7 Ridiculous Fan Challenges That Only The Most Hardcore Will Complete

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Final Fantasy has featured some pretty amazing fan challenges over the years, but some are pretty ridiculous in terms of what they demand from players.
For today's video, we're running through of the most insane, and they stretch through from Final Fantasy IV all the way through to Final Fantasy XIII
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[@georgehouliaras7239]

All these challenges reminded me about Chaos. Hunting him down is not a challenge or a trial, it's like a hunger, a thirst.

[@kaderbueno6823]

I see what you did there 😂

[@AncestorEmpire1]

*downs a shot of Whiskey* I regret the “chaos” drinking game challenge I started over Jack saying “Chaos” * Drinks two more shots*

[@RustyShackleford_]

Ah, finding Chaos was my favorite memory from a FF game.

[@MiBrCo4177]

CHAOS!!!!! I'LL DESTROY CHAOS!!!

[@guestguest5716]

Where is this quote from?

[@joshshin6819]

Just as a side fun note about the Step Challenge for Final Fantasy 6. Back in the 90s in Nintendo Power they had a small competition for players to send a photo to them of the lowest step count to reaching Kefka in his tower. Kinda neat to think Nintendo Power set the first RPG challenge I can think of since I was a kid. 🥰

[@drcidd8153]

Years before that they issued the challenge to players to beat Final Fantasy 1 with 4 white mages.

[@joshshin6819]

Nintendo Power challenging players 🥺🥰

[@drcidd8153]

@@joshshin6819 I like the bragging rights that completing challenging runs gives you. Such as beating contra 3 with only the basic machine gun and no bombs. Or finishing an RPG at a low level.

[@wikidclowne6891]

Fun fact. If you're going for the Excalibur II perfect challenge, you don't necessary need to do it fast enough to get the sword. If you run your game timer for 25,600 hours (nearly 3 years) it will overflow and switch back to white and you can still get Excalibur II. Have fun!

[@aerisgainsborough2141]

i use a save editor...

[@derekminna]

​@@aerisgainsborough2141 so you don't do it?

[@csmith3248]

Or if your using a console like a PS 2, you can change the console time settings and rewind time

[@andrewmcrae3539]

Honestly the only true way for a perfect playthrough in my opinion. Because it's not a perfect playthrough if you don't use the Marcus eiko glitch to max her stats as much as possible

[@forTehMemes]

Challenge accepted

[@robinthrush9672]

Also, about the FF9 speed run; on the PS1 people would open the disk lid to skip the cut scenes.

[@happiestaku6646]

Exactly, though it is better to do it on the PS2 for faster load times.

[@MrGutsTheBerserk]

If anybody is interested in watching people do challenge runs or fan mods, the channel Primal Liquid has some great videos of the crazy runs they've done. Absolute madman.

[@fitzyakamcsyke]

Facts, he is epic.

[@vinzo0913]

Yessss. Primal has the patience of a god when it comes to challenges

[@attaxiaffxi7033]

FFXII's "122333" challenge used to be fan made until the devs seemed to acknowledge it and baked it into the Zodiac vers., which was pretty cool - as it was a pain to not gain exp until getting the no-exp accessory.

[@NGPlusVideos]

I have done a FF9 Trance Only challenge. It was very rewarding I'd say. I have also recently finished FF8 Without Junctioning.

[@atari460]

Loved the no junctioning video!

[@NGPlusVideos]

@@atari460 Thanks a lot 😁

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

Only challenge run I ever did was a FFVIII No Level-Up Run. Basically just requiring a lot of use of Quetzalcoatl's "Card" ability to defeat enemies without getting XP, while still getting the AP for GFs to learn new abilities, and abusing the Junction system and the fact that enemies only level up with the party. Although I actually find that the game is *easier* this way, so I guess it's not much of a challenge run at all

[@ThundagaT2]

I did a run similar to that where i wasnt allowed to junction any magic. That strategy is pretty much mandatory so that you can powerlevel with the stat boosts from Cactuar later on, in order to be strong enough to fight Omega. Well at least you need 9999 HP, the other stats technically dont matter

[@KamsPOV]

Final fantasy X, no sphere grid run. Now that was a challenge.

[@alphie1765]

Is this on the list?? It’s gotta be the most ridiculous.

[@runte3055]

No Sphere Grid, No Aeons, No Custom Weapons, No Overdrives, No Escape, No "No encounnters", No Blitzball. Friendly hint: Don't try.

