Crystals For Life 2014

2013-08-13 07:02:42 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Game 1: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
System: Wii (Will be played on Wii U)
Estimate: 4:30:00
Info: Great storyline, interesting battle mechanics, and a fun score. Also, butt bumping minigame. That is all.
Downside: Sometimes bad voice acting.
Incentives: Extra dances during the Tribal Unity Ball, including one with Chime. Different ways to do the stealth sequence. Real life butt bumping during the mini-game on screen (only if willing participants).
Watchability: Since you get to enjoy speed AND plot, very watchable.
Freshness: Wasn't done at C4L 2013
Commentary Note: Since the lines are so hammy, I expect to play around during those. Smiley

Game 2: Legend of Mana - Japanese Version
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Estimate: 3:00 (But will be anywhere from 2:00 to 3:00 based upon storyline.)
Info: Fast paced battles with lots of quick decisions. Great musical score by Yoko Shimomura (Super Mario RPG, Parasite Eve, Kingdom Hearts).
Downside: The faster version is in Japanese, so unfortunately text will be unreadable.
Incentives: Player name and gender, storyline route (Dragon, Faerie, Jumi)
Watchability: Very enjoyable to watch. A little less with the Japanese version for text reading but traded off with quick battles.
Freshness: Wasn't done at C4L 2013
Commentary Note: Since I don't natively read kanji, will need to pay attention at parts for certain text (mainly weapon drops).

Game 1: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
System: Wii (Will be played on Wii U)
Estimate: 4:30:00
Info: Great storyline, interesting battle mechanics, and a fun score. Also, butt bumping minigame. That is all.
Downside: Sometimes bad voice acting.
Incentives: Extra dances during the Tribal Unity Ball, including one with Chime. Different ways to do the stealth sequence. Real life butt bumping during the mini-game on screen (only if willing participants).
Watchability: Since you get to enjoy speed AND plot, very watchable.
Freshness: Wasn't done at C4L 2013
Commentary Note: Since the lines are so hammy, I expect to play around during those. :)

Game 2: Legend of Mana - Japanese Version
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Estimate: 3:00 (But will be anywhere from 2:00 to 3:00 based upon storyline.)
Info: Fast paced battles with lots of quick decisions. Great musical score by Yoko Shimomura (Super Mario RPG, Parasite Eve, Kingdom Hearts).
Downside: The faster version is in Japanese, so unfortunately text will be unreadable.
Incentives: Player name and gender, storyline route (Dragon, Faerie, Jumi)
Watchability: Very enjoyable to watch. A little less with the Japanese version for text reading but traded off with quick battles.
Freshness: Wasn't done at C4L 2013
Commentary Note: Since I don't natively read kanji, will need to pay attention at parts for certain text (mainly weapon drops).

Namisyx

2013-08-13 09:02:39 am

twitch.tv/namisyx

Quote from rinimt:

Quote from Poxnor:

Nami: I thought you and rini had been working on SO4 together at some point. Is there any interest in controller hand-off on that run, since I thought the two of you were working fairly closely together on that game? Or did I misunderstand something?

That was for SO2 ^^;

Star Ocean 2 is still a possibility, but I don't want to offer it up until I'm confident I can make a good showing.

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2013-08-13 09:49:04 am

2013-08-13 09:28:08 am

Moo! Flap! Hug!

I'll update the first post later today. However, I have to interrupt here very briefly just to say: please treat this thread as a sign-up thread (mea culpa for not mentioning that in the first post). Now, I understand that real life happens (money, time, etc.), and some people might genuinely plan to make it but be unable to -- in that case, no worries! But, if you aren't ready to commit to at least genuinely planning to come, then please don't suggest games until you are. Game sign-ups are open until the end of September, and there is no benefit to games that are suggested earlier (game acceptance will be done in bulk, not on a rolling system like I used last year).

garik16

2013-08-13 11:08:18 am

Oh man, how did I miss this. Very very tempted to see if I could in theory manage to get Legend of Legaia done in a single segment within the month, but given my expected time on that (over 15 hours, probably 18) and chances of failure and my own lack of time....yeah it's almost certainly not happening.

Can't wait for this to happen though - C4L was awesome and I'll gladly give again.

