Highest Point Lead is the "high score" category I'm trying to introduce into the series, as well as racing games in general. It could possibly even be in other games like Wave Race as well.

Highest Point Lead is when you subtract the 2nd place's overall score at the end of a Grand Prix from your score (most likely all 1sts).

Obviously, there is no place for it on Speedrun.com, so I'm wondering if it can have its own separate page, possibly on MarioKart64.com.

I have already put out threads for this challenge on the Super and 64 pages, but I would like to see this throughout the entire series and get expert opinions from everyone. In my mind, this could extend the games. I don't think most Grand Prixs will last that long to get the max points, but I sure do look forward to something like what can be done with the All Cup Tour from DD!

Tell me what you think.

I know that Mario Kart players, who have been inching Time Trial times down for decades, will soon be running out of times left. They want to keep playing their favorite games and experiencing their favorite tracks. I present to you an entirely new category throughout the entire series: Highest Point Lead. We are used to playing Grand Prix's and finishing first on every single race. Getting perfect 36s (and 45s in Super) is mundane at this point.

Here is the new challenge: count each score difference between you and 2nd place. Your PB is determined by your best point lead at the end of each Grand Prix on an individual basis. Finishing with 36 points and a 2nd place at 18 points, for example, isn't worth 36 points, it's worth 18. What we would do after is put all the best leads in each cup in each difficulty and put them all together to determine a player's total score.

It would be something like The-Elite.net, except where in that website, individual PBs would be counted into points to determine their overall worth, in this challenge (and the new leaderboards we would make for it, we would already measure it with points, so there would be no need for conversion.

This category would do to things: Make Grand Prix's much more relevant, and give players who have exhausted Time Trials something more to do.

Rules:

Changing buttons on Wii U and Switch is legal. Hacking/save states/other things are not.

In the first 3 Mario Kart games, which give the bottom four the opportunity to retry, pausing or placing 5th-8th would be the end of a run. This is to prevent abuse of Mario Kart 64's unlimited chances.

One player only. 2 Players could be used to greatly abuse or ease the game, and not everyone has access to a 2nd player.

I await feedback and appreciate you for reading to the end.

I know this is Speedrun.com, but I don't know anywhere else where this idea will get easy attention.

Super Mario Kart is already a premiere speed game, but it needs something more- a high score category. I present Highest Point Lead. Highest Point Lead is an Individual Grand Prix run of sorts where at the end of each Grand Prix, your score is determined by the difference between you and 2nd place. So having 45 points and having two other drivers tied with 21 would be a 24 point lead over 2nd place for example. You would take your best score of each individual Grand Prix (sort of like IL Time Trials) and add them all together to determine who has the most total points. There would also be a "best overall" like in the Time Trial leaderboards. Getting a lead of 27 or 30 points on the same cup on the same difficulty will only add 3 or 6 more points to the 24 you originally had before, not 27 or 30 more points. It's only your PB's we're comparing here obviously.

Unlike Time Trials, any official release of the game can be used. No emulators or unofficial console ports though. On Wii U and Switch, you can change the button configuration. As long as you aren't using cheats, save states, or rewind, the run counts.

Some general tips for Highest Point Lead: There is one "super racer" assigned as the rival for each driver as well as a distinct hierarchy thereafter. Study this and use items at the end of races (while coming in 1st) to manipulate positions obviously. The next best racer who places 2nd will take the place of being your main super racer rival, so factor that in.

DKR and the Crash racing games, as well as other racing series not even related to "cartoony arcade go-karting" could have something like this. It'll certainly be something for when the time trials run out of fuel.

Make it happen.

This game was originally on the Wii. There's no Wii category and the only available console is PS3. There should be the options for Wii and Wii U under the "Tales of Series" text. The Wii version has many differences and should be a unique category, especially because there are no runs at the time of writing.

Wrong. Bodies cost money, they don't allow you to skip many encounters (approximately half of the encounters in the first half of a trek from town to town) and less encounters means less money.

Another strategy: Getting the best motor and simply tapping the accelerate button to turn better.

Wrong- this is what Two Towns is: finishing the ENTIRE GAME only having two towns to teleport to.

What about games that currently have zero moderators (which exist)? If I try submitting a run to New Adventure Island, there is nobody to verify it. I'm wondering if you could put someone on, preferably me or someone heavily involved in TG-16 speedrunning.

I want to run this game and submit records. However, there are no moderators to verify my run. So can I be one?

So I did some playtesting on the new route ideas. Both were nothing special, if not outright unsuccessful.

The first one was two DarkTyrannomons in the first two Coliseums. Seems like a winning combination, having both Fire Blast and Horn Buster. Unfortunately, it's less than the sum of its parts. In the Raremon battle, you need to use the single attacks, making the fight slow. And if you use Fire Blasts, it's likely that you will use them first and get Confused. Not worth it.

The second experiment was entering Web Domain with only two Digimon and using Skateboards and a Toy Plane to capture both Kunemon and Syakomon and beat the boss. Theoretically possible, but most likely slower. The kind of thing that only works in a TAS. The battles DRAG with only two Digimon against a team of three. Against one, having only two isn't so bad, but three? You need to chip away at them bit by bit, especially if you need to finish off a specific one last. Plus other battles prior to the Captures are also slower. Not worth it.

By all means experiment and fail faster. Especially if you can't do runs that often, it's always good to try out plenty of different things. At least find out what it is you should prioritize in a team; that should help make things easier.

2020 was very successful for Digimon World 2 with the two new route guides, but it isn't quite good enough. The two routes create a split in the game, and the better route has a guide that is far more vague. In 2021, we should all collaborate on one definitive guide. This does not have to be MY route. It's EVERYONE's route. In addition, the guide should be even more thorough with Bit costs for everything, exact locations in shopping menus, amount of bits you should have at that exact point, triggers for progression with specific instructions, and even detailed battle strategies. Here are some of my initial ideas:

Combine the best parts of the two routes that currently exist.

