Starting with the first Final Fantasy released in 1987 for NES and progressing all the way to the character-specific DLC chapters released this year for Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix’s epic series has dominated the role playing game landscape for 30 years. Counting the main numbered series, plus prequels, sequels, and spin-offs, the Final Fantasy brand boasts well over 50 titles.

The traditionally turn-based gameplay (although recent titles have moved away from this, to the mixed reviews of long time fans) demands strategy and patience to be played successfully, but it also allows for some legendary story telling. Say the names Yuna, Aerith, Lightning, Squall, Noctis, Cid, Vivi, Cloud, or Sephiroth; if the eyes of person you’re speaking with light up, you know you’ve found a fellow fan.

One aspect that characterizes Final Fantasy games is their density. They are long undertakings, packed full of secrets, side quests, hidden areas, and bonus bosses. This is why a lot of fans buy walkthrough guides. Is it cheating? I suppose you could say that from a certain perspective. But c’mon, how else are you really going to get through the Cloister of Trials??

Whether you use a walkthrough guide or not, if you don’t put the time and effort into exploring and leveling up, you can never hope to beat the game. But for the time strapped gamer, I’m here to offer a few hints and shortcuts to ease your way. So without further ado, here are 15 Final Fantasy hacks you didn’t know about.

15 Annoy Your Characters

Want Lightning to lighten up already? Are you bored playing through Final Fantasy XIII's super slow beginning? Tired of attacking and staggering and attacking and staggering endlessly? Ready to punish Hope for making you revive him so many times? Then here's a tidbit of information that might interest you.

Whenever you're not in battle, move your analogue stick back and forth to the left and right quickly until your character suddenly stops on their own and becomes dizzy, tired, or angry. Does it solve any of your problems? No. Does it help you escape the game's rigidly linear storyline? No. But it does give an outlet to that annoying little kid inside all of us, the one that still secretly likes teasing people with "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" C'mon, admit it: you still think that's kind of funny.

14 It's All A Betting Game

In Square Enix’s epic bromance Final Fantasy XV, once Noctis and company make it to the big city of Altissia, there’s a lot to see and do. But one thing you definitely need to make sure you don’t miss is Totomostro, an out-of-the-way arena where you can bet on the outcome of monster battles. To get there, take the light blue gondola line followed by the purple gondola line. Then choose your bets carefully; 1-on-1 battles are easiest to win–simply look at the stats of the combatants (paying close attention to any status ailments or special conditions) and go with the odds. Though you won’t win every time, this is a useful place to make money, especially once you’ve exhausted the hunt boards. And let’s face it, if you’re going to be staying at the Leville ($$$) in Altissia, you’re going to need it.

13 End The Blitzball Torture

Raise your hand if you hate Blitzball (note: my hand is raised). In all my play-throughs of Final Fantasy X, I’ve never once gotten the World Champion, Wakka’s legendary weapon, because it requires you to have the Jupiter Sigil–a prize given in Blitzball league. But wait, it turns out there’s a ray of hope! The Blitzball gods have answered our prayers.

Play a Blitzball match just until you are winning, then swim behind your own goalie and stay there. The other players should wander aimlessly in circles, and you can run out the clock. Alternatively, take two of your players and swim to a corner on the right side of the arena, then just pass the ball back and forth to each other until time expires. The opposing team should leave you alone. Now you can ride your wave of victory all the way to the Jupiter Sigil.

12 You Get An Elixir! And You Get An Elixir!

Expectations are high for the remastered version of Final Fantasy VII, widely considered to be one of the series' greatest entries. But let's hope that when Square Enix finally releases it, they don't remove this little hack.

If you've played any Final Fantasy at all, you know elixirs = awesome. They fully restore your character's HP and MP, and sometimes they even cure your status ailments. "I wish there was a magical place where I could max our my inventory of elixirs without spending any gil," I hear you say.

Wish granted. From the beginning of the Great Glacier, if you go left, you'll come to a cave. Go inside, and you'll find an elixir. Pick it up, but when the box says "Received 'Elixir'!" DON'T CLOSE IT. Just leave it there. Exit the cave, then re-enter. You'll find another elixir. Repeat this process until you reach 99 in your inventory.