Poxnor

2013-08-13 01:04:46 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

General comments for everyone first, followed by replies. First, I added one more criteria that I'm going to ask the reviewers: is the game a good fit for an RPG marathon. Just a simple check to make sure that it's actually RPGs we're running. I know the concept of what, exactly, is an RPG is a messy one. FF6 obviously is. Super Mario World obviously isn't. Lots of stuff falls in the middle Tongue

Triggerlily: Okay. Keep in mind, you have until the end of September to submit a game.

UA: I'm really the one person on all of SDA that hasn't played Crystalis. You make a compelling argument that it contains "Crystal" in its name Wink

Added to the list of submitted games.

Vulajin: I imagine a Pokemon game would be a good fit for an RPG marathon. I've never played a Pokemon game; but, I've seen them a little, and apparently they're similar in a lot of ways to the FFL trilogy (which is obviously an RPG trilogy). So unless I'm missing something about them from not having played them, they should be a good fit.

mikwuyma: Added Demon Rush to the list of suggested games. Three quick things: does the 4:30:00 take into account TDR's tendency to crash? If not, how much time are you risking losing to a marathon-luck-timed crash? Also, I removed it being really bad as a downside from the description -- it's really bad in the way that Army of Darkness is really bad. The only downside I honestly see is that I remember it crashing frequently during JRDQ bonus; so, if it's accepted, we'd have to be sure to schedule time for it accordingly.

Rayas: I've added your games to the list (though cut down on the length of WBIII's description). Be sure to tell MisterMV that he'll have to sign up himself in the thread as well. Can you do three-player SoM, if you have some sort of adapter, or are you limited to two players (just curious, in case someone else wants to get in on it)?

Potato Handle: I held off on adding your games, just because your sign-up sounded very tentative. If I'm misunderstanding, please let me know, and I'll add your games to the list of submitted games. Basically, my rule of thumb is: if you commit to trying to make it, then I'll add the games to the list (we can always make changes later).

Lag: I added UU. If you want me to add the others, just let me know.

puwexil: Added all the games. I haven't heard from romscout or RaneOfSoTN, though, so I just "penciled" them in, so to speak. I also felt your "downside" about IoG not being RPG-enough was a little harsh, so I toned it down (if the reviewers feel otherwise, they can add it back in; but, I think IoG falls pretty firmly in the RPG camp).

CrystalBeauty: I'll pretty much echo what I said to Potato Handle, here. Your post made it sound like you only want to come if shineeyo comes. I think you should decide if you want to come, especially since I haven't heard anything from shineeyo (ever). If you decide that you want to come, I can add your games to the list.

megakidicarus: Basically what I said to Potato Handle and CrystalBeauty. It sounds to me like you can't travel to Edmonton, and even if you could you have school then anyways. If I misunderstood, let me know.

Sir VG: Added both games to the list. Question about LoM -- how significant is the difference between the Japanese and the English versions? I don't object to having Japanese-language games in the marathon; but, if it's not a massive difference, I'd probably prefer the English-language version. For example, at C4L 2013, we played SaGa1 in Japanese (making it a 10-minute run, instead of a non-marathon-friendly game), but played SaGa3 in English (despite the Japanese version being about a 2:00:00 run compared to 3:20:00 in English). So, I'd just like to know more about why you're going for the Japanese version in LoM, and what an English run would look like.

garik: I don't think you missed anything, given that the first post was less than 24 hrs ago Smiley

General comments for everyone first, followed by replies.  First, I added one more criteria that I'm going to ask the reviewers: is the game a good fit for an RPG marathon.  Just a simple check to make sure that it's actually RPGs we're running.  I know the concept of what, exactly, is an RPG is a messy one.  FF6 obviously is.  Super Mario World obviously isn't.  Lots of stuff falls in the middle :P

Triggerlily: Okay.  Keep in mind, you have until the end of September to submit a game.

UA: I'm really the one person on all of SDA that hasn't played Crystalis.  You make a compelling argument that it contains "Crystal" in its name ;)  Added to the list of submitted games.

