1-Up!
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SS 100% run
Verifier Responses
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Matt 'Crash41596' Leblanc!
SS 100% run
Verifier Responses
Quote:
video quality: SDA quality
audio quality: SDA quality
no cheating detected
Control starts at: 0:00:54
Control ends at: 2:49 51
Length is 2:48:57
VERDICT/TL;DR version of comments
Amazing run, but I have one concern: I know the game says 100% after defeating Ripto, but not collecting the tokens at Dragon Shores feels like the run is missing something. If the 100% definition is "game says 100%" then accept, otherwise reject because the run isn't "100%".
audio quality: SDA quality
no cheating detected
Control starts at: 0:00:54
Control ends at: 2:49 51
Length is 2:48:57
Glimmer: Opening gem collection is a little sloppy, but the Moneybags skip is executed perfectly. The first orb is done about as fast as it can be, while collecting a few gems along the way. The gem collection and lizard catching go well, as do the other instances of the double jump glitch. The second orb is executed perfectly. The last lizard gives the runner a bit of trouble, but the double jump shortcut to the talisman is impressive. Entering the portal from behind cost a bit of time though. This level beats a segment 1 of a Spyro 2 100% run I saw by a solid 2 minutes.
Summer Forest: A few minor mistakes, notably ramming walls and hitting the water.
Colossus: The gem route used seems a little random, but it all works out due to backtracking for an orb later. The double jump glitch is used to skip talking to one of those stupid pigs, as well as speed up getting to the rocket. The statues are "exorcised" very quickly, partly by jumping through a roof, before a detour to do other stuff. The hockey is one of the most annoying minigames I've had the misfortune of playing, but the runner makes getting the puck past the goalie look MUCH easier than it is. Going for the last goal on the first orb, the runner loses 15 seconds due to the goalie actually doing their job, as well as a puck between the legs bug. The 2v2 match goes faster than I've ever seen, despite missing the fourth shot. The ending gem collection goes smoothly, and the 400/400 pops up before warping to get the 3rd orb.
Summer Forest: Fell in the water, bought swim underwater, fell underwater. Gem collection is solid before entering Idol Springs.
Idol Springs: The first puzzle is done very fast (not that it's a hard puzzle), and the underwater gem collecting is executed really well considerring the annoyance of it. Feeding the idol is done well, despite getting over a dozen red fish. I never thought to change the camera angle. The gem collection is balanced excellently with the saving of the foremen, although the runner still has to wait. The final door skip is done first try, as is the supercharge. Not sure why the runner jumped over the supercharge gate though. The 'rooftops' are done well, and the scenery jump to shortcut to the talisman is done second try. The route used here really impresses me, both in planning and execution. Another memopuzzle before being warped away from the end to collect an orb, which convieniently allows Spyro to get the last gems quicker, especially with the help of a double jump.
Summer Forest: Hunter's glide challenge is really easy, even without the double jumps. The shortcut to the hidden orb is crazy, I figured something like that was possible. I didn't know it was possible to swim in the air in Summer Forest.
Crush: I was expecting this to come a few levels later, but it allows Sunny Beach to be cleared first trip. Outside of the TAS this is the fastest I've seen Crush beaten. "noooo, Crush <skipped>"
Autumn Plains: The pool could have gone a bit faster.
Skelos Badlands: Spyro gets burned and is 2 hits away from being toast. The double jump is done first try, as usual. The dino roasting goes well on the first orb, and also the second aside from the 6th dino. The bones and gems are balanced to create a speedy path through the level to collect everything. Missing the rock throw cost a bit of time, but not much. That infernal ? bottle makes its first appearance here, but the runner doesn't seem phased by it. The end of the route post 3rd orb warp was a surprise to me.
Autumn Plains: very clean gem collecting
Crystal Glacier: Caveman skip first try, followed by some very quick gem collecting/enemy killing. A little later Spyro gets cheapshotted by an icicle spike nose dog thing. I suppose paying Moneybags doesn't cost time as the runner has tons of gems anyway. (IIRC that Moneybags can be skipped). The snow leopard is more annoying than it looks, but is played expertly. I'm not sure what the purpose of the pause at the eskimo was, but it ended quickly so it doesn't really matter. The flying around had less enemy re-spawns than what I usually see.
Autumn Plains: Picking up a missed gem, then a little more cleanup before talking to Elora to go to Metro Speedway.
Metro Speedway: Decent path, not the fastest but certainly one of the most consistent. It was still sub 1 though. I'm wondering why the runner left after getting the gems (I don't have my copy of the game on me so I can't check if that's forced, ignore if it is). Either way, the orb challenge can't be sped up in any way, and it's one of the harder orbs in the game.
Autumn Plains: quick dash to the orb hidden in the wall before entering Breeze Harbor
Breeze Harbor: The first area is done as fast as possible, but the first spike ball took a lot of missed shots. The runner clearly has trouble aiming the cannons. That last enemy on the boat did not want to be hit. The fifty gears challenge is one of the more annoying orbs in the game. The runner makes it look easy. It's not.
Autumn Plains: A few gems collected before buying the climb ability and returning to Summer Forest
Summer Forest: The gem cleanup in the first half of the level goes decently, the conversation skips by the ladder are done perfectly.
Hurricos: The route used gets the "Fan Jumps II" orb before the "Fan Jumps I" orb. The gem collection/enemy spirit farming goes well in the supercharge room, again not sure why the runner pauses but it only takes a second. The missed bottle before the talisman costs less time then it seems due to having to go back that way anyway. The final orb takes a while, but the runner does it about as fast as possible, aside from the second purple thing, accidentally talking to the Electrode and ramming the orbs just spit out.
Summer Forest: short
Sunny Beach: First skip is done first try, the gems in the opening area are amassed cleanly. The climb skip is also done first try. Other than catching on the pipe, the trip to the talisman was uneventful, as in it went as planned most likely. The turtle soup orbs are boring and annoying, respectively. The runner gets both first attempt. Killing the 14th and 15th enemies was unnecesary, unless they could have hit Spyro on his way to the 6th turtle box.
Summer Forest: about 40 gems are collected en route to the speedway.
Ocean Speedway: The runner said this went badly, and I have to agree. I'm not sure what caused that fall into the water, but I think it was recoverable. The boats, when done correctly, are amazing, and the supercharges through most of the arches were impressive as well. The orb challenge is done second try, that miss was painful.
Summer Forest: last orb, a few more gems, paying Moneybags, the rest of the gems
Aquaria Towers: Oh what FUN underwater levels are. You basically control a rocket. It's stupidly frustrating to play normally, let alone at high speeds. Until the shark sub there were only a few minor mistakes, and no more until the talisman. Spyro moving around was funny. With firepower active, the sharks are TOAST! Except the one that goes "om nom nom nom nom" on Spyro. The second dive into the shark infested tunnel goes much better, with no dragon meat for robo-sharks. The 'dome' of Aquaria Towers is started with the manta orbs, both of which are gotten first try. The OoB glitch to sequence break the final orb is really impressive. The final gem cleanup is done nicely.
Summer Forest: nothing to see here
Autumn Plains: I don't think the extra life was necesary here. else it was ideal.
