RPG Limit Break 2018 Games Thread

2018-01-27 09:44:09 pm

Is PJ

Game Name: Dragon View
System: SNES
Category: Any% or 100%
Gameplay estimate: 2:40:00 (any%) or 4:10:00 (100%)
Ending estimate: 0:25:00. This game has heroically long credits. There are FIVE unique credit sequences. We certainly do not have to watch them.

Dragon View is a super unique and rather rare action RPG for the SNES, made "famous" for a wild glitch encountered in a save-less run that is guaranteed to crash the game if it doesn't accidentally call the credits. Both of these categories will be saving and resetting at least once to ensure that this glitch does not happen.

Pros:
+Dragon View has a very unique aesthetic and narration style.
+The map has a compass.
+Both categories have really good pacing, with the exception of 100%'s Very Long Grind™.
+There is a LOT to talk about in both categories. This game has a very rich plot (which I need to review), interesting combat mechanics, and a substantial amount of route considerations to discuss.
+This game is never showcased anywhere by anybody. I have been the only runner for ~5 years.
+100% category is extremely stable. Will not cause wild fluctuations in the schedule.
+Is not Drakkhen.

Cons:
-Any% is an incredibly difficult run with a few extremely high risk sections. Deaths are quite time-consuming (5-10 minutes, usually).
-100% contains one extraordinarily long and unavoidable grinding session (20 minutes). I try to break it up by collecting some upgrades and visiting side dungeons within the grind, but it will still be rough if there aren't a lot of donations to read.
-Dragon View is definitely not well-known.
-Aside from naming the protagonist, there are no worthwhile donation incentives.
-Is Drakkhen II.

Donation Incentive Offers:
-Protagonist name (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, star, and ·!?/-"'&*.,;: are possible characters)
-Scaling incentives to skip having to watch each of the 5 ending sequences (the ending is REALLY long!)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221961619 This is a sample any% run in 2:29:39. The game was very fortunate to bless me with the worst RNG I have ever seen from this game. As my survivability is strictly tied to the health/MP drops I get, and drops are entirely random, it is very beneficial to test the worst case scenario! I was short on resources nearly the entire run and still managed to finish. This run also has one 5-minute death, which is very possible in this category. Estimate basically accounts for equivalent luck and one additional death.

I do not have a video for the 100% run at this time. If I don't die in the first 15 minutes of the run, it is nearly impossible for me to die unless I have a monumental lapse in judgment. That category is significantly safer and much preferred, but there was simply not enough time post-GDQ for me to adequately prepare both.

*While it has been suggested that I find a way to incorporate a Grand Memory Clobber demonstration into this run, that is not possible without a significant waste of time. The Grand Memory Clobber has a habit of erasing save data; I can't simply show it off after the save and before the load because there might not be a file to load. It is also extremely risky to promise as a bonus incentive because I have to play the entire hour-long stretch between the first boss and the Ortah cutscene without dying, and the most significant risks are in this stretch. A single death makes it impossible to call the Grand Memory Clobber. There is no possible backup or safety strat without resorting to emulator.*

[b]Game Name:[/b] Dragon View
[b]System:[/b] SNES
[b]Category[/b]: Any% or 100%
[b]Gameplay estimate[/b]: 2:40:00 (any%) or 4:10:00 (100%)
[b]Ending estimate:[/b] 0:25:00.  This game has heroically long credits.  There are FIVE unique credit sequences.  We certainly do not have to watch them.

Dragon View is a super unique and rather rare action RPG for the SNES, made "famous" for a wild glitch encountered in a save-less run that is guaranteed to crash the game if it doesn't accidentally call the credits.  Both of these categories will be saving and resetting at least once to ensure that this glitch does not happen.

[b]Pros:[/b]
+Dragon View has a very unique aesthetic and narration style.
+The map has a compass.
+Both categories have really good pacing, with the exception of 100%'s Very Long Grind™.
+There is a LOT to talk about in both categories.  This game has a very rich plot (which I need to review), interesting combat mechanics, and a substantial amount of route considerations to discuss.
+This game is never showcased anywhere by anybody.  I have been the only runner for ~5 years.
+100% category is extremely stable.  Will not cause wild fluctuations in the schedule.
+Is not Drakkhen.

[b]Cons:[/b]
-Any% is an incredibly difficult run with a few extremely high risk sections.  Deaths are quite time-consuming (5-10 minutes, usually).
-100% contains one extraordinarily long and unavoidable grinding session (20 minutes).  I try to break it up by collecting some upgrades and visiting side dungeons within the grind, but it will still be rough if there aren't a lot of donations to read.
-Dragon View is definitely not well-known.
-Aside from naming the protagonist, there are no worthwhile donation incentives.
-Is Drakkhen II.

[b]Donation Incentive Offers: [/b]
-Protagonist name (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, star, and ·!?/-"'&*.,;: are possible characters)
-Scaling incentives to skip having to watch each of the 5 ending sequences (the ending is REALLY long!)

[b]Sample run video:[/b] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221961619 This is a sample any% run in 2:29:39.  The game was very fortunate to bless me with the worst RNG I have ever seen from this game.  As my survivability is strictly tied to the health/MP drops I get, and drops are entirely random, it is very beneficial to test the worst case scenario!  I was short on resources nearly the entire run and still managed to finish.  This run also has one 5-minute death, which is very possible in this category.  Estimate basically accounts for equivalent luck and one additional death.

I do not have a video for the 100% run at this time.  If I don't die in the first 15 minutes of the run, it is nearly impossible for me to die unless I have a monumental lapse in judgment.  That category is significantly safer and much preferred, but there was simply not enough time post-GDQ for me to adequately prepare both.

*While it has been suggested that I find a way to incorporate a Grand Memory Clobber demonstration into this run, that is not possible without a significant waste of time.  The Grand Memory Clobber has a habit of erasing save data; I can't simply show it off after the save and before the load because there might not be a file to load.  It is also extremely risky to promise as a bonus incentive because I have to play the entire hour-long stretch between the first boss and the Ortah cutscene without dying, and the most significant risks are in this stretch.  A single death makes it impossible to call the Grand Memory Clobber.  There is no possible backup or safety strat without resorting to emulator.*

SUMDeaner

Edit history:

SUMDeaner: 2018-01-28 09:29:28 pm

SUMDeaner: 2018-01-28 03:53:29 pm

SUMDeaner: 2018-01-28 03:48:49 pm

SUMDeaner: 2018-01-27 09:52:15 pm

2018-01-27 09:47:12 pm

Game Name: "Dragon Quest"
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Dragonloop (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (w/o ending): 1:55:00 (a typical run is ~1:40)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:03:00

Pros:
+ The original JRPG, remastered for the SFC.
+ The SFC version is an improved version of the original. Everything is rebalanced, much of the grinding eliminated, and battles unfold in more interesting ways.
+ There is essentially no downtime in the run from cutscenes.
+ Gameplay varies with each run, depending on the current situation and each player's preference for different strategies. Small optimizations can make a big difference.
+ It is mostly a skill-intensive game, but there are some interesting tricks that are used throughout the run: metal slime hit manipulation, half-step walking techniques, and the Dragonloop itself (for which the category is named).
+ It is marathon safe. Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, as bad luck can only exend the final time a bit longer. Setbacks of this nature are accounted for in the estimate.
+ We are submitting as a 2-4+ person race. "Dragon Quest" races often feature a fair bit of back-and-forth to keep things exciting, and races have gotten a very positive reception in other online marathons.

Potential Racers: starofviolence, POP, SUMDeaner, lavkian, philosoraptor42, lavitz951

Cons:
- The game was only released in Japanese. There is a translation patch available but this patch introduces a few bugs (requiring some small work-arounds).
- Text moves very quickly in this game, and it can be difficult to follow what is happening sometimes. This effects both the JP and English-patched versions. I believe good commentary and the simple nature of the 1v1 battles can make up for this as well, no matter which language is used.
- Unfortunately, being killed by the last boss can happen. It takes around 8 minutes to get back to the fight, but the fight will be a little bit safer the second time around. (This possibility has been taken into account in the estimate)
- There is still a section of the game that is grinding, including the Dragonloop (must fight the Marsh Cave Dragon seven times) and an additional amount of grinding after that. There is a good amount of strategy that goes into the Dragonloop grinding; commentary can provide an explanation of the process as it evolves. The final grind section is not very exciting, but it is a short segment compared to the rest of the run.

Donation Incentive Offer(s):
*Bring Princess Laura to the Dragonlord (additional time is less than 30 seconds) There is extra text when you talk to the Dragonlord, as well as the ending where you walk away with her.

