Killer7 Version Differences Guide [WORK-IN-PROGRESS]

NOTE: NOT UP-TO-DATE AS OF THE 10/25/24 PATCH

This guide covers the differences between the officially released versions of Killer7. This guide does not include information about any pre-release/prototype versions.

*The bulk of this guide is fairly solid, maybe at 90% completion overall. Lots of personal notes throughout. Formatting may be weird as I'm working on it. Need to confirm/double check PAL differences across both PS2 and GCN, double check JP PS2 details, and record those differences. Need to record PC videos.*

*****

**Release Date**

- JP – June 9, 2005
- NA – July 7, 2005

- PAL – July 15, 2005
- PC (Steam) – November 15, 2018

*Note: this guide previously used US (United States) to designate the NA (North American) release. NA is a more accurate designation, so all instances in the guide have been updated, but older videos may still use US.*

- GCN and PS2 were released simultaneously in each region.

- Killer7 was originally announced as part of the*[Capcom Five](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capcom_Five)*, five exclusive GCN games published by Capcom.

- In The Art of Grasshopper Manufacture, Goichi Suda mentions that GCN was finished in 2004, but they delayed it to finish porting to PS2 for a simultaneous release.*[Source.](https://i.imgur.com/0E9TY98.jpg)*

*****

**Regional Differences**

There are major differences between NA and JP, and the bulk of this section covers those differences.

NA and PAL are similar, but with a few notable differences. The major differences are noted in their respective sections. Anything referring to NA also applies to PAL unless otherwise stated.

Miscellaneous PAL differences that don't fit elsewhere:

- PAL has a few font changes and a few other minor aesthetic changes, like the save screen.*[Screenshot 1](https://i.imgur.com/sudKReE.jpg),[screenshot 2](https://i.imgur.com/aJC142g.jpg), both from PC.*

- When first booting up the game, PAL asks you to select the language (English, French, or German).*[Screenshot, courtesy of Akaaryu.](https://i.imgur.com/2gLfNkj.png)*
- On PAL PS2, it will always ask bring up the language select menu. On PAL GCN, if you have a save files on boot up, the game will skip that menu and use the language from the last save.
- The game will always ask if you want to play at 60hz or 50hz on boot-up.

- On PAL PS2 only, if you choose not to save at the end of each chapter, the game will ask you if you're sure that you want to continue without saving.

Any regional differences apply to PS2 unless otherwise stated.
JP PS2 has its own unique differences and*[has its own section.](https://www.speedrun.com/Killer7/guide/vrviv#ch17JP_PS2_Differences)*

PC has*[its own section](https://www.speedrun.com/Killer7/guide/vrviv#ch18General_PC_Differences)*. PC can be played in English, French, German, and Japanese. Selecting any of these languages will enable their respective regional differences (with some caveats).

**Critical Lock-On**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQt0EQaTYLM

- Critical Lock-On is unlocked for each character at Level 5 for all stats on all difficulties in all versions. (L4 for Con/Kaede)

- In JP Normal, Critical Lock-On is available by default for every character.
- In JP Normal, the Ability screen in the television does not say Critical Lock-On is unlocked despite being available from the start. Once you fully upgrade a character to L5, Critical Lock-On will finally appear on the Ability screen.

**Killer8**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMWwJm70nWc

- JP – Personas have the same health as Deadly. Enemies/bosses have massively buffed health.

- NA/PAL – Personas die in one hit (two for Young Harman). Enemies/bosses have above average health.

Hopper7 appears to be based on Deadly for both regions.

**Max Thin Blood**

https://i.imgur.com/iG01mn4.jpg

**Remnant Psyches and Subtitles**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Zpi5W9JXc

Video also includes a comparison of Holbert's tapes.

*[Playlist of every Remnant Psyche scene in the NA version.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWiGDBCbRlC0YJi3dlm8FhTiiFp8irCeA)*
*[Playlist of every Remnant Psyche scene in the JP version.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWiGDBCbRlC1Bd2c9D3y6qmUCsN-kMkJB)*

JP - Words like "kill" and "death" are red in the subtitles. Remnant Psyches speak English.
NA/PAL - No words are highlighted in the subtitles. The speech from the Remnant Psyches in the Japanese version is garbled, hence why it's still possible to hear the English words/phrases.