[@ThundagaT2]

@@alphie1765 No Sphere Grid by itself with no other restrictions is actually not very difficult at all. I tried it myself a few years back and found it to be pretty fun

[@Adkhean]

Yeah you need to add a few restrictions otherwise summons/Rikku are just way too good (Trio of 9999 makes the whole game a cakewalk)

[@Infinityxxxxxx]

Oh man, that ending....dodging all the lightning in FFX...I'll be doing that soon...I've never fully completed this game, but I hope to be able to do so!

[@bigstopowens]

i've been working on getting stats up to fight penance but i always get bored and move onto other games before i fight him

[@Klelslol]

​@@bigstopowens I'm trying to fight him right now. The KZbin videos make it look so easy but he's so hard, holy shit. I've died like 9 times now, I bet. I had to put it down and play the new Star Ocean for a few days lol.

[@djangoreinhardt3795]

Good luck! 🙂👍

[@SpaceCat1111]

Save yourself the headache and just look up the "predictable" lightning dodge spot. Also, just pay Yojimbo the money to Zantetsuken Penance. It's not worth it. You'll make yourself crazy between deleting/refilling the sphere grid and the luck/fortune sphere grinding.

[@nemoisnobody]

There's a crater just north of the rest stop in the middle of the Thunder Plains that always strikes twice consecutively. Turn of random encounters with the No Encounters ability and find that spot. Then, count every second bolt as ONE lightning dodge. That's how I did it. Gotta trick your brain into thinking you're doing half the work!

[@ZackeryGee]

Fan challenge... waiting for FFXVI to release! And more info for FFVII Rebirth.

[@akiinmoonlight79]

This 😂😂😂 Sometimes it's so hard to be a FF fan bcs ur scared to die before a game releases 💀✨

[@ZackeryGee]

@Akiin Moonlight ha! As I am getting older I sometimes think.. "if I were to go blind or lose a hand or potentially die..... I never got to see the rest!!!!" LOL. We will make it!

[@akiinmoonlight79]

@@ZackeryGee saaaame 😭😭😭 I wonder what will be the last FF game we will play before our demise 😫

[@ZackeryGee]

@@akiinmoonlight79 I put the blessing on us both..... we will see it to fruition!

[@ZackeryGee]

I'm holding out til FFXXX - And it better be A-O rated!!

[@doctorknow]

I feel like an idiot trapped in the minigames of FF7 Rebirth. 3D brawler Sephiroth is the hardest nonsense (in my life)

[@v0id_b0i_89]

I've probably done over 20 playthroughs of FFIX over the years and Excalibur II is the only item I've never gotten. I guess I love the story too much and don't have the heart to speed through it lol.

[@jennyf-eg5gl]

The same. It doesn't help that the game have so many side quests. It is so easy to get distracted by them

[@jessicavenable5638]

same. I love watching speedruns of the game, but I could never play like that.

[@paulhiggins6433]

I tried it once back in the PS1 days. I missed it by like 20 minutes and never tried again. Lol

[@GlitchedVision]

the four job fiesta can also be paired with a randomizer mod called free enterprise which is totally awesome. When paired like this you can also have the game just never give you the jobs that aren't on your list making willpower a non issue

[@deannguyen9548]

I don't know if this counts as a fan challenge, but in FFXIV people have put up alliance raids where every 24 players have to be one type (healer/tank/dps). It's possible to do the current alliance raid with just healers, and it's fun to see the chaos ensued with dealing types of damage like tankbusters/raidwide attacks and so forth.

[@ladydarkangelyuki]

I love those runs, I've done a few tank only run, but the most nut run I've seen is UCOB tank only.

[@aaronlefebre5060]

I like to call those Fun Runs. All Tanks, or All Healers, or for real pain, All DPS. Hope you got enough Red Mages and Summoners lol.

[@anteaux475]

I'm by no means an avid gamer, but my biggest gaming accomplishment was a 1700p Collector's Level in FF9's Tetra Master. It took 100s of hours to get it and it's completely useless 💙

[@nerrickk9024]

I remember as a kid I realized you could infinite loop the river in ff6, set to memory, have Bannon heal for free, then setup turbo to spam A. Came back the next day max level, at the cost of no magicite level up bonuses

[@TheLastLoneWolf]

I knew you'd reference Garland's stuff with FF7 haha.

[@GarlandTheGreat]

Off course!

[@derrickwilson2295]

I participate in the FFV Four Job Fiesta every single summer. I love it! Truly the best way to play FFV!! I’ve also completed two hardcore Live off the Land runs in FFV and FFIX: no shops, no inns, no buying anything. All of your items, armor, and weapons have to be farmed from chests, drops, or steals.