Sample videos (times include credits):
1) Submission video with explanations of route (and a very bad luck finish) [1:58:52]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221897340
2) Older submission I made (typical luck) [1:37:46]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/177779899
3) Current PB (marathon-safe route, with very good luck) [1:32:22]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/151112733

Game Name: "Dragon Quest II"
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Any% "glitchless"
Gameplay estimate (w/o ending): 4:15:00
Ending/Bonus estimate: 0:06:00 ending and credits

Pros:
+Remastered version of DQ2 features updated gameplay mechanics that greatly affect how the game plays out. This is a tense, challenging run which heavily features random encounters with dangerous monsters. Players need to make careful decisions and calculated risks to excel at DQ2.
+Aside from a 4 minute cutscene at the game's opening, the run will continue moving forward without any breaks.
+Every random battle is a chance for an exciting battle and an opportunity for skilled decision-making on the part of the runner.
+For a run so heavily revolving around random battles, the run is remarkably stable. Setbacks will almost certainly occur somewhere, but earning enough experience to defeat the final boss is important. This means the run is progressing forward, even if I have to repeat a dungeon because of a party wipeout.
+Nothing can happen during the run to keep it from continuing, things will just take a little longer.
+Race option: DQ2 is also being submitting by POP, and if possible, I'd like to race together with him.

Cons:
-This game is highly technical and may require a fair bit of explanation for the casual viewer to fully appreciate. Knowledgeable commentary will be available to help everyone understand the game.
-Leveling-grinding at endgame is necessary, but this is also the most challenging portion of the run. Commentary will have a lot to discuss; each battle can quickly become an intense struggle, and our strategies will continue to change with each level-up.
-No official English version exists, though again, there is not too much dialog or item management in this title (and commentary can help summarize). English patch is an option, but there are potential issues/bugs, and the run will take a few minutes longer.

Donation Incentive Offer(s):
*Name the Prince of Loreasia (8 character limit for English patch version)
*Singing: the song "My Journey, My Way" plays during the game's credits. If the incentive is met, I'd be glad to sing it. (this will require including the game's ending and credits)

Sample videos (times include ending/credits):
1) Submission video (a little rusty) [4:23:08]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223521497
2) Current PB* [3:50:48]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210517028
*I have a few faster times, but I consider this my best performance

Game Name: "Dragon Quest III"
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Any% (Race)
Gameplay estimate (w/o ending): 3:25:00 (a typical run is ~3:10:00)
Ending/Bonus estimate: 0:06:00 ending and credits

Pros:
+One of Japan's most popular and competitive speedrun games.
+Only a few short cutscenes, so there is very little break in the gameplay.
+Highly optimized route which makes use of many time-saving tricks, and also robust enough to handle unexpected obstacles or challenges.
+Setbacks from the random nature of the game are typically minor, and many safety contingencies are built right into the route to minimize time loss. These setbacks will make the run take longer, but will never prevent a runner from finishing.
+DQ3 makes for a great race game. Having more than one player can really highlight how much each run can vary, the subtle differences in routes and playstyles that each player uses, and how each player chooses to respond to evolving conditions. DQ3 races often swing back-and-forth, and you can never be sure who will win until it's all over. (POP is also submitting DQ3, so this would be a two-player race)

Cons:
-Around the half-way point is a "Metal Slime grind" for experience, which lasts about 30 minutes total. There is still a lot of techique and decision-making here, so good commentary should still have plenty to talk about.
-No official English version, though a translation is available. This game does feature a fair bit of menuing, so using the English patch version may be easier for the viewer to follow. Just add a few extra minutes to estimate for ENG version, since the text will move a little slower.
-Being defeated in the final dungeon is possible and represents a major time-loss. At the very worst case, it's about 15 minutes to recover, but my party will be in better shape to win the next time around. (This possibility is reflected in my estimate)
-This was run at RPGLB 2016, two year ago, and the route hasn't changed much. However, each run of DQ3 SFC tends to have its own unique feel to it, and I really think showcasing this as a race could be exciting.

Donation Incentive Offer(s):
*Name the four party members: Hero, Warrior, Thief/Sage, and Mage/Warrior (8 character-limit, for English version)
*Select the Hero's gender (will not affect the run)
*Singing: if the incentive is met, I will sing along with the credits' theme: "Soushite Densetsu e..." (will need to include the game's ending and credits).

Sample Videos (times include ending/credits):
1) Submission video with commentary [3:21:34]:https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221903583 (part 1) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221903383 (part 2)
*Technical issues near the end of the run. The run picks up in part 2, shortly after I was defeated by Zoma.
2) Video of recent race with POP [3:08:16]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223167879

[b]Game Name: "Dragon Quest"[/b]
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Dragonloop (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (w/o ending): 1:55:00 (a typical run is ~1:40)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:03:00

Pros:
+ The original JRPG, remastered for the SFC.
+ The SFC version is an improved version of the original. Everything is rebalanced, much of the grinding eliminated, and battles unfold in more interesting ways.
+ There is essentially no downtime in the run from cutscenes. 
+ Gameplay varies with each run, depending on the current situation and each player's preference for different strategies. Small optimizations can make a big difference. 
+ It is mostly a skill-intensive game, but there are some interesting tricks that are used throughout the run: metal slime hit manipulation, half-step walking techniques, and the Dragonloop itself (for which the category is named).
+ It is marathon safe.  Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, as bad luck can only exend the final time a bit longer.  Setbacks of this nature are accounted for in the estimate.
+ We are submitting as a 2-4+ person race.  "Dragon Quest" races often feature a fair bit of back-and-forth to keep things exciting, and races have gotten a very positive reception in other online marathons.

Potential Racers: starofviolence, POP, SUMDeaner, lavkian, philosoraptor42, lavitz951

Cons:
- The game was only released in Japanese.  There is a translation patch available but this patch introduces a few bugs (requiring some small work-arounds).
- Text moves very quickly in this game, and it can be difficult to follow what is happening sometimes.  This effects both the JP and English-patched versions.  I believe good commentary and the simple nature of the 1v1 battles can make up for this as well, no matter which language is used.  
- Unfortunately, being killed by the last boss can happen.  It takes around 8 minutes to get back to the fight, but the fight will be a little bit safer the second time around. (This possibility has been taken into account in the estimate) 
- There is still a section of the game that is grinding, including the Dragonloop (must fight the Marsh Cave Dragon seven times) and an additional amount of grinding after that.  There is a good amount of strategy that goes into the Dragonloop grinding; commentary can provide an explanation of the process as it evolves.  The final grind section is not very exciting, but it is a short segment compared to the rest of the run.

Donation Incentive Offer(s): 
*Bring Princess Laura to the Dragonlord (additional time is less than 30 seconds) There is extra text when you talk to the Dragonlord, as well as the ending where you walk away with her.

Sample videos (times include credits):
1) Submission video with explanations of route (and a very bad luck finish) [1:58:52]: [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221897340[/url]
2) Older submission I made (typical luck) [1:37:46]: [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/177779899[/url]
3) Current PB (marathon-safe route, with very good luck) [1:32:22]: [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/151112733[/url]

[b]Game Name: "Dragon Quest II"[/b]
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Any% "glitchless"
Gameplay estimate (w/o ending): 4:15:00
Ending/Bonus estimate: 0:06:00 ending and credits

Pros:
+Remastered version of DQ2 features updated gameplay mechanics that greatly affect how the game plays out.  This is a tense, challenging run which heavily features random encounters with dangerous monsters.  Players need to make careful decisions and calculated risks to excel at DQ2.
+Aside from a 4 minute cutscene at the game's opening, the run will continue moving forward without any breaks.
+Every random battle is a chance for an exciting battle and an opportunity for skilled decision-making on the part of the runner.
+For a run so heavily revolving around random battles, the run is remarkably stable.  Setbacks will almost certainly occur somewhere, but earning enough experience to defeat the final boss is important. This means the run is progressing forward, even if I have to repeat a dungeon because of a party wipeout.
+Nothing can happen during the run to keep it from continuing, things will just take a little longer.
+Race option: DQ2 is also being submitting by POP, and if possible, I'd like to race together with him.

Cons:
-This game is highly technical and may require a fair bit of explanation for the casual viewer to fully appreciate.  Knowledgeable commentary will be available to help everyone understand the game.
-Leveling-grinding at endgame is necessary, but this is also the most challenging portion of the run.  Commentary will have a lot to discuss; each battle can quickly become an intense struggle, and our strategies will continue to change with each level-up.
-No official English version exists, though again, there is not too much dialog or item management in this title (and commentary can help summarize).  English patch is an option, but there are potential issues/bugs, and the run will take a few minutes longer.

