I started this run in early November 2012. I have always liked watching speedruns from SDA and I wanted to see if I could submit something worth posting. I played shogo when it came out, all those years ago, and when I saw it on GOG.com, I couldn't help but pick it up. After playing through for while, realising how much nostalgia improves the memories of relatively poor games, I thought that maybe I could speedrun it. After some intensive sessions, I managed to come up with some exploits and strategies, and I managed to put together my first run about mid-January 2013.

 

Things to know about Shogo...

Vehicle mode - One of the best things about speed running Shogo was the ability to change into a vehicle when you're in an MCA (big robot). I never found a way to move quicker than normal (like bunnyhopping), but the vehicle mode makes moving over long distances much faster.

Critical hits - Each time you score a hit on an enemy, there is a chance to critical hit. Obviously this causes more damage than usual, but for some reason, it also gives you health. This proved very useful when performing an area where you needed a set amount of health to survive, or just having enough health to carry over to the next level. Unfortunately, the enemies can also critical hit, which proved to be an instant run killer on more than one occasion.

Reloading - There is no reload button in Shogo, you just shoot until the game reloads for you. Fortunately, if you swap weapons in between the amount of bullets each gun can carry, when you switch back, it's automatically reloaded for you.

Persistent stats - Unfortunately, health and armour carry over to the next level, as long as you don't change from being on foot, or in an MCA. So if you finish on foot in previous mission, and start on foot in the next one, you'll have the same health and armour. If the next mission is in an MCA, it doesn't matter as you will get the default health for that MCA.

Enemy Juggling - When most of the enemies in shogo are hit, they play an animation, during which they will not fire back. As a result, sometimes you do not need to kill all enemies, just keep shooting them often enough that they don't hit you back. This can be especially useful when trying to run past a group of soldiers.

180 degree turn - There is a button in the keyboard menu called 'turn around' which turns you to be facing the exact opposite direction. The thing about this action, is that it happens instantly, so when you see it played back, it looks wrong because you can't see the player make the movement.

Story choice - There isn't really a lot of "choice", there are only two parts in the game when you can dictate the responses that Sanjuro gives, and as far as I can tell, the first occasion doesn't change anything. The second choice is later on in the game, when you decide to join or fight the Fallen. This changes the last three levels you have to complete. I choose not join the fallen by attacking them in my MCA, rather than face-to-face with Gabriel, as this lets you skip the entire 'museum of warfare' level and the second run of 'avernus1'.

Shogo isn't exactly what you'd call a bug free game. I download my version from GOG.com (2.2.14), which I am assuming is the latest, and it still has exploits in it. Here are list of peculiarities:

Cut-scene manipulation - During a cutscene, if you hit Esc to go to the menu and then again to return to the cutscene, you gain control of Sanjuro or his MCA. You can't move from the spot, but you can turn around, change weapons, change into vehicle mode and even shoot. So you'll see me use this a bit to change into vehicle mode and face the right direction during some cutscenes, also there will be other where I am just stuffing about. Another note, you can't be injured in cutscenes.

Vehicle creep - I don't know what else to call it. If you jump toward a ledge in vehicle mode and you hit the lip of the ledge, as long as you keep holding forward and looking up slightly, you'll be pushed up onto the ledge. Very handy for making high jumps or rather long jumps. It only works in vehicle mode, if you try the same thing in robot mode, you just fall away.

Splash damage through walls - If you using an explosive weapon, like the TOW missile launcher, you can kill enemies on the other side of doors and some walls with its splash damage. Useful for clearing out a path ahead of time, not that I got much of chance to use it in this run.

And now to actual videos:

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 1

Levels: The Ambush, Calm before the storm, Mission Briefing and Shuttlebay S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There really isn't much to do in the first level, the dropship that picks you up at the end of the level is on a timer, and I haven't found anything you can do to speed up its arrival. Just kill the few enemies in your way and make sure you there when it touches down.

