I renamed the screenshots and reuploaded them as TCB, but we still have TCC on the site until this run replaces it.
When you do update this run give me a buzz and I'll delete TCC from the gfx dir.
- IsraeliRD

There were four crystals, and together they formed one principle. And thus the world was created...

Speed Run Rules:
* Segmented
* Done from a Clean Save (New Game)
* Takes Damage to Save Time
* Kicks the Final Boss' Ass
* Saves the Princess. No, she's not in another castle.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (phew, long title!) is the 4th FFCC game on the Wii, the 2nd on disc. Unlike the other FFCC games, instead of using deformed characters, it uses more realistic models. It also doesn't use any gimmicky multi game/system features like the original with the GBAs or Echoes with the Wii/DS multiplayer funkiness.

The story follows around Layle and Keiss, a pair for hire who start the game escorting the new Lilty Airship Alexis II on its maiden voyage. But as all good RPGs go, shit happens. Monsters begin to appear and attack the ship. Keiss is a pussy and wants to run away, but good old Layle grabs a big gun, goes into a suicidal leap, and starts blowing shit up. HELL YEAH.

The game takes place about 1000 years after some great war between the Lilty and the Yukes, in which the war brought about the apparent end of the Yukes. However, they were only sent to a dimension between existence and oblivion. Now they're back, ready to kick ass and chew bubble gum (and they're all out of gum!).

I heard about this game via the E3 videos in 2006, but initially didn't pay much attention, since I wasn't much into FFCC at the time. However, in the last few months before its release, when the trailers started coming out, I was very excited. I jumped onto the Japanese version when it came out (Nov 2009) and loved it from the get go. I only played the first 15 minutes (equivalent of Segment 01 of the run), but had to stop due to a huge language barrier. Once the US version came out in December (some places were selling it a week earlier then street release), I hit the ground (and the game) running. Initially I figured that I was gonna wind up with about a 7 hour run, so I was going to segment it for that reason. v1 quickly chopped the time down to about 5.5 hours, a good starting point. I took some time and looked over the run and through threads at GameFAQs, and then began developing my v2 run. I found a lot of tricks on my own and redid parts in order to get what I needed for equipment. v2 brought me down to around 4.5 hours, an impressive improvement, since I was initially estimating about a 15 minute improvement. Yeah, that was more than 15 minutes alright.

I was hoping some FAQs would come up, but nothing had, so I waited until I could get a copy of Brady Games' strategy guide on the game before working on v3 (Yes, I bought a strategy guide, you got a problem with that?). The guide helped me to come up with a couple minor inventory changes, helped me find 2 of the 3 myrrh fragments I collected (I found the one in Moogle Woods on my own by accident) and overall provided the final streamlining I needed.

Finally, just a hair over 1 month after its (early) release, I finished up v3 with an awesome segment 20. Rejoicing, I was.

And so for 3.5 years, the game videos sat on the SDA page, lonely, until Zewing picked up the game himself. With new strats, he managed to beat the run...single-segment. Obviously, this could not stand. It was time for Layle's Revenge.

Using info from Zewing, I managed to pull within 5 seconds of his single-segment time with my v4. Impressive for not having played the game for a long time, but obviously not good enough. For v5, it was time to pull out all the stops. No holding back. YOLO strats had been activated. And victory was sweet.

One more note before I begin - cutscenes are NOT skippable. Not on NG, not even on NG+. What a bonehead move by Square Enix. Granted I'm sure that without them, the time would probably be under 1.5 hours. ^^;;

Segment 01 (0:13:48 - 0 Gil)
One trick I learned was that the options for stuff like subtitles (your entertainment) and camera control (my sanity) are tied into the save file so these can be set without wasting in-game time.

This is a mostly straight forward sequence. There are things you can do in NG+ to speed it up a little bit, mostly during the time when you fly the Alexis II.

Segment 02 (0:37:27 - 591 Gil)
I prove in this sequence that Layle is a pickpocket with a mean streak. The majority comes from a poor little clumsy girl, who we later learn is Princess Althea (explains why she has so much Gil to drop!). I also pick up my only myrrh fragment from the goblin fight. It's a mandatory fight, but man, it goes quick, especially when you throw them at each other!

Segment 03 (0:39:01 - 592 Gil)
This segment is simple and kinda boring - I simply run halfway across the world to go visit the obligatory Final Fantasy character, Cid. I save before visiting him. Time was saved by not doing the Eastern Wildlands Campaign and also a new shortcut through the incinerator (thanks to moooh for this shortcut!).

Segment 04 (0:44:53 - 553 Gil)
Stupid cutscenes. I also don't get why I have to build that amulet, but the game doesn't wanna let me out until I do. Ok, whatever.

Segment 05 (0:48:47 - 553 Gil)
Having finished my business with Cid, I run back across the world to reach the Vineyard. On the way, I save a woman in distress for something that will come into play in segment 08. Time saved due to skipping the myrrh fragment.

Segment 06 (1:04:00 - 553 Gil)
Amazing (and crazy stupid) barrel room fight. The battle against Bahamut was badass too.

Segment 07 (1:07:40 - 553 Gil)
I grab the spice here as well as the UMA News, then it's basically talking to Vaigali.

Segment 08 (1:17:54 - 653 Gil)
The Butt Bumping game is something I never really understood how it worked, but it doesn't matter as I found you can fail and still continue. I'll have to try harder next time to win Belle's heart <3. At the finish, I talk to the Mail Moogle for an extra letter, which is from the girl I saved in Segment 05. This earns me 100 Gil.

