Meta Breakdown

Just a "quick" overview of what's good and why.

Note: Hyper speed is referenced multiple times here. This is a bug(?) where after reaching speeds over 160 km/h, you continue accelerating like crazy while traveling in a straight line, allowing you to reach speeds of over 500 km/h with a good boost under ideal conditions. Making good use of hyper speed when possible is huge for cutting time, and much of what makes something good is how easily and consistently it works to give hyper speed.

Hyper Speed Example video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJBDmGkwbN0

Parts
----------------------------
This game has a lot of parts. Most of them are completely useless. Another big chunk are completely useless outside of multiplayer. 

Here are the parts worth considering for speedrunning.

[High Output Battery Levels 1~5] - An absolute must at all times. No questions.

[Acceleration Filter Levels 1~5] - Acceleration isn't as essential as speed, but should still be prioritized. Dropping level 2, 3, or 4 if there's a specific setup you want is fine, but you should always have at least 4 of these parts.

[EPD Drift Amp Levels 1+3/ 2+3/1~3] - Drift amp is the best EPD generation in the game. More EPD = more boost = more speed. You rarely have the capacity to run all three of these, but you rarely need to run all three. If you're drifting on corners, and timing it so that boost speed expires before you charge a drift level (you gain no EPD from drifting while boosting), 2 parts should be sufficient as long as you have level 3 in there. Level 1 is the most efficient, level 2 is the least efficient, but the effect per cost is fairly similar for all of them.

[Lightweight Ride Plate Level1/2] - Ride plate gives you a bit of extra speed when using nose up. 

(Most Jets) Speed is good, and nose up can be used a fair bit, although ride plate's benefit is usually minor. Take one of these if you have the space or the track benefits it, but it doesn't need to be a priority.

(Cuisine2) This is the key to activating hyper speed with boost + drift boost + nose up. Always take level 2.

[Handling Hydraulic Cylinder Level 2/4/2+4/2+4+5] - It's utility depends heavily on track and jet, but adding handling parts can help with lines and general consistency on technical tracks like Kandagawa Underground and Ichigaya Water Gates. Levels 2 and 4 the most efficient, and level 4 alone is stronger than 1+2, so 2 and 4 are the only ones really worth using. If you really want the handling, such as for Underground with a low turning jet, 5 is the next most efficient, so take that if you need it.

Keep in mind, these parts enable better lines leading to better times. It's often irrelevant, but certainly has uses where it's faster than the alternatives, so don't think of handling parts as just a crutch.


If you have some capacity left over, sail amp, side fin, and upgraded front rudder are some generally cheap parts with occasionally useful effects. You'll rarely have the space for them, so they're really just filler.


Vehicles
----------------------------
[[[Top Tier]]]

[Cuisine2]

Cuisine2 is generally the best and fastest vehicle in the game for one reason- it has a boost speed multiplier that allows it to achieve hyper speed without the need of a trick boost or boost panel (although these help and can be used where convenient). It just stores up EPD, and unleashes a level 2 or 3 drift boost on a straight where its Boost Speed, Drift Boost, and Nose Up + Lightweight Ride Plate lvl2. This is by far the best jet on tracks with long straights, especially when there's no trick ramp/boost panels on it. (Akiba A, Neo Nihonbashi All, Tokyo Resort City C, for example).

Its biggest weaknesses are poor handling and poor speed when not boosting, so tracks where both of those factor in heavily are hard for it (Kandagawa Underground, for example). Still, it's so fast that it's viable pretty much anywhere.

[Lavcar Mark IV]

Lavcar is an all-rounder jet that can succeed anywhere. Its speed and acceleration are both well above average, while it's handling is general sufficient. Where its handling isn't sufficient, that can usually be fixed by a cheap handling part or two. 

It can't get hyper speed the same way Cuisine2 can, but with a speed trick active, or when running over a boost panel, while boosting, it can get hyper speed. It doesn't need a drift boost or ride plate in either situation (Cuisine2 wouldn't either).

As such, Lavcar benefits from short tracks, where its accel is strong, tracks with a lot of ramps, where it can get hyper speed from Kamui's tricks, and tracks where there aren't many straights without trick ramps.

It generally performs well on Inokashira Park, Akiba (B+C), and some variants of Ochanomizu, but it doesn't have weak tracks, just tracks where Cuisine2's busted boosting can out-perform it.