The next three levels have no enemies; they're basically a playable cut scene setting up the games story. Just have to make sure the route you take is optimal. The only relevant part is when you choose which MCA (big robot) you want to pilot. I choose the Akuma, as it is not only the fastest, but happens to be the closest.

There are a couple of "levels" in shogo, which are entirely cuts scenes, Shuttlebay S is one of them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 2

Levels: The Storm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of open areas to move through in the next two levels, just dodging enemies and hoping not to get hit. I transform out of vehicle mode at the bottom of the tunnel to shoot the enemy that approaches, as he usually blocks the tunnel if you don't take him out, but I only winged him and blew right by him. The guy with the Juggernaut misses me and pick it up after I take him out, as I need it for the next section.

There is an unavoidable cutscene which introduces you to Samantha Stenberg, but before it cuts to that, I fire a shell down the corridor. You can't see it, but the explosion delays her approach ever so slightly, which gives me time to jump up through the opening and get out before she can hit me (which she basically always does otherwise). Back into vehicle mode and fly through the rest of the level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 3

Levels: Approach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This level is basically from A to B in vehicle mode as direct as possible. The only time I bothered to change back is to shoot the enemy descending in the tunnel. You don't even have to kill him, but you have to at least shoot him to disrupt him, as if you don't he is guaranteed to shoot you as you pass by him. The enemies at the end played along nicely and got out of my way so I could drive straight into Avernus.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 4

Levels: City of Ghosts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the first level where you really start to save some time. As usual, you use vehicle mode whilst getting to places. When it comes to the blast shutters, I jump around the tower on the outside of the map to skip the trigger that closes them. You still get the cutscene with Sanjuro talking to Kathryn about the doors, but they remain open and you can skip the part of the level where you have to bypass them. The enemy kindly blows himself away whilst this is happening, but seeing as though you don't take damage during cutscenes, I'm fine (even if he did blow me backwards a bit).

On the way out of the tunnel I jump up and go behind the building with all the guys around. Then jump over an invisible trigger that starts another encounter with Samantha Stenberg. Then it's onto the roof of the museum of warfare, and over the top to the end of the level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 5

Levels: High and Low
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hated this level, and I'll explain as I go. First of all, the vehicle mode gets stuck in the tunnels when there is a slight bend, so you'll see me change out and then back in each time. You can't see it, but there are air currents in the open tunnels, so you can't stray from the paths, otherwise it blows up to the ceiling and your run is dead.

At the point where I take out the two guys before I press the reverse air flow button, I sacrifice speed for accuracy. The reason is that I have to have 1000 energy and 1000 armour to do the big trick in this level, and I have to make sure that the guy at the back is dead. I tried just driving in there and driving out, but I got hit at least once every time, so I had to do that part a bit slower than I would have liked. However, the time saved by keeping my stats is well worth the second or two pause.

Coming back to the first tunnel I change out of vehicle mode to shoot the enemy in the way, as he can either block you, or shoot you, both which kill your run.

Now the cutscene where Hank tells you that you'll "fry your pretty ass", is supposed to tell you that have to go to another part of the level to blow up the heating system. But if you have enough energy and armour, you can survive the tunnel long enough to have just enough health not die from the impact of the fall. I got away with 31 energy this time, luckily there is an energy pick up in the adjoining tunnel.

On the way up is annoying too. There is a lip around the edge of the tunnel, so you can't be right up where the door is, otherwise you wang your head and the run is over. The rest of the level is just running through bent corridors because the stupid vehicle would otherwise bump off walls constantly.

Doesn't matter what health I have at the end of this level as the next one is on foot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 6

Levels: Infiltration
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The assault rifle is essential, and well worth the very short time to pick up.