Vulajin: I imagine a Pokemon game would be a good fit for an RPG marathon.  I've never played a Pokemon game; but, I've seen them a little, and apparently they're similar in a lot of ways to the FFL trilogy (which is obviously an RPG trilogy).  So unless I'm missing something about them from not having played them, they should be a good fit.

mikwuyma: Added Demon Rush to the list of suggested games.  Three quick things: does the 4:30:00 take into account TDR's tendency to crash?  If not, how much time are you risking losing to a marathon-luck-timed crash?  Also, I removed it being really bad as a downside from the description -- it's really bad in the way that Army of Darkness is really bad.  The only downside I honestly see is that I remember it crashing frequently during JRDQ bonus; so, if it's accepted, we'd have to be sure to schedule time for it accordingly.

Rayas: I've added your games to the list (though cut down on the length of WBIII's description).  Be sure to tell MisterMV that he'll have to sign up himself in the thread as well.  Can you do three-player SoM, if you have some sort of adapter, or are you limited to two players (just curious, in case someone else wants to get in on it)?

Potato Handle: I held off on adding your games, just because your sign-up sounded very tentative.  If I'm misunderstanding, please let me know, and I'll add your games to the list of submitted games.  Basically, my rule of thumb is: if you commit to [i]trying[/i] to make it, then I'll add the games to the list (we can always make changes later).

Lag: I added UU.  If you want me to add the others, just let me know.

puwexil: Added all the games.  I haven't heard from romscout or RaneOfSoTN, though, so I just "penciled" them in, so to speak.  I also felt your "downside" about IoG not being RPG-enough was a little harsh, so I toned it down (if the reviewers feel otherwise, they can add it back in; but, I think IoG falls pretty firmly in the RPG camp).

CrystalBeauty: I'll pretty much echo what I said to Potato Handle, here.  Your post made it sound like you only want to come if shineeyo comes.  I think you should decide if [i]you[/i] want to come, especially since I haven't heard anything from shineeyo (ever).  If you decide that you want to come, I can add your games to the list.

megakidicarus: Basically what I said to Potato Handle and CrystalBeauty.  It sounds to me like you can't travel to Edmonton, and even if you could you have school then anyways.  If I misunderstood, let me know.

Sir VG: Added both games to the list.  Question about LoM -- how significant is the difference between the Japanese and the English versions?  I don't object to having Japanese-language games in the marathon; but, if it's not a massive difference, I'd probably prefer the English-language version.  For example, at C4L 2013, we played SaGa1 in Japanese (making it a 10-minute run, instead of a non-marathon-friendly game), but played SaGa3 in English (despite the Japanese version being about a 2:00:00 run compared to 3:20:00 in English).  So, I'd just like to know more about why you're going for the Japanese version in LoM, and what an English run would look like.

garik: I don't think you missed anything, given that the first post was less than 24 hrs ago :)

Alko

2013-08-13 01:19:10 pm

Caution: This user contains Kana ^_^

Oh wow, I want to go!
Pox, do I have chances to get a game in, that I haven't actively started speedrunning yet (but what I've been thinking of getting into C4L14 for quite some time already)?

And also I'm curious … considering the games suggestion topic for the other marathon four months earlier hasn't even opened, what is the reasoning for suggestions closing end of September already? I do understand flights to Canada tend to be more expensive than US domestic, and getting a passport takes its time and money, but that can't explain all of it imho.And yes, these two are totally unrelated, because a later sign-up closing date does not at all mean that I could get more practice in a game I'm not running yet xD

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2013-08-13 01:48:25 pm

2013-08-13 01:34:43 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Yup, Alko. You have almost two months to get a game suggestion in, and game requests submitted earlier have no advantage over those submitted later. There's a game I want to learn, but probably won't start on until September.

The reason I'm opening the topic so early is because, with JDRF already looking for a partner sponsor for our hotel rooms and conference room, they need an idea of how many attendees and the exact dates sooner rather than later. The corporate types who might donate this stuff for us like to do things half a year in advance.

Edit: also, I don't see the harm in opening game requests sooner and leaving them open longer, since many people told me last year that they didn't find out about C4L 2013 until after it was too late to apply to run a game.