Donation Incentive Offer(s):
*Name the Prince of Loreasia (8 character limit for English patch version)
*Singing: the song "My Journey, My Way" plays during the game's credits.  If the incentive is met, I'd be glad to sing it.  (this will require including the game's ending and credits)

Sample videos (times include ending/credits):
1) Submission video (a little rusty) [4:23:08]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223521497
2) Current PB* [3:50:48]: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210517028
 *I have a few faster times, but I consider this my best performance

[b]Game Name: "Dragon Quest III"[/b]
System: Super Famicom (SNES)
Category: Any% (Race)
Gameplay estimate (w/o ending): 3:25:00 (a typical run is ~3:10:00)
Ending/Bonus estimate: 0:06:00 ending and credits

Pros:
+One of Japan's most popular and competitive speedrun games.
+Only a few short cutscenes, so there is very little break in the gameplay.
+Highly optimized route which makes use of many time-saving tricks, and also robust enough to handle unexpected obstacles or challenges.
+Setbacks from the random nature of the game are typically minor, and many safety contingencies are built right into the route to minimize time loss.  These setbacks will make the run take longer, but will never prevent a runner from finishing.
+DQ3 makes for a great race game.  Having more than one player can really highlight how much each run can vary, the subtle differences in routes and playstyles that each player uses, and how each player chooses to respond to evolving conditions.  DQ3 races often swing back-and-forth, and you can never be sure who will win until it's all over.  (POP is also submitting DQ3, so this would be a two-player race)

Cons:
-Around the half-way point is a "Metal Slime grind" for experience, which lasts about 30 minutes total.  There is still a lot of techique and decision-making here, so good commentary should still have plenty to talk about.
-No official English version, though a translation is available.  This game does feature a fair bit of menuing, so using the English patch version may be easier for the viewer to follow.  Just add a few extra minutes to estimate for ENG version, since the text will move a little slower.
-Being defeated in the final dungeon is possible and represents a major time-loss.  At the very worst case, it's about 15 minutes to recover, but my party will be in better shape to win the next time around.  (This possibility is reflected in my estimate)
-This was run at RPGLB 2016, two year ago, and the route hasn't changed much.  However, each run of DQ3 SFC tends to have its own unique feel to it, and I really think showcasing this as a race could be exciting.

Donation Incentive Offer(s):
*Name the four party members: Hero, Warrior, Thief/Sage, and Mage/Warrior (8 character-limit, for English version)
*Select the Hero's gender (will not affect the run)
*Singing: if the incentive is met, I will sing along with the credits' theme: "Soushite Densetsu e..."  (will need to include the game's ending and credits).

Sample Videos (times include ending/credits):
1) Submission video with commentary [3:21:34]:[url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221903583[/url] (part 1) [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221903383[/url] (part 2)
 *Technical issues near the end of the run.  The run picks up in part 2, shortly after I was defeated by Zoma.
2) Video of recent race with POP [3:08:16]: [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223167879[/url]

ty2358

Edit history:

ty2358: 2018-01-28 03:17:02 am

2018-01-27 10:27:27 pm

Game Name: Shining Force CD
Category: Book 1 Any%
Console: Sega CD
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223140053

Shining Force CD, the tile-based strategy RPG that takes out the adventurous aspect of previous Shining Force games and puts you straight into the battles that outclass most battles in the entire series. The Sega CD makes for beautiful visuals and upgraded audio that make the in-game music shine. Book 1 takes place 20 years after Shining Force 1 where evil has decided to strike again and you just so happen to be around to save the day and hopefully the entire world! Shining Force CD Book 1 gives an excellent list of characters, even bringing back some familiar faces of previous Shining games, giving nostalgic feels towards players that have played them. The gameplay and mechanics are no different, but the RNG can still be crucial. Some bad luck towards level ups or dodges can easily lose time, but because battles are short, a little bad luck is not that serious.

Pros:
-The battles are by far the most enjoyable part of the game. Best I've ever experienced.
-A much safer Shining Force. Bosses and flying enemies don't have the same evasiveness that they had before.
-You don't need to hope for very specific level ups on characters.
- Visuals are very bright and audio/SE can now by played in Stereo.

Cons:
-Since It's battle after battle, it makes for a very linear game, therefor there isn't much more to expect.
-Saves and resets for safety cost over 30 seconds each. If things become sour, it can be easy to lose 5 minutes.
-Bats...Bats are bad in every video game.

Donation Incentive: Name Nick (7 characters long)

Game Name: Shining Force EXA
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any% (Co-op w/ Turbodog702?)
Gameplay Estimate: 6:15:00

Shining Force Exa is an ARPG followed shortly after Shining Force Neo, and to those who know about Neo, don't worry, this game isn't the same. Shining Force Exa introduces new gameplay mechanics and 2 main characters to play as, making it so that your hack and slash game isn't just using the same move over and over and over again with just 1 character. The speedrun is fairly new, but it has been optimized very nicely with recent item drop finds that have made the run much safer and faster.

Pros
- New fighting mechanics and abilities learned over the course of the game.
- Some music by Shirō Sagisu who also did work on animes like Bleach and Evangelion. It's awesome!
- 2 main characters! (kind of)
- Enemies aren't nearly as rough like they are in Shining Force Neo.

Cons
- There are some maps and songs taken straight from Shining Force Neo.
- There are encounters that need to be taken with caution or else it may prove to be fatal. (Although safety saves will probably be used)
- Some Item drops are needed and therefor time can be lost due to forcing the drops.

I currently have no available video at the moment, as I have only recently started practicing the route, and was working a bit on it's weaker counterpart. (Shining Force Neo) I am confident in my abilities to play the first half of the game with success, which is why Turbodog insisted on a possible Co-Op run.

Game Name: Shining Force CD
Category: Book 1 Any%
Console: Sega CD
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223140053

Shining Force CD, the tile-based strategy RPG that takes out the adventurous aspect of previous Shining Force games and puts you straight into the battles that outclass most battles in the entire series.  The Sega CD makes for beautiful visuals and upgraded audio that make the in-game music shine.  Book 1 takes place 20 years after Shining Force 1 where evil has decided to strike again and you just so happen to be around to save the day and hopefully the entire world!  Shining Force CD Book 1 gives an excellent list of characters, even bringing back some familiar faces of previous Shining games, giving nostalgic feels towards players that have played them.  The gameplay and mechanics are no different, but the RNG can still be crucial.  Some bad luck towards level ups or dodges can easily lose time, but because battles are short, a little bad luck is not that serious.

Pros:
-The battles are by far the most enjoyable part of the game.  Best I've ever experienced.
-A much safer Shining Force.  Bosses and flying enemies don't have the same evasiveness that they had before.
-You don't need to hope for very specific level ups on characters.
- Visuals are very bright and audio/SE can now by played in Stereo.

Cons:
-Since It's battle after battle, it makes for a very linear game, therefor there isn't much more to expect.  
-Saves and resets for safety cost over 30 seconds each.  If things become sour, it can be easy to lose 5 minutes.
-Bats...Bats are bad in every video game.

Donation Incentive: Name Nick (7 characters long)

Game Name: Shining Force EXA
System: Playstation 2
Category: Any% (Co-op w/ Turbodog702?)
Gameplay Estimate: 6:15:00

Shining Force Exa is an ARPG followed shortly after Shining Force Neo, and to those who know about Neo, don't worry, this game isn't the same.  Shining Force Exa introduces new gameplay mechanics and 2 main characters to play as, making it so that your hack and slash game isn't just using the same move over and over and over again with just 1 character.  The speedrun is fairly new, but it has been optimized very nicely with recent item drop finds that have made the run much safer and faster.

Pros
- New fighting mechanics and abilities learned over the course of the game.
- Some music by Shirō Sagisu who also did work on animes like Bleach and Evangelion. It's awesome!
- 2 main characters! (kind of)
- Enemies aren't nearly as rough like they are in Shining Force Neo.

Cons
- There are some maps and songs taken straight from Shining Force Neo.
- There are encounters that need to be taken with caution or else it may prove to be fatal.  (Although safety saves will probably be used)
- Some Item drops are needed and therefor time can be lost due to forcing the drops.