[@nathanielbass771]

there must be some OTHER rule to the SSCC challenge because you can power-level almost infinitely if you know what you're doing in tactics. All you really need is the monk job and you can get to level 99 in the first areas...if you're a glutton for pain. The reason I say "almost" is that Final Fantasy Tactics has a little known feature where all enemies that are not part of a story battle level with the characters. This means that a random map battle(or selected battle within the Deep Dungeon) will have enemies that are ALMOST as strong as you

[@WitchOfTheSword]

They really undersold the rules of an SSCC in the vid. For starters there *is* a level cap. Like most FFT fan challenges, it's level 20/35/50/70 by chapter, iirc. Otherwise it has the same major limitation as an SCC (single class challenge) in that not only are you locked to a single job, but you are also locked into *only using abilities from that job.* No secondary skill, no out-of-class reaction/support/move abilities. Only abilities from the job you chose. And in a Solo Single Class Challenge, Ramza is, well, solo, so you are perpetually outnumbered on top of that.

[@nevertrumpfromthejump]

These challenges make me gag. I can't fathom doing any of these. It's like someone choosing to make themselves deaf, blind, and mute just to have a more challenging life.

[@nathanielbass771]

the final fantasy tactics one isn't even that difficult (unless there's a rule they skipped over) in that the player can just power-level near infinitely if they know what they're doing. It only makes random encounters hard, but if you've got the right build, you can easily cheese the entire game at the very start. What most classes lack is equipment, but if you train the monk class, you can avoid even that

[@RwnEsper]

I've only ever done challenge runs on FF1 (solo Red Wizard is the hardest run I ever finished), but I have nothing but respect for anyone who managed any of these!

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

Which Solo Job was the easiest? Because you would think Red Wizard has everything it needs to survive. And what was your favorite challenge?

[@RwnEsper]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 I found Knight to be the easiest solo run, only ever beat solos for Knight, Fighter, Master, and RedWiz. I did do all of the full party single class challenges, and my favorite challenge that I finished was 4 Black Mages (no class change).

[@5H4K490]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 red mage lack the hp and defense to really sponge the waves of attacks you get coming at you.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Playing FF7 Remake on hard mode, which eliminates the ability to use items, or to sit on benches and regain health/magic was enough of a headache for me, so kudos to those who do these challenges!

[@mtosh2974]

Still cant beat those damn ghosts at the end of the game. They jus ruin me in seconds in hard mode thats as near max level

[@5H4K490]

I called it quits after the hellhouse boss. That one took everything out of me lol

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

​@mtosh2974 The Whispers? I do believe I caught some trouble with them, too, but I tried to use Aerith for everything because she has Soul Drain. She was my MVP for both my normal and hard mode playthroughs and I hated when she wasn't in my party. But if memory serves me correctly, except for probably healing, you can get through the whisper fights without magic. Maybe use the two elemental materia given in the game to assist.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

​@@5H4K490 You called it quits AFTER Hell House? I wanted to call it quits before finishing it, lol! But I also screwed up and used way too much MP for lightning attacks, because the Collapsed Expressway has robots and then Sam's modified Cutter & Sweeper are just brutal. So, I spent the Hell House battle mostly on defense and doing Soul Drain with Aerith to get more MP. The battle wouldn't have been too terrible were it not for round three. The house takes to the air and if you don't defeat it during that time, a cutter and sweeper come out. When I won, it was after at least fifty tries. Cloud was dead and Aerith had only enough MP to do either one attack or revive Cloud. Given that Cloud would only be revived with minimal health, I decided to attack. I read online that thunder attacks will always hit the target, and though one of the robots completely blocked my view and I couldn't see what element the House was on, I figured a guaranteed hit (unless it was also on lightning and would absorb it) was worth trying. The House being hard though was in large part on me. Slight spoiler for Rebirth ahead: I just beat Rebirth today, but with turning it on easy mode for the final fight, because Square Enix thought it would be fun to give Sephiroth a no-dodge, 100% kill attack. And it doesn't count as an Instant Death so Subversion materia is useless. Revival Earrings will not activate when he hits the attack. Summons that were on the field before he uses the move are vanished away. And you have 30 seconds to finish him off. You can be doing amazingly well in the fight and all because of that razor thin time window, you are wiped and have to restart. And they didn't add a frickin skip option for the opening cutscene there, either, so be prepared to watch about a two minite scene every single time that you die. I hate that I turned it on easy mode, but Square Enix is seriously wrong for that fight 😑. I'm not sure how the heck I'm going to complete the hard mode run this time...

[@coderwilson]

If you'd like to see the pain of a Yuna-only No-summons challenge, I've documented that on my channel, and man was that painful. But let's take it one step further... program a FFX-TAS. That took three and a half years. Not exactly a challenge, more challenge-adjacent.

