Low-Level Run: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]'' features a special mode where experience gained is determined by the quality of the [[Combos]] the player uses. This is intended to reward players who are good at the battle system, but it can be used to keep the characters' levels low by deliberately performing poorly. Since the game is an action-RPG, a good player can avoid all damage, and keep enemies locked in infinite-[[Combos]] regardless of the characters' levels. [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tales+of+symphonia+colette+poison&search=Search There are videos] of low-level parties, with Colette and Raine (the game's healer and defensive mage) ''leading'' the battle, defeating [[Bonus Boss|Abyssion]] -- the single toughest enemy in the game by poisoning him and dodging attacks for several minutes.

** There is a title for Lloyd obtained by getting to a certain point in the game with a party level total below a certain number.

* ''[[Super Mario RPG (Video Game)|Super Mario RPG]]: Legend of the Seven Stars'' similarly features an item that allows the player to gamble the experience he earns. The item is intended to be a bonus, but it can also be used to deliberately retard the characters' development. Therefore, it's possible to beat the game with the characters at level 14 or below, almost half of the recommended level for the endgame.

** There is, in fact, a [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/588739/24216 walkthrough] available on [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/game/588739.html GameFAQs] detailing steps to complete the game without having Mario advance beyond Level 3. The Level 3 Run is possible mostly because it is possible to turn Mario's standard 3 FP Jump attack into a [[Disc One Nuke]]. For later portions of the game, usage of [[Guide Dang It|some hard to find]] items such as the Star Egg and Lazy Shell is necessary to turn Bowser into a [[Stone Wall]].

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' games do everything in their power to make a Low-Level Run impossible, with the specter of [[All Deaths Final|permanent character death]] always looming and untrained characters becoming increasingly (and mathematically) unable to stand up to enemies the more you neglect them. However, each game usually gives you several pre-promoted powerhouse units to recruit that are weaker over the long run, but ensure that you won't become [[Unwinnable By Mistake|completely stuck]] (excluding the very early Famicom installments).

** [http://www.youtube.com/user/DD151/videos This guy] has many videos that demonstrate the next best thing to a Low-Level Run in ''Fire Emblem'': the games are hacked to reduce all stat growths to 0% (stats never increase except from stat boosters and promotion), while usually recruiting all characters, keeping everyone alive, and to really drive the point home, [[Beyond the Impossible|does all of this on the hardest difficulty settings.]] Suddenly those pre-promotes are a whole lot more valuable to your survival when they're the only people you've got with decent stats. Finishing maps quickly also becomes paramount to avoid having to fight strong reinforcements. The only game in which he lets units die is ''[[Fire Emblem Akaneia|Shadow Dragon]]'', since the sidequest chapters in that game [[Violation of Common Sense|require you to let enough people get killed to unlock them]].

* ''[[Castlevania]]: [[Portrait of Ruin]]'' has a mode where you can stop your characters from gaining more levels after a certain point. This even allows you to stay at Level 1 the entire game. Since this can only be activated when playing the hardest difficulty level of the game, it can make for an almost impossible challenge when playing as certain characters.

** But noticeably and notably easy for the main characters, even with the Level 1 restriction, because the money you can grind for, and the variety of vital sub-weapons that can be developed to maximum power, makes all the difference in one's survivability; for example, stock up on lots of potions each time you make a little progress and (ab)use them all together in the same boss fight to take down many earlier bosses. The hardest boss would be {{spoiler|Death}} at around halfway because after that point, start fighting Old Axe Armor enemies until they drop a suit of armor named Ancient Armor, which causes any attack that hits you to only decrease your HP by 10%. The rest of the mode becomes cake among Low Level Runs.

[[Category:Videogame Culture]]

[[Category:Low Level Run]]