I want to start practicing and running this game but I noticed there wasn't much information here about advice and tips so I figured I would ask.

I have beat the game several times so I am familiar with it. Was Hoping someone would be willing to give any speed run essential tips. I can't watch any of the runs because I'm at work, but forums are okay. So here is a few questions I have..

1. What's the 9-4 undo thing I've heard about? Does it save a lot of time? ( I have the Japanese version so Undo is not a thing, if I need it I can switch to US)

2. Is it better to drink for the speed or to play sober because the drinking takes more time with tips?

3. Why is the easy mode run longer than the normal?

4. Does it matter how I answer the questions between stages or does it not really matter? (I just was gonna choose the right option each time)

5. Any other tips for a new runner that I should be aware about?

Sorry for the long post, I'm just really interested in running this and want to be prepared.

1. The 9-4 stage has a tendency to spawn a certain pattern of blocks in an unintended way if you go too fast, iirc. It will screw up the layout of the stage and make it quite more inconvenient to beat.

2. It's generally faster to not drink in full game runs.

3. I personally never played easy, but my first thought would be that it's far from optimized because no one cares enough about easy mode.

4. For the run itself it does not. However, make sure to not be signed in to PSN while running as that makes the load times for the results longer.

It's been a while since I played/ran the game myself, but this should hopefully answer most of your questions.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate the reply.

I've never actually played easy mode, so I've never been sure of the differences to be honest. Maybe I'll play through it and check it out. Also never thought about the network thing, I'll have to keep that in mind. I guess I'll study the 9-4 and see if it's worth playing the Japanese version or if I'll submit and just go English.

I figure I'll practice on the side and see how much I can remember. I was really into this in 2012, but it's been a year since I've done a full play through. Just seems like a fun game to run.

Once again, thank you for all your help. ☆☆☆

Some further clarifications.

1. Yeah, pretty much what Nev said. I dont think it happens all the time, and you can still beat the stage if it happens, but the time loss would be significant. There might be other ways to prevent it, but I never really understood the specifics of it. If you really want to know, I suggest you contact Isuyaru, cause I am not sure he reads this forum. He goes by Isusaur these days on Twitch/Youtube.

2. We are all too lazy to run it. My PB is literally my first time playing easy mode, just trying to apply normal strats where I could. If you want a free WR, it is there for the taking. I asked Isusaur once, and he estimated an optimized time would probably be just above 1:20.

3. Just picking the right option is exactly what I do, but do watch out for the final question in that case. Choosing right for everything makes you basically reject both Katherine and Catherine, so if you then also say no to the freedom ending, the game tosses you another question to force you to choose, wasting precious seconds. So make sure to pick left for the last question (and yes, I have forgotten this in runs). Good news is that usually gets you True Freedom ending. :P

4. Honestly, if you are running either normal or hard mode, the best way to learn the game is to watch videos. Isusaur has a bunch on his Youtube.

One final tip that might not be immediately obvious I am just going to copy+paste from when Isusaur told me:

"When you:

1. go down and grab on to the edge of a block, or
2. transition from hanging on the edge to standing on a block by pressing X (so you're ready to pull the block you were hanging on)

then it's important not to simply hold the direction or button for where to move next, but to time it correctly. This will cancel the animation early and let you move faster. The effects of this are very apparent in the child with chainsaw fight, since in that first section where you have to wait for the blocks to fall, they actually will fall on time instead."

Maybe I will do the easy mode one first for laughs and try to take it while warming up. Then work my way up through the difficulties. It's cool to see people are interested in running it. Most other games I like no one runs or they are way too run.. But this feels just right.

I'll have to study some videos and see what I can remember. For the most part I think there was only a few stages that I forgot their gimmicks for so I'd just have to play them a few times. Then again. Who knows what tricks I don't know about yet.

I'm excited to make it to normal and hard. Last I remember from playing was I could get all gold in hard besides the last stages because I never practiced it, was just going for the psn trophy. I actually have the Japanese guide which shows level designs, but I'm not sure how useful it will be.

Thanks for the last tip. I'll have to keep that in mind. I can't remember if I knew that back then. I believe I never held things down because I never wanted to over commit and make a wrong move in hard. I'll look up that user and check out his videos.

Thank you for the advice. :)