I have to wait at the door to the 'East Wing', as it is on a timer, but it gives me time to reload and pick up fallen guns. The rest is just run'n'gun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 7

Levels: A familiar voice
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't like this level either. At the very beginning, you have to shoot the door control through the hole in the service window. I managed to make it look quite easy in this run, but sometimes I would stuff that up many times in a row and have to restart. At least it was at the start of the level.

Lots of run'n'gun here, just changing weapons when necessary to avoid bad reload timing. I kill the guy with the TOW (rocket launcher), which is very handy. I shoot the rocket back towards the enemy at the top of the communications jammer for two reasons. The first is I try to kill the enemy with the TOW (failed this time), and the second is that you have to kill a women in front of the control panel, otherwise you can't use it to proceed (success this time).

That guy that shoots the TOW as soon as the door opens, I don't like him either. Sometimes I wasn't fast enough and he would blow my run into bits. Red chunky bits :(

On the way back from the long cutscene, I chose a route that you're not actually supposed to go. The level designers wanted you to go through the lobby again. But it's littered with enemies and trying to run past them, I never survived it once. My way is four seconds slower, but I managed to keep all my health, which you really need for the next levels.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 8

Levels: Escape
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I managed to get through the first bit without taking too much damage. You can't jump directly down the hole with the ladder, as there is fall damage in this game, and apparently the full height of the fall is just enough to almost kill you, so I break it up by hitting the platform in between on the way down.

Looking up at a 45 degree angle allows Sanjuro to kind of skip over the top of the water, which is faster than just trying to run through it. It also allows Sanjuro to do his best Jesus impression during the cut scene :D

In the garage, you have to destroy the tank before Hank will pick you up. You'll notice that I fire three rockets, but the last one misses as there is no tank anymore. I have never managed to destroy it that fast before, or since this run (sometimes it took five missiles!). That is the reason, that although the rest of the level wasn't the cleanest, it ended up being the fastest.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 9

Levels: Once a Thief
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The start of this level is fairly easy, there are two points where the doors are shut until Hank opens them up for you, so there is no rush at the beginning.

The rest of the level it just run'n'gun. Have to do a bit of enemy juggling at the end to make sure you don't get very dead very quickly, I have lost runs metres from the end of the level.

As I don't kill any of them, the enemies continue to shoot me throughout the cut scene, but they can't do any real damage ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 10

Levels: Public Nuisance
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You have to trigger the cutscene, so that the door opens below, and it allows you to blow up the trucks in there and make a path past the barrier. I was getting around this by using the juggernaut to blow a hole in the road from above, but one time during the cutscene my allies got in with the trucks and got themselves blown up, which triggered the collapse I needed. The first time this happened I wasn't ready for it, and missed my chance. Then I spent many many more tries waiting for it to happen again. Fortunately I got it right the second time.

Through the hole there isn't much else to do, just need to send a juggernaut shell up the street to interrupt the spe-ider bots (Megamind anyone?), otherwise they can blow up the cars near you and you die quickly.

Doesn't matter about the flack I take, because the next level is on foot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 11

Levels: MEV Depot 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use the box to jump up a level, avoiding the ramp. Almost got killed by the two guys in the alley, but doesn't matter as I pick up an 'ultra restore', which is practically essential for the next couple of missions.

After I miss the train, I utilise the 180 degree turn here for the first time in the run, which is why the screen flicks around so violently. TOW a couple of guys in my way, and manage to kill everyone without being hit for the rest of the level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 12

Levels: Maritropa Slums
Skipped: Lost Cat
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can't avoid the cutscene at the start. The first part of the level is run'n'gun, with a quick appearance from the TOW to clear a path. When you reach the hotel, if you don't go too far past the entrance, you miss a cutscene.

Inside you're supposed to go behind the lobby desk and shoot out the power for the line above, but I don't bother as it wasted too much time and as it turns out, it's not necessary.

I think you're supposed to jump out the third storey window, but if you hit the window ledge, you can make it from the second. The wire is still live, so if you approach it from the side, you skip a cutscene showing where to cut the power. As the power is still on, you have to jump whilst on the line, as it only hurts you whilst you're touching it.

