Released in July 1997, StarFox 64 is essentially a remake of StarFox for the SNES. Like before, Fox and his trusted wingmen must stop the evil forces of Andross from conquering the Lylat System.
Note: The 100 percent run is considered single-segment because the run was done in one sitting, and the game forces you to reset twice.
0:25:45 by Brett Ables.
Author's comments:
Huge thanks go to InsipidMuckyWater for following me. He was the one who insisted I try my hand at this run, and probably my most eager viewer. He nearly had a run submitted for the game before TSA's second run was submitted, and Insipid told me he's glad to see the game owned and very glad he didn't have to do it himself!
Thanks also to those supporting my 100% run, Petrie911, SMK, MatrixTN and others. While I didn't open up a lot of discussion for this run (the one you're reading comments for), it was discussed some in my 100% run forum topic and much motivation came from those who posted or lurked there. I later wiped the dust from TSA's old SF64 forum topic on on his run and added discussion of my improvement run there.
I'd like to say thanks to SirVG, StrangenessDSS, and SuperCoolAl for their efforts in the SF64 Redline Run forum topic. If not for that I might not have gotten up the interest to do a run. If fact, there's my first post! That and Strangeness said in the redline topic that she had beaten TSA's time and was going to improve it quite a bit and make a better submission. TSA actually posted there commenting on some important improvements that would need to be made.
I'd like to say thanks again to TSA for running the game first. I know he was a big Star Fox fan even though he's mostly known for Zelda. Sorry to own your time TSA, but thanks for first running the game, because that run may have been the first speedrun I ever found. You go down in my book as "The Hylian Who Saved Lylat."
There has been question as to whether Star Fox 64 is suitable for speedrunning I'm here to tell you that it is. There's a lot to this game that affects speed or else I wouldn't have improved it by so much! Trust me it's more than just holding the boost button! I can run the same level twice, both with full boosting and create a 20 second difference by erratic movements and killing enemies. Besides lag, there's bosses, warp gates, all range mode missions, and route planning that all have a huge effect on time.
The first run of this game was a joke run done by TSA on Cinco de Mayo after he graduated high school. His time was 35:13 and his video is still available on archive.org. TSA later confessed that his first run was no good (a true confession I must say!) so he did a more serious run in 27:29. Watching that run, it looks pretty good. He shaved several minutes with a more optimal route and one figures that he must have nearly maxed out the game since it looks pretty clean cut and intentional. His comments said that a sub 27 should be possible by fixing 2 major 15-20 second mistakes.
I'm here to show what pushing the game to its limit looks like and that below 26 minutes is a much more suitable goal! How did I cut off 1:48 from TSA's time?
As much as TSA has played Zelda is about how I've played Star Fox 64 - nonstop and since the beginning. The obvious way to play this game is for high scores and that's what I did for years. I finally burnt myself out on high scores when I got a 2390 after playing every night for months. I didn't pick the game back up until I went for a low score run months later just for fun. Somewhere between the high scores and the low score, I found speedrunning and I wanted to do Star Fox 64 justice in that department. This was not the first run I began work on. My first project was an epic run in Expert Mode getting all 15 medals in 3 playthroughs...my SF64 interpretation of 100%. While I was working on this, InsipidMuckyWater kept saying, hey, you should replace TSA's minimalist run! So I kept it a secret until I'd owned the old run and posted that I was terribly sorry, but 25:45 was just the best I could do!
Indeed this run took only a few evenings to make as a side-project to my 100% Star Fox 64 run. I assure you though, making such a smooth run with the time I got was a very satisfying accomplishment. I just rewatched it to see what could be improved, and I was very surprised. I doubt this run could be improved by more than 15-30 seconds though I'd love to watch someone prove me wrong!
Unfortunately a pure speed run goes against the grain of the game because to optimize speed you have to minimize killing enemies. In my run I keep the shooting to a minimum, in general. Instead of being unimpressed by a lack of wild shooting on on-rails levels, watch for smoothness, anticipation of enemy fire, and anything I might do to impress the viewer! I knew you'd be watching, so I tried to make it interesting! Don't worry, there are several nuggets of sweet ownage throughout the run!
For other general info about the game I recommend:
Here's a spreadsheet with the timing breakdown. Sorry that it's so uber-complicated. I won't try to explain it - anything you need to know about timing is there!
Corneria is by far the best strategic route planning choice for the first level. It's unparalleled for it's..uh...convenience and accessibility from the start screen...yeah. :) The best route goes to Meteo meaning Mission Complete (Granga, humanoid robot) or Mission Accomplished (Attack Carrier) may be done. Mission Complete is faster by about 40 seconds on average. I shoot the fewest enemies as is convenient and safe. The difference between getting a medal and shooting almost nothing is generally 5-10 seconds, but can be as much as 30 seconds different depending on how much explosion-lagging-chaos-of-doom you produce. Avoiding enemies means dodging lasers, and we all have Peppy to thank for the copious barrel rolls of course! The boss fight is a good show since I do it in a single strafing run with 0 bombs. When the boss falls there's some randomness to his orientation and about 20% of the time I screw up the run due to bad aim or angle. In this run Granga nearly does a pirouette while falling and I landed a charged laser for the final hit!
There's some controversy about whether the Boss or the Warp is faster. SuperCoolAl holds the PAL speedrun record for the game and hit 6 of 7 warp gates and then half-warped to the boss in a matter of seconds (and then totally wasted the boss...dang!). TSA took the warp and continued boosting. Doing time conversions for PAL I found the warp to be a minute faster! In my own experience it was indeed a 50 second difference! The problem is the boss is very staged and slow, and is then followed by the dialogue of the team. The warp just ends in eerie almost-silence after a minute and 15 seconds or so and the next level begins in under 45 seconds. If you'd like an interesting interpretation of the warp zones, go find Marshmallow's horrible SF64 walkthrough on GameFAQs! I highly recommend it to SF64 fans needing a harty laugh! (Marshmallow is our hero-- yes he's yours too)
You'll see some interesting bombing in Meteo. That's the speedrun way of killing things you don't want to take time to kill, that aren't on the screen long enough, or that you don't want on the screen. Oh and why do I occasionally switch to first person and do barrel rolls? To make you dizzy!
This is the meat of the speedrun...or maybe the sauce, or the frosting or something... Fortuna is the first "All Range Mode" level you come to, which means it's not on rails anymore and the speediness depends entirely on skill. Star Wolf will approach everytime from high above the level in the lower right corner of the fixed radar at exactly 1:30 from when control is gained. Here I execute what was first called the Sky High trick but I later dubbed the "Fortuna Maneuver." I'll suffice it to say I saved over 30 seconds off TSA's dogfight, and that this method or an adaptation thereof is the fastest way to take down Star Wolf. My best time ever was only a few seconds faster than my time featured in this run!
Now some controversy remains as to whether Katina would give Fortuna a run for it's money. When done quickly, the mothership can arrive in about 1:00 to 1:15, and take until around 1:30 to give you control again. You must then destroy 10 or 15 ships to initiate a hatch opening, which you must be perfectly lined up for, and then you destroy all four hatches and the core in either 1 run or you U-turn to return to the Core with a bomb. All of this hassle and the unskippable cutscene could only be faster in 1 way in my opinion, and it involves death abuse. If you were to initiate the mother ship by getting 10 kills, then almost kill yourself. After the cutscene, take a final plunge to the ground. Now you will be re-started facing the mothership, AS the hatches open! The hatches can be laid waste in a single run (albeit with single lasers...) and the core bombed on the U-turn! Fortuna was just too cool to pass up to test this too extensively, but to be absolutely sure !
a competitor could try this out anyways...