-An early part of the game will have two DarkTyrannomons and a MetalGreymon for a multi-targeting attack and an Interrupt, as well as them being powerful

-Ending party would have multiple benefits, such as an Okuwamon, a Whamon, and an Andromon. Both the benefits of reducing enemies' Attack and Defense, plus healing

-Extra money gaining/saving techniques to get as many Upgrades for the Digi-Beetle as early as possible (such as the Turtle-BAT)

-Best enemies to grind on for both money and exp in each part (ClearAgumon and Piddomon in SCSI Domain where you get Yanmamon are great for example)

-Techniques to waste as little EP as possible especially in the early game, even finding cues to immediately tell where to go

-Possibly even cutting out major upgrades by the end if they are too expensive

These are just suggestions. It is a work in progress and anyone can feel free to contribute!

I've been playing the Japanese version following my own guide. It's working great. But there is a problem: it has softlocks. Just in case you want to get the cheaper Japanese version, keep this in mind. It's not unbeatable, but save often.

The softlocks have happened in the Main Gate and Gold Hawk HQ. The music still plays and the game still animates, but you can't move. And this is supposed to be in required cutscenes. You have no choice but to reset. The Japanese version was known to be slightly suboptimal but not deal-breaking before this (with the chest opening) but this solidifies the Japanese version as the less optimal game, and this is in a game that already has problems with forced resets through no fault of your own.

Anyone reading this now, some of these Things have Been Done. Much progress has been made to develop knowledge and strategies for the game. There are now TWO separate guides which give you thorough details from start to finish. And the runs these days are generally better, with two runs under 18 hours. In addition to that, I also have a six-part tutorial on the first hour of the game until you finish BIOS Domain with MetalGreymon using ZChaotix's Route.

Let's see what everyone else can do.

This thread is for various documentation of Digimon World 2 speedrunning in case any creator of a history documentary needs some facts researched. Be sure to put in any obscure fact you think is necessary.

Try to imagine Karl Jobst's voice reading this. Or ThaRixer or Summoning Salt or whoever your favorite commentator is.

Digimon World 2 was once considered "Nearly Humanly Impossible to Speedrun". The obvious reason would be due to its length. This is not entirely the case, given that longer runs, such as "Nemesis%" in Final Fantasy 10, were done regularly around this time. In addition to being very long, players are at the mercy of the game's brutal RNG. Floors are randomized and can either put you at the opposite end of a Floor Portal or right next to it, and when trying to Capture a Digimon, there is a chance of the one you want not even being in the Domain. There's also the fact that Items you shoot at Digimon can be rejected, and even when the biggest of three Hearts possible is hovering above a Digimon, there is still a not-so-slim 1-in-8 chance that they can refuse to join. Given the amount of Digimon you need to capture in a run with a fast route, this starts to add up, and problems caused by bad RNG can be very costly to outright run ending.

In addition to that, Digimon World 2 is very unrefined and unforgiving with its mechanics. Most RPGs at the time were refining their mechanics to be more inviting and less daunting. Digimon World 2 goes in the opposite direction, even bringing back Ineffective Attacks seen in some NES RPGs, where attacking a defeated enemy in the same turn results in your attacker missing and wasting an attack on nothing. In addition to that, Running Away is also quite the troublemaker. During each turn, your protagonist Akira has the option to just Give Orders to Digimon, Use either the Z Cannon (to attack enemies) or the ShooterGun (to benefit your Digimon) before Giving Orders, or Run Away. You only get one use of each per turn, and if you try and fail to Run Away (again, it's entirely up to luck), your Digimon will be defenseless against hits from the other team of Digimon before you get another chance on the next Turn. Obviously, enough failed Run Aways can put you in danger, deplete recovery items, and add minutes to the run.

One aspect of annoying mechanics is status effects, particularly being Confused. Being confused is awful, because when you are confused in Digimon World 2, your Digimon will always hit themselves or their allies. Unless you cure Confusion, it can last the entire fight, causing problems for you in addition to the onslaught of enemy attacks. I bring this up because one of the Digimon you are required to battle, three separate times in the game in fact, is Raremon, who will Counter Attack with Buffalo Breath, which Confuses whoever it hits. One battle with a Raremon is in the Coliseum, where the Z Cannon as well as curative items are not allowed, meaning you will most likely have to take a Buffalo Breath to the face or two, which is brutal. Confusion can be cured with Electro Thread and prevented entirely with an Interrupt, but these are aspects of the game that aren't intuitive without knowledge or trial and error.

Another thing that turns people off of Digimon World 2 is the amount of special items you need to destroy game-blocking barriers, some of which are invisible until you run into them or press X/O right next to them. You are given no indication of when one is about to come up, and even if you've played the game before, it's still annoying to have situational Missiles and BugZaps take up space in your already strictly limited inventory. Being short a Missile or two and having to take a much more roundabout route to Floor Portals tends to be a common occurrence in speedruns, due to the lack of routing research done on being prepared for this reviled mechanic. On some parts of File Island, the game's second half, Bugs that fall from the ceiling are impossible to avoid if you don't have the correct type of BugZap, which you need to just guess as it's random in each Domain attempt. Unless you want to sacrifice inventory space to carry several of each type of BugZap, you will just have to eat them. This is especially bad because one type of Bug is the ReturnBug, which randomly dumps 1-3 Digimon, permanently removing them for the remainder of the Domain. This has even happened in a WR run mentioned below. This aspect of the game is so hated, mods will remove it entirely.

There's also the problem of attack animations taking too long. This is obviously a major factor of why the game is so lengthy. Each attack is accompanied by several seconds of a Digimon standing there doing nothing, followed by an attack animation. This is excruciating to sit through in the early parts of the run, let alone later when battles will regularly consist of 3-on-3 matchups and attacks will regularly hit or heal all three Digimon on a team, with some moves even affecting all six. The upside is that this gives runners plenty of opportunities for breaks, but runners must still remember turns where they Ordered one of their Digimon to use an Interrupt attack. Runners can potentially get up to go get a drink during a long turn, only to come back to discover an idling menu asking them if they want to use an Interrupt attack on an enemy. You can technically take breaks during long turns, but you should probably still pay attention to when they're over so you don't add too much idle time to the run.

