Haven't done a list in a long while. Let's remedy that. So obviously the RPG genre is gonna be full of moments to grind, shop, find treasures, defeat enemies, etc. Then there are those things that many gamers (I'm looking at you, VeghEsther, god I actually wish I was around during those times when he kept repeating game-breaking strategies over and over on boards, videos, basically anything) always talk about. This list shows the games that are the easiest to go through, usually because you get a character, skill, or item that completely trivializes the difficulty. I will go over what does break the game of course. Games that have arduous methods of getting game breakers will usually not be on this list. I also am not encouraging game-breaking behavior, just listing the ways the games can be broken.
10. SaGa Frontier
What makes it broken: DSC, Overdrive + Stasis Rune
Well in a way there's some work to be done to get both of these. For the Overdrive + Stasis Rune, most people will just recruit Timelord, who already comes with Overdrive, then do the Rune sidequest to get the Stasis Rune spell. Of course, people playing as Blue will have to fight Timelord AND have done the Rune sidequest beforehand, but these are the two characters who can use this trick. Overdrive stops time completely for everyone except the caster, allowing up to 5-7 turns before draining stats and reverting time. The Stasis Rune spell locks you in stasis, which prevents the draining from actually occurring. Said stasis repeats prior actions in the Overdrive combo, without any stat penalty. It's amazing what a character can do by this trick. As for DSC, despite the fact that almost anyone can use it, it has a high WP cost, needs four other skills which can be learned randomly to even unlock it, and the amount of moves in it is actually determined randomly. Nevertheless, a DSC usually does more than 10000 damage to enemies, making it a go-to move against many bosses. Honestly though, I probably wouldn't have won some scenarios without it.
9. Sailor Moon: Another Story
What makes it broken: Time Stop
Pluto is the last Senshi to join, but does so at a reasonable level and with all her main skills, most notably Time Stop. This uses up all 12 AP and stops the enemies from ever taking action. So guess what? Another time-stopping skill makes the game uber-broken, but unlike other games, the entire party can move too while the enemies sit for three turns. And despite this taking up all of Pluto's AP, a simple refresh item makes her able to use it yet again. It works on everything including the final boss.
8. Final Fantasy Tactics
What makes it broken: Using Orlandu, or even just his Excalibur
There's probably several that I'm actually missing in FFT, such as proper utilization of skills, equipment, etc., but these are often offset by some rather tough missions in the game that I'm sure everyone knows about. Still, Orlandu's position as a game breaker shouldn't be understated. He has all the special sword moves, so all bases are covered. Putting him into a map means you're guaranteed to win. Or if you want to give yourself a little challenge, take his Excalibur and give it to someone who can wield it, then you'll make that character overpowered. Fantastic stuff, eclipses any other overpowering method I can imagine.
7. Breath of Fire 2
What makes it broken: Using Bleu/Deis, cooking carpenter
The biggest issues with these two is how to get them. You can permanently miss the cooking carpenter, but he's usually the first one you would see and probably choose. Still though, this is probably the only worthwhile carpenter, because the other ones have a useless Othello mini-game and some game stats or something. This guy however can cook certain items to make even better ones, including full-healing + buffing items as well as stat-increasing items. Being able to make stat-increasing items is bound to break any game despite how time consuming they usually are. As for Bleu/Deis, actually finding her is difficult enough, but the reward is so worth it, as she's got perfect stats for a mage with good defense, a good starting level, and the Shed skill. All worth it in the end.
6. Suikoden IV
What makes it broken: Treasure hunting, Training Hall
With the Suikoden series having several different game breakers, I had a hard time figuring which game would take the spot here. The first game has potch exploits, Master Pupil Attack, rune unites, using Grenseal and Alen; while the second game throws us the Matilda glitch as well as stat-booster tricks that involve dying in battle, but that takes time. 3 has very few, with only characters like Juan and Emily being breakers, and not as effective ones, and Tactics has Lazlo which of course requires beating Suikoden 4. That's what I went with for this one, as two things stand out. We all know how arduous level grinding can be, but Reinhold's Training Hall helps out in getting characters to the max level, even if it gets ridiculously tough and unfair at times. Meanwhile, Rene allows you to treasure hunt on specific islands, and some powerful runes are achieved through this, consequently making the Training Hall go by much better. Now if only Suikoden 4 wasn't as boring as it really ended up being...
