This is a link to my all cups EK run for archival purposes. The regular cups are finished in 39:33 so I guess that's my actual best time on video for this category

This is a link to my 39:38 run. The twitch link didn't work for a long time so I uploaded it for archives purposes here:

That looked surprisingly easy! Might give this one a shot now for a single segment run later.

I have made a TAS for Talon's Reach on Phantom with Piranha on XL (NTSC version). It is still improvable but shows of the fastest strat (I know of) pretty well. I am planning to do more of these in the future. Looking for some feedback as well.

Agreed on the points above although as this game doesn't have many runners having different ship categories for all the tracks may lead to very few runs on those other than Piranha.

Question I have is at least have different categories for XL (NTSC version) and 2097 (PAL version). The times are not convertible since they have different mechanics.

New TAS with better route in 29:19 in game time. This is really as fast as I know how to go. Enjoy!

I have been trying quite a lot on N64 but I just can't seem to do it.

However, on PS1 it's a piece of cake! That version is awesome because you can easily lava roll over any coals. In Gateway just take the right route and lava roll across. Surprisingly easy to do. You just have to hold the crouch button as the roll is going on to avoid any damage.

However, a new hurdle popped up on PS1. You can't get on top of the Engine in Engine block! The bloodshot enemy just will not follow you to the engine room. He'll get to the first door and turn around every time. He can't walk through a closed door (like on N64) either. The room with the Engine is build quite differently as well. If anything, the engine is closer so the jump is easier to make. A normal jump at full speed just barely doesn't reach. If it is somehow possible to make it on PS1 that version would be easily the fastest by several minutes. I'm quite convinced the most important trick of all is impossible.

PS1 version would be easily the fastest for the 95 souls route. With the lava roll you can do many crazy routes through the game with less backtracking. It's pity because the entire 15 souls route is so easy on PS1 you can get to Engine Block every time in a single segment speedrun just not to the boss.

I think it's unlikely to be possible but if it can somehow be done to get to the top part of Asylum Gateway early (without the Marcher Gad (walk on coals)) the any%/TAS route could drastically change and several minutes can be saved.

The top part has 5 quick dark souls for grabs. This means that all 12 Gateway dark souls can be gotten immediately + 3 Marrow Gates = 15. This means the entire Wasteland level could be skipped!

There are a few possible places I have tried and failed.

1. Pipe section with moving platforms. The walkway above it is just out of reach. There is a pipe high up you can just barely not reach the top of. If you somehow can, that's it.

2. Closed door close to Engineer Key. This door can only be opened from the other side with the Engineer Key. There is some small room on the sides of the door frame. I have tried to glitch through but failed. Perhaps and enemy can help but it's tough.

3. Boxes with dark soul on top. There are some boxes with a dark soul on top. There is some small room on the side of them. If you can get on top that's it.

Very unlikely it can be done but would be an amazing sequence break that saves a lot of time.

I am planning a new TAS run to aim for a sub 30 minute time. If there are any suggestions let me know.

I plan to use a different route where I get the Marrow Gates Dark Soul atop the bloodfall in the very beginning with some out of bounds tricks and 1 more dark soul in Asylum Gateway to replace Dark Souls 4 and 5 from the previous TAS as they are too far out of the way.

I have finished making a Tool-Assisted speedrun for the game :). I clocked a total time 31 minutes and 16 seconds (starting from loading a new file to when Legion dies). For some reason loading screens are a bit longer on emulator so on a real n64 it should be sub 31 minutes.

The emulator movie file .bk2 https://drive.google.com/open?id=1f8n50tg2jZLFjVsOkWnlI4ZlBWDjWSi6 . This plays the TAS back in the Bizhawk emulator.

Anyway enjoy!

It's amazing for this game. I did all the time attack runs with a NeGcon but did them on the PAL version not knowing that version is slower. I might redo them on NTSC someday. All the PS1 Ridge Racer and Wipeout games play way better with one.

Yes, the max Arm Cannon capacity on PAL easy mode is 1 so when you still have one after a stage it says Arm Cannon x 0.

I disagree with your standpoint on the difficulties. Right now you are excluding the USA and EUR versions from competition. The difficulties don't match up at all to the Japanese version. Only version I have ever played is PAL version as I am located in Europe. Not sure if there is a difference with USA but if you can have 2 shots on that one on Easy than PAL version would be the hardest one yes.