Speaking of things taking too long, much of Digimon World 2 is padded out with copious amounts of required grinding. This means you must do many of the slow battles to level up Digimon, and for some reason, the Digimon can't gain more than one level per battle, even if they have enough EXP for it. When this happens, you must do one more battle for the next level(s) to register. This is especially true when your team gains a new Rookie later in the game, and you need to do easy and safe enough battles to have your stronger Digimon carry the new one. This will happen a lot due to the fact that the game has an important feature called DNA Digivolution, essential for optimized runs. This is when you fuse together two equally powerful Digimon (such as two that are both at Level 22), sacrificing them both for a single Rookie inheriting the same moves, but reverting to Level 1 with stats to match. You will need to do a lot of grinding if you want things like the special Okuwamon who can use DuoScissorClaw and missile attacks, or a Whamon who can use Tidal Wave, Horn Buster, and Twig Tap, mentioned later below. This isn't a confusing mechanic, but it is something that can make large parts of the run quite a slog unless you figure out a way to weave it efficiently into other important Domain expeditions.

The first speedrunner brave enough to attempt Digimon World 2 was KHeartz back in 2014, with a time of 30:38:36. That's not a typo- Digimon World 2 really is that long. Make no mistake- this run was terrible. The most impressive thing about it is that it existed. Even KHeartz himself said the run could have been 10 hours shorter through fewer mistakes and resets alone. He did this as part of an effort to speedrun every Digimon game. He was active on 1 and 3, but only did this one run of 2. Still, two years would go by before someone else beat this time. ZChaotix was also running the game, and barely missed the WR.

In 2016, ZChaotix was the next to hold the WR with 24:29:36, cutting quite a few hours through better play, but with a route that was nothing to write home about. Later that year, AzureFlame4 began doing attempts on the game- one every weekend. While this was happening, SmartBall did one attempt and finished his run with a time of 22:14:13 shortly before Azure did, and Azure was only 90 seconds off. He never ran the game after that. SmartBall introduced a new routing innovation that's still used today- the Double Okuwamon. When an Okuwamon becomes Level 22, it will gain an attack called DuoScissorClaw, one of the most useful attacks in the run. DuoScissorClaw attacks all three enemies and reduces their defenses. Digimon's attributes can only be buffed or debuffed two times, so two Okuwamon can make enemies' defenses as low as they'll go in one turn. Much of the game is trivialized by the ability to use DuoScissorClaw with two Okuwamon.

One thing I haven't mentioned until now is one consequence of long runs- it's difficult to get one without a recording issue. Early speedruns of Digimon World 2 are split into multiple parts. SmartBall's first WR in the game is in one part, but has several recording errors with unnecessary time costs to fix. This is especially a problem given that one of the game's regulations is to finish runs in a single segment (more on that later). In 2017, SmartBall would finish another run, 20:09:33, this time a single segment run that also has no recording errors and was the first clean run of the game.

2018 is when players would start to get good at speedrunning Digimon World 2. ZChaotix got a new PB, 17:31:40, one with excellent gameplay, little to no idling in menus, and more efficient and thought-out weaving of progress, Captures, and grinding. In addition to the two Okuwamons, there was also a Whamon able to use Tidal Wave, which is similar to DuoScissorClaw, except that it lowers enemies' damage output instead of weakening their defense. It also inherited Horn Buster, MetalGreymon's useful Interrupt move, and Woodmon's Twig Tap, which drains enemy health equivalent to the amount of damage it did, very useful for Coliseum battles where items become unusable and there's no opportunity to heal in between battles unless you Leveled Up, which completely recovers the individual Digimon that leveled up. Speaking of Coliseum battles, some of them were done earlier in the game rather than all at the end to get good rewards earlier. This new route made the game a breeze compared to previous ones, and was much faster and more consistent. This run would remain the World Record for two years until SmartBall broke it again in 2020.

Speaking of routes, one major barrier to entry for Digimon World 2, besides not having enough time for it, is having enough resources to even know where to begin. Six years after the game had first been run, there were still no Guides. There were plenty of Digimon speedrunners with ambitions to run Digimon World 2, but no example to follow, given that each run of the game up to that point used a different route. That's when Princess Rescuer came in to meticulously copy each Domain, Shopping, Capture and Digivolution choice off of ZChaotix's PB and put it into a Guide. Shortly after, it had provably helped a new runner, The Wavy Commander. Although Wavy's run was segmented, and therefore did not qualify for the leaderboard, it followed the same route used in ZChaotix's WR very closely. It didn't do it as well as ZC, but the potential for copiable routes had been proven by that run.

In 2020, SmartBall introduced another innovation to Digimon World 2 speedruns- not just a new route, but the first ever proper grind of the game, where many attempts were done within one day of each other. SmartBall was trying out a new super-secret route, which he only had the opportunity to do runs months apart with before the grind. SmartBall was nearly about to quit and never attempt the game again before Landail streamed it and renewed interest. After several failed attempts making it a little further each time, it cut it very close with a 16:59:58. Not only was this a new WR, but it was also much less refined than ZChaotix's PB, proving that the potential for improvement was much greater. One late-game domain in this run even loses one of the Okuwamon to a ReturnBug, finishing the Domain with only one Okuwamon and a Piddomon, yet it was still much faster. The route was just that good, though still one that required a consistent grind to get. This also resulted in the first route written by a top runner of the game. ZChaotix's route is still an option though, as it's more consistent, something every runner of Digimon World 2 desperately needs, especially if they aren't planning on dedicating themselves to it. Still, there is much more to go with Digimon World 2, seeing as how every World Record has started with a different number of Hours and have all used different routes. It has only started getting optimized in the past couple of years and very few skips/glitches have been discovered in what is a very unrefined game that probably has a fair few more.