This level is pretty straightforward until you get to the warp gates. Before the gates there are doors that open and close, and instead of braking like TSA did I just boost through them because of the crazy amount of time saved and the fact that 5-8 collisions can be made safely in Normal Mode without losing a wing. (I actually only go through 1 door, which lines me up to pass safely through the other 2 openings) The warp is taken because a "failed" Sector Z is much faster than Macbeth or Titania. The warp gates must be destroyed fast enough not to compromise too much on speed. While Bill from Katina can help you with this, I doubt the time saved is actually more than 5 seconds, which doesn't help the Katina option much. Not braking, having hyper lasers, and knowing how to use them are the keys to fast hatch openings...you'll see. Then it's all about obstacle avoidance and I made it through the Sector X warp zone without touching a thing. My ending sequence with the evil rotating-squares-of-death is a must see!
Easily the easiest level of the run...this is the one where Great Fox is paralized in the path of huge-mongous enemy missiles. My first task is to destroy my wingmates... (yeah, yeah, the part you were waiting for I'm sure...) --can't have them taking out missiles and whatnot, so what better way to spend the first minute of a level? Falco disagreed with me, but I settled that quickly. After that the only real duty of the speedrunner is to, uh... not die, oh and set up a nice camera angle for the incoming missile. That and not killing anything always saves 5-10 seconds due to explosion lag, so in other words this level is fairly boring! I always loved the dialogue after the Great Fox is hit by a 100 foot long missile and looses a chunk of the ship. Fox says "ROB, is everything ok?" Then ROB says "Damage to rear-left section of the ship." Ok, Fox, what was that? Obviously everything is NOT ok! Then I always wanted ROB to say, "Do I look ok? Does the left side of the ship mean anything to you! Great Fox can't even barrel roll any more!" Oh yeah, Slippy, Peppy and Falco are also inside Great Fox at this point making Fox look like a murderer! Oh well...they'll be back!
This is the other meat/sauce/icing level where the "All Range Mode" nature leaves timing entirely up to the player. TSA had a strange way of doing the forcefield towers that took like 30 seconds longer than just going around in a circle and taking them out. Because the satellite is rotating beneath you, flying clockwise around the satellite (with the core to the right) you go twice as fast, and if you fly counter-clockwise (with the core to your left) you will be floating in mid air relative to the satellite -- reminds me of graphing in polar coordinates...anyway. I go the fast way around, while boosting and take the force field towers out in 19 seconds. Then it takes another 10 hits to trigger the appearance of the core (I didn't know this at the time, and so you see me fly around only needing 1 more hit for a few seconds...I also wasted a bomb stupidly just before the cutscene). Then there are 8 spots on the core to be destroyed with bombs and lasers. Mostly thanks to my tower method I save 30 seconds here compared to TSA's old run.
Compared to the alternative A6-VE route, Bolse to Venom 1 was the way to go. Bolse is roughly 2 and a half minutes faster than Area 6, plus the 2 or more minutes saved in Sector Z, and the minute and a half saved since SDA timing ends on loss of control and Venom 2 has an exit sequence. While Venom 2 can be done in under 4 minutes, the SZ-BO-VE1 combination is faster overall.
While this level is very chaotic, there's little point in shooting anything except to collect a bomb or some health, and the most important thing is avoiding collisions. I don't know if a particular route is faster, but I think they are all equally fast except perhaps routes with high lag. There are an equal number of "valleys" of equal length no matter what path you take. The running stone boss before Andross was a monstrous pain! I was very impressed with TSA and SupperCoolAl's completion of him. The problem is staying ahead of the stones that are jutting from the walls and floor while not running into him. This boss ruined a few playthroughs causing me to lose up to 30 seconds because I'd collide with an obstacle, and either lose a wing then or later as I try to catch back up. Bombs only work on the body of the boss after the head is destroyed, which I take advantage of for the last hit.
Upon entering the final tunnel is a minor death abuse that saves maybe 1 second, but makes the run a bit more interesting...why? Well, I immediately retry upon entering the tunnel... The retry time is about 2 or 3 seconds lost, but it gives me full wing health, which I was very low on. This is important because the tunnel has some spiral doors that don't open very quickly. Rather than brake (blasphemy!) and wait for each one to be open enough to get through, I recklessly boost forward through the closed doors! This trick makes the run death abuse, but really it's just to induce an adrenaline rush in the viewer! Put it in the category of very risky tricks to save almost no time.
Robo-Andross got owned pretty easily...and I save a few seconds by destroying both hands at the same time instead of waiting to agitate his eyes again. Timing ends at loss of control on the final hit to the face since the exit is piloted by the cutscene. Yay for the happy oops-Great-Fox-lost-a-wing ending!
I was very satisfied with this run. Watching TSA's old run, I knew I could do sub-27 or even 26:30, but after really trying for it I realized 25:45 should just be doable, and here it is! 25:30 should be the next goal and I think would be doable, but difficult. The most time would come from Fortuna, Bolse and Sector X as they are the levels with the most time-loss potential. I'm not sure if TAS-like efficiency could accomplish sub-25, but hey, I wouldn't be sad if my run was just the beginning!
Would you rather watch me collect all 15 medals in Expert Mode in well under an hour and a half? Go check out my 100% run to see the game completely owned!
For additional comments on the run, I have posted in TSA's original forum topic for his improvement run currently titled Star Fox 64 27:29. I'll see if I can get it re-titled by him perhaps to reflect my improved time. I can be PMed at SDA or contacted through any links in my SDA profile. At Gamespot and elsewhere I am flutefreak7. I'm likely done with speedrunning this game because I'm burnt out from my 100% run and I need to focus on other things. Any challengers have their work cut out and are welcome to replace me, just remember to check your G-diffusor system and do a barrel roll!
This run is the property of the runner, Brett Ables. If the run is posted anywhere online, or made available for viewing by any means other than personal viewing through download from SDA, please include my name and speeddemosarchive.com or a link to this comments page. I gladly allow the use of this run for DVDs, music videos, etc. with the intent of supporting SDA so long as proper credit is given as previously mentioned.
Sincere thanks to all who watched the run and/or read the comments!
A final thanks to Miyamoto for creating my favorite game.
Redline route expert mode 0:35:35 by Brett Ables.
Author's comments:
The Redline Run Forum Topic was in fact the first Star Fox speedrun forum I found. Seeing the competition going on with the redline run and the discussion about further Star Fox 64 categories gave me the idea for my 100% run. That was where I made my first post. After being well into my 100% run a while later I went back and did a redline run for fun. In the end, my final 100% run contained a redline portion that was 35:43 with earning all the medals and it being Expert Mode. For the Redline category to make sense I figured the run submitted for it would need to be significantly faster than the redline portion of the 100% run, so I went to work. After a few days of repeated attempts I finally nailed this very snazzy 35:35 in Expert Mode.
Now, how exactly does Expert Redline count as it's own category? There was much discussion in the thread, but the basic premise is this:
The reason I chose to do it in Expert Mode was to set the bar high. For a Normal Mode run to be accepted, it would need to be much faster, which would take enough skill that it might as well be done in Expert Mode. That's what I figure anyway. Expert may not change casual playing much, but it greatly effects speedrunning because losing lasers cripples your ability to do as well. Also, the laser fire is much more intense, items are less plentiful, and Fox has awesome sunglasses! The keys to speed are in avoiding collisions, avoiding game lag, not missing searchlights on Zoness, completely owning all bosses, and off course: holding the boost button! I was very satisfied with this run, and I think while it contains some mistakes, much of it is very impressive and well executed. I think it's within a minute of TAS-like perfection, so while it is beatable, it won't be easy!
Now onto level comments...
I couldn't have asked for a better opening to the run. Other than getting hit a few times, everything down to the barrel rolling was right on. The main difficulty here is in boosting through the arches and making it through the final hoard of enemies without any collisions. I managed both very smoothly, setting me up nicely for the boss fight. The Attack Carrier, a blast from the SNES past, is my favorite boss to take down in the whole game. You'll see me cap off the first level with much gusto as the Carrier succoumbs to my rapid tapping.