Rayas

2013-08-13 01:56:42 pm

Wonderprincess

MV will reply here as soon as he comes back from vacation (which shouldn't be long, he's supposed to be back in a couple of days).

mikwuyma

2013-08-13 01:58:54 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Poxnor: The game hasn't crashed on me, but it's buggy and has crashed on people before. Save points are fairly common so the most you would lose from a crash is around 5 minutes. I could increase the estimate a little more (like 4:50 or so) to be super safe about crashes.

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2013-08-13 02:05:28 pm

2013-08-13 02:03:48 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Quote from mikwuyma:

Poxnor: The game hasn't crashed on me, but it's buggy and has crashed on people before. Save points are fairly common so the most you would lose from a crash is around 5 minutes. I could increase the estimate a little more (like 4:50 or so) to be super safe about crashes.

No need. If it's not crashing on you now, and the most you could lose is ~5min anyway, then I'm not concerned. A conservative estimate of 4:30:00 would be good, then.

For some reason, I thought it was constantly going down during JRDQ (and I'm not even sure I'm remembering properly). If that's not the case now, then who cares what it did or didn't do years ago.

Is it related to your computer setup, why it's stable for you, or is it basically a giant RNG hooked up to a big red "CRASH" button for everyone (and you've just been lucky)?

romscout

2013-08-13 02:07:47 pm

that Metroidvania guy

Quote from Poxnor:

puwexil: Added all the games. I haven't heard from romscout or RaneOfSoTN, though, so I just "penciled" them in, so to speak. I also felt your "downside" about IoG not being RPG-enough was a little harsh, so I toned it down (if the reviewers feel otherwise, they can add it back in; but, I think IoG falls pretty firmly in the RPG camp).

Oh, my bad. Yea, I'm on board with SD3. Already working on planning/routing and puwexil lives close enough to me that we'll be getting some weekends practicing on console (instead of just crappy netplay), so it should work out pretty well.

I might post another game or two to offer, but co-op SD3 with puwexil is definitely the one I'd want the most.

Lag.Com

2013-08-13 02:13:45 pm

sda loyalist

Oh also I could commentate on Morrowind (obviously) and Demon Rush (lol). puwexil managed to submit 4 games I can't do commentary for, what's up with that?

romscout

2013-08-13 02:17:54 pm

that Metroidvania guy

Oh yea, I can do commentary for all of puwexil and Mick Williams' submissions. I might need a box of tissues for the Brooks Cracktackle scene though. Cry

Wypy

2013-08-13 02:56:20 pm

Deal with it!

So many Games and people coming already, really cool! I'll try my best to be able to come, in the end it will all depend on my job situation in 2014. Nonetheless my plan is to come and getting a specific date as soon as possible will help me do so. I might need help in planning my trip since I've never been to Canada before. Maybe Alko can help me a bit since he did the same trip from Germany to Canada this year.

Even though I have no game to run except FF6 Glitchless and puwexil already applied to run it I would be more than happy to do commentary for his run. I could also sing a part of the Opera in german maybe for a donation incentive or just for fun :P. If there will be a bonus stream and puwexil also wants to run FF7 for it I can do commentary for it.

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2013-08-13 03:26:59 pm

2013-08-13 03:22:55 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

puwexil and romscout: I added romscout to SD3

Lag: I added you in for commentary on Morrowind and TDR [Pox note: LOL, I never realized that the next two games by the studio that made TDR are actually set in Toronto.]

romscout: Added you in for commentary. You're on your own for tissues, but I'm guessing mikwuyma will let you cry on his shoulder.

Wypy: I added you to the list as a potential FF6 player. My only concern is that I see in your profile you play the PAL PSN version of FF6. Needless to say, it would be better to play the NTSC SNES or Wii/WiiU VC version for a marathon. Regarding travelling to Canada, you'd likely fly from somewhere in Germany (Frankfurt/FRA or München/MUC?) to Toronto/YYZ (or, less likely, Vancouver/YVR), and connect on to Edmonton/YEG, all on Star Alliance (Lufthansa, Air Canada, etc.). You don't need a visa to come from Germany; you just need a valid German passport.

Wypy

2013-08-13 03:26:42 pm

Deal with it!

