Final Fantasy VII is among the most famous games of all time, originally released in 1997 as the first Final Fantasy game on a Playstation and disc. FF7 is also one of the most popular games to speed run and stream on Twitch due to its nostalgia factor and interest.
If you’ve just got into it, then you may have noticed a certain “No Slots” rule – something you can’t do in a particular category. What is No Slots in FF7 speed running and why is it not allowed in some runs? Let’s dive in.
What is Slots in FF7
Slots is Cait Sith’s level 2 limit break which brings up a slot machine with three rolls of icons, the combination you land on for all three determines what Cait Sith will do. Cait Sith only has two limit breaks meaning he can acquire it faster to the point it can often be available at critical moments.
Although there are a total of 15 different effects the one in question is called “Game Over” which is acquired when three parts of Cait Sith’s face align to create a complete picture.
The normal chance of gaining game over is 1/256. Very slim and most casual players may never see it.
Game Over kills all enemies in one hit even if they are immune to death. This means it will work every time against every enemy.
What is No Slots FF7
A FF7 no slots run simply means Cait Sith’s slots limit break is banned and will invalidate the run. This even means using Cait Sith’s Slots legitimately without the manipulation.
How can FF7 Slots be manipulated?
Slots can be manipulated in such a way that you can almost guaranteed you’ll get Game Over. It’s not the easiest manipulation and it is frustrating but it can be done in such a way that it’s faster to try and get Game Over than it is to just deal damage to defeat the largest bosses.
Basically, you can use the square button to hide the slots and slow it down so you can see what you get next, then you press circle when you see the portion of Cait Sith’s face. The last reel has a fail safe but there is a way around it. Here’s the best video which explains it and performs it live.
Why is using Slots banned in some FF7 speed runs?
The use of FF7’s Slots makes defeating any boss trivial and takes away a lot of RNG out of the speed run, it basically means that you can just use Cait Sith on every challenging boss removing a lot of the challenge, and for some viewers, the fun. A lot of excitement comes from getting lucky critical hits and so on – Slots removes that excitement.
Slots/No Slots are just as popular as each other, the difference is just the method runners use to complete the game.
So, FF7 runs and streams with No Slots means you won’t see this trick. Any FF7 run that doesn’t explicitly state no slots will likely have it included as it is the fastest way to progress in most cases.