Scorch: The second shortcut is missed once, nice use of damage abuse. The first orb is less fun then a barrel of monkeys, and even less so when gems need to be amassed during it. Why the runner paused twice is beyond me, if they missed any gems they could get them during Bombo. The first fireball hit took longer than it should have, but I thought he could be hit from there too. +1 flag. The gems in the crate thing are collected by before talking to Bombo the second time. To quote the fireflies from Spyro 3 "Owwwwwww, I went boom again". +1 flag, +1 gem, +1 talisman. The double jump to simplify avoiding Bombo is genius. +1 flag, +1 orb, +1 completed level.
Autumn Plains: 10 gems en route to Fracture Hills
Fracture Hills: I hate hate hate hate this level. That being said, the runner skips as much of the annoying bagpipe music as possible, collects the gems quickly and proceeds to handle everything well. Not sure why the 2 Earthshapers were killed., other than maybe the route doesn't have enough enemies to do the supercharge bit. The "kill the Earthshapers" challenge should wait for a return trip with headbash, and the runner does this. The supercharge skip is really impressive, even if it was missed first try. The runner seems a bit lost/confused as to where to go after the bottles in the supercharge tunnel, but they eventually go to collect the talisman. Some of the gem collection should have waited for the return trip, namely the gems behind Hunter.
Autumn Plains: Dialogue door skip
Magma Cone: The opening gem collection seems a little out of order, but considering the Earthshapers it's logical. The skip to the Hunter room is done well, and the slightly challenging crystal competitions are done first try. The shortcuts used seem to be about as optimized for gem collecting as is possible. Thankfully the runner passes up the 4 easy extra lives before entering the volcano-I typed too soon, one was collected en route to an OOB jump to the top of the volcano. The magma rocks seem optimized for partygoer lava-izing and floating bottle balloon roasting. Spyro got burned once, but it doesn't cost too much time. Then again, as the runner looks for the exit to the volcano.
Autumn Plains: Spyro pays the Brazenly Aberracous (I know I misspelled this, but it's a reference to Bentley's line in Spyro 3) Duplicitous Larcenous Ursine for acces to Shady Oasis.
Shady Oasis: Spyro helps a hungry hungry hippo eat berry without getting fat by roasting it off of him. Again, a solid route, all skips executed first or second try, the accesible orb is collected at minimal time loss. Probably the most annoying part is the ? bottle. Spyro falls in the acid once. I understand the slowness of leaving the level here, by chdecking to make sure the only missing gems required invincibility or headbash
Autumn Plains: uneventful
Icy Speedway: The time attack was plenty fast for the skill point, the orb is harder than it looks, but the runner gets it first try.
Autumn Plains: last couple gems and the orb on the island before heading to the final level with a talisman. First that greedy bear steals more gems.
Zephyr: That hit was cheap. It was kind of unfair too. There's an unnecesary double jump, and another cheap hit. This one actually costs a bit of time. Ditto for the third. First double ump to take more than 2 tries, and it speeds up the "Romeo and Juliet" orbs. Spyro needs no puny seeds, just glitch abuse. This one takes 4 tries to get. A little time is spent making sure no gems were missed before herding the cowlek further. Slight mistake with charging the cowlek BACKWARDS, but they both go across the gap first attempt. Not sure why 3 cowleks were left wandering around while the runner heads to the powerflame. The 2 cowleks in that room eat up far more time than they should, and OH CRAP there's a ? bottle. Seeing the cowlek bounce off the metal vase was funny. Double dialogue due to accidentally talking to Bo Peep. The 3rd hit from a TNT barrel could easily have knocked the runner down. The explosion is nowhere near as gratifying as it should be. General Glug hands over another bomb, I wonder why it didn't explode with the TNT? THe runner starts abuse the Sparx gem compass (TM) to complete Zephyr's gem collection.
Autumn Plains: warped to Gulp
Gulp: *gulp* Now that that's out of the way, on with the show! 1st hit, barrel. 2nd hit, bomb. 3rd hit, rocket. 4th hit, rocket. 5th hit, bomb. 6th hit, barrel. 7th hit, chicken+barrel. 8th hit: rocket (hitting with the bomb then grabbing the rocket would have been faster. 9th hit: rocket. Final hit: bomb. The fight went well but could have been faster with better luck. Not sure why there was a pause though.
Winter Tundra: convo skip, and FINALLY paying that greedy bear for headbash. Some gem collecting before heading to the secret orb, more gems, full health and a level.
Cloudy Temple: The orbs here involve stealth and ice. Cirno could do it so much better than Spyro. Actually on topic, the beginning of the level is done well, most of the enemies are handled quickly, really the same general comments as for every other level in the game. Thetalisman
Winter Tundra: nothing to see here, move along.
Mystic Marsh: Not sure what that double jump was for, but the enemies here seem to like eating Sparx's health. Thankfully there are some frogs around, and no Suwako to punish Spyro for roasting them. I wasn't counting, but I'd guess there were 7 hits in the lower area. The itemswapper goes throughout the entire level, and eventually turns an egg into apencil
Winter Tundra --> Autumn Plains: return to Fracture Hills
Fracture Hills: I hate hate hate the escort mission(s). Damage abuse to get to the alchemist faster, followed by a first try success. Destroying the Earthshapers also goes well, with yet another first try success.
Autumn Plains: Another Door skip before Shady Oasis cleanup
Shady Oasis: cleanup. The main path is chosen for the enemy spirits, which are required to access the invincibility. The runthrough goes optimally as far as I can tell, and the orb is (yet again) gotten first attempt).
Autumn Plains --> Winter Tundra: a couple gems before entering a level.
Robotica Farms: Was killing that pest REALLY necesary? This level has the same gist, good route, good execution, the only thing I think I need to go in-depth on is the orb challenges. A half a circuit is INSANE for the first orb. Another first try shortcut, second orb grabbed. OH HELL NO ANOTHER ? BOTTLE. The supercharge path went well, the only way it could have gone better was by getting all the gems on it at the same time. I'm pretty sure you can break the metal chest with a rock, as the runner overcomplicates the supercharge to its location this part could be improved.
Winter Tundra: a few more gems
Metropolis: Space cows from the future! Gems! Pigs with rockets and suicidal tendencies! Orbs! RObots! A great route and greater execution! All here, in Metropolis! On a more serious note, the bull hockey is really impressive, the UFOs don't seem to give any trouble first wave, the second wave either, despite collecting a ton more gems during it. The last gem box, the runner seems to have forgotten where it was, then they get lost going for the last 4. I'm honestly surprised this sort of hunt for the final gems didn't happen sooner in the game.
Winter Tundra: cleanup, last few gems and final 2 orbs collected swiftly.
Canyon Speedway: Final level before Ripto. The time attacks gets TIMED OUT while looking for the last 2 cars. The next attempt misses a ram. The runner does manage to recover and clear the time attack in skill point time. The orb challenge is cleared first try.
Winter Tundra: Last gems remaining in the game are collected, the whirlwind was a waste of time the first time. THis is the first time the "do do do dooo" sound effect is heard.
Ripto: Now THIS is a boss. I always found this fight to be difficult, but the runner makes it look easy.
