How to go about playing

[eschaton]

So im gonna be playing this soon but before i do i wanted a heads up of how to play. Can i just go through the game at my own pace and do missions and what not, then use guides later for anything im missing? Or should i plan out what i should do before i even start playing? Im assuming theres a prpgress tracker for missions and sidequests in the menu right? Just want to make sure since type 0's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ was enough playing overcome for that one ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cutscene for me.

[Panda]

If you want to get all the sidequests done in an orderly fashion, you almost have to use a walkthrough.

I printed the maps from the prima guide, and use that alongside the walkthrough by krystal/bkstunt on gamefaqs, and it is slow going (super tedious) but I got a lot more done in 3 days than I would have on my own.

[it's a gabe]

It depends on how much bothered you are by starting all over. Don't get me wrong, though. You start all over but you keep all your stats and gear and many items you've gathered before the game over. If you don't manage to push the end of the world until at least the 13th day, it'll be a game over and you'll be given the NG+ option. I hear you also get a game over if you manage to get to the 13th day but haven't saved enough souls. For me it was interesting playing and discoverying the game for the first time at my own pace, getting a game over and starting again knowing how I can manage time.

If you manage to manage time on your very first playthrough without a guide, then you're a way better planner than many of us. If you NEED a guide to avoid game over and be able to do everything possible, then who's gonna stop you? There's not a single way to play the game and mine's blind, so it depends on what you're comfortable with.

[Ceriss]

You can do it at your own pace. It's not that hard. Playing at normal my very first time I completed enough subquests to unlock the bonus day and managed to beat Bhunivelze.

Just pick up any sidequest you see, as you explore each map you'll find the items or people necessary to complete them.

Main quests aren't too tough, shouldn't be more than a couple of days to complete each.

Maybe I did well cause I play a lot of persona and thus managing time has kind of become a natural skill but I'm still leaning that completing the side quests comes naturally.

[LadGaga]

Originally posted by Panda:

If you want to get all the sidequests done in an orderly fashion, you almost have to use a walkthrough.

I printed the maps from the prima guide, and use that alongside the walkthrough by krystal/bkstunt on gamefaqs, and it is slow going (super tedious) but I got a lot more done in 3 days than I would have on my own.

If you use that particular walkthrough from gamefaqs and just take it steady you would get absolutely everything done in 8 days np.
The guide itself would have you completing everything in 4 days which is definitely doable, though a stern test.

Following that guide on normal setting and playing like the God I am, I ended up having to just skip days 10-13 to actually get to the final day.

[Ceriss]

Originally posted by Frankbrodie:

Originally posted by Panda:

If you want to get all the sidequests done in an orderly fashion, you almost have to use a walkthrough.

I printed the maps from the prima guide, and use that alongside the walkthrough by krystal/bkstunt on gamefaqs, and it is slow going (super tedious) but I got a lot more done in 3 days than I would have on my own.

If you use that particular walkthrough from gamefaqs and just take it steady you would get absolutely everything done in 8 days np.
The guide itself would have you completing everything in 4 days which is definitely doable, though a stern test.

Following that guide on normal setting and playing like the God I am, I ended up having to just skip days 10-13 to actually get to the final day.

I had nothing to do on day 12 and 13, I could have taken some sidequests I had about 13 more I could do but I had enough by then to unlock the 14th day so I decided to chill.

Instead I farmed beat down and heavy slash 3.

Too bad you can't keep that ultima weapon/shield at the end, it's so flashy!

[Candy Witch]

I'm playing without a guide, and running out of things to do, and I'm only on day 5. I doubt I'm going to have trouble getting everything done before the time runs out.

You get an ability early on called Chronostasis which allows you to burn EP on stopping time for a short while.

Secondly, if you get beaten in a fight, don't use Escape, just re-load.

Additionally, if you feel like you've been wasting time searching an area or something like that, you can re-load a save and do it over again for maximum efficiency once you know where exactly to go. Helps shave off extra time or use Chronostasis to maximum effect.

Finally, if you've got half a mind for juggling several different quests simultaneously, you'll be able to get a lot of things done and then reduce time wasted on going to different places, and just "cash in" completed quests in bulk.

Bottom line, if you make any effort at managing your time efficiently, you'll see that the game gives you a really generous amount of time to complete everything, and you'll probably end up needing to wait out the remaining days, even without using a guide.

[Xenn]

If you use a guide to play you'll finish all main and side quest in 5-6 days, without one you'll probably still finish everything within 9-10 days while missing maybe a few sidequests. I would recommend you to play the game as it is and only check the guide after you think that you've done everything you could to check whether you've missed anything.

[larSTAR]

Something that is worth noting is that the gained EP change depending on the difficulty you are on. If you are on easy you basically play through the game with 100% Chronostasis. And have enough time to explore everything, exterminate everything even without a guide.

- "Big-Scale" (Reavers, Chocobo Eater etc.) Monsters give you 4 EP f.e. on easy, 2 on normal, 1 on hard.

And yes there is some kind of tracker. You can see your completed quests in the quests tab in the menu (right side)
There are around ~65 Sidequests, and ~83 Canvas Quests.
And of course the Main quests you need to complete to finish the game.
side quests give you more days, and canvas quests just boost your stats.

[MaverickHL]

I think the only suggestion I have since I already beaten this on the PS3 is with regards to the mobs in the game. I would suggest looking at the ability faq and farm only what is needed so you can optimize your full run and get decent level abilities with low ATB cost for certain abilities.

Making things extinct early in the first 6 days is not a good idea. Mind you this time I did a lot of save and reloading to get certain drops done more effeciently but overall the game really gives you plenty of time to finish everything.

I felt Majora's Mask more stressful back in the days compared to this game. Maybe because I was still young back then...

[Thotaz]

You can beat the game with ease and complete the majority of the side quests without any sort of guides. There are a few side quests that are done over several in-game days, so you can potentially miss out on these if you start them too late, but they aren't hidden so you'll likely discover them way before you have a chance to miss out on them.

I looked up how many sidequests I missed on my first playthrough, and I only missed 3 so you really don't need a guide unless you feel a need to get 100% on your first playthrough, but that's not possible no matter what because of the last ones side quest, and I guess for the majority the Aeronite quest won't be beatable on your first playthrough either.

[KEV1N]

I went in blind, explored, did every quest available, explored some more, made every monster extinct, wasted more time exploring, killed the optional bosses and still ended up with an enitre day left with nothing to do.

The game gives you more than enough time to do everything and then some. You do not need to use a guide or FAQ.

[Ceriss]

Originally posted by KEV1N:

I went in blind, explored, did every quest available, explored some more, made every monster extinct, wasted more time exploring, killed the optional bosses and still ended up with an enitre day left with nothing to do.

The game gives you more than enough time to do everything and then some. You do not need to use a guide or FAQ.

This guy/gal is 100% right.

[Aceeed]

If you don't have a game pad controller don't buy it. You will feel stupìd playing solo-keyboard.