For this particular showing I believe I used Genji Shield to get 99% Evade (50% + a 2x bonus from Mini, but it caps at 99%). Used Bone Mail to absorb Poison Breath and probably White Hole (a bit rare, but he can use it). Judging by the red outline it's safe to assume I used Hermes Sandals. Maybe I used Chicken Knife for enhanced Agility, but not too sure. Don't remember what I used for the head part. Sorry. Definitely not a Ribbon. You can refer to the non-solo video, which has an easier strat you can use (get at least one character to hurt the dragon as much as possible, while reviving your 99% physical Evade character by the time the physical phase starts). Don't remember what I used for everyone, but pretty sure Bartz had a Dragon Lance and most likely Force Shield. I'm not sure about every single detail they changed on that specific version you're playing on, all I know is that most if not all of the changes didn't suit me. I believe you can no longer time Lv 5 Death kills by looking at the ATB bar anymore (or was that the Pixel Remaster? Both? I forget). Wouldn't be surprised if they made Neo Shin's physicals unblockable, but if you were able to block (not via Image) a "Critical Attack" (not necessarily from Neo Shin) by way of using a shield, then it can be blocked. As far as I remember, physical attacks started to be truly unblockable from FFVI onwards (Elven Mantle from V ignored normal evasion checks, it was its own thing separate from everything else, but apparently not even Image can save you if you get attacked from behind in VI). In short, if you keep getting hit, you're either having some bad luck, or they made the attack truly unblockable (where Elven Mantle's independent 33% check can't save you, as well as Shirahadori's 25%, normally they ignore the target's accuracy).

@@MrWright Bone Mail doesn't stop petrify from White Hole which is what I get killed by if I go for higher evasion with Genji Shield over Aegis. They patched out Mirage Vest refreshing by equipment change so I couldn't use your non-solo strategy because the physicals would get me every time. The Critical Attack is capable of missing, but the issue is he does it very often and it seems as though they buffed the accuracy (but didn't make it autohit). You can still Lv5 Death with good timing but it is much harder as the ATB moves a lot more smoothly, so you can't count ticks as easily. I'll give Genji a few more tries, but I gotta be very lucky that he doesn't use White Hole, and if he does, that it misses.

Oh, so they changed up quite a lot of things. I'm almost certain I have never died to White Hole each time I brought Bone Mail, so it could be another version difference. Then yeah, I suppose picking Aegis Shield in your case may be a sensible choice. Now that you mention it, I think I remember hearing about the Mirage Vest fix sometime ago. Pity. Good to know that Critical Attack isn't a true unblockable, but there's other issues at hand. I note in the description that most of my failed attempts came from Neo Shin's physicals (even with 99% Evade setup), guess it's safe to say that his ability to spam the attack multiple times improves the chances to hit you dramatically, especially if you don't have access to 99% Evade. Isn't there a way you can revive someone to dualcast Blink every so often? Or are you doing a low level run yourself? It is... certainly surprising that the Lv 5 Death strat can still be performed. It will be very rough to win if Bone Mail doesn't protect you as it ought to do, either way you'll need more luck compared to what I did in this fight. Still, godspeed. If you manage to find a winning strategy other than luck, let me know. Rusty as I am, I cannot readily recall too many details.

@@MrWright pulled it out, was pretty brutal (and yeah 2/2/2/3 low level). In general it's the same strategy but since I'm not soloing I realized I could take advantage of that. Used Freelancer over Mime for my attacker so I could have Genji Shield and Ribbon on, plus the Bone Mail. Minified the whole team, geared two with Ice Shield and 3rd with Force Shield while my attacker is in 4th. Mix Hasty-ade, Dragon Shielding, Dragon Kiss for attacker, Combine Dark Cannon for darkness (not sure if it actually helped). Attacker does 1 Finisher then Hides. The other 3 become zombies. They will be your meat shields for the final phase. Then the attacker does the Hide Finisher timings you showcased here. Once Neo Shinryu casts Mute, land one more Elemental Attack, then Holy Water 3rd slot. 3rd slot tries to Dragon Power buff up and Dragon Cannon to finish (5000+ damage on hit), while the attacker Hides and revives as needed, Hiding before Dragon Cannon shots in case it hits. Slot 1 and 2 are picked most often for physical attacks including Critical Attack so you have a fair chance of survival on your attacker to make it through. Definitely not a guaranteed strategy but it's what I could come up with, and the first phase is stable. Only the second phase can bad luck do you in if Critical Attack selects your Hide-r and it bypasses all your evasive equipment.

Glad to see you could come up with something. Well done. I hadn't even thought about using Zambies as meatshields. Interesting. My experience with inflicting Darkness on Neo Shin hasn't been a good one. The original Shin misses way more often (I don't even need high Evade%, which is why something like solo Berserk can work). Neo Shin? Not so much. I suspect it's because one of his clones frequently swapping out for attacking and/or receiving hits, so while you may inflict Darkness on one, another one (without the status) may swap in to attack you, making the procedure pointless.

Yes. The only difference is the element.