Mostly the title. The guides appear to imply that I know things I know nothing about at the moment.

If it helps, the most I can do casually on Classic is somewhat Normal difficulty, though I might need to use a continue there because of Fox/Master Hand.

i would say just watch runs and use them as guides until mine become released. its the best way to learn the run. That's how i learned most of the game and then even make up youre own strats. so just watch runs of characters you either want to learn or just feel the most comfortable with to start & maybe normal 3 stock or Very Easy 5 stock to start.

There is no skill or previous knowledge required to run the game. I've seen 3 or 4 man races on SRL where several runners had never played smash 64 before. Obviously the more knowledge you have of the game, the easier it is to go fast, but skill and knowledge are not required in running this game, and just by running the game, you'll gain knowledge of the game naturally.