FINALLY, after 7 months of trying, I got this World Record. This was certainly the most difficult world record I ever got. 921 attempts, over 600 hours of playtime, numerous frustrations and failed runs at the end. Congratulations Traj for optimizing the run so much.
I am not done yet. This run had a few silly mistakes (like a death at the rope in the beginning of Cliffs of Madness) and my goal is now 2:39. While 2:39 is "easy" to get when looking at all the timesaves left, it will certainly my biggest speedrunning challenge yet and I may have to endure this game for many weeks/months still.
AetherSX2, a PS2 emulator for Android devices, is now allowed in speedruns. Runs made with it will be included in the PS2 Emulator categories. Similar to other emulators, to have your run accepted you will need to show the emulator's settings after the run is finished.