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puwexil: 2017-05-26 03:42:29 pm
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puwexil: 2017-03-29 12:48:50 pm
puwexil: 2017-03-27 11:11:23 pm
puwexil: 2017-03-25 06:28:37 pm
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puwexil: 2017-03-17 12:39:35 pm
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puwexil: 2017-03-16 02:50:49 pm
puwexil: 2017-03-16 01:32:32 pm
puwexil: 2017-03-16 12:33:53 pm
puwexil: 2017-02-07 11:25:02 pm
puwexil: 2017-02-07 11:23:24 pm
puwexil: 2016-12-31 10:31:19 pm
puwexil: 2016-12-17 10:07:23 am
Professional Second Banana
RPG Limit Break 2017 VODs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8PZB25uZuZ4ZNlS5eIrTOigjupgxG2-0 or https://www.twitch.tv/collections/ifIMHTYfwRR51A

Language Restream VODs:
French: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdvf0XoufSM4Y4vl7nDek1fHTlGSNgrw
German: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL48fchOYN_RVprZT4HiHdvpB410nSB-Lp
Japanese: https://www.twitch.tv/collections/qREZgSDSwRSedQ

RPG Limit Break 2017 Schedule: https://horaro.org/rpglb/2017

RPG Limit Break 2017 Game List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FB0aTxpaZk2e0aEGrT2qxtjL_IiZSC_FwqK63HrFj9E/edit#gid=884421379

Incentives:
Incentives in white text are approved - runners, please double-check for accuracy.
Incentives in blue text are also approved, but pending additional info from the runner(s).
Incentives in red text are still pending approval - RPGLB Staff has reached out to these runners for additional info needed to make a decision, or the incentive will be added during the event if we get ahead of schedule (many 'watch/sing the ending' incentives fall under this).
Alundra
- None

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
- Main character name (16 character limit)

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
- File name (6 characters alphanumeric + some special characters allowed)

Cthulhu Saves The World
- Bromide showcase

Diablo II
- Character name (15 characters max, underline can be part of it, as long as it’s not the first spot)
- Class choice (Assassin, Druid, Paladin)

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days
- Final Battle attack animations

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
- Bid War: Papas (Pankraz)'s Fate
- Console/Disc Tray Cam

Dragon Warrior III
- Name the Hero (up to 8 characters).

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey
- Name the 3 monster lines (Offense, Magic, Support - 5 character limit).

Earthbound (Relay Race) - each time will use the same names
- Name Ness, Paula, JEFF, Poo (5 character limit)
- Name the Dog, Favorite Food, Favorite Thing (6 character limit)
- Name the Player (24 character limit)

Fable 2
- Character gender choice
- Name the dog (16 character limit)
- Do The Blind Date Quest
- Ending choice (The One, The Few, or The Many)

Final Fantasy IX (Co-op)
- Naming characters: Zidane, Steiner, Garnet, Vivi, Eiko, Quina, Freya, Aramant (7 character length)
- Show Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene
- Fight Hades in Disc 4

Final Fantasy Legend II
- 4 character names (4 uppercase/lowercase letters)
- Main character's race: Human, Esper, Robot, or Monster

Final Fantasy Legend III
- Character names for Arthur/Curtis/Gloria/Sharon (6 character limit)
- Bad background color rolling bid war

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (Race)
- Naming Benjamin (8 character limit)
- Underflow Glitch showcase (this will not be an incentive, but can be shown off by a finished runner in the event of a large spread)

Final Fantasy Tactics
- Naming Ramza (14 Characters)

Final Fantasy VII
- Name Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Red XIII (9 character limit)
- Bring Aerith to fight the final boss

Final Fantasy XII (Co-Op)
- Sing during the credits (all runners/commentators)
- Fight Cid 2 blindfolded (need confirmation this can be done reliably)
- Fight Elder Wyrm and/or King Bomb - pending decision on Cid 2 incentive

Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Serah outfits (Default outfit, Summoner's Garb, Beachwear, White Mage)
- Noel outfits (Default outfit, Battle Attire, Spacetime Guardian, Black Mage)
- Mog outfits (Black Mage (http://i.imgur.com/pvzQt2i.png), Devil (http://i.imgur.com/FqpKdje.png), Panda (http://i.imgur.com/fmU6d8m.png), Pirate (http://i.imgur.com/OAlGAOY.png), White Mage (http://i.imgur.com/WSlssDJ.png))
- Name monsters (Flannister, Gilgamesh, Illuminati, Jeff, Onion Dome, Solomon - will be used for Nekton/Gahongas/Chichu
- Post-run DLC superboss bidwar (Ultros & Typhoon, Gilgamesh, Snow, or Valfodr 99) - need confirmation on which fights can be consistently done in under 10 min.

Fire Emblem 8: Sacred Stones
- Bid War: Eirika vs. Ephraim Route

Golden Sun: The Lost Age
- Naming Jenna, Sheba, Piers (5 characters max)
- Get the "Iris" summon during the run

I Am Setsuna
- Name Endir, Setsuna (both 10 char)
- Skillname Bidwar: Luminaire (12 Char)
- Harder Endboss - need clarification
- Killing the Schwarzstrom Superboss - sounds like this needs more testing

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX
- Fight Sephiroth at LV1 (1MP Challenge)
- Glitchgrabah showcase
- Fight Kurt Zisa at LV1

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD (Race)
- Character Bid War: Terra, Ventus, Aqua
- Race the No Heart battle

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
- None

Legend of Grimrock
- Character Portraits (Team Final Fantasy, Team Shining Force, Team JeffBound)
- Read the Toorum Notes (Out Loud)

Mega Man Star Force 2
- Bid War (game version): Zerker x Saurian, Zerker x Ninja

Mother
- Name Ninten, Lloyd, Ana, Teddy, and Favorite Food (6 character limit each)
- Name the player (18 character limit)

Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Omen
- Category Bid War: Good (Any%) vs Evil (Devil Ending)
- Opinion Leader name (Jeff, Delita, or T260)
- Opinion Leader gender

Paper Mario (Race)
- Name the File (8 characters) - Runners will use top 2 names

Pokemon Sapphire
- Trainer Name (7 character limit)
- Mudkip, Bird-type, Castform, Kyogre Names (10 character limit), bird-type name (10 character limit), Castform name (10 character limit)

Pokemon X
- Naming Chespin, Hawlucha, Lucario, and Xerneas (10 character limit)
- Naming the Player (7 character limit)

SaGa Frontier (Race)
- Bid War: Emilia or Asellu.
- Bonus Blue Run - this will be added if we're running ahead of schedule close to the run.

Saturday Morning RPG
- Hand Cam
- Crush or Save Ben in Episode V
- Sing A-Long to ending song "No Risk No Glory"

Secret Of Evermore
- Boy name, Dog name (12 character limit)
- Skip the Defend Glitch
- What to turn the old man in the market into (Chicken, Basket, Goat, Spare him)
- Anger the chicken god

Secret Of Mana (Co-op)
- Name Randi (Hero) and Popoi (Sprite) - 6 Characters each
- Visit and complete the Pure Lands - this will be added closer to the run if time permits
- 2p1c up to Tropicallo
- Post-run Glitchfest

Shadows Hearts: From the New World
- Choice of two other characters (only Johnny and Hilda are mandatory) in the party - need character choices
- Fight the secret bonus boss on a separate save file - need time estimate
- Meeting the Meowmenator (Mao's Padoga) - need time estimate
- Sing the Ending Song - will be added if we're running ahead of schedule.

Shining Force (Race)
- Name Max (main character, 7 character limit) - runners will use top 2 names
- Pick up the Sugoi Mizugi
- Pick up the Kitui Huku
- Post-run push-ups for misses

Star Ocean: Till The End of Time
- Naming Fayt, Sophia, Nel, Cliff, Maria (7 character limit)

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- Filename (8 characters)
- Visit Link and Samus
- Fight Culex

Sweet Home
- Name the Lighter, Vacuum, and Master Key users (6 character limit) - will use top 3 names

Sylvan Tale
- None

Terranigma
- Name Ark (5 Characters)
- Minigame Exhibition - need specifics/estimate
- Visit Quintet HQ
- Level up Ark's macho stat

World of Final Fantasy
- Name Chocochick, Fenrir, Floating Eye, Copper Gnome, Searcher, and Valefor mirages (10 character limit, upper+lower case, special characters ok)
- Champion 1 bid war (Warrior of Light, Tifa, Snow, Squall, Tidus, Shantotto, Terra)
- Champion 2 bid war (Lightning, Bartz, Cloud, Celes, Sephiroth, Sora, Balthier)

Xenoblade Chronicles
- Rolling Incentive: Voice Acting language (English/Japanese)
- Singing the Ending song - will add if we're running ahead of schedule.
- Performing the Melancholy Tyrea sidequest

Ys: Memories of Celceta
Bid War: Knife Route vs. Mace Route

Star Tropics or Zoda's Revenge: Star Tropics 2
- Bid War between games


Please refer to the RPG Limit Break 2017 main thread for marathon dates, location, and other details - this thread is for game offers & discussion.  If you've submitted runs for previous RPGLB events, note the change in process for offering donation incentives - the submission process is otherwise unchanged.

Submission Guidelines (will be used to choose runs for the schedule):
Length - This will be a 6-day marathon (running roughly from noon on 5/15 to midnight the night of 5/20, for about 132 total hours).  We decided not to extend the marathon length compared to RPGLB 2016, but are definitely open to doing so in the future as the event and submission pool grow.  We want to have as much variety on the schedule as possible (both for games and runners), so 6+ hour runs will need to be very strong in the below areas.
Donation Incentives - What we're here for (along with having a fun week)!  Can you name characters?  Are there storyline branches/character choices/optional bosses that work in a speedrun route?  Are there in-jokes in the game that fans would donate to see (ie the Phantom Train Suplex)?  Strong donation incentives will be especially important for longer runs.
Entertainment - Does the run have interesting tricks/strats that make for engaging commentary?  Is there variety in the gameplay throughout the course of the run?  What is the cutscene to action ratio like?
Game Popularity - One of the purposes of this marathon will be giving some RPGs that aren't popular enough to make a GDQ schedule a chance in the spotlight; but at the same time we want to have games on the schedule that a decent chunk of our audience has heard of and will stick around for.  More obscure games also tend to have difficulty getting commentators besides the runner; and having strong run commentary throughout this marathon is a big focus for RPGLB.
Marathon Safety - How consistently can your run be finished within the estimate you give?  How big of an impact does randomness have on the run?  How likely would it have to be mercy killed to prevent going significantly over estimate?
Language - As our main audience is going to be English-speakers, English text is generally preferred over Japanese or other languages, especially for text-heavy games.  This will be much less of a concern for games with skippable cutscenes and/or where the speedrun is easy to follow through animations and other non-text means.  Voice acting in non-English languages is always fine, and if selectable can make for a good donation incentive.