This level is always tricky, but went very well overall. I use some interesting bombing to take out enemies that pose a collision risk from behind. Other than that I actually have to take down more enemies here because I need the 100 points required to proceed to Aquas. Obviously I got the 100 points, but I bet you weren't expecting such a close call... The boss fight is really the meat of the level because of it's annoying randomness. In this run I lose about 15 seconds chasing the boss down. A more patient player could luck-manipulate this boss into a much quicker death, but I just ate the lost time and called on my luck later in the run.
How a Fox ended up in a submarine to destroy a bio-clam-weapon beats me, but I bet Fox would want to get this level over with quickly. I do just that by holding boost the whole way as I take out whatever enemies pose a threat. The exploding starfish were my biggest concern. Other than that I barrel roll like crazy to avoid damage and meander my way through the enemies. The boss went entirely well except that I wasted a cycle of eye vulnerability because my torpedoes wouldn't lock onto the eye when I needed them to. I lost the few seconds I gained from doing the level effeciently.
This is a pivotal level in the run, because 1 missed searchlight means an immediate restart. The searchlights aren't so bad until you hold down the boost button and tend to whip right past them. Also being in Expert Mode makes the level even more brutal because there are so many random opportunities for collisions. Aside from a few close calls with both collisions and searchlights, everything went swimmingly. The boss here is very systematic, and I manage to keep my bombs fully stocked by collecting the bombs he gives out. I took the pirate down with no contest, careful to avoid collision with the ball and chain or any of the cannonballs.
This level has some fairly simplistic objectives: destroy the missiles, don't collide with the missiles, don't do much else for fear of causing lag. I actually play a risky game with myself of seeing how far away from the missiles I can be when they first arrive and still make it there in time to destroy them as they come onscreen. If the missile gets destroyed before ROB64 finishes saying "Distance 50" then I consider it a success. At most I lost maybe 3 seconds from not destroying them sooner. Wingmates could possibly be used to help destroy them faster, but the lag created in dogfighting could be more loss than the gain of a wingmate putting a few more measly shots in. I'm very satisfied with the level overall.
Running this level without killing everything is a serious act of will power! I basically just boost through the level taking out any enemies that pose a threat to my precious hyper lasers. Between that and dodging lasers I had my hands full most of the time anyways. I use a bomb to take out some of the butterflies before the checkpoint. Mad barrel rolling saves my hide on numerous occasions. The boss did not go nearly as well as I'd hoped. I was hoping to mimick what I did in my 100% run, but I ended up doing worse than "normal" in the process. I tried to get all 3 tenticles in one appearance, but not only does that never occur, it took me 3 seperate appearances of the boss to get the second set of tenticles. This was another avoidable time loss for sure. Luckely my mistakes never cost me my lasers giving me the change to redeem myself on Venom!
Redeem myself is exactly what I did! While I didn't get good opening shots on the Star Wolf team, I dropped them like flies with some dogfighting skills. I then take the speediest route to Andross and wreak havok on his face. My finger got a bit sticky when shooting the hands, but I still took them both out in one go. I then proceed to own the brain in the best kind of way, you'll just have to see it yourself! After that, depending on your sense of humor, drama, or irony you may or may not like my exit sequence! I assure that all mistakes in the exit were unintented, which to me actually makes the exit sequence a pretty awesome ending to the run.
I hope you enjoyed it!
For additional comments on the run, the forum topic Star Fox 64 "Red Line" seems to be the most appropriate place. I can be PMed at SDA or contacted through any links in my SDA profile. At Gamespot and elsewhere I am flutefreak7. I'm likely done with speedrunning this game because I need to focus on other things. Any challengers have their work cut out and are welcome to replace me, just remember to check your G-diffusor system and do a barrel roll!
This run is the property of the runner, Brett Ables. If the run is posted anywhere online, or made available for viewing by any means other than personal viewing through download from SDA, please include my name and speeddemosarchive.com or a link to this comments page. I gladly allow the use of this run for DVDs, music videos, etc. with the intent of supporting SDA so long as proper credit is given as previously mentioned.
Sincere thanks to all who watched the run and/or read the comments!
A final thanks to Miyamoto for creating my favorite game.
Single-segment, 100 percent expert mode 1:24:52 by Brett Ables.
Author's comments:
Collosal props, my mostly undying gratitude, and much polysyllabic verbosity to InsipidMuckyWater for following this run so closely through to the end. No matter how much analysis, commentary, or progress I posted, he was there to give feedback, watch dozens of practice videos, and encourage me during the development of the run. Insipid had followed TSA's first and second runs of the game, and even attempted his own back in the day. As a knowledgable fan of the game and a long-standing member of SDA, his immediate and continued support were very much appreciated. Don't let his big words scare you away... jaws may bite, but he doesn't!
Huge thanks also to the others who supported me in the 100% run forum topic. SMK helped get things off the ground, then came back for some good advice: "SMK your words are like pools of wisdom reaching to unfathomable depths." Petrie911 helped greatly with support and analysis of my early videos. Thanks also to MatrixTN and all others who posted in the topic for you support!
I'd like to say thanks again to TSA for running the game first. I know he was a big Star Fox fan even though he's mostly known for Zelda. Sorry to have owned your any% time TSA, but thanks for first running the game, because that run may have been the first speedrun I ever found. You go down in my book as "The Hylian Who Saved Lylat."
General Comments
This run category, in my opinion, is the best speedrun the game has to offer. Star Fox 64 is not a naturally awesome game to speedrun, but while I think I did justice to the "out of the box" run, I think this run truly does justice to the game itself. While there's a lot to Star Fox 64 (uber-fan speaking here), the meat of this game is in shooting up hundreds of enemies. Medals are awarded for clearing a moderately high number of enemies on each level while keeping all wingmates alive. Once all the medals have been achieved, Expert Mode is then unlocked. In Expert mode, a collision takes a wing off and 25% of your health (Save the solar system and win a crappy arwing with easily detachable wings!). There are a few more enemies on certain levels (not that many actually...) and more importantly, they fire much faster and with greater intensity. Besides that there are way fewer items to grab and Fox now sports some kick-butt sun-glasses (ok, so that makes up for the shoddy arwing). Besides high scores, going back through and getting all medals in Expert Mode is the final accomplishment of the game. While getting all the medals is only moderately difficult and Expert Mode isn't so bad, doing both in a speedrun and not screwing it all up is way harder than I ever imagined! That and the simple fact that the run includes all 15 levels is just awesome. There's so much strategy in the path choosing, right down to the number of available bombs. With the right balance of gameplay, speed, and strategy, this run was a pleasure to do and I hope a spectacle to watch as well! Did I mention there are 0 deaths or retries?
So what contributes to the speed besides holding down the boost button? Not losing your wings by avoiding collisions in absolutely essential. There are so many things that can happen that this is a constant task, which for a run of this length requires good piloting, planning, and just good dumb luck. Losing wings is a such a big deal because of your lasers. You have single, then you collect upgrades for double and hyper lasers. Hyper lasers are essential to speedrun the game effectively, especially for bosses; losing a wing means losing those hyper lasers.
The next most important thing is strategy. For a look at all the available route choices (12 total) check out this chart. The route chosen for this run is shown further down. Three seperate playthroughs of the game must be made to hit all 15 levels. There was much debate over these choices, and I ultimately chose what felt best to me and made the most sense. An example would be whether or not to have Starwolf on Bolse. They count as extra points, allowing a faster medal, but they also complicate an already difficult level, and often shoot wingmates down. Indeed several tough choices arose where either would do, but the questions of speed, feasibility, and overall awesomeness were difficult to answer.