So I made a topic about this months ago. I did my run on the European version and noticed some differences with the easy runs submitted on the site on the Japanese version.

On the PAL version there is no way to have 2 shots and multiple healing items at the same time. Whenever I play on Easy mode 1 shot is the maximum I never get any new ones if I already have one. I am playing the European version, a new game without a memory card. Also the damage on bosses is way less than on the Japanese version, also when they are not defending.

I'm not sure if USA and PAL are the same in difficulty but from your guide it seems that way. In that case my run is actually on Normal mode right as it is displayed on the site. PAL version is 60Hz so no speed difference that I can tell at least. I guess my suggestion is that "Easy" runs on USA and PAL should be ranked under Normal on the site so it's the same difficulty for all versions.

Yeah posted it and feel free to post comments or updates to it. I made the update to my original guide after finding youtube videos about a fast Legion killing glitch and rolling over Lava without any gads (without dying). I have never been able to replicate these tricks on the N64 version so there may be version differences.

Also for sure there are version differences because some glitches only work on one version and not another so my guide is for the N64 version.

Years ago I wrote this guide on SDA when I was planning out my speedrun of the game in hope to get a discussion going about the route. I got zero replies there but it should still be pretty up to date. I have watched the new improvements so should only be some minor differences.

95 souls route (update 2014-01-19)

Louisiana Go to deadside

Marrow Gates Get dark soul up bloodfall right away (1) for shadow level 1 Take shortcut through Marrow Gates to prophecy chamber warppoint Get dark soul in prophecy chamber by grabbing ledge on left to avoid walking around the whole room (2)

Wasteland Activate rope and jump on bloodfall Get the all 3 dark souls in area with the windmill (5) and shadow level 2 Take rope and glitch up the opposite bloodfall Take dark soul in tent and get asson (6) Take dark soul in cave (7) for shadow level 3 Activate temple of life warp and activate rope for dark soul (8) Backtrack to tent and jump over lava for dark soul (9) Get dark soul in tent on platform (10) Warp to Prophecy Chamber

Paths of Shadow Collect l’eclipser La Lune Go to Temple of Fire

Temple of Fire Activate all switches and get dark soul in one of the rooms (11) Pixel perfect glitch jump to 2 dark souls on pyramid (13) Dark soul on top of pyramid (14) Get Toucher gad Get 2 dark souls from gad room (16) and shadow level 4 Backtrack to get poigne and a dark soul (17) Use poigne on bloodfall in entry room for a dark soul (18) Go to Asylum Gateway

Asylum Gateway Take left route for 4 dark souls and warp to entrance (22) Take right route for 1 dark soul (23) for shadow level 5 and get engineers key Get 1 more dark soul near trolley and take trolley to cathedral of pain (24)

Cathedral of Pain Activate warp and jump over fence near trolley to get dark soul (25) Warp back to Gateway

Asylum Gateway Use engineers key on entrance and get dark soul in right hallway (26) Warp to prophecy chamber

Prophecy Chamber Backtack into Marrow gates to get dark soul up bloodfall (27) Get dark soul behind fire block (28) Go to Cageways

Cageways Jump on wall to get out avoid using rope at start of area before train Go into small building for a dark soul and get on train (29) Go into sliding door on the right and get a dark soul (30) In first big room activate switch for cages and use rope for dark soul (31) Go to second big room, get dark soul (32) and warp to entrance Go right and use small ledge to go into the door on the right Use engineers key for metallic rail to get dark soul in cage (33) Go back for retractor 1, warp to entrance and use trolley for Engine Block

Engine Block Activate warp and deactivate engine with code 555 Warp to Temple of Life

Temple of Life Get the 2 dark souls that are behind fire blocks (35) for shadow level 6 Get the baton Warp back to prophecy chamber and go to the Temple of Prophecy picking up l’eclipser La Soleil

Temple of Prophecy Follow main path in temple and get dark soul in Nettie statue room (36) Continue to Mike statue room for a dark soul (37) Continue and push fire block aside on the right route Climb bloodfall and continue into the room with the turning wooden pole and collect dark soul (38) Backtrack to bloodfall, collect dark soul in switch room and continue past fire block (39) Continue to room with a 4 switches and statues on a spiral and get the dark soul (40) Collect gad marcher Go left and collect dark soul on pillar after pushing switch (41) Head back to gad room and take other door to a dark soul in a cage (42) Use moving platform to take the upper right route to room with a wooden switch on the wall to get a dark soul in a cage (43) Warp to entrance and in first room climb bloodfall to collect dark soul close to gad room (44) Go right and climb up, use the baton to warp to a dark soul (45) Warp back and continue to the Shadow Man statue room for a dark soul (46) Go to the Jaunty statue room for a dark soul (47) Warp to Warp to Temple of Life