11 Baby, We Were Born To Run

In Final Fantasy XV, Noctis has a green bar labeled ST that shows his stamina. While traveling on foot, sprinting gets you where you need to go faster, but it depletes your stamina bar, forcing you to walk until you recover. Go to the Options Menu to turn the bar off if you find it annoying, but leaving it on does have an advantage.

While Noctis is sprinting, keep an eye on the bar as the level goes down. When it's almost completely spent (about right where the green line reaches the "S" in the ST label), release the sprint button for a split second. If you time it right, you should see a green flash around Noctis as his stamina bar instantly refills. Repeat, and you can sprint forever.

It takes a bit of practice to get right, but you'll have an easier time using the buttons rather than the analogue stick.

10 Eat Up!

Square Enix’s MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV had a rocky start when it was originally released in 2010, but the company doubled down on the problems to give the game new life. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has already been out for several years, but with this summer’s new DLC release of Stormblood, there’s still a ton of reasons to play.

If you’re just starting out, you probably feel like you’re way behind. I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of work to be done. But there are ways to maximize your efforts and get the biggest bang for your leveling-up buck. One of the simplest and most foolproof is to make sure your character eats. Almost all foods offer a 3% EXP bonus, which adds up enormously over time. If you’re going to be spending hours on this game (and you will), do yourself a favor and take advantage of this easy bonus.

9 Discount Yojimbo

One of Final Fantasy X’s most interesting aeons is Yojimbo. Unlike the other aeons, Yojimbo is a sword for hire. To obtain his services, go to the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth near the entrance of Mt. Gagazet. Be sure to save your game so that you won’t lose anything if this process goes horribly wrong, and you have to try again. Choose “To defeat the most powerful of enemies,” and the bidding process begins. Yojimbo’s price begins at 250,000 gil, and you have three opportunities to give counter offers (but no more than three, or he’ll end the negotiation). Your first offer should be 125,001; your second should be 125,002; your final should be 150,003. At this point, Yojimbo will drop his price to 194,000, and although that amount is still nothing to sneeze at, you end up saving 56,000 gil, which is a discount of 22%. That’s enough to buy like 1,100 potions!

8 Wholesale Hi-Potion

Everyone’s favorite down-on-his-luck merchant is back in Final Fantasy X-2. This time, O’aka has accumulated a big debt on a failed business, so he asks if you can help him out. In exchange, he’ll give you discounts on his goods. If you have enough gil (and if you don’t, you should go grinding to get it), give him 100,000. This earns you a permanent discount on O’aka’s wares, but only if you do it by the end of Chapter 3.

If you do, you’ll have a unique moneymaking opportunity on your hands. Buy Hi-Potions from O’aka for 50 gil, then go to any merchant, and you can sell them for the full 500 gil price! Granted you’ll have to sell 223 Hi-Potions this way to make back the money you gave O’aka, but there are no limits to how many you can sell, and it’s a super easy, guaranteed way to make however much gil you need for the remainder of the game.

7 Rollin' In CP

In Final Fantasy XIII, CP (Crystogen Points) is everything. Without it, you can’t use the Crystarium, which is how you level up your characters. Your party gains CP for every enemy defeated, so one of the most efficient ways to gain a lot of CP quickly to find an area where the enemies will continue to respawn indefinitely. One such place is in Chapter 7 at Hope’s house. There you’ll be attacked by several groups of enemies. Once you defeat them (usually in a minute or so), run to the other side of the house, and the enemies will respawn. You’re rewarded with 160 CP for each battle, which adds up quickly, so continue this strategy as long as you can. Don’t worry, there’s a Save Point right there in case you run into trouble. And on your next visit to the Crystarium, you're gonna make it rain.

6 Double The Power Of Odin

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, the strongest weapon you can give Noel is the Odinblade. Go to the Serendipity casino to purchase the Chaos Crystal for 10,000 coins (7,500 if you have the Bargain Hunter fragment skill). Give the Chaos Crystal to Hope, and Noel will get the Odinblade. The more fragments you find, the stronger the Odinblade will get.

But... did you know that the Odinblade has a counterpart–the Odinbolt? This is the strongest weapon for Serah in the game. To get it, follow these steps:

Step 1: Speak to the woman at the information counter in Academia 4XX and choose the weapon for Serah.