Defining what is/isn't an RPG is something I'm not going to attempt - I and the people who help me form the game list/schedule will decide on a case-by-case basis if any offered games aren't appropriate for the marathon.

Limit is 5 games/10 total categories per runner - co-op runs will count towards each player’s limit, and all participants in co-op runs/races need to offer the game individually.  Please only offer games that you’d want to actually run at the marathon (possibly as your only game); but if you have a preference order among your games you can note that.  Deadline for submissions is December 31st at 11:59PM EST (GMT-5).  The list of accepted and backup runs for RPGLB 2017 is planned to be posted in February 2017.

It’s fine to offer a game that someone else already has - if that game is accepted we’ll sort out when making the schedule who runs it, or if the game would work for a co-op/team run or race.

We'll have basic NTSC-U consoles (NES, SNES, PS2, Wii, etc) and a gaming PC on hand - if you need any other equipment provided please note that.  It is expected that all console-based games will be run on original console or a console-based emulator (ie Wii VC/PSN/flash cart).  It is fine to use PC-based emulators (BizHawk, SNES9X, ePSXe, etc) for submission videos, as long as you will be prepared to run the game on console at the marathon (including making any needed arrangements for a controller & cartridge/disc).

To offer games, fill out the below form for each game and post in this thread - you are free to edit your post up until the submission deadline.  A change from previous events is that we are formally combining donation incentive offers with game submissions, so please be serious & thorough when filling out the incentives section (including specifying character limits for character/file names and options for bid wars).

Submission Form:
Game Name:
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different):
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc):
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content):
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run):
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required):

Sample Submission:
Game Name: Final Fantasy IX
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:35 (32 min ending/Melodies of Life sing-a-long + 3 min Blackjack card game)
Pros/Cons: One of the least glitchy Final Fantasy games, so the speedrun route is all about using the equipment/abilities that the game gives you in creative ways.  Battle strats vary considerably over the course of the run due to frequent party changes.  Game has some heavy RNG factors like the # of random encounters, enemy AI, and card tournament; but is completely marathon safe (poor luck generally just means a slower run, and there are save points close to the most dangerous sections).
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger, Freya, Quina, Eiko, Amarant - 7 character limit for all), showing Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene (+2 min)
Sample run video: <link to Twitch VOD or Youtube video of a completed run with commentary> - [noembed] [/noembed] tags can be used to prevent Youtube videos embeds.
Thread title:  
Edit history:
WanderingMind: 2016-12-27 12:14:41 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-26 08:53:00 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-18 01:22:17 pm
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 10:30:24 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 01:01:33 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 01:01:11 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 12:58:38 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 12:54:33 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 12:52:46 am
WanderingMind: 2016-12-17 12:50:12 am
Stay chill, be cool.
Game Name: Valkyria Chronicles II
System: PSP played on PSTV
Category: Any% Normal
Gameplay Estimate: 3:45:00
Ending / Bonus Estimate: 0:22 (0:03 for hilarious cutscene I want to show off after the last mission, 0:14 for final cutscene / credits / epilogue, 0:05 for something dumb I want to show off in a mission)

Pros/Cons: A turn based strategy RPG with third person shooter tactics, the second game in the trilogy marks a departure from the drawn-out large scale battles of the first game and shifts more towards fast paced skirmishes set across maps broken up into smaller areas.  The game is still just as broken, where we run units past a bunch of enemies firing at us, launch enemies out of camps with grenades in ways that defy physics, and shoot things we shouldn't be able to destroy in 1-2 hits with a ridiculously powerful tank turret.  The cutscene to action ratio is 0 because the cutscene skipping is so good, I forgot where they were for the 2+ years I've been running this game.  Missions vary between capturing camps, killing enemy commanders, escorting APC vehicles, searching for supply crates, wipe out all enemy forces, running to set locations while under heavy fire, and defend missions where we exploit the enemy AI.

There is a fair amount of randomness, between varying enemy spawns, unit promotion credits and a few others. However, this is accounted for in the estimate, and the constant changes mean that no two runs are ever alike. There is one point where there's a required 30% drop to continue for PB attempts; however, I will have a backup save ready in case this causes an issue (this also won't cause an issue for incentives). The run is otherwise quite marathon safe; as the worst case scenario for a mission only loses progress for that specific mission.

This game has been well received at online marathons where I ran it, most recently at Shots Fired last month.  That run will be very similar with how it would play out at RPG Limit Break with Ghoul, the original runner of this game, significantly helping out with commentary.  Route changes and improvements will mean that runs often finish with a much lower time.  This video however remains the best example of a marathon style run to date.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the tank (6 character limit).  Bid war for tank decal: choice between Vanquish, Skies of Arcadia, and Resonance of Fate theme.

Sample Run Video:

Edit history:
GhostKingG1: 2017-01-19 12:10:45 am
GhostKingG1: 2017-01-19 12:10:20 am
GhostKingG1: 2017-01-19 12:06:05 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-29 06:47:03 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-27 03:33:54 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-26 11:22:11 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-26 03:42:24 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-22 08:06:50 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-22 08:05:27 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-22 08:01:31 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-22 12:29:24 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-20 05:42:25 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-20 05:39:38 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-20 03:06:00 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-19 03:38:19 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-19 03:29:45 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-19 12:31:33 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-18 04:23:55 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 11:34:55 pm
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 06:08:58 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 03:14:33 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 03:13:34 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 03:01:16 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 02:29:06 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:41:14 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:39:41 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:33:24 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:30:33 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:29:57 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:29:43 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:28:20 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:26:04 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:25:03 am
GhostKingG1: 2016-12-17 01:23:41 am
Why Hello it is Me
Yay! Time to do the opposite of what I did last year and submit as the second person instead of the second last, with 5 games instead of 1 thumbsup

EDIT: Preference is as follows: Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time = Custom Robo > Ys Celceta > Cthulhu Saves the World > DQ: Rocket Slime

Game Name: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
System: DS
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~7 min. This is for the incentive and the credits (which are about 3 minutes)

Pros: This run has a lot of variety and areas where skill comes into play. For instance, the run potentially uses all but 1 of the game's 10 Bros Attacks. Badges change the strategy of the game; some sections use danger (1 HP) strats, others reward the player for holding as few Mushrooms as possible (an antithesis of Superstar Saga). For those who are a fan of speedruns that aren't broken like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the game is played pretty much in its entirety, with one glitch (Exploiting a programming oversight to get a ridiculous amount of money early on), a few small skips and one sequence break that skips a less-than-pleasant section of the final dungeon. The game is also considered the hardest Mario RPG by many, so there's appeal to those who enjoy seeing challenging games beaten quickly. The run involves maximizing strength over other stats and using game knowledge to deal with enemy attacks, and there is zero grinding. Cutscenes are downright goofy and hilarious. Also it's the most recognizable face in gaming (Mario), with Yoko Shimomura composing the soundtrack, which is kinda neat.

Cons: Among the Mario RPGs, it is a little on the longer side. Partners in Time lives sort of in the shadow of the other DS Mario & Luigi (Bowser's Inside Story) among the general public. First half an hour is on the slow side to pick up, and first boss isn't until ~45 minutes in. The final boss in particular can be a bit risky, though thankfully the JP/PAL versions tone it down considerably. I have improved this game's marathon safety with a bit of extra equipment and safety strats, without costing much time overall, but the estimate leaves a lot of time to accomodate for potentially 5 minutes of RNG as well as deaths. The game is also a little low on incentives, as it lacks a glitch showcase or player names.

Extra Information: I run the game on the Japanese version. The North American version is much less viable for speedrunning. If accepted, I will run the game on the PAL English version (and obtain a PAL copy), which has virtually no noticeable differences from JP speedwise for RTA. 

Possible Donation Incentives: Visit a secret shop run by a character who may or may not be a fan favorite less-than-sane, always-chortling, fink-rat hating, Fury-having Bean from the first game. (Spoiler: It's Fawful, and an entertaining cutscene plays when you visit his shop for the first time. The cutscene can be seen here) Takes about 3 minutes.

Sample run video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POsB6m9_s0s - This was my third completed run of the game, I'm going to be working on pushing it to the 4:20/4:30 range over the next couple months.

Game Name: Custom Robo (AKA Custom Robo: Battle Revolution, which is its full Japanese title)
System: Gamecube
Category : Any% New Journey
Gameplay Estimate: 2:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~3 min

Pros: This game is a childhood favorite of many Gamecube owners. It's a sort of action-RPG/Arena Brawler in a world similar to Pokemon, except unlike Pokemon you beat up other peoples customized robots with your customized Robots. The run is straight up execution and reaction to enemy AI, as many bosses have overpowered robot parts. The run has a solid action-to-cutscene ratio, with a lot of silliness within the cutscenes that make it amusing to watch. The game is marathon safe, as deaths only cost between 60-90 seconds. I've received a good amount of positive feedback for this run both from people who have never seen the game and from people who liked this game when they were younger and didn't know that it had anyone who did speedruns of it.

Cons: We stop getting new parts after about 30% of the way into the run, and the overall strategy remains the same for a decent chunk of the game, though different battles have their own nuances. Some of the 2v2 battles are a bit hard to tell exactly what is going on, and the game takes a bit of explaining how it works. It is a bit backloaded; the first battle that really can be considered a "boss" happens around an hour in (although the battles before it still can be tricky).

Extra Information: I am also offering a Relay Race offer with other runners (Tehrizzle, Darklorddracula, and StingerPA) in a 2 runners vs 2 runners race, though I am also willing to do a race or 2 person co-op run (it's difficult to sensibly divide this game among more than 2 people with its length). Races are a big part of our community and I would like to be able to showcase that. Should a 2v2 be accepted, we can also adjust the donation incentive for Metal Ape color to be the top two choices (e.g. have Team Yellow Ape vs Team Blue Ape). I have confirmed with Puwexil that this game is enough of an RPG to consider for an RPGLB schedule.

Possible Donation Incentives: Name the Hero (8 Character Limit),  Metal Ape Color (Brown, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue), show off the bad ending (~2 minutes), Have a 2v2 (or however many participate in the run) Multiplayer Deathmatch at the end of the run between the teams/runners (Should take only about 5 minutes tops).