[b]Ending/credits: Not nearly sped up enough, although we get to see (implied) Moneybags get beat up.
Summer Forest: A few minor mistakes, notably ramming walls and hitting the water.
Colossus: The gem route used seems a little random, but it all works out due to backtracking for an orb later. The double jump glitch is used to skip talking to one of those stupid pigs, as well as speed up getting to the rocket. The statues are "exorcised" very quickly, partly by jumping through a roof, before a detour to do other stuff. The hockey is one of the most annoying minigames I've had the misfortune of playing, but the runner makes getting the puck past the goalie look MUCH easier than it is. Going for the last goal on the first orb, the runner loses 15 seconds due to the goalie actually doing their job, as well as a puck between the legs bug. The 2v2 match goes faster than I've ever seen, despite missing the fourth shot. The ending gem collection goes smoothly, and the 400/400 pops up before warping to get the 3rd orb.
Summer Forest: Fell in the water, bought swim underwater, fell underwater. Gem collection is solid before entering Idol Springs.
Idol Springs: The first puzzle is done very fast (not that it's a hard puzzle), and the underwater gem collecting is executed really well considerring the annoyance of it. Feeding the idol is done well, despite getting over a dozen red fish. I never thought to change the camera angle. The gem collection is balanced excellently with the saving of the foremen, although the runner still has to wait. The final door skip is done first try, as is the supercharge. Not sure why the runner jumped over the supercharge gate though. The 'rooftops' are done well, and the scenery jump to shortcut to the talisman is done second try. The route used here really impresses me, both in planning and execution. Another memopuzzle before being warped away from the end to collect an orb, which convieniently allows Spyro to get the last gems quicker, especially with the help of a double jump.
Summer Forest: Hunter's glide challenge is really easy, even without the double jumps. The shortcut to the hidden orb is crazy, I figured something like that was possible. I didn't know it was possible to swim in the air in Summer Forest.
Crush: I was expecting this to come a few levels later, but it allows Sunny Beach to be cleared first trip. Outside of the TAS this is the fastest I've seen Crush beaten. "noooo, Crush <skipped>"
Autumn Plains: The pool could have gone a bit faster.
Skelos Badlands: Spyro gets burned and is 2 hits away from being toast. The double jump is done first try, as usual. The dino roasting goes well on the first orb, and also the second aside from the 6th dino. The bones and gems are balanced to create a speedy path through the level to collect everything. Missing the rock throw cost a bit of time, but not much. That infernal ? bottle makes its first appearance here, but the runner doesn't seem phased by it. The end of the route post 3rd orb warp was a surprise to me.
Autumn Plains: very clean gem collecting
Crystal Glacier: Caveman skip first try, followed by some very quick gem collecting/enemy killing. A little later Spyro gets cheapshotted by an icicle spike nose dog thing. I suppose paying Moneybags doesn't cost time as the runner has tons of gems anyway. (IIRC that Moneybags can be skipped). The snow leopard is more annoying than it looks, but is played expertly. I'm not sure what the purpose of the pause at the eskimo was, but it ended quickly so it doesn't really matter. The flying around had less enemy re-spawns than what I usually see.
Autumn Plains: Picking up a missed gem, then a little more cleanup before talking to Elora to go to Metro Speedway.
Metro Speedway: Decent path, not the fastest but certainly one of the most consistent. It was still sub 1 though. I'm wondering why the runner left after getting the gems (I don't have my copy of the game on me so I can't check if that's forced, ignore if it is). Either way, the orb challenge can't be sped up in any way, and it's one of the harder orbs in the game.
Autumn Plains: quick dash to the orb hidden in the wall before entering Breeze Harbor
Breeze Harbor: The first area is done as fast as possible, but the first spike ball took a lot of missed shots. The runner clearly has trouble aiming the cannons. That last enemy on the boat did not want to be hit. The fifty gears challenge is one of the more annoying orbs in the game. The runner makes it look easy. It's not.
Autumn Plains: A few gems collected before buying the climb ability and returning to Summer Forest
Summer Forest: The gem cleanup in the first half of the level goes decently, the conversation skips by the ladder are done perfectly.
Hurricos: The route used gets the "Fan Jumps II" orb before the "Fan Jumps I" orb. The gem collection/enemy spirit farming goes well in the supercharge room, again not sure why the runner pauses but it only takes a second. The missed bottle before the talisman costs less time then it seems due to having to go back that way anyway. The final orb takes a while, but the runner does it about as fast as possible, aside from the second purple thing, accidentally talking to the Electrode and ramming the orbs just spit out.
Summer Forest: short
Sunny Beach: First skip is done first try, the gems in the opening area are amassed cleanly. The climb skip is also done first try. Other than catching on the pipe, the trip to the talisman was uneventful, as in it went as planned most likely. The turtle soup orbs are boring and annoying, respectively. The runner gets both first attempt. Killing the 14th and 15th enemies was unnecesary, unless they could have hit Spyro on his way to the 6th turtle box.
Summer Forest: about 40 gems are collected en route to the speedway.
Ocean Speedway: The runner said this went badly, and I have to agree. I'm not sure what caused that fall into the water, but I think it was recoverable. The boats, when done correctly, are amazing, and the supercharges through most of the arches were impressive as well. The orb challenge is done second try, that miss was painful.
Summer Forest: last orb, a few more gems, paying Moneybags, the rest of the gems
Aquaria Towers: Oh what FUN underwater levels are. You basically control a rocket. It's stupidly frustrating to play normally, let alone at high speeds. Until the shark sub there were only a few minor mistakes, and no more until the talisman. Spyro moving around was funny. With firepower active, the sharks are TOAST! Except the one that goes "om nom nom nom nom" on Spyro. The second dive into the shark infested tunnel goes much better, with no dragon meat for robo-sharks. The 'dome' of Aquaria Towers is started with the manta orbs, both of which are gotten first try. The OoB glitch to sequence break the final orb is really impressive. The final gem cleanup is done nicely.
Summer Forest: nothing to see here
Autumn Plains: I don't think the extra life was necesary here. else it was ideal.
Scorch: The second shortcut is missed once, nice use of damage abuse. The first orb is less fun then a barrel of monkeys, and even less so when gems need to be amassed during it. Why the runner paused twice is beyond me, if they missed any gems they could get them during Bombo. The first fireball hit took longer than it should have, but I thought he could be hit from there too. +1 flag. The gems in the crate thing are collected by before talking to Bombo the second time. To quote the fireflies from Spyro 3 "Owwwwwww, I went boom again". +1 flag, +1 gem, +1 talisman. The double jump to simplify avoiding Bombo is genius. +1 flag, +1 orb, +1 completed level.
Autumn Plains: 10 gems en route to Fracture Hills
Fracture Hills: I hate hate hate hate this level. That being said, the runner skips as much of the annoying bagpipe music as possible, collects the gems quickly and proceeds to handle everything well. Not sure why the 2 Earthshapers were killed., other than maybe the route doesn't have enough enemies to do the supercharge bit. The "kill the Earthshapers" challenge should wait for a return trip with headbash, and the runner does this. The supercharge skip is really impressive, even if it was missed first try. The runner seems a bit lost/confused as to where to go after the bottles in the supercharge tunnel, but they eventually go to collect the talisman. Some of the gem collection should have waited for the return trip, namely the gems behind Hunter.