I currently have no available video at the moment, as I have only recently started practicing the route, and was working a bit on it's weaker counterpart. (Shining Force Neo)  I am confident in my abilities to play the first half of the game with success, which is why Turbodog insisted on a possible Co-Op run.

andyperfect

2018-01-27 10:44:19 pm

Game Name: Golf Story
System: Nintendo Switch
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits (5 minutes), Round of Galf (5 minutes)
Pros/Cons: Very recent sports RPG released for the Switch that features quick decision making, fun side quests, and great music/dialogue. Doesn't fit the traditional JRPG mold, but it's a great RPG nonetheless that features a character with a quest to become a pro golfer. We have stat allocation, item collection, main and side quests, but golf instead of traditional fights. There are already some significant glitches that save around an hour in this run, and the excitement for great shots always gets chat moving. Because it is newer though, it doesn't have strong name recognition quite yet and is still a little unknown.
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Playing a round of Galf after the run (short, silly, difficult golf mini game. ~5 minutes).
- Save the frames or Play the Games...or some other name (There are 4 courses during the run where the fastest way to win is to hit max strokes on each hole by hitting into the water or OB and being forced to retire each time. Playing the courses is about 1 minute slower each time)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222830122

-----

Game Name: Lufia 2
System: Super Nintendo
Category: Any% No Major Glitches
Gameplay Estimate: 4:10
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits (10 minutes)
Pros/Cons: Popular 90s era RPG that that includes RNG manipulation, an understanding of enemy movement patterns to avoid fights during the run, and crisp menuing throughout. With saves scattered frequently throughout the run (generally right before bosses), any death carries very little risk. With regard to they dungeons, they can start to feel a bit repetitive after awhile since they tend to have a similar look.
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Naming Maxim (5 characters),
- Picking up and using one of the capsule monsters for the run (bid war)
- Showing off a short heavily glitched true any% run (5 minutes)
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVKW09iOA0w

[b]Game Name:[/b] Golf Story
[b]System:[/b] Nintendo Switch
[b]Category:[/b] Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 4:20
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] Credits (5 minutes), Round of Galf (5 minutes)
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b] Very recent sports RPG released for the Switch that features quick decision making, fun side quests, and great music/dialogue. Doesn't fit the traditional JRPG mold, but it's a great RPG nonetheless that features a character with a quest to become a pro golfer. We have stat allocation, item collection, main and side quests, but golf instead of traditional fights. There are already some significant glitches that save around an hour in this run, and the excitement for great shots always gets chat moving. Because it is newer though, it doesn't have strong name recognition quite yet and is still a little unknown.
[b]Donation Incentive Offers: [/b]
- Playing a round of Galf after the run (short, silly, difficult golf mini game. ~5 minutes). 
- Save the frames or Play the Games...or some other name (There are 4 courses during the run where the fastest way to win is to hit max strokes on each hole by hitting into the water or OB and being forced to retire each time. Playing the courses is about 1 minute slower each time)
[b]Sample run video:[/b] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222830122

-----

[b]Game Name:[/b] Lufia 2
[b]System:[/b] Super Nintendo
[b]Category:[/b] Any% No Major Glitches
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 4:10
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] Credits (10 minutes)
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b] Popular 90s era RPG that that includes RNG manipulation, an understanding of enemy movement patterns to avoid fights during the run, and crisp menuing throughout. With saves scattered frequently throughout the run (generally right before bosses), any death carries very little risk. With regard to they dungeons, they can start to feel a bit repetitive after awhile since they tend to have a similar look.
[b]Donation Incentive Offers: [/b]
- Naming Maxim (5 characters), 
- Picking up and using one of the capsule monsters for the run (bid war)
- Showing off a short heavily glitched true any% run (5 minutes)
[b]Sample run video:[/b] [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVKW09iOA0w[/noembed]

GearlessRobot

Edit history:

GearlessRobot: 2018-01-27 11:14:38 pm

2018-01-27 11:14:20 pm

Game Name: Mother 3
System: Game Boy Advance on GameCube with Game Boy Player
Category: Any% English
Gameplay Estimate: 7:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00
Pros:
-The party changes constantly and gains new abilities, so boss strats are pretty varied. Even the lategame fights with PSI spam aren't handled the exact same way.
-No "lol I win" items like MBRs in EarthBound, so fights are pretty interesting.
-No danger of dying to random encounters due to rolling HP meter.
-All dangerous boss fights have a save point right before them, so I won't lose much time if I die.
-The only Mother game that hasn't been in an RPGLimitBreak event before.
-One of the more watched YouTube vids from Really Really Long a Thon, but that might be because certain hilarious mistakes were made.
-Tomato's fan translation is considered the gold standard for fan translations to the point that people want Nintendo to officially release it as is.
-The only grinding is 3 fights in chapter 4 and 2 fights in chapter 7. All of these battles are pretty quick.
Cons:
-Never released outside of Japan, the run will be done with Tomato's fan translation
-It's a pretty long speedrun, especially for a GBA game
-There's a lot of cutscenes, especially at the start of the game
-Near the halfway point I need to fight an enemy for experience that's the Mother 3 equivalent of Metal Slimes. They're easy to kill, but it can take forever for them to show up, and I need to kill two of them to get a PSI ability I need.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters(Lucas, Claus, Flint, Hinawa, Boney, Duster, Kumatora, Salsa (All 8 character limit)), Name Favorite Food (9 char limit), Name Favorite Thing (8 char limit), Name Player (16 char limit), pick flavor, Osohe dance-a-long (I do the Osohe dance along with Wess in Chapter 2), fight Negative Man (A joke "boss" who is about 2 minutes out of the way. There's no danger of dying to this guy), fight the King Statue (an optional boss with 99 million hp. Don't worry, you can cheese this guy pretty hard. Takes about 2 minutes despite his ridiculously high HP), see Flint's bonus dialog in the final area (takes about a minute)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/110977871

Game Name: Star Ocean: The Second Story
System: PS1 played on PS2 with fast disc speed
Category: Any% Claude/Rena (Bid war between the two) (Open to a race with DriftingSkies)
Gameplay Estimate: 5:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 25:00 (15 minute credits + 10 minutes for bonus fights) (I'd prefer to show the ending after Unlimited Indalecio if that incentive is met. There's only one difference at the very end, but I want to show that off.)
Pros:
-The most popular Star Ocean game that hasn't been in an RPGLimitBreak yet
-No random encounters due to an easy to perform glitch
-I completely break the game without using glitches due to the game's item creation system
-Not too many cutscenes on Disc 2
-There's no quick way to make the Eternal Sphere until disc 2, so disc 1 fights are pretty interesting.
-So bad it's good voice acting
Cons:
-Lots of cutscenes with long dialogue at the start of the game
-One boss (Bark) will kill you if you're unlucky and don't stun him. There's a save right before him, but it's a completely RNG dependent fight. The good news is there's only a very short cutscene before the fight.
-Two other bosses (Harfainxes and Vesper/Decus) can be very tough, especially if your AI allies decide to mess around. There's a save before both, but one has a minute long cutscene before the fight, and the other has a 30 second cutscene.
-Rena's mode has a long sequence followed by a fight where you rely on the game's AI to not lose. I have a safety save if AI Claude loses.
-Disc 2 fights are just "lol Eternal Sphere" with one or two exceptions.
-It can take some time to learn talents and make the Berserk Ring on disc 1 and steal the Bunny Shoes on disc 2.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name all characters (Claude, Rena, Celine, Bowman, Leon, Dias (Rena run only), Noel, Chisato (if incentive is met), Ashton/Opera (if incentive is picked) 7 character limit for all, Celine and Noel join temporarily before you can choose to recruit them, so naming them isn't reliant on the incentive being met (Leon joins temporarily in Rena's route, but can't be permanently recruited)), recruit Celine (adds about a minute in cutscenes later in Claude, saves time in Rena), recruit Noel (no time loss), recruit Chisato (takes about 4 minutes), recruit Ashton/Opera (bid war, takes about 10 minutes for either. It's kinda long, but they are two of the more popular characters in the game, so it should be a popular incentive), pick the order I visit the four fields on disc 2 (can cause minor time loss if a sub-optimal order is picked), go down the Field of Power the fast way or the fun way (fun way is about 10 seconds slower), post run fights against Iselia Queen and Unlimited Indalecio, an extra incentive to make those post run fights be on Universe mode.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/32804148 (Claude) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzN9tskWa4 (Rena) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223188066 (IQ and Unlimited Indy showcase)

Game Name: Mother 3
System: Game Boy Advance on GameCube with Game Boy Player
Category: Any% English
Gameplay Estimate: 7:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00
Pros: 
-The party changes constantly and gains new abilities, so boss strats are pretty varied. Even the lategame fights with PSI spam aren't handled the exact same way.
-No "lol I win" items like MBRs in EarthBound, so fights are pretty interesting.
-No danger of dying to random encounters due to rolling HP meter.
-All dangerous boss fights have a save point right before them, so I won't lose much time if I die.
-The only Mother game that hasn't been in an RPGLimitBreak event before.
-One of the more watched YouTube vids from Really Really Long a Thon, but that might be because certain hilarious mistakes were made.
-Tomato's fan translation is considered the gold standard for fan translations to the point that people want Nintendo to officially release it as is.
-The only grinding is 3 fights in chapter 4 and 2 fights in chapter 7. All of these battles are pretty quick.
Cons:
-Never released outside of Japan, the run will be done with Tomato's fan translation
-It's a pretty long speedrun, especially for a GBA game
-There's a lot of cutscenes, especially at the start of the game
-Near the halfway point I need to fight an enemy for experience that's the Mother 3 equivalent of Metal Slimes. They're easy to kill, but it can take forever for them to show up, and I need to kill two of them to get a PSI ability I need.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters(Lucas, Claus, Flint, Hinawa, Boney, Duster, Kumatora, Salsa (All 8 character limit)), Name Favorite Food (9 char limit), Name Favorite Thing (8 char limit), Name Player (16 char limit), pick flavor, Osohe dance-a-long (I do the Osohe dance along with Wess in Chapter 2), fight Negative Man (A joke "boss" who is about 2 minutes out of the way. There's no danger of dying to this guy), fight the King Statue (an optional boss with 99 million hp. Don't worry, you can cheese this guy pretty hard. Takes about 2 minutes despite his ridiculously high HP), see Flint's bonus dialog in the final area (takes about a minute)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/110977871