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/107796026

Game Name: Ys: Memories of Celceta
System: PS Vita (PSTV)
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~4 min

Pros: The most current Ys game released in the states, and is a reimagined Ys IV. The coolest part of the run is that halfway into the run you get a power up which lets you literally run as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog. Combat is simple and fast, 5 of the 6 characters get at least a decent amount of usage, the dungeons are varied and the game is nice to look at (at least when on a better bitrate than I stream at). Also the soundtrack is amazing.

Cons: Run on Easy difficulty; although we never pick up armor, there are only a few fights in which there is risk of party death (thankfully the game lets me retry a boss fight rather than go to last save), this makes things mostly safe, although some people don't like runs on easier difficulty. Not many enemies outside of boss battles are fought so a good chunk of the run is just moving from place to place, leading to a few slower parts of the early game.  Cutscenes move way faster than most Ys games, featuring a fast-forward button, so story is hard to follow from text alone for those interested (which thankfully the Fast-forward button does not affect the music).

Possible Donation Incentives: Knife route vs Mace route bidwar. There are two viable routes which differ based on who the player picks as their main damage dealer, Karna (Knife wielder) or Calilica (Mace wielder). Both are considered the two fan-favorite characters of the game. The other two party members used lategame are the same in both routes. As a note, my VOD uses Mace route, WR uses Knife route. Difficult to approximate time differences, but it's likely not more than a couple minutes.

Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRUqm7MtGIU

Game Name: Cthulhu Saves the World
System: PC
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~1 min

Pros: This game is short and goofy, but an all around solid speedrun that serves as a bit of a microcosm of SNES-era style RPG speedruns. The battle system moves very fast and there is a ton of strategy to fights and improvising on the harder ones, and the game gives you 1-ups which let you retry bosses in the event of a wipe (which seldom happens with the current route but is not unheard of). Also has a way better OST than it has any right to (sound quality on VOD is not the best unfortunately).

Cons: No incentives I can think of. Run on lowest difficulty. Menuing goes so fast it's not the easiest to tell exactly what the player is doing.

Possible Donation Incentives: None that I can think of.

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/ghostkingg1/v/87109616

Game Name: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
System: DS
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~3 min

Pros: This game is an adorable little adventure game for the DS, featuring the iconic Slime of the Dragon Quest series as a protagonist. You go around saving your friends, blasting your way through iconic enemies of Dragon Quest, and building up an arsenal for your 100 foot tall slime-shaped tank. This game is loaded with charm and puns, and is one of the shortest non-glitched Dragon Quest speedruns. This game has the trademark Dragon Quest charm: endearing enemies, face-meltingly adorable slimes, and more puns than you can shake a cypress stick at.

Cons: Any% is defined as "beat the final boss" and does not feature the credits, which requires all 100 slimes to be saved. 100 Slimes is a separate category for that reason (which I am not offering as it basically consists of extra backtracking to earlier areas). Tank battle strategies don't feature a large amount of variety as the tank never upgrades its HP. Game uses both screens so it is a bit difficult to see everything on the top screen.

Extra Information: I don't know if this game is "RPG enough", it has RPG elements and is from a mainly RPG series, but non-tank gameplay more similar to a an action-adventure game. I'll leave it to the committee to decide on this.

Possible Donation Incentives: Slime name (8 Characters)

Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5DD2Q5LdZg - Marathon Run (with some old strats)
https://www.twitch.tv/ghostkingg1/v/108902216 + https://www.twitch.tv/ghostkingg1/v/108902478 - current PB
Game Name : Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX
System : Playstation 3
Category : Proud (Level 1)
Gameplay Estimate : 3:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate : (6mins) Sephiroth Level 1 with 1MP 
Pros : Exp 0 is broken by performing a glitch called "damage storage".
The player will do multiple damage when Sora uses Summons / Magic which makes most fights pretty easy.
There is no 1-shot K.O simply because EXP 0 prevents you from dying in taking blows that are too strong on Sora.
(In which normally it should 1-shot you if your too under leveled)
It is the hardest difficulty if Proud Mode was not enough for a casual player.
Cons : No Scan; World of Chaos is Chaotic; if the player dies, it will cost minutes of time loss (2+ minutes depending on what fight);
the possibility of the game crashing; Sora does not do a lot of physical damage; too much summon animation.   
Donation Incentive Offers : Name the boat in Destiny Islands
Sample run video :
Excited as always to offer what I've put time into this year! Also even more excited to see what everyone else has to show off Cheesy

Game Name: Saga Frontier (part of a larger full game relay)
System: PSX on PS2 fast disk speed
Category: T260G scenario Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: The ending is like 2 minutes long and is usually contained in the timing for this game.
Pros: Short individual installment with a lot of action, tricky movement and FANTASTIC music. The run abuses the "Junk Shop" glitch to become strong very quickly, which is a pretty well known bug if you've even played the game casually. Enemy movement trolling will likely influence finish time a decent amount, but won't ever cause the run to fail.
Cons: The only slow part is right at the end where you have to grind out 30 one turn fights to progress to the last boss (donation reading time?) roughly 10 minutes.
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming T260G [[decently high character limit, will edit with exact amounts]], anything else that is offered in the greater full game run.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/obdajr/v/106656574

Game Name: Bahamut Lagoon
System: SFC (emulator for translation patch, open to buying a flashcart or repo cart if that would be better)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:40 (I think I can grind this lower)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0
Pros: When I started working on this game, I thought sub 8 hours was crazy, but after putting the work in, its now down to a very reasonable RPGLB length. heavily abuses the mechanics of dragon growth, Light Armor's ridiculous passive ability  and a glitch that allows characters to move almost 3 times as far on the map as intended. These allow the otherwise slow combat mechanics of a tactical RPG to go by very quickly, resulting in many first turn victories. Amazing music and sprite work, I don't think it's ever been showcased at a marathon before. There are very few random things that can cause significant setbacks. I am also pretty passionate about the run which I hear is important Smiley
Cons: are that the game is probably less widespread on the popularity scale, although there are plenty of diehard fans. Battles can get repetitive in the mid game
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (Byuu, Yoyo, the airship and all 7 dragons) [[high character limit, will edit with exact amounts]]. Eating Yoyo's cookies or telling her she sucks at baking. All 5 Princess Huh? items (adds a couple minutes, probably too vauge to offer)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/obdajr/v/92303472

All in all, I hope to get in, and hope to see you all there!
Edit history:
MSKain: 2017-01-14 10:27:57 pm
MSKain: 2017-01-14 10:26:25 pm
MSKain: 2017-01-14 04:46:40 pm
MSKain: 2016-12-26 09:31:32 am
Live and Learn, Die and Learn Faster
Game Name:  Soulcalibur III – Chronicles of the Sword

System: PS2

Category: Any% / SC%

Gameplay: 3:30 / 4:15

Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:06 (yeah, both the ending movie and the demonstration video are pretty short)

Pros/Cons: This is long but since it is never-before-seen, I want to be thorough:

Cons – Let’s do these first. 
- While this is a Strategy RPG mode of the game, the core engine is a fighting game, so the battles center around repeatedly spamming exploitable stun combos. 
- Since I am the only known runner of this game, in-depth commentary would be limited to me and probably my sister who helped me develop this run. 
- Portions of the map battles involve little action for a few minutes at a time, which is great for safe commentary and donation readings, but does make it somewhat slow.

Pros –

- An interesting changeup, Chronicles of the Sword is a Strategy RPG game mode for Soulcalibur III which is otherwise strictly a 3D weapon fighter. 
- The run requires five created characters, allowing interesting personal customization and naming incentives. 
- Much of the time-saving requires carefully-planned movement on the tactical map, and while the fighting game is somewhat repetitive, many battles (especially SC% bonus battles) have special effects that alter strategy and make them more intense. 
- And even the repetitive battles will give streams of repeated battle lines for Twitch chat to spam, depending on which voices I use, including, “How rude!”, “You can’t get away!” and even “Did I do it?” 
- Game is super-safe, as failing a Chronicle just requires me to restart it while even keeping any experience I earned, with all Chronicles running 5-15 min.  My estimates are pretty much assuming a worst-case scenario of mental derp or ridiculously bad luck (runs are becoming more consistent even with these).  And this is still a very new run, so I should get these times down even more by May.

Possible Donation Incentives:  I can run Any% with SC% as a donation incentive (defeating all 23 original Soulcalibur characters, who appear as optional superbosses in the game); English vs. Japanese voice acting (only once, before the run starts; I can’t change mid-game without saving and quitting, but would not affect time); Defeat Ende (ultimate Superboss, a level 99 Swordmaster, +5 min, may go down); post-run video of Soulcalibur tech at its finest (including some hilarious  movement tech, most of the post-run time is this movie); and the granddaddy, Five custom characters to name and build (one Dancer and 4 Swordmasters, with gender selectable; names can be up to 12 characters long; I would have to discuss more on how to build them, as there are obviously too many different options to make it a legitimate donation incentive but a big portion of fun would be giving the audience a chance to have a hand in designing the characters, and there are some ideas my sister and I have had to make it marathon viable).

Sample run video:

https://www.twitch.tv/mskain/v/114651352 (my newest updated any% PB, and at the end includes the gameplay movie I submitted for a donation incentive)

https://www.twitch.tv/mskain/v/112861208 (my newest updated SC% PB, easily clearing sub-4:00)

Edit history:
MrStarbird: 2017-02-02 10:36:03 am
Leader of Starbirdia!
Game Name: Phantasy Star II
System: Sega Genesis
Category: (100%)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:25:00 to 2:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00

Pros/Cons: With the new glitch discovered, this game is a very safe RPG to run and the 100% category demonstrates the entire game. It doesn't use the Inventory Glitch as much as the Any% run so instead of endless trips to the inventory to pull out all the key items, only a couple of items are pulled in order to advance in the game. There is also plenty for me to discuss as far as the story and the glitches. That being said, the game is a bit longer as all characters have to be recruited and because NeiFirst has to be killed, the encounter flag is set to ON during the rest of the game, unlike in Any%. Encounter rates are still high but there is very little chance (less than 1% IMO) that the run would have to be mercy killed or that the game would go over its estimate. Estimate is a bit higher than my PBs in case of really BAD encounter rates and ambushes. Thankfully battles are quick thanks to the new glitch, even the final bosses.

Pros:
- Demonstrates the whole game better, less likely that viewers will get lost
- Very safe RPG to run
- Not as much time spent pulling items out of the inventory (more time spent playing the game than setting things up)
- Very VERY small chance of a mercy kill
- Plenty to talk about in regards to game's story, series history, and glitches used in the game.