Regular cutscenes use the same English voice acting for all versions.

**Holbert Tapes/Smile 2 Passwords**

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLhDoXiYXps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLhDoXiYXps)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGdL8M6F9GY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGdL8M6F9GY)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ntnSQ3WB8

Passwords are given by Holbert’s tapes. All of his dialogue is voiced in English, and he says all of the NA passwords. However, the JP passwords are different, so a robot voice dubs over his voice for the JP passwords.

Tapes 2 and 3

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0nLBVD5UU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0nLBVD5UU)

- Tape 2 has a different line: in the NA version, he says "But I figured it out." In the JP version, he says "Don't worry, though; I figured it out." In addition, certain unchanged lines have a slightly differently inflection, indicating they were done in different takes.

- Tape 3 cuts the line "The Parkreiners."

Safe

https://i.imgur.com/70t6M7Y.jpg

Terminal

https://i.imgur.com/jvNAywZ.jpg

PAL: Passwords are mostly the same as NA. Dates are formatted to be day/month/year, but otherwise use the same dates as NA. EAGLE is the translated version of the word when playing in French (AIGLE) or German (ADLER).

*****

**General Text Differences**

Chapter Names

https://i.imgur.com/VoDg5Cq.jpg

- Every other chapter remains the same.

Ring Names

https://i.imgur.com/TDIhLur.jpg

Every other ring remains the same.

Critical Hit Messages

[https://i.imgur.com/T3VhYX1.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/T3VhYX1.jpg)

*****

**Console Differences**
All PS2 differences are compared relative to GCN.
All regional differences apply to PS2 unless otherwise stated.
JP PS2 has*[its own section](https://www.speedrun.com/killer7/guide/vrviv#ch17JP_PS2_Differences)*for its unique differences.

*****

**General PS2 Differences**

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX48q8mAuvM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX48q8mAuvM)

This is a broad overview of PS2 differences. There is currently no room-by-room breakdown of every difference.

- The camera is further away from the character and generally behaves differently.

- Switching the camera angle cuts the perspective instantly rather than swinging around.

- A red tint appears on-screen at junctions.

- Enemies materialize much more quickly.

- Enemy spawning patterns are altered; some enemies spawn at different points or don't spawn at all.

- Blood is not collected while changing into another persona.

- The Dualshock D-Pad can be used for some movement control while walking; the GCN D-Pad has no such function.

- Lock-on seems to be more sensitive; you can lock-on to enemies from distances/barriers that you can't in GCN.

- There is some delay before you can skip a cutscene.

- Skipping the final cutscenes of Angel, Sunset 1, and Hopper7 causes the "[Chapter] Complete" prompt to not appear.

- Lower graphical fidelity in general.

- Certain visual assets in rooms are missing.

- Lengthier loading times.

- Much more prone to slowdown.

- Stiffer controls/aiming.

- Various font differences.

- Various glitches/quirks not seen in GCN.

*[Playlist of miscellaneous PS2 Killer7 videos showing off its various differences and quirks.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWiGDBCbRlC2krSEKiqbfJPdAQT-hBaXW)*

**Loading Time Comparison**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0rVORuaM90

Loading times are significantly longer on PS2.

**Memory Card**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbz7k4h-eBg

- GCN – Can create/load saves from both memory card slots.

- PS2 – Can create/load saves only from memory card Slot 1.

**Panels**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdeO2WLFs2M

Putting in passwords in the Angel/Cloudman panels is much faster in PS2.

**Posters**

*Note to self: remake video, re-write section, possible move above?*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJFHmtnsFJA

- JP/NA/PAL (English) GCN - Posters in Sunset 2, Cloudman, and Smile 2 cannot be individually selected, instead changing the camera angle to show the posters while still keeping control.
- PAL GCN (French/German) - Posters in Cloudman can be selected, but keep the normal GCN angle, and show the title of the poster in the respective language.*[Screenshot from the PC.](https://i.imgur.com/skUakY5.jpg)*
- JP/NA/PAL (English) PS2 - Posters in Sunset 2, Cloudman, and Smile 2 can be individually selected, displaying each poster in full when selected.
- PAL PS2 (French/German) - The posters can be selected, fully displaying each poster like NA PS2 along with showing their respective translated title.
- PC - Matches what happens based on the respective region based on the language, except when playing in Japanese: the Cloudman posters can be individually selected and will fully display like in PS2 (albeit without any Japanese text).

