that have been out for a while and I intend to use the videos to highlight moments and mechanics that I found particularly worthy of highlighting and exploring. Also I aim to keep the videos under 20 minutes.

In this Deep Look I continue my preparations for my Final Fantasy IX speed run in the Giantbomb Community Endurance Run. The GB Community Endurance Run is going to be raising money for Pencils of Promise, a charity that builds schools, trains teachers, and puts kids through school in developing nations, from April 10th through 12th. You can even name FFIX characters if you include the character and the name you would like with your donation!

In this video I switch up the format a little bit and jump through a bunch of essential speed running tips from throughout disc 1 of FFIX. I first show off how to get through the battle with Black Waltz 2 quickly and safely. Then I show how to finish the Festival of the Hunt in record time while still rigging the event to give you the best prize. Next I demonstrate how to move around FFIX's world map without running into random battles (for the most part). I finish the video up by showing how to beat Gizmaluke, the most dangerous boss in disc 1 of FFIX, quickly and safely. Don't miss this panoply of hot tips!

Hey @thatpinguino How are you discovering these techniques/strategies?

Other speedrunners or are you actually analyzing the numbers from the bestiary? Either way this is pretty crazy, in a good way.

that Tent trick was absolutely nuts. Is that a 100% hit on enemies/bosses? What happens if it isn't and you get RNGed? Is your run boned? do you Save Scum and reload?

@slag: I watched the whole AGDQ run of FFIX a few times and took notes on it, looked at a few speed running forums on the game, and I own the strategy guide. I've also played the game like 6 or 7 times without speed running it. So I knew a lot going in about how the game worked. The strategies here are from the AGDQ run, which are themselves taken from other runs that people have posted to Speed Demos Archive. The speed running community is pretty good about explaining themselves thankfully!

I knew a lot more about FF8's speed running techniques going in, just by virtue of having stumbled upon them organically. Also the FF8 guide book is 100% better than the FF9 one. FF9's guide was written with Square's Play Online website in mind, so most of the tips in the book are shallow and point you to a website that no longer exists. The FF8 one was super well documented and broke down almost everything you need to know about FF8. So I have a lot more to learn about the ins and outs of FF9, despite playing it so many times.

@slag: Also I knew about the tent trick, but I never thought of using it there. It does not have a 100% success rate so you need to bring a few tents into the battle with Gizmaluke. If the tent trick doesn't work out, I do have a backup plan. I am going to pick up an item for Freya that reduces water damage by 50% so she won't be as vulnerable. Then I'm going to have her and Vivi act as primary healers to keep Zidane up. I'll then use Zidan'e Soul Blade to blind Gizmaluke and lessen the impact of his physical attack. The backup plan is quite a bit slower and more dangerous, but it is far from insurmountable. I doubt Gizmaluke will kill me, he could just mess up my time a bit.

I have a bunch of potential ways to beat a boss if the fastest way doesn't work out. It is just a matter of keeping my speed up.

The RNG really hurts you with random battle numbers and some of the final bosses. There are some bosses that can just blow you up if you get some bad luck. Luckily all of that is after Excalibur 2 and right after a save point.