Other things greatly affecting the speed of the run were obviously boss fights, but even more so, anything in all-range mode. Besides that, keeping wingmates alive ruined several runs, because losing a wingmate means losing the medal, which means an immediate retry of the level and often entire minutes lost. Bombs were a precious commodity in many parts of the run, and became a part of the overal strategy. The most unexpected contributor to time loss however was lag. When several explosions occur at once, the game's lagginess can cause 10-20 seconds of loss in a level. This meant planning which enemies to kill to get the medal on every level instead of just wasting everything in site. While getting 200+ on Corneria is sweetness, it takes 20 seconds longer, so it's out of the picture. Sorry, but don't come looking for high scores. (Find videos of high scores here.) It took a while to get used to playing smoothly for speed and not killing everything. That and for levels that are repeated either within this run, like Corneria and Meteo or between this and my other 2 runs, it became a challenge just to remember what to do on each level!
Well, I've got to say it eventually. Fortuna is the ultimate blunder of this run. It was the only level that I had a really awesome special trick for, and I totally screwed it up for a 30 second loss! To see the "Fortuna Maneuver" done properly just watch my any% run. Other notable losses were a slightly sloppy Sector Y boss fight, which is luck-dependent and roughly an hour into the run. Then of course, Bolse and Katina could always be faster since they are both a race against the clock to get the medal. Sector Y, Katina, Bolse, Solar and Aquas were all common run breakers. Zoness and Titania were the most brutal on-rails levels. I can't even say what the highlights would be except that I owned Area 6, Star Wolf, and Andross for an awesome finish!
Here are all the charts, routes, and numbers behind the run:
Level Abbreviations & Medal Requirements:
All wingmates survive and you must obtain this many hits for each level:
Here's the list of all possible playthrough routes in the game.
There are 12 possible paths of 3 play-throughs which visit all 15 levels.
For any other basic game info, I recommend:
The Route for this Run
A chart with the timing breakdown for the run can be seen here.
This chart projects an ideal time based on the best level times of my 3rd, 4th, and 6th attempts. Very interesting. It suggests I could've done a sub-1:24:00 by single segment timing. Subtracting the difference, that would be a sub-1:21:45 with segmented timing. Sounds like a goal for any competitors!
To see all the charts/spreadsheets I produced for this run, read the forum topic to see how they were first made public, or you can peruse my photobucket album where all my images are stored.
I'd say that's about all the general comments I feel like making! Have had enough yet?
On to the level comments...
Here again is the Timing Breakdown.
This begins the 1st playthrough: CO-ME-FO-SO-MB-BO
The opening level went very nicely. I actually messed up the first wave of ships and barely salvaged it - it still looked cool enough though. After saving Slippy, the 3rd ship to come in from the side (w/the bomb) was destroyed while inside the mountain, and then I nailed the hit+4 on the 4 enemies after the trench, which was cool. Through the city, I'm just taking out selected targets, trying to reduce lag, and trying to not get hit. I make not getting hit at all look a lot easier than it is as you'll see in later levels. I could have saved time by waiting to charge shot some enemy groups just before passing them to eliminate the lag created by their explosions. I missed the mech that throws the beam at you, which meant I needed nearly all of the remaining points in the level. I skim over the arches because I'm headed to Meteo, and charge shot the ground to pick up the extra points on the water skiers and the bomb birds to have 141 just before the boss... if only !
the last charge shot had been a hit+1 instead of hit+2 I'd have had exactly 139 going into the boss fight... oh well, I don't actually care, but I enjoy getting the exact number needed.
The boss fight went without a hitch. In all of my speedruns I use no bombs and take him out in a single run which saves a few seconds over TSA & SuperCoolAl who both create lag used bombs, and saves several seconds over U-turning for a second pass. This level fit perfectly with my best times and I was pleased with it.
The asteroid field went without any real troubles. This level has plenty of points so I selectively kill enemies. I only take out the asteroids posing a collision threat during the opening sequence (Expert mode + collision = no wings = no hyper lasers). Charge shotting the rocks where the ambush occurs causes a bit of lag, but I like getting those hit+1's better than just dodging everything, and using a bomb here causes the most lag. I didn't save peppy with a single charge shot, though I think I hit it on the 2nd pass through Meteo later (It just looks cool thats all). The sequence before the checkpoint went very well with all the barrel rolling, dodging and chargeshotting. I use 3 bombs just before the check point; the first 2 are off screen to take out the 3 pesky "butterfly" enemies before they even appear, and the third is risky, but looks awesome and that's to save Slippy.
By my timing, the warp is about 50 seconds faster than half warping (skipping the last warp gate) to the Meteo boss. The boss is very staged and long-winded, plus at the end of the warp there is no team banter. I know you are just crushed at not getting to hear more cheesy dialogue. The warp went very well. I had some nice shooting on the strings of enemies from behind. I get your heart going a bit hopefully by just barely snagging that 200th point! Collisions can also occur inadvertantly here, so I'm glad for none of that nonsense. I end with hyper lasers and 9 bombs - ready to kick some Star Wolf butt!
It all began just fine. Because Star Wolf gives 44 points total I needed 6 points before engaging them to guarantee the medal. After the 6 points, I begin executing what I call the sky high trick or the "Fortuna Maneuver." While I found this on my own, a quick visit to gameFAQs and you'll find a trick where you can execute continuous U-turns to go way above a level. This is a pretty sweet glitch in general, but I finally found a good purpose for it here on Fortuna. The idea is to get up to the height at which Star Wolf enters the level and take them out before they ever break formation. I originally did this by U-turning on the bottom part of the map, but my new idea was to line up with their approach to get better bomb detonations.
Well, it went so well until I messed up the first bomb entirely. I couldn't see Star Wolf at all (maybe because I wasn't high enough from spending too long to get the initial 6 kills) and my first bomb detonated behind and below them I think. So then I could have redeemed it for only a 10 second loss, but my other bombs were just as horrible. Yeah, I totally screwed up Fortuna. I then proceeded to run around and clean them up as fast as I could for a 30 second loss. That may not sound like much, but it was by far the biggest loss in the run. For a properly executed Fortuna just watch my any% run of the game.
I'm not actually sure why I didn't just reset at that point. I think I'd just come off of another run where I died on Bolse and I just wanted to complete a 0 death run before holding myself to perfection. This level is the main reason that this run is improvable. If it weren't for having 17 other very well-done levels, I likely wouldn't have submitted the run because of the Fortuna blunder. Oh well, here's the mistake, cringe with me and move on. After this, the rest of the run was a race against the clock to see what I could do to earn those 30 seconds back 1 second at a time. I'm sorry I gave up running the game before improving this level. Perhaps someone else will do that for me one day.
Why Solar after Fortuna? Because Katina generally leaves me (and my wingmates) ragged with single lasers and few bombs. Sector X + Titania are much better suited to follow Katina. Bolse then is best to follow Macbeth since the bombs and lasers from Meteo will carry through Solar and Macbeth to Bolse. Sector X has a high potential for collision during the warp, which doesn't matter if Titania is the only thing to follow it. (To complete the thought, Bolse is best done on whichever route includes Fortuna since I decided Bolse w/Star Wolf is too difficult...more on that later)
After a frantic Fortuna, I was ready to own this level. Normally I try to get just enough for the medal, and Solar is hard enough as it is. It's easy to lose a wing from hitting an enemy, while boosting and shooting, and a lost wing can make Solar a pain, plus single lasers often cripple my ability to do Bolse quickly later. Well, I just plowed through the level, lasers 'a blazin' racking up 127 hits total. That's my highest ever during a speedrun.
