Final Fantasy VII by Zheal in

[@SoMuchNoise1]

I can’t believe no one reacted to that Stroganoff joke, that was extremely good

[@DashRetro]

I honestly didn't catch it until like 10 minutes later, haha

[@Grimgariano]

The punchline wasnt stronganoff for their taste. (What time does the joke happen? Still af 2h53minutes

[@srabbelier]

Came here to say this. What a perfect underappreciated pun.

[@ThePancakesGuy]

Improvised as well. Impressive.

[@Smarrito]

Paused to look for the comment. Thank you kind stranger

[@MrSpeakerCone]

"beefa isn't yet stroganoff ..." oh god that's amazing

[@Anodyne_Akôn]

Fun fact : on top of being able to be literally translated to "Cloud's home", Nibelheim can also be translated as "World of Mist/Fog" and is, in Norse mythology, a realm of primordial ice and cold. It also functions as the afterlife for those who die an unremarkable or "unheroic" death. This is extremely fitting for an eerie town covered with mist and fog, where a systematic massacre was perpetrated and then covered-up by re-populating with impersonators posing as the people who should be dead ; it is a literal ghost town, a realm only home to the deceased almost nobody remembers.

[@rooty]

"the afterlife for those who die an unheroic death" - that's very interesting, given Cloud's self-perception when he returned home, that he failed to gain notoriety, and failed to become a hero for Tifa. It was also the site of his "death" before returning to life as a super soldier, the hero he had aimed to be, and going to midgar (midgard, the mortal realm) to save the planet.

[@thisislance]

It's not a GDQ without a long RPG run. Love this!

[@camwyn256]

And this was almost an hour shorter than last time

[@TheBrnadon]

Any recommendations for long ones? I love these!

[@thisislance]

@@TheBrnadon 2019 SGDQ, Chrono Trigger, run by puwexil. Incredible ending to that one.

[@leandervr]

@@TheBrnadon There's a really good FF IX run up with fantastic runners and commentary that is over 9 hours.

[@leandervr]

@@TheBrnadon kzbin.info/www/bejne/i33deXyweLRkeMk

[@MrThompyson]

Off to a great start haha! I always love to see the longer Final Fantasy runs at these events. I've rewatched the old FF7, 8 and 9 runs so many times and its always great to get a new runner and perspective. Great job Zheal!

[@PerpetualNoob]

Such a fun run. I'm stunned with all of the math and manipulations that goes into this. So glad we got all of the incentives too. This was a great 7 hours.

[@cgo7395]

I've legit never heard anyone call the money Jill

[@fattmusiek5452]

haha

[@jdthirteen13]

You were almost a Gil sandwich!

[@raxon912]

Love these long runs I can listen to all day at work ☺️

[@MisterJayll]

Next year there 100% needs to be a "Barret Date @ the Gold Saucer" speedun - complete with narration for the dialogue.

[@BrendanEnrick]

Going to add some context to that "guard skip". It is sometimes called "Tsuna skip" despite the commentator just saying "we just call it". Skips aren't usually named after runners, but this one was found by a modder (not a runner) named "Tsunamods". He found that skip while looking through the game data and noticed there was a loading zone behind the guards.

[@gengan_30000]

what a chill and messy start - I'm loving it hahahaha

[@dereksvg2760]

I myself love it when they continuous interrupt each other because theyre so excited to share their knowledge.

[@morganhouseman9679]

This was a great marathon run, despite the early sound issues, the commentators were very informative for a run that has changed considerably since it was last run on GDQ. Also, first!

[@first-thoughtgiver-of-will2456]

I just want to express my thanks to zheal for running this. This is my favorite RPG and you did a great job! Also thanks to all the "couch" members for enriching the experience.

[@LeDotz]

that's crazy, counting steps and waterfall glows and stuff... great run! somewhere someone thought "hmm... this waterfall here... glows in a weird pattern..." and somehow someone figured it out. mind is blown :D

[@ContractDan]

That's why Final Fantasy VII is the GOAT; the GOAT!

[@KaraMooMoo]

Zheal has come prepared with his....Secret Disc Swap Technique!? ♡♡♡

[@KizanMusic]

my favorite part about long rpg speedruns is seeing how they got to a spot like gold saucer in 2 1/2 hours while it took me 20 hours casually playing to reach there aha

[@jamestotts9171]

I forget where I first heard it- might have actually been another GDQ- but the thing that actually sold me on "Aerith" as a name. That being, due to translation issues and methods, if you use "Aeris" then to be consistent you must also use "Sephiross"

[@PinkyJustice]

Anyone else remember old coverage of it when it was supposed to be on N64 and the names of the 3 "main characters" were romanized in a lot of places as "Claudé/Claude* and"Bullet?" Bullet is what I thought it was too... In fact there is a character from BlazBlue I think has the name bullet, and if I recall has the same katakana spelling... People seem to care about Aerith/Aeris/Earisu/Airith spelling, when BULLET is definitely what the name should be... Like... LOOK AT HIM. You KNOW his name is Bullet. Like...

