Timer A timer is a gameplay element used in multiple games in the " Final Fantasy " series . A timer is typically a countdown that appears in a corner of the screen to trigger " against the clock " events . Typically , the result of time running out is a game over , but less severe outcomes exist , such as losing a valuable item . The countdown usually does not pause during random encounters or other battles . Appearances . " Final Fantasy IV " . The Game Boy Advance version introduces the Lunar Ruins . Cid ' s trial involves him flying a passenger on his airship to a destination before the timer reaches a certain limit . Rosa ' s trial involves her going around town healing as many people before time runs out . Edge ' s Challenge Dungeon consists of five floors . The faster the player can get to the fifth floor and open the final treasure chest there , the higher the chance it contains a rare item . Getting to the chest in under five minutes mostly ensures it will be a rare item . The " " version is more generous with time and allows up to ten minutes to get the best items . Porom ' s Challenge Dungeon consists of the player running around a field helping NPCs with various tasks . The player has fifteen minutes to help as many people as they are able , then make it to the exit and open the treasure chest . When the fifteen minute timer runs out the player is teleported out of the dungeon without being able to collect their prize . " Final Fantasy V " . A ten - minute timer appears when the party attempts to escape Karnak Castle from an explosion . The timer continues during battles and the party must win a boss fight before escaping . If the timer runs out , the player receives a Game Over . The summon Odin is located in the basement of the Castle of Bal in the Merged World . Upon being found , he must be fought as a boss before being acquired . There is a one - minute timer attached to this battle ; failure to defeat him in one minute results in a Game Over . The timer disappears after the battle is over . It is possible to defeat Odin and still lose the battle , as the timer doesn ' t stop when Odin says " That ' s it ! " , so if it hits 0 : 00 by the very moment he says that and " disappears " , the battle will end in a Game Over . In the Sunken Tower a timer with seven minutes appears simulating how long the party can survive without drowning . The timer stays in battles and thus during the Famed Mimic Gogo battle . The timer goes after the battle despite still being underwater . " Final Fantasy VI " . At the Opera House , a time limit of five minutes is given to the player to stop Ultros from ruining the opera from the rafters . A number of rats appear as fixed encounter s . The timer stops when the player reaches Ultros . At Vector , the Returners get four minutes to talk to all 24 soldiers in the Imperial Palace . Four of these soldiers wish to keep fighting , so talking to them results in a battle , during which the timer continues . It continues until it reaches 0 , at which point the Returners have a banquet with Emperor Gestahl . During the banquet , the player has the option of taking a break to talk to other people around the table . One of the sentries wants to fight ; this battle has a two - minute timer attached to it . A timer is used when escaping the destruction of the Floating Continent . If the party waits at the end of the area until five seconds remaining , Shadow will rejoin the party and will be recruitable in the World of Ruin . Otherwise , he is left behind and dies . In the World of Ruin , Sabin is found in Tzen holding a crumbling house up . A time limit of six minutes is given to the player to find the child inside and escape . The timer continues during random encounters . " Final Fantasy VII " . After planting a bomb in the Sector 1 Reactor and defeating the Guard Scorpion , the player is given ten minutes to escape the Mako Reactor . If the player runs out of time they receive a game over . The timer continues during battles . In the 1996 demo the player was given three minutes to detonation . In this version , time is not lost during battles , and the time remaining was given in message boxes , for three , two , and one minutes remaining , then seconds remaining for thirty , ten , and finally five down to one . On the last train from Midgar , when the carriages are scanned and fake IDs are found on board , the player attempts to run down the carriages before they are locked . Talking to NPCs during this time may result in earned items . The carriages each have their own timer ; for the first two , the timer is 15 seconds , and for the third , eighteen seconds . If the player reaches the final carriage they will exit the train close to the next story destination , whereas if they run out of time at any point , they will be forced to exit the train from the carriage they reached , and will be deposited further from the destination . In the Wall Market gym the player can have a squats competition against " Bro " . The player is given thirty seconds to out - perform their opponent , with the item received depending on whether they win , draw or lose . When opening the safe in Shinra Mansion , the player is given 20 seconds to do so . If the timer runs out , the player fails and has to retry . When the party is in Rocket Town , they see a flashback to Cid ' s failed flight into space in the Shinra No . 