Any% (English) Route Notes - Zewing

Secret of the Stars English Route - Zewing's Route

Pre-Run Notes: 

1. Set Animate = OFF | MSG SPD = 0 in first fight (Press B on each option) 

2. Before every boss fight, unequip everything, and then equip everything asap.  Notes next to Boss name / under will show otherwise

3. A '|' will denote a screen inside a cave / dungeonn / etc.  Example:  Room 1 directions | Room 2 directions | Room 3 directions

4. This game has an incredibly generous run rate

5. Repel only works during the run in very specific places

A. On the walk to Victory Bridge after getting the Win-Key from Morigan
B. In Ray and Tina's Kustera shrines
C. On Heart Island when retreiving the MetalSword and LightOrb

6. MP Underflow is generally only useful pre-upper continent

The premise of this route is to defeat Homncruse's Final Form without having to take an intentional death.  This is significant because there is no time to setup the equipment glitch in between both forms unless you defeat his first form with some characters having no weapons held.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Pot and Left dresser for 50G and Plum-Plum -> Talk to Mom
-Buy 1 Rat-Tail from Likado item shop (hit up once)
-Talk to David (bottom right house) -> Get Starcrest then use rat-tail after David talks to you
-Go fight Dr. Gari 

[Dr. Gari]

Attack

-Double Swap in Old Hill (move Kustera out of Shrine before swap) then go to Beegees 
-Fight Bad Men x3

[Bad Men x3] *Keep shoes on

Attack.  Bad Men can drop Dagger, immediately replace and trash the Knife

-You get a full party heal after recruiting Tina (Unequip everything)

SPECIAL NOTE: If you encounter 2 Wolf, defeat them as they yield 2 Tina Level ups, 50G, and Midsword drop (not likely)

-In cave -> follow through | Ladder on right | follow through
-Follow through till house, go right inside house
-Fight BadBad

[BadBad]

Auto

-Take chests 1, 5 and 7 (Dog Pill and 300G total) -> Take Stair Exit and talk to Church priest
-Moon-Drop in mayor’s pot next to the stairs (Left house)
-Follow through and fight Bingo and Leach (Heal up due to possibility of Bolt / Fire being cast)

[Bingo and Leach]

Attack, Leach is priority.  Cura-A 1 if you get poisoned.  Use Auto after Leach is defeated.

-Flee Old Hill -> Get Bun -> Talk to Morgan in Giant 2 times (pay 100G) -> Talk to Dynamite in lab (gives you Graviton)
-Fly by to Giant, Dresser behind stairs 2 spaces left for 200G, go fight Golan (Heal up)

[Golan]

Turn 1: Ray Guard, Tina Graviton

Auto

-Fly By to Decatas -> Exchange Plum-Plum for 500G -> Go vote (answer him 'yes' 2 times) -> Get ticket from Mayor south of Voting hall
-Get Loincloth from circus maze and Anglehat and Woodshoes on the rafters (skip Woodshoes if 2 Wolf fight earlier)

-Talk to priest -> Fly By to Giant and talk to Morigan for Key -> Flee then Fly by to Old Hill -> Repel on way to bridge and use Key
-Go to Sidon Forest and fight Sidon

SPECIAL NOTE: FORCE MP UNDERFLOW BEFORE STEPPING INTO SIDON FOREST

[Sidon] (Don't equip woodshoes or loincloth)

Attack, but Heal with Tina when Health < 35.  Do NOT end this fight with any character under Sleep status as they won't gain EXP

-Unequip Ray's Knife and Loincloth (put on Clthsuit) ; Unequip Tina's Steelcane
-Flee forest -> Go to Kaja-house (gives you 2000G) -> Go to Bonsley
-Go to Item Shop -> Buy 2 Calm-Herb
-Go to Armor shop -> Sell Knife, Loincloth, Steelcane, and Woodshoes -> Buy 3 Anglehats (Up 2 times)
-Go to Weapon shop -> Buy 1 Vulcangun
-Go to cave (exit town north)
-Follow each ladder en route to left except one w/ chest | -> Get powercane (LITERALLY CANT MISS IT), then Fight Garados

[Garados]

Re-Equip

Ray: Vulcangun, Clthsuit, Anglehat, Shoes
Tina: Powercane, Clthsuit, Anglehat, Shoes

Attack, but Heal when Health < 60.  Do NOT end the fight with any character under Sleep as that character won't gain any EXP.