5. Treasure of the Rudras
What makes it broken: The entire magic system
Obviously, many of the games here often need online guides to tell you how to break things in each game, but no game I've seen has a magic system where you can flat-out craft magic spells. And you can craft basically any spell right from the get-go. Wanna craft the best elemental damaging spells and the best healing spells, which not only are really powerful but also cost very little? This is the game for that. And every character that is playable can use spells, so even though some characters like Sion have crap for MP amounts and/or magic damage, these spells flat-out trivialize the game well before you can even start playing.
4. Final Fantasy VII
What makes it broken: Knights of the Round, mastering All materia and selling it, Enemy Skill materia, Mime materia
Prepare for several Final Fantasy titles. Naturally FF7 has quite a few, mostly with how to use Materia, well actually everything that breaks the game practially involves Materia. The Knights of the Round, first and foremost, the ultimate Summon materia, it takes a long while to get, takes a long while to play through the animation, but of course it will kill basically anything without fail. Aside from that, Mime is usually broken, while Enemy Skill when used on the right enemies leads to amazing skills like Aqualung and Beta. Master the All materia, then sell it for LOTS of money. Plenty of ways, but even more to come in other games.
3. Final Fantasy VIII
What makes it broken: Triple Triad and Card Mod, several limit breaks, the Lionheart, several Junctions
I think what's surprising is that I didn't put this higher. Probably because the effort for getting basically everything game-breaking was quite an effort, as opposed to the game below which can potentially give several game-breaking ways in itself. Still, FF8 was so complex that it was practically made easy. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, as I started breaking the game before the final SeeD exam even took place. Basically, level up Quetzalcoatl, get the Card Mod skill, and start playing cards until you get the cards you want, then Card Mod them to get amazing spells like Meltdown and Flare right off the bat. Then you got the limit breaks on some characters, with Selphie's infamous The End along with Quistis's Degenerator. Angel Wing too. So many ways to do it and you can do it well before even starting the main plot.
2. Final Fantasy VI
What makes it broken: Wind God Gau, Offering, Economizer, Psycho Cyan, Vanish + Doom, Joker Doom trick, Master's Scroll + Genji Glove, Ultima
Wow, just wow, loads of different strategies. Off the bat, Wind God Gau and Psycho Cyan have very specific ones involving specific characters using specific equipment, but the results are pretty godly. Gau's other rages will break things too if you can find the right ones. The multiple hits that the Master's Scroll + Genji Glove will overpower some fighters, while the Economizer blows the MP cost of everything to 1. The one I used the most was the Vanish + Doom trick, casting the spells on enemies and insta-killing them without fail, as the Vanish effect gives a 100% hit rate on basically anything, including most bosses. Although it's only most bosses though. Still though, so many things to break the game with.
1. Star Ocean: Second Story
What makes it broken: Item Creation, pickpocketing (specifically Battle Suits from Ernest), Eternal Sphere, Healing Star, Tear Gas, Ripper Blast, Marvel Sword, and yes, Bloody Armor
Item creation, item creation, item creation. Good god, this is the most broken RPG I've seen. You've probably entered Mt. Lasguss just to grind too, but getting all the ingredients, special talents, and skills means you're liable to spend some time NOT playing through this game's plot and instead focusing on creating items and new skills. Pickpocketing is often described as a must-have, and if you have Ernest, in some Private Actions you can pickpocket one of the strongest armors from him, the Battle Suit. The Marvel Sword can be a random pickup from a Treasure Chest item. Several character skills, including Claude's Ripper Blast, Chisato's Tear Gas, and Opera's Healing Star trivialize basically every enemy encounter. Item creation nets excellent equipment, including the amazingly overpowered Eternal Sphere. And I know VeghEsther goes crazy over it more than anything else, but a Bloody Armor basically means you're invincible, just gotta keep healing that damage. The game almost seems made for you to break.
No comments:
Post a Comment