When you get to the fans, you have two options. You can shoot out the power boxes above each, or run underneath. Seeing as though you can't TOW them (the missiles get blown away, if you can believe that), I found it faster and more reliable to just go under them.

I bring out the TOW again for some more crowd control. I score a couple of criticals and pick up some more armour to take me back up to 100 health 200 armour.

At the end of the level, you'll notice I gun down a civilian lady, then blow her husband away with the TOW. This is because you're supposed to do another mission for her called 'lost cat', where, you guessed it, you have to find her lost cat so that she'll shut off the electric fence for you. But this SDA, we have no time for lost cats, so she has to go. The husband screams 'murderer' and comes out to shoot you, and he will. If he opens the door whilst you're in front of it, you WILL get hit, you can't escape it. Unless there is already a fiery explosion greeting him >:)

After that I manually shut off the power and jump out their window; level skipped and full health intact.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 13

Levels: The Mecca
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not a lot to this level. You have to get the trigger point inside the club, before the chainlink fence outside will open. You're supposed to pick up a ticket in the club and stamp it at the register to get a pass to get on the train, but if you just run into the station, it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Don't need to worry about health or armour here, as the next level is back in my MCA.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 14

Levels: Shinara District
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the start of this level, you'll notice that I blow up a truck moving down the road. This truck is the trigger to blow the shutter open at the end of the road, however, you don't have to wait for it to be next to the shutter, so I blow it up straight away, and the shutter goes with it. I also choose to shoot the cars along the path for a bit of extra energy and armour.

After the U-turn, I jump over an invisible trigger to avoid yet another meeting with Samantha Sternberg. Then jump up onto the buildings to make the jump to the exit building. This is the first level where you'll see an example of vehicle creep, as it pushes me up onto the building.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 15

Levels: City on Fire, Downtown Train
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jump onto the billboard and up onto the ramp to miss a small bit of the level. Through the gate, I use vehicle creep to jump up onto the buildings and cut through a gap that allows me to skip a force field that comes up.

The rest of the level is just trying to dodge enemy fire where possible. The last trick is to use the corner of the building to get up onto the ramp above, that saves the most time in the level.

Downtown Train is another one of those entire cutscene levels. But at least you actually come back and play this one later on.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 16

Levels: Rescue Attempt
Skipped: The Favour
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's get one thing straight, I hate Ryo Ishikawa, and as such, will never do a mission for him. So I don't listen to him trying to direct me to a mission called 'The Favour', I just blow into the reception and press the button to get into the detention area.

Now I know it seems like I gunned down another innocent woman (I think that's the third in this run), but as always there's a good reason. If you pass into the detention centre, without shooting someone in the lobby there is a cutscene where Ryo shows you why he's a douche and sets the alarms off. But if you hit someone before you pass through the doors, Ryo is still a douche and sets off the alarms, but he doesn't use a cutscene to do it.

Bit of run'n'gun here whilst I press the button to open the elevator. At the bottom of the stairs I pause briefly to make sure that the assault rifle is fully out. For some reason, if you're swapping weapons when you encounter an enemy, they almost always hit you for a critical.

Up the elevator after I jump through the window to press the button that opens that force field, I wait for the two soldiers to exit the double doors before crossing the line of the deactivated force field. Once you cross the line, the third guy comes around the corner. I have to kill all the guys in this area, or else they follow me around the corner, and kill me whilst I TOW the three soldiers below.

I give the explosions a wide berth in this game, as they have a fairly large range and are lethal. I pick up some more TOW and immediately send a rocket into the two guys waiting in the corriodor. Got snagged a little on the armoured soldier; he didn't die as quick as he should have.

After the cut scene, I stuffed up the rocket shot. It was supposed to hit the end of the corridor, and hit all three enemies, but the dumbass ran into it before it got there. As a result, I take quite a bit of damage.