NOTE: Have 2 Calm-Herbs here.  Should be plenty

-Get Cody and have Kaja de-gold him -> Exit shrine via left and Fly by to Old Hill -> Go to Shrine -> Name town
-Fly By to Decatas -> Middle house in poor district -> Buy Dynamite (100G) and blow up wall
-Get Leona in bottom left house (go "sleep" in bed) -> Unequip Leona's Weapon, Equip Anglehat on Cody and Leona

-Fly by to Old Hill -> Go to Box Town (enter from top right square)
-Buy gloves (very first item)
-Equip Gloves on Ray and unequip the rest of his items before you can fight Andy

[Andy]

Ray: Equip Vulcangun, Clthsuit, Anglehat, Shoes

Attack

-Flee Box Town (exit Tent first), then go to Sleepers
-Go to Bottom Left house and fight Arthur

[Arthur] *Only Unequip Ray and Tina's Weapons

Auto.  Don't end the fight if someone is put to Sleep.  Fight is between 3-4 turns if nothing goes wrong

-Flee Sleepers -> Talk to Arithree in Karappon to remove boulder -> Go to Codo
-Go to weapon shop and sell Gloves and Knife ; Buy 1 Broadsword and 1 Warhammer (Sword on Leona, Hammer on Cody in that order)
-Flee, then go to Lagoon, go into Left door of Coffee place, talk to Blue guy
-Talk to guy blocking entrace (Enter Lagoon, East -> South enter Lagoon to dispell illusion)

-Go to Brasca -> Go to well
-Hit first switch, go to first ladder on left, hit second switch, go left, hit 3rd switch and grab telepo, go to 2nd ladder on right

-Heal with Tina and Fight Dram

[Dram]

Turn 1: Attack with everyone except Leona, use Bolt. 

Auto rest of the fight

-Fly By to Old Hill -> Deposit Moon Drop, Ticket, and Telepo (Leftmost House) -> Talk to Dynamite (Rightmost house)
-Fight 1 battle en route to Goldnail (use Repel after fight) -> Get Goldnail and Fly By to Old Hill -> Talk to Dynamite, then swap to Kustera party

-Pick up Telepo from Storage, Telepo to Decatas and bribe the government office worker (max gold on Kustera after dialogue)
-Go to leftmost item shop and buy 3 Magicaleaf and 2 Telepo from top person
-Telepo to Brasca and sail east to Moreeyes
-First shop on right -> Buy 2 Battle-Ax, 1 Jumpsuit, 5 Sneakers, and 5 Gasmasks
-Remove David's Hardsuit and Andy's Lethsuit
-Telepo to Old Hill and deposit items -> Swap (MOVE KUSTERA 1 TILE RIGHT BEFORE DOING SO) and Equip items

Equips: Everyone gets gas masks and sneakers.  Ray gets Battle-Ax + Lethsuit, Tina gets Hardsuit, Cody gets Battle-Ax, Dan gets Jumpsuit

-Trash all excess equipment

-Fly by to Giant and Sail North to Edon (northern most), talk to Mayor (answer yes), then Flee town after exiting building
-Walk to Onsaka directly South (enter from West side) and fight Jubei in right door

[Jubei] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapons on

Turn 1: Attack with everyone except Leona, use Bolt. 