Thanks for the quick info Poxnor. And yeah I should have made it clear that I don't apply to run FF6 but to commentate on puwexils run, since I don't have any practice on the SNES or Wii Versions and probably won't be able to get any.

Poxnor

2013-08-13 03:28:04 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Okay, I'll change that up then. Should you want to commentate on the run without running a game yourself, you would have absolute first priority on the commentary couch.

Alko

2013-08-13 03:28:58 pm

Caution: This user contains Kana ^_^

I wasn't exactly worried or anything about the opening early and leaving it on for long, I was just … let's say confused about the early closing date for sign-ups when compared to AGDQ.

Wypy: For flights it's always worth also checking British Airways/One World (they were 100 € cheaper for me last year). You might also depart from any Berlin (TXL that is atm) or Hamburg (HAM). And you might also find yourself connecting in Calgary (YYC is that? I only know, because I entered that just today and got a flight via Calgary as one option).

Namisyx

2013-08-13 03:34:10 pm

twitch.tv/namisyx

Put me down for doing commentary on Rayas' Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap run. Smiley

Poxnor

2013-08-13 03:38:04 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Quote from Alko:

I wasn't exactly worried or anything about the opening early and leaving it on for long, I was just … let's say confused about the early closing date for sign-ups when compared to AGDQ.

It's not a closing date for sign-ups. It's a closing date for game suggestions. I need to finalize the length and exact dates of the marathon much earlier this year than last year; that's all. And, since I'm doing things in the opposite order as the *GDQs (getting the games list and then choosing exact dates, as opposed to the other way around), that means that the game list has to be finalized much earlier. Such is the trade-off, and the advantage to how the *GDQ game selection is done. But, this approach will also give me a Pretty Darned Good estimate for the number of people attending early on.

Quote from Alko:

Wypy: For flights it's always worth also checking British Airways/One World (they were 100 € cheaper for me last year). You might also depart from any Berlin (TXL that is atm) or Hamburg (HAM). And you might also find yourself connecting in Calgary (YYC is that? I only know, because I entered that just today and got a flight via Calgary as one option).

Yeah, YYC is Calgary. There aren't a tonne of flights from Calgary to Europe (most still go through Toronto/YYZ or Vancouver/YVR), but there are some. In fact, if you're really lucky, you might snag a direct flight between Edmonton/YEG and London-Heathrow/LHR, but there are not a lot of those at all (and I think only at certain times of year).

If you want some context about where all these crazy foreign Canadian cities are, just go to maps.google.ca, input the airport codes, and zoom out. Keep in mind, for context, that the province of Alberta (containing Edmonton and Calgary) is about three times the size of Germany.

Quote from Namisyx:

Put me down for doing commentary on Rayas' Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap run. Smiley

Will do.

[quote="Alko"]I wasn't exactly worried or anything about the opening early and leaving it on for long, I was just … let's say confused about the early closing date for sign-ups when compared to AGDQ.[/quote]
It's not a closing date for sign-ups.  It's a closing date for game suggestions.  I need to finalize the length and exact dates of the marathon much earlier this year than last year; that's all.  And, since I'm doing things in the opposite order as the *GDQs (getting the games list and then choosing exact dates, as opposed to the other way around), that means that the game list has to be finalized much earlier.  Such is the trade-off, and the advantage to how the *GDQ game selection is done.  But, this approach will also give me a Pretty Darned Good estimate for the number of people attending early on.

[quote="Alko"]Wypy: For flights it's always worth also checking British Airways/One World (they were 100 € cheaper for me last year). You might also depart from any Berlin (TXL that is atm) or Hamburg (HAM). And you might also find yourself connecting in Calgary (YYC is that? I only know, because I entered that just today and got a flight via Calgary as one option).[/quote]
Yeah, YYC is Calgary.  There aren't a tonne of flights from Calgary to Europe (most still go through Toronto/YYZ or Vancouver/YVR), but there are some.  In fact, if you're really lucky, you might snag a direct flight between Edmonton/YEG and London-Heathrow/LHR, but there are not a lot of those at all (and I think only at certain times of year).

If you want some context about where all these crazy foreign Canadian cities are, just go to maps.google.ca, input the airport codes, and zoom out.  Keep in mind, for context, that the province of Alberta (containing Edmonton and Calgary) is about three times the size of Germany.