Autumn Plains: Dialogue door skip
Magma Cone: The opening gem collection seems a little out of order, but considering the Earthshapers it's logical. The skip to the Hunter room is done well, and the slightly challenging crystal competitions are done first try. The shortcuts used seem to be about as optimized for gem collecting as is possible. Thankfully the runner passes up the 4 easy extra lives before entering the volcano-I typed too soon, one was collected en route to an OOB jump to the top of the volcano. The magma rocks seem optimized for partygoer lava-izing and floating bottle balloon roasting. Spyro got burned once, but it doesn't cost too much time. Then again, as the runner looks for the exit to the volcano.
Autumn Plains: Spyro pays the Brazenly Aberracous (I know I misspelled this, but it's a reference to Bentley's line in Spyro 3) Duplicitous Larcenous Ursine for acces to Shady Oasis.
Shady Oasis: Spyro helps a hungry hungry hippo eat berry without getting fat by roasting it off of him. Again, a solid route, all skips executed first or second try, the accesible orb is collected at minimal time loss. Probably the most annoying part is the ? bottle. Spyro falls in the acid once. I understand the slowness of leaving the level here, by chdecking to make sure the only missing gems required invincibility or headbash
Autumn Plains: uneventful
Icy Speedway: The time attack was plenty fast for the skill point, the orb is harder than it looks, but the runner gets it first try.
Autumn Plains: last couple gems and the orb on the island before heading to the final level with a talisman. First that greedy bear steals more gems.
Zephyr: That hit was cheap. It was kind of unfair too. There's an unnecesary double jump, and another cheap hit. This one actually costs a bit of time. Ditto for the third. First double ump to take more than 2 tries, and it speeds up the "Romeo and Juliet" orbs. Spyro needs no puny seeds, just glitch abuse. This one takes 4 tries to get. A little time is spent making sure no gems were missed before herding the cowlek further. Slight mistake with charging the cowlek BACKWARDS, but they both go across the gap first attempt. Not sure why 3 cowleks were left wandering around while the runner heads to the powerflame. The 2 cowleks in that room eat up far more time than they should, and OH CRAP there's a ? bottle. Seeing the cowlek bounce off the metal vase was funny. Double dialogue due to accidentally talking to Bo Peep. The 3rd hit from a TNT barrel could easily have knocked the runner down. The explosion is nowhere near as gratifying as it should be. General Glug hands over another bomb, I wonder why it didn't explode with the TNT? THe runner starts abuse the Sparx gem compass (TM) to complete Zephyr's gem collection.
Autumn Plains: warped to Gulp
Gulp: *gulp* Now that that's out of the way, on with the show! 1st hit, barrel. 2nd hit, bomb. 3rd hit, rocket. 4th hit, rocket. 5th hit, bomb. 6th hit, barrel. 7th hit, chicken+barrel. 8th hit: rocket (hitting with the bomb then grabbing the rocket would have been faster. 9th hit: rocket. Final hit: bomb. The fight went well but could have been faster with better luck. Not sure why there was a pause though.
Winter Tundra: convo skip, and FINALLY paying that greedy bear for headbash. Some gem collecting before heading to the secret orb, more gems, full health and a level.
Cloudy Temple: The orbs here involve stealth and ice. Cirno could do it so much better than Spyro. Actually on topic, the beginning of the level is done well, most of the enemies are handled quickly, really the same general comments as for every other level in the game. The
Winter Tundra: nothing to see here, move along.
Mystic Marsh: Not sure what that double jump was for, but the enemies here seem to like eating Sparx's health. Thankfully there are some frogs around, and no Suwako to punish Spyro for roasting them. I wasn't counting, but I'd guess there were 7 hits in the lower area. The itemswapper goes throughout the entire level, and eventually turns an egg into a
Winter Tundra --> Autumn Plains: return to Fracture Hills
Fracture Hills: I hate hate hate the escort mission(s). Damage abuse to get to the alchemist faster, followed by a first try success. Destroying the Earthshapers also goes well, with yet another first try success.
Autumn Plains: Another Door skip before Shady Oasis cleanup
Shady Oasis: cleanup. The main path is chosen for the enemy spirits, which are required to access the invincibility. The runthrough goes optimally as far as I can tell, and the orb is (yet again) gotten first attempt).
Autumn Plains --> Winter Tundra: a couple gems before entering a level.
Robotica Farms: Was killing that pest REALLY necesary? This level has the same gist, good route, good execution, the only thing I think I need to go in-depth on is the orb challenges. A half a circuit is INSANE for the first orb. Another first try shortcut, second orb grabbed. OH HELL NO ANOTHER ? BOTTLE. The supercharge path went well, the only way it could have gone better was by getting all the gems on it at the same time. I'm pretty sure you can break the metal chest with a rock, as the runner overcomplicates the supercharge to its location this part could be improved.
Winter Tundra: a few more gems
Metropolis: Space cows from the future! Gems! Pigs with rockets and suicidal tendencies! Orbs! RObots! A great route and greater execution! All here, in Metropolis! On a more serious note, the bull hockey is really impressive, the UFOs don't seem to give any trouble first wave, the second wave either, despite collecting a ton more gems during it. The last gem box, the runner seems to have forgotten where it was, then they get lost going for the last 4. I'm honestly surprised this sort of hunt for the final gems didn't happen sooner in the game.
Winter Tundra: cleanup, last few gems and final 2 orbs collected swiftly.
Canyon Speedway: Final level before Ripto. The time attacks gets TIMED OUT while looking for the last 2 cars. The next attempt misses a ram. The runner does manage to recover and clear the time attack in skill point time. The orb challenge is cleared first try.
Winter Tundra: Last gems remaining in the game are collected, the whirlwind was a waste of time the first time. THis is the first time the "do do do dooo" sound effect is heard.
Ripto: Now THIS is a boss. I always found this fight to be difficult, but the runner makes it look easy.
[b]Ending/credits: Not nearly sped up enough, although we get to see (implied) Moneybags get beat up.
VERDICT/TL;DR version of comments
Amazing run, but I have one concern: I know the game says 100% after defeating Ripto, but not collecting the tokens at Dragon Shores feels like the run is missing something. If the 100% definition is "game says 100%" then accept, otherwise reject because the run isn't "100%".
Quote:
Here are my comments on the run. The video and audio quality are fine from what I see, especially for a verification copy. No cheating is detected in the run.
Level by level:
Glimmer: Great beginning to the run. The squirrel at the end was annoying, but the great route makes up for it. Nice OOB at the end of the level.
SF Hub 1: Some unlucky charging, but very nice dialogue skip.
Colossus: Missed shots in hockey cost about 20 seconds, but are more than made up for with the great luck. Nice jump through a non-solid roof. Great
route planning again in this stage.
SF Hub 2: Much better than the first visit, no big mistakes.
Idol Springs: Nice puzzle memorization, a little bad luck in the fish game though. Got rain dance orb in one try, and had a nice tricky jump to save a little time getting to it. Cool route taking the back way to the talisman. Best level of the run so far.