Auto rest of the fight.  If someone is asleep by Turn 10, do NOT damage Jubei until they wake up

-Fly by to Edon and get Red-Orb from Mayor
-Fly by to Old Hill -> sail South for Ray's Shrine (take Kustera panel heal to fix MP Underflow) -> fight Fire

[Fire]

Attack.  Heal if HP < 50

NOTE: At this point Cody should be using Fly By

-Exit Shrine and Fly by to Decatas -> sail south to Tina's shrine -> fight Mermaid

[Mermaid]

Attack.  Heal if HP < 60

-Fly by to BeeGee's and sail east (follow coast due South) to Cody's Shrine and Fight Winds

[Cold Wind and Hot Wind] *Keep Lethsuit on

Attack.  Take out Cold Wind first (cursor auto default to it)

-Fly by to Moreeyes and sail directly south and a few spaces to right (use Step) and fight Clay

[Clay] *Keep Lethsuit on

Attack

NOTE: At this point, Tina is your main healer and Cody is your main Fly By user.  Ray should only have to ever use Flee

-Exit Shrine and Fly by to Moreeyes -> Talk to Murray (answer yes, use flee outside Shrine) -> Sail North to Ghost Cave

-Skip very first ladder, then follow through till the end
-Get Moon Drop at end (2nd set of chests on left, bottom one), then fight Undead

[Undead] *Keep Dan's weapons on

Attack, Dan uses Bomb.  Heal if HP < 80

-Get Gold Moai and use Flee -> Fly by to Moreeyes -> Talk to Murray for Blue Orb
-Exit Shrine and Fly By to Bonzley and hug coast south, then go fight Clarken (bottom right tile to activate orbs)

[Clarken] *Keep Leona and Dan's Weapon on

Attack.  Leona uses Bolt, Dan Bomb's.  Heal if HP < 80

-Fly By to Decatas -> Use Inn -> Go downstairs in lab and use Rocket
-Status -> Sort (RAY, CODY, TINA, LEONA, DAN)
-Exit house and Flee -> Travel east (stick to top) then travel south going right and enter booth castle

-Left after 1st teleporter, then stick to left | Stick to right (pick up mirror) and fall of right edge for FireSword (equip on Cody asap)
-Repeat above, except take teleporter before 2nd floor's drop point | Very first teleport hidden underneath ceiling, head right to Booth

NOTE: If Ray's MP < 20 by Booth, force underflow

[Booth] *Keep Ray, Tina, Dan, and Leona's Weapon on

Mirror 1 Leona.  Burn Blade, Bolt 1, and Bomb.

Tina and Dan use Heal 2 in any instance needed, Tina if only 1 needed

-Unequip Ray's Battle-Ax and all armors, Fly By to Eleekes from 4F, sell weapons / armor, talk to professor for Niagaran, Flee then go to Dengers
-Buy 5 Bunny Suits and Equip them all 
-Heal at Inn and Flee
-Enter Amaboss, answer yes, go to bottom most floor (left side stairs going down)
-Left for switch, then get Moon-Drop en route out of tunnel (literally can't miss it)

-Take first stairs on left, then right door outside (follow through to Gara, always go to stairs leading up)

[Gara] *Keep Tina, Leona, and Dan's Weapon on

Mirror 1 Leona.  Burn Blade, Bolt 1, and Bomb.

Tina and Dana main healers, Ray may need to join as well.  Keep HP High, always heal with all 3 if need health

-Fly by to BeeGees -> Head east for Hidon -> Heal at Inn -> Head up Pass and touch funny switch / starcrests (hold A) -> Fly by to Decatas outside

-Fly East to Donto -> Talk to Kid in top right house (mirror top right drawer), and blue kid in top leftmost house

-Right Pit -> Top Teleporter -> Wrap around to right Pit -> North Pit -> Southwest Pit (grab Moon-Drop just past final Pit) -> 5 switches (middle last)
-Fly by to Old Hill -> Get vita-plum from girl in Lab on right -> Deposit quest items (aka non sellable) and moon drops
-Talk to Mayor (free heal if used heal a few times)
-Fly north COLINNEAR WITH BOATS and enter shrine

-Bottom right (get right chest and flee) -> Top left -> Follow through, then top left at first junction of stairs.  Take further stair in last room

[Godem] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapon on

Mirror 1 Leona and Tina Mirror's Dan.  Burn Blade and Leona Attack.