**Reloading**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfDcP7F0Tc

- GCN – Bullet count does not carry between rooms; upon entering a new room (with minor exceptions), your gun is fully loaded.
- PS2 – Bullet count does carry between rooms; entering a new room does not reset your bullet amount.

**Ulmeyda Figurines**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzW4UrbCmU8

- GCN – You can select a figurine and fiddle with it; the button commands can be found at the top.
- PS2 – You can select a figurine, but you cannot interact with it otherwise; there are no buttons at the top as a result.

**Greg Nightmare**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw2Vh5q5Nhg

Physics feel slightly different on PS2. On JP PS2, his legs don't get blown off.

*****

**JP PS2 Differences**

*This section is currently a work-in-progress.*

- JP PS2 is mostly identical to NA PS2.

- All regional/console differences apply to JP PS2 unless otherwise stated.

Controls
*This chart only shows the face buttons due to their different mapping. The rest of the (unlisted) buttons remain the same.*

*Correction for the chart: On US PAL, Cancel is Triangle, not Circle.*
https://i.imgur.com/vjsQ8xr.jpg

In NA PS2, the D-Pad has minor movement functionality in third person: Up moves forward, Down turns around, Left/Right select junctions. The D-Pad in JP PS2 has no such functionality in third person.

**JP PS2 Censorship**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNoHj5ZPuGg

JP PS2 censors a handful of cutscenes. These scenes are not altered in JP GCN or in any other version, and it is not possible to access these censored scenes in any other version, either. The gameplay (barring the inherent version differences) remains unchanged on JP PS2.

Angel:

- In the first scene of a person being blown up by a Heaven Smile, body parts aren’t visible in the explosion.

- In the scene where the woman falls over, the camera angle is changed to obscure her back injuries (though she is still visible in the room afterward).

- The cutscene of the second woman being blown up is unaltered. However, her character model is removed from the room afterward.

Cloudman:

- Samantha's scene is the most changed scene: most lines are cut out, her moaning is removed, and rave music is played over the scene.

- Susie's scene is shortened, removing all of the lines with the bleeped curses.

Encounter:

- The (second) Curtis/Pedro scene is changed to obscure the decapitated head through some adjustments of the camera angles.

*****

**General PC Differences**

*This section is currently a work-in-progress.*
*Note: PC has been patched several times since launch. This guide is up-to-date on the patch build as of 1/19/2019.*

General Gameplay

- The game is based on PAL GCN.

- The game runs at 60 FPS with a widescreen option; only a few animations (like reloading) run at 30 FPS.

- Loading times are extraordinarily fast.

- There is a mouse/keyboard control scheme as well as a gamepad configuration; you can swap between them mid-gameplay.

- The tutorial shows buttons even when not using a gamepad; there is no equivalent keyboard tutorial.*[Video example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIhMGtr4GbI)*

- There are keyboard hotkeys to switch between the different personalities without needing to go into the menu.

- There is a keyboard hotkey to heal; this is the only new hotkey assigned to the gamepad by default.

- It is possible to run and heal (using the hotkey) at the same time.

- When using a gamepad, only the personality swap keyboard hotkeys are enabled; none of the keys work. To re-enable the keyboard controls, you must move the mouse.

- When using the keyboard/mouse, there is a slight delay when selecting a junction with the mouse; this delay is not present when using a gamepad.

- The mouse scroll wheel can be used to select letters on the Angel/Cloudman panels.

- The mouse can be used on the Smile 2 terminal keyboard. You cannot use an actual keyboard to type in the passwords.

- There is a configuration tool to customize a number of elements, like controller re-mapping, widescreen toggle, etc.

- The configuration tool can be booted up before the game launches on Steam and can also be found in the in-game options; it can also be accessed mid-gameplay with the F11 key.

- Widescreen can be toggled mid-game (including cutscenes) with the F9 key.

