The Catcher Chocobo race is arguably the hardest part of Final Fantasy X. At least the achievement of completing it with a time of 0.0 seconds is. But it is required for getting the Sun Sigil for Titus's Celestial Weapon and if you're playing the HD Remastered version you'll need it to obtain these trophies: Chocobo Rider, Weapons Master, and of course, Completion.
I found this question, but nothing asking how to actually get the 0.0 time in the Catcher Chocobo Race.
So I'd like to ask the question, does anyone have tips on how they successfully beat the Catcher Chocobo Race with a time of 0.0?
Best Answer
I finished the Chocobo Catcher race up last night after about 5 hours of trying (I even got a time of 0.4 after about 3 hours using these tips.) Firstly, know that this is a luck based game, you do not have the opportunity to win every time :( I have seen it beaten in 15 minutes, and there are people like the author of the linked question who have tried much longer than me to no avail.
The fact it's luck based means that when you're trying to beat it, if you try something and it doesn't work, that doesn't necessarily mean it was a bad plan, it could have just been the right plan with bad luck. A key to identifying the right plan by section is to see if you could collect 4 balloons in each of the sections:
But here are some tips that are consistent across every completion of this I have seen:
General tips:
If you're taking time to reach 0.0 enjoy the fact that Square personally gave people who cared as much as you "the bird". Also take heart in the fact that in my opinion this is the hardest part in the game, if you can beat this, platinum will be a breeze!
EDIT:
I just found that If you leave the Calm Lands after achieving a time of 0.0 the guy who blocks the path down to Caladbolg will return! When I saw this I panicked. But fear not, you just need to run the race again and he will move, independent of whether you get a time of 0.0.