[@RPGchallengeruns]

I really enjoyed beating FF13 without dealing any damage. FF12 without magick or shops was really fun too!

[@zkitty11]

oh hey, I've actually done the 4 job fiesta a few times (I didn't raise money or anything though, just did the challenge) it was pretty fun. parts of it can be easy or hard depending on what random jobs you get, and it forced me to think of new strategies for some of the bosses

[@Kamies]

Thanks for the FF7 and 9 info. I was concidering of doing a run on them. I have done FF8 No Junction, No Leveling, Initial Weapons Only.

[@Avatar_of_Chairness]

Two other challenges fans might enjoy: full completion of 12 (including the tower trial) in New Game Minus Mode and completing 7 Remake in Hard Mode using only the Nail Bat (including Pride and Joy)

[@Spotastic9]

I beat FF7R on hard mode, but just with the nail bat? I hate that weapon. lol

[@nolongeraperson]

No

[@jekw23]

Lightning achievement…used the trick using the edge of the crater. Lost count but got over 200. Never got butterflies or the chocobo achievement. Been years and have not got the patience to try again. So many bad memories

[@noahhobson4521]

The four job fiesta was a lot of fun the first time I did it. It's the only way I play Final Fantasy V nowadays.

[@mtosh2974]

Dark anima NSG is brutal, and so is penance extreme. Two insanely difficult challenges, with me not doing dark anima due to it being too luck based. Penance extreme is just no room for error at all, but its doable

[@hugbuzzard]

I remember doing a no magic/no espers challenge with FF6 in 1995.

[@cmatador5922]

Love to see the RetroAchievements shout out. The devs there coded some of these challenges and many more as in-game achievements.

[@Sabintribal]

The only challenge run I've done was a few months ago of doing GF damage only in FF8. I allowed items and junction, but all damage had to come from GFs. Summoner has always been my favorite class, and FF8 Ifrit has always been my favorite summon in the entire series, so I figured "why not". The only concession I had to make was the Sphinxara kill in the castle to unlock the GF command, but to compensate I took off the STR junction. After about 70 hours (I grinded for the Minimog command) I hit the finishing blow on Ultimecia, the characters start to fade out, the CG is about to start and "The Switch has encountered an error and has to close" That fight took over an hour and I didn't feel like redoing it, especially since I had seen the ending 50 times.

[@NabaniSaa]

FF7 level 99 Cloud and Barrett in the first reactor.

[@shadowthephoenix1]

The hardest challenge i ever did was years and years ago in ffix, i did a level 1 run for perfect stats; stat growth in ffix works pretty weird, items with more stats on them means that you also gain more stats when you level up, meaning if you were to delay leveling up til disc 4 you could have "perfect stats". I also did every side quest and got every item, i thought about going for excal 2 as well (it is possible, but requires opening the disc tray to skip cutscenes to be able to have enough time) but instead opted to grind Marcus up to 99 for full 99 in every stat for Eiko as it makes her legit unkillable, even against Ozma. Due to a programming error, the two of them share stat gains, meaning you essentially get Eiko up to level 196 in terms of stat growth. I was going to do an excal 2 run after, but never ended up doing it since when i play ffix i always enjoy reading the story, just didn't seem that fun at the time and honestly still doesn't. I also dont have time for crazy challenges anymore like i did as a kid lol.

[@StarfieldDisarray]

Is the Marcus-Eiko transfer a programming error? I know Cinna and Blank are intended "placeholders" for two of the other late-joiners, you just don't get them in your party for any exploitable period of time like Marcus.

[@JKBrown-vv1yw]

The Marcus/Eiko connection is not an error, just merely an oversight. I'll admit the "feature" gave birth to my own personal run, the "Angry Eiko" challenge. Angry Eiko is VERY angry. She must solo the game and defeat every enemy in it, with High Tide required to be ALWAYS active. *All* bosses must be at their absolute strongest to sate her rage, meaning not only beat each boss at the lowest level possible, but can't cheese the Iifa Tree, must use a save so she defeats BOTH Ark and Valia Pira during the Disc 3 party split, AND remove no orb in the Desert Palace so Valia Pira is just a total nightmare. The rest of the party is forced to do a Lv1 challenge whenever she is unplayable (I left an exception for Freya to avoid wasting time, since she's never forced in a battle with Eiko, but is also required in numerous non-Eiko battles. Get things over with quickly so we GET BACK TO EIKO!). Marcus (pseduoEiko) is capped at level 49, so we don't waste too much time away from the mistress of wrath. There are many more roadblocks in this run than people would think. High Tide takes up too many stones until Disc 4, and the mind-numbing preparation to accomplish all that is beautifully insane. Give it a try!