26 . A thirty - second timer displays in the top - right counting down until the rocket ' s ignition . This timer is part of the flashback , and has no bearing on gameplay . During the Huge Materia mission on the Coal Train over the tracks at Mt . Corel , the player is given a time limit of ten minutes to stop the train . If the player does not catch up to the other train , the party walk into North Corel and will not get the Huge Materia . If the player runs out of time after catching up with the train , it will crash into North Corel , and the party will still not get the Huge Materia . Additionally , the residents of North Corel will give the player the Ultima Materia for free if they succeed in stopping the train ; otherwise , the player has to pay 50 , 000 gil for it . In the Shinra No . 26 in Rocket Town , during the Huge Materia mission , the player is given three minutes to enter the correct combination to release the Huge Materia . If they run out of the time , they fail the Huge Materia mission , and cannot recover the Huge Materia . A timer of 20 minutes is given to the player when encountering Emerald Weapon to simulate the characters holding their breath . If the timer reduces to 0 , the player receives a game over . The timer does not appear if the player equips the Underwater Materia received from the Kalm traveler . If the player defeats Emerald Weapon when there are eight seconds left on the timer , the battle results screen will overlap with the game over screen , resulting in the Emerald Weapon countdown glitch . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . When Banora is about to be bombed , Zack Fair must reach Gillian Hewley ' s house within a time limit . Zack can play a squats minigame that has a time limit in the Shinra Headquarters SOLDIER Floor . " Final Fantasy VIII " . At the start of the game , the player has a test at the Fire Cavern . The player may choose a time limit befitting their confidence , depleting as the player progresses through the cavern until Ifrit is defeated . The timer depends on what time the player selects ; 10 , 20 , 30 , or 40 minutes . The less time left at the end of the test , the better the score the player earns for the SeeD exam . Running out of time triggers a game over . During the field exam in Dollet , a timer of 30 minutes is given for the player to return to the beach , during which they are pursued by X - ATM092 . If the timer expires , the player receives a game over . The player is granted a bonus on the SeeD exam based on reaching the beach within certain time goals , but escaping from battles to achieve this goal will result in a reduction , save the initial battle with X - ATM092 , which is unavoidable and unwinnable . Defeating the X - ATM092 can take some time , but doing so results in a 100 point bonus that more than offsets the points lost for the time spent fighting it , providing the player still reaches the shore within the time limit . The best strategy is to avoid the X - ATM092 until the player reaches the town , as after defeating it random battles against G - Soldier s ensue that , while not difficult , take time and the player is still in danger of a game over if they run out of time before reaching the beach . When the party is assisting the Forest Owls on the trains , the player is given five minutes to input the codes . If the player runs out of time they receive a game over . When inside the sub - levels of Balamb Garden on Disc 2 , the party has to open a valve . A timer of ten seconds , displayed in semi - transparent message boxes , is given to the player to do this . If with one character , the player fails , two characters attempt it , and then three , each time becoming easier to succeed . At the Centra Ruins , the player is given a timer of 20 minutes to find and defeat Odin . If the timer runs out before the party encounters Odin , it simply vanishes , and the player can no longer encounter Odin without exiting and returning to the Centra Ruins . If the timer runs out during the battle , Odin will use Zantetsuken , and the player will receive a game over . At the Missile Base , the player sets the self - destruct mechanism for the base and can delay the detonation by 10 , 20 , 30 or 40 minutes . The player then has that amount of time to exit the facility and defeat the BGH251F2 . Choosing the shorter options allows the party to use a shortcut back outside from the control room . The party is given a timer to encounter Omega Weapon in Ultimecia Castle . Once one party has pulled the bell in the stairwell south of the Art Gallery , the player must switch to the other party and encounter Omega Weapon in the Chapel before the timer expires . The timer is set to a minute long , and random encounters , even if the player escapes , will considerably reduce the time . " Final Fantasy IX " . When the player participates in the Festival of the Hunt , they have a 12 minute time limit to defeat as many enemies and collect as many points as possible . If they die , the hunt ends . Zaghnol is found in the Business District ' s Fountain Square , where the shops are , but it won ' t appear until there is less than four and a half minutes left on the clock . When the party is trying to save Princess Garnet in Alexandria Castle , they have a 30 minutes time limit . If the time expires before the team reaches Princess Garnet , it is game over . While rescuing Garnet within the time limit is easily achievable , it becomes a challenge if the player wishes to battle the optional boss Tantarian during this time . When Cid Fabool saves the party members that Zidane did not