The gameplay is nearly 1:1 to GCN. Using a GCN controller on PC results in a virtually identical gameplay experience with all of the new features and improvements.

Version Differences/Language

- The language selection screen always appears on boot up. You can select between four languages: English, German, French, Japanese. This screen is identical to the PAL language selection screen (with the addition of the Japanese).

- Selecting Japanese will enable all of the JP differences, like Critical Lock-On on Normal, ungarbled Remnant Psyche speech, etc.

- Selecting German/French will enable a few of the other minor PAL differences, like the unique save screen and the different Cloudman poster interaction.

- When playing in Japanese, the Cloudman posters can be individually selected and will fully display like in PS2.

- For Remnant Psyches, it is possible to have English subtitles with the ungarbled Japanese voices (or JP subtitles with the garbled English voices): swap the names of the Jan/JanZ folders in the Steam folder. The tutorial files are in a separate place, so to swap their languages, swap the names of each Tutorial/usTutorial file in the se folder.

- The same save files work regardless of language.

- There are English subtitles for cutscenes, unlike in the original release.

Miscellaneous

- Because the game is based on the PAL version, the game uses PAL fonts in a few places.

- There is no way to access the PS2 differences.

- The Killer8 serum code still works.

- Typos in the script from the original release have been untouched.

- Most (if not all) of the glitches present in GCN can still happen, like the *[pause glitch.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ar8MQ7SHjs)*

- It is possible to fiddle with the Ulmeyda figurines in Cloudman like in GCN; the gamepad buttons are still shown at the top, with no equivalent keyboard/mouse screen.*[Screenshot.](https://i.imgur.com/boz65Xz.jpg)*

- After the regular credits at the end of Smile, a new credits sequence plays for the remaster staff. A version of Dissociative Identity plays during these credits.

- Cloud saves are available on Steam.

- There is DLC content available on Steam: an artbook and a remastered soundtrack.

- The remastered soundtrack contains all of the tracks from the original soundtrack release plus many of the tracks that were originally omitted. However, some of the tracks on the remastered soundtrack release are slightly different from the original release; the remastered track often uses the in-game/cutscene version as opposed to the slightly rearranged version used in the original release.

- The game is DRM-free on Steam, so the Steam client does not need to be running to boot up the game.

*[Playlist of Remnant Psyche scenes with Japanese voices/English subtitles in the PC version.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWiGDBCbRlC1OtdfOVUejTK4ORGGKYeWR)*

**Slight errors/discrepancies**

These are minor differences that don’t quite line up between PC and GCN. Absolutely none of these are deal breakers.

- One junction no longer works: the Azure Dragon panel in Sunset 1 instant enter of right doesn't work, but up-left does. Both angles work on GCN (*pretty sure).*
- Ambient noises during Remnant Psyche conversations don’t always cut off on PC like they should. (*make video?)*
- When a character is at a junction, the shading on the characters is different; on GCN, character model is not tinted red, but is on PC. PS2 also different. *Not sure where else to put this…?*

*****

**Loose Ends**

*This section is currently a work-in-progress.*

- In Cloudman, at the cutscene at the Post Office, the logo for the post office on the worker's uniform is different between regions. *Need to better document.*

Sound Mix

There are differences in the sound mix in cutscenes.

- JP GCN - Voices are rather quiet. Kun Lan's laugh in Angel/Lion does not echo.
- NA GCN - Voices are louder than JP GCN, but not as loud as as NA PS2. Kun Lan's laugh does echo.
- JP PS2 - *Need to double check.*
- NA PS2 - Voices are louder than NA GCN. Kun Lan's laugh does echo.

Credits

The first credits at the end of Smile are in English across all versions and are mostly identical.

There is one small regional difference: because Sunset and Cloudman are named slightly differently between regions, this change is reflected in the credits, so in the JP credits, "Sunset" is "Settingsun" and "Cloudman" is "Cloudsman."

PC uses "Settingsun" and "Cloudsman" even in English. *Need to double check if in all cases.*
As mentioned earlier, another credits sequence plays on PC after the Smile credits to thank the remaster staff.

The second credits at the end of Lion are handled differently between regions. The language of the credits in JP changes based on the difficulty, and these credits are always in English in NA.

Breakdown:

- JP Normal/Deadly – English.