Cons:
- Longer to run than Any%
- Higher encounter rate
- It's sad what happens to Nei

Donation Incentive Offers: Incentives can be offered to name Rolf (who needs at least 1 "S" in his name due to how I use the inventory glitch), Rudo, Amy, Hugh, Anna, and Kain. Nei and Shir cannot have their names changed. Though the game uses Amy, Anna, and Shir as the final party, every character will be in the party at some point in the game. Each character has a 4 letter maximum. As a 2nd incentive, it is quite possible (though I would need to practice it a bit) that instead of the final party of Amy, Anna, and Shir, I could use any combination of characters from the 6 minor characters. That being said, some combinations would really prevent me from having enough inventory space for the last section of the game and could instead increase the amount of time by a few minutes I would need to finish the game. Also, not using Anna in the final party makes for a bit of a longer game (possibly 5-10 minutes) because she can attack multiple enemies at once.

Sample run video:
Professional Second Banana
Quote from obdajr:
Game Name: Bahamut Lagoon
System: SFC (emulator for translation patch, open to buying a flashcart or repo cart if that would be better)

Games with translation patches should be run on flash/repro cart - if this run's accepted I've got an SD2SNES cart you can use if you don't have your own.
Edit history:
kirbymastah: 2017-01-24 04:04:49 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 06:33:15 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:45:09 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:43:48 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:42:47 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:42:19 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:40:16 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:39:31 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:30:55 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-31 04:30:39 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-30 08:37:04 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-30 08:36:44 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-30 08:29:20 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-29 09:41:52 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-27 04:38:12 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-27 04:36:28 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-27 04:36:04 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-27 04:33:52 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-22 09:49:12 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-22 01:41:51 pm
kirbymastah: 2016-12-22 01:38:58 pm
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kirbymastah: 2016-12-17 09:55:35 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-17 09:52:19 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-17 09:47:41 am
kirbymastah: 2016-12-17 09:46:51 am
<(^_^)>
TL;DR:
-FE6 is RNG-manipulated, the most challenging, and has warp skips (not dumb/repetitive like FE11)
-FE8 is RNG-manipulated, the most glitches, and a very strong bid war
-FE9 is IMO my strongest submission. No manipulation but still marathon-safe, and has the coolest/varied strategies, though also my longest run
-FE11 is my short bonus / filler / backup submission

As an FYI, my Pros/Cons focus on comparing my submissions with each other since the differences may not be obvious when comparing different fire emblem runs with each other, especially if one isn't familiar with the series.


Fire Emblem 6: Binding Blade
System: GBA on Gamecube's GBA Player
Category: All Chapters
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Description: This is the first fire emblem game released on the GBA, only released in Japan. This game features ROY OUR BOY, and is the 6th overall FE game in the series. The all chapters category aims to clear all gaiden chapters in one playthrough, and beat the true final boss.

Pros / Cons:

+ OUR BOY ROY
+ The warp staff is broken, and its use is prominent in the last third of the run. This is used to basically skip huge chunks of maps, which none of my other longer FE submissions offer. (The first use is 1:10:55 and used every chapter after)
+ The game is notoriously difficult for having bad hitrates and level-up growths. Thus, this run has much more RNG manipulation than the other GBA FEs, making this a more intense/challenging speedrun.
+ This category requires beating all optional chapters, which requires meeting certain turn limits (trivial) and recruiting certain characters. This leads to a bit of variety in strategy
+/- As a GBA FE, this run is completely 100% RNG manipulated. While this makes it marathon safe and consistent in terms of luck, it also doesn't offer much improvising. Also a mistake can mean restarting an entire chapter.
+/- Every chapter is a seize chapter, so the core strategy is usually "Have my flier carry Roy to the throne". This is a bit repetitive, but it also means there aren't any reptitive defend chapters or dragged-out "kill all enemies" chapters
- No enemy control glitch, which is prominent in FE7 and FE8
- No real donation incentives
- Only Japanese, no english release (It's worth noting that there exists a translation patch, but I'm unsure what its implications can be on impacting the route and how to use it on console)
- Noticeably longer than the other GBA FEs
- Despite OUR BOY ROY, the game isn't really that well known compared to FEs released outside of Japan

Donation Incentives: None

My PB/WR Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu9TWpI1Uwg


Fire Emblem 8: Sacred Stones
System: GBA on Gamecube's GBA Player
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:25:00
Description: This game is the second fire emblem game released in the states, and 8th overall FE game in the series, and has Kreygasm music

Pros / Cons:
+ One of the more well-known FEs in the states
+ Strong bid war between ephraim vs eirika route - there's a route split for chapter 9-14 which is a different set of chapters. This changes the entire speedrun and which characters are used, as the route has to plan around that.
+ Uses the enemy control glitch with three different methods. Timestamp examples include torch glitch, corner glitch, and using gorgon egg tiles.  The glitch is used in 5 and 6 chapters in eirika and ephraim route, respectively, out of 21 chapters.
+/- As a GBA FE, this run is completely 100% RNG manipulated. While this makes it marathon safe and consistent in terms of luck, it also doesn't offer much improvising. Also a mistake can mean restarting an entire chapter.
+/- This has a variety of chapter goals including seize, kill the boss, and kill every enemy. While this adds variety in strategy and units used compared to FE6, some chapters also introduce really long enemy phases without really any player interaction. On the plus side, no repetitive defend chapters!
- I have not done actual runs, but I just finished rerouting both routes, so I plan on doing runs after AGDQ!
- Ran on Japanese due to x3 weapon effectiveness (English has x2), faster resets, skipping certain animations, and other miscellaneous quirks. Since the run is 100% RNG manipulated, I can't transfer the current route to english without basically redoing the entire route.

Donation Incentives: Eirika vs Ephraim Route Bid War

Note that the runs below are my first completed recorded runs after recent rerouting; they're not optimized and the route will likely be more polished than here, but they're a good representation of what the run will look like.

My PB/WR Ephraim Route Video: https://www.twitch.tv/kirbymastah/v/111211930
My PB/WR Eirika Route Video: https://www.twitch.tv/kirbymastah/v/111212402


Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance
System: Gamecube (will use Wii)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Description: This is the first FE game to go 3D, and is released on the gamecube, starring Ike.

Pros / Cons:
+ WE LIKE IKE
+ Not RNG-manipulated, so there's more variety, improvisation, and a lot to commentate on
+ Fixed growths mode makes this a very safe marathon run so it's impossible to lose a run to bad level-ups
+ Features the crit underflow glitch, which gives a 255% crit rate to some forged weapons. The first time this is used is in 28:07
+ Features skills and mechanics (like shoving) which isn't prominent in my other submissions, adding depth to strategy and a lot to commentate on
+/- Cannot turn off map animations, making the game significantly slower-paced. On the other hand, this adds depth in strategy to try to cut out attack animations, such as going out of my way to avoid encounters, going for more critical hits, and getting the vantage scroll.
- Longest of my submissions
- 3 long boring chapters about 7-8 minutes each
- Ran on japanese, which is required for the crit underflow glitch. The overall core of the route can translate over to english despite the lack of the glitch, but it's significantly riskier, and the run will be longer.
- The strategy with the last boss isn't super safe. There's overall ~50% chance to lose at least a minute, and the worst-case scenario is a game over. Unfortunately there's no safety for it besides retrying it. I would put in an estimate of 2:05 if it weren't for this chapter, but I made the estimate a 2:10 which is plenty of buffer for this.

Donation Incentives: 8 Forged Weapon Names (7 characters each, can be english). Attempt to have Ike fight the Black Knight (this is luck-based, and I'm more likely to fail).
UPDATE Donation Incentives: Attempt to have Ike fight the Black Knight. This is a notorious and popular fight in the FE franchise. After some calculations, I have a ~70% chance to win, so I can't guarantee winning.

My PB/WR Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXUagxGgDvo
A marathon run by gwimpage, with me helping commentate (some outdated strats) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEWG22VdDS4


Fire Emblem 11: Shadow Dragon
System: Nintendo DS (Wii-U VC)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:30:00
Description: This is the first fire emblem game released on the DS, and a remake of the first fire emblem game. This game features the iconic fire emblem character Marth!

Pros / Cons:
+ Has Marth, THE iconic Fire Emblem character
+ Incredibly short. It's flexible to fit around as a bonus/replacement/filler game, which is not common in many RPG speedruns
+ English! Though to be fair, that doesn't exactly matter much in this kind of run...
+ Features one use of a glitch where you warp Marth across the map, then warp a nearby invisible clone of him to warp him twice in the same turn (see 12:37)
+ Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp!!!! SO FAST!!!!
- Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp.... So repetitive...
- ...You're staring at a black screen half the time because enemy phase is always skipped. This is why the run is so fast, but also detracts significantly from viewer experience
- Not a popular / well-received fire emblem game, despite featuring Marth
- No 100% fallback on bad luck with Marth's level-ups, unlike the GBA games (RNG manipulated) and Path of Radiance (Fixed Mode). However, I have a Wii-U Restore State before starting a run on a RNG seed that ensures Marth gets good levels early on, which is a huge buffer and makes this significantly more marathon safe.

Donation Incentives: None, but this makes a good short bonus game to donate in if appropriate!