Segment 09 (1:28:28 - 653 Gil)
The train sequence is a lot of fun. The real goal is to get 9999 points, done by dodging all guards, kicking the soccer ball (not throwing the kid as I did here), returning the card, kicking opening up the chest, and grabbing the balloon for the kids. However, since this is a speedrun, I went with the fast, reckless strats. I used Zewing's strats for the first car, while the last car is a new strat I came up with, as the change in car 1 prevents me from simply riding the moogle cart to victory as in my v3 run.

Segment 10 (1:36:26 - 668 Gil)
Not much to discuss here. Layle picks more pockets and then creates a noisy ruckus in a library. Such a bastard.

Segment 11 (1:43:52 - 670 Gil)
No more running around. It's CHOCOBO TIME. Wark? Or Kweh? What do you hear and think Chocobos say?

Segment 12 (1:51:15 - 670 Gil)
"Layle, I'm willing to give up my kingdom to save my father."
"HAHAHA! Who do you think you are? The Princess?"
"I am! Why do you think I can say that?"
"Whatever, I'm sure the real Princess is in other castle."
"Grrr..."

Segment 13 (1:54:01 - 1012 Gil)
Time saved by skipping the Samurai Goblin fight and better grabbing of the chest in the tree.

Segment 14 (1:59:25 - 1012 Gil)
I collect a TON of shit here and get a fantastic sequence. Almost perfect, but it's tough to get Goldenrod in a couple of those spots while also juggling chest collection. Cut out the myrrh fragment here as well. UMA News were not read here like before, since I don't have 8 yet, due to the changes at Bridge Town.

Segment 15 (2:25:22 - 1012 Gil)
This is a LONG segment. First a boss fight against Blaze (who you see as early as Segment 02, if you pay attention), who's not as tough as he thinks he is. Then you have a flying chase sequence, followed by a being chased sequence. Good Blaze fight, despite the game's attempts to screw me over with the controls. Poor boy was p0wned, then met his end. Oh well. He deserved it...the prick. Chocobo chase was amazing. And the Behemoth escape can go fuck itself.

Segment 16 (2:35:22 - 1115 Gil)
This segment was redone a few times, mostly to try to achieve one piece of luck. The luck? Getting either King Leo or Chancellor Chime (characters from FFCC: My Life as a King) to appear in the train sequence (preferably Chime as she's easier to spot quickly). If either one is there, you can shake them for money - the last few Gil I needed to buy all of my items. Sorry Chime, as cute as you are in this game...daddy needs the money you've been collecting from doing tricks to buy crap. Also got the last UMA News I needed at Moogle Woods Station. Purchasing was pushed off to Segment 18 so I could focus on manipulating what I got.

Segment 17 (2:50:19 - 1118 Gil)
The dance was an awesome (and a little bit glitchy) sequence. It's too bad that I get one dance in there...and it's not my favorite. If you look carefully, you'll see the lovely Chime at the dance. If you choose her as a partner, you'll get to do the Selkie Tango to the tune of "Veo Lu Sluice", which is from the original FFCC. Since I only did this in my v1 run, I ripped that part of the video, encoded it, and put it on my YouTube account. Not only will you get to see me tango, you get to see a tango master (perfect sequence). Oh yeah.

Segment 18 (3:16:30 - Everything bought with 22 Gil to spare.)
The big change was the purchases were done here at the start of the segment for trying to get the Hope Pearl while building a pearl (1st purchase). This lowers any damage I take by 1 HP, which is great given my much lower HP compared to prior runs. Nailed it 1st try.

This segment is probably my least favorite segment in the game. No, not because some Selkies die, but because the stupid Selkies don't. Seriously, they have really goddamn stupid AI in that sequence and I only have a few things to throw down. You do get a medal for saving all 25, but it's hard as hell.

Segment 19 (3:31:03)
"Layle, what are you doing?"
"I'm killing Jegran before he becomes anymore evil!"
"Layle, stop it!"
"No! He might become the final boss!"
*shot fired*
"STOP IT NOW, LAYLE!"
"Dammit bitch, if he knocks you out and dangles you from a crane thousands of feet in the air, don't you blame me now!"

Segment 20 (4:01:50)
In the 30 minutes of this segment, I have the following playable sequences:
1. Run to the train (about 30 seconds)
2. Waggle the Wiimote furiously for about 20 seconds (it's tiring to do it hard enough for the game to accept)
3. Hold the analog stick on the Nunchuck all the way to the left or right for about 5 seconds.
4. Complete the ship jump (about 15 seconds, if you do it perfectly)
5. Four Phase Final Boss fight (just a few minutes)

So I play probably about 5 minutes of the 30 in that segment. Yeah. Really. But I must say, that is the BEST run though of the final battle ever. While no "Bullet-Dodging Legend (328)" medal this time due to game trolling, still a quick board. And the final boss fight? Absolutely SICK phase 4. I was worried about health after too many hits by the arm on phase 3, but the cannons from phase 3? You can rip them off and use them in phase 4 FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE. Jegran didn't know what hit him.

Playing though and speed running The Crystal Bearers was a fun experience for me. I enjoyed my time with this and hope you enjoyed watching. Thanks again to moooh and Zewing for new strats and to Zewing for the motivation to improve my old run.

This run is Copyright (C) 2013 Nicholas "Sir VG" Hoppe and IMAMYTH Colosseum (http://www.imamyth.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/SirVG) and is allowed for downloading and private viewing. Permissions for hosting this run have been granted to the Speed Demos Archive website and YouTube channel. Public viewing of this run is prohibited without prior permission from the creator. The selling or distribution of this run for profit in any way, shape, or form including (but not limited to) selling on eBay and television for profit is prohibited without prior permission from the author. Video hosting sites (i.e. YouTube, etc.) may not host this video in part or in full, unless full permission is granted by the author. Any violation of the above listed may result in legal action. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is Copyright (C) 2009 Square Enix.

Sir VG, signing out.

"We came. We saw. We speed ran."

FIN