take to Oeilvert from their cells in the Desert Palace , he has a 5 minute time limit to accomplish the task . " Final Fantasy X " . The player is given a timer to catch butterflies in the Macalania Woods . Catching all the blue butterflies within the time limit gives the player an item . Among the items earned is the Saturn Sigil . " Final Fantasy X - 2 " . There is a seven minute time limit during the first story mission when Yuna , Rikku , and Paine race against the Leblanc Syndicate to the top of the Floating Ruins at Mt . Gagazet . The timer is frozen during battles , and is dispelled when the player reaches the spot where the Syndicate is hanging from the ledge near a treasure chest . During the " Cuckoo for Chocobos ! " mission on the Mi ' ihen Highroad in Chapter 2 , the Gullwings are given a three minute time limit in order save Calli from a Chocobo Eater after catching a chocobo . " Final Fantasy XII " . Onboard Dreadnought " Leviathan " the player can use a System Access Key on the top floor to disable the alarm for a set time . Although this does not stop enemies from spawning , they will not be actively seeking the party when the alarm is not sounding . While riding on a chocobo , players are given a 180 - second ( 3 - minute ) time limit . If the player has not dismounted when it expires , the chocobo will throw them off and depart , although there is a way to avoid this by entering and exiting the menu right when the time is about to run out : this will give a tiny amount of more time on the clock . The boss Zalera has a 5 minute time limit . If the player fails to kill it in this time , they will be ejected out of the battle field and they have to try again . In Great Crystal the gates have varying time limits and the player must get past them before they close again . This is made challenging because Great Crystal has no in - game map . " Final Fantasy XIII " . While there is no timer during field exploration , certain battles are to be completed within a time limit set by the spell Doom . Depending on battle speed , the counter for most battles with Doom present is 1800 frames for Normal setting and 3124 frames for Slow setting , but during the final battle Doom gives 4200 frames for Normal setting and 7289 frames on Slow setting . Not completing the battle before the timer runs out , results in a game over . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . All Temporal Rift puzzles can appear with timers . The timers are present in the more difficult versions of the puzzles , and if the player runs out of time while attempting to solve a puzzle , they will have to start again from the beginning . The timer is represented by a circular red gauge that depletes as the time runs out . As the game revolves around the concept of a world doomed to destruction in a matter of , the ever - present timer is one of the game ' s most important elements . The timer is located underneath the game ' s minimap at the top - right of the screen , showing both the current time and how many days remain after the current one ends . The timer will still display even if the player chooses to hide the minimap . The timer will not be displayed whenever no time limit exists , such as in the game ' s prologue , or during the Final Day . While in the Ark , the timer is displayed but remains at 6 AM until Lightning teleports back to Nova Chrysalia . The timer is also paused while in menus , cutscenes , dialogue , and battles ; the exception to the latter is within the Ultimate Lair , where time will continue to pass even in combat . The timer is not displayed on - screen during battle , but can be checked by pausing and accessing the item - select menu . The Chronostasis ability pauses the timer for an in - game half hour ( about 75 seconds of real time ) . The ability can be used to pause the timer indefinitely , provided Lightning has the EP to cast it . Chronostasis cannot be used in the Ultimate Lair , and will be canceled if Lightning enters the Lair , rides the monorail , or sleeps at an . Various amounts of time are spent by sleeping at an inn , taking the monorail , and battling at the Slaughterhouse . If the player fails to complete the main quests within the given time limit , they will fail and must start again , but can start in a " New Game Plus " with all items , abilities , money , stat boosts etc . " Final Fantasy XIV " . In the original version several activities had a time limit for completion , displayed on the top left of the screen by default . Guildleves , Behest s , Hamlet Defense , Skirmish and most quest fights are on a 30 minutes timer . Caravan Security can last up to 20 minutes , and instanced dungeons have a 1 hour limit . The timer is not frozen during cutscenes . In " A Realm Reborn " , every instanced dungeon and trial have time limit , displayed on the quest list . If the party fails to clear the instanced duty it will be resulted as a failed duty and the party will be removed from the instanced location to their original position . Most FATEs have a time limit of 15 minutes , while some have 30 minutes . " Final Fantasy XV " . A two minute timer is given to the player during the opening of Chapter 13 , when the party must escape a daemon attack in the Regalia . Toward the end of Chapter 13 , Noctis must race to a hangar gate before it closes . The player is given ninety seconds . A three minute timer appears on screen after the party decide to flee from the Adamantoise during the Let Sleeping Mountains Lie sidequest .