My PB/WR Video (uses the marathon-safe restore state) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS5fsdDKf9k
Edit history:
Ghostwheel: 2017-01-15 03:16:35 pm
The artist formerly known as Qxy
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
System: GBA played on GC Gameboy Player
Category: Any% Sora Story
Gameplay Estimate: 2:50:00 (if a midgame save is allowed to account for a single RNG event)
Ending/Bonus: Ending negligible, potential for ~:20 min of bonus exploring difficult bosses in Riku Story

Pros/Cons:
+This RPG featuring a real time card battle system is unique and rich in it's mechanics, and I showcase that nicely in a marathon environment.
+A KH Game that has a rich history but no major marathon run as of yet, so the run feels fresh.
+Deft planning around map card, deckbuilding, boss fights, and the environment shine through even in slower sections.
+Thrilling boss fights that often need to be killed in critical health
-Farming for map cards can be a drag, especially around 2/3 of the game when it needs to sink about 20 total minutes. This can be split up between fights for a lighter feel, however.
-A Save file is required for true marathon consistency, as by the halfway point I need to have found a certain (likely) card to continue.
-CoM gets a bad rap sometimes, being a KH side game, but many remember it fondly or are impressed by the difficulty of the game. Regardless, it is well known.
-Donation incentives are harder to come by naturally than traditional RPGs
Potential Donation Incentives:
-Showcase the two hardest Riku story fights in a low HP/speedrun setting :10-:20 minutes depending on number of boss fights.
-Play a VS Battle using the Speedrun File :02-:05 min (This looks good on just one screen)
-Go through a portion of Hundred Acre Wood (1 min, only good for a cheap laugh)
-Showcase uncommon Sleights/Cards in separate file :05 min
-Disney Songs, it's a KH game after all

I've pushed this game for a long time, and I think this is the year for it to take the KH slot.

https://www.twitch.tv/ghost_wheel/v/37422822
Edit history:
Drifting Skies: 2017-02-02 01:47:33 pm
Drifting Skies: 2016-12-24 03:52:10 pm
Drifting Skies: 2016-12-24 09:50:33 am
steak Steak STEAK!!!
games listed in order of my preference.  At this point, I'm fairly confident in my ability to attend, but cannot commit 100%

Game: Legend of Legaia
System: PSX (Played on PS2 with fast disc speed enabled.)
Category: any%
Estimate: 8:45:00 8:35:00
Ending / Bonus: 15-20 mins? (including some post-game showing off)

Pro: Cult Classic-ish RPG that doesn't get a lot of love.  Showcases a lot of technical / routing nuance and broken mechanics to avoid nearly all grinding in a game known for being a grind-heavy slugfest.  Most of the fights in the game are fairly safe, and while bad luck can cost time, it's rarely the case that a run just simply won't finish.  The places where that is the case have opportunities to safety save in advance.  Has a handful of donation incentives including showcasing a glitch to beat the bonus superboss instantly and naming characters, along with choice of ending.  Surprisingly, a minimal amount of grinding, and there are very few random battles to worry about in the second half of the run thanks to certain items and accessories available.

Cons: Well, if the length didn't turn the committee off and you're still reading this...
The game isn't super RNG heavy, but the first hour and a half of the game is very RNG heavy with random encounter luck.  I've given myself a half-hour of buffer room to protect against shenanigans that the game can throw at me.  Probably the biggest RNG sink outside of random encounters is getting the Orb spell, which is a 70% chance, and then Nighto, which is a 60% chance (but has multiple opportunities).  In the event of tail-end RNG, I can pre-make files to keep the run going, but I think everyone involved would prefer that not happen.
There's a 20-25 minute slot machine grinding segment to get a bunch of overpowered items and a lot of money for the run.  Despite this, any% is two and a half hours faster than the no slots run.
The bosses are almost all cheesed in one form or another.
I am the only person in the country who runs this game, so commentary is lacking.  I can talk about the substantive content more or less and have encyclopedic-level knowledge of the game's workings, but this game needs a color commentator to keep the run entertaining.
There's a LOT of text mashing.  There's 22 minutes straight of text mashing about 6 hours into the run.
Not sure if a pro or a con, but there's only one glitch in the run.  This means that you're seeing all of the story more or less intact.

Donation Incentives: Name the characters (Vahn, Noa, Gala; 8 char. max), choice of ending bid war (4 options), Instakill Lapis (done on a different file, adds ~3 min), Fight Berserker without point card (adds ~5 min), Noa Solo Glitch (done on a different file, adds ~5 mins), Choose an ending (4 option bid war).

It's not a flawless run, but a good run will look something like this:

Game: Paper Mario
System: N64
Category: any% glitchless
Estimate: 4:25:00
Ending: 10 mins or so, depending on how much of the parade people want to see.
Pro: Almost no RNG in the game; major exception being power bounce caps.  Well-known and liked game.  Opportunity to co-op or race with AndyPerfect, who has expressed interest in submitting the same run / category.  I play on the US version, but since every item and badge has icons next to it, the transition to JP is more or less trivial.  Will need to track down another JP cart, though.
Con: It's mainstream enough to be at multiple GDQ's while not being so popular to be an auto-in at every event meaning that this run could cost space that a more obscure run could occupy.  There are also not many opportunities for donation incentives. (file name is about the only one)

Game: Quest 64
System: N64
category: US 100% (all overworld spirits)
estimate: 2:35:00
ending: What ending?  That doesn't exist in the US version.

pro: if your only experience with the run is the old SGDQ run from heaven-only-knows-when (2013?), then you're in for a treat.  Many glitches have been found, saving both time and improving RNG / quality of life.  Extra time is allotted for marathon safety (additional healing items and forgoing a time-saving deathwarp to allow for more safety saves)
con: it's a boring and not-well-liked game at all.  There's also pretty much no incentives.  I also won't be showcasing the most recent discovery - death spirit cloning - because it's extremely finicky and no one has a consistent setup for it.  If there is such a method discovered (possibly by some sort of RNG manip for the first 4 minutes of the game?), the estimates may be revised downward.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Game Name: Shining Force 1 (the Legacy of Great Intention)
System: Sega Genesis
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:30
Ending/Bonus: There's just a credit roll of ~2 minutes, not that important

Pros/Cons: Did SF2 last year, got a TON of positive feedback. We have a very active community, lots of fun engaging commentary, and have been looking to bringing forth another great title in the SF genre. I was told that our SF2 commentary was possibly top 3 of the entire week and we're ready to bring back that kind of energy for another SF entry. SF1 has been pushed an unbelievable amount and we're actually knocking on the sub 5 door.

Donation Incentives: Name Max (main character, 7 character limit), incentives to pick up the Sugoi Mizugi (extra item that changes battle sprite, we normally skip), incentives to pick up the Kitui Huku (another item that changes a battle sprite), and again the push-up incentive for misses.

I'm the current WR holder and would be fine doing a run, but I think this would be a GREAT opportunity to do a race with Ty2358. We've been doing a number of races this year and recently performed for Scrubathon 6 to great community response again. In the video submission, it showcases how the RNG keeps the run close and despite myself getting to an early lead, we get into the final chapter at near the same time and finish the run within a few minutes of each other: this is a 5 hour race btw, finishing just minutes from each other. We have slightly altered strategies that keep it very interesting, and like I said, the Shining Friends are ready to bring back our energy once again for excellent commentary from the peanut gallery Smiley

Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/107801822
Edit history:
puri_puri: 2016-12-31 07:17:24 am
Game Name: The Granstream Saga
System: (Original) PlayStation, (Played on) PlayStation 2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3h55m (New Game to Final Boss dead)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending 7m, Credits 8m
Pros:
-There are practically no useful glitches in the run, so it all comes down to runner skill to get a good time. Most battles are avoided by exploiting movement mechanics for enemies, and the fights we do get into a ended quickly by manipulating attacks and using overpowered weapons and abilities.
-Zero grinding.
-Somewhat related to Soul Blazer/Blader, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma. People like those games, right?
-Incredible voice acting and cutscenes.
-There is an anime butt in a cutscene about 13 minutes into the run.
Cons:
-Significant portions of the game between dungeons are just mashing through text, though I take that time to explain the incredible plot as it happens.
-Only one boss poses a threat of dying to, and I’d lose about 4 minutes if I needed to reload a save, but a safety save will be made before the boss.
-The final boss fight can vary in times as well: sometimes the fight takes 3 minutes, sometimes it takes 8 minutes. I have no control over the pattern the boss gives me. Gameplay estimate accounts for mid to worst-case RNG.
-There is an anime butt in a cutscene about 13 minutes into the run.

Donation Incentive Offers: Choice of who to save at the end of the run: Laramee (the correct choice), or Arcia
Sample run video:
Any%:


Game Name: Shenmue II
System: (Original) Dreamcast/Xbox, (Played on) Xbox 360
Category: Any% NG+
Gameplay Estimate: 2h5m (New Game to Last Input)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending 4m, Credits 5m
Pros:
-This game is normally about 4 hours without cutscenes, but large parts of the game are skipped using a variety of glitches and route optimizations.
-Action is pretty easy to follow for the unfamiliar.
-Shenmue III is slated to be released in late 2017 (for now), so this would be a good reminder that this series is still a thing.
Cons:
-Last 30 minutes of the run is watch paint dry boring levels of dialogue skipping and walking simulator.
Donation Incentive Offers: Duck% -- same as Any% but with Ducks. Does everything that Any% does but also shows off extras like the duck race sidequest and a few extra glitches. This category is amazing. Route is different from the very start, so would need to know which category to do ahead of time.  Estimate is 2h45m. Duck% sample run video:https://www.twitch.tv/puri_puri/v/111126694
Sample run video
Any%:



Game Name: Alundra
System: (Original) PlayStation, (Played on) PlayStation 2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5h30m (New Game to Last Input JP), 6h (New Game to Last Input US)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending 8m, Credits 5m
NOTE: Submitting as commentary for Spiriax and as a potential backup in case he is unable to attend. Time estimates are in case I did the runs as a backup -- Spiriax is way faster than me in both categories.
Pros:
-Very technical speedrun, as it has precision platforming and combat requiring the runner’s focus for most of the run.
-A variety of glitches are used to skip large sections of dungeons and sequence break.
-I’m told it’s a good watch, despite the length.
Cons:
-Japanese version is the fastest by about 30 minutes, so the run’s plot is harder to follower without commentary.
-About 10 minutes are spent grinding deaths 1/3rd into the run for a overpowered sword.
-Any unplanned death is a complete game over, requiring a load from a save. Backup saves can be made ahead of time, but each death loses minimum a few minutes usually.

Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video
Any% JP:
Any% US:
Edit history:
Tide: 2017-01-05 10:16:47 pm
Tide: 2016-12-18 10:04:04 am
Tide: 2016-12-18 10:02:35 am
Tide: 2016-12-18 09:53:40 am
Tide: 2016-12-18 09:50:26 am
Tide: 2016-12-18 09:50:07 am
Insanity Prelude
Stealing Kirbymastah's formatting to make for easier reading.

TL;DR:
- Shadow Hearts: From the New World is my strongest submission.
- I am willing to co-op/race in any of the runs listed (provided someone else submits)
- Order of preference is: SH: FTNW, Resonance, SO3 (if co-op), WA4, SO3 (no co-op), VP2


Game Name: Shadow Hearts 3: From the New World
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:10:XX
Description: The third installment of the Shadow Hearts series, which is known for its use of the Judgment Ring system. Every command in the game (outside of a very few) requires the player to confirm the action by hitting certain spots on a circle as a dial passes through. From the New World makes the best use of this system out of all three games due to the high stakes involved, the tightness on each ring (requiring more precision) and a general mix up in strategies and approaches, creating a different run every time.