It's run'n'gun back to the elevator, where I tried to take out my forth innocent women, but failed. Luckily Kura didn't get caught on her like she usually does, which is why I was trying to take her out in the first place (see, always a reason).

At the bottom of the elevator, I paused briefly before exiting. The main reason I do this is because Kura is a daft TKing bitch and likes to shoot you in the back point blank with a shotgun and kill you. I swear I lost no less than five good runs at various places by getting gunned from her trying to shoot the enemy and taking me out instead.

Then more run'n'gun till the end. You'll see me shoot into an empty corridor, which was supposed to kill that last guy on the right, but for the first time in all my runs, he had already got into the lobby, so I just look like a spaz.

At the end of the level, there is supposed to be a long cutscene where you talk to Kura, then you make the first decision in the game. I have no idea why it didn't come up this time. I think it might have been because I was so far ahead of Kura, and because she wasn't alongside me I moved past the end of level trigger all the way up next to the exit, and when she came she ran through her trigger point or something. Never been able to do it again; anyhow I am not complaining.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 17

Levels: Runaway train
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a nice change to have a fairly short level that didn't require too much luck. For the first enemies, I shoot the guy on the left, and pause for a short while before proceeding. If you do this correctly, the other two are on a timer to run out the other door, and they don't shoot at you as a result.

I have to turn around to shoot the guy in the second carriage, otherwise he follows you and kills you.

Other than that, it's just run'n'gun till the end. Luckily there was a bit of health, so I finished with some good stats.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 18

Levels: Bullet In The Head
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OMFG, I hate this level. You cannot avoid the cut scene with Samantha Sternberg this time, also, she's in an MCA and you're on foot, which is bad. The only way I could rush past her was by luck, she has to miss with her shots, because she'll kill you outright if she doesn't. As a result, only about one in thirty attempts made it passed the first 10 seconds. If you manage to survive her, then the rest of the level is fairly straight forward, just run'n'gun to the cut scene and back. I got snagged on one of the soldiers who didn't drop fast enough.

Originally I had planned to try and run past Samantha on the way back, but it requires that she misses too many times in a row and it just never happened for me. So I compromised. I shoot out the grate to drop down to the lower level, which is useful for a couple of reasons. One you don't have to run the corridor you came in from, because she's always looking up it, and gets another couple of shots at you, and two, because you can get to cover. By running underneath the ledge on the outside of the big room, the point where her gun fires is blocked, so she can't hit you. That leaves you free to run most of the way back to the start of the level without getting hit. I choose to shoot her as well, because it can disrupt her shooting you when you break cover. That and I learned to hate her so much, that watching her fall brings me a sense of delight I know it shouldn't.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 19

Levels: An Old Friend
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Short level this one, but still a bit annoying. Change into vehicle mode before hitting the cut scene. I would have liked to have had the bullgut for this fight, but I missed picking it up in the 'city of ghosts' level, so I have use the juggernaut instead.

I jump up to get the first shell away before the elevator arrives. I get lucky with a couple of criticals, and the splash damage for the last shell is enough to win the fight. I am almost in the exact position to trigger the end of the level, but I had to move slightly to the left. It doesn't matter what health I finish on, because the next level is on foot.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 20

Levels: A New Insight
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This should have been a simple level, but it turned out to one of the most troublesome ones of all. I tried this level literally hundreds of times because things just wouldn't line up for me. I got a bit lazy with my shooting too, as the attempts blurred into each other.

Most of the level is just run'n'gun, there aren't any real tricks here. The main part where things go wrong is the cutscene. If you barrel into the trigger, the enemies you didn't kill will shoot you (not hurting you of course), and if timed right, there will be a pause in their shooting where you can run around the corner. This only happened very rarely, and if there was still someone there shooting at you, the chance that they didn't follow you and shoot you in the back, was very very rare! As a result, when I got past the corner my lazy shooting almost tripped me up when I only took out one of the enemies. Luckily I had enough health to survive the jump to the end of level trigger.