Game Name: Star Ocean: The Second Story
System: PS1 played on PS2 with fast disc speed
Category: Any% Claude/Rena (Bid war between the two) (Open to a race with DriftingSkies)
Gameplay Estimate: 5:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 25:00 (15 minute credits + 10 minutes for bonus fights) (I'd prefer to show the ending after Unlimited Indalecio if that incentive is met. There's only one difference at the very end, but I want to show that off.)
Pros:
-The most popular Star Ocean game that hasn't been in an RPGLimitBreak yet
-No random encounters due to an easy to perform glitch
-I completely break the game without using glitches due to the game's item creation system
-Not too many cutscenes on Disc 2
-There's no quick way to make the Eternal Sphere until disc 2, so disc 1 fights are pretty interesting.
-So bad it's good voice acting
Cons:
-Lots of cutscenes with long dialogue at the start of the game
-One boss (Bark) will kill you if you're unlucky and don't stun him. There's a save right before him, but it's a completely RNG dependent fight. The good news is there's only a very short cutscene before the fight.
-Two other bosses (Harfainxes and Vesper/Decus) can be very tough, especially if your AI allies decide to mess around. There's a save before both, but one has a minute long cutscene before the fight, and the other has a 30 second cutscene.
-Rena's mode has a long sequence followed by a fight where you rely on the game's AI to not lose. I have a safety save if AI Claude loses.
-Disc 2 fights are just "lol Eternal Sphere" with one or two exceptions.
-It can take some time to learn talents and make the Berserk Ring on disc 1 and steal the Bunny Shoes on disc 2.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name all characters (Claude, Rena, Celine, Bowman, Leon, Dias (Rena run only), Noel, Chisato (if incentive is met), Ashton/Opera (if incentive is picked) 7 character limit for all, Celine and Noel join temporarily before you can choose to recruit them, so naming them isn't reliant on the incentive being met (Leon joins temporarily in Rena's route, but can't be permanently recruited)), recruit Celine (adds about a minute in cutscenes later in Claude, saves time in Rena), recruit Noel (no time loss), recruit Chisato (takes about 4 minutes), recruit Ashton/Opera (bid war, takes about 10 minutes for either. It's kinda long, but they are two of the more popular characters in the game, so it should be a popular incentive), pick the order I visit the four fields on disc 2 (can cause minor time loss if a sub-optimal order is picked), go down the Field of Power the fast way or the fun way (fun way is about 10 seconds slower), post run fights against Iselia Queen and Unlimited Indalecio, an extra incentive to make those post run fights be on Universe mode.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/32804148 (Claude) [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzN9tskWa4[/noembed] (Rena) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223188066 (IQ and Unlimited Indy showcase)

twitchpop

Edit history:

twitchpop: 2018-01-28 06:06:51 pm

2018-01-27 11:59:03 pm

Game Name: Dragon Quest
System: SFC
Category: Dragonloop (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 1:45
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:03:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+ Recognized by everyone as the original JRPG.
+ The SFC version is a (by far) improved version of the original, everything is rebalanced, much of the grinding eliminated, and battles unfold in a more interesting way.
+ There is very little downtime in the run, no cutscenes.
+ Gameplay differs run to run, based upon the current situation and a player's preference for different strategies. Small optimizations can make a big difference.
+ It is mostly a skill intensive game, but there are some interesting tricks that are used throughout the run: metal slime hit manipulation, half step walking techniques, and the Dragonloop itself, for which the category is named.
+ It is marathon safe. Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, bad luck can only exend the final time a bit longer (which is included in the estimate).
+ We are submitting as a 2-4+ person race, as the constant RNG can cause lead changes and keep things interesting. Races have gotten a very positive reception in other online marathons.

Potential Racers:
・starofviolence
・POP
・SUMDeaner
・lavkian
・philosoraptor42
・lavitz951

Cons:
- The game was only released in Japanese. I feel that, given the straightforward nature of this game, good commentary can make up for the language barrier, and such commentary will be available from multiple members of the community that will be present at the event.
- Text moves very quickly in this game, and it can be difficult to follow what is happening sometimes. This effects both the JP and English-patched versions. I believe good commentary and the simple nature of the 1v1 battles can make up for this as well, no matter which language is used.
- With bad luck, being killed by the last boss (Dragonlord) can happen. I'll lose around 8 minutes to get back to the fight, but the fight will be a little bit safer the second time around. This possibility has been taken into account in the estimate.
- There is still a section of the game that is grinding, including the Dragonloop (7 dragons) and an additional amount of grinding after that. There is a good amount of strategy that goes into the Dragonloop grinding, as we need to setup a deathwarp immediately after each dragon is killed. Commentary and the explanation of this should help it not feel like a grind. Compared to the rest of the run, the final grind section isn't very long.

Donation Incentive Offers: Bring Princess Laura to the Dragonlord. This adds very little time. There is extra text when you talk to the Dragonlord, as well as the ending where you walk away with her.

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221809039
Sample race video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkNx7W6EAA

Game Name: Dragon Quest 2
System: SFC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 3:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:07:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+ The SFC version of DQ2 is a dramatically improved version of the original. Great care has been taken to tweak enemy actions, stats, and resistances. The result is a much better balanced, but still very challenging experience that tests a player's knowledge and decision making skills nonstop from power on to THE END.
+ There is very little downtime, the only cutscene is at the very beginning. The rest of the game is a highly skill testing gauntlet of battles that almost never lets up.
+ Strategies vary from run to run based on the current situation and player preference.
+ This is a very skill intensive game, but is not without some tricks to make things a bit easier; Lottery Ticket manipulation, Metal Slime/Babble hit manipulation, and half-step walking techniques all play their roles in assisting the player in saving the world.
+ It's marathon safe. Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, it can only get a bit longer if there are mishaps.
+ This run can be made into a race with SUMDeaner, and I would like that if possible.

Cons:
- Due to the focus I require to play this game at a high level, I cannot give my own commentary in English for this run. However, there will be one or more dedicated commentators available to ensure everyone's understanding of the gameplay, resulting in a higher quality experience for everyone.
- There is a fairly heavy grinding section during the endgame, to gain enough experience to attempt the boss rush. This section also happens to be the most skill intensive section of the run, and strong commentary here will make this a non-issue.

Donation Incentive Offers: Sing ending credits theme "My Journey, My Way"

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221808276

Game Name: Dragon Quest 3
System: SFC
Category: Any% (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 3:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+One of Japan's most popular and competitive speedrun games.
+Only a few short cutscenes, so there is very little break in the gameplay.
+Highly optimized route which makes use of many time-saving tricks, but is also robust enough to handle unexpected obstacles or challenges.
+Setbacks from the random nature of the game are typically minor, and many safety contingencies are built right into the route to minimize time loss. These setbacks will make the run take longer, but will never prevent a runner from finishing.
+DQ3 makes for a great race game. Having more than one player can really highlight how much each run can vary, the subtle differences in routes and playstyles that each player uses, and how each player chooses to respond to evolving conditions. DQ3 races often swing back-and-forth, and you can never be sure who will win until it's all over. (POP is also submitting DQ3, so this would be a two-player race)

Potential Racers:
・SUMDeaner
・POP

Cons:
-Around the half-way point is a "Metal Slime grind" for experience, which lasts about 30 minutes total. There is still a lot of techique and decision-making here, so good commentary should still have plenty to talk about.
-Being defeated in the final dungeon is possible and represents a major time-loss. At the very worst case, it's about 15 minutes to recover, but my party will be in better shape to win the next time around. (This possibility is reflected in my estimate)
-This was run at RPGLB 2016, two year ago, and the route hasn't changed much. However, each run of DQ3 SFC tends to have its own unique feel to it, and I really think showcasing this as a race could be exciting.

Donation Incentive Offers: Sing ending credits theme song

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/177102889

Game Name: Roto Relay (Dragon Quests 1, 2, and 3 back to back)
System: SFC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 8:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15:00
Pros/Cons:

I'd like to offer not only all of the above games on an individual basis, but also all of them back to back as a small DQ Roto/Erdrick series block category, in which I have the current world record (see https://goo.gl/3HPwSJ under the header "DQ1～3ロトシリーズRTAリレー". My linked sample video is actually 20 minutes better than this leaderboard record, but that time is not recorded there.) All of the above pros and cons would apply as they do to the individual games. This, of course, is a feat that will take a large chunk of time to accomplish all at once, but is sure to be an exciting display of skill for everyone.

