The RNG

As with other RPGs, Final Fantasy Legend also has an RNG. It is difficult to manipulate, as it will only increment through actions, or get shuffled by a soft reset. The soft reset RNG manipulation is mostly frame-based, but something like entering a menu can slightly affect it.
Unfortunately, soft resets seem to revert to a default for the battle RNG, meaning if it's impossible to win after a reset, there's no way to manipulate that short of getting into another battle before the impossible one, and don't reset along the way.

RNG Addresses

Final Fantasy Legend uses a different address for almost every different effect possible. There are 128 such addresses, stored in the RAM from C300 through C37F. Manipulating one will not affect whether a different action is successful, as almost every action that needs an RNG has its own address it can use. With no known exception, each RNG address rolls once per use, incrementing by one after each use. For example, the Mutant growth RNG address, C30B is rolled once per mutant at the end of every battle; if it is 123 in a party of three mutants, it will increase to 126 after the next battle.
After resetting, each RNG reverts to a value offset from C300's by some amount that varies slightly. The formula for the offset of each value is believed to be
y=floor(9/64*x+b)
where
y is the offset amount
x is the difference between the RAM address in question and C300 (e.g., for RAM address C30B, x is 11)
b is the value of C300 plus some unknown fractional amount
The "unknown fractional amount" in b makes many of the RAM addresses inconsistent, but it also frees up an additional degree of freedom to manipulate luck. For example, C358's offset is +12 3/8. Roughly speaking, this means that when the game is (soft) reset, three out of eight times C358's value will be 13 higher than C300's; the five other times, it will be 12 higher. To check the feasibility of manipulating two addresses simultaneously, simply subtract their offsets. In the case of C30B and C34B, the net offset is +9, meaning C34B's value will always be 9 greater than C30B's value and those two addresses are "locked" to each other. It is therefore impossible to manipulate mutant bonus type and mutant abilities independently.
The following is an incomplete list of RNG addresses used by the game.
RAM AddrC300 OffsetNotesValue Use
C309+1 17/64 = +1.27Mutant: HP growth10 + INT(RNG*5/255) (conjectured)
C30B+1 35/64 = +1.55Mutant: Bonus type
(Ability, HP, Mana, Agl., Str., Def., shuffle uses, or none)
0-34: New ability; 35-68: HP up; 69-98: Mana up; 99-116: Agl. up; 117-134: Str. up;
135-142: Def. up; 143-146: shuffle abilities; 147-255: nothing
C30D+1 53/64 = +1.83NPC: Which direction next?0-42: south; 43-127: north; 128-212: west; 213-255: east
C30E+1 31/32 = +1.97Mutant: Ability Uses shuffler0-42: divide by 2 (then round down) or add 1 if no uses left; 43-127: add original number of uses;
128-212: subtract original number of uses; 213-255: reset to original number of uses
C31B+3 51/64 = +3.80HP potion RNGUnknown
C323+4 59/64 = +4.92Battle: Run away0-126: can't run; 127-255: can run
C325+5 13/64 = +5.20Flashy enemy fade-in animation
C326+5 11/32 = +5.34Broken; +1 each time Uses Shuffler picks a full decrease
C334+7 5/16 = +7.31Broken; +1 each time the Uses Shuffler picks a full increase
C33B+8 19/64 = +8.30Random battle triggerTerrain dependent. Encounter rates include... Glider: 3; Plains: 5; Forest: 6; Swamp: 13; SU-ZAKU (by foot): 64
C343+9 27/64 = +9.42Encounter: Which monster groups do you fight?Seven possible encounters. Bins are 0-3 (very rare), 4-7, 8-15, 16-31, 32-63, 63-127, 128-255 (common).
C347+9 63/64 = +9.98Bonus from STRENGTH or AGILITY itemsUnknown
C34B+10 35/64 = +10.55Mutant: Which ability does one get?
Mutant: Str., Def., Agl., or Mana growth
Ability: Rolled and incremented until the RNG is greater than or equal to 239.
Mana, Agl., and Str. growth: 1 + INT(RNG*4/255) (conjectured)
Def. growth: 1+INT(RNG*2/255) (conjectured)
C34F+11 7/64 = +11.11Probably used for NPCs. Might be used to increment C369 with nearby NPC
C352+11 17/32 = +11.53Rolled when using STENCH in battle
C353+11 43/64 = +11.67Encounter: How many monsters in each group?Unknown
C358+12 3/8 = +12.38Item: POTION's recoveryFor POTION: INT(RNG*20/255). For X-POTION: INT(RNG*60/255).
C35A+12 21/32 = +12.66Enemy targetingUnknown
C35C+12 15/16 = +12.94Will a meat drop from an enemy?Unknown
C369+14 49/64 = +14.77NPC: Determines when an NPC will take a step, apparently.Unknown
C36F+15 39/64 = +15.61Mutant: What one of four slots to put an ability? 0-42: Slot 1; 43-127: Slot 2; 128-212: Slot 3; 213-255: Slot 4
Increments only if the effect of address C30B will actually affect that slot with a valid ability shuffle or change it to a new ability.