[@OldUncleT]

Been upset about Aeris dying for the last 25 years, so finding out that she's safe in the church has made my day, thanks guys! Had no idea about red submarine either, so thank you for showing this off. Awesome run!

[@gwitch]

Well *I* liked the “unfortunately [Beefa’s] not stroganoff” joke.

[@camwyn256]

Wow. This was almost a full hour faster than the last time FFVII was on GDQ

[@KennonRude]

yeah they found MANY more skips since last time FF7 was on AGDQ which shaves HOURS off the runs

[@Eggy79]

​@KennonRude Huh? The new skips don't remotely save HOURS. The no slots WR was only lowered by about an hour since Ben ran this in 2017. I mean that time was a 7:46 and current WR is 6:32. Where do you get hours from?

[@JJvideoman]

​@@Eggy79Kalm skip is 18+ minutes at least. Don't get hyped up on KZbin over someone using hyperbole. Seriously dude I'm sure you've got better things to do

[@stevenhawk136]

@@Eggy79 lmfao dude never heard of an expression before, everything you say all the time has to be 100% accurate, all the time! i would say to go touch some grass but i probably should to cause its 3:30 am and here i am :P

[@allanturmaine5496]

I've been waiting for this one!

[@allanturmaine5496]

That "Sephiroth!" bit with buddy's mom was cute.

[@metiscus]

The announcer's energy was amazing. Everyone was super informative and upbeat. Great run.

[@Adazzle92]

that is such a good time!! Well done! I love watching speedruns of this game

[@byrontate3327]

Shout-out to all 9os babies that was 7 and played this when It came out no matter what race color or creed ff7 always brings us home together

[@coltonbuzash9821]

It's my favourite when Beefa becomes Stroganoff.

[@migduh]

Yoooo, been waiting for this!

[@mattshu]

1:50:49 "sorry for saying 'JIL'" **says 'jil' within 10 secs*

[@neiljones1497]

Dash lost me when talking about how the waterfall glows. I am currently playing this again after playing it religiously as a kid. Great speed run and insight of the game mechanics. 😊

[@blainy-o93]

In relation to what was being said at the end of disc 1 just after the JENOVA fight... Yeah the spoiler was on the back of the box, at least in the PAL region. I could never get past Demon's Gate until about 2005/2006 so I never saw but I did know.

[@Despicablehobbit]

I remember thinking that as a kid, "ooooo nice graphics, I wonder why he's holding her like that?" 😂

[@Ryotaiku]

Cait Sith's fakeout death is to lower the player's guard and assume the game is too cowardly to kill off a character permanently; which they immediately build up to doing in the next story beat.

[@galaxybounce1002]

Having the game default the spelling to Aerith is so trippy

[@mantalayer]

My favorite game! Cheers!

[@norgmonster]

I don't know if it was the same for everyone but on the back of the UK game case, you get a screenshot of the FMV with Cloud holding Aeriths dead body in the pond. Because of this, it was never a shock to me. Why this was done is another issue altogether. I also remember seeing the same image in double-page spreads in gaming review magazines. I can only imagine what it must have been like to not know until it happened :-(.

[@KamiYuryo]

Great run, runner, and commentators !

[@cainabel404]

KetSheet is my new favourite name for Cait Sith

[@thuggothic]

I just watched the history of ff7 speedrunning, with Zheal hitting 6:33 Was a good video

[@shona-sof]

I was never given the opportunity to be blindsided by Aerith's death. before the game came out i was reading the Unofficial Squaresoft Homepage (now RPGamer) and they had a new post one day. The first line in the article was 'When Aerith dies at the end of disc 1....' . I've despised spoilers ever since.

[@Nouglas]

rpgamer used to be my homepage in the 90s. technically it was my first journalism job after graduating j-school too. It was unpaid, I wrote a single two-paragraph story, I didn't like the experience, and then quit and quit because I got a paid copy editing/designing lead job at a small newspaper. Still though, fond memories. Googleshng and Thor ring a bell? (I might have the names wrong)

[@phamtominthemorning]

great run. got me to start replaying through the game i love

[@Postumeartist]

The waterfall bit is so interesting just before 51:21 You know that rumour that square would delete the old source code. I feel like if they needed it again, they could’ve just employed speedrunners to remind them how they built the game lol. Does metronome usage count this as a partial tas run? :) Haha I never realized anyone else noticed “teetha “. Bugs me every time I play it through

[@MrGenAiMan]

Aerith is the correct spelling of her name. Aeris was a translation error. It was fixed in the European and International versions of the game.

[@rooty]

My european copy had aeris

[@prevara5162]

that's debatable. the Japanese name I believe is Erisu and Cloud's is Kuraudu. which can also be translated as Alice and Claude.

[@cw2002]

Just one more video before bed

[@byrondejong9872]

Happy to see Zheal getting some love. Check out his world record FF7 runs!

[@yoyog7951]

Probably the best run at GDQ this year. Game selection this year wasn't that great imo, but this one was great.

[@Grimgariano]

Hard to tell. The fashion police run (dont remember the name of the game) was so much fun. This is nostalgic, for sure, but check out the fashion police game, was preeeeeeetty nice.

[@evilleffen]

There were some gems this year. Symphony of the Night, FF7, Mega Man Legends, etc.

[@aajlakapsio6715]

I watch videos with the cc on for convenience and also for amusements sake, since it sometimes misinterprates the spoken word in the funniest ways. RNG is one thing it can't seem to get right. For some reason tho, it got RN Jesus perfectly correct. Thanks for the video!

[@PyrokineticFire1]

all things are possible through RNJesus 🙏

[@DarkFoolJin]

Funny to hear a "complaint" about the name Aerith. I am just replaying this game after like 10-15 years, dont really remember the last time. I bought it on steam now. Back in the days I played it on PS1 or the PC port...also in german and her name was always Aerith (like in the japanese original). Now in the steam version "english version" I wondered that she was called Aeris. This was the first time for me to see her with a S for the last letter. I watched the FF7 movie in japanese and she was called Aerith (also in the FF7 remake she was called Aerith if i remember correctly), for me the "th" at the end is the "normal" one. But its funny to see that for the US/english version users the "s" is the standard :D

[@D0ct0rD4RK]

Zheal is such a great and entertaining runner!

[@lockonandfire]

Seeing Carry Armour get absolutely pasted was very satisfying for childhood me who got stuck facing that bastard for so. Goddamn. Long.

[@regi3780]

My Saturday is set 😇

[@blackneon15]

“We have some time to kill, so we can talk about the story or mechanics” *has a whole conversation about peanut butter*

[@sickk7680]

awesome

[@JeredDanielson]

Beefa gonna beef.

[@cho4d]

you can't deny that peanut butter is very peanut buttery.

[@davidt3563]

A very entertaining run! Great job to the runner and the couch was perfect!

[@graduator14]

Great run!

[@xproteusx]

I totally didn't know about the red submarine but will totally do it on my next playthrough

[@masongroendal3411]

Thanks for the run! It was fantastic!

[@Grenn1471]

We've all forgotten disc 1 before, dude. :D

[@jlebeau5150]

Nicely done

[@BenMorse0]

Nice pun! 38:02

[@scherzolentviane3970]

The GDQ announcer was just so tickled throughout this and added to the joy. Good stuff!

[@CBenGood]

I'm hoping she does her own twitch or youtube. Her voice and just utter positivity made this so much better

[@ocdustino]

@@CBenGoodshe’s @SporadicErratic on twitch 👍🏻

[@apocalypse3039]

30 minutes into the run and he already caught up to where I'm currently at in FF7 Remake lol

[@pinkpanthr_3498]

4:42:46 Junon Cannon gained 500000 exp

[@protodad1]

1:50:15 On the original PC version, once you lock in position, you could just spam the action button and have your score skyrocket. No need to time anything. No idea why that glitch was left in place.

[@bradleygiven5193]

If you wish to speed run Final Fantasy 7 you must first invent the universe.

[@forcelightningcable9639]

Tbh if he did actually have to reload and still made it in under 7 hours he’d be instant goat Also, 6:00 Circle Square X X

[@mmmben]

dope ass run

[@mageius]

You know I had a turbo style off brand DuelShock controller years back that for some reason would actually let me use the analog sticks to move in this game. As I believe since the game came out before the DualShock it wouldn't let you if I recall

[@richardfarrer5616]

Based on a comment - Morbius is from Dr Who (although I think it's coincidental. There was one adventure called "The Brain of Morbius". So Matt Smith is well placed.

[@futonrevolution7671]

I don't remember that episode, but I googled and I absolutely love the googly-eyed monster. I'll definitely be tracking it down to watch this weekend. The lore on how the comic book Morbius was created is pretty great. Vampires were specifically listed in the Comics Code Authority's restrictions. Richard Nixon demanded that Marvel have Spider-Man participate in the War on Drugs, and Marvel tried to tell him that was prohibited to avoid having Congress resume its hearings on the topic, but it's not like Nixon would have any idea what they were talking about. It ended the "Silver Age" of comics, and DC forgot that they'd been clutching their pearls for moral superiority mere days before joining the deluge of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, words that I can't use on KZbin, etc. to take advantage of the CCA being too scared to annoy the President of the United States. Morbius debuted in the next plotline (with Spider-Man delivering a monologue about police corruption and the failing prison system in between those plotlines), as a sympathetic murderer, to check as many boxes as possible on the list of no-nos.

[@zhaf]

Damn, Cloud broke down instead of the buggy!? That boi just can’t catch a break.

[@goabparty9574]

Beefa is def pretty funny. Made me lol

[@Vanishou]

Salter butter with Nutella works wonders by the way.

[@frixxle]

I didn't watch all this but I definitely love every second and Final Fantasy 7

[@GoozerTales]

Skipping those guards blew my mind.

[@forest2517]

Amazing def worth the 8hrs of watching

[@jasonwilson4283]

anyone else see the face on jenova's stomach at 5:22:18 ? kinda looks like billy from billy and mandy

[@dustinmoore4461]

This run is amazing! Could someone please explain to me the importance of walking while counting steps in certain parts? At first I thought it was to cut corners right or take straighter paths, but then Zheal did it in more straight parts and then ran; so does the character take less "steps" while walking? Does it have to do with the animation of walking?

[@NerfedFalcon]

The random encounter generation is based on the number of steps taken on the map, which is counted whenever your character's feet touch the ground. To get through rooms without encounters, or to get specific encounters to happen at specific times, requires a very precise step route.

[@MissAiaGaming]

I don't know for sure if this is for ff7, but in many final fantasy games you can manipulate the RNG for battles by walking or taking odd pathing in certain places. So they may be avoiding a battle by walking, which is faster than loading in, leaving the battle, and loading back into the game.

[@mchris4111]

nice entertainmant

[@nolongermatters4671]

IT deeply annoys me that these guys didnt appear to know WHY Aeris is called Aerith unless they are trolling, at least zheal knew .....

[@devunblack7925]

Awesome run Zheal, you killed it. Great couch too, thanks for an amazing time!

[@willyolio]

Beefa is best girl

[@mattshu]

3:22:30 XD how'd that go again?

[@zdelrod829]

I love FF7, but god damn a single playthrough is so long. It took me around 18 to beat it the first time (because I got lost in Corel's escape sequence for 2 hours)

[@certesgaming]

I don't know if I'm happy that I learned all these cool exploits, or if I'm upset that I've played this game for over 20 years without knowing any of them.

[@mitchdouglas9844]

Beefaroni half lives

[@vibe1337]

I

[@camwyn256]

Super Mario Rpg is the best Final Fantasy, but 7 is a close 2nd. Shame FF7 was released too early so a lot of things got cut. Like the wind materia. One of the bosses even uses Aero 2. Players were supposed to get that, too, and so much more. Still, it's the first one on PS and still turned out quite good.

[@JosephHammer]

2:11:07 it's right arm time. Two stolen out of three attempts.

[@rooty]

Actually Morbius IS from Doctor Who

[@Codemaster238]

28:16 "200 Jil" Is this another Gif Vs Jif moment?

[@jimbo.warguitar1668]

1:47:20 heck yeah! zheal: heck no, madge

[@shawnadmire5309]

I would have nominated Aireth's name as CORPSEY

[@bjornf8518]

Maybe GDQ should add an incentive to keep the original names for characters in the future?

[@Eggy79]

There is since you can just donate to have "Cid" or "Tifa" be their name. If you're suggesting they replace the individual name incentives with "Keep all original names", I don't think that's likely since that would result in fewer donations since you'd just be donating to one incentive and there would be no exciting bidwars that drive up the donation amount

[@JoshWiniberg]

I was thinking "man how is this guy taking so long? I swear I completed Midgar in 00:5x:xx." Then I remembered that was the remastered version and I'd been on 3x speed 😂😂 Great job - really fun to watch and to learn all these new things about a game I've loved for 25 years.

[@blackneon15]

Imagine paying 10k for a dono for an incentive and forgetting to select which one you wanted 😅

[@garrettbenedek1036]

Whats a disk? These games came with whole hard drives?!?

[@mrlucasftw42]

Fastest run abort ever!

[@excaligaming2435]

I frickin love peanut butter.

[@chupika6464]

Yipee!