Step 2: Go back to Serendipity to buy the other weapon; it will be at the bottom of the list and will show the same stats as the first.

Step 3: Try not to let all that power go to your head.

5 Iron Chef Ignis

One of the most fun parts of Final Fantasy XV is developing the characters’ side skills. Noctis enjoys fishing, Prompto loves photography, Gladiolus has survival skills, and Ignis does all the cooking. It might seem like a mundane, thankless job, but since meals are the easiest way to impart important bonuses on your party, cooking should not be overlooked. The higher Ignis’ cooking skill, the more advanced dishes he can create. His chef stats will naturally improve over the course of the game, but did you know there’s a way to max out his skills early in the game using nothing more than deli meat?

Once you get to Lestallum, buy 60 or 70 Luncheon meats from a vendor. Then go camp, repeatedly, each time making Mystery Meat Sushi for dinner. Within about 20 minutes, you will have maxed out Ignis’ cooking skills and unlocked the game’s best recipes. Bon appétit!

4 Fly Traps Are Our Friends

Phoenix downs are an important item in all Final Fantasy games because they allow you to revive a K.O.’d character without magic. At 300 gil a pop, they’re not cheap, and yet you dare not be caught without one lest your quest come to a tragic end. In Final Fantasy VII, however, there’s a trick that allows you to revive a K.O.’d character even if you happen to find yourself short on phoenix down.

In the Ancient Forest, you'll find giant fly trap flowers. You’d probably think these are things that should be avoided, but if a member of your party is K.O.’d, simply walk into one of these fly trap flowers and let it swallow you. After a moment, it will spit you back out, and your party member will be revived–no phoenix down required! They’ll only have 1 HP though, so make sure you get them a potion, stat.

3 Money Making Monograph

One of the best ways of making money in Final Fantasy XII is by selling the loot you gain from fighting battles. But did you know that right at the beginning of the game, you can acquire Monographs (sold as “Forgotten Grimoires”) that increase the drop rates of certain monsters, which in turn greatly increases your earning potential for the entire game?

To unlock the Monographs, do the following:

- Read any Hunt Board 20x = Warmage’s Monograph

- Read any Hunt Board 40x = Dragoon’s Monograph

- Talk to any magic shop owner 25x = Mage’s Monograph

- Talk to any armor shop owner 15x = Scholar’s Monograph

- Talk to any weapon shop owner 30x = Knight’s Monograph

- Talk to any shop owner 100x = Sage’s Monograph

- Talk to Gatsly in Muthru Bazaar after finishing the Thextera hunt = Hunter’s Monograph

2 A Monkey Ending Is Better Than No Ending At All

Upon finishing the final boss battle in Final Fantasy X-2, you’ll receive one of several different endings. Depending on certain criteria that are present when you finish the game, you will receive either the bad ending (if you lost the boss battle), the normal ending, the good ending, or the perfect ending. But completionists will be interested in one additional ending–the monkey ending.

To get this ending, first finish the monkey matchmaking quest in Chapter 3. Next whistle in the Farplane in Chapter 3, then go on to finish the game with at least 75% completion. Whistle one more time after the boss battle and select “It’s better this way.” You’ll be rewarded with a shot of a monkey couple watching a romantic sunset in Zanarkand. Is it as satisfying as the perfect ending? I guess that depends on how you feel about monkeys.

1 What Would You Even Do With That Much Gil?

"Justice Monsters Five" is a pinball-style mini game in Final Fantasy XV. Play to collect in-game treasure chests to earn prizes for your party, which can be especially useful early in the game when you’re totally broke. The real money maker, however, is in Palsino St. Station in Altissia. Whereas other JM5 machines cost 10 gil to play, the Palsino St. game costs 10,000, but don’t worry–the prizes are exponentially better.

To win prizes in JM5, your goal is to hit the center bumper by holding down on the left analogue stick and tapping X. For every successful hit, a yellow bar in the middle fills up. Once it’s filled, you get a slot machine-style roll; cross your fingers for treasure chests. Your chest count is displayed in top left corner. Get 99 chests to win the Wind-Up Lord Vexxos upon exiting JM5, which sells for 500,000 gil. Now you can try that Fine Caviar Canape!