SF Hub 3: I kind of saw that orb shortcut coming, but it was executed well. Swimming in the air was activated efficiently and used well.
Crush went well.
AF Hub 1: Rough time getting out of the water, but O.K.
Skelos Badlands: The dinosaur killing part was close, but is harder than it looks. Good route planning in using the cutscene to take Spyro closer to the mystery jar at the end.
AF Hub 2: Straight shot to Crystal Glacier.
Crystal Glacier: I really must suck at ice levels in Spyro games, because this and Ice Caves in Spyro 1 give me such a hard time. Nice jump at the beginning of the level to skip the catapult. I really wish that the dog section could be sped up, but there’s nothing the runner can do about that. Bug section went well.
AF Hub 3: Finally we get to talk to Elora. Too bad it’s just to turn on a whirlwind.
Metro Speedway: Speed skill point is good. No problem on the challenge.
AF Hub 4: Walls are overrated. Next.
Breeze Harbor: A really annoying level, hard to do fast as well. The shooting could be better, but isn’t too bad. Great cart ride, it looks easy in this run.
AF Hub 5: Finally we climb the wa… wait, back to Summer Forest first.
SF Hub 4: Got caught on the wall for a second. It becomes evident why climb is learned before coming here.
Hurricos: Fun level is fun. The runner uses some great jumps to do everything completely out of order. The charge jump really makes this level into a free roam level as opposed to the straightforward level it was meant to be. The lightning rock section goes very well at the end; I have no clue how he efficiently makes the goons come out.
SF Hub 5: Quick jog to Sunny Beach, too bad Sparx sucks.
Sunny Beach: Ladders and turtles are overrated. Turtles are well done, and so is the chef. Pretty decent level overall, nothing goes wrong here.
SF Hub 6: Fine going to Ocean Speedway.
Ocean Speedway: Lost 30 seconds on the crash, then probably a minute on the missed ring on the stupid bonus challenge. Really ugly looking.
SF Hub 7: Recovered well from the bad speedway.
Aquaria: The first true death of the run, simply from not paying attention and forgetting to kill some sharks. This one only costs about 10 seconds, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad. Nice little glitch to skip the stupid tower section, probably saves at least 2 minutes.
SF Hub 8: Let’s get out of here for good!
AP Hub 5: Don’t know why he got the extra life, but oh well.
Scorch: Got hit by a bomb and lost 10 seconds, not too big of a deal. Everything else was executed well.
AP Hub 6: Easy run into one of the coolest levels in the game.
Fracture Hills 1: Who doesn’t love magical bagpipes? And evil plants? And long supercharging? Too bad the most fun supercharge isn’t needed because of another nonexistent platform.
AP Hub 7: About time we opened that doo… you really had to skip it? Someone’s mad at the professor.
Magma Cone: Not too lucky at the beginning of the second crystal game. Decent level otherwise.
AP Hub 8: Wasted a second or three trying to get a nonexistent gem, moving on.
Shady Oasis 1: I hate the genie lamp thieves. They were done rather quickly. The mystery pot was well pathed into the end of the level. Not much to say here.
AP Hub 9: Good job, nothing of note.
Icy Speedway: Do we really need another speedway in this world? No problems here thankfully.
AP Hub 10: Haven’t we been here enough already; let’s clean it up and go to Zephyr.
Zephyr: I love this level. Again, you hate the professor, so you barely talk to him, skipping almost all of the bean section. Poor Bo Peep with his misplaced elephants.
AP Hub 11: Really nothing big, considering this consists of falling in the hole.
Gulp: For some reason, I never thought Gulp was hard. I don’t think I could make him look this easy though. I think they give him a little too much health though.
WT Hub 1: About time we got headbash. Missed orb takes a little time, but nothing major.
Cloud Temples: This level was the bane of my Spyro 2 existence for the longest time; I could never get the stealth section, and for about 5 years that was the only thing holding me back from 100%. The runner makes it look easy here, as well as the rest of this level.
WT Hub 2: Nothing really here, moving on.
Mystical Marsh: This world can be summed up in 2 words: MY PENCIL! This is clearly why the runner neglects talking to the professor for the duration of the run; speedrunning wise, this level is annoying. Just as bad is the spark plug sequence, which the runner also handles quite well.
WT Hub 3: Haven’t we gone to AP enough already?
AP Hub 12: Just finish this world so we can leave for good.
Fracture Hills 2: The first of 2 revisits. Can the alchemist just walk in a straight line for us? Killing the stoneheads is easy peasy after the alchemist section though. Next.
AP Hub 13: We continue to neglect the professor.
Shady Oasis 2: This seems so repetitive. 40 gems and 1 orb get.
AP 13: Back to FT, finally gone from AP for good.
WT Hub 4: This is the easiest of the hubs; nothing really to do getting from level to level.
Robotico Farms: Personally, I think this is the easiest level in WT. It’s still one of the most fun though. Scarecrows are done quickly. Supercharge is done in one go, which is nice. Missing the metal box on the first time doesn’t waste too much time because of the location of the mystery jar. Another good level.
WT Hub 5: Quick run to Metropolis.
Metropolis: Easy boss, cool robots, UFOs, flying pigs, what isn’t to like about this level? The only level where you get an orb and a talisman simultaneously. Gets a little lost, but in a Spyro SS, getting lost only once is an accomplishment in itself.
WT Hub 6: Gets the last orbs, then goes to the last speedway.
Canyon Speedway: Why do I get the impression that those stupid cars didn’t spawn the first time? I really think the timing is too tight on this speedway, and the runner’s bad speedway luck continues. The balloon challenge had a huge scare, but at least it worked out. All orbs obtained!
WT Hub 7: More bad gem luck, and the first whirlwind use wastes some time, but that must be nerves from having a run get this far.
Ripto: Stupid first phase Ripto (i.e. good luck) stops inches from a third orb. The runner lost Sparx twice in the second phase but luckily got fodder to appear. Third phase went well to end a great run.
Although it can definitely be improved, especially in the speedways, the run is a great first run for the catergory. To me it is an accept.
Level by level:
Glimmer: Great beginning to the run. The squirrel at the end was annoying, but the great route makes up for it. Nice OOB at the end of the level.
SF Hub 1: Some unlucky charging, but very nice dialogue skip.
Colossus: Missed shots in hockey cost about 20 seconds, but are more than made up for with the great luck. Nice jump through a non-solid roof. Great
route planning again in this stage.
SF Hub 2: Much better than the first visit, no big mistakes.
Idol Springs: Nice puzzle memorization, a little bad luck in the fish game though. Got rain dance orb in one try, and had a nice tricky jump to save a little time getting to it. Cool route taking the back way to the talisman. Best level of the run so far.
SF Hub 3: I kind of saw that orb shortcut coming, but it was executed well. Swimming in the air was activated efficiently and used well.
Crush went well.
AF Hub 1: Rough time getting out of the water, but O.K.
Skelos Badlands: The dinosaur killing part was close, but is harder than it looks. Good route planning in using the cutscene to take Spyro closer to the mystery jar at the end.
AF Hub 2: Straight shot to Crystal Glacier.