If anyone wants to post video tutorials, post them here. I have already made some getting into the first hour of the game, and they're also in Japanese in case anyone reads Japanese better than English or can't afford the English version/console. Video tutorials in little parts are needed because they are much more digestible and easier to skip around in than the long PB VODs. I'm going to stop for now, but I'm looking forward to feedback!

Done. Looking forward to your Guide.

“Digimon World 2 is a monster. A digital one.” -AzureFlame4

Digimon World 2 is a very intimidating game to speedrun, not just because it's long, but because it's complicated. This route is based on ZChaotix's WR run, which has stood for two years. It revolutionizes the game with a new team to finish the game with. Many of the strategies are unintuitive and require attention to detail that is quickly menued over or requires deep knowledge of the game. This guide should at least get new runners up to speed on the first few hours of the run, after which runners can follow ZChaotix's PB video roughly, or they can wait for me to finish this guide. I'm looking forward to your feedback.

I apologize for this guide not being the most thorough. You won't see every single price for items/upgrades or every single chance of recruiting Digimon. Doesn't really help though- if you follow the guide, you'll probably have enough money and knowing capture percentages doesn't really help you if it's all up to luck, so just know that ZChaotix, the creator of this route (which is still the WR as I type this in) chose favorable ones that should work most of the time as long as the biggest heart is floating over the Digimon's head.

This guide assumes you're already familiar with the mechanics of Digimon World 2 and know what I'm talking about. At the very least, you have as much knowledge of the game as someone who's read the manual. This guide is more about where to go to continue the game and which Digivolutions (and fusions) you should do and when you should do them, and less about the exact battle strategies, enemies, and point values. Digimon World 2 is very long, so I apologize if this guide isn't that thorough. Plus it's an underplayed game, and I intentionally left it vague (especially towards the end) to encourage individual creativity rather than following the guide exactly. Not to mention, Digimon World 2 is notoriously random, so you need to prepare for how the game will treat you differently on each attempt. That being said, this route is as consistent and fast as the game gets in what is still an early stage of speedrunning development for it.

This guide is mostly based on ZChaotix's route, but makes a few modifications. It is a guide made for people with enough free time to attempt the game multiple times in one sitting.

A Digimon World 2 run is about to begin! Use this guide to finish the game faster than the time it takes for a Numemon to take a bath!

General Tips

First off, naming things. In order to instantly name things, press Start and then X or Circle on OK.

Second, buying items. Items are often categorized in separate stores, so just remember what you have and count on the game to give lots of items to you for free whenever you seek treasure. It saves time to not have to run across the area to the other side to get the different types of items. Also, don't follow the guide too strictly on what to buy. There are items generally more valuable than others, but be encouraged to experiment with the different items and see which ones you get the most mileage out of. There's a slight chance that your item choices might look different!

Boot Domain

First battle- Run away.

Boss- First turn- Seadramon attacks Leomon, other two attack ToyAgumon.

Second turn- Seadramon attacks Leomon, other two attack Veedramon.

Battle won! Time for Mission Two.

Side with the Gold Hawks by entering their Headquarters twice, and you will get an Agumon.

Don’t go to SCSI Domain yet. Do some shopping first. Go to the Gold Hawk Headquarters first. Head to the right. Sell an MP-Driver for 150 Bits and both HP-Drivers for 100 Bits each and buy a CD-Player for 250 Bits. Don’t forget to transfer it from the Server to the Digi-Beetle.

It’s time to go to SCSI Domain! Finally!

Fire the CD-Player at Biyomon. That will be enough to bring Biyomon to a second heart, and the chance for catching him is pretty good. If the Biyomon doesn't take the CD-Player, or doesn't join you, you'll only need to do 10 minutes of game again after a reset. Biyomon is the strongest early Digimon you can collect, so if you’re going for gold, you might want to reset until you get a Biyomon. Recruit the Biyomon and don’t forget to put it in your Digi-Line so it can help you in battles.

Using both the Agumon and the Biyomon, battle any enemies you run into along the way. Collect as much treasure as you can if it's in the way- it's the early game and you need all the help you can get. If Agumon can defeat them in one hit, just Guard with Biyomon to save a few seconds. Also, be sure to pick up any treasure you find- you might not need it, but you might need to sell it for some extra Bits.

Battle Hagurumon. Nothing to worry about during this fight, though you may need to heal if Hagurumon targets one of your Digimon exclusively. No need to worry about losing though. You will LEVEL UP after this fight. This should go without saying, but unless you're rescuing someone, you should always Auto-Pilot because it's faster and risks nothing.

Before the next mission, buy another two CD-Players for 250 Bits each and transfer it to your Digi-Beetle. Go to the Garage on the left side of the Main Gate and buy a Crab-BAT2 for 500 Bits. If these aren't within your range of affordability, sell some treasure. Don't forget to transfer the two CD-Players to your Digi-Beetle and install the Crab-BAT2.

Now go to either Disk Domain or Video Domain. The halls get more maze-like here. Recruit a ToyAgumon. Don’t forget to put it in your Digi-Line. Make sure there is plenty of space between the Digi-Beetle and the ToyAgumon. Don’t Guard this time. You will LEVEL UP after this fight. You will be low on EP, so Auto-Pilot out of Disk/Video Domain.

Don’t go back in- instead go to the Digimon Center. Let’s begin trading Digimon. You will get a SnowAgumon. Don’t forget to put it in your Digi-Line. You should have a team of Agumon, Biyomon, and SnowAgumon.

Throughout your second expedition of Disk Domain, you will need to fight some enemies to level up. It’s also the early part of the game, so feel free to collect some treasure if you’re struggling.

At the end of Disk Domain, you will battle a Sukamon, a Numemon, and a DemiDevimon. Usually in Digimon World 2’s 3 on 3 bosses, you will only want to focus on one target at a time when using single-target attacks. Target the Sukamon first, then the DemiDevimon, then Numemon. You will LEVEL UP after this battle. When the battle is over, go up and rescue Angemon. Then auto-pilot out of the Disk Domain.

After you have exited the Disk Domain, go right back into it. You probably got those things for free from treasure chests. You won't need any MP items, especially when running away from enemies. You may need to bring one of them ever in most dungeon runs. If you're short on money, just sell whatever is useless.

Not done yet! Go to Meditation Dome and Angemon will give you 2000 free Bits. How nice of him!

Next, go to Video Domain. Collect treasure, but don’t bother with battles. The battle against Kokatorimon is 3-on-1. Beat him, LEVEL UP, and Auto-Pilot out of Video Domain.

Visit the Gold Hawk leader. Go to the Tamer’s Club and interact with Mark Shultz. Remember to go back in after he’s done and interact with him again. He gives you a Toy Plane which you can use in the next domain. Also, visit the Digimon Center and interact with Chris Conner who gives you a Toy Car. Very useful! Transfer 3 HP-Discs, an EP-Pack or two, and an HP-Driver or two into your Digi-Beetle.

Go to the BIOS Domain. You will get to the point where you get to use a Toy Plane on MetalGreymon, an Ultimate Digimon, far better than what you currently have. You only currently have Rookies. This is the first Domain to have Mines, which are usually in front of the exits of big rooms that hallways lead to. You won’t be able to dodge them, but use your HP Driver to get your Digi-Beetle’s HP back up to high after you run into a mine or a booby-trapped treasure chest. Avoid enemies along the way. Use the Toy Plane on MetalGreymon and use the Toy Car in case he rejects it (he likely won’t). If he rejects the Toy Plane and Car and doesn’t recruit, the run’s over.

You should be at least Level 7 when you battle MetalGreymon. Don’t forget to heal Digimon who are low on health. After recruiting MetalGreymon, don’t forget to replace Biyomon with him.

The boss of BIOS Domain are a Gabumon, Centarumon, and a Starmon. Don’t forget to heal outside of battle before this. On each turn, your MetalGreymon has the ability to Interrupt one attack. Use him to interrupt Starmon’s attack. With your two Agumons, attack the Gabumon. Once those two are down, take down the Centarumon.

And so, you can experience relief… for now. The run can continue and the next difficult part won’t be for a while.

Visit the Gold Hawk headquarters to hear about the crisis. Then go to the Tamer’s Club and follow Kim around.

It’s not Domain Time quite yet! Go to the Garage and buy a Turtle-BAT1 for 1000 Bits.

Make sure you have an MP-Disc, MP-Driver, Ep-Pack, and Toy Car. Don’t forget to install the Turtle-BAT. Upgrade to the Wolf EG-3 as well. Now, sell all of the non-Beetle Upgrade items you put in your Digi-Beetle mentioned in this paragraph. Put HP-Discs and HP-Drivers into your Digi-Beetle. Transfer your Biyomon to the Guard. Go into the Web Domain.

In the Web domain, you’ll need to run away from enemies this time and fight them a little. Also, use X or Circle to seek out Mines. You can dodge them this time. If things are going badly, Auto-Pilot and transfer items into your Server that you don’t want to use yet.

You’ll battle against a Gesomon, Kuwagamon, and an Octomon. Interrupt the Gesomon’s attacks while targeting the Octomon with your two Agumons. Only then can you finish off the Kuwagamon.

For the next domain, you will need the MissileGun. Buy it for 3000 Bits, install it on your Beetle, and buy some Mag-Missile1s for 300 Bits each. Don’t forget to transfer them into your Digi-Beetle.

Drive Domain is next. Use X or Circle to seek out Electro-Spores. They are typically in intersections in hallways. Run away from enemies. You may only need one Mag-Missile, but bring two just in case.

The boss is against a FlareRizamon, a Birdramon, and a Candlemon. Target the Birdramon first AND Interrupt his attacks. He has a powerful attack that hits all 3 of your Digimon, so he needs to go as soon as possible. Use the ShooterGun to heal at the beginning of turns if you even suspect your Digimon might not survive the next turn. Remember, multiple opponents can target the same Digimon, and Birdramon has an attack that hits all three. After that, target FlareRizamon, then Candlemon.

By this point, both Agumon and SnowAgumon are Level 11. Go to the Digimon Center and digivolve Agumon to Greymon and SnowAgumon to Frigimon.

Go to the Garage and buy a Crow Box for 3000 Bits. Install it on your Digi-Beetle. Make sure you have an EP-Pack in it as well. Make sure you have an EP-Pack, Parts Fix, Toy Car, and Dodo Box for 500 Bits. You don’t have to have those exact things, but it sure helps. Buy some more if you feel you need them.

Go to the Meditation Dome and ask Angemon about where you can chase Kim. Go to Modem Domain. Usually in corners against walls, there are mines, so go around them. You only need to fight a little. Just find teleporters and get treasure.

Now you’re going to battle Kim’s Digimon to get the parts back. Nope, never mind- we’re fighting a Saberdramon, a Greymon, and a ToyAgumon. Target the Saberdramon first, then ToyAgumon, then Greymon. It’s important that you use Frigimon’s Sub Zero Ice Punch, and have that particular attack as your first choice (which you can choose when you level him up, so be ready).

NOW you fight Kim. She has a Wizardmon, a Seadramon, and an Akatorimon. Target the Akatorimon first because that one has a multi-targeting attack. Then go for the Seadramon, then Wizardmon. Autopilot out once the battle is done. Go to the Device Dome. You’ve cornered Kim, and now she will give you the Parts back.

Don’t forget to upgrade your Beetle with the new Part that Techna-Donna gave you. Buy some Skateboards for 250 Bits each (total 2500) before the next Domain- at least ten. You can cut a couple out if you don't need that many. Head to Web Domain and catch a Woodmon. Be sure to defeat the Woodmon after the Vegimon when fighting it. You may want to save, because it’s a 7/8 chance of recruiting it. Auto-Pilot out, and don’t forget to replace Greymon with Woodmon so you have Frigimon, MetalGreymon, and Woodmon.

Go back into Web Domain. Get a Syakomon this time. It's found in a group represented by a different Digimon, so press Square to see which one is with the Syakomon. Switch your Digimon back to MetalGreymon, Greymon, and Frigimon, and go to the Coliseum to do the first three Ranks. These are easy fights, but remember to Interrupt Raremon in the fight where he is, and the confusion won’t work on you. When the Raremon battle is done, you can now go to Gold Hawk Headquarters. You get a free 2000 Bits from Vandar. Wow thanks!

Your next mission is to battle the Blood Knights, enemies with their own Digi-Beetles and Digimon, in the previous Domains. It’s not time for that, though- you need to capture more Digimon. Buy several more Skateboards from the Device Dome. Have at least ten, then go to the Disk Domain with MetalGreymon, Frigimon, and Woodmon. Find a Numemon, fire a bunch of Skateboards at it, and recruit it. Remember to interrupt Raremon’s attacks. Once the Numemon is recruited, autopilot out.

Now you’ll go to the Digimon Center to do some Fusions. Not yet! You trade the Numemon for a Megadramon. Stock up on some HP-Discs, HP-Drivers, and MagMissile2s, which are 600 Bits each. Your team should be MetalGreymon, Megadramon, and Woodmon. Go back to Video Domain, and make it to the Blood Knight at the end. You will fight a Raremon, a Devimon, and a Soulmon. Target the Devimon first, then use MetalGreymon and Megadramon to Interrupt Raremon and Soulmon. You may even want to Guard with Woodmon after that.

Transfer over some barrier-destroying and part-fixing items so you can use them in the Digi-Beetle. Go to the Device Dome and sell items you don’t want so you can buy many Digivices. Now DNA Digivolve both MetalGreymon and Woodmon to fuse them into Penguinmon. Don’t forget to put Megadramon, Penguinmon, and Greymon in your Digi-Line. Go to SCSI Domain and seek enemies to battle. You will win easily and level up the Penguinmon. Capture a Yanmamon by hitting it with a Digivice, driving to the other side, hitting it with another Digivice, and driving around to the other side until it has a full heart. Then battle it. Remember not to press X or Circle instead of Square.

The Blood Knight fight is against a DarkRizamon, Bakkemon, and a Deltamon. Be sure to have Megadramon, Greymon, and the recently captured Yanmamon out for this battle. You need Yanmamon and Greymon to level up, and Megadramon can carry them. Target Bakkemon first, then Deltamon, then DarkRizamon. Remember, if the fight is going badly, you have HP-Drivers that heal all three of your Digimon in one turn.

Go to Disk Domain once that battle is done, with Megadramon, Penguinmon, and Yanmamon. Seek out fights there. You will now fight Damien, the leader of the Blood Knights. Not yet! You have to battle Bertran first. Target Garurumon and Gabumon first, then Vegimon. Now you finally battle Damien! He has a Sukamon, a WaruMonzaemon, and a Nanimon. Target the P-Sukamon first, then the Nanimon, then the WaruMonzaemon.

After, go to the Gold Hawk Headquarters. They will tell you they need to find the Archive Ship. Then go to the Device Dome and interact with Piyotte. Here comes one of the worst parts of the game- you have to capture three specific types of Digimon for Piyotte- and you won’t even get to keep them.

Not yet! Go to the Meditation Dome, talk to Angemon, then Clockmon (to give him a Digivice) and then meditate with WereGarurumon. Then go to Angemon again. Now you can start capturing Digimon. Time to capture Digimon? Not yet! Go back to the Device Dome and see Kim again to find out about Ogremon. Then go back to Gold Hawk Headquarters and see Vandar again.

Buy four Cell Phones (300 Bits each) and don’t forget to put them in your Digi-Beetle. Make sure you have remaining Skateboards and Digivices (both 250 Bits each)- you’ll need them to save the more useful stuff. You won’t need DrillMissiles, but you will need MagMissiles, preferably MagMissile2s for 600 Bits each. If treasure and excess purchases are piling up, feel free to sell them. Digivolve your Penguinmon to an Ikkakumon. Put him in safekeeping.

For the next Domain, get out a team of Megadramon, Ikkakumon, and Yanmamon. Go to the Domain and capture a Kuwagamon. Autopilot and go to Drive Domain with Megadramon, Kuwagamon, and Yanmamon out. Shoot your Toy Boat and Cell Phones at Leomon, who’s trapped in Drill Blocks. Defeat Garurumon last, and recruit him. Don’t switch your team out with him, though. You will fight a Blood Knight with an Airdramon, a Garudamon, and a Yanmamon. Defeat Yanmamon first, then Airdramon, then Garudamon. Put Garurumon in safekeeping.

DNA Digivolve Megadramon and Yanmamon into Kunemon. Enter the BIOS Domain with a team of Kuwagamon, Ikkakumon, and Kunemon. Be sure to fight enemies to level up the Kunemon instead of running away from them. before the boss, switch to Kuwagamon, MagnaAngemon, and Kunemon. You’ll fight a Clockmon, a Tankmon, and a Drimogemon. Defeat Clockmon first, then Drimogemon, then Tankmon.

Keep the same team, and go to Web Domain. In this Domain, you will need to fight more normal enemies to level everyone up. Also, recruit a Tankmon after shooting enough Digivices at it. After that, you will battle another Blood Knight, with a Devidramon, a SkullGreymon, and a D-Tyrannomon. Defeat the Devidramon first, then the D-Tyrannomon, then the SkullGreymon. You may want to treasure hunt after this, you might get some good stuff! You have done very well!

Now it’s time for more Coliseum battles. Do one group of three, receive Bits from Gold Hawk HQ, and then go to the Device Dome to give back the Digimon you’ve tamed for research. Buy An HP ROM for your Digi-Beetle and Install it.

You might want to sell some things- the Pegasus EG-1 costs 20000 Bits. Twenty thousand! Don't forget to Install it on your Digi-Beetle.

Now you have to sell some more stuff an buy a Pegasus, a BugSweep and a MineSweep. They're very expensive! Don't forget to install them.

Even though you defeated all of those Blood Knights, there's more to do at Gold Hawk HQ! You find out from Lucky Luis that your rival Bertran and everyone's favorite baby girl Joy Joy are lost in the next domain and haven't returned! Even though Bertran's your rival, heroes help them. Buy some MagMissile2s and transfer some HP items and Parts Fixes to your Digi-Beetle. Make sure you have a Toy Plane as well- there's one last Digimon to capture in the coming Domain.

Put the two Kuwagamons and your Ikkakumon in your Digi-Line. You should have Digivolved the Kunemon (which one of the Kuwagamons will still be named) into Kuwagamon by now.

Now comes the next Domain, Modem Domain. Run away from enemies in this Domain and collect treasure. During this domain, collect a Drimogemon by firing a Toy Plane at a Centaurmon. You'll have to battle Bertran and Joy Joy, but they're easy. Next, you'll battle a Blood Knight, which is also easy.

Head back to Gold Hawk HQ and switch to your Kuwagamon-digivolved Kunemon, Ikkakumon, and MagnaAngemon. Visit the Device Dome and you will meet Ben Oldman there. Now you will enter DVD Domain, the shortest Domain in the game (shorter than Boot Domain) and battle Ben Oldman. He has a Centaurmon, a MetalMamemon, and a Meramon. This is at the end of a short and empty Domain, but is made up for by a brutally long and difficult battle. Just remember, MagnaAngemon and HP-Drivers can heal everyone. Use both in one turn if things are getting dire.

Go back to the Device Dome and you will meet Ben Oldman again. You will unlock new Domains. It's time for some more of those dastardly Blood Knights! Go to the Gold Hawk HQ first, then when Vandar is finished with his lengthy spiel, go to the Device Dome and buy some MagMissile3s for 900 Bits each. Upgrade to a MineSweep3 for 5000 Bits.

Go to the Code Domain next. Run away from enemies and collect treasure. The boss at the end is Cyclonemon, Deltamon, and Soulmon. Target Soulmon, then Deltamon, then Cyclonemon.

Not done yet! There's also Etemon, Cherrymon, and Ogremon. Attack Etemon first, then Cherrymon, then Ogremon.

When that's done, go to Gold Hawk HQ again. You'll be sent to the Device Dome. Go back to Gold Hawk HQ. You've unlocked File Island, but don't go there yet- there's still some Digivolving to do. Digivolve your Ikkakumon into a Whamon. Digivolve your Kuwagamon to an Okuwamon.

Go to the Digimon Center and trade your NiseDrimogemon for a MetalMamemon. Make sure you have a maximum of 2000 HP and EP. Don't forget to change your team to Okuwamon, Whamon, and MetalMamemon when going to Laser Domain. Run away from enemies and collect treasure. Don't forget to seek out traps with X or Circle, as there are more of them in Laser Domain than previous Domains. Do battle one group of three enemies before the boss for some EXP. Use MetalMamemon's Counter-Attack, which does more damage and targets all enemies. Also use Whamon's Twig Tap to drain the enemy's HP. Now you have a battle against an M-Kabuterimon, a Puppetmon, and a RedVegimon. Take out the M-Kabuterimon first, then Puppetmon, then RedVegimon.

After this battle, you will get the DuoScissorclaw attack. Be sure to put it as your top attack, and Darkside Attack as your second. You won't be using the other ones. Your Whamon will get Tidal Wave and Giga Blaster. Have Tidal Wave as the first attack and Giga Blaster as the second. There's one more boss- a battle against an F-Tyrannomon, an S-Mammothmon, and a Deltamon. Here is the first battle in the run where you will see the full capabilities of the two members of your final team: Okuwamon and Whamon. Okuwamon's DuoScissorclaw will reduce the defense of all enemies and Whamon's Tidal Wave will reduce the attack power of all enemies. Two uses of each, and the enemies' capabilities will be lowered as much as they can be, and they hit all three enemies hard in addition to lowering all three enemies' attack and defense to boot. They are the best attacks in the run to use in the first couple of turns, and it also means you won't have to think as hard about attack priority, at least for this battle.

Not done with Laser Domain yet! There is one more battle- this time against a Cyclonemon, a Vademon, and a Tuskmon, with no opportunity to recover HP or MP or change your Digi-Line. Feel free to use HP-Drivers a little more frequently.

After that, DNA Digivolve your unevolved Kuwagamon and MetalMamemon for a Kunemon. You may want to name the two Kunemons something different, such as "Aunemon" and "Bunemon" or something of the sort. Put the new Kunemon, the Whamon, and the Okuwamon in your Digi-Line.

Stock up on a "Toy" item (such as a Toy Tank) and DrillMissile3s before the next Domain. Buy a Bug Zapper and don't forget to install it. It's not time to go to File Island yet- you need to go to Modem Domain and fight some enemies to level up your Kunemon now that it has an Okuwamon and Whamon to carry it. You may want to save some time by making the Kunemon Guard.

Go back to the Gold Hawk HQ and meet with Vandar and Ben Oldman. Then go to the Meditation Dome and meet with Angemon. If Agumon comes in, you did it right. Go back to Modem Domain and battle some more enemies. Go to the Coliseum and interact with Leomon. Then go to the Digimon Center and visit Agumon. Then go to the Device Dome and Digivolve your Level 11 Kunemon to a Kuwagamon. Then go to the Device dome and meet with Ben Oldman. He will lead you to a room where you will launch and crash into File Island.

AT LAST, WE HAVE MADE IT TO FILE ISLAND!

You will meet a MasterTyrannomon who challenges you to a battle. Go to Power Domain and fight him with your Okuwamon, your Whamon, and your Kuwagamon. Before battling the MasterTyrannomon, you will need to do some battles to level up the Kuwagamon. Guard with Kuwagamon and Whamon, and use DuoScissorclaw with Okuwamon.

When battling the MasterTyrannomon, go all out with missile-based attacks and use Kuwagamon's Scissorclaw. You won't need to worry about healing.

Warp to File Island, go to File City, and meet the MasterTyrannomon that you just defeated in a fight. Then go to the Digi-Beetle Center and get the Super Hand and a Stork Box. Don't forget to install them.

Go to Port Domain and battle some more enemies to level up the Kuwagamon. You may even need some MagMissile4s. At the end of Port Domain, you battle a Meramon, a SkullMeramon, and a FlareRizamon. Use plenty of Tidal Wave and HP-Drivers while pelting them with attacks.

Before the next Domain, get Aero Tires and Laser Arm. Don't forget to install them. Go to Scan Domain and dodge enemies. You will want to fight a Cyclonemon, Deltamon, and Soulmon to level up the Kunemon. At the end, there are a Kiwimon, a Pumpkinmon, and a Woodmon. After that, visit Techna-Donna. You will get the Power Radar. Upgrade your Digi-Beetle to have Pegasus EG5, SharkBAT5, MineSweep4, and BugSweep2. Don't forget to install them.

Now for Giga Domain. Before entering Giga Domain, Digivolve your Level 21 Kuwagamon into an Okuwamon. The Whamon and two Okuwamons are capable of greatly reducing enemies' attack and defense in a couple of turns. This is the team you will be using for the rest of the game. Enjoy the easy street for a while more.

Go to the Coliseum and finish up some more Ranks. Bear in mind, you won't be able to heal or change your Digi-Line in between battles, so decide if you want Whamon or Angemon to accompany your two Okuwamons. Remember to get the money reward, stock up on HP-Drivers, MagMissile4s, and BitBugZaps, and go to the teleporter room and enter Diode Domain. Be sure to run away from enemies (unless you need some money) and collect treasure in this Domain. The best group of enemies to battle is the Cyclonemon, Deltamon, and Soulmon again.

After Diode Domain is over, go to Jijimon's House. After leaving, go back in again to find out that you need to defeat the three Chaos Generals. This unlocks them in the Domains.

Can't do that yet! There is a quake just before you can depart for the Domains. Go back to Jijimon's house. A girl named Esteena has appeared out of nowhere after the quake.

It's not time to go to Domains yet! Go to the Digi-Beetle Center and buy some MagMissile4s and DrillMissile4s. Upgrade to a MineSweep5 and a BugSweep3. Don't forget to install them. One more thing: go to the item shop and purchase some MechFixes. Remember to put them in your Digi-Beetle.

Now go to Mega Domain. Run away from and avoid battles while collecting treasure. When you're done, buy MagMissile4s, then go to Data Domain. Bertran awaits to challenge you, but it's not over after that. You still have to battle Joy Joy. But it's not over after that. You still have to battle Mark Shultz. But it's not over after that. You still have to battle Debbie. But it's not over after that. You still have to battle Chris Conner. But it's not over after that. You still have to battle ShogunGekomon. But it's not over after that. You still have to battle the group of Giromon, Chaos-Pierrotmon, and Andromon.

After that, you know what to do. Just keep buying ammo and fixes. Along with HP-Drivers.

Next is the Patch Domain, where you will battle Tuskmon, ChaosWarGreymon, and Scorpiomon.

Start the next Mission in Soft Domain. BTW, you should have all the Coliseum battles finished. At the end of the Soft Domain, battle Crimson again. After that, you're not finished. There's still ChaosLord. But first, you'll have to cross a sea of swamp. If you have the purple tires, only the red ones will hurt you, and they won't do much. Just make sure you have healing on hand.

Now you'll battle ChaosLord! He's easy. Don't worry about healing if you're at full health.

Go to Jijimon's house. Then go to the Gold Hawk HQ. After that, there will be new missions awaiting you in Bug Domain and RAM Domain- actually, there's a mistake- you don't have to do Bug Domain. Enter RAM Domain fully stocked for your next mission. You will battle a WaruMonzaemon, an Etemon, and a Garbagemon.

After that, get Damien arrested and let Esteena operate on Gaia. Go to ROM Domain and battle NeoCrimson. He's easy.

At last, you've reached the Kernel Zone! You're almost finished! Go to the Shuttle Station and go to the Core Tower. Rest easy, because the Core Tower is a breather. You've earned it. The boss is easy as well. After that is Chaos Tower. Chaos Tower is more challenging, but it's the final level of the game, meaning you can sell everything unnecessary, stock up on MagMissile5s and DrillMissile5s, stock up on the best HP-Drivers and a few MP-Drivers, and use them before your Digimon are even close to running out. The run's almost over, so you can go for broke.

This is a Thread where I will put the previous Routes that I have typed out. Expect this to get bigger as the game gets more optimized.

Now that there's a guide that gives you a clear path through the game, here's some tips on how to train.

First, be consistent. Consistently play the game, do individual runs of domains (especially ones with captures or learning new moves) and start new play throughs as often as you can if only to refresh yourself and get used to resetting in runs. In each new attempt, you should be more "prepared" and less idle. Watching every single run except for the current WR, the big problem in each of them is the amount of downtime they have- an hour or two for each of them practically. You should get it down to making selection before the camera is done spinning around to focusing on something. With captures, try to get it to before the camera reaches the Digimon you're trying to capture.

Also, if something isn't working, try doing something else. Start with minor tweaks before major route changes. You have many different Digimon as well as Digivolutions you can do in this game. Also try watching other runs to figure out what didn't work in theirs- if you skip around, you can learn so much from flawed runs, almost as much as you can learn from good ones.

I saw it. Good start, and good understanding of the run.

SmartBall has challenged me to do a faster run instead of being an armchair strategist. He followed me on Twitch but like you, I’m YT only. And I haven’t beaten the game yet! Your run will help me though.

When I have the time to run after lots of practice, I might be the first Japanese version player.

Before I didn’t run the game because I just didn’t like it that much. And I had plenty of other games to discover. The community is encouraging though. I’ve become a pariah among Turbografx runners for my anti-emulator stances. DW2 is a game many people want to run. It’s a ripe frontier of speed running.

Two Towns run on Final Lap Twin Complete! Can it be a category please?