(Note - this guide is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, it is meant to be a brief introduction so those interested in playing the game know what they are initially getting themselves into. I would highly recommend watching a couple of the posted runs for additional context.)
When it comes to speed running Wiz 'n' Liz, there is one thing you need to know before anything else: you gotta go fast! Like really fast!
Wiz 'n' Liz is a fast paced game that requires you to pay attention to everything at all times. There are very few moments of downtime, and no autopilot routing that you might see in games OoT or SM64 where you just input different buttons to go from point A to point B. I don't mean to downplay the difficulty of running those games, but Wiz 'n' Liz requires a different level of focus.
The game is broken into 4 different difficulties: Apprentice, Wizard, Sorcerer, and Super Wizard. Before I break down the differences between the difficulties, I ought to explain a few things. First, Wiz 'n' Liz has 8 different levels or "lands" that contain some theme. They are Grass, Lunar, Desert, Mine, Wood, Temple, Dead, and Snow. Each time you play Wiz 'n' Liz, the goal is to play a "round" (a set of 8 lands) and defeat a boss after the eighth land of a round. The lands themselves will change shape as you progress through the game, but the themes are the same and all spells affecting the lands will remain the same. Each difficulty will have you doing a different number of rounds fighting different bosses.
Apprentice - This is the easiest mode in the game. There is only a single round of levels at this difficulty, culminating in a battle with The Freaky Flower. The WR for this run is about 3:30 and is heavily RNG dependent. The current route completing the lands as quickly as possible (of course!) in this order Lunar, Mine, Snow, Dead, Temple, Grass, Desert. For the most part, you should ignore fruits/vegetables until sometime around Dead/Temple. At that point, you want to collect 2 potatoes to combine to skip Woodland between the Grass and Desert levels. Even without the skip, the run still only takes about 4:30.
Wizard - This is the next level of difficulty and the only other with submitted runs. I currently hold the record with a time of 14:10 although I think sub 13 is possible. This difficulty consists of 2 rounds (16 lands in total) with fights against Snake Eyes and Creepy Clock. My current route (and the accepted one by the other runners although they have yet implement them in their own runs) wants you to get the shop (Apple + Banana) by the end of your third land. Next, you want to mix Lemon + Potato to create the Guess the Word game where you can gamble your stars. This is where you would need to memorize the word definitions found in the guide on Speedrun.com. I'm sorry the the list is yet incomplete, but I add words as I encounter them. With all of these stars, the next step is to complete the round, but skipping Woodland again (potato + potato). Prior to finishing the round, you want to buy as many cheap fruits as possible and mix Avocado + Cherry to convert them all to Mushrooms. After you defeat Snake Eyes, sell your mushrooms (until you hit 999 stars) and buy the fruits/vegetables to skip every single level EXCEPT woodland. The reason we do not skip Woodland is that the recipe requires 2 potatoes, and you likely will not have access to them. You may need to use the "Sale in Shop" spell for half priced fruits (Cabbage + Banana). Once you have mixed all the spells required to skip all the lands in "Round 2," proceed to complete Woodland and defeat Creepy Clock.
Sorcerer - This is the second highest difficulty in the game. It does not yet have completed runs, but I am working on solving the most efficient route. Sorcerer consists of 4 rounds (32 levels) and you must fight Savage Pumpkin, Evil Oak, The Gatekeeper, and Deadly Dragon. My current method (that I am still testing) uses a similar strategy as the Wizard mode. However, due to the length of the run and the finite number of items in the shop, we must be aware of how many levels we can actually skip in each round because we may not have the appropriate items to do so. Star count would be kept up using the Magic Mushroom spell (Avocado + Cherry). I estimate a good run should take on the order of 30 minutes, but I could be completely wrong.
Super Wizard - This is actually a hidden mode in the game. To unlock this, press A+B+C and then Start when the game shows the SEGA logo. You should hear a "yeah" if you did it correctly. Anyway, this mode consists of 7 rounds (56 levels) where you fight through all of the bosses, starting with Freaky Flower and ending with Deadly Dragon. Same strategy as the Sorcerer difficulty, except that it's a longer run with more fruit/vegetable balancing. I expect this run to take about an hour, again with the caveat that I am wildly estimating this number.
This essentially sums up the current strategies on the game. There are many nuances that I've not included here that you will have to figure out yourself (or I finish the appropriate guide). If you have any questions, feel free to PM me (SilverDile).