Tina and Dan main healers, Ray may need to join as well.  Vita-Plum quite possibly needed here

-Bottom right, top left, and top chests
-Flee, exit brisben via walking north, fly by to Codo -> Grab Moon-Drop in Southwest house's Eastmost pot -> Recruit Gonta (behind church secret entrance)
-Fly by to Old Hill -> Equip IceSword on Ray and Bestclaw on Leona, unequip everyone's non weapons and trash them (need room for metal equipment)
-Get into storage shack and swap (make sure to have vita-plum)
-Sail South to Ray's Shrine

-Use MagicalLeaf, go left + north at fork | North Stairs | South Stairs | South Stairs | Top Chest, Flee
-Go UP stairs -> Fly by to Decatas and sail south to Tina's shrine

-Go right through 5 forks (branching path at very beginning counts as one), then south last one |south then left | First chest, Flee
-Fly by to Beegees and sail east to Cody's Shrine

-Right stairs | South | Follow through 2 screens | Grab Moon-Drop in North chest, then go Left -> Top Chest, Flee
-Fly by Moreeyes, then head south

-First staircase | left | Right | Stay Right | Stay Left | Take First left fork you see -> Middle and Bottom Chest, Flee
-Fly by to Old Hill

-Talk to Gonto (north of item shack) and buy each item 5 passes (1, 2, 3 then repeat)
-Store the iums, mirror, moon drops, and metal items, then swap (don't block arithree)
-Take the iums, mirrors, and metal equipment only, then equip the metal equipment
-Flip UFO switch in shrine -> Move UFO closest to door and swap to Kustera after exiting ship (starcrest heal if necessary)

-Take left fork (break down 2 walls) -> Flee (move off Warp) and Swap -> right fork -> left gate, which leads to Bio Dram

[Bio Dram] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapon on

Attack, Ray and Tina Ice Slash.  Do not use Dan's Magic

-Swap -> right at fork -> break down wall and Flee (move down 1 space) -> Swap -> Take gate (don't break wall) -> north at fork pick up CureCane

[Bio Booth] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapon on

Leona Mirror 1, Ray Tina Ice Slash, Cody Mirrors Dan, Dan Mirror Ray

Cody and Dan are main healers, Cody w/ Curecane.

NOTE: Cure-B 1 cures Stop status, use from Leona's MP Pool

-Free Heal in ship and/or get vita plum
-Aqutallion enter -> break first wall and swap after going through gold door below
-Kustera center gate -> south at fork -> break wall and Flee (re-enter)
-Center gate -> right at fork -> break wall and flee (re-enter)
-Left gate -> break wall -> get out of way and Swap (will not use Kustera anymore) and follow through to Bio Gara (grab brkmoon from chest as well)

[Bio Gara] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapon on

Leona Mirror 1 + Equips Bestclaw, Ray Tina Ice Slash, Cody Attack, Dan Bomb 2

Cody Curecane and Dan as main healers.  Keep Health > 100

-Use starcrest heal (get vita plum if used) -> mirror en route to Bio Godem

[Bio Godem] *Keep Tina and Dan's Weapon on

Leona Mirror 1, Cody Attack, Ray Tina Ice Slash, Dan Regain 2

Regain 2 entire fight.  Should use 2 moon drops.

NOTE: Moon Drop on Dan as well when 18 < MP <  35 (UNLESS YOU HAVE A VITA-PLUM, THEN DO IT WHEN MP < 18 AND HAVE DAN USE VITA-PLUM)

-Regain 2 / Heal 2 everyone and go into crater
-Get mirror before going down 2nd ladder
-Run from Homncruse till defeated

-Repel and go to red fountain to get metalsword and orb -> Flee -> Park UFO in front of crater
-Equip MetalSword on Ray, IceSword on Cody, Unequip and Trash Leona's Beastclaw -> Take all moon drops plus get vita plum if needed (Deposit starcrest)
-Go fight Homncruse

[Homcruse] *Keep Tina's Weapon on and save vita-plum for 2nd form

SPECIAL NOTE: DO NOT EQUIP A WEAPON ON LEONA OR RAY, MAKE SURE CODY GETS ICESWORD AND DAN TAKES OFF HIS AS WELL

Turn 1 Ray Lightorb, Leona Mirror 1, Cody Tina Ice Slash, Dan Regain 2

Ray Fire 3, Cody and Tina Ice Slash, Leona Bolt 2, Dan Regain 2

Use Mtlsword (has heal 3) on anyone that's very low HP, Firesword when out of MP

NOTE: Moon Drop on Dan as well when 18 < MP < 35

[Homncruse Final Form]

Turn 1: Ray Vita-Plum (if low HP) else atk, Cody Equips Steelcane and Mirrors Dan, Tina Mirror Ray, Leona Mirror 1, Dan Regain 2.

Turn 2: Equip Metalswrd on Ray and IceSwrd on Leona

General Strategy -> Ray Attack, Cody uses Fireswrd as item / moon drops Dan whenever, Dan constantly regain 2's, Tina and Leona are now Ice Slash combo

NOTE: Moon Drop on Dan as well when 18 < MP <  35 (UNLESS YOU HAVE A VITA-PLUM, THEN DO IT WHEN MP < 18)
NOTE: Brkmoon is final resort, only use it after expending all moon drops

Game Data

Below are 2 walkthrough's, a gamefaqs forum, an rpg shrine, and a google document.

http://tartarus.rpgclassics.com/secretstars/

https://retromaggedon.com/index.php/tecmo-secret-of-the-stars-snes-walkthrough/

http://www.geocities.ws/dustydimondbball/Secret.txt

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/588647-tecmo-secret-of-the-stars/63681715

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rYf4DpLB6XRgO-peJD6U0KmfDMIfbHuEsHKOuStMepM/edit?pli=1#gid=1616871558

Game Mechanics

1. Text and Animations

This game has an in battle option to allow you to control the text speed and whether animations play or not under the 'SET' battle menu.  This is an absolute must for speedruns as each turn goes by insanely fast.

The only downside is the text is going so fast you have to kinda take hints about what your opponent has done before your turn comes back.  For instance, if bomb was used against you, all of your characters will suffer damage and you have very little time to acknowledge this before the game gives you control again.

Some minor key words to look for are "Sharp Hit" and "Critical Hit."  Both mean the same thing, however contextually, Sharp Hits means one of your characters scored the stronger hit whereas Critical Hit means you suffered a stronger hit.

As for text dialogue outside of battle, the fastest way to advance the text is to hold the A button down.  However, you must press the A button to advance to the next part of dialogue once a dialogue box gets filled.  So it's a repetition of holding A and repressing A to hold it down.  In addition, some dialogue boxes in this game allow you to just hold A to advance without having to repress, notable examples are when the first Homncruse generals cutscene occurs, as well as the 4 Starcrests inside the Misty Pass lab in Hidon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Auto Battle

Auto is a command found in the battle menu that lets the game choose what to do automatically.  This is ideal for grinding and when no magic needs to be used in fights with more than 1 character in your party as the commands are selected very fast.  The only downside to this is you don't have control over what gets used, but for the most part the AI just attacks and heals when it feels necessary.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Magic

Magic in this game does a set amount of damage between a range of values.  In addition, certain armor and enemies yield magical resistance to certain spells.

A final thing to mention is there are 2 kinds of magic, which is Magic and Creation Magic.

Magic is any spell that your own party is capable of using and is classified in a group of spells that can be bounced back using the spell "Mirror 1," or using the Mirror item.

Creation Magic is any spell that is unique to enemies that your own party does not have any access to, such as "Breathe Fire" and "Create Bolt," and can have their damage reduced using "Mirror 2/3," or using the Barrier item.  This magic cannot be reflected.

Both types of Magic do a set damage within a range and cannot cause a Sharp Hit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Unity Magic

Having 2 characters of the rank Banalet or Aqutallion allows you to perform Unity Magic.  The most common example of this is the Slash Unity Magic.

Ice Sword, Fire Sword, and Bolt Sword can be combined with their respectively level 1 Magic spell to create Slash Unity Magic.  This is the highest damage output that can be performed as the attack strengh of the character using the sword is applied as well as the possibility of a Sharp Hit still being possible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Special Effects on Weapons

Some weapons come with additional features.  Hit%, Crit%, and Sharp Hit to one enemy are the most common.  

A. Hit% most likely refers to the chance of hitting enemies with high Evasion like Ghosts or Spectres

B. Crit% refers to the chance of an attack hitting for more damage, i.e a sharp hit.

C. Sharp Hit refers to the possibility of guaranteeing a Sharp Hit against an enemy in a certain group.  Ray's Metal Sword being used vs. Homncruse is the most obvious example of a weapon with a Sharp Hit feature.

Outside of these 3, some weapons can be used as items in battle to cast spells.  FireSword, IceSword, and BoltSword, for instance, cast Fire 2, Freeze 2, and Bolt 2, respectively, when still in your inventory and used as an Item during battle as many times as you want.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Speed

On the surface, speed does exactly what you think any speed stat should do, which is let you move before your opponent.  However, that's not really the case in this game as the only time Speed seems to do what it's suppose to do is on the very first turn.  After that, the order of who should be attacking based on speed changes, with even your fastest characters (like Leona) not being able to move until last.  Needless to say, speed isn't a very important stat.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Leveling up

Upon each level up, the stats gained are given from a small range.  That means that over the course of an entire run, it's quite possible Ray's own Attack can vary by up to double digit points in just one stat.  While no control over this aspect of the game, it does yield some small time save for getting max stat gains against some early game fights in English.  For Glitchless and Japanese, this stat spread won't mean much as Spells would dominate how fights would go for the most part.

One minor note about experience, but the only way you can gain experience is if the character in the party at the time of the final blow is neither dead nor under Sleep status.  Experience does not get broken up and divided evenly, whatever number the game says you gained is gained by everyone with the above exception.  This is different as in other RPG's, the less characters the net experience, the more the surviving members gain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Searching objects

This game allows you to search spots in buildings for hidden treasure.  Most of the time it's just small healing items or Gold, but as the run progresses you'll start to find items not possible to buy, such as Moon-Drops and Mirrors, extremely vital to a run.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.  Random Encounters

The random encounter rate in this game is ridiculous.  The best way to describe it is you could have a very lengthy stretch of no encounter, but the moment you least expect it you get hit with 5 encounters within 8 steps.  This can and will probably happen at some point during runs.

Random encounters yield the following: Gold, Experience, and a very small chance of an item drop.

As a small saving grace to the encounter rate, the escape rate in this game is extremely generous.  Even with a max party of level 5's, you can expect to escape even the final enemy encounter most of the time.  Unless you are doing Glitchless or Japanese runs, run from all encounters unless specified.

It should also be noted that this game has a spell called "Repel," however its function isn't to lower the encounter rate, but to completely eradicate the encounter rate of monsters at a much lower strength than you.  It's not known what the game's criteria for this is, but it can be assumed that something along the lines of "Strength of Party."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.  Boss Fights

These fights are required to progress the story.  They have much higher health and defense than most enemies, have an infinite amount of Magic (if they can use magic), and are the only fights in the game that do not grant you Gold.

Most Bosses also have an immunity to any spell that tries to Mute, Stop, Sleep, Daze, and Death (Vanish).  There are a few fights where a Boss can be hit with Mute, which are Sidon and Arthur (could be more but these are only ones someone's confirmed).  The major downside to this is that, even though they can be Muted, they are only unable to cast spells from their Magic Pool.  Their Creation Magic, however, requires no MP at all and can be cast on a whim.  It's been documented that being under Mute leads to a much higher frequency of Creation Magic usage.