I would have loved to TOW the big group of enemies, but I didn't ration as well as i should have, and I was out when I reached this level

You don't have to kill the enemies before the level ends, but I thought I would see if I could get some health from ciritcals. Unfortunately, no luck this time :(

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 21

Levels: Oshii Research Station
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This level was pretty tough to get right. Quickly take out the two guys at the start, one give me a TOW, which I need, as I was out. Jump down the hole beside the elevator and take a shot at the guy in the room. I was supposed to hit the explosive box behind him, but missed. Usually he'll end up shooting you in the back on the other side of the lava pool, but he decided against it this run.

I jump onto the pipes and across the lava pool to avoid having to go flick a switch to raise a bridge, which saves about thirty seconds or so. It looks a bit clumsy, but you have to keep holding a direction towards the pipe, otherwise you just fall off and die.

After I meeting up with Kura again, there is no rush as you have to wait for her, which is why I go out of my way to grab some health and why I stand in the doorway to kill the first soldier. If you don't wait for her there, sometimes she bugs out and just stands at the other end of the corridor and never moves again (until i shoot her dead!).

After the cutscene I run'n'gun to the boxes with health and armour. It hardly wastes any time at all to pick them up and you need them to survive the last section of the level.

After collecting the pickups, a soldier fires a Kato grenade at you. You have to make sure you shoot it early, because if you miss, it will kill you or badly damage you.

More run'n'gun, until after collecting the disc. I drop down the hole to descend to the terminal door quickly. I turn around and shoot at the soldier who tries to follow you in. If you don't get him, he shoots you during the cutscene, and when it's over the timing of his shots gives you a split second to kill him before he point blanks you with a shotgun. I died there several times because of him.

Out the door is just as bad, there are two soldiers with energy grenade launchers, which, like all explosives, will kill you just about outright. I was lucky to not get hit by them, but still cop a bit of flack, which is why I picked up the health and armour earlier.

It would have been a nearly perfect run, but I got caught on the stupid doorframe at the end (facepalm). Embarrassing, yes, but still a minor hiccup in an otherwise good run.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 22

Levels: City of Hope
Skipped: History of Warfare
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I loved this level. It took a few minutes of playing around to work out that there wasn't really any viable shortcuts, and it took just two attempts to get right.

During this level, the fallen will not attack you, unless you attack first. This is because you are supposed to go to the 'history of warfare' museum to meet with Gabriel and make the decision to join the fallen or not. By shooting the fallen before you get there, it is implied that you aren't joining them, and you can skip the 'history of warfare' level.

I just blaze through the streets making sure not to bump into anyone, as apparently a fender bender is counted as an act of aggression as well. At the end, you just need to make sure you hit an enemy as you're falling down toward the level exit door, as that triggers it to open.

The further you are away from everyone the better, as you have less chance of being hit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 23

Levels: Unexpected Complications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a good thing that enemies on the bridge are such bad shots, or this level would have been a bit trickier than it was. I am pretty sure the tanks are there for show, and don't actually do any damage at all, the MCAs are the only ones you need to worry about.

After jumping up the elevator, the real jumping starts, and there is plenty of it. I use a snake like jumping pattern so that I can keep holding forward without overshooting the platforms.

After dodging the missile from the enemy's bullgut, the shortcuts come thick and fast. I jump onto the corner of the blue building using the most obvious example of vehicle creep in the run. From there, you have to use the air vents to jump from building to building. If you're in robot mode, you can run over these vents, but in vehicle mode you have jump to get onto them. This is what led me to the discovery that if you jump just before hitting one of them, you go much higher than needed.

Using the high jump ability, I fly onto the top of one of the buildings you're supposed to circle around on a platform. Instead I immediately jump to the building below, which is further along in the levels intended path. I almost make it straight to the roof, but just miss, losing a small amount of time.

