These guides will lay out the route used during Any% runs of Hamtaro Ham-Ham Heartbreak. The steps explained in these guides are commonly accepted to lead to the fastest way to get from the title screen to the first credits. Most of these steps were used to attain the current world record, but not all. If these guide and the current WR video of 1:23:52 contradict each other, the guides will be the safer bet. If faster strategies are discovered the guides will be edited to account for them.

The run's gameplay is divided into three parts: executing movement properly so you don't stay on the move for too long, memorizing dialogues and other messages so that you know when you regain control, and the little action moments. Every step of the run can be categorized as one of these three. Ham-Ham Heartbreak is not a very intense game to speedrun, but there are tons of little things that have to be taken into consideration in order to get your time down. These guides will take every step and state the exact way that it is to be properaly executed.

Some general overarching tips:

• The fastest way to get through conversations is to mash A while holding B. This will also get you through many dialogue options, such as Yep-P/No-P, selecting the correct one with no extra effort. There are times when the first option is not correct however. Vigilance will be required on your part to recognize when these menus pop up and select the right option. ** Also, if you keep mashing while the dialogue is already over you will unnecessarily summon the Hamchat menu. To prevent this you need to know exactly when each conversation ends in order to get on your way as fast as possible. Usually this is done by counting the inputs or by paying attention to visual ques. With each dialogue I will let you know when you regain control.
• There are certain Hamchats that when used will have Hamtaro and Bijou get into a predetermined position before executing the chat. Sometimes they do so at a very slow walking pace, and it will be faster to move yourself into the chosen position beforehand. I will notify you when this comes into play.
• When you learn a Hamchat there's a notification that tells you that you did so. Sometimes this notification also marks the end of the conversation, meaning that you have to stop mashing to be efficient. From now I will call the Hamchats to which this applies Endchats. If you hold B to let the ending notification for Endchats complete itself and press A once while holding the direction in which you want to move, you will be on your way as fast as possible. I will identify each Endchat as you learn it.
• When Hamchats are executed by both you and NPCs, it saves a tiny bit of time to have B down as the chat is said in the dialogue box, since it gets to the animation quicker. The same goes for notifications for seed pickups.
• Because the majority of the game is text, playing the Japanese version makes a significant difference. But because selecting text from a menu is also a big part of the game it is not recommended to start learning the game in Japanese. The overall difference has not objectively been measured, but it's estimated to be about two minutes favouring the Japanese version. To make this guide useful for runners in both languages I will state both the name and placement of each Hamchat as you use it, for example Hamha (1), Digdig (4) or Hamscope (5).

Starting the run: The Clubhouse

After you select New Game and perhaps delete your previous save, you will be taken to a naming screen for Hamtaro and Bijou. As in many games where you name characters you can save a tiny bit of time by making their names one character long. It doesn't matter which character it is, so go by your own preference. Once you are done and have selected Yep-P to confirm your decision the run has officially started.

The game starts with Hamtaro's dream. There's no input you can make to make the dream itself faster, but dialogue will start right after Hamtaro has spun off into the distance, so that's about when you should start mashing. During this dialogue Boss will come up and subsequently go down. You regain control immediately after Hamtaro jumps off the bed. Run a bit to the right, then down, then right again to descend down the staircase. From here you won't get to move again until you leave the clubhouse, so you can mostly mash in peace.

After most of your Hamchats are erased Boss will take you to the side to give you a quick rundown of the basic four. The first one is Hamha (1), and since it's the only option you can just keep mashing there. Next is Tack-Q, where the Hamchat menu is opened right after the sunflower seeds fly out. You stop mashing when that happens and use Tack-Q (2) yourself. Then comes Hifhif, which Boss will use to pick up the seeds. Right after the notification use Hifhif (3) yourself, and earn 10 seeds. Mash until Boss uses Digdig to dig up more seeds. Then after that notification use Digdig (4) to get the love meter. From here you keep mashing until you leave the clubhouse to go to Sunny Peak.

NOTE This time, and only this time, it takes about a second for the game to process inputs on the world map. If you try to move to Sunny Peak right away you will just enter the clubhouse again. Only press A if you're sure you're on Sunny Peak.

NOTE2 During the tutorial the menu had Tack-Q at 2 and Hifhif at 3. From then on the placements will be reversed, so Hifhif (2) and Tack-Q (3). Get used to this order, not the other one.