Getting a high score here can be a real pain if you don't know the trick that I use in the beginning. Just under the surface of the lava under the center of a "lava arch" (the arches of flame that erupt and re-enter the lava) can be charge shot for a hit+1 point. That's how I'm getting hit+1's by charge shotting the lava. Besides that trick, bomb usage is essential. I was a bit late in using the first bomb, but it was still effective. For the 1st "flock" of firebirds I didn't need a bomb because I nailed some really awesome charge shots for a hit+3 and hit+4. Some groups of 3 or 4 birds can be charge shot as they emerge from the waves for extra points. I avoid the continue to avoid taking damage while boosting. Between saving Falco and the last waves of enemies I just fire like crazy and avoid collisions. I didn't need any more points on the last two flocks so I didn't use a bomb for the first one (hoping for another awesome charge shot maybe), but for the flock of enemies the comes up out of the lava, I just wanted revenge, so I laid that bomb perfectly for many extra points. I had 116 going into the boss, so yeah, I went overboard! Ownage just feels so nice though...
The boss went down very quickly. The first arm was very fast, Falco never got to talk. I could have killed his second arm before he swings, but oh well, a second lost. Then the head is somehow tricky, I think because of the uber game lag during the spinning sequence, but it went as fast as it normally does. In the end, a good time, good score, hyper lasers and 8 bombs made for a well done Solar.
Ah, the Land Master, quintessential master of land ownage, how I love thee amidst the myriad ships of the sky. The nice thing about Macbeth within the context of the whole route is that you can't lose your Arwing's hyper lasers. This means that the hyper lasers I had at the end of Solar will carry over to Bolse. There is also not much need to use bombs in Macbeth, since there are plenty of points available, so bombs carry over to Bolse as well. Since I say there are plenty of enemies you may assume that taking out the switches for the "Mission Accomplished" ending was assumed to be the only choice, but it wasn't. With a moderate show of ownage, the medal can indeed be obtained, while speedrunning, with the Mission Complete ending. This was the method I chose at first because I figured the extremely long cutscene for the other ending would make it much longer. Well, I was wrong. The difference in the 2 endings is made up by the time it takes to wait for the kite to become vulnerable and the extra explosion lag from getting more points during the level. So I went with the easier Mission Accomplished route by taking out the switches. I likely had a bit too much fun taking out easy targets here that could have been bypassed for a marginally better time, but instead I end up with a slightly excessive 187 points which I hope you enjoy!
At the start of the level, I go ahead and take out 2 cars carrying rocks. Assuming I avoid using bombs, the first must be taken out to avoid running into rocks or excessive charge shots, and the second is taken out to ease up even more on the amount of charge shots used. More points can be gained by charge shots on the rocks after they've been dumped, but since I don't need points, 2 cars is fast and simple. After the overhead enemy group, you may wonder why I don't collect the bomb over to the left: because it's been transformed into a shield ring by the Expert Mode fairy! I love the charge shots on the line of 4 rolling boulders for 2 hit+3's = 10 points. In the following sequence, I should have ignored the boulders and the train, but oh well, you get a more entertaining video for the price of a few seconds of lag perhaps. The bit with hovering over the bars is best done with partial boosting and tiny boost-hovers over each bar; I did a sloppy variation on this. Boosting through each of the bars might be fastest, but the damage brings you very low on health in Expert Mode, so I try to boost-hover at least two of the bars (and because boost-hover looks cool!).
The switches are fairly simple, except for switch 5 which hides over to the left. Because I went for the item box like a fool (I already had 9 bombs...sometimes I just don't think about those things), I had some difficulty getting back over to the left to get the 5th switch. From there on I just went through the motions until hitting the switcher to seal the fate of the train. Then proceeds the epic caucaphony of spherical explosions!
The defense satellite of doom. This is one of the levels that makes me want to send a smart bomb at anyone who thinks the game isn't fit for speedrunning. I don't know if I ever felt completely satisfied with any run I ever did of this level, because there are just too many variables to perfect. The problems with this level are (1) it is all range mode, inducing a panicky cold sweat in the runner, (2) there are verticle structures created by the designers specifically for colliding with and losing lasers, (3) if you aren't careful, you can easily die, especially if you have a collision, (4) your wingmates must be rescued from enemy fighters, (5) the core's 8 spots control the end of the level, and the fact that they rotate makes them difficult to predict, count, and destroy. That's enough to make this level very difficult and unpredictable compared to many other levels. In this run I did a fair job of it with only 1 minor mistake that cost a few idle seconds. Overall it was a good effort for a tough level in a long single segment run.
I begin by circling clockwise around the satellite taking out shield towers. Avoiding the obstacles is easy, it's destroying and avoiding collision with the shield towers themselves that I had the most trouble with. After the shield comes down, it takes 10 more enemies to initiate the core. At this point I just fly around the satellite taking out enemies in groups. I try to use charge shots on groups like the enemies following Slippy to get the hit+ points. I also attempt hit+1's on the ground turrets, though I rarely land such precise charge shots. When I'm followed I sometimes brake and charge shot the ground to collect a hit+1 off my pursuer. Occasionally when I am lined up for it I lob a bomb at the core to begin taking out targets. Those targets decrease from hit+10 to hit+5 after a while, but in a speedrun they should all be hit+10. Ideally I should keep track of how many core targets I've destroyed by watching my score. I failed to do this here because I thought I had 2 targets remaining, and after destroying every enemy on the map I had to wait for the next wave to come in. I planned on getting 8 points from that next wave, then taking out the 2 remaining targets. To my surprise after waiting a few seconds and taking out 7 ships I saw yet another target on the core. I then took it out for a total of 160. Too bad I lost track, but it was still a solid run of the level.
The question could be asked why I didn't wait and do this level after Titania when Star Wolf would be present on Bolse. I tried this method, and while it could be quicker to take out maybe 2 Star Wolf members, it became so much more hectic and complicated that I abandoned it for the easier idea to execute. The biggest problems were my own health and having wingmates die just before finishing the level. Facing Star Wolf 3 times in 1 sitting was just too good to be true. If you want to see Star Wolf ownage wait for Venom and your cup shall overflow.
Bolse ends the 1st playthrough of the game. Because the medal is never shown, it is inferred from the score that I earned the medal. Just before the opening sequence of Venom, after the fade-out, I press the Reset button on the N64 console. This returns me to the main menu where I may begin the second playthrough of the game.
System Reset
This begins the second playthrough: CO-ME-KA-SX-TI
On the second trip through Corneria I do not need to collect the medal, so it is much less eventful. Somehow I got hit twice in the opening sequence by timing my barrel rolls perfectly wrong. I just barelly collected the first bomb. I take a route similar to my any% run to boost through the level with very few kills. I missed the bomb behind the mech toppling the tower. I was just a bit too tentative since it was getting later in the run. It doesn't matter at all though since there are plenty of bombs. I save Falco easily and then dodge more shots before soaring over the arches. I save Peppy and take out 2 more enemies who were in my way before the boss. The boss fight went without a hitch as I take him out in a single strafing run.
The return to the Asteroid Field went as well as planned. I begin by shooting the four asteroids that cross my path and then I hide in the corner and barrel roll during the ambush. For a nice morsel of ownage I saved Peppy with a single unlocked charge shot. The following sequences went fine including the off-screen bombing just before the continue to take care of the butterflies. I take the safer route of saving Slippy by detonating a bomb to the side instead of dropping the bomb right on his pursuers face at the continue - it still looks cool though. I don't go for the hit+7 rings of enemies during the warp gates because I don't need points and missing a warp gate has been known to ruin a speedrun or two (it tacks on a minute during the 1st playthrough (switch to boss ending) and maybe 3 minutes during the 2nd playthrough (immediate retry level)).