[quote="Namisyx"]Put me down for doing commentary on Rayas' Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap run. :)[/quote]
Will do.

puwexil

2013-08-13 03:56:21 pm

Professional Second Banana

Quote from Lag.Com:

puwexil managed to submit 4 games I can't do commentary for, what's up with that?

....How?

Also, put me down for Crystalis commentary.

Poxnor

2013-08-13 04:04:07 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Quote from puwexil:

Also, put me down for Crystalis commentary.

What's the magic word?

Ahh, screw it. Done.

Tohmane

2013-08-13 04:06:45 pm

Execute.

May I please post stating my unwavering support for this event? Also I ~~hate~~ am very jealous of you all for being able to attend. Thank you.

mikwuyma

2013-08-13 04:07:03 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Demon Rush stability: I have no idea. Maybe I unlocked the hebrew character set. :x

Sir VG

2013-08-13 04:42:24 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

Quote from Poxnor:

Sir VG: Added both games to the list. Question about LoM -- how significant is the difference between the Japanese and the English versions? I don't object to having Japanese-language games in the marathon; but, if it's not a massive difference, I'd probably prefer the English-language version. For example, at C4L 2013, we played SaGa1 in Japanese (making it a 10-minute run, instead of a non-marathon-friendly game), but played SaGa3 in English (despite the Japanese version being about a 2:00:00 run compared to 3:20:00 in English). So, I'd just like to know more about why you're going for the Japanese version in LoM, and what an English run would look like.

Ultimately the US versions are a few minutes slower. How much slower depends on what storyline. Dragon storyline is 1h42m vs 1h50m (8 minutes), Faerie is 2h08m vs 2h12m (4 minutes) and Jumi is 2h36m vs 2h48m (12 minutes). Language actually has very little to do with differences in time. The biggest reasons is weapon damage and boss HP. One of the weapons, GigasGlove in the US version has an ATK of 19 in the US version while the Japanese one has an ATK of 35. Boss HP goes all over the place compared to the US. So basically the US version got rebalanced. The Japanese version I'd use Gloves (faster attacks, easier to stunlock some bosses) where I'd be using 2-handed swords in the US one (slower, but more powerful, harder to stunlock, which makes some bosses harder and more trolly). I don't have a problem doing either, but I think the Japanese version is better. I'd have to bring both anyways even if I did do the Japanese version due to what I have to do to boot it on a US system.

Yeah, long winded explanation. TL;DR version: Japanese is faster due to rebalance by 4-12 minutes.

[quote="Poxnor"]Sir VG: Added both games to the list.  Question about LoM -- how significant is the difference between the Japanese and the English versions?  I don't object to having Japanese-language games in the marathon; but, if it's not a massive difference, I'd probably prefer the English-language version.  For example, at C4L 2013, we played SaGa1 in Japanese (making it a 10-minute run, instead of a non-marathon-friendly game), but played SaGa3 in English (despite the Japanese version being about a 2:00:00 run compared to 3:20:00 in English).  So, I'd just like to know more about why you're going for the Japanese version in LoM, and what an English run would look like.[/quote]

Ultimately the US versions are a few minutes slower. How much slower depends on what storyline. Dragon storyline is 1h42m vs 1h50m (8 minutes), Faerie is 2h08m vs 2h12m (4 minutes) and Jumi is 2h36m vs 2h48m (12 minutes). Language actually has very little to do with differences in time. The biggest reasons is weapon damage and boss HP. One of the weapons, GigasGlove in the US version has an ATK of 19 in the US version while the Japanese one has an ATK of 35. Boss HP goes all over the place compared to the US. So basically the US version got rebalanced. The Japanese version I'd use Gloves (faster attacks, easier to stunlock some bosses) where I'd be using 2-handed swords in the US one (slower, but more powerful, harder to stunlock, which makes some bosses harder and more trolly). I don't have a problem doing either, but I think the Japanese version is better. I'd have to bring both anyways even if I did do the Japanese version due to what I have to do to boot it on a US system.

Yeah, long winded explanation. TL;DR version: Japanese is faster due to rebalance by 4-12 minutes.