- JP Killer8 – Japanese

- NA All Difficulties – English

*****

**Special Thanks**

I'd like to thank the following people for their contributions to this guide:

- ettusamu, for selling me a copy of JP GCN and bringing our attention to many of these regional differences in the first place.

- SylvanEd, for doing a ton of initial testing/research on JP GCN. In particular, for killing hundreds of enemies just to find out the maximum blood amount!

- UltraSun and YinYin, for providing information and confirmation about the PC release.

- Bigmanjapan for providing lots of information across the board and helping me complete my collection.

- The Grasshopper Manufacture speed run community as a whole.

Smile 2 passwords for all versions

## NA/PAL

**Safe**

- 55549
- 72712

**Terminal**

- PARKREINER
- 00480158
- ALABAMA
- 11221942 (**PAL:** 22111942)
- B
- MICHAEL
- KATHARINE
- 04281952 (**PAL:** 28041952)
- EAGLE (**French:** AIGLE, **German:** ADLER)

## JP

**Safe**

- 91007
- 15020

**Terminal**

- PARKREINER
- 200485
- NEVADA
- 19421122
- O
- MICHAEL
- KATHARINE
- 19521122
- NODATA
- ELBOW

Speed Run Guide and Video Collection [work-in-progress]

[section=General]
This guide covers every single category. Information applies to all categories unless otherwise stated.
Since this guide is not always up-to-date, it is strongly recommended to look at the top times on the board. Not just the #1 time, but also #2 and lower since each player has a different playstyle. 

For specific questions about any strats/routes, ask the *[Suda 51 Speedrun Discord.](https://discordapp.com/invite/ufvfFyr)* 

There are five categories: Normal, Deadly, US/PAL Killer8, JP Killer8, and Hopper7. 

Due to [major regional differences](https://www.speedrun.com/Killer7/guide/vrviv#ch4Killer8), Killer8 is split between regions. The other categories are not separated as the regional time differences are ultimately minor. 

Every category is split based on platform (GCN, PS2, PC), and emulator runs are also separate from console runs. 

**PC is the fastest version of the game.** PC is based on GCN with faster load times and quality-of-life features. Because of the load times, certain strats (like the Sunset 2 death warp) that would otherwise lose time on GCN are actually viable on PC. 

The PS2 version has *[major version differences](https://www.speedrun.com/Killer7/guide/vrviv#ch9Console_Differences)*, and is much slower than GCN. Some strats work on PS2, some don't. **This guide is not tailored to PS2 at all.** Full PS2 runs are on the board.

[section=Category Breakdown]

Normal - The "main" category. Most strats for Normal will work for most other categories. On NA/PAL, you can hold 20 vials of blood. On JP, you can hold 255 vials of blood and have Critical Lock-on by default.
Deadly - Similar to Normal. Enemies have more health, Duplicator cores are always red. On NA/PAL, you can hold 10 vials of blood. On JP, you can hold 77 vials of blood.
US/PAL Killer8 - Hard mode. OHKO for all characters except Young Harman (and Stamina Ring Mask). Enemy weak spots are invisible, Duplicator cores are always red, can hold five vials of blood. Young Harman is available as a crutch character. Difficult category.
JP Killer8 - Characters don't die in one hit, but enemies/bosses have absurd amounts of health. Weak spots are still invisible, Duplicator cores are always red, can hold eight vials of blood, Young Harman is available. 
Hopper7 - Short category. Lots of rooms boil down to killing Hoppermen rather than dodging.

[section=Gameplay Basics]
Terms:
Instant enter - The angle for selecting a junction as soon as possible.
Dodge roll - Dodging an enemy by running into it, making it lunge, and then turning around quickly before it hits you.
Mach dodge - Dodge rolling an enemy while using Con's Mach Speed Ability.
Stair roll - Dodging rolling on stairs. Faster for most characters.
Tanking - Deliberately running into an enemy.
Zaka turn - Making your character turn around (by pressing the B button) while materializing in the Harman Room from the TV.

