Black Waltz 2 & 3

This one took a long time because I kept messing up on the Black Waltz 2 fight. The first time I got to him I accidentally attacked Black Waltz 2 when I shouldn't have and triggered the multi-target Fira. The second time I got to him he targeted Steiner in round 2, so I had Vivi attack him to finish him off, but he survived! (d'oh!)

Here's how it went when I finally did succeed. After looting the chests and rescuing Vivi, I opened the door and encountered two ghosts. Zidane's turn came up immediately, so I had him Flee. I got the chests in there and headed out of the underground, equipping Zidane with the Mythril Dagger and Feather Hat and activating Bandit. The guide doesn't say to give him the Feather Hat, but I do it so he's guaranteed to survive Black Waltz 3's Thundara without needing a Silk Shirt. I want him to gain more AP for Protect Girls, so he's keeping the Leather Shirt on.

When I got control of Steiner, I optimized him and activated Bird Killer since I forgot to do that earlier. The only change in his equipment is the Iron Helm. Then I'm ready to take on the Black Waltzes. Black Waltz 2 opened with an attack on Zidane, and I retaliated with Fire Sword and an attack from Zidane. Black Waltz 2's next move was to blast Vivi with a Fire Spell and knock him out, which was just what I wanted him to do. Steiner and Zidane continued to pound him, and I had Dagger heal Zidane just in case. It turned out to not be necessary because Black Waltz 2 attacked Steiner next. Still, I wasn't about to risk another screw up! By keeping track of the numbers I saw that one more attack from Steiner would finish it. Due to my aforementioned kleptomania, I had Zidane use his turn to steal and got a Steepled Hat. Steiner then finished the battle with another attack.

Once that was over I knew I was home free. The battle against Black Waltz 3 is practically scripted as long as you do what the guide tells you to do. When Zidane's second turn comes up he has nothing better to do, so you might as well steal. I got another Steepled Hat. In Lindblum, I removed everyone's equipment except for the Wrists, read Ruby's letter, and saved. My time is now 01:35:11.

Black Waltz 1 and Sealion

It didn't take me too long to get my perfect boss fight. Here's how it went:

Round 1 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane steals Ether, Black Waltz 1 attacks

Round 2 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane uses Potion, Black Waltz 1 attacks

Round 3 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane steals Mythril Dagger, Black Waltz 1 attacks

Round 4 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane uses Potion, Black Waltz 1 attacks, Trance!

Round 5 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane uses Free Energy, Black Waltz 1 is dead

Round 6 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane attacks

Round 7 -- Sealion attacks, Zidane uses Free Energy for the win!

It only took 8 hits to get Zidane to trance, which was perfect for this situation. I barely managed to survive at the end. Zidane was left with just 2 HP. After the battle I went back to Mois and saved with a time of 1:01:38. Now that I've experienced my new strategy, I think it's decent for the average player.  Extreme speed-runners, however, will probably want to use the more traditional method because you can get better results that way if you're patient enough to get the best outcome.

With that out of the way, I proceeded to the exit of the Ice Cavern (finally!). On my way out, I equipped Vivi, Garnet, and Zidane with Wrist so I could get them out of my inventory. I didn't save on the way to Dali. It's not that far, after all.

At Dali, I spent the night at the inn, then gave Gumo his letter from Mois. Outside, I took a couple seconds to pick up the 120 gil on the ground. Then I quickly visited the farm, followed by two visits to the pub. When that was done, I talked to Vivi, then into the shop to talk to Dagger. Choosing the first option followed by the second option saves a bit of time here. I then sold my three Phoenix Pinions, and bought 99 Wrists, 5 Feather Hats, and 3 Leather Shirts for synthesis later. After some scenes, I entered the underground and looted the first two screens. In the third screen, I checked the barrel to get the moogle to pop out, then climbed the boxes to the Ether. I then picked up the next moogle letter and saved while still standing on the first box. This saves a second or two-- not a whole lot to get worked up over, but still something.

My time now is 01:12:35.

Ice Cavern

This segment clearly showed that my lucky streak has ended. It took several hours of attempts, but I finally made it through this part!

From my last post, you can see that my save was not in an optimal spot. That was part of the reason why I decided to do some trance-gauge building using Mus. I got into a battle right outside the Ice Cavern with three Mus. I knocked out everyone except Zidane, then had him shift to the back row so he could absorb all the hits. After making him endure a couple rounds of hits, I ran. From save to save, this took 1 minute and 33 seconds.

Zidane's trance gauge is now about halfway full, maybe a little more. My aim is for Zidane to trance in 9 hits from Black Waltz 1 and Sealion. This will allow me to steal both the Ether and the Mythril Dagger. My reasons for including the Ether as well are:

1) I am a kleptomaniac when it comes to Final Fantasy games.

2) The extra 1,000 gil from the Ether will be nice to have for my shopping spree in Lindblum.

With that out of the way, I proceeded to attempt to get through the Ice Cavern with no encounters, and it certainly took a long time. What was most frustrating was the time I got an encounter when I was only two steps away from being home free. In the screen with the Potion and Ether, I got the Potion first, left the screen, got the Ether, left the screen again, then went through to the next area. There, I got the Potion and Mage Masher, went back the way I came, then got the Elixir and went through. On the last dangerous screen, I got only the Phoenix Down before going on to save. After saving, I went back for the Leather Wrist. Finally, I healed up Zidane and equipped him as follows before saving again:

Mage Masher

Leather Hat

Leather Wrist

Leather Shirt

Moonstone

Now I'm ready to go take on the bosses! My time is now 00:56:01.