Introduction

Hi! This is a general guide for running TWEWY on all platforms: the original Nintendo DS version (called DS), Solo Remix for iOS/Android (SR), and Final Remix for Nintendo Switch (FR).

This guide is meant to tell you the differences and strategy between each version. There is also a daily guide on what you should generally look out for, but this is not a detailed walkthrough. If you need that, it's better to actually watch some runs and make your own notes.

• DS: I have provided a complete commentary of my 4:31:15 DS run with special guest Ghoul02. It also has my detailed walkthrough slides that I used myself during the run to make sure I didn't miss anything.

• FR: I would especially recommend the Punchy ESA run. This isn't the current WR, but because it was for a charity speedrun event, many of the nuances and tricks are explained in detail in that video.

The main category for TWEWY is Any% Normal. This is because normal difficulty is the only difficulty at the start of the game, and provides a good balance between difficulty and speed:

• Easy difficulty is unlocked relatively early (W1D3), but it makes the game a joke: you deal double (DS) or triple (FR) damage, and enemies deal half damage. For the Any% Normal category, easy difficulty is banned except on W2D4 to clear a wall that requires the Sexy + pin, which is an easy-only drop. The battle must be fought at Center St., the same area as the wall.

• Hard difficulty isn't unlocked until the run is 40% over (end of W2D1). For consistency's sake, the community has decided to not force all subsequent battles to hard difficulty. However, fighting at hard difficulty for optional drops and/or EXP boosting is allowed.

Any% Normal does not allow the use of shutdown PP, mingle PP, or the mingle shop. In other words, you cannot interrupt the game and modify your system's date, or use a second DS, to obtain certain equips.

For in-depth information about equips, please see the equip guide.

[big]About Me[/big] My credibility is more behind-the-scenes: I wrote the original psych efficiency guide on the TWEWY wiki back in 2010. I also wrote the DS speedrun walkthrough on GameFAQs back in 2011, which has since been refined by other people. I was also one of the main contributors for the current FR routing.

A huge shout out to all past and present runners of the game. Running this game is a test of endurance and dedication, and their continuing motivation was what led me to create this guide. I'd like to specifically thank Punchy, who put up with some of my silliest suggestions while we were testing new routing for FR.

Original (DS)

This is the original handheld version, so we'll cover this first.

Ugly: Enjoy dual 256x192 screens instead of HD!

Difficult to record: You could use an emulator, but as for capturing off a DS, it's difficult to do so. I've been able to do it by simply mounting a webcam directly above the DS. A 3DS with a capture card is more common, but you cannot play at native pixel scaling.

Slowest version: Cutscenes aren't skippable in any version. In DS, the cutscenes take significantly longer to mash through, as the transitions between text bubbles do not speed up. The current WR is around 4.5 hours.

DS-unique mechanics: This is the main reason to run this particular version of the game. Each of them is covered below:

Dual screen + puck Neku and his partner attack simultaneously. Each partner is able to deal a "puck" hit and pass it. The puck is a damage multiplier that only affects the final hit before it is passed. Depending on how fast the puck is passed, the puck multiplier may increase or decrease (decay). Equips are focused on making the actual puck pass faster, as well as powering up the initial puck multiplier. These equips, despite not bestowing high ATK, actually translate into more damage because more puck hits occur.

High efficiency psychs Neku's pin deck is designed to take advantage of the puck. This is because a single amplified puck hit deals much more damage than a great number of smaller, faster hits. There is a hidden attribute of every offensive psych in the game called efficiency, which is how well the psych converts ATK into actual damage. See this for more info.

Sync rate food Neku and his partner must consume food that boosts sync rate. Having a low sync rate causes the puck to decay faster. Sync rate will decay naturally, but it will also decay faster if damage is taken. The other versions (SR/FR) don't care about sync rate, so they don't use sync rate food items. As fleeing from battle twice in a row or more causes sync loss, this should never happen in DS.

Final Remix for Switch (FR)

The most popular version, and the one that has been run at multiple speedrun festivals.

HD: Pretty!

Easy to record: HDMI capture devices designed with Switch compatibility will capture this game with ease.

Fastest version: It's over 1 hour faster than DS. This is mainly due to two things: much faster text skipping, and the partner being much stronger in order to make up for the lack of the puck. The WR is currently just over 3 hours.

1P2C or 2P2C: This version is played on co-op mode for speed. If running by yourself, this means controlling each partner with a single joycon. It is also possible for 2 people to control one joycon each.

Fidgety controls: The joycon controls can be difficult at best, and absolutely aggravating at its worst. The tracking will shift during the game, requiring you to re-center the cursor constantly. "Press and hold" psychs are inconsistent because the cursor might wiggle, canceling the attack.

Glitchy: Sometimes, enemies go off-screen and you need to wait for them to re-appear. Other times, the partner simply fails to receive any input. Hitboxes of airborne enemies are disjointed. And fusions against bosses are unreliable and may completely whiff. All of these are things you'll need to live with.

Remix-unique mechanics: While the story flow is still the same as DS, the pin, equip, and food setups are different:

Slow fusions In DS, a fusion is 8 seconds long. In FR, it's 26 seconds due to the minigame you need to play before it's executed. As the majority of battles can be won in under this time, fusions are mostly ignored. The notable exception is using a fusion on the week 2 boss, Sho.

Cross combos When an enemy is hit, then hit by the other character, there's a slight damage boost, and the enemy may flinch. However, a significant downside is that there's a noticeable lag time. When one character focuses on an enemy while the other stays out of the way, the damage-per-second output is higher.

Sync rate is irrelevant Sync rate is simply a meter that allows one level of fusion per 100%. As sync naturally increases after each cross combo, food that boosts sync is completely useless.

ATK stat focus Hat, top, and accessory equip slots all boost ATK significantly. The focus is to get equips that boost the ATK stat, as without the puck, spamming as many regular attacks as possible is best for damage. Special attention is given to the partners, as they get a greater benefit from boosted ATK than Neku.

All of the equips that boost the puck in DS will boost sync rate in FR. As sync rate is useless due to ignoring fusions, the only sync equip that is used is Purple Sneaks. There is little else practical for the 4th equip slot, which could be footwear, uniform (which almost all are too expensive), or bottom (which typically doesn't boost ATK).

Easier start In DS, you start with ¥0. In FR, you start with ¥5000. In addition, one equip, Ribbon Bonnet, had its cost reduced from ¥3000 to ¥1800, and its BRV requirement reduced from 117 to 107. This allows Shiki to immediately equip the Ribbon Bonnet on W1D3 for +5 ATK. To our knowledge, no other equip costs have been changed.

Solo Remix for iOS/Android (SR)

To be perfectly honest, this is a dead category. For the dual screen purists, there is DS, and for the high-definition glory, there is FR, which is faster because of co-op mode. That leaves SR in an unattractive position, because SR is basically FR without co-op. Any strategies that apply to FR may apply to SR. However, the partner attacks at a much slower rate compared to co-op.

Japanese version?

The Japanese DS version has less text bubbles, so text is faster. However, certain equips are worse, which makes it slower overall. Stick to the English version. As for FR, it is unknown whether or not it's faster.

• Vanilla Soft Serve gives +1 BRV instead of +2. This delays Neku's Biker Jacket equip until W2D5.
• BRAVE+ gives +10 BRV instead of +20. This affects Beat the most, as he'll be crippled until D4.
• The Burst Rounds psych has an efficiency rating of 50% instead of 150%. As Burst Rounds is used from W2D3 onward, this drastically hinders Neku's damage output.
• The Daruma pin has a different name, Gemaga, and has a starting pin ATK of 32 instead of 50.
• Lv1 and Lv2 fusions cost 5 and 10 stars, instead of 4 and 8.

Equips

Too much information to be listed here. Please see the equip guide.

Daily Guide: Week 1 (Shiki)

Directions show the most direct path to advance the story.

D1: Scramble > Hachiko > 104

Everything is forced. In FR, it's possible to lightly activate Pyrokinesis to erase the frogs without rebooting the pin.

D2: Termpass > Hachiko > Bus Terminal > Hachiko

For Thunderbolt in DS, it has a programming error that results in half the shots missing. For Shockwave, it's possible to get 11 uses before reboot by pausing after the 8th use, then initiating another 3-hit combo. When examining the statue for the first time, immediately select "scout for more info" to skip dialogue.

D3: Concert > Dogenzaka > Shibukyu Main > Dogenzaka (cough drops) > Concert > Shibukyu Main > Dogenzaka > Concert

In FR, Ribbon Bonnet is cheaper and requires less BRV, so Shiki can wear it right away. The pig at Dogenzaka should be fought for food money at Ramen Don and Shibukyu Sunshine. The cough drops side quest is about a 30-second detour, but should be done to get the Lucky Star pin, which sells for ¥20000.

D4: 104 > Towa Records

Sell Lucky Star to shop at 104. Don't sell the ¥500 pins because there's a wall that needs them. If LVG is 1/3, the ¥1000 pin drop from the blue frog is 90%. You may fight the pig at 104 to level up and guarantee the drop.

D5: Tipsy Tose > AMX (CD) > Molco (via Tipsy Tose/Spain Hill) > Spain Hill

Equip Murasame when you get it, because there's a wall that needs it at Lv3. In FR, it will evolve at Lv4, so unequip it before that happens. Shopping at Molco before fighting the noise at Spain Hill is very important, as the Tigre Punks and D+B shops have some nice equips.

D6: Scramble > Center St. > Molco (via Scramble) > Scramble (via Spain Hill) > 104

Pay attention to the route, as you must backtrack. A 4-chain at Center St. should be done to get some Rare Metal (RM) for the Biker Jacket. 6 RM is required for 2 jackets. Make sure you speak to the wall reaper before leaving Center St. to allow the backtrack. When fighting at Scramble Crossing for the Red Skull mission, make sure to only select bird noise symbols for more RM.

D7: Scramble > Termpass

The 3-chain can be done at Scramble Crossing instead of Hachiko for more RM. In FR, it's faster to just fusion Cornix Canor to erase it instantly. In DS, Cornix will need to be defeated by Shiki using an air finisher. For the GM boss, make sure your LVG is at max, as this is the first threatening enemy that can give you a game over. Shiki's equips are lost after this day, so make sure to unequip the Biker Jacket from her before fighting the GM!

Daily Guide: Week 2 (Joshua)

D1: Scramble > Hachiko > 104

Everything is forced. You should be able to fully equip Joshua when he joins.

D2: Scramble > Molco (via Shibu Dept.)

Taboo noise take 75% less damage without the puck (in DS), or if the hit isn't a cross combo (in FR). You won't be fighting much taboo noise in the speedrun, but be aware of this. You don't have to win either Tin Pin game, so just suicide with a 1 yen pin, as it is lightweight and has no helping hand recovery.

D3: Scramble > Cat St. > Dogenzaka > A-East > Dogenzaka

The longest day. Neku should have 38 BRV by now, so equip Biker Jacket. Returning from WildKat, you'll encounter the first of 3 optional Reaper Beat fights. Reaper Beat (5000 HP) is extremely difficult so it's faster to just dodge him. If you don't have Natural Puppy pins, lower your level to 1-4 to get them while completing the wall mission at Cadoi. Buying just one piece of NP clothing is enough for the brand wall as long as the deck is completely NP.

D4: Scramble> Tipsy Tose > Molco (via Spain Hill) > Scramble (via Cadoi) > Tipsy Tose > Udagawa

You can do the 4-chain at Scramble Crossing with a D+B deck to guarantee that D+B is the #1 brand for the brand wall on D5. This is the final time you access Molco, so make sure you've bought everything you need from there. If you have the phone booth pictures, you can skip a dialogue with the Scramble Crossing reaper by selecting "Got an Alibi?". This is the only time you can access Udagawa Wild Boar until W3D5, so buy the San Francisco hats now if you need them.

D5: Scramble > Cat St. > Termpass

You may lose Tin Pin, but winning gives you Tin Pin Thrift. Get Extra Slot at 104 or Shibukyu Main Store after you've completed all the walls and are heading towards Terminal Underpass. Final time you access Shibukyu Main Store. The optional Taboo Rhino (3500 HP) is extremely difficult to defeat in under 20 seconds, so dodge it if you want.

D6: Scramble > Udagawa

You may skip all the distressed fights except the Sota one. It's faster to choose to help Sota. This is the final time you access Shibu-Q Heads until W3D5, so make sure you buy your BRAVE+ and Sparkling Silver (for King Pendant) if you haven't already!

D7: Scramble > Dogenzaka > Pork City

Use unbranded pins for Pork City. Joshua's equips will be lost after this day.

Daily Guide: Week 3 (Beat)

D1: Scramble > Terminal Underpass > 104

The two pig noise at Bus Terminal and Terminal Underpass are good to help Beat digest his BRAVE+, and they provide 2 Tektite, which helps toward getting the Goth Bondage Coat.

D2 (2 RNG): Scramble > A-East (via Dogenzaka) > Concert

This is the final time you access 104 and A-East, so this is when you buy Goth Bondage Coat and King Pendant in order to power up Beat's offensive ability to a ridiculous level. Random (RNG) reapers are activated once you visit Dogenzaka, so there will be no more detours in the run.

D3 (3 RNG): Scramble > Tipsy Tose > Attempt Spain Hill

Choose "I can't do this for him" to skip Reaper Creeper, which is slightly faster.

D4: Miyashita Underpass > Miyashita Park > Towa Records

You can't get random reapers on this day. Puzzle solutions are always the same:

• Puzzle #1: NW and SE symbols
• Puzzle #2: All large noise symbols (2 2-chains)
• Puzzle #3: Center and right symbols when Neku is positioned by the sign, then the symbol in front of the graffiti at the underpass.

D5 (5 RNG): Scramble > Udagawa

Final time to shop at Shibu-Q Heads and Udagawa Wild Boar. If you have spare RM, you can buy Beat's two other ATK stickers.

D6 (10 RNG): Scramble > Cat St. > Cadoi

Good luck with the random reapers! The Taboo Sho fight is the only one you can lose without a game over, so set your LVG to 1 to lose quickly.

D7 (4 RNG): Scramble > Termpass > Shibuya River

The random reapers end once you enter the Shibuya River. In FR, there's a chance that using a fusion on Tigris Cantus will fail. Neku needs 75 BRV to equip Pi-Face's Hat. Equip Lightning Rook when you get it because it makes the final two fights trivial. For the final fight in FR, the partner fusions activate by their respective solo activation commands. For DS, Shiki is left, Joshua is up, and Beat is right.

Luck

There are points in the game where bad luck will torpedo your run. Everything is salvageable, but if you're going for the WR, you may as well restart due to the time loss.

W1D2/W1D3: Metal Corehog/Garage Wolf: ¥500 drop There is a wall on W1D4 that requires 5 ¥500 pins. The game gives you 3 from story events. The other 2 you must get from Garage Wolves, or the W1D2 boss, Metal Corehog. The Garage Wolf has a 15% drop rate, and the Metal Corehog has a 20% drop rate. It's possible to level down on W1D3, but at level 1/3, the Garage Wolf still only has a 45% drop rate. Ideally, the 2 ¥500 pin drops are obtained before W1D4 so that the wall is cleared without having to chain any fights there. But there's still a chance that you don't get them despite fighting multiple Garage Wolves.

W1D6: Decadraven: Rare Metal drop A 4-chain on Center St. will let you fight at least 8 birds, and up to 12. The bird noise symbol can have 2 or 3 birds, while the other noise symbol has 2. The Decadraven has a 3% drop rate, so a 4-chain at level 1/7 makes the drop rate 72%. For 2 Biker Jackets, you need 6 Rare Metal. With the minimum 8 birds, there's only a 60% chance that you'll get 6 rare metal from the 4-chain. With 10 birds, there's an 88% chance.

W2D3/W2D5: Brand Walls: Natural Puppy/D+B Having either of these brands at the top of the trend list will make you skip the wall. Conversely, having either brand be the least popular will force you to fight an extra battle.

[DS] W3D4: Melodi Corehog: One Stroke Vast Wealth drop The fights at Miyashita Park allow you to upgrade OSMB to OSVW. OSVW is better in every way:

• Pin ATK: Mastered OSMB has 65; OSVW starts at 80 and will go up to 85 by the end of the game.
• Uses: OSMB has 3; OSVW has 6. Two OSVW allow constant shots to be fired.
• Reboot: OSMB's reboot time is 7 seconds; OSVW's is 6 seconds.

Unfortunately, you can only 2-chain these fights. At level 1/17, the chance of getting 1 OSVW out of the 4 Melodi Corehogs is 41%, while the chance of getting 2+ is 34%. That means there's a 23% chance of completely whiffing.

W3D2-D7: Random reapers Once the random reapers are activated by going to Dogenzaka on D2, there is about a 20% chance that every screen transition will have a random reaper fight, except on D4. There are 24 such transitions: 2 on D2 (entering the Concert Stage counts!), 3 on D3, 5 on D5, 10 on D6, and 4 on D7 (no random reapers in the Shibuya River, but you can still get one when entering it). Getting a total of 4 random reapers or less is considered a lucky run.

DS-specific strategy & maneuvers

As I'm primarily a DS runner, here are some general tips and tricks I've discovered:

Partners: Don't navigate the combo map, as it's slower than just spamming a direction. Always use ground panels over air panels, with two exceptions: when Shiki is attacking birds, and when Joshua when is able to levitate on D6 and D7. Beat's air panels have higher efficiency than his ground panels, but there is too much startup lag. Beat will automatically no-lag switch to his air panel when an enemy is airborne anyway.

• Shiki: Panels have 100% efficiency (EFF), which means every point of ATK will translate into a point of damage. Her ground/air finishers have 200%/400% EFF, though the air finisher will only work on birds. For her entire week, Shiki ends up dealing more damage than Neku, as she'll wear equips that Neku can't. With Biker Jacket, she'll peak at 37 ATK on D6. Neku can't wear Biker Jacket due to low BRV, so he ends up being more of a puck supporter.

• Joshua: The weakest fighting partner. His ground panels deal no damage at all! His ground finisher has only 100% EFF, and may splash once at 50% EFF. However, he finishes his combo map faster than Shiki or Beat, so the focus during his week is to pass the puck fast and often. This allows Neku to easily erase the noise with a high puck multiplier. He also has a tendency to get his Lv2 fusion faster than Shiki or Beat. Use levitate for all D6 and D7 fights.

• Beat: The strongest partner. Ground panels/finisher have 150%/300% EFF, and air panels/finisher have 200%/400% EFF. Increasing his ATK greatly benefits him, so he may be given ATK equips just like in FR. Puck passing is unreliable, especially against the bosses, as his combo map is the slowest. But that matters little when he can use his enormous ATK potential (up to 74 ATK on D3) to smash everything. He carries his week more than Shiki does hers.

Fusions: Fusions take 8 seconds to execute. The Lv1 fusion isn't strong enough to do much except clear the bats on W1D3 and W3D2. You'll deal more damage by just attacking. The Lv2 fusion is important when finishing a chained battle, as it will typically erase all noise. The Lv3 fusion is typically ignored because it requires 16 fusion stars. Note that when using a fusion on bosses that only appear on a single screen, the damage dealt is based on the ATK of that screen's character.

Instant fusion pin press: When a battle is about to begin, holding your stylus down on the fusion pin will activate it the moment the battle starts. This also works for the giant final fusion pin.

Puck starter: At the beginning of every battle, always pass the puck with Neku first, as all partners take a bit of time to finish the combo map. Open with Ice Blow or Ichimonji, then move Neku so that he is in a position to fire a Burst Rounds shot when the puck is passed back to him.

Results screen cancel: When the results screen shows up, hold the stylus while rapidly tapping any ABXY button to cancel the voice sample and exit. As this may be difficult for right-handed players, you may also just rapidly tap the stylus, though this may not be frame perfect. This won't work once the voice sample begins to play.

Shop exit cancel: When exiting, while the shopkeeper says goodbye, tap the screen once. This will eliminate the pause between the goodbye and the fadeout.

Tin Pin Slammer results cancel: You will play 3 games of Tin Pin Slammer. When the results screen shows up, you must immediately double-tap Exit to leave, otherwise there will be a bit of a pause before you're able to do it.

Phone menu access: Press Start on the overworld to enter the phone menu. For the main phone menu only, pressing Start will exit it. It won't work in the sub-menus.

Switch decks: In the pins sub-menu, press Select to switch decks.