Donation Incentive Offers:

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210946190

Game Name: Dragon Quest
System: SFC
Category: Dragonloop (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 1:45
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:03:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+ Recognized by everyone as the original JRPG.
+ The SFC version is a (by far) improved version of the original, everything is rebalanced, much of the grinding eliminated, and battles unfold in a more interesting way. 
+ There is very little downtime in the run, no cutscenes. 
+ Gameplay differs run to run, based upon the current situation and a player's preference for different strategies. Small optimizations can make a big difference. 
+ It is mostly a skill intensive game, but there are some interesting tricks that are used throughout the run: metal slime hit manipulation, half step walking techniques, and the Dragonloop itself, for which the category is named.
+ It is marathon safe.  Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, bad luck can only exend the final time a bit longer (which is included in the estimate).
+ We are submitting as a 2-4+ person race, as the constant RNG can cause lead changes and keep things interesting.  Races have gotten a very positive reception in other online marathons.

Potential Racers:
・starofviolence
・POP
・SUMDeaner
・lavkian
・philosoraptor42
・lavitz951

Cons:
- The game was only released in Japanese. I feel that, given the straightforward nature of this game, good commentary can make up for the language barrier, and such commentary will be available from multiple members of the community that will be present at the event. 
- Text moves very quickly in this game, and it can be difficult to follow what is happening sometimes.  This effects both the JP and English-patched versions.  I believe good commentary and the simple nature of the 1v1 battles can make up for this as well, no matter which language is used.  
- With bad luck, being killed by the last boss (Dragonlord) can happen.  I'll lose around 8 minutes to get back to the fight, but the fight will be a little bit safer the second time around. This possibility has been taken into account in the estimate. 
- There is still a section of the game that is grinding, including the Dragonloop (7 dragons) and an additional amount of grinding after that.  There is a good amount of strategy that goes into the Dragonloop grinding, as we need to setup a deathwarp immediately after each dragon is killed.  Commentary and the explanation of this should help it not feel like a grind.  Compared to the rest of the run, the final grind section isn't very long.

Donation Incentive Offers: Bring Princess Laura to the Dragonlord.  This adds very little time.  There is extra text when you talk to the Dragonlord, as well as the ending where you walk away with her.

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221809039 
Sample race video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkNx7W6EAA[/noembed]

Game Name: Dragon Quest 2
System: SFC
Category: Any% 
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 3:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:07:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+ The SFC version of DQ2 is a dramatically improved version of the original. Great care has been taken to tweak enemy actions, stats, and resistances. The result is a much better balanced, but still very challenging experience that tests a player's knowledge and decision making skills nonstop from power on to THE END.
+ There is very little downtime, the only cutscene is at the very beginning. The rest of the game is a highly skill testing gauntlet of battles that almost never lets up.
+ Strategies vary from run to run based on the current situation and player preference.
+ This is a very skill intensive game, but is not without some tricks to make things a bit easier; Lottery Ticket manipulation, Metal Slime/Babble hit manipulation, and half-step walking techniques all play their roles in assisting the player in saving the world.
+ It's marathon safe. Nothing can prevent a player from finishing this run, it can only get a bit longer if there are mishaps.
+ This run can be made into a race with SUMDeaner, and I would like that if possible.

Cons:
- Due to the focus I require to play this game at a high level, I cannot give my own commentary in English for this run. However, there will be one or more dedicated commentators available to ensure everyone's understanding of the gameplay, resulting in a higher quality experience for everyone.
- There is a fairly heavy grinding section during the endgame, to gain enough experience to attempt the boss rush. This section also happens to be the most skill intensive section of the run, and strong commentary here will make this a non-issue.

Donation Incentive Offers: Sing ending credits theme "My Journey, My Way"

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221808276

Game Name: Dragon Quest 3
System: SFC
Category: Any% (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 3:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
+One of Japan's most popular and competitive speedrun games.
+Only a few short cutscenes, so there is very little break in the gameplay.
+Highly optimized route which makes use of many time-saving tricks, but is also robust enough to handle unexpected obstacles or challenges.
+Setbacks from the random nature of the game are typically minor, and many safety contingencies are built right into the route to minimize time loss.  These setbacks will make the run take longer, but will never prevent a runner from finishing.
+DQ3 makes for a great race game.  Having more than one player can really highlight how much each run can vary, the subtle differences in routes and playstyles that each player uses, and how each player chooses to respond to evolving conditions.  DQ3 races often swing back-and-forth, and you can never be sure who will win until it's all over.  (POP is also submitting DQ3, so this would be a two-player race)

Potential Racers:
・SUMDeaner
・POP

Cons:
-Around the half-way point is a "Metal Slime grind" for experience, which lasts about 30 minutes total.  There is still a lot of techique and decision-making here, so good commentary should still have plenty to talk about.
-Being defeated in the final dungeon is possible and represents a major time-loss.  At the very worst case, it's about 15 minutes to recover, but my party will be in better shape to win the next time around.  (This possibility is reflected in my estimate)
-This was run at RPGLB 2016, two year ago, and the route hasn't changed much.  However, each run of DQ3 SFC tends to have its own unique feel to it, and I really think showcasing this as a race could be exciting.

Donation Incentive Offers: Sing ending credits theme song

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/177102889

Game Name: Roto Relay (Dragon Quests 1, 2, and 3 back to back)
System: SFC
Category: Any% 
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 8:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15:00
Pros/Cons:

I'd like to offer not only all of the above games on an individual basis, but also all of them back to back as a small DQ Roto/Erdrick series block category, in which I have the current world record (see https://goo.gl/3HPwSJ under the header "DQ1～3ロトシリーズRTAリレー". My linked sample video is actually 20 minutes better than this leaderboard record, but that time is not recorded there.) All of the above pros and cons would apply as they do to the individual games. This, of course, is a feat that will take a large chunk of time to accomplish all at once, but is sure to be an exciting display of skill for everyone.

Donation Incentive Offers:

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210946190

PinkPajamas

Edit history:

PinkPajamas: 2018-02-19 07:03:09 pm

PinkPajamas: 2018-01-29 06:42:54 am

2018-01-28 03:43:10 am

Game Name: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
System: PS2 played on PS3
Category: Normal Mode (Ending is a donation incentive)
Gameplay Estimate: 8:00 (could go down to about 7:30-40 the more comfortable I am with reroute)
Ending: 10 minutes
+ Battle system has a lot of depth with the press turn system being able to give your characters extra turns and deny enemy turns.
+ Party members are demons that you recruit and fuse to make other demons. The battles have a decent amount of variety because of how often your party changes.
+ This game is known for being incredibly difficult and punishing, yet with enough knowledge you can avoid major time losses fairly consistently.
= There is grinding, but most of it is done on the way. There are two spots that are grinding in place which aren't too long (5 min each?)
= Deaths are likely to happen on some bosses, but they're quick bosses next to save points.
- This isn't the "True" category of the game (Hard True Ending)
- The pacing of the game is a little slow but not the worst
Donation incentives: Choice of Ending (other than True Ending). Longest ending adds about 7-8 minutes compared to shortest. Main Character's Nickname (First/Last doesn't show up too often).
Can add optional bosses as incentives if those aren't enough.
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221672763

Category: Hard True Demon Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 14:00
+ One of the most involved speedruns I have ever done
- I know this probably won't get in because of the length, but I figure I might as well try
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4oZSIdTgWA
and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5t9aJBy-yE

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
System: PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:15
+ Battle system has a lot of depth with the press turn system being able to give your characters extra turns and deny enemy turns.
+ Has a skill combo system which lets you use stronger skills from weaker ones for the cost of extra press turns.
+ The shortest 3D SMT speedrun
= Since last year, the final dungeon no longer has anywhere near as much blowup potential
= There's a lot going for the story of the game, but we only see half of it with the other half being DDS2
= You can skip some cutscenes
- Some bosses are just spamming the same attack that they're weak to until they die
Donation incentives: Bidwar choice of party members used on final boss and various parts of the 2nd half of the game. (Need to use Serph, the MC, but the other two only need to use a handful of skills that anyone can get)
Marathon Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STNDEtnqF0w
PB with updated route: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223598942

Touhou: Genius of Sappheiros
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:45 (could go down to 4:30-5:00 the more comfortable I am with reroute)
+ Heavily involved mechanics giving me a lot of interesting strategies explain
= About 50% RNG manipulated (Bosses are fully manipulated and what enemies I get for "random" encounters are also manipulated)
= Attack animations are turned off for sake of speed
- Probably not the most well known game considering it's a Touhou fangame
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSD1MJfNJvs