RNG Table

All random numbers with the exception of those used in battles (which are poorly understood) are pulled from the same RNG table. This table has a period of 256 and runs through all values from 0 to 255.
In the following table, the row indicates the first byte while the column indicates the second byte. For example, if RAM address C30B is 162 (A2 in hex), the RNG will roll a (decimal) value of 88.
0123456789ABCDEF
06015315214120225791491081691832918714159218
1156185 7 8211625423974204201168194911719269
2252217167205212222112213211233 8 93 4 4932154
316324918418203190471011524615113010081127133
467230242421071582072341921420015719611322490
52819813545111261445376182406621914564197
61241662161788494151701721501192211231779526
72201345610918062175117243118232 2 27209255250
8195102103114235301761061478672226682419637
99970248173139 1 161815154876116423863186
A 3 3888504333143424422247162251206223101
B92 6 712375265208245140 9 104125155174128122
C18825231131489748212364155985914231165
D22757120210244129111202179732151893611019158
E13189397717116124085831051363413278160229
F351211991467519380138121372325322846 0 5
}}
Here is the same table in hex format:
0123456789ABCDEF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}}

Tricks

Some tricks and quirks that would be good to keep in mind.

The game only accepts input at a minimum of pairs

If you hold down a button for a single frame, the game won't even process it. You must hold each button you want to press for two frames rather than one.
The game uses AND logic, so releasing a button for a single frame gets a reaction.
In effect, turbo button pressing would be AA.AA.AA.AA. and so on.

Resets are faster than running

An optimal run away takes around 20 frames longer than an optimal reset. In addition, it is possible to manipulate C33B into giving you a high step count before another battle using a reset.

GEN-BU Skip

Have a Mutant learn TELEPOR before you fight GEN-BU. After you put the three KING items on the statue, use TELEPOR to get to the tower. Because you didn't walk on a certain trigger tile, poor GEN-BU never gets a chance to fight you.

STONE Book -- The Instant Art Kit

Bosses are immune to the PARA element, which includes many status effects and instant death. However, most have no immunity to the STONE element, in which petrification acts like instant death anyway.
The earliest you can get a STONE Book is in World 3, in a shop in the hidden town.

SAW Glitch

The SAW is an instant death item and a monster ability. Both the ability on a BEETLE or WARRIOR and the actual item has a chance to hit based on strength. It also has an additional requirement, in that your strength must be less than the enemy's defense for it to even work.
There are four battles where you can't STONE the boss, but have access to the SAW item. It's these battles where the SAW can prove useful.

Vital Hit Rate

The battle RNG insists on resetting back to a default state after a reset. As such, the first action will always hit or miss depending on how accurate it is.
For status spells, your Mana needs to be at least Enemy Mana-4 to guarantee a hit from the first shot. Most endgame bosses have a Mana of 100, so in order to petrify them in the first action, you need 96 Mana by the endgame.
For the SAW item, you need Str. of 75 or higher to hit first thing. Keep in mind that if your Str. is above the enemy's Def., it will never hit!

Forced battles notes

EnemyHPDeath?Stone?Misc.
1-1 P-FROG82YesYes
1-1 KINGSWRD103YesYes
1-2 SKELETON
0-2 ASIGARU
20
20

Yes
Yes
Yes
1-1 STEWARD20 Yes Yes
1-1 GEN-BU250 YesCan be skipped by TELEPOR
1-1 SEI-RYU600 YesNo stoning item possible at this point
1-3 MOSQUITO150YesYes
1-1 GARLIC
1-1 SABERCAT
1-1 P-WORM
231
202
231
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Gah, 3 durable groups
1-3 SABERCAT202YesYes
1-1 BYAK-KO1000 YesSTONE book available by this time
1-3 ATOM ANT295YesYes
1-1 EVIL EYE606YesYes
1-1 MACHINE1000 First forced enemy immune to STONE
1-1 SU-ZAKU1500 Yes
1-1 ASHURA2000
1-1 GEN-BU21500
1-1 SEI-RYU21750 Yes
1-1 BYAK-KO22000 Yes
1-1 SU-ZAKU22500 Yes
1-1 CREATOR5000

GameResources/GB/FinalFantasyLegend last edited by Darkman425 on 1/30/2022 4:29 AM
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