[section=Playlists]
Simna's playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyjKYbncYs8E1JPWv_C6_gCBJtkr8GCSX

Adrian's playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWiGDBCbRlC3yjZWMfflLsVeRDYXehJ27

[section=Angel]
Elevator Hall (leaving the parking garage)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPR7f7R37Pg
The trick is to briefly let go of the analogue stick after the penultimate junction, and then hold left for the door junction. If you attempt to transition from each junction in one movement, it won't work.

JP Killer8 - Basically the same as Normal with one difference: kill the first Camellia as Young Harman (or go for the critical shot as Dan for the most time save).

[section=Sunset 1]
Waiting Room:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQv-56YwKmE

L1+normal shot works only on Normal. Camellia on Deadly has too much health, and requires a critical kill. Killer8 uses Young Harman for the entire room.

It is possible to set-up a respawn glitch in this room before the run begins as a back up. Recommended for Deadly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZISXV-tiRs
Details found and video created by BB. Works on PC and GCN (with a little more hassle). It works here and in the Laundry Room in Angel (which is not useful at all). This glitch is allowed in speed runs.

Courtyard (after leaving Waiting Room):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlT2lNqqU90

Large Hall Stairs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCCVXGK7bDQ
It's faster to run down the stairs rather than rolling.

Animal Panels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CVld5qIa_c

[section=Sunset 2]
Route:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ygMD3qI9lI

Kaku floor order: 1 3 2 4 

Floor 3 Deadly idea (rough): https://clips.twitch.tv/ColorfulHealthySalamanderResidentSleeper-g9KiYo_vDKfd6_zc

Floor 2 strat with one vial: https://clips.twitch.tv/CalmEnthusiasticTeaAllenHuhu

Floor 4 Hanafuda card puzzle solution: https://imgur.com/a/ZagUrIK
The numbers randomize every time you touch the card. 

Kurahashi/Abika: On Normal, assuming your aim is spot on, you can kill them both (two shots each) and only need to reload once. On higher difficulties, they both take more hits.

[section=Cloudman]
General route:
https://youtu.be/Jv8EsYfVVU8?t=327

On PC, it is faster to into Apartment 219 once (across the street from 210, which has the Odd Engraving) to farm Ulmeyda Smiles. You will still need to kill a few Ulmeyda Smiles elsewhere, but this will be the main source. Due to load times, this is slower on GCN.

Shooting the yellow Micro: https://clips.twitch.tv/MotionlessWiseLlamaAMPEnergy
Walk up the shadow of the gas station, stop, and shoot the Micro.

Ulmeyda fight (Normal):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w02DVwAekLg

On higher difficulties, his afro moves a lot more. The same core strat is used, but you may need to wait longer to give yourself more time to aim.

[section=Encounter 1]
String Quartet/Cinemas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8adG4hddn8

When collecting the Soul Shell before leaving, after leaving Cinema 4, tank the Backside, hold left to use the Wing Ring, and then mash down-left-ish to pick up the Shell (avoiding the Protector).

Cinema 1 (Killer8):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8jHV2sNkSY

Outside Cinemas and Cinema 1: https://clips.twitch.tv/AbnegateArtisticYamSoonerLater

Plaza Entrance to Funhouse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCgCLfTSy-8

Swiss Cheese:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2s7bzA2pxc
While still facing the door after activating the cheese, go into first person, and shoot without aiming.

Ceramic Smile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vixLMKvFHtg

The fast dodge roll strat is very difficult to get in runs, and getting it is essentially a nice "bonus," not a core part of the route.

Killer Ted Mansion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj_Gl1GtIFI

Instant enters:
First two junctions: right, down-right
Floor 1 Door: Right
Floor 2 Door: Left
Floor 3 Door: Right

Ayame 1 (Normal):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-3UR1yq3Qs
L4 Power Mask, one L2 charge shot (or four? regular shots).

Ayame 1 (Killer8): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOlC5JmCtxE
L4 Power Mask, one L2 charge shot and one L1 charge shot (or six regular shots).

[section=Encounter 2]
Opening route:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0RYvw6B_YU
Kill the first Bombhead from the entrance, go to the right path first to get the Odd Engraving, then go to the left path, and use the Bombhead there to kill the Camellia before getting the Soul Shell.

Picking up second Odd Engraving quickly: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLfYEEIdlIU
**This is not a very consistent strat.** Even if done seemingly perfectly, it can fail at the cost of a few seconds.