Crystal Glacier: I really must suck at ice levels in Spyro games, because this and Ice Caves in Spyro 1 give me such a hard time. Nice jump at the beginning of the level to skip the catapult. I really wish that the dog section could be sped up, but there’s nothing the runner can do about that. Bug section went well.
AF Hub 3: Finally we get to talk to Elora. Too bad it’s just to turn on a whirlwind.
Metro Speedway: Speed skill point is good. No problem on the challenge.
AF Hub 4: Walls are overrated. Next.
Breeze Harbor: A really annoying level, hard to do fast as well. The shooting could be better, but isn’t too bad. Great cart ride, it looks easy in this run.
AF Hub 5: Finally we climb the wa… wait, back to Summer Forest first.
SF Hub 4: Got caught on the wall for a second. It becomes evident why climb is learned before coming here.
Hurricos: Fun level is fun. The runner uses some great jumps to do everything completely out of order. The charge jump really makes this level into a free roam level as opposed to the straightforward level it was meant to be. The lightning rock section goes very well at the end; I have no clue how he efficiently makes the goons come out.
SF Hub 5: Quick jog to Sunny Beach, too bad Sparx sucks.
Sunny Beach: Ladders and turtles are overrated. Turtles are well done, and so is the chef. Pretty decent level overall, nothing goes wrong here.
SF Hub 6: Fine going to Ocean Speedway.
Ocean Speedway: Lost 30 seconds on the crash, then probably a minute on the missed ring on the stupid bonus challenge. Really ugly looking.
SF Hub 7: Recovered well from the bad speedway.
Aquaria: The first true death of the run, simply from not paying attention and forgetting to kill some sharks. This one only costs about 10 seconds, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t bad. Nice little glitch to skip the stupid tower section, probably saves at least 2 minutes.
SF Hub 8: Let’s get out of here for good!
AP Hub 5: Don’t know why he got the extra life, but oh well.
Scorch: Got hit by a bomb and lost 10 seconds, not too big of a deal. Everything else was executed well.
AP Hub 6: Easy run into one of the coolest levels in the game.
Fracture Hills 1: Who doesn’t love magical bagpipes? And evil plants? And long supercharging? Too bad the most fun supercharge isn’t needed because of another nonexistent platform.
AP Hub 7: About time we opened that doo… you really had to skip it? Someone’s mad at the professor.
Magma Cone: Not too lucky at the beginning of the second crystal game. Decent level otherwise.
AP Hub 8: Wasted a second or three trying to get a nonexistent gem, moving on.
Shady Oasis 1: I hate the genie lamp thieves. They were done rather quickly. The mystery pot was well pathed into the end of the level. Not much to say here.
AP Hub 9: Good job, nothing of note.
Icy Speedway: Do we really need another speedway in this world? No problems here thankfully.
AP Hub 10: Haven’t we been here enough already; let’s clean it up and go to Zephyr.
Zephyr: I love this level. Again, you hate the professor, so you barely talk to him, skipping almost all of the bean section. Poor Bo Peep with his misplaced elephants.
AP Hub 11: Really nothing big, considering this consists of falling in the hole.
Gulp: For some reason, I never thought Gulp was hard. I don’t think I could make him look this easy though. I think they give him a little too much health though.
WT Hub 1: About time we got headbash. Missed orb takes a little time, but nothing major.
Cloud Temples: This level was the bane of my Spyro 2 existence for the longest time; I could never get the stealth section, and for about 5 years that was the only thing holding me back from 100%. The runner makes it look easy here, as well as the rest of this level.
WT Hub 2: Nothing really here, moving on.
Mystical Marsh: This world can be summed up in 2 words: MY PENCIL! This is clearly why the runner neglects talking to the professor for the duration of the run; speedrunning wise, this level is annoying. Just as bad is the spark plug sequence, which the runner also handles quite well.
WT Hub 3: Haven’t we gone to AP enough already?
AP Hub 12: Just finish this world so we can leave for good.
Fracture Hills 2: The first of 2 revisits. Can the alchemist just walk in a straight line for us? Killing the stoneheads is easy peasy after the alchemist section though. Next.
AP Hub 13: We continue to neglect the professor.
Shady Oasis 2: This seems so repetitive. 40 gems and 1 orb get.
AP 13: Back to FT, finally gone from AP for good.
WT Hub 4: This is the easiest of the hubs; nothing really to do getting from level to level.
Robotico Farms: Personally, I think this is the easiest level in WT. It’s still one of the most fun though. Scarecrows are done quickly. Supercharge is done in one go, which is nice. Missing the metal box on the first time doesn’t waste too much time because of the location of the mystery jar. Another good level.
WT Hub 5: Quick run to Metropolis.
Metropolis: Easy boss, cool robots, UFOs, flying pigs, what isn’t to like about this level? The only level where you get an orb and a talisman simultaneously. Gets a little lost, but in a Spyro SS, getting lost only once is an accomplishment in itself.
WT Hub 6: Gets the last orbs, then goes to the last speedway.
Canyon Speedway: Why do I get the impression that those stupid cars didn’t spawn the first time? I really think the timing is too tight on this speedway, and the runner’s bad speedway luck continues. The balloon challenge had a huge scare, but at least it worked out. All orbs obtained!
WT Hub 7: More bad gem luck, and the first whirlwind use wastes some time, but that must be nerves from having a run get this far.
Ripto: Stupid first phase Ripto (i.e. good luck) stops inches from a third orb. The runner lost Sparx twice in the second phase but luckily got fodder to appear. Third phase went well to end a great run.
Although it can definitely be improved, especially in the speedways, the run is a great first run for the catergory. To me it is an accept.
Quote:
Sorry for taking so long on this, guys.
A/V quality: No issues here.
Cheating: Not detected
Start: 0:00:55
End: 2:49 52
Length: 2:48:57
The run (Individual levels in the hidden box)
Overall, there are a lot of improvements that can be made, the running in general needs tightening as a lot of gems are missed or lost which ends up costing time. In spite of using relatively safe routes, the speedways were a bit disappointing and probably cost the most time. Deathless would have been nice too, although it makes me wonder if there is any potential for the use of deathwarping in Spyro 2 (nothing obvious springs to mind though) some of the routes can be optimised as well (esp. Fracture Hills and Shady Oasis, where the runner doesn’t take advantage of being forced to visit them twice)
On the other hand, while there are a lot of negatives to pick out, you really have to be quite nitpicky to notice them and they pale in comparison to the many positive aspects of the run. Most of the routes were excellent and on the whole very well executed; the standard of gaming in this run was very high, and the double jump was used exceedingly well. The OOB glitches were used to great effect and the sequence-breaking was smooth to the point where you are not totally sure which parts are being done in the ‘correct’ order and which aren’t! I loved watching this and can’t wait to see it on the front page of SDA.
The run isn’t perfect and is beatable, but as a benchmark it is of a very high standard and it will take a lot of work before it is improved. Therefore, I accept this run.
A/V quality: No issues here.
Cheating: Not detected
Start: 0:00:55
End: 2:49 52
Length: 2:48:57
The run (Individual levels in the hidden box)
Glimmer: I winced when I saw the bump and missing the gem right at the start, but the route and execution were very good. Shame about the lizard at the end, very good use of double jumps to skip almost all lizard dialogue though! Nice OOB to get to the exit, slight hiccup around the portal.