Pros/Cons:
+ This run has very clear visible execution elements, and is very engaging from the start to finish. In order to finish fights quickly, you must be able to hit the strike zone on a ring, which are often paper thin areas (and later on, become invisible). As noted, the stakes are very high in this game as missing these zones can be lethal, making it a very entertaining watch.
+ Run is different every time as there are no fixed types of battles or game breaking glitches that allows you to skip chunks of the game.
+ Changes and rerouting earlier in the year have allowed for new strategies, which are faster and this would be excellent to showcase during the run
+ Can co-op/race with LCC if he submits this run as well
+ No grinding is necessary in the run
+ Godlike music
- Due to randomized opening turn orders, this can happen: http://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/26893280.
- As noted, this run is neat because of the high stakes, but this also means that there is a high chance of dying across the run. All the enemies in the game have very powerful offense, so all it takes is a few ring failures or bad decisions to put you down. Fortunately, the game has save points. I will also have pre-made saves in case of an untimely ambush.
- As I found out during Deucecon, the type of TV when playing this game does matter as it effects the amount of input delay and visual cues usable. For the most part, this should not be a concern (Deucecon still went fine), but it does require me to practice live in front of a different screen (assuming it is not a LCD monitor).

Donation Incentives:
Choice of two other characters (only Johnny and Hilda are mandatory) in the party
Ring Failure bonus count ($1 for every missed ring perfect. Yes, this is as amazing as it sounds)
Fight the secret bonus boss on a separate save file
Meeting the Meowmenator (Mao's Padoga)
Watch/Sing SPREAD MY WINGS along with statz (about 10 mins).
A separate pre-made file can be used to show the Good Ending of the game.

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/77415703 - Current PB. I will be working on this in 2017, so there's a chance this can still be improved.

Game Name: Resonance of Fate
System: Playstation 3 (technically Xbox 360 too, but I've been playing on PS3 primarily)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:XX
Description: It's a RPG if it was designed by John Woo, featuring battles that are mostly decided by positioning and understanding of its basic elements. Run, jump and shoot some dudes with your amazing gun-fu skills! Also, you can attach parts to a gun that can make all the barrels point upwards, but somehow still shoot forwards.

Pros/Cons:
+ A more recent RPG, so the graphics are sharper which helps with the ridiculous combat animations, making it a visual treat
+ This run combines positioning and execution to achieve the fastest time possible. Precision is key and every dungeon room in this game has a different approach to it, which provides a unique variety in how the game is beaten.
+ On the spot retry function, making fights very safe.
+ The route aims for optimal map movement as well, which means none to very low grinding needed to complete the game.
+ Can race/co-op with LCC if he submits
+/- The plot is totally nonsensical but can be explained (no one is playing this game for plot)
+/- Although you can attach barrels that point upward, this is not actually done in the run
- The game requires certain specific drops in order for the game to be completed. There is a pretty good chance of getting the parts, but for this reason, back up saves will also be prepped just in case.
- I only have the digital copy of this game (on PS3) so someone will need to bring a physical copy. In a worst case scenario, I can also play this on XBox 360 (which I do have a physical copy for) if necessary.

Donation Incentives:
JP vs ENG voice acting
Dress up characters for the last Chapter (also the longest).

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/107079716 - Current PB. I'm working on this run right now so time is likely to come down.


Game Name: Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
System: Playstation 2
Category: Galaxy Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:45:XX
Description: Salt. Aithere's favouritest game that he refuses to play it due to his overwhelming love. It's also arguably the most well known Star Ocean game and opts for real time, action type battles akin to that of Tales

Pros/Cons:
+ Very little downtime in the run (most is about 45 seconds)
+ First hour of the game has some very exciting fights and the run is very fast paced overall. Execution in these fights is a blast to watch when it all comes together
+ Amazing battle system that runs at a constant 60 FPS, making the visuals to be very pretty
+ Can co-op/race with Aithere if he submits (EleGiggle pyramid)
- The bonus gauge matters a lot for the first 30 minutes to first hour of the game as losing it means it takes longer to acquire key skills. Safety saving unfortunately does not alleviate this problem.
- The Item Creation process is pure RNG and can take some time. We will be using Safety saves for this.
- After Item Creation, most of the fights are not very interesting as you just steamroll past it and it becomes more of a movement simulator instead.

Donation Incentives:
Rename the required party members (Fate, Cliff, Nel, Maria, Adray, Mirage)
Sing BITTER DANCE
Watch/Sing Ending Credits

PB/Vod - https://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/19355527

Game Name: Wild ARMS 4
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:30:XX
Description: JUMP! GO! OKAY! Imagine a RPG with platformer elements. That's this game! Also, the battle system is great and has more hexagons in it. Because every game I play has either hexagons or tri-aces.

Pros/Cons:
+ Fast paced game with platforming elements that allows you to skip past various puzzles
+ Battles in Wild ARMS 4 a largely gimmicky, so almost every fight utilizes some unique combat strategy and no run is ever the same.
+ Much of the game is centered around offense, so fights tend to end really fast (one way or another) making it an exciting watch.
- Popularity concerns. Also Wild ARMS 4 is often regarded as the "black sheep"
- Lowish donation incentives

Donation Incentives:
Mute/Voice Jude option
Yulie death counter
Rename commonly used spells/abilities (can be rolling).
Watch the Falcon Missile Punch cut scene.
Sing Ending credits.

Sample run video: See C4L Archives for a Marathon like run of video. No link because it is divided into 12 parts. Otherwise: https://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/49217274 - (part 1), https://www.twitch.tv/tideruglia/v/49216922 - (part 2)

Note that PB is 5:11:12

Game Name: Valkyrie Profile 2
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40:XX should be safe.
Description: Cool puzzles and platforming! Amazing battles! Die to pretty much anything and everything! This game in a nutshell. I'm submitting this because I think its a generally cool run and also because this makes it such that I have 3 tri-ace submissions in my list. EleGiggle Pyramid. Yes, I am insane.

Pros/Cons:
+ Highly entertaining from its combo-like mechanics in battle to the photon swapping platforming
+ Uses a variety of strats to finish all the fights as quickly and each one has something subtly unique about it, which leads to interesting commentary.
+ Battles have very high stakes as you are often at 1 HP to maximize offense, which means the runs are engaging to watch from start to finish.
+ No grinding necessary and has virtually no down time.
+ Still a very pretty game to look at even today!
- This run is extremely risky. To get the fastest kills, you have to put yourself in critical HP where any small mistake can kill you
- Game is not completable without the Dragon Rib accessory which is a 60% drop. Safety save can be made in advance for  this.
- Very low donation incentives.

Donation Incentives:
Death Counter/Deathless bonus

Sample run video: Current PB - Stop at like 2:20 since everything after is the afterparty. See RPGLB 2016 for a more marathon type performance.
Edit history:
Aithere: 2017-01-03 01:49:11 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-27 01:26:12 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-27 01:23:56 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-23 01:41:02 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-23 01:26:57 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-19 11:54:31 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-19 11:49:44 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-19 07:38:14 am
Aithere: 2016-12-18 11:13:45 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-18 11:06:06 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-18 07:45:04 pm
Aithere: 2016-12-18 07:43:14 pm
Game Name: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any% on Galaxy Difficulty
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00
Pros/Cons:
+ All fights in the game are execution heavy, making for an entertaining watch.
+ Run with very little downtime, mostly thanks to cutscene skip. There's only one sizeable walking section between bosses, and it's less than 10 minutes long.
+ Current route involves a various amount of attacks. No more Side Kick spam for 2+ hours and also uses four of the playable cast in an active fashion.
+ Only true break is halfway through the run and only lasts for about 40 seconds.
+ SO3 is the most infamous of the entire series, having sold over a million copies on a popular system with one of the most controversial plot twists in JRPGs.
+ Can be part of a tri-Ace block (see: SomeDDRNoob's SO4 submission)
- Heavy RNG because of Item Creation: once in the first hour to create a weapon for a character and the second one to make an endgame-grade item for Disc 2. Pre-made saves may have to be used to minimize time loss for the timeslot.
- Requirement of keeping the bonus gauge intact makes the run volatile.
- Random extended loading times throughout a live run ("tri-Aces"). On the plus side, there could be a silly little counter for it.
Donation Incentive Offers: Renaming characters (7 total), Watching (and/or) Singing the End Credits
Sample run video:
Marathon Practice Run: https://www.twitch.tv/aithere/v/109420990

Game Name: Final Fantasy Tactics
System: Playstation (played on PS2)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00
Pros/Cons:
+ Extremely optimized route with a few new strats and formations added since it was last seen at RPGLB.
+ All potential game-ending risks are already known and accounted for by safety saving.
+ A widely loved "spinoff" of Final Fantasy, with one of the most memorable stories and cast to date.
- RNG heavy, especially at the beginning.
- Math trivializes the game for the first three chapters.
- Unskippable cutscenes.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name Ramza, Take or Leave Agrias Bidwar
Sample Run Videos:
FF Series Relay II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL3vDhq43Qg
PB Video (4:06): https://www.twitch.tv/aithere/v/74565861
Edit history:
CosmykTheDolfyn: 2017-01-07 12:30:27 pm
CosmykTheDolfyn: 2016-12-31 08:40:11 pm
CosmykTheDolfyn: 2016-12-29 07:32:04 pm
CosmykTheDolfyn: 2016-12-22 03:16:32 pm
CosmykTheDolfyn: 2016-12-18 05:35:34 pm
NowOwnsAFreaking Plane
Game Name: Saturday Morning RPG
System: PC
Category: Any% (All Episodes)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate 0:05:00
Pros:
+Incredibly short for an RPG speedrun
+Continued improvements to route and weapon selection has decreased RNG even further as compared to last year's submission (I swear I'll do my best to not lose all my money by first being in the hospital for what was pretty much a coma state, followed by a glitch in a computer system wiping out my checking account.)
+Run probably has one of the highest action per minute in any RPG speedrun:mashing with almost every attack to increase damage output, lots of joystick rotation before every battle, attacks being time based similar to the Paper Mario series and playing on keyboard and controller at the same time for a slight increase to movement speed.
+Very little downtime with cutscenes, and those cutscenes are filled with references to 80s television and cartoons: from The Wizard to McGruff The Crime Dog to Transformers.
+At Scrubathon V, I was able to get in contact with the game's producer, Ben Moore, and he co-commentated the run and was an all around great guy.  Everyone involved had fun.  Would love to get in contact with him again, there's a high chance of dev commentary, as he seemed up to the idea to do so again after the marathon.
+Only one instance of menuing outside of combat in the entire run
+Any deaths lose very little time, as you can re-start right at the battle you lost at.
+No grinding for experience points, only go through encounters that can not be skipped by movement or going OOB.
Cons:
-Uses the program oversight of high mashing speed for quite literally every battle in the run, meaning it looks like the same tricks often.  Even in boss fights where the mashing power up is supposed to be turned off, we still use it by the way of some sneaky oversights again.
-If I trigger an encounter, there it is impossible to run from a battle.  There simply isn't an option.  Some viewers might feel it's not a real RPG due to the lower amount of combat options compared to most RPGs.
-Not a very well known game
-Broken keyboards from mashing
Donation Incentives: Hand Cam, Crush Or Save Ben in Episode V (adds 5 minutes to the run), Sing-A-Long to ending song "No Risk No Glory" (This is that song
)
Sample Run videos: https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/74988036 (Marathon run with dev commentary)
https://www.twitch.tv/gamersrhapidly/v/102586418 (More recent marathon run with newer strats, is a live 1:19)

Game Name: Chroma Squad: Tactical RPG
System: PC
Category: Any% (Casual, Rider Route)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00
Pros/Cons
+Style of the game can be most easily described as Power Rangers in Tactical RPG form, with giant mechs and spandex
+Smart use of field positioning clears out enemies and bosses in usually only a few turns.
+Menuing can be very fast, as gameplay is almost entirely mouse driven (I need to practice at this more in all honesty)
+Cutscenes can be fast-forwarded, leaving less breaks between action
-Game has multiple missions where the only point is to survive for X amount of turns, meaning there will be sections where all you do is hold the space bar for a few minutes straight.
-There is item drop RNG, which is usually completed during said missions where you just need to survive.  However, if there are not the drops needed, you have to buy said crafting items.  The way shops work in this game, you buy a box of crafting items that has random contents inside.  This means that in worst case scenario, I would not get the needed items during battle, and then could possible have to enter and exit a shop multiple times to get said items.
-Not highly known game
-RPG side of the game is different than the norm, as instead of experience points, you get more fans of your TV show after each mission.  Number of fans determines the amount of money you have and what weapons you can buy instead of a standard "Character gets stronger after X amount of enemies defeated".
-Run is on lowest difficulty, limiting the showcase of what that fan/equipment system actually entails.
-Random amount of emails that need to be answered after each mission, can break up the pacing a little.

Donation incentives: Studio Name (the name of your TV studio, not mentioned very often) 26 characters. 
Squad name (name of the squad of 5 characters you play as, is used frequently) 21 characters
Transformation shout (catchphrase heroes yell every time you power up, happens fairly often) 40 characters
Name of finishing move 40 characters
Name of the fighting Mecha we use, 20 characters.
Sample run video https://www.twitch.tv/cosmykthedolfyn/v/110794156 (Most likely to be updated, potential of large time decrease as I learn route better)

Game Name: The Next Penelope: Race To Oddyseus
System:PC
Category: Mines First
Gameplay Estimate: 0:26:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate 0:02:00
Pros/Cons
+Action/Racing/RPG hybrid and a very short run.  You do get experience points after each mission, and those experience points are indeed used to level up the ship and get some extra weapons and more health.
+Very broken game, almost every chapter is done in an unitended way
+Very tense and action packed boss fights
+Short enough that it can be a quick filler
-Certainly nowhere near a traditional RPG in any sense of the term, and is a stretch, even with the experience points and leveling.
-Fast enough that without commentary being totally on point would be a confusing watch.
-Fully admitting the only reason I am submitting this is just as potential fill-in if marathon gets way ahead for some reason
Sample Run Video: [spoiler]
Evermore Extrodinare ᕦ(° Д°)ᕤ
Game Name: Secret of Evermore
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): Super Nintendo
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Any%
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 1:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): None
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines): A Shorter RPG with some unique execution tricks. Invulnerabilty can make the came into a cake walk as you cannot be targeted with spells or physically attacked which makes the game so broken it's like a walk through. Even with this however the game can absolutely end a run if it decides too in unique ways that I keep learning about. A solid overall RPG
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Boy/Dog name, What to turn the old man in the market into, Do we anger the Chicken god?, Incentive for No Defend
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/metasigma/v/105785219

Game Name: Monster Rancher
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): PSX
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Any%
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 2:30:00 to 3:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): Ending is rather funny to watch and it's all of 2 to 3 minutes/Reading the Fan-mail (About a minute each)
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines): Monster Rancher is not a well known game outside of the US. Monster Rancher 2 was released in Europe as "Monster Rancher 1". Outside of the actual battles themselves the game is somewhat repetitive. However the game is short for RPG standards. This game is VERY RNG HEAVY and sometimes a reset can cost up to 6 minutes depending on how late in the run it is. Still it's a solid one time and done game for Limit Break that would be refreshing overall
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Naming the Trainer/Monster (12 characters max) as well as choosing which monster to run (Dino, Hare, Worm)/Reading Fan-mail that we get for winning tourneys
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/metasigma/v/104435794
Short summary of Star Force: Star Force is the spiritual successor to the Battle Network series. Despite the similar art styles, the games and speedruns are completely different. Where Battle Network has slower more tactical combat, Star Force is much more action oriented and fast paced in terms of battles. Star Force streamlines folder building and battle card selection so you can sift through your folder much faster. Another major change is that battle cards are generated when you counter hit an enemy, so there's very little time spent without an immediately powerful action available. While my PBs are played on the Japanese versions (mostly) they can all be done on English for the marathon. There are two categories I'm submitting for SF2 and SF3 and I'll explain the differences here. There's a toy that's sold separately from the games that I can use inside of the game to greatly alter Mega Man's form/stats/abilities. Categories that use these toys are called Any% Cards, because the toys are little cards that you put on top of the DS' touch screen and then enter the code they have written on them. For Star Force 2 I feel cards trivialize the speedrun and make it much worse, but it's significantly faster to use them, which is why I'm offering it. For Star Force 3 I'm pretty impartial to cards. It's faster to use them, but they don't really impact the core strats that are used throughout the run, so it's much more minor in 3. I currently have the record in all three games and spent this summer and autumn rerouting all of them.

Game Name: Mega Man Star Force 1
System: DS played on Wii U VC (preferred) or just a capture modded DS
Gameplay Estimate: 3:10:00
Pros:
It's the first Star Force game, this is where it all began. It introduces the fewest new mechanics from Battle Network so it's much more simplistic and easier to follow. This game also doesn't allow you to set a default card that you draw every turn, so random encounters and boss fights feature a ton of variety in battle card usage. This run also features the most heavy folder editing of the three games, so there's the most diversity in terms of what cards will drop from enemies and the amount that are used.
Cons:
Very inconsistent random encounter rate and battle speed. The main item for eliminating random encounters (cloakers) works very differently in this game, effectively they only halve the encounter rate instead of completely eliminating them. Also not being able to set one card as your default (drawn for sure at the start of every battle) means that there's a lot of variance in time loss based on how many random encounters you get, and you won't always have a battle card to quickly end them. The estimate on this game is fairly generous because of this.
Donation Incentive:
Bid war for game version (Leo, Pegasus, Dragon). The version changes a boss you fight in the middle of the run as well as the transformation you get. Estimate is the same for every version and I'm familiar with running all of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXM8LdrtjNs

Game Name: Mega Man Star Force 2
System: DS played on Wii U VC (preferred) or just a capture modded DS
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00 Any% Cards - 3:00:00 Any% No Cards
Pros:
This game adds several new mechanics that differentiate the Star Force series even more from Battle Network. The bosses in this run are very fast, challenging, and fun. This run still does not feature the ability to set default cards, so bosses and random encounter strats are varied a bunch. This is also the Star Force game I've put the most amount of time into so it has the most complex and refined route of the three games. This game also changes the way cloakers work so they eliminate all random encounters and the run is primarily routed around that. This game also features the best pacing of all the runs, with the shortest amount of time on average between the main story dungeons.
Cons:
The casual perception of this game is pretty bad, it's widely regarded as the worst Star Force game Sad While I think Any% No Cards is the best Star Force speedrun, a lot of people just remember this game casually for being unfair and having a ridiculously high encounter rate. Any% Cards trivializes all of the combat with the form you gain and is just kind of boring. So you lose variety, interesting strats, and actual gameplay, but it's a lot faster so eh.
Donation Incentive:
Bid war for game version (Zerker x Saurian, Zerker x Ninja). The version affects your secondary transformation that you acquire, I'm familiar with running on both versions and the estimate is the same for both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX13jYY3YuU Any% No Cards
https://www.twitch.tv/plumtea_/v/87670418 Any% Cards

Game Name: Mega Man Star Force 3
System: DS played on Wii U VC (preferred) or just a capture modded DS
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00 Any% Cards - 2:45:00 Any% No Cards
Pros:
This is the most popular Star Force game and it's widely regarded as the best, and for good reason. This game features a ridiculous amount of new mechanics over Star Force 2 that are all heavily abused during the run. This game also has the flashiest combat system of the bunch, and finally features the ability to set a default card that you'll get at the start of every battle. Because of this and other gameplay mechanics, you're a complete glass cannon and can quickly obliterate almost every random encounter and boss fight. The transformation you get is also random which adds another layer of variety and improvisation to the run, requiring a lot of knowledge on how the get the most out of the form you're given as well as how to handle the unique drawback each form has. This game also has the best overworld and dungeon design. Basically this game is extremely polished and is the most different from Battle Network in the best ways possible.
Cons:
Abuses the same strategy a lot. With the tweaks to the combat system, this game is very easy to abuse, and the run takes full advantage of that. Where the other two runs have a ton of variety at the sake of consistency, Star Force 3 trades away the variety but gains a ton of consistency and raw power.
Donation Incentive:
Bid war for game version (Black Ace, Red Joker). Each version has a pool of five different possible transformations unique to each version. There's also a secondary "final" transformation that's unique to each game and is used as much as possible. I'm familiar with running all of the possible transformations and the estimate is safe enough that I can get any and be fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Nup6prd8g Any% No Cards
https://www.twitch.tv/plumtea_/v/90335003 Any% Cards

Game Name: Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls
System: PS Vita played on a PSTV
Gameplay Estimate: 25:00 NG+
Pros:
This is basically the NES Strider of JRPGs. You kill a time traveling giant lizard thing as a Sega Dreamcast. Anime as heck.
Cons:
This is basically the NES Strider of JRPGs.
Donation Incentive: I can cosplay Nepgear and DMCAether offered to cosplay a character as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMqczLgrUdI NG+ - There's an english version of this game now, and the run can be done on it.
Edit history:
EnkerBlues: 2016-12-19 03:15:55 pm
EnkerBlues: 2016-12-19 03:15:33 pm
EnkerBlues: 2016-12-19 03:09:02 pm
EnkerBlues: 2016-12-19 03:05:35 pm
EnkerBlues: 2016-12-19 12:12:01 pm
Game: Wild ARMS
Category: Any% No ACE
System: Playstation 1, run on a Playstation 2
VOD w/commentary: https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/43809738. (Scrubathon III run from June 2015. New strats have been found but they are minor changes/optimizations.)
Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending + Bonus: Ending is about 15 minutes or less.

I know this game has been in 2 RPGLBs before so it may be time to phase it out, but a true No ACE run hasn't been done yet(first run was a Co-Op with lots of safety, second was the awesome Demo Disc run from cha0s). I will be doing all of the normal strats I would normally be doing in a run with the only safety being used are saves. I will only be using 3 Crest Graphs which is the minimum needed to do the run, and I will be using the ever-dangerous Randomizer spell with a solo Cecilia on the final 4 bosses. Having safety saves before each of these fights will negate some of the danger, but viewers will be able to experience the craziness that is Randomizer.

Donation incentives:
-Name Rudy
-Name Jack
-Name Cecilia
-Give a name for the final 3 spells that will be used.
-This would be a personal incentive, but I'll donate X amount of dollars for every time Randomizer fails to do damage(should be a lot). This could create an exciting atmosphere on every single randomizer used.

Marathon Safety - With good safety save planning, there shouldn't be tons of issues with safety. Biggest factors of danger are being locked out of bounds or soft locking on a boss randomly, but saves take care of the risk of that for the most part.

Entertainment Factor: No ACE as we know is an absolute destruction of the main story line and the game itself. Any time Wild ARMS has been run with lots of viewers, many are amazed at how broken the game is and are in awe at some of the tricks performed.

Pros and Cons:
+ Really fun to see a game get broken to the point where ~80% of the content is skipped.
+ It is on the shorter side, so it can be insterted into a timeslot without much worry
+ Decent amount of dialogue and cutscenes still, provides chance for donation reading.
- Things can go wrong if not extremely careful.
- Hardware sometimes likes to softlock the game early on in prologues
- Not a terrible amount of donation incentives.

Language: Jack says "Damn" at the beginning, but it is passed over very quickly with mashing text. Other than that it is very clean and light on the language.

Again, I know Wild ARMS may have run it's course in RPGLB for now, but it's the only game I know and I feel this run would be different enough from the others to warrant a spot.

Thank you,
Enker
Edit history:
xerobladedge: 2016-12-31 06:52:03 pm
xerobladedge: 2016-12-19 02:23:43 pm
oh yea
Game Name:Costume Quest
System Playstation 3
Category Any%
Gameplay Estimate 1:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate N/A
Pros/Cons Pros- A somewhat short game. Pretty Consistant money through out run/ Cons! Difficult Final Boss that I may die on
Donation Incentive Offers- Play as either Wren or Reynold

Will Post Sample Vid within a week of this submission because the local recording i have has been corrupted for some reason


Game Name: Dragon Fantasy Book Intermission M
System: Playstation 3
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: M/A
Pros/Cons: Super short fun run
Donation Incentive Offers: NA
Sample Video:

Game Name: LiEat-The Lie-eating Dragon and the Vermilion Vampire
System: PC
Catagory: Any% Good Ending
Estimate: 9:00 Mins
Pros: The game is a short run but it has a lot of story and things going on in the game to talk about. This game is also part of a trilogy of games that are also amazing. The only mistakes that could be made is movement unless for some reason you end up in low health and accidentally get the 2nd bad ending by dying to the final boss, but this is why we have saves.
Cons: Pretty much the only con is accidently getting the bad ending from forgetting to heal before the Big Lie at the end of the game.
Donation Incentive Offers: Any% Bad Ending 1 which would be a 4:00 Estimate
Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/xerobladedge/v/111237973
Edit history:
Dowolf: 2016-12-30 06:38:10 pm
Dowolf: 2016-12-30 12:32:19 pm
Dowolf: 2016-12-30 12:31:22 pm
Dowolf: 2016-12-19 08:36:21 pm
Game Name: Yggdra Union
System: PSP, played on PSTV
Category: Any% Ending A
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:30 (+15 for Ending B, +15 more for Ending D)
Pros: An incredibly cool and fast-paced game with a lot of interesting and connected systems, Yggdra Union is a niche SRPG renowned for its uncompromising difficulty when playing it blind, and also clearly having been designed by an insane genius. We take advantage of the esoteric design to quickly max out our stats, use a couple overpowered skills to full effect, and abuse the hilariously bad AI to cruise to victory. There's also almost no downtime, since all cutscenes can be skipped.
Cons: Crits in this game are meaner than in any other RPG I've ever played, and a short string of them could easily force me back to my most recent save. Additionally, it is very easy for me to screw up and lose a lot of time on a few fights. Thankfully, you can save anywhere, which mitigates a lot of that, and the fairly generous estimate should cover the rest. The game can also be extremely confusing at first glance ("HUDs inside of HUDs," I think is how WanderingMind phrased it), but we should be able to explain things just fine over six hours. Also, as a minor note, the phrase "Jihad bonus" appears on the battle results screen several times. You probably won't see this unless it's pointed out to you because that screen flashes by really quickly, but I didn't want this to show up as a "surprise," for want of a better word.
Donation Incentive Offers: Choice of Recruit Rosary vs. Recruit Roswell (roughly equal in time); Hard Mode (which doesn't actually make the game harder, but rather just gets rid of a lot of free healing); and Ending A vs. Ending B/D (Ending B is on normal, Ending D is on hard). This last one can also be phrased as Give Peace a Chance (Ending A, the canon/bad ending) vs. KILL THEM ALL (Ending B/D, the ambiguous-but-couldn't-possibly-be-as-bad-as-Ending-A ending)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/dowolff/v/108570132

Game Name: Diablo 3
System: PC
Category: Any% Monk New Game+ Normal
Gameplay Estimate: 1:05
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros: This is the third game in an extremely popular series, although it's considered the black sheep by many. We take advantage of an interesting little build that allows us to perform infinite teleports, which essentially turns the game into a giant maze that we blaze through.
Cons: There's not really much else to the run. There's a few nifty angles that you can teleport across, but that's about it.
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/dowolff/v/85903444

Game Name: Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax: Ultimate Boy Edition
System: PC
Category: Evil Lord 30 Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros: This glitchy little category to a beloved (at least by me >_>) speedgame features an Evil Lord running around and throwing monsters at enemies until they explode into money. It's short but sweet, and features some nice boss quickkills and abuse of the enemy archer AI, which will never hit you if you run straight at them or stand right next to them without moving.
Cons: Taking any damage requires me to restart most levels, but levels are only ~30 seconds at the longest so this isn't a big deal.
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming the Evil Lord (9 characters)
Sample Run Video: http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?HalfMinuteHero_EvilLord30_22377

Game Name: Half-Minute Hero
System: PSP played on PSTV / PC
Category: Hero 30 Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10
Pros: It's basically a series of mini-RPGs basically made for speedrunning. Combat is simplified into you running into enemies, and the main mechanic is being able to spend health to move faster. This also allows you to manipulate the RNG, which we abuse to get the fastest times and adds a surprising amount of depth to what on its surface appears to be an extremely simple game. And much like with Evil Lord 30, time lost due to mistakes cannot exceed a very small maximum.
Cons: It has been at both RPGLB's so far.
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming the Hero (9 characters), Hero 300 (~5 minutes), Hero 3 (~1 minute), Another Goddess IL (~2 minutes). Alternatively, the PC version would lose the Another Goddess IL, but could gain a bid war for Good Taste vs. Demon Chocobo Neo Cartoon blech.
Sample Run Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyFUmjiAIU

Preference List: Yggdra Union > Evil Lord 30 > Diablo 3 > Hero 30
Game Name: Shining Force 1
System: Sega Genesis
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Final Cutscene is around 5 minutes.
Pros: Well Shining Force 1 is the best Shining Force game in the series according to an anonymous voting poll. Shining Force 1 is becoming SO much faster with the past 2 months of work that have been put into it.  It is so close to becoming a sub 5 run that I can easily guarantee that both myself and the WR holder, Tskisoccer NoWorries, will have sub 5 by the time RPGLB would come around.  5:15 should be a more realistic estimate, but that would depend on how much more the run improves in the following months.  The adaptations to situations that aren't supposed to happen are what make this a fun run.  You will never see identical runs through and through.
Cons: Bad luck happens from time to time.  The heroes in the game will definitely die along the way due to enemies hitting with a critical strike or a double attack which only happens around 1/40 times, but if you are to hit those unlucky spots and are forced to revive, then you are going to lose a little bit of time here and there.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name Max (main character, 8 character limit), incentives to pick up the Sugoi Mizugi (extra item that changes battle sprite, we normally skip), incentives to pick up the Kitui Huku (another item that changes a battle sprite), and again the push-up incentive for misses.
Sample run video:
Game Name: Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different):ps2
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc):any% and ng+
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content):5:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): not sure since I have yet to try with bonus content
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Con- not very known with people, no major glitches, some heavy rng
Pro- there is some comic relief moments, based of a popular anime
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):any% vs ng+, maybe letting some comic cut scenes happen(maybe adds 2 or 3 mins), force me to actually win the very last fight against mustang anf armstong
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): had a highlight but it not working

Game Name: Final Fantasy X-2
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different):ps2
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc):ng+ na
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content):3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run):
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Con- Been ran before,
Pro- a decent short and funny game, it gives a lot of people laughs, very well know of game
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):not too sure on this out side of what has been done
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required):
already lots of submissions and new games <3 final choice will be tough!
Edit history:
Tojju: 2016-12-26 09:07:28 pm
Group submission with KRob16, CaracarnVi, and Luzbelheim.
Offering this as either a co-op run or a 2v2 race.

Game Name: Final Fantasy IX
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:32 ending with Melodies of Life singing

Pros/Cons: The route for FFIX has changed significantly since its last major marathon showing at ESA 2015. The speedrun now fights Tantarian in disc 2 for EXP, AP, and the Running Shoes item, which changes the strats used in disc 3 and 4 significantly (including using Quina’s Night ability to sleep bosses in disc 4). Boss fights are varied and the menuing is fun to watch. The game has some RNG, particularly with regards to encounters, but is marathon safe. There are a few extended periods of downtime, but the run remains arguably the most popular Final Fantasy speedrun and has a very strong finish with disc 4’s boss rush.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (eight characters in total, seven character length), showing Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene (+2 min), fighting Hades in disc 4 (+~5 mins, still testing)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/tojju/v/34600604 (NA PB, old route) + https://www.twitch.tv/tojju/v/82012741 (JP PB, current route)