From there it's just a matter of jumping to the end and over the last enemy, hoping he doesn't send bullgut missiles into the elevator with you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 24

Levels: The Hidden Fortress (begin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This level was a bit of a pain, not that it was too hard, but I had to get a few things to line up or the next levels weren't going to work.

I grab the armour on the left side of the start to make sure I can survive all the flack you cop in this level. Then you have to change out of vehicle mode to kill the guy with the 'red riot', which is the most powerful weapon in the game (I need it for later). I do some strategic jumping around this part to minimise the chance of hits. They tend to shoot 'near' you, rather than 'at' you most of the time, so being in the air makes all splash damage a non-issue.

Next I had to change out of vehicle mode again to kill the guy with the bullgut (think rocket launcher shotgun), as I also need that for later. You have to make sure to jump whilst doing this, as the guy at the end of the ramp has a red riot and even though they rarely hit you direct, just hitting the ground near you is enough to vaporise you.

Through the tunnel I ride the elevator up to kill the guy with the sniper rifle (I thought I was going to need this, turned out I didn't). Out of the ramp I ignore the enemy behind me to start changing weapons to the red riot. I have to have it out at the correct time because it has a couple of seconds delay from when you pull the trigger to when it fires. That is why I fire before I get around the corner.

This made for the hardest bit of the level, as I had to hit the big MCA in the middle, and the resulting explosion needed to take out the two MCAs on either side. This is because all five of the enemies at the gate are carrying red riots. So once I cleared the bottom, I have to hope that the guys at the top miss, then quickly collect the two dropped red riots (needed for the final level) and get to the end of the level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 25

Levels: The Hidden Fortress (end)
Baku
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I start in the cut-scene of the end of the level where I saved, which never plays right when you load into it. Kathryn doesn't continue speaking like she should.

The reason that I saved before the next level had started is because if you load the level after the cutscene, you can't get the TOW out fast enough to hit Baku when he's jumping down. As it turns out, shooting him whilst he's falling doesn't really save that much time, but it looks cooler :O

Not much to say here, only had to do this level a few times until I got enough criticals to kill him with my two remaining rockets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment - 26

Levels: Brother's Keeper
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, yes, the last level. I realised all too late that I had no decent weapons to kill both Gabriel and Ryo, so I ended up having to do the previous two levels again to pick up the right weapons on the way.

You have to shoot Cothineal to remove the protective barrier from around Gabriel otherwise you can't hurt him. The amount of time you get varies, so sometimes you only get one shot on him, and others you get three.

The AI for Gabriel is really bad. If you don't approach too close to him, he won't move. He just stands there and takes hits. I was originally going to use the juggernaut or sniper rifle to kill him, but it took ages to bring him down and I didn't want to use my red riot because I needed a reliable way to kill Ryo quickly; Turns out the bullgut was the answer.

I repeated the beginning of the fight until I got enough shots in to kill Gabriel in two cycles. This was as fast as the red riot, because it shoots so slowly, you can only get one shot in per cycle anyway. After that I use the red riot to vaporise Ryo and his clowns.

Once it goes to the cut-scene I no longer have control and the timer stops. Then it's time for the hilarious ending sequence.

Note: There is no awesome music for the end sequence because I had to turn it off. Apparently there is a bug with my version of Shogo whereby if you have the music turned on, you can't load the last level without the game crashing. Imagine my joy when I thought that I had gotten all the way to the last level and wouldn't be able to submit >:(

 

A big thanks to my wife, who put up with a lot of swearing and complaining when things didn't go to plan.

I would also like to acknowledge NahkahiiR, who found a couple of shortcuts that I utilised in this run, including not having to bypass the blast doors in 'City of ghosts', and not having to shut down the heating coils in 'high and low'. Both these save almost a minute each.

Of course thanks to SDA and all the people who support this site.