It's Our Revolution
System: PC
Category: Defeat Demon Lord
Gameplay Estimate: 0:25
+ You know how RPGs have party members following you around? This game makes it the primary game mechanic basically making it Snake in RPG form.
+ Fun silly short run
= Uses stock RPG Maker assets
Note: There is a translation patch that I didn't know existed when I did my video submission. There is no reason it can't be used.
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223206188

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
System: PS3
Category: Normal Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00
+ A nice short run for Atelier fans
- The run can die to bad enough luck (I can have safety saves for each occasion, but still)
- There are a total of 7 fights in the run with 0 bosses fought, though the last forced encounter is kind of like the final boss in a way
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223205643

Game Name: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
System: PS2 played on PS3
Category: Normal Mode (Ending is a donation incentive)
Gameplay Estimate: 8:00 (could go down to about 7:30-40 the more comfortable I am with reroute)
Ending: 10 minutes
+ Battle system has a lot of depth with the press turn system being able to give your characters extra turns and deny enemy turns.
+ Party members are demons that you recruit and fuse to make other demons. The battles have a decent amount of variety because of how often your party changes.
+ This game is known for being incredibly difficult and punishing, yet with enough knowledge you can avoid major time losses fairly consistently.
= There is grinding, but most of it is done on the way. There are two spots that are grinding in place which aren't too long (5 min each?)
= Deaths are likely to happen on some bosses, but they're quick bosses next to save points.
- This isn't the "True" category of the game (Hard True Ending)
- The pacing of the game is a little slow but not the worst
Donation incentives: Choice of Ending (other than True Ending). Longest ending adds about 7-8 minutes compared to shortest. Main Character's Nickname (First/Last doesn't show up too often).
Can add optional bosses as incentives if those aren't enough.
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221672763

Category: Hard True Demon Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 14:00
+ One of the most involved speedruns I have ever done
- I know this probably won't get in because of the length, but I figure I might as well try
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4oZSIdTgWA[/noembed]
and: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5t9aJBy-yE[/noembed]

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
System: PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:15
+ Battle system has a lot of depth with the press turn system being able to give your characters extra turns and deny enemy turns.
+ Has a skill combo system which lets you use stronger skills from weaker ones for the cost of extra press turns.
+ The shortest 3D SMT speedrun
= Since last year, the final dungeon no longer has anywhere near as much blowup potential
= There's a lot going for the story of the game, but we only see half of it with the other half being DDS2
= You can skip some cutscenes
- Some bosses are just spamming the same attack that they're weak to until they die
Donation incentives: Bidwar choice of party members used on final boss and various parts of the 2nd half of the game. (Need to use Serph, the MC, but the other two only need to use a handful of skills that anyone can get)
Marathon Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STNDEtnqF0w[/noembed]
PB with updated route: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223598942

Touhou: Genius of Sappheiros
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:45 (could go down to 4:30-5:00 the more comfortable I am with reroute)
+ Heavily involved mechanics giving me a lot of interesting strategies explain
= About 50% RNG manipulated (Bosses are fully manipulated and what enemies I get for "random" encounters are also manipulated)
= Attack animations are turned off for sake of speed
- Probably not the most well known game considering it's a Touhou fangame
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSD1MJfNJvs[/noembed]

It's Our Revolution
System: PC
Category: Defeat Demon Lord
Gameplay Estimate: 0:25
+ You know how RPGs have party members following you around? This game makes it the primary game mechanic basically making it Snake in RPG form.
+ Fun silly short run
= Uses stock RPG Maker assets
Note: There is a translation patch that I didn't know existed when I did my video submission. There is no reason it can't be used.
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223206188

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
System: PS3
Category: Normal Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00
+ A nice short run for Atelier fans
- The run can die to bad enough luck (I can have safety saves for each occasion, but still)
- There are a total of 7 fights in the run with 0 bosses fought, though the last forced encounter is kind of like the final boss in a way
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223205643

Ghoul02

Edit history:

Ghoul02: 2018-02-08 02:52:40 pm

Ghoul02: 2018-02-08 02:50:49 pm

Ghoul02: 2018-01-28 05:02:55 am

Ghoul02: 2018-01-28 04:59:03 am

2018-01-28 04:58:12 am

www.twitch.tv/ghoul02

Game Name: Persona 4 Golden
System: Playstation Vita (Playstation TV)
Category: Hard Golden Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 10:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15 ending (Normally included in timing, may not be necessary for the marathon), incentives see below

Pros/Cons:
+ Persona 4 is among the most beloved PS2-era JRPGs, and the only marathon viable modern Persona game. Persona 5 was one of the biggest releases of the last year and the series has hit relative mainstream popularity; Persona 4 can be credited for setting much of the foundation and was the launching pad that began to bring the series into the mainstream (receiving two spinoff fighting games, an Etrian Odyssey crossover, a music game, a manga adaptation, two separate anime adaptations and and an OVA, 4 stage plays, and an annual concert series dedicated to its music, among a sea of merchanidise)
+ In the last year, the game has had 5 different reroutes, discovered RNG manipulation for grinding and WR has dropped by 20 minutes. My own time has dropped by over an hour and a half. Almost 20 fusions have been cut from the run compared to last year as well (almost 1/3 of the fusions). The run also has gone from 3 runners on the leaderboard to 7 over the same time frame, with an 8th unlisted runner.
+ The only point of significant marathon RNG is now at the beginning in getting the 3 core Personas from random pick ups (I can create a backup save but the highest variance should be about 5-10 minutes). The discovery of RNG manipulation for grinding significantly lowers the variance in grinding as it removes what used to be the biggest factor in quickly leveling to take on the bosses, especially early.
+ The route itself has a great sense of progression. Boss strats are varied and change over the course of the run depending on what reliable different sources of damage are available. Despite the increased difficulty and decreased damage of Hard mode, bosses never feel like damage sponges; rather they are more like calculated fights where smart play makes the difference between a fast fight and a near certain death. Knowledge of boss patterns and abilities is readily apparent between top level runners and even those who played the game multiple times casuall.
+ Donation incentives and money-raising potential for this game is incredibly high, if not unmatched. It's also had a marathon showing during the SMT Speedrunning marathon, where the run held viewers from the HRDQ host and has had solid legs on Youtube. Neither SMT (the parent series) nor Persona have ever had a representative in the main RPGLB event.
+ If accepted, I intend to reach out to several people at Atlus or other people involved with the games development to try to set up fun interviews and to make this a run where even the most knowledgeable Persona fans have something to look forward to. A few of my ideas include Lotus Juice who is active on Twitter and speaks fluent English (heavily involved in the series music, even if more directly Persona 3) and Erin Fitzgerald, the voice actress for Chie. Additionally, there should be no shortage of amazing people to help with couch commentary during the run.

- The game is long. Due to the game's structure, there's a very clear separation between the dungeons themselves and the non-dungeon activities of the game that, while endearing casually, can lead to slower segments of this run. As I noted last year, the ratio is about 60/40 dungeon crawling to social events. If schedule time is an issue, the run can be split easily into two segments, each with significant incentives, and the reroute makes the split locations much more manageable than last year. Much like last year, the best locations for the split would be either after Shadow Mitsuo (About a 5:15 estimate for the first half) and Shadow Naoto (About a 6:30 estimate for the first half), with somewhere in between being a similarly solid option.
- The game's late mid suffers slightly due to reflect being significantly overpowered at the time we acquire it. That said, this only lasts for two dungeons before bosses outscale reflect's direct usefulness, and the final gauntlet of dungeons and bosses is an absolute treat with the different strategies employed.
- A lot of the game's amazing soundtrack is covered by a VCR fast forward effect during cutscenes.