Summer Forest: Nice Elora skip, not perfect but it was fast!
Colossus: I liked the route planning in this one, the hockey was very good, shame about the luck in the first half, but the puck manipulation in the 2v2 was very good!
Summer Forest: Orb collecting and learning to swim. Shame he missed Moneybags’ island
Idol Springs: Decent route, not sure why the runner collected the gems in the start area before destroying the box, but great execution in this one with clever use of orb-warping. Well done on rescuing the dancers in one go!
Summer Forest: That orb jump is not easy, so kudos to the runner on nailing that one. Swimming in air is done very well, but I think it’s quicker to get the orb at the top of the ladder now rather than after getting climb since you can swim through the ceiling.
Crush: If you aren’t going for skill points it’s very slightly quicker (a few seconds) to let Crush hit you and flame him just after he leaves the pad as he then goes back to the pad he started on and doesn’t walk as far. Once Crush start’s chasing you to hit you that no longer matters. Otherwise fantastic execution!
Autumn Plains: Good pool gems but not perfect.
Skelos Badlands: Nice work on the eggs overall, again great route taking the backtracking for bones and the ? pot into account. Orb warps utilised very well!
Crystal Glacier: Very nice caveman skip at the beginning, that’s a difficult one to do! Moneybags can be skipped, but setting it up saves very little time and is very tricky so only really worth it in a 0-orb or segmented run. Looks like an accidental pause there near the talisman? Getting the bugs was done very well
Metro Speedway: Good route, I agree that there are faster routes but for an SS they are very risky, however the sub 1-minute time was ruined by leaving instead of retrying. The time for the orb challenge is more or less fixed.
Breeze Harbour: The cannon work looks sloppy. The trolley orb does not. Overall a decent level.
Autumn Plains: Got climb and headed back to SF.
Summer Forest: Good convo skips. It will require some testing, but I’m still convinced it’s quicker to get the orb and gems while swimming in air.
Hurricos: Good route, getting the fan jump orbs VERY quickly. Also without jumping on fans. Gem collection was on the whole very quick despite getting stuck on a step and pausing during the level. The lightning orb part is very slow, but that’s basically as quick as it gets!
Sunny Beach: Door skips are handled very well, gem collection is smooth, as are the orbs.
Ocean Speedway: Ouch! That must have been painful. Second time round went much better, again a fine balance between speed and consistency. The orb challenge fared badly as well. I don’t know if the runner was aware of this but you can speed Hunter up by superdashing as he always stays ahead of you. You can also use this fact to alter his route and speed him up by getting rings out of sequence, but that is extremely risky to put in an SS.
Summer Forest: All orbs and gems collected. Moneybags is paid.
Aquaria Towers: Getting eaten by those sharks was very bad. Sequence-breaking the towers was very awesome, I didn’t even know that was possible! The “not getting eaten” portion of the level looked very good, I must say.
Autumn Plains: The runner picked up an extra life. Is he planning some deathwarps?
Scorch: Missed a shortcut once and had to wait while Sparx was fed to get some gems. Overall was very smooth, shame about the Bombo minigame.
Fracture Hills: Missed the conversation skip at the start, and I think the route planning on the gems could be better optimised to take into account the fact the runner will be revisiting. That said, it does still show the same smoothness and swiftness that I’ve become accustomed to from the rest of the run. The planning around killing enemies for supercharge could have gone better, looks like the runner forgot he only got 12 of them. The gems in Hunter’s Earthcrusher area definitely should have waited until the revisit.
Autumn Plains: Nice dialogue skip!
Magma Cone: The second crystal game could have gone better, but it was still done 1st time so that helps. The rest of the level was good.
Autumn Plains: Greedy bear paid, door opened. A lot of hopping about for some reason.
Shady Oasis: Too much gem collection at the beginning considering he’s going to be back for the ? pot. Again I feel that the runner didn’t take advantage of the forced return visit after headbash to optimise his route. Having said that, the thieves were done reasonably well and in general the level had good execution.
Icy Speedway: Good route, succeeded 1st time, orb is fixed time, but the runner does that 1st time too. Shame about the bump after finding Hunter.
Autumn Plains: A few knocks and misses while clearing up the last orb and gem. Nothing major though.
Zephyr: I think the runner’s starting to show his fatigue as we near the two our mark of the video. Again showing similar difficulties with the cannon, the Cowleks could have gone better, and he missed some gems.Having said that, there was a very nice OOB glitch and a VERY tough double jump to complete Romeo and Juliet without seeds. Overall, a very tough level to do quickly and the runner makes short work of it.
Gulp: No real errors here (apart from bombing himself) but no double hits either.
Winter Tundra: Got headbash finally. Managed to miss the orb though, oops!
Cloud Temples: Well planned and executed, the freezing section went well as did the stealth, although there were some gems he could have collected at the same time to speed things up but it’s arguably too much of a risk in an SS for the time saved.
Mystic Marsh: The runner takes a LOT of damage in this one. The swap shop orb goes well and the spark plugs are very quick. There’s a little bit of Sparx Compassing for the rest of the gems
Fracture Hills: Picked up the last two orbs. Both challenges completed 1st time. They really are a fixed length thing so not much else the runner could have done, apart from saving some of the games from last visit to collect now!
Shady Oasis: Cleanup. Nice work on the orb.
Robotica Farms: A good level here, killing the pests was done very well and the supercharge was completed 1st time. I don’t recall having to use the supercharge on the metal crate (I think there’s a rocket somewhere, need to check that), although the runner wastes a bit of time trying to hit it.
Metropolis: For some reason the runner takes out the bull before superflaming the metal crate. Dodging the rocket pigs is quicker than fighting them as they kill themselves anyway. And the runner lost some gems at the end which wasted far too much time. However the bullfight itself went well, as did the combined UFO destroying / gem collecting.
Canyon Speedway: I think the runner panicked in this one as the route itself was quite poor the first time. After getting most of the cars, all the goats and rings, the runner tries to finish the cars by running in the same direction as them; at this point they would have been only a little bit behind him. If he’d travelled against the flow of traffic there would have been no problem. Missing the goat the second time was bad too, at least the Hunter’s challenge went well.
Winter Tundra: Last gems collected, although a couple of vases were missed and getting the whirlwind shouldn’t have been necessary.
Ripto: You can get an extra hit in when you have the superflame or superbomb powerup by keeping your distance and firing continuously. It’s hard to maintain accuracy though, which I assume is the runner’s goal here so close to the end of the run! The final phase (IMO the toughest) seemed to go the best. Ripto Defeated!
Summer Forest: Nice Elora skip, not perfect but it was fast!
Colossus: I liked the route planning in this one, the hockey was very good, shame about the luck in the first half, but the puck manipulation in the 2v2 was very good!
Summer Forest: Orb collecting and learning to swim. Shame he missed Moneybags’ island
Idol Springs: Decent route, not sure why the runner collected the gems in the start area before destroying the box, but great execution in this one with clever use of orb-warping. Well done on rescuing the dancers in one go!