The warp goes just swimmingly. I dish out some galaga style shooting during the enemy waves and a sick hit+4 on the "rainbow" enemies. I don't need points but I wanted to keep it interesting. I then plow through the final asteroids to stay safe from collisions. I think I might have actually been testing to see at what point in the level I could suddenly start killing everything and only have 199 points at the end. Anything to demonstrate prowess of worthless aspects of the game! I end with a predictable 9 bombs and hyper lasers, and you know I need them if I'm headed to Katina!
Brutal. Yeah, this level was just brutal to speedrun. This level is a totally seperate beast from the rest of the run, and I think is a true test of skill. I never once kept my wings through the whole level. I zoom out with the camera so that I can see behind myself as well and just go to town plowing through enemies, trying to avoid collision. If I had a collision before the mothership arrived and after the 15th kill, then I'd restart, in hopes of getting a laser upgrade on the 15th kill on the retry. In general I'd just try to hold out with hyper lasers as long as possible, frantically killing enemies. I tried to stay on the outskirts of the playing field to take out waves of enemies without actually entering the buzz of activity. I generally save bombs until after I lose my lasers. The strategy I settled on was to take out the hatches starting around 115-120 kills, so that ideally I'd take out all four hatches in a single run, and then brake or U-turn to bomb the core. I'd usually go a bit over on the score because I was too afriad of destroying the core and having 149 points or something.
In this run I managed only 15 hits before the mothership arrived because I was playing it safe. Early collisions can easily add 30 seconds, and 5 extra kills only takes a few seconds later in the level. You'll notice I take out Bill's fleet as well as the enemy because they are a collision hazard as well. There is no penalty for this except that you don't get to see them during the end-of-level cutscene. Also, if you ever wonder why I turn wide instead of immediately re-entering the action, if you watch the radar, you'll usually see the wingmate or group of ships I am avoiding. I watch the radar almost as much as the screen on this level, or at least I try to. I'm avoiding friendly fire as well, because I've had wingmates die here fairly often.
After the mothership arrives I go to town. You'll easily see me dodging collisions as I take out enemies. I lose my wings a bit earlier that I would like, but such is life. I mentally tell myself that single lasers aren't any weaker, I'm just firing too slowly. The somersault was totally unintentional and was likely meant to be a U-turn. I spend most of the run holding down the boost button and even holding my right hand a bit different, so in switching back to a high score mindset I hit the wrong boost/brake button occasionally. I basically continue taking out ships eventually throwing bombs into the mix until I have a high enough score to take out the hatches. The reason I don't stagger the hatches is because that decreases the density of ships in the air and makes the level slower in the end. In this run I attempt to bomb one of the hatches, but it doesn't work causing me to go get more kills to get them to open again. The hatches will open based on the number of ships destroyed - they are programmed to replenish the battle field. So then I make the final run to for the last hatch, and I brake and bomb the core to end the level.
Phew! This level is by far the hardest to perfect in the whole run because it is almost entirely random. This was a decent performance of it, though TAS-like retries could likely achieve a better time. I'm only human and for being in the middle of a single segment run, I'm just glad there were no deaths or retries!
This level lets me cool off from Katina with some classic systematic playing. I don't use bombs in many places that I could because I'm saving them up for Titania and because charged lasers often work just as well. I make good use of charge shots on the first wave and then haphazardly kill the following enemies. I landed a nice shot on the center of the three V formations. I fire and immediately detonate a bomb to take out the enemy wave the comes from behind. This is a nice touch because there is no slowdown and you never see all those enemies. I then charge shot the mines for some hit+ points and barely snag the first laser upgrade. In the next part, the fact that I'm boosting makes a few collisions difficult to avoid (the rotating structures can hit you from behind if you're "ahead" of where you're supposed to be). I have used a bomb to take out the butterfly, but this time I just avoid him. I'm used to him pestering me from behind which is why I flail about after passing him. The reason I don't just shoot him is that I risk running into him and losing lasers.
After the continue I just miss saving Peppy with a single charge shot again - to bad (I think I managed it in my any% run...). Anyways, I collect the 2nd laser upgrade, manage not to collide with the wall and head towards the warp gates. After timing both routes I determined that the warp was 10-20 seconds faster, and more consistant than the boss. It also uses 1 less bomb and still has enough enemies to just get the medal. My goal was to totally eliminate braking from the warp route, but this is extremely difficult. The 3 doors before the warp are a pain to get through with timed boosts. You'll see that I was just a split second away from succeeding. I should have let go of the boost sooner after the second door so that I could start sooner to make it through the 3rd door. That collision occured often, so I let it slide. This meant single lasers on the warp gates, which slows me down a bit, but not too much. You get to see some of my best trigger finger as I again chide myself for not firing faster.
The warp went very well. I only had one collision where I was too distracted shooting enemies to pay attention to the right way to go. I had been a little worried about points, but I came out well over 150, so I was happy. In the final sequence of the warp I managed to not get hit by any of the rotating squares of doom and still pull of some hit+4's on the enemies inside the squares! I was very happy with the end of the warp. The level as a whole was very acceptable, but to make it great I would have liked to have hyper lasers for the warp gates to avoid breaking entirely. Oh well, with no major slip ups and Peppy surviving, Sector X went as well as I could hope for.
This level likely had the greatest learning curve of any level. In my first practice run of this level, holding down the boost and attempting to get a medal caused me to die 2 or 3 times before ever completing the level. Boosting through this level is pretty insane and difficult to medal. There are so many places where your path is restricted because of a structure, mines, or a bridge, that boosting makes navigation a game in itself. Then charge shots never want to lock onto the right enemy at the right time. The screen often fills up with enemies at various heights and distances from you and the lock-on function will always target a landmine or the wrong target in general. While bombs help, they don't detonate very quickly in the landmaster, which limits their usefulness. In general, this level was a tough nut to crack, but I finally got a decent method down where I didn't die, got the medal, and made a good run of the boss.
The beginning is fairly simple since it's mostly the hit+3 walkers, but the level quickly picks up. The proximity mines (the ones that hop when shot) can be used to get a hit+1 if you charge shot the ground next to them. I'm able to get in a few of these for extra points. I wish I'd gotten at least 1 more of the laser turrets for points. I also had luck against me during the bit with the tanks and mine droppers. Several spots allow hit+2 and hit+3, but I manage to miss many of them as my charge shots gravitate towards meaningless targets. That was frustrating for sure.
After the continue, I look to the sky as I desperately try to rack up some points while dodging falling towers. Charge shots often work better, but if I'd known I'd be that unlucky I would have started using bombs sooner. Then when I use a bomb it completely missed everything. I approach the final canyon with just over 100 points wondering if I can pull it off or not. Having formerly been a high score player I still had 1 trick left: the rocks from the rock throwers. Each rock thrower throws 2 rocks, then after hitting the ground, each rock breaks into 4 little rocks. I let off the boost for just long enough to let a rock fall right in front of me, it breaks, I charge shot the ground, and nailed the hit+7! (That's 8+7=15 points!) I start boosting again and on the next rock group in between killing the rock throwers I charge shot the ground for a hit+4! (9 more points!) If it weren't for those tricky charge shots I wouldn't have had a chance at salvaging the medal. Glad that the level had turned out alright after all, I was ready to own the boss.
I just love using bombs to own the hands of the boss, both before he fully appears and during the fight itself. My luck changed as I managed to not have to see the flame breath at all. I just aimed at his chest and he went down nice and easy. While the level did have me worried, snagging the medal and owning the boss fight made for a very satisfying end to the second playthrough.