Naming the Main Character (8 characters for each first and last name) – Self explanatory. Costs no time, other than inputting it.
MC’s Girlfriend/Best Friend (Can choose from any party member) – While it hasn’t been fully tested, the worst case should add about 15 minutes. As a bonus, I can take them into the final fight without much affecting the strats used. Naoto, one of the girls is off limits unless I were to use a specially prepared "NG NG+" file so she may not be an option.
Duo the Final Boss: As an addition, I can fight the final boss using only two party members; the main character and the girlfriend/best friend specified above. This would likely add 10 minutes to the estimate and would significantly increase the difficulty of the final fight. If Rise wins the above bidding war, then I will have to take Chie into the fight.
Date or don’t date Marie – Marie is a very polarizing character as the major addition to the Vita port, due to her "tsundere" personality and "forced" storyline. Costs no time and doesn’t interfere with the Girlfriend incentive in any way.
Costume – Rolling incentive. See the GameFAQs thread here: https://www.gamefaqs.com/vita/641695-persona-4-golden/faqs/65828 - most of the costumes that are not purchased can be obtained with minimal time/money investment. Much like Chrono Cross's text borders, they will have to be accrued over the course of the run unless we use a "NG+" file with them previously unlocked (may be used for another incentive as well)
Ending – We could start as a Bad End run and push up through Golden ending as certain milestones get reached (Bad > Normal > True > Golden). This incentive likely works best if the run were to close the marathon (i.e. X donation dollars for the total marathon to extend the run). Each ending is essentially an hour longer than the previous for estimate purposes.
Difficulty – similar to ending, but must be locked in at the start of the run. Very Easy > Easy > Normal > Hard. I can’t quantify the difference in time, other than that in theory, Very Easy would be a much shorter but less interesting run.
Dub (English vs JP) – with the undub now being created, it’s possible to have a bidding war between English and Japanese dub. This would cost no time but would not be a rolling incentive.
Dancing All Night – This would take 10 minutes max – would involve booting up a copy of Persona 4 Dancing All Night and either playing a high difficulty song or having the whole couch do a dance along. Or both. Could also be used to fill time if the first half ends ahead of schedule. https://www.twitch.tv/ghoul02/v/40006132
MC Cosplay – Self explanatory.
Gone Skiing – Can choose the party member that we go skiing with. Adds negligible time.
Sing the Junes theme– Every time the Junes theme plays, the runner and the couch has to sing along.
Attempt the Rainy Day Beef Bowl – A classic trip to the meat dimension. Normally not done in a speedrun, would maybe add a minute?
Play some animated cutscenes – Quite a variety to choose from. Normally skipped in a run, but some of them like the Concert would have an audience for sure. Add approximately 2-3 min per, depending on which. One of them is a song that the couch could sing along to. (
Yosuke’s weapon – Yosuke is supposed to use a pair of daggers, however, due to a few necessary quests for the run, we can have him choose between a pair of daggers, a pair of wrenches, a pair of fish, and two ears of corn. None of these would cost time to get or use, and he’s used for quite a few of the end game bosses.
SMT Nocturne Hard True Demon Ending boss showcase - during one of the longer areas of down time, it would be possible to put the game in a picture in picture mode and allow a boss showcase by PinkPajamas that shows why Nocturne is a crazy amazing game and speedrun. This would add no time to the estimate although the tech setup would likely need to be done before the run begins. PinkPajamas has recommended the final dungeon and the PIP would have to last about 30-50 minutes, depending on where it happens and if Persona 4 Golden is split into two segments or not. Depending on the segment chosen to insert, I can work with PPJ to make sure that nothing is missed on the Persona screen, or that anything important is explained before or after the run. This can also be done as a post run incentive, much like how KH2 has Data Org and would have similar amounts of appeal to SMT/Persona fans.

Extra Notes: Although my PB and the current route fuses Mara as a final "utility persona", he is decidedly... inappropriate for the marathon. There are multiple alternatives that do not involve his fusion and cost minimal amounts of time.
If there are any questions about logistics, the game's M rating or other details for the run that are not answered directly in the pitch, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Discord.

Sample Run Videos:
SMT Marathon: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/172859499 (Outdated route and run but showcases marathon style commentary)
PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222085639

Game Name: Tales of Symphonia
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Category: NG English
Gameplay Estimate: 7:25
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10 ending

Pro/Cons:

For a more detailed description of the run, see Jay's pitch. I'm only offering as a back up in case Jay cannot make the marathon, as my preference would be to run Persona and Jay has more than earned the right to do this run over myself.
I have no completed runs atm, but I've been working on it on and off for over a year and have completed runs of the first half on decent pace. I'd intended to finish my learning before submissions ended but due to other focuses and commitments, I don't have a personal video to use for the submission. I should have a video in the next week or so and will edit this post when I have one.

Edit 2/8/2018 - Added new incentives for boss showcases

Game Name: Persona 4 Golden
System: Playstation Vita (Playstation TV)
Category: Hard Golden Ending
Gameplay Estimate: 10:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15 ending (Normally included in timing, may not be necessary for the marathon), incentives see below

Pros/Cons:
+ Persona 4 is among the most beloved PS2-era JRPGs, and the only marathon viable modern Persona game. Persona 5 was one of the biggest releases of the last year and the series has hit relative mainstream popularity; Persona 4 can be credited for setting much of the foundation and was the launching pad that began to bring the series into the mainstream (receiving two spinoff fighting games, an Etrian Odyssey crossover, a music game, a manga adaptation, two separate anime adaptations and and an OVA, 4 stage plays, and an annual concert series dedicated to its music, among a sea of merchanidise)
+ In the last year, the game has had 5 different reroutes, discovered RNG manipulation for grinding and WR has dropped by 20 minutes. My own time has dropped by over an hour and a half. Almost 20 fusions have been cut from the run compared to last year as well (almost 1/3 of the fusions). The run also has gone from 3 runners on the leaderboard to 7 over the same time frame, with an 8th unlisted runner. 
+ The only point of significant marathon RNG is now at the beginning in getting the 3 core Personas from random pick ups (I can create a backup save but the highest variance should be about 5-10 minutes). The discovery of RNG manipulation for grinding significantly lowers the variance in grinding as it removes what used to be the biggest factor in quickly leveling to take on the bosses, especially early.
+ The route itself has a great sense of progression. Boss strats are varied and change over the course of the run depending on what reliable different sources of damage are available. Despite the increased difficulty and decreased damage of Hard mode, bosses never feel like damage sponges; rather they are more like calculated fights where smart play makes the difference between a fast fight and a near certain death. Knowledge of boss patterns and abilities is readily apparent between top level runners and even those who played the game multiple times casuall.
+ Donation incentives and money-raising potential for this game is incredibly high, if not unmatched. It's also had a marathon showing during the SMT Speedrunning marathon, where the run held viewers from the HRDQ host and has had solid legs on Youtube. Neither SMT (the parent series) nor Persona have ever had a representative in the main RPGLB event.
+ If accepted, I intend to reach out to several people at Atlus or other people involved with the games development to try to set up fun interviews and to make this a run where even the most knowledgeable Persona fans have something to look forward to. A few of my ideas include Lotus Juice who is active on Twitter and speaks fluent English (heavily involved in the series music, even if more directly Persona 3) and Erin Fitzgerald, the voice actress for Chie. Additionally, there should be no shortage of amazing people to help with couch commentary during the run.

- The game is long. Due to the game's structure, there's a very clear separation between the dungeons themselves and the non-dungeon activities of the game that, while endearing casually, can lead to slower segments of this run. As I noted last year, the ratio is about 60/40 dungeon crawling to social events. If schedule time is an issue, the run can be split easily into two segments, each with significant incentives, and the reroute makes the split locations much more manageable than last year. Much like last year, the best locations for the split would be either after Shadow Mitsuo (About a 5:15 estimate for the first half) and Shadow Naoto (About a 6:30 estimate for the first half), with somewhere in between being a similarly solid option.
- The game's late mid suffers slightly due to reflect being significantly overpowered at the time we acquire it. That said, this only lasts for two dungeons before bosses outscale reflect's direct usefulness, and the final gauntlet of dungeons and bosses is an absolute treat with the different strategies employed.
- A lot of the game's amazing soundtrack is covered by a VCR fast forward effect during cutscenes.
[hidden]Naming the Main Character (8 characters for each first and last name) – Self explanatory. Costs no time, other than inputting it.
MC’s Girlfriend/Best Friend (Can choose from any party member) – While it hasn’t been fully tested, the worst case should add about 15 minutes. As a bonus, I can take them into the final fight without much affecting the strats used. Naoto, one of the girls is off limits unless I were to use a specially prepared "NG NG+" file so she may not be an option.
Duo the Final Boss: As an addition, I can fight the final boss using only two party members; the main character and the girlfriend/best friend specified above. This would likely add 10 minutes to the estimate and would significantly increase the difficulty of the final fight. If Rise wins the above bidding war, then I will have to take Chie into the fight.
Date or don’t date Marie – Marie is a very polarizing character as the major addition to the Vita port, due to her "tsundere" personality and "forced" storyline. Costs no time and doesn’t interfere with the Girlfriend incentive in any way.
Costume – Rolling  incentive. See the GameFAQs thread here: https://www.gamefaqs.com/vita/641695-persona-4-golden/faqs/65828 - most of the costumes that are not purchased can be obtained with minimal time/money investment. Much like Chrono Cross's text borders, they will have to be accrued over the course of the run unless we use a "NG+" file with them previously unlocked (may be used for another incentive as well)
Ending – We could start as a Bad End run and push up through Golden ending as certain milestones get reached (Bad > Normal > True > Golden). This incentive likely works best if the run were to close the marathon (i.e. X donation dollars for the total marathon to extend the run). Each ending is essