Run Saber Speedrun Guide (Finished)

Following i would like to explain some basic stuff you should know when running this game.

Character:
For Speedrunning we use Allen (the male Run Saber). His Saber upgrade has a wider horizontal range than Sheena's (the female Run Saber). Also Allen's death animation is faster than Sheena's. This makes the Game easier and a little bit faster to beat (currently ~20 seconds compared to Sheena) due to faster killing bosses + setups.

Difficulty:
There are 3 different modes in Run Saber. Easy, Normal and Hard. The difference between them is the Enemy Movement Speed and the Power-Up drop rate. Additionally on Hard: The last boss keeps his heart open for a shorter period of time.
Easy	= more drops, slower enemies 
Normal = normal drops, normal enemies
Hard = less drops, faster enemies

Movement:
The controls can be a pain. But you will get used to it. Obviously its faster to run than to walk. Try to run as often as possible, even if it's only for a short amount of time. You can run by double tapping the direction on your directional pad. You can also "run" while attached to the ceiling!

Camera Control:
Making the camera move where it's supposed to is something that is not mentioned often. There are certain areas in the game, where you can't progress unless the camera is in the right position (as well as no enemies / projectiles on screen). You can manipulate the camera to a certain degree by moving and jumping.

Damage & Hitboxes:
Hitboxes can be weird. Viiman did a Stream with Hitboxes (VoD in the video section below). The gist is: Abuse the spin jump as much as possible, as it reduces your hitbox by a significant amount as well as damage enemies.
Damage in this game is easily explained:
Every Normal attack (short / long saber, dive kick, spin jump etc.) deals 1 DMG
Special Attacks deal 3 DMG BUT they take some time to cast (They also ignore invulnerability frames).
Try to avoid using the Special Attacks on normal enemies. Only use them when needed, or to kill bosses (Last Stage - Blue Dragon)

Invulnerability after getting hit + after dying:
After getting hit, you have a short time of invulnerability, so you might get hit right afterwards, if you are not used to it.
After dying you are invulnerable for a longer period of time, which you can abuse to run through obstacles. 
Also, if you die again, while still being invulnerable, you won't lose a life and be returned to a "safe" spot instead.

Edge Sliding:
Sliding (R or L) down edges is faster than walking. Also when you slide down an edge you won't grab for the wall. This is useful in Stage 3 since you fall down a tight passage where its easy to stick to a wall by accident.

Chaining Dive Kicks + Spin Attacks (Bouncing off Enemies):
At some parts of the Game its faster to jump off an enemy. You can Chain Jumps as long as there are enemies to jump on. This is useful in Stage 3 to pass the first spikes or in Stage 4 before the Kurtz fight. All you got to do is to hold the Jump button when jumping on an Enemy. You can Chain a Dive Kick into a Spin Attack and back to Dive Kick and so on and forth.

Short Jumps + High Jumps:
You can press the jump button or just tap it. If you press it fully, you will do a high jump. If you just tap button, you will do a short jump.
This is useful during the elevator section in the last stage, where you want to do short jumps to make the elevator go faster.

Enemy Spawns + Attack patterns (RNG):
Spawns are not random at all. They depend on your speed you enter an "spawn area", i.e. frame-based. Also there are fixed enemies which will always spawn on the same place. You'll see it for yourself if you do several runs. No big deal. Attack patterns depend on your position during fights at specific frames. This means some bosses (Kurtz) are completely random for RTA, while others are predictable and controllable (Orb Head, Knight, etc.).

Power-Ups:
The Drops are not random. Keep that in mind. But it depends on the Difficulty you are playing on (see "Difficulty" for more info).
These are the Power-Ups you can get:
Saber = Upgrades your Saber (there are only 2 forms defined as "short" and "long" saber)
Health = White gives 1 HP and Blue 2 HP
Special = The pink ball gives you 1 additional Special Attack
1UP = The drop with your face on it / you get a 1UP every 50.000 points as well

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Individual Level Info
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----- Stage 1: Taj Base -----

This Stage is pretty much straight forward. Try to avoid as many enemies as possible and rush to the first mini boss.

