Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster - Turning the Final Boss into Goblins (Bug)

Channel:

Bippo Ernesti

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7,850

Published on August 3, 2021 1:34:30 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1JyImEFE3U

Game:

Final Fantasy (1987)

Duration: 1:21

629 views

14

There's this incredible bug with the 15 Puzzle minigame that you can exploit to severely break the game. This is just one example. I've explored the bug quite a bit after finding it, but I'm sure there are a couple more amusing things you can do with it.

I couldn't get this trick working on the keyboard (the confirm doesn't get "stuck" like it does on controller), so do note that you must use a controller to perform this glitch.

Here's the rather wordy how-to:
1. Have a save with easy access to the ship
2. Have a save/quicksave where you're fully aware of the amount of steps to the next encounter*
3. Board the ship and start holding the OK button
3a. Holding the OK button, tap the Cancel button 54 times
3b. Alternatively, skip the taps for now, but you'll need to do them at or before step 6
4. Still holding the OK button, open the menu and navigate to Configuration - Return to Title Screen
NOTE: After opening the menu, you can let go of the OK button. You can also use the OK button in menus/battles as well as interact with chests/NPCs**.
5. Load the save with the known steps-to-battle*, walk until you are one step away from battle (has to be a random encounter, you can't open the minigame mid-conversation)
6. BEFORE stepping, tap Cancel for the 55th time and immediately take a step to trigger the battle. The screen will freeze and the minigame music will start playing. Wait a second or two before cancelling out of the minigame (cancelling too early might freeze the game). If the battle commences and you have the 15 Puzzle prompt on screen, your step was too late
7. After exiting the minigame, open and close the menu/map to unfreeze the screen. The next battle is guaranteed to be an encounter against 5 Goblins regardless of trigger

*In Final Fantasy, the game rolls a number that will determine when the next encounter occurs. With a couple exceptions, this number will only change when you've taken the required amount of steps to trigger the next encounter. Saving the game will store the amount of steps.

**Basically, any action where the OK button can subsequently be released without the game being in a minigame-eligible mode. For example, the minigame cannot be triggered during dialogue popups, battles, menus or cutscenes. Pressing OK to initiate dialogue is fine, but pressing OK to exit dialogue will "unstick" the button, meaning you'll have to repeat the ship step. For dialogue, you can use Cancel to advance/exit dialogue the same as OK.

There's no save/load needed to use the bug, except for the pre-ship part. You can trigger the glitch as simply as holding OK on the controller, opening the menu, letting go of the OK button and closing the menu.

After getting the OK button "stuck", you can trigger the 15 Puzzle minigame as many times as you wish, as long as you never use the OK button in minigame-eligible mode (see **). The minigame will not open if a cutscene, battle, or dialogue box is active. It will also not open while you are moving. As long as you release the OK button before the landing/takeoff motion finishes, you are also able to operate the airship freely.

One thing to note about the bug is that any changes to your HP, MP or equipped items between the minigame-skipped battle and the following 5 Goblin encounter will be reverted. Gil doesn't revert. Items only revert if you've changed/removed equipment, while used consumables are effectively wasted. If you sell equipment worn during the skip, the game will softlock when you win/flee the 5Gob encounter.

The 5 Goblin encounter functions exactly like a normal 5 Goblin encounter would. If the trigger is a boss, the game will effectively treat it as a victory even if you choose to flee.

If you go through a screen transition while triggering the minigame, the "Play 15 Puzzle?" prompt will get permanently stuck on screen. Saving and reloading the game will fix this.

If you open a menu right as the game is fading into the minigame screen, the screen will freeze and stay frozen until you trigger a battle. After trying to open the menu during the fade, attempting to open any sort of interactive screen (menu, map, shop, control guide) will freeze the game and controls. Your only choice is to forcibly end the task.

If you do the encounter minigame trick from the video on the overworld, the screen will actually display the 15 Puzzle to you. When exiting the minigame, the world will have turned into pure ocean. Opening the map or triggering another encounter (guaranteed 5Gob) will fix the visuals on the overworld, but the battle graphics will have afterimaging that will persist until you restart the entire game (example here: https://twitter.com/BippoErnesti/status/1422250625325314049).

Now, I was considering the idea of a "final boss and ending" video for this game, but it made me so grossly overleveled that I was autobattling bosses near the end. I became the final boss.

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