Temple of Life Get the 2 dark souls past the lava (49) Head to coffin gate for enseigne Warp to Asylum Gateway

Gateway Take the right path over the lave to collect a dark soul (50) On the end of the hallway take a left for the next dark soul (51) and shadow level 7 Continue to Entrance hall and collect dark (52) Continue over the wooden roof beams to collect a dark soul in a small room (53) Collect dark soul on top of boxes (54) Warp to Temple of Fire

Temple of Fire Collect the 2 dark souls reachable by walking over the lava (56) Warp to Cageways

Cageways Go past the Fire pipes to a lava room and collect a dark soul at the end (57) Walk over lava to take the left door and collect the dark soul in a cage (58) Follow the hallway to reach a dark soul on a small platform (59) Collect a dark soul in a cage in the same room (60) Go into a small hallway to a room with moving platforms, activate a switch for a moving cage and collect the 2 dark souls in the room (62) Warp to Temple of Prophecy and go to Paths of Shadow

Paths of Shadow Collect l’eclipser la lame and go to Lavaducts

Lavaducts Collect a dark soul reachable by going into a hallway with lavaground (63) Go into a doorway guarded by a hookman to follow a hallway to a room with a dark soul (64) Warp to Louisiana

Louisiana Use l’eclipser for Liveside Shadow man Collect 2 dark souls in Church (66) Use Baton outside church to warp to a dark soul (67) Go into locked house and swim through water to reach a rope that leads to a house with a dark soul (68) Follow path to a house in a lake with a shotgun and a dark soul (69) Warp back to church and go to the pathway under the boat to reach a dark soul (70) Follow path to collect one more dark soul (71) and shadow level 8 Warp to Cathedral of Pain

Cathedral of Pain Collect dark soul reachable by walking over the lava (72) Use Batrachian’s schism for Texas Prison

Texas Prison Collect Prison key and activate switch 1 Activate switch 2 from Helicopter room In the hallway that opens take first right to reach 3 Kill Marco Cruz for a dark soul (73) and collect Uzi Continue to activate switch 4 and switch 5 Warp to Cathedral of Pain

Cathedral of Pain Use Milton’s schism to reach Texas Prison

Texas Prison Kill Milton Pike for a dark soul (74) Collect Accumulator 1 Continue down the elevator shaft to the end of the hallway for switch 6 Go up the stairs for switch 7 and collect Accumulator 2 Go down the stair into the hallway to reach Batrachian and kill him for a dark soul (75) and Prism Use Prism for Soul Gate to Engine Block

Engine Block Continue to the engine room while killing 4 Trueforms for 4 dark souls and collecting 2 dark souls in a room with surgeons for a total of 6 in this area (81) Deactivate Engine with code 312 Warp to Temple of Prophecy and go to Playrooms

Playrooms Activate switch and swim into level and take the top entry path Cross bridge and head left to collect the Retractor 2 Go back to bridge and head into left pathway to collect a dark soul (82) Go back to bridge and go into tube to collect a dark soul (83) Head back to bridge room and go into tube underwater and surface to reach a tube that lead to a room with 2 dark souls (85) Head back to water area and resurface in a small round opening in the ceiling Head to large room and active switch for underwater tube then head upstairs Activate switch for water level and go through tube in the wall directly past switch Head to the area with 2 dark souls and a switch that releases the Trueform (87) Backtrack via underwater tunnel to large room with raised water level, activate switch to open tunnel and enter Head to baby room and get dark soul (88) Go to room with naked dark soul (89) Use the 2 accumulators to do the violator early glitch go to warp point of the level and warp back for the second violator Go in the hallway past the lava and get the dark soul in a small room (90) Kill the Trueform for a dark soul (91) Warp to Cathedral of Pain

Cathedral of Pain Use Jack’s schism to reach London

London Go to Jack immediately and kill him for a dark soul (92) and Prism Use Prism for Soul Gate to Engine Block

Engine Block Kill 3 Trueforms for 3 dark souls (95) and shadow level 9! Deactivate Engine with code 124 Warp to Temple of Prophecy