[[[High Tier]]]

[Xuiver]

Xuiver is Lavcar tuned for handling. It trades a very small amount of speed for a lot of handling. The fact that this jet exists is the reason why no handling parts other than 2 and 4 need to be used ever. If a turn is hard to handle with Cuisine2 or Lavcar, Xuiver can probably manage it with base handling. This makes Xuiver the most beginner friendly (viable) jet.

Basically, just use it where Lavcar handling doesn't feel like enough, or on tracks you aren't comfortable on. Underground is its best track, but it has a place in TRC and Ichigaya.

[Tamakaze]

Tamakaze is the viable jet I'm least familiar with, but it's strong point is obviously that capped speed stat, while it's handling and acceleration are both poor. Even on its best, simplest tracks, this thing will appreciate handling parts, and it's pretty much forced to run max accel at all times. 

Its best tracks are ones with a lot of open sections without many tight turns, such as Neo Nihonbashi A and B or Asakusabashi A. Additionally, it's more of a story mode jet than a time trial jet as EPD rings and drops significantly help it out, as it needs to drift less.

Due to its difficulty and generally being outclassed by Cuisine2, I don't recommend Tamakaze highly, but some Japanese players have shown me the strength of this thing, so I can't call it unviable.

[[[Unviable]]]

[Messy The Hunter]

Tamakaze dips into the realm of unbearably low acceleration, but this mess is on another level. It's handling is good, and it does have the second highest speed stat in the game, but that's all it has going for it practically. Despite its handling it just loses so much speed on corners that it takes forever to get back thanks to the accel. If you like this thing, I'd advise trying Tamakaze. Or, you know, a top tier.

[Les Soeurs SL]

Les Soeurs has the opposite problem of Messy. While it has insanely high accel, and can combine that with its high handling to corner easily without losing much time, its speed is the lowest in the game, and that holds it back greatly. Xuiver has much higher speed and handling, and while its accel is worse, it's still quite good in that regard. Basically, just use Xuiver or Lavcar over this. The huge accel isn't worth speed as a dump stat.

[Orcano]

Literally worse than Xuiver in every way. Joke of a jet :(

Characters
-----------------------------
Character choice doesn't have quite as much impact as jet choice, especially if you use Cuisine2 and don't need speed tricks as often. Basically, all character choice does is determine what your special trick is. The shooter determines the trick's effect, while the jetter determines if it's a special animation or a standard animation. (Special animation if the canon partner of the shooter, otherwise standard).

The standard animation is usually better, as doing a special trick at high speed will often shoot you super wide or even into a wall. Special animations are useful if you want to jump over a particular obstacle, gap, or even a second ramp.

Sadly, almost every character in the game is severely outclassed as a shooter, so I'll just go over the ones with good effects, and no mention to jetter as that rarely matters.

[[[Kamui Tier]]]

[Kamui]

The only character with a Speed A effect trick. As long as there's space to use the bonus speed, and you don't need EPD or handling for something, this is by far the best trick effect. Even if you do need one of the other effects, Kamui can still do a standard EPD trick or Handling trick and make up for the weak effect with a huge speed trick at a later ramp. You can just run full-time Kamui shooter and never be punished. Just remember to set Naraku jetter for the handful of special trick tracks (Ichigaya (all), Kandagawa Underground (all), and Tokyo Resort City A and B )

[[[Niche Tier]]]

[Emily/Homura] (Speed C + EPD B )

These characters excel on a couple of tracks where the trick ramps are early, or are not in a great position for using speed. Ichigaya (all) are the only tracks I use Emily, but a Cuisine2 main might get more use out of them, as that thing only really needs EPD to get hyper speed, and it isn't dependent on trick speed.

[Kuromaru/Ryobi] (EPD A)

Same as Emily and Homura, just a slightly different effect.

[Ikaruga] (Speed B + Handling C)

Technically meta for Ichigaya Water Gates, but requires a $10 DLC. The handling bonus even at C rank is quite strong and lets you handle the decent speed boost quite a bit better. Also quite good for Asakusabashi.

[Yumi] (EPD B + Handling C)

Not actually sure if this combo is optimal anywhere, but it's decently useful.

[[[Unviable]]]

[Everyone else]

Sucks not being Kamui, huh?

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