System Reset
This begins the third playthrough: CO-SY-AQ-ZO-SZ-A6-VE
I begin the third playthrough with a vengence. I hit every barrel roll perfectly to begin Corneria without a hitch. I only take a single hit in the whole level and my playing becomes very energetic. The main challenge of the third playthrough of this familiar level is making it through the arches without losing a wing, and then weaving through enemies leading up to the boss. I pulled off both of these without a hitch. I'm especially proud of boosting through the arches without losing any time. A lost wing at that point would cause a longer boss fight and would just look shoddy. That's a classic piece of the game and I'm glad I did it right. Weaving through enemies towards the end of the level is a bit tricky, because while barrel rolling is necessary, if you get shot in between barrel rolls, your wing can get smashed into the ground on the next barrel roll. I do have to stay low though or else Falco will run into me because of my boosting. In the end I came out unscathed and ready to kick the boss's butt.
Ah, the Attack Carrier, a flashback to the SNES. This is likely my favorite boss, just because owning him is so much fun! It's all about that rapid tapping trigger finger. I hope you enjoy! (I've never gotten both the 2nd and 3rd hatches in the same opening, but this might be the closest I've ever come!)
This level is fairly systematic, but took a lot of practice nonetheless. The most important thing seemed to be avoiding collisions to have hyper lasers for the Boss. The final Boss himself would require significant luck manipulation to do perfectly. The beginning went very well with good charge shots (especially the hit+2 from the flying torpedo-like objects). The ambush from above and the ships exiting the big ship were both handled nicely with charge shots. I don't use a bomb there partly because I'm saving bombs for Zoness and it causes lag. I don't generally need extra points on Sector Y, so I take the most convenient points and focus on speed and safety. Just after the next few big ships I lay a bomb against a big ship and dodge out of the way. This is to take out some enemies that try to come up from behind. Because I'm boosting, they tended to end up in my "plane" of motion, causing a collision, so I lay that bomb to take a few of them out as they spawn. Just after that I land a nice charge shot on the incoming torpedoes, and then use another bomb to get the rest; it was unneccesary, but I love showing that those things can count as points even though you can't shoot them.
After the continue I take the upper route because the lower route has another evil group of enemies that approach from behind. After that when the team rejoins, I avoid collision with the big ship and Peppy and ease my way down to the item box. That final trench is a bit risky, but I like collecting the bomb and gold ring, so I did it anyway.
This boss goes high on the list of most annoying boss fights, especially for speedrunning. The first two smaller bosses were easily dispatched (though collision must be avoided), and then the main Boss arrives. Ideally, this main boss will approach in a straight line and can be taken out, head on, as he enters the map. Not so for this playthrough; no he decided to be tricky and almost any time I was shooting at him was a time he was moving around spastically. I just had to chase him down as best I could, and the final shot was of course made after an additional 5 seconds of chasing. With better luck, 15 or more seconds could come off of this fight. Time however was not the only objective. The fact that I never collided with the frantic mech meant I had hyper lasers for Aquas! That simple fact would save me up to 30 seconds there. That and the fact that this boss was nearly an hour into the run made me very content with my effort on the level.
This murky atypical level is many people's least favorite level in the game. It certainly wasn't my favorite. Furry animals in space fighters is one thing, but a Fox fighting a bio-clam-weapon with a futuristic submarine? The Blue Marine is just innovative enough to make me come up with about 20 other ideas I think would have worked better, but oh well. The level may look slow, but trust me, I am boosting the whole time! The most difficult thing about Aquas for me is controlling where the torpedoes go. The aiming system is weird. I aim the crosshairs where I want to aim and hope it eventually locks onto my target.
The level starts out as slow, dimly lit, and precarious as ever. I find that shooting the Starfish is simpler than locking on and waiting for a torpedo to detonate, especially since exploding starfish caused me to die many times in Aquas when I was practicing. I never was a good high scorer on this level, so I'm basically working with common knowledge to get the medal. High scorers can somehow rack up hit+1's by rapidfiring torpedoes at the ground next to certain enemies; unfortunately, while I understand it, I never mastered the method. I do however collect some hit+ points off a rock wall where shells are spinning towards me just before the underwater city appears. You can see how thankful I am to have those hyper lasers every time I plow through a hit+3 or hit+5 enemy! After the quiet part with the big columns, enemies close in from both sides and fire like crazy. I used to stop boosting to collect points here to help get the medal, but in eagerness to make up time I keep boosting and just plow through this section killing everything I can and barrel rolling like mad.
After the continue comes the trench that could make or break the run. It seems if I get behind on destroying the starfish, begin colliding with the electric jellyfish, or get hit by a rock, it starts a chain reaction that leaves me either dead or with too few points for the medal. In this run I think I did a great job at staying on top of things in the trench. I systematically destroy and avoid starfish, dodge around jellyfish, and mind the rocks from above! I actually managed to make this hectic part look smooth! After the trench, I actually lay on full brakes to avoid being crushed by the falling rocks. I usually need the points and the health, and I'd died there too many times. Trust me that braking was my best option at that point - I only lose a few seconds, and I gain a world of consistency. This sets me up nicely for the boss fight.
This boss comes with a perk of having 3 optional hit+3 attachments on top that make the level a bit easier to medal. I did well enough in this run that I didn't need all of them, but I was so used to taking them out during the downtime that I did anyway. The two columns went down fairly painlessly, opening the shell for the tricky final sequence. The best strategy I found was to shoot at the lump or "shield" in the middle when it was up, and constantly launch torpedoes so they'll either hit the shield, or be ready to hit the eye when the shield is lowered. Anytime the blob-shield wasn't up and ready to be attacked I shot at the left bubble producer to increase the chances of my torpedoe going all the way to the eye on the next shot. Between luck and timing I managed to pull of this boss very well with no major losses. All things considered I was very happy with how I did on this beefy level. Atleast the long cutscene gives me time to mentally prepare for the difficult final stretch of the run.
This level is as brutal to an arwing as Titania was to the Land Master. I begin with a steady spray of protective fire and then concentrate on taking out the larger hit+5 enemies with charge shots. Avoiding collision here is doable, but involves some luck. I wasn't so lucky and managed to lose a wing before even getting to the searchlights. I made my best effort at keep things looking good as I save Slippy, but then the evilness of the level showed itself again. One of those shrimpy worm things that pops up out of the water actually collided with my other wing causing me to lose both wings! Forget the searchlights being hard, a mutant shrimp took out my wing! I managed to keep my composure though because I knew if I was careful I could have double lasers before the boss, and then get my hyper lasers back in Sector Z. Altogether that wasn't such a bad place to lose wings. It did make for some frantic flying as I took out the searchlights though! Peppy helped me acquire the wing repair, and then ROB64 sent me some lasers a bit later.
The tankers in the second half of the level are fun because they are easy targets for charge shots and the boxes make nice explosions. I'm actually surprised at how many bombs can be collected through here since it is Expert Mode. I figure they must be preparing you for the bomb-hungry boss. My flying causes me to almost lose my double lasers when I got shot a few times near the wide structures towards the end of the level. I finally take out the last of the searchlights and am ready for the boss. The searchlights are more difficult than they look because boosting makes them very easy to miss, and missing causes an immediate retry level. Luckily you never have to see that!
The boss for this level is fairly systematic to me. The piece connecting the left and right exhaust pipes may be bombed twice to take out the exhaust pipes. After that I always bomb the cannon on the right. Then I begin bombing the crane. In between bombs I snag another bomb from the remaining canon. The crane goes down in a quick 3 hits. I wait for the activity to begin again before bombing the other canon. Then for the final crazy phase of the boss, I just lay on the rapidfire, barrel roll, and avoid the ball and chain at all costs. Overall, I was very satisfied for how I salvaged the level. This had me ready for a quick start on Sector Z.
When I was planning my run, many people wondered how I'd do with Sector Z. I do remember it being the last medal I got the first time I went and got all the medals, and it is a tough one with so few enemies. In this run you'll get to see my best score ever for a speedrun and really a good score in anyone's book, speedrun or not!