You must let go of the analog stick briefly after entering the passage as Con. The angle for the Odd Engraving is between the up-left and upper notch, but slightly skewed closer to the upper notch. The angle is finicky. 

Ayame 2: Use Mask, and use L2 shots. For the final phase, when she is reloading in front of the panels, she is invincible; shoot her only when she immediately starts shooting. On higher difficulties, you may want to save some blood for healing as her health increases by quite a bit. 

After leaving Ayame 2, you also want to watch out for your blood; you need at least three vials for the Collateral Shot on the Laser Smile, as well as various Machs before getting there.

A clip with audio commentary of this trick can be found [here.](https://clips.twitch.tv/ImportantTastyAnacondaOpieOP)

Falling down the chute: https://clips.twitch.tv/SpoopyLitigiousWatercressRedCoat

Pool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT7FIBbUiNs

Use a Collateral Shot on the Laser Smile.

The fight with Curtis varies based on the pigeon, which cannot be (reliably) manipulated.

[section=Alter Ego]
Maze Route:
https://youtu.be/MTNCXxJnk1w?t=36

Church: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YwE_YGm8x0

Duplicator strat: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6hcpJZvwIY

On Deadly, much like Killer8, you want to use your Collateral Shots with the blood you already have before collecting the blood from the Camellia to ensure that you don't waste blood. 

On Deadly, before getting to the Duplicator, you may want to kill a few extra Smiles for some blood; recommended (but not sure if fastest) is to kill an extra Mithril and maybe the Laser. Micro might also be good depending your blood route up to that point.

Post-Duplicator Spiral Smile Room: https://clips.twitch.tv/BlightedDrabAyeayeDendiFace

Housing Street (leaving the artist's room):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOTu29ylHAU

Windmill Plaza (Mothers/Rollers):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdGLBAaRpiE

Windmill Room:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRGopwopTg0

Final not-Duplicator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGjhcQr0IWc

Set-ups:
Good angle: 
https://i.imgur.com/Mg4XsQ9.png

Bad angle (unlikely to see in run):
https://i.imgur.com/xampm2r.png

[section=Smile 1]
Full route (including Killer8): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ajxyXguyw

Optimal floor order: 1 6 4 2 3 5 7
Reduces redundant character swaps.

Floor 6 strat: https://clips.twitch.tv/DifficultWittyArugulaBrokeBack

Floor 2 Duplicator strat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=necJyBEil14
Walk forward a bit to trigger than first Smile, aim to the left, scan, and fire the L5 shot. Tank the final Smile as Kevin. Killer8 strat is a bit different; see the end of the full route video.

[section=Smile 2/3]
Main Route (including Killer8): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogl7uw4g3rA

You can use the scroll wheel on the safe.
For the terminal passwords, you can use the mouse to select letters and also press the Start button on the gamepad to go back to Enter.

Greg Nightmare: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwvEF2xZ6XU

JP Killer8 - Turn into Young Harman immediately. Kill the first three Mithrils, tank the Brokens, and go all the way to the Duplicator. Kill the Camellia, and then turn into Mask to kill the Duplicator with a L5 shot. Turn into Dan, and kill the Galactic Tomahawk with a Collateral Shot. Use a Collateral Shot on Greg's second phase (but you will still need a few more shots to kill him due to his absurd health). *Best route? Not sure if Dan is best for GT, but it has so much health.*

[section=Lion]
The entire chapter mostly involves holding A; only two enemies get in your way.

These enemies can either be tanked or shot. There is little difference between them. On Killer8, they must be shot.

Video demonstration: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3ZZZeKeOuw

The choice of Kill/Save Japan does not affect the speed run time as all of the cutscenes are skipped.

When shooting The Last Shot Smile in Garcian's trailer, shoot him from as far away as possible.

Time ends on the final shot of Kun Lan's hand in the epilogue after the credits.

Name	Autor
Killer7 Version Differences Guide [WORK-IN-PROGRESS]	AdrianVG 3 years ago
Smile 2 passwords for all versions	AdrianVG 5 years ago
Speed Run Guide and Video Collection [work-in-progress]	AdrianVG 4 years ago