United StatesAs of today, turbo is allowed for the B button (the firing button.) Inspired by the allowance of turbo in Metroid Dread speedruns, this is for the sake of accessibility, and preventing repetitive stress injuries.
For console:
- Use a third-party Gamecube controller that has turbo, to play on the Game Boy Player add-on for the Gamecube.
For emulator (Bizhawk):
- Config > Controllers > Clear the binding for the B button under the Normal Controls tab, and bind it to your preferred key under Autofire Controls.
Let me first provide some context:
I've been wanting to best my world record of Lilo & Stitch for the GBA, a game which I'm the supermod and (currently the only) active runner for.
However, after 15 minutes of play, my repetitive stress injury caused me too much pain to continue. This effectively means I cannot complete even one run of the game (which is 20+ minutes long) because of the constant mashing required.
I recently heard the news about the Metroid Dread leaderboards allowing turbo. I'm SO excited at the possibility that this may become common in other games that require mashing, making speedruns more accessible to a wider audience.
Now, I run Lilo & Stitch on the BizHawk emulator. Technically I can easily turn on a turbo feature, so that I only have to hold the button to shoot instead of mash it. However, I don't know of any methods to do this on a GBA console, as you can't exactly use a third-party controller on a GBA that I'm aware of.
Is it possible to use turbo on a GBA console? Maybe there's a turbo controller one can use on a Gamecube with the Game Boy Player addon?
I care very much about the accuracy between emulator and console. I want to instate rules that are both fair and equal, while also being accessible.
The only option I see currently is to make a separate category for emulator runs and allow turbo for emulator runs only. However, that doesn't help console players avoid repetitive stress injuries.
So I wanted to get some advice from the community. Thanks to all in advance!
@xenkaroshi Yeah, I do really care about the fairness between console and emulator runs. I wish more people used Bizhawk! It's not like it's any harder to acquire or use than VBA. Hopefully GBA leaderboard mods and runners will jump the VBA ship someday.
Far exceeding any of my expectations, I just beat Lilo & Stitch (GBA) in 21:45. I was just aiming for a mid 22, I had never even considered sub 22 could be real. Could save 6 seconds on the first split since it was sloppy, but the rest of the run was just so solid.
I'm really proud, so I just wanted to share with the rest of the speedrun community! https://www.speedrun.com/lasgba/run/mk75p23y
Should also mention that it's a relatively short run. Top times are under 15 minutes, and even if you're just starting out, it's likely your first runs won't clock in above 20 minutes. So for anyone interested in running a shorter game with tons of categories and subcategories to conquer, this could be your game.
May be a stretch, since I can't imagine many western speedrunners are fans of sumo as well, but the best (and most authentic) sumo game out there recently got an official leaderboard and discord.
We'd like to invite any sumo fan, any wrestling fan, any fighting game speedrunners - heck, just anyone who is interested - to come check out the game. If it seems too confusing, don't worry; we'll happily answer questions in the discord, and guides are being put out soon.
Lilo & Stitch for the GBA is still in desperate need of runners. It's a surprisingly fun and difficult run n' gun, has a glitch that skips a level, and a TAS-only glitch that needs more research to determine if it's possible for a human. Even if you're not a fan of the movie, it's still a good video game.
https://www.speedrun.com/lasgba Lilo & Stitch for the GBA. A fun and surprisingly challenging run n' gun. There's a few autoscrollers, but thankfully they're also challenging and involve some bit of speed. There's an OoB clip that skips a level, and a TAS-only glitch that currently seems inhumanly possible, maybe due to subpixel positioning. There's also a 100% category that isn't much slower than the any% if you're a completionist. Even if it doesn't appeal to you as a speedrun, do try it casually! If that's not your cup of tea, then ...
https://www.speedrun.com/bkcc Cyber Cross for the TurboGrafx-16, aka PC Engine. A sidescrolling brawler that pays homage to tokusatsu shows such as Super Sentai (aka Power Rangers.) There are 3 forms to take, each with their own unique weapon, and an alarming amount of enemies coming at you at any moment. It's always a battle between which enemies to defeat and which to tank damage from to reach the end of the game as fast as possible. I think anyone could speedrun this with some practice and memorization. So please, do try it!
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are both good games.
It's best to take it one step at a time. You should eventually look at the big picture to tinker with the route, but try to focus on the fastest way to tackle each area as you approach them.
With RPGs, it's easy to think about what is the safest way and not what's necessarily the fastest. Try to reduce the amount of trips you take to shops, reduce the amount of items you buy, and reduce the amount of time you spend in menus. You want to get by each area and battle with the bare minimum if possible. Of course, if an item is on your way and only takes a fraction of a second to grab, it's usually worth it.
It's also worth looking into how enemy encounters work in the game, so you may figure out paths and tricks to avoid as many as possible. Sequence breaks can also be a big part of RPGs, if it helps you skip areas/enemies/bosses.
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, around 6 years ago. My PB was 3 hours 15 minutes 32 seconds last time I ran it. Sadly, it may remain the longest speedrun I ever do, which is a shame. Long speedruns are a lot of fun to do and fun to watch.
this is literally the best forum on the site and i hate it