I begin the level eager to get that hyper laser upgrade. The 15th enemy of any all-range-mode level will give a laser upgrade, so I quickly go to work taking out ships as they enter. The easiest way to ensure the medal is to take out many of the hit+2 boxes scattered throughout the level. As I was doing that, I take one of them out with 12 hits giving me 15 hits. Uh oh, no laser upgrade? Wrong! The first moving ship destroyed to put your score at or over 15 gives the upgrade, so I collect it on the 16th hit, thankfully before the missile cutscene. I then head over to the first missile, taking out the missile escort squad and some boxes along the way. A U-turn stalls for time and lines me up with the missile. I could have been a second faster, but I still get it during the "Distance 50" message, which is good. I then reach and exceed my target of 34 non-missile points before the next 2 misiles appear. I take those out in similar fashion prompting Katt to join the scene. Before the final missiles I manage a whopping 86 points, meaning I can lose 1 and almost 2 missiles and still have the medal. I have to use a somersault to keep from going out of bounds before my strafing run. Peppy and Katt both "help" me this time, but I wasn't too worried about it. The faster I fire the less chance either of the has of nailing the final shot...I hope!
All 3 missiles yeild hit+10 for a whopping 119 score! I'm so glad to get such a nice score during a speedrun for the level that was my biggest challenge 9 years ago. This fits right into the building energy and tension that I felt during the whole 3rd playthrough. Having not lost the coveted hyper lasers and retaining my 9 bombs, owning Sector Z had me pumped for Area 6.
My favorite level. Period. Speedrunning it is a very different experience from getting a 600+ high score, but the constant frenzy of activity is still there and that's what makes this level so much fun! I bomb my way through the mines, then selectively lock onto groups for charge shots. I proceed to take out saucers that are convenient while avoiding enemies that pose a collision threat. I accept ROB64's help on the hit+2 battleships while I charge shot the missiles they dish out. A bomb handily wipes out the "incoming enemy missiles" to finish the first wave of the level.
I was recommended to use a bomb to save Peppy at this point, but I'd never done that before and I found I could save him without the bomb just as well, and it looked better to shoot the missiles as they flew by than to just lob a laggy bomb. Besides, I needed bombs for the next section where the spinning enemies and butterflies try to harass me. I have bombs saved up so I can use as many as I need to take out the butterflies which appear in 1's and 2's. After the continue I deliver some pretty nice charged lasers into the fray for a load of points before coming onto the final wave of the level.
For the final run through the enemy battleships I knew I had 2 difficult tasks: rack up enough points to get the medal without compromising speed, and do so without losing those hyper lasers! Avoiding collisions and maintaining speed meant I couldn't count on hit+ points from destroying the battleships, which made getting the needed score a close call. With a balance of focused playing and staying safe, I was able to accomplish both! I entered the boss fight with the tantalizing score of 299!
I'd be dishonest if I said I wasn't amazed by this boss fight. I had never accomplished this before and have never since owned this boss so quickly. The 1 thing that made all the difference was that I somehow destroyed all 3 tentacles in a single appearance! I then destroyed the energy balls and the second time I also managed to get all 3 in a 1 appearance! I haven't been able to duplicate it since, even in my redline run. Of course I was worried in the meantime that I was going to lose my hyper lasers from a small missile or something and then lose a minute on Venom. Nothing of the sort occured! When the time came to shoot the core, I laid it to him, short and sweet.
By now, perhaps, you have read several thousand words of comments. Maybe I should let the end speak for itself...
It all comes down to this!
*Triumphant Return*
...the credits roll...
*Endgame Art - "Great!"*
...Invoice... PHWOMP!
I was very satisfied with this run as a whole. I'd like to re-emphasize that I ran the game in a single segment. Because my run required two resets, SDA must interprete the run as technically being 3 segments. This run was intended to do the game justice by acquiring all medals in Expert Mode, effectively "beating" the game. I was very happy to complete a run with so many highlights and especially no deaths or retries. My initial goal was a nice round 1:30 which was then changed to 1:25. By single segment timing, I achieved 1:24:52, which came just under the 1:25 goal. While I exhaustively pointed out mistakes in my level comments, I'd say they were mostly minor and isolated. I do not plan on improving the run, but I encourage any SF64 players to try their hand at replacing my time. I'd be glad to see an improved run. I think this run indeed did justice to the game, and I'm glad to make it available for Star Fox 64 fans everywhere!
My only lingering concern is whether or not my comments are thorough enough... :)
For additional comments on the run head on over to my forum thread: Star Fox 64 Expert All Medals. I can be PMed at SDA or contacted through any links in my SDA profile. At Gamespot and elsewhere I am flutefreak7. I'm likely done with speedrunning this game because I need to focus on other things. Any challengers have their work cut out and are welcome to replace me, just remember to check your G-diffusor system and do a barrel roll!
This run is the property of the runner, Brett Ables. If the run is posted anywhere online, or made available for viewing by any means other than personal viewing through download from SDA, please include my name and speeddemosarchive.com or a link to this comments page. I gladly allow the use of this run for DVDs, music videos, etc. with the intent of supporting SDA so long as proper credit is given as previously mentioned.
Sincere thanks to all who watched the run and/or read the comments!
A final thanks to Miyamoto for creating my favorite game.
European version expert-mode
0:33:16 by Aleks Lukic.
Author's comments:
Expert difficulty in this game basically means there are more enemies, and
they shoot more rapidly and with faster lasers. It also means if you collide
with ANYTHING you lose a wing, and therefore any laser upgrades you may have
accrued. Collisions also incur much more damage. Much effort is therefore
taken to avoid collisions!
Corneria- Manage to get a medal, and kill the boss without having to U-turn.
Meteo- Use up some bombs at the start to avoid boosting into some enemies
that pop up from behind the rocks. Very satisfied with the boss fight.
Fortuna- Was a bit worried when I lost a wing, but then I remembered that
the 15th enemy killed on an all-range mission gives out a laser upgrade/wing
repair. ROB saves the day! One of my fastest clearances of the Wolf team
ever.
Sector X- Let Peppy die so he wouldn't distract enemies from Falco in the
next mission. Some pretty shoddy flying in the warp.
Sector Z- The most important time-saver. Letting the first missile hit the
Great Fox ends the mission two minutes faster than if you were to save it. I
kill Slippy so the enemies focus on Falco so he doesn't go after the
missile.
Bolse- I lose my wings and spend a bit too much time looking for an upgrade
and give up in the end. Not much time wasted though, just a second or two
after each attack run on the core. My heart skipped a beat when I collected
the last gold ring (I was hoping to start Venom with two rings to allow a
quick upgrade to double health).
Venom 1- In places I am more conservative with boosting to avoid crashing
and losing my wings and precious health. Interestingly enough on Expert mode
Venom 1 is harder than Venom 2. VERY satisfied with how quickly I manage to
take out the statue boss and Andross.
Hope you enjoy watching it! Since I discovered this project a few months ago
I have been mighty impressed by the work here, and it is an honour for me
that I have a run hosted here. Thanks to Nate for capturing and Radix for upkeep
of the site.
Acknowledgements
General Comments
Level Comments
Feedback & Authorship
Acknowledgements
General Comments
Level Comments
Feedback & Authorship
Acknowledgements
Level Comments
End Game Reflections
Feedback & Authorship
I am very pleased with this run. As was typical for the period before the
home console discovered the mode known as PAL60, the PAL version of this
game runs at 5/6th the speed of the NTSC version due to the 50/60Hz
frequency difference. I thought at first this game was not at all ideal for
speedrunning, due to the on-rails blaster style of most missions. Then it
hit me that the branching storyline would actually make it rather
interesting. I painstakingly timed every level, and every branch within a
level (with the help of my little sister Angie), and discovered a faster
path than the one on the NTSC speedrun already hosted here. Number of kills
was not very important to me in this run, but I try and make it entertaining
for you...