Glitches

1. Equipment Glitch

Whenever you enter a battle with nothing equipped on any of the 4 Equipment slots and you then re-equip something during battle, you seem to get a significant increase in stat gained from said equipment.  Without this, you could not defeat Dr. Gari (as demonstrated blow) at level 1, nor could you beat the game without grinding.   This glitch is exclusive to the English version of the game.

One very important thing to know about this glitch is that the stat gain produced is grouped in the same category as using magic such as Tina's Fast or Cody's Power.  That means when Homncruse casts Land 3, all stat buffs, including those gained through this glitch, are wiped from battle, leaving you with only the stats the equipment naturally grants.

Per Landmine36, the following gets applied during the buff:

Weapons: +28 Attack, +25 Speed
Armor: +28 Defense, +25 Speed
Head: +28 Defense, +25 Speed
Feet: +28 Defense, +25 Speed

https://youtu.be/dSYSa0shFis

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. MP Glitch

Whenever you try to use a spell in the overworld and the cost of the spell is greater than what you currently have, pressing (or holding) left while trying to active the spell will allow you to use it.  This in turn underflows your MP to a very high value.  While under the effects of this glitch, you can only use spells that are level 1, both inside and outside of battle.

This glitch can only be activated while in the overworld.  Trying to activate it in battle will allow you to try and use the spell, but the game will instead have you waste a turn and tell you that you don't have enough magic to use the spell.  Using a starcrest, inn, moon-drop, or ranking up to Banalet will cause your MP to go to your max MP value.

This glitch is capable of being performed in both the English and Japanese version of the game.

https://youtu.be/8bGAsHRoBeU
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.  Kustera Money Glitch

This glitch is a bit harder to explain and it's not 100% known all the ways to do the glitch, but for speedrun purposes what we do works all the time.

There is a person inside Decatas' Government building that, if you talk to them with the Kustera party, will allow you to bribe him to remove the guards stationed at the town's entrance.  He asks for 1000G, but his transaction does not work in the English version of the game as intended as the cost to bribe him is based on the last instance of gold in either party changing.

To put it simply, the easier and most well known sequence of events required to activate this glitch is as follows:

1. Fight one random battle outside of Old Hill and win
2. Bribe the man in Decatas without getting any more gold than the random battle you won
3. You now have the maximum amount of gold that can possibly be carried in the Kustera Party

As stated above, this glitch is exclusive to the English version of the game.

https://youtu.be/P7ts5EUYEFs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Unity Magic Glitched Combinations

Rather tricky to explain but the general idea is Slot 1 is the spell user while Slot 2 an unarmed character.  Due to being unarmed, any of the elemental blade unities would be far weaker than the normal method, whereas certain magic unities might end up saving either MP or able to be done much sooner than usual (see devastate combos). More information can be found at this post:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/588647-tecmo-secret-of-the-stars/79115765

Fire 1 + Hit = Fire Storm
Freeze 1 + Hit = Ice Fire
Storm 1 + Hit = Fire Storm
Bolt 1 + Hit = Bolt Break
Repel + Hit = No Call
Step + Hit = No Call
Ant Pwr + Hit = Twin Less
Ant Spl + Hit = Twin Less
Freeze 2 + Hit = Ice Storm
Storm 2 + Hit = Ice Storm
Bolt 2 + Hit = [Single Target] Bolt Storm
Fire 3 + Hit + Hit + Hit = Devastate
Freeze 3 + Hit + Hit + Hit = Devastate
Storm 3 + Hit + Hit + Hit = Devastate
Bolt 3 + Hit + Hit + Hit = Devastate
Fire Sword + Hit = Burn Blade
Ice Sword + Hit = Ice Slash
Bolt Sword + Hit = Bolt Break

Maps

VGMaps, which is ripped directly from the game.  

http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/SuperNES/index.htm#SecretOfTheStars

Name	Author
Any% (English) Route Notes - Zewing	zewing 5 years ago
Game Data	zewing 10 months ago
Game Mechanics	zewing 10 months ago
Glitches	zewing 10 months ago
Maps	zewing 5 years ago