Summer Forest: That orb jump is not easy, so kudos to the runner on nailing that one. Swimming in air is done very well, but I think it’s quicker to get the orb at the top of the ladder now rather than after getting climb since you can swim through the ceiling.
Crush: If you aren’t going for skill points it’s very slightly quicker (a few seconds) to let Crush hit you and flame him just after he leaves the pad as he then goes back to the pad he started on and doesn’t walk as far. Once Crush start’s chasing you to hit you that no longer matters. Otherwise fantastic execution!
Autumn Plains: Good pool gems but not perfect.
Skelos Badlands: Nice work on the eggs overall, again great route taking the backtracking for bones and the ? pot into account. Orb warps utilised very well!
Crystal Glacier: Very nice caveman skip at the beginning, that’s a difficult one to do! Moneybags can be skipped, but setting it up saves very little time and is very tricky so only really worth it in a 0-orb or segmented run. Looks like an accidental pause there near the talisman? Getting the bugs was done very well
Metro Speedway: Good route, I agree that there are faster routes but for an SS they are very risky, however the sub 1-minute time was ruined by leaving instead of retrying. The time for the orb challenge is more or less fixed.
Breeze Harbour: The cannon work looks sloppy. The trolley orb does not. Overall a decent level.
Autumn Plains: Got climb and headed back to SF.
Summer Forest: Good convo skips. It will require some testing, but I’m still convinced it’s quicker to get the orb and gems while swimming in air.
Hurricos: Good route, getting the fan jump orbs VERY quickly. Also without jumping on fans. Gem collection was on the whole very quick despite getting stuck on a step and pausing during the level. The lightning orb part is very slow, but that’s basically as quick as it gets!
Sunny Beach: Door skips are handled very well, gem collection is smooth, as are the orbs.
Ocean Speedway: Ouch! That must have been painful. Second time round went much better, again a fine balance between speed and consistency. The orb challenge fared badly as well. I don’t know if the runner was aware of this but you can speed Hunter up by superdashing as he always stays ahead of you. You can also use this fact to alter his route and speed him up by getting rings out of sequence, but that is extremely risky to put in an SS.
Summer Forest: All orbs and gems collected. Moneybags is paid.
Aquaria Towers: Getting eaten by those sharks was very bad. Sequence-breaking the towers was very awesome, I didn’t even know that was possible! The “not getting eaten” portion of the level looked very good, I must say.
Autumn Plains: The runner picked up an extra life. Is he planning some deathwarps?
Scorch: Missed a shortcut once and had to wait while Sparx was fed to get some gems. Overall was very smooth, shame about the Bombo minigame.
Fracture Hills: Missed the conversation skip at the start, and I think the route planning on the gems could be better optimised to take into account the fact the runner will be revisiting. That said, it does still show the same smoothness and swiftness that I’ve become accustomed to from the rest of the run. The planning around killing enemies for supercharge could have gone better, looks like the runner forgot he only got 12 of them. The gems in Hunter’s Earthcrusher area definitely should have waited until the revisit.
Autumn Plains: Nice dialogue skip!
Magma Cone: The second crystal game could have gone better, but it was still done 1st time so that helps. The rest of the level was good.
Autumn Plains: Greedy bear paid, door opened. A lot of hopping about for some reason.
Shady Oasis: Too much gem collection at the beginning considering he’s going to be back for the ? pot. Again I feel that the runner didn’t take advantage of the forced return visit after headbash to optimise his route. Having said that, the thieves were done reasonably well and in general the level had good execution.
Icy Speedway: Good route, succeeded 1st time, orb is fixed time, but the runner does that 1st time too. Shame about the bump after finding Hunter.
Autumn Plains: A few knocks and misses while clearing up the last orb and gem. Nothing major though.
Zephyr: I think the runner’s starting to show his fatigue as we near the two our mark of the video. Again showing similar difficulties with the cannon, the Cowleks could have gone better, and he missed some gems.Having said that, there was a very nice OOB glitch and a VERY tough double jump to complete Romeo and Juliet without seeds. Overall, a very tough level to do quickly and the runner makes short work of it.
Gulp: No real errors here (apart from bombing himself) but no double hits either.
Winter Tundra: Got headbash finally. Managed to miss the orb though, oops!
Cloud Temples: Well planned and executed, the freezing section went well as did the stealth, although there were some gems he could have collected at the same time to speed things up but it’s arguably too much of a risk in an SS for the time saved.
Mystic Marsh: The runner takes a LOT of damage in this one. The swap shop orb goes well and the spark plugs are very quick. There’s a little bit of Sparx Compassing for the rest of the gems
Fracture Hills: Picked up the last two orbs. Both challenges completed 1st time. They really are a fixed length thing so not much else the runner could have done, apart from saving some of the games from last visit to collect now!
Shady Oasis: Cleanup. Nice work on the orb.
Robotica Farms: A good level here, killing the pests was done very well and the supercharge was completed 1st time. I don’t recall having to use the supercharge on the metal crate (I think there’s a rocket somewhere, need to check that), although the runner wastes a bit of time trying to hit it.
Metropolis: For some reason the runner takes out the bull before superflaming the metal crate. Dodging the rocket pigs is quicker than fighting them as they kill themselves anyway. And the runner lost some gems at the end which wasted far too much time. However the bullfight itself went well, as did the combined UFO destroying / gem collecting.
Canyon Speedway: I think the runner panicked in this one as the route itself was quite poor the first time. After getting most of the cars, all the goats and rings, the runner tries to finish the cars by running in the same direction as them; at this point they would have been only a little bit behind him. If he’d travelled against the flow of traffic there would have been no problem. Missing the goat the second time was bad too, at least the Hunter’s challenge went well.
Winter Tundra: Last gems collected, although a couple of vases were missed and getting the whirlwind shouldn’t have been necessary.
Ripto: You can get an extra hit in when you have the superflame or superbomb powerup by keeping your distance and firing continuously. It’s hard to maintain accuracy though, which I assume is the runner’s goal here so close to the end of the run! The final phase (IMO the toughest) seemed to go the best. Ripto Defeated!
Overall, there are a lot of improvements that can be made, the running in general needs tightening as a lot of gems are missed or lost which ends up costing time. In spite of using relatively safe routes, the speedways were a bit disappointing and probably cost the most time. Deathless would have been nice too, although it makes me wonder if there is any potential for the use of deathwarping in Spyro 2 (nothing obvious springs to mind though) some of the routes can be optimised as well (esp. Fracture Hills and Shady Oasis, where the runner doesn’t take advantage of being forced to visit them twice)
On the other hand, while there are a lot of negatives to pick out, you really have to be quite nitpicky to notice them and they pale in comparison to the many positive aspects of the run. Most of the routes were excellent and on the whole very well executed; the standard of gaming in this run was very high, and the double jump was used exceedingly well. The OOB glitches were used to great effect and the sequence-breaking was smooth to the point where you are not totally sure which parts are being done in the ‘correct’ order and which aren’t! I loved watching this and can’t wait to see it on the front page of SDA.
The run isn’t perfect and is beatable, but as a benchmark it is of a very high standard and it will take a lot of work before it is improved. Therefore, I accept this run.
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Matt 'Crash41596' Leblanc!
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