Mini Boss 1: Flamethrower Mutant   
HP: 10
Strategy: Try to lock him in his pod. All you have to do is stand 1 pillar away from him. Right to the edge so you barely reach him with your attacks. Its easier than you might think. Try to move to the right when he jumps high. You should kill him when he comes out (or before).

Move to the right and you will soon face the next mini boss.

Mini Boss 2: Blue / Pink Mermaid
HP Blue: 1
HP Pink: 5
The wall will spawn 4 Blue Mermaids. After 3 of those appeared or you killed them, the Pink one will spawn. You can just stand next to the wall and spin jump to kill the blue ones. Try to hit Pink Mermaid 2 times when she spawns and then instantly smash that special button. It's a safe and not too slow way to beat this boss. For the faster method just kill it using only the saber.

Final Boss: Beautiful (The Jet)
HP: 10
The Jet will spawn mutants in a set pattern. Mid, Back and Front. Then the main boss will spawn. Try to hit it as it is breaking out. Fastest way is to hit it 5 times off screen and then use the special attack. You can go full WR strat without using the Special and hope for a good pattern.


----- Stage 2: Tong City -----

Right at the beginning double tap right and sprint. You don't need to fight any enemies here. Fall down and move left. You might get sniped by the lone enemy in the lower area, so either spin attack or slash (with saber upgrade) to avoid that. When jumping down the left side and going to the right, you will come to a part where bolts block your path. If you are at 1 HP you can suicide on the second claw to abuse after death invulnerability and sprint through it until the boss.

Mini Boss 1: Red Orb Head
HP: 7
You can manipulate his flight pattern. This Boss is trial and error for a first run. After several runs you will get used to it. You can also watch this video to see how it is done: http://www.twitch.tv/viiman/v/38206508

After the Orb head move to the top right. On the way further right you will come to a point where you can't move on. Defeat all enemies on screen and prepare for the next Boss.

Mini Boss 2: Kurtz
HP: 12
THE TROLL! No seriously he trolls everyone and everything. He has a Flame Strike where he creates flame pillars in front of him. Also he throws Daggers and slashes people with his saber. Just try to avoid getting hit too often. His pattern is random until a manipulation is found.

After Kurtz there is a platforming section coming up. You need to climb up as fast as possible. You can skip moving all the way to the right by jumping to the fire platform above the lightning plate.

Mini Boss 3: Stone Wall
HP: 10
We use a setup to put us right in slash range. Then all you need to do is time your jumps with his attacks. He always will throw 3 rocks then wait for longer period of time to throw 3 rocks again.

After the Boss make your way up the ramp towards this stage's boss. You can pick up a Saber Upgrade on your way up, which is required for the fast kill on the last boss.

Final Boss: Shuri-Shumi (Statue)
HP: 20
Fastest way to kill her is to stand on her arm and slash her in the face. You need to get into a specific position to avoid getting hit by the laser. An alternate strategy is to bounce on her head using dive kicks until the laser almost reaches you, then spin jump through it and continue dive kicking.


----- Stage 3: Jod Valley -----

You start the level with a fight. Just use your special attack to kill the bird. The stage then goes downwards. Always right, left, right, left and so on and so forth. After the big fall there is a spike area. High jump into it and run through it. If you get lucky with the enemy spawn you can bounce off of him. After that you have to move left. You will meet the Dino enemy for the first time. Their Hitbox is weird, try to avoid them. You can slide through them, but it requires really precise timing. If you can't scroll a screen then there is probably an enemy! Try to kill all the bees to avoid getting stuck and to spawn the Mini Boss!

Mini Boss 1: Twin Snakes
HP: 5 each
Okay. So you have to fight 2 snakes that come out of the wall (one after the other). Try to get above them and dive kick from the ceiling down. DO NOT HOLD DOWN!  You need to bounce off of them! Rinse and repeat on both snakes and they are gone in no time.

Move on. Some more dinosaurs are coming up! Try to move around them. After a small fall you have to move right. After a set of dinosaurs there will be bees. Just fall down the tight passage and ignore the bees. HINT: Slide down the edge to not grab the wall.

Mini Boss 2: Lizard Man
HP: 12
He is easy. Duck underneath his slash attack. If he jumps just try to get one or two hits in. After he lands he will always use a Sonic Boom Slash. His pattern repeats afterwards. Additionally you can stand a little bit further away, to hit him multiple times while on the ground.

Boss: Skeltor
HP: 20
The hardest boss in game. Not really. Just stay under his head and Spin Attack him 20 times. (Hard Mode: You need to stand closer to his body to avoid getting hit by the flames)

----- Stage 4: Gray Fac -----

There aren't many enemies on your way. The big issue in this stage is that you can die instantly when falling into the lava. You can bypass the lava fountains by waiting for a split-second before rushing through it. After the first lava section you will have to do a small climb and move to the right.

Mini Boss 1: Knight
HP: 16
There is a manipulation for the fight. Viiman came up with it. Just watch the video to see how it works:
http://www.twitch.tv/viiman/v/42100894

After the fight you want to move to the left. Start as soon as you kill the Knight! Ignore the arrows! Hold left all the time and you avoid the bottom part of this area completely. Move to the far left and start to climb up again. After the climb you have to hang on the ceiling and move to the right. A little drop and 5 enemies are waiting for you.

Mini Boss 2: Kurtz
HP: 16
Like the first fight but this time he has more HP. Try your best. 

After the Kurtz fight you have to move to the right! Be careful to not fall down in the lava! If you died to Kurtz, you might want to get a saber upgrade from the next set of 3 enemies as well.

Boss: Jumbalaya
HP: 30
The first part is just walking right! You can't damage him when he is on all four! After a few seconds you will reach a higher area. Jumbalaya will stand up and you can start damaging him. After he walked 2 times right and left he will start to climb. Try to hang on the platforms left / right and slash him down.

----- Stage 5: Bruford's Lab -----

Last Stage. Move to the right and up. Slash the first enemy and slide into the group of 3! This is the first instance of the so-called drop duplication glitch, where you kill multiple enemies at the same time to get multiple drops. It's not required to do it.

Mini Boss 1: Blue Dragon
HP: 10
You should have enough HP to take a hit or two. Just hang on the ceiling and hit him 7 times! !!!!!!! Remember there are invulnerability frames!!!! Just slash him until he starts to vanish into one of the holes. Then use a special attack (ignores invulnerability frames)

Autoscroller HYPE! Try to position yourself at the ceiling after the Blue Dragon! You will get a short downward boost and start falling after the fight!

Mini Boss 2: Black Orb Head
HP: 10
You can lock this enemy in a pattern. Move to the right in the pit and slash him. Then jump after him on the way left slash him. Stay on the far left slash. Then back again. You get used to it.

After the fight you will take a ride on the elevators. Get on the right elevator and do short jumps to move the screen faster. You can skip the elevators on the first way down by waiting a second and then run for the gap in-between them. After the first down part it's going back up. Same as before. Short jump to move faster. Second elevator Skip is easier than the first one since the gap between them is wider. After that there is a small rotating platform section. Just jump through it and move on. After the big elevator there is a big room. Move to the middle and then down!

Mini Boss 3: Kurtz
HP: 18
Last time fighting this Troll. Give him your best shot.

After you defeated Kurtz you have to move right and up. On your way up you will get hit by some wheels. They can push you down so be careful. Then there is a long hallway with all Power-Ups. Grab what you need for the last fights.

Mini Boss 4: 3 Headed Tower
HP top: 10
HP mid: 5
HP bot: 10
First you have to defeat the middle head. Its easy to just slash him. Second is the top head. Be careful since this head moves around depending on your position. There is a golden spot in this fight where you won't get hit by anything. Its pretty close to him. Its when your character positions his front foot on the enemies' base. After the second head is down the last one starts shooting lasers. Just duck and slash him down.

Final Boss: Bruford
HP: 20
To defeat Bruford you have to slash his face and then damage his heart. The best strategy is the following: Position yourself next to the face - slash it and immediately dive kick diagonally onto his heart. The only troll thing in this fight are his arms and his spit since they can push you back. Re-position yourself and kick him dead.

GG! You've done it! You've beaten Run Saber - which is an achievement by itself to be honest.

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Videos
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Hitboxes and Speedrun Strats for every Level + Speedrun in 16:15

http://www.twitch.tv/crushduderun/v/12529794



Hitboxes + Boss HP with commentary by Viiman

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/41230654

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