[@shadowthephoenix1]

@@StarfieldDisarray Pretty much, tldr is Marcus and Eiko share the same space in memory, but due to a programming error they forgot to carry his level over and only carry over the stat gains. Cinna and Blank share slots with Amarant and someone else (dont remember who lol), but their levels get carried over as well so leveling them up to 99 would be useless.

[@StarfieldDisarray]

@@shadowthephoenix1 Ah I see now. I think it was Amarant and Freya respectively.

[@stevemanart]

While it isn't that difficult the FF1 all white mage challenge is the probably the oldest fan challenge that exists.

[@ladydarkangelyuki]

There a harder version of it where you only use one whm

[@Kale13000]

Can't wait to try a solo character run of FFXVI ; )

[@Papai_Pai]

Final Fantasy 14 deep Dungeon solo not only is this insanely difficult but you do end up with a nice title called the necromunda

[@zirilan3398]

The title is called Necromancer for Palace of the Dead, necromunda is Warhammer 40k

[@Papai_Pai]

@@zirilan3398 that voice recognition for you😁

[@paulkolios2540]

Props to anyone who has actually completed any of these challenges. I've never had the patience, lol. The biggest "challenge" I've really done is just to flee from most battles so my levels wouldn't be too high, which I did mostly in FFIII and FFIX. I think my lowest level beating FFIII was about 46, which doesn't sound that impressive, but if you've played it, you know the final boss has a devastating move that can OHKO some characters and leave others in critical condition, and I believe the boss happens to be level 60. I used a party with a Ranger/Bard/Knight/Devout. Also, this wasn't really a challenge, more so me being a clueless kid...lol but my first time playing the DS version of FFIV, I literally paid no attention to the fact that I was playing through the whole game on Active mode at Speed 1. As you can most likely imagine, there were MANY game overs...

[@METALmurdererOG]

How can you leave out the "All Ultimate Weapons on Disc One" from FF8? It doesn't include Irvine because you can't get his til Disc 2, but it is INSANELY time consuming to grind out all those Triple Triad Matches, plus if you get bored and over level, you actually won't be able to complete it because one enemy (iirc the Adamantoise but I could be mistaken, it has been a while) only drops the item you need below a certain level, and since FF8 scaled enemies to your level, you could mess it up and have to start all over.

[@durianaleria7919]

Keep up the good work, love your channel!

[@wrelow]

0:00 Intro 2:11 FFIX Excalibur II Perfect Game 4:29 FFXIII No Crystarium Usage 6:26 FFTactics SSCC 8:14 FFVI Fewest Steps 10:20 FFIV Solo Cecil 11:56 FFV Four Job Fiesta 14:03 FFVII LLNIIENACMO

[@Juanpvcool]

😎👍

[@SoushinSen]

I managed to get up to chapter 11 in no crystarium challenge of FFXIII, but that was when I decided to take a break, and I never got back to it.

[@muticere]

I remember my friend and I trying a Solo Ramza Run of FFT by accident bc we didn't know you could press R1 and L1 to select other party members. Once we figured that out we felt pretty dumb.

[@NolChannel1]

Shoutout to Rath's ongoing Solo-Only run of FFXIV.

[@ladydarkangelyuki]

During the pandemic, my work load at the airport lessened a lot (IT) and I wound up replaying FF1 on my phone a lot, I discovered a challenge run which was to clear the game with 1 whm only, the other 3 needed to die as soon as you spawned in and you had to clear the whole game with just 1 whm, some sections are really hard but it's overall a great challenge. I also ran it with warrior only and red mage only.

[@dustbagwx5186]

I attempted the ff 13 no crystarium challenge. I made it very far. There is a part towards near the end where you have to run around on a chocobo farming gil for a minimum of 24 hours just to stand a chance to complete the run. I quit there no thanks to boring. However when the difficulty of the game is pushed to the max ff 13s battle system really shines. It was a brilliant battle system. Unfortunately on a normal playthrough the game is so easy that most players did not get to realize the amazing potential of it.

[@groudonvert7286]

That's why I prefere NCUNEU. it's impossible to finish, but the challenge is there.

[@veghesther3204]

Solo Cecil is 1 of the easiest runs to do as long as its not like the DS remake where everything can still 1 shot you even at LV 99 in Paladin form.

[@maxspecs]

FFXIV with only self-crafted gear sounds like a fun challenge, would love to see someone attempt it.

[@j800r_aswell]

I love many FF titles. They are my favourite games. That being said, I still believe anybody participating in these challenges has to be a masochist. Not that I'm saying I couldn't do any of them, it'd just turn the game into a chore. I still have mad respect for people who pull these off. They're just not for me.

[@minttulatte]

That VII one is pure insanity. I'd rage quit after the first boss. 💀

[@cocomunga]

I've completed the Thief Oracle and Ninja SSCC. In Final Fantasy Tactics. Ninja is easy, Oracle requires some very odd strategies to get through some fights, and Thief is just absolutely brutal.

[@Siinory]

I've done the Four Job Fiesta a few times, super fun to do! I'll definitely try the Solo Cecil one!

[@stilelits]

i recently played through 1-12 with varying restrictions, mostly single-character, or magic-only/no-magic. it was a ton of fun, and added a lot to replayability, but it definitely took me by surprise how those restrictions impacted the gameplay...for example, i did FFX as only female characters and no physical attacks (except when mandated by the story, like when you're forced to use only a combination of tidus/wakka/auron), but i hadn't realized when i chose that challenge taht this meant the monster arena was COMPLETELY unusable for that run, because physical attacks are the only way to capture monsters! i'm definitely looking forward to replaying these games with different restrictions

[@MmeCShadow]

I feel like a crazy person there's no way this list didn't include the FFX NSGNSNCNONENNENBB run. That's *inhales* No Sphere Grid, No Summons, No Customize, No Overdrive, No Escape, No No Encounter, no Blitzball. It's been known to have been beaten once by a very dedicated and lucky individual, which was itself believed on *theoretically* possible for many years.

[@tiredgamerdad]

CES challenge for FF6: only using Terra, Edgar, and Sabin in the WoR (the only characters you mandatorily pick up in the game) was definitely my biggest achievement 👍🏻

[@omensoffate]

Huh. You mean celes Edgar and setzer 😂

[@johnrose1641]

Toughest I’ve completed is a Final Fantasy VI “CES” Run, which is basically a “minimum party” run. Those three are the bare minimum required for plot and enemy (the Goddess triad) purposes. You just got Celes, Edgar, and Setzer, so things get interesting in Kefka’s Tower fast.

[@omensoffate]

It’s not really a challenge tho.

[@FrogTony]

Can't you get the Excalibur 2 by letting the clock roll over?

[@ff3player]

I remember hear that the clock can roll over but only if it does 99:59:59 256 times. So you will have to keep the system and file open for 2 or 3 years straight.

[@GeaForce]

I challenged myself to beat Stranger of Paradise skipping all cutscenes. It made the game 50% more fun

[@aaronmiddleton6170]

Aerith holding Princess Guard and casting Great Gospel before Cloud uses Omnislash on demon gate is the only way you should play FFVII imo

[@ventolivre6945]

Glad to see the four job fiesta mentioned. It's a great event and super fun challenge

[@akumagouki8668]

To get Excalibur II in ff9 i had to open my ps1 during videos to stop the timer, avoid most loot, get Quinna early and learn Mustard Bomb then use it to power grind on grand dragons at gizamlukes grotto until the level 50s, then just rush to hades and cruah everything in your path.

[@petebagwell6666]

Do the pitios ruins with a dance matt blindfolded

[@cj_skywalker]

Let's make the 10 job fiesta for Miitopia! ^_^

[@dyent]

I almost managed a perfect save of FF9 with Excalibur 2, on Pal. I made a list of every missable item and ignored everything else until I got Excalibur 2. Turned out, I missed 1 of the stellazio coins, which made it 2 because it meant I couldn't get the 13th either. I never had the willpower to try again. It's still the only time I've managed to get Excalibur 2.

[@isenokami7810]

Sort of an obvious challenge idea for a spin-off: Crystal Chronicles lowest dungeon run count. Not quite speedrunning, you can run the dungeons as slow as you like, but you have to do the bare minimum amount of runs to beat the game. Anyone who’s attempted CC’s final level knows where I’m going with this: the final level, and especially the final boss, is in no way balanced for being taken on at the earliest opportunity. Add in how the artifact system works, and this is the equivalent of a no level run. Even worse if you forgo the artifact claim after each dungeon run. I’m sure people have done this, but I won’t: besides valuing my sanity, I’m far more inclined to get every artifact in the game than run a challenge that leaves them behind.

[@Papai_Pai]

The blue mage challenge is quite good on ff14 complete all of Dungeons and raids up to level 70 as blue mage

[@TheStrahl]

One of the coolest one I finished was the FF9 Level 1 Solo Character challenge.

[@cookiemonstasharp9543]

Not a fan challege but trying to jump rope 1000 times in FF9 was way harder than dodging 200 lightning bolts in ff10. Just saying.

[@mattsully2238]

I'll admit the only way I did it was a laptop and an algorithm on the computer.

[@ridensroom6957]

​@@mattsully2238 same here. But I got the lightning one in 10 legit so I don't feel any guilt

[@mattsully2238]

@@ridensroom6957 me too. FFX lightning dodge was hard, but fair. The ff9 jump rope was just impossible. Even with the computer algorithm, it took three tries to get it right.

[@mattsully2238]

You do the bloodlust trophy? I did everything in that game that could be done and all that was left for me was killing 10k. No joke, 12 hours just straight kill grinding on the most optimal spot. Some bullshizzy right there

[@ridensroom6957]

@@mattsully2238 yeah that was horrible. I just kept it connected to the laptop and did it while I was watching tv

[@Raggsocka]

FFX No Sphere Grid is a bit extreme when you include dark aeons.

[@Fuudo_123]

I actually wanna join the job fiesta one eventually, only learnt of it literally today from this video

[@looyifu7396]

Saw someone who challenge Final Fantasy 9 with only level 1. Should add this too.

[@dopaminejunkyGG]

I have done the Excalibur 2 Perfect Game 3 times now. Once originally with ps1, and twice on PC... my sanity has never recovered from the console run. PAL E2PG has been completed by a gamefaqs user years ago

[@JoshuaJacobs83]

My hardest challenge is beating any Tabata game without sobbing. So far 0:3 complete

[@Rusty_Katana]

A nice challenge to do in XIII is to get the Growth Egg accessory BEFORE returning to Cocoon. If you know, you know ;)

[@adamscott5307]

I really like the idea of the Ff5 charity fiesta. I've never heard of it but I think I might have to participate!

[@Vicioussama]

I loathe the FF9 Excalibur 2 requirements cause I hate being rushed in a game....

[@dylanvaccaro6919]

I have completed the 122333, nsg ffx and lvl 1 challenge for ff9. Wish I had the time and will power to do other fan challenges.

[@ZioName]

Dunno about the Solo Cecil. I've done it multiple times and to be honest, I never found that hard. Especially with how the EXP works. The only small hiccup might be on the Trap Doors (nothing that a small grinding session near the Dwarfs Castle can't resolve) and a bit of RNG on Barbariccia.

[@jessicavenable5638]

For exalibur II 100%, I think it would make more sense to go grab it (and do things you can only do during playthrough like getting the coffees before disc three) and then go back and do the rest at your leisure. After all, you don't have to do the frog catching or chocobo stuff to progress the game, but you're free to do it without a time limit once you get the sword. I honestly don't see how a 100% is possible within 12 hours no matter how you slice it, just cause the frog spawn rate is notoriously slow and you only get access to the final few ponds in the later part of the game anyway. (you need 99 frogs to fight the optional boss there). Add into that the card game stuff (collecting everything means every card, right?) and the chocobo mini game and that's a lot more than 12 hours worth of stuff to do.

[@MissMaryanne1]

I was inspired by Don Yagamoth to do my own Final Fantasy V challenge runs, but using all 4 party members and a single job as opposed to one party member and a single job ^.^

[@PokeJoshNY]

For me FFV is the perfect game for challenge runs due to the job system. Just completed a Bartz only run where I could only use the Cannoneer job (I modded it in at the start)

[@DrakonLameth]

As a regular, but by no means big, 4JF runner (I do at least one every summer, sometimes have the energy/focus to do a second), I'm mixed on the fiesta being on the list, especially with the myriad of FFX ones culminating in the biggest FFX composite challenge, the "NSGNSNCNONENNENBB" (No Sphere Grid, Summons, Customize menu, Overdrives, Escape, "No Encounters", or Blitzball (for the rare items you can win), not being on the list instead. And I even do my first yearly run with the one Fiesta extra challenge rule unmentioned... BERSERKER RISK... but there are a few people who use a special registration tag to get the ultimate four job fiesta challenge... the Quadzerker. Four berserkers, from water crystal shatter to the death of NeoExDeath.

[@Dromandon]

You should colab with Primal Liquid for this type of top 7 in future :)

[@businesscatlimbo]

I knew FF10 no sphere grid would be on here, but was disappointed to see it wasnt

[@skarloey1214]

Great video 👍

[@groudonvert7286]

As a NCU player, I have to say that FF13 in NCU is mostly about upgrading weapons and patience. The game is not that hard except PC2, Bart3 and both Orphan (but the first Orphan is by far the hardest fight of the run). It's when you start doing the sidequests that the challenge becomes hard (63 of them are doable and Adamantoise is doable Elixirless). No... the real challenge is to be able to kill every Bosses not mentionned above with the additionnal rule of No Equipment Upgrade. And the challenge changes from a peace of cake for most of the part to one of the hardest and time consuming challenge By the way, fun anecdote about FF13 speedrunning, in Platinum% the Mission 55 (Growth Egg fight) was changed a few years ago and use an adapted version of the NCU fight. It's one of the rare case where a hard challenge helps speedrunners (though the old strat is a bit faster in average).

[@MiBrCo4177]

ff5's four job fiesta seems fun. might do it for my first playthrough (yes i know imma be a tad late to the party lol) of ff5 to completion. Earth for Bartz (because why not) Wind for Lenna since her father rode the dragon and its the first crystal you need to find due to the plot) Fire for Galuf since he came from the Meteor, and Water for Farris because ... arrrgg pirates! and not to mention.. her pet.. may it RIP.

[@rikudaman]

Each of the characters are already assigned an element so I don't know why you are reassigning them. But Four Job Fiesta is a fun run and pretty standard of the fans now. Think of it like a nuzlocke in Pokemon, you just get so used to the game it's almost hard to switch back to a do anything you want run.

[@spikedwallman]

the hardest ff5 fiesta run for sure is 4 berserkers, hands down

[@Klelslol]

One of the more challenging runs I did in Final Fantasy Tactics recently was something I came up with, the monster only nuzlocke. Basically, after you fight a story battle, you can fight one more random encounter on that particular map, recruiting one monster of your choosing. After that, you can never play the map again unless it's another forced story encounter (so you have to save a lot). If you choose to do so, you can wait until a later chapter to challenge that map again in hopes of getting a better monster class to appear. Any monsters that are knocked down, even if they don't crystallize, must be dismissed after the battle is over. Any monster eggs must be immediately destroyed. Ramza is forced into the mediator job and can only use equipment and abilities in that job class, but you can use auto-potion for the Weigraf solo fight if you so choose (I wasn't able to find a way to win without it lol). Recruiting the Byblos is allowed. If a random encounter has only humans and no monsters, you may reset and attempt the map again until a monster appears that you can recruit. I managed to make it all the way to the end the first time and beat Ultima, but some of the story battles are pretty freaking difficult, namely the fight at the execution site, the above fight against Weigraf, the fight against Balk in Chapter 4, and the final fight against Ultima. Have fun!

[@MatthewBester]

My own personal challenge was to do/get everything under 100 hours.

[@nattobaby]

100% excalibur 2 almost broke my sanity. so many resets

[@deployed246]

Final Fantasy X Obtain, max level & teach all available available abilities to every single obtainable Blitzball player. Then go to the doctors and pass an insanity test.

[@KaeMcSpadden]

I am still debating to myself if I want to attempt a FFX no sphere grid challenge. And I have already completed the challenge of getting the platinum trophy for that game.

[@ThundagaT2]

I'd say go for it, its actually not that hard. Especially if you know how to use Rikku's mixes.

[@douglasfreer]

I once tried speed running FFIX, using a guide to see where to skip, and still ended up an hour late to get Excalibur II. The time limit is too low, even if you get there in the most optimized way.

[@omensoffate]

Sounds like a skill issue

[@csmith3248]

Best thing to do is make a lot of save stats, than just keep loading back and try reducing the time

[@SpaceCat1111]

If you want a real challenge for FFT that really requires strategy, try the minimum days/no kills challenge. So you can't wander the map looking for random battles, and when you're in battle, you can't allow enemies to turn into chests/crystals. Not to mention you also can't just buy new equipment or battle consumables whenever you'd like. The additional restrictions I play with are no attacking allies (other than to remove status effects or heal) no stealing equipment, no poaching, and no "Gained JP Up."

[@TheTrueDiablix]

Regarding the no crystarium challenge....I've never tried it and I was using all the methods laid out for how to do it just in a normal run and sure enough the game is way too easy when you do that, but atleast from what I know, would the last boss not be impossible to defeat? You have to stagger him to deal damage and he has resistance to most stagger methods making it mandatory to have higher level stuff to build up his stagger meter faster than it drains. I'd be curious to check out the method for winning against him in particular on this type of run.

[@GarlandTheGreat]

I've done that last challenge twice. The second time, I was able to push the max level down to 28. Fun stuff.

[@shadowwolf9595]

It's not a particularly difficult challenge, but one that I had a lot of fun doing was a Solo Blue Mage run through FFV. It locks out the main cheese of the Blue Mage and makes you plan ahead for a lot of fights.