TAS = tool-assisted speedrun, theory as in I did this run with savestates only (no slowdown, no frame advance) to get an idea of what could possibly be done with this category in real time. For perspective, the current as of this video's publishing date real time record is 3:00.

Compared to Tetris Attack and Panel de Pon, this game's RNG (random number generator) is harder to take advantage of due to there being no duplicate patterns. Every stage manipulation before each stage has to be frame-perfect (1/60 of a second). Fortunately, these stages are set up so that one would only need to mash buttons efficiently between stages to get the next pattern. The RNG is also affected by more factors in this game, making you more mindful of the combos and chains you make and when the opponents attack.

The biggest issue with this TAS is that it is done on BizHawk, which always initializes its RAM to preset values. This game primarily uses addresses C38C and C38D as its main RNG driver. These values are always initialized at the start. This game also uses C38E for its RNG. This value... does not always initialize. As of an edit on 1/9/2017, it's not really known how to initialize it. Without the ability to initialize that value, it's hard to control what that value is going to be as several environmental factors can have an impact on that value, making replicating what is shown here to be particularly tricky.

I'm not sure how feasible manipulating later challenge modes will be. This one looks finicky as it is. This would be a literal grind of luck to approach, which, quite frankly, Easy mode already is a huge grind of luck to improve.