Temple of Prophecy Go to Undercity

Undercity Go in building with rotating platforms, activate them and continue to chapel to collect retractor 3 Warp to Cathedral of Pain

Cathedral of Pain Use Avery’s schism to go to New York

New York Continue through the building to activate power, then use elevator to go upstairs Kill Avery for Prism and open Soul Gate to go to Engine Block

Engine Block Go straight to Engine room and deactivate with code 312 Warp to Engine Block

Engine Block Go to Legion while picking up Violator ammo and other supplies Kill Legion with fast Legion killing glitch

General tricks I know

*It is possible to get the dark soul up the bloodfall in the middle of Marrow Gates right away with some glitch jumps but it’s very tricky and takes some time to setup.

*In wasteland up in the area with the moving platform it is possible to skip activating the windmill and side jump to the right wall to reach the dark soul on the small platform across the bloodpool but it’s extremely precise. This is mostly worth it on the 15 souls route otherwise you get the dark soul up the windmill anyway near the switch for the platform.

*In wasteland there is a darksoul that you can get to after activating a rope with a switch located down under the entrance bridge of the temple of life. It's possible to skip the whole rope activating and stand on the little bridge where the rope would be and left sidejump onto the left wall precisely and via the wall sidejump across the gap to the area where the dark soul is. This is pretty much only useful in a 15 soul run.

*It is possible to get all 11 dark souls in Cageways already first visit with a super hard pixel perfect jump across the lava using one of the pipes to skip the need for the marcher gad. This is useful for anyone trying this run segmented because it allows for Temple of Prophecy right before Temple of Life. Lava roll may make this very easy but haven’t tried.

*The benefit of going to the temple of prophecy before the Playrooms is obtaining the marcher gad as soon as possible. It basically only benefits not having to warp back to the playrooms again later once the gad is obtained saving perhaps only very minimal time. If you would get the Cageways Dark Souls early however, you can get the marcher gads before visiting the Temple of Life making that segment much faster. You can also collect the marcher only dark souls and enseigne for no backtracking here! It sucks that you would need the baton for 1 dark soul in the temple of prophecy so it would perhaps be wise to pick it up on the first visit to Wasteland then.

*One of the marcher gad only dark souls in the temple of life you can reach with a well-timed jump over the lava

Thing to change for sure in the 15 souls route: Major new thing for the 15 souls route with the lavaroll would be the go to the Asylum Gateway and take the right route across the lava with some lavarolls for 4 easy and quick dark souls and skip the 4 most out of the way ones of the old route.

Do collect the Asson by dropping from the tent above in the Wasteland and use it on Legion to speed up the fight a little bit.

Computers are faster at the start. You can use that to your advantage to let them bump into you from behind for a speed boost to accelerate fast on the opener lap. On master you can get this speedboost faster.

Ah yes took me quite a while to figure that one out. It has very little room for error and only works in Time Attack and not in GP as far as I know.

It works by accelerating up to about 5 on the speedometer and the reversing the engine while letting go of the accelerator. The reversing the engine and letting go of the accelerator has to happen at the instant before the third red light flashes on. You can also not go over 5 on the speedometer. Then when the race starts, immediately let go of reverse and press gas.

Is there a difference between the Japanese and English versions of this game?

I just watched the run from joncwl on Easy mode and I noticed a few things. He can have 2 shots and multiple healing items at the same time. Whenever I play on Easy mode 1 shot is the maximum I never get any new ones if I already have one. I am playing the European version, a new game without a memory card.

Also the damage on bosses he does with the shots is way more than I can ever manage, also when they are not defending. Maybe the Japanese version is easier on easy mode? Maybe I'm missing something.

My pb was around 35 minutes a few years ago but somehow that video got lost. Maybe I'll record a better run but the record of 28 minutes is completely out of reach for the above mentioned reasons for me.

Edit: I double checked and there is no way to have 2 shots at the same time on easy in the European version. Any you can collect from barrels or by finishing stages are just not there if you still have one in your inventory. Same for other items (2 heals and 3 bombs max). There is also no very easy mode on European version at all.

Hello all,

Would it be possible to add a section for best times for each track individually. Track 1 - 7? I did runs for these tracks a few years ago that I could submit.

All the vods have been highlighted in twitch and are posted on the F-Zero Central youtube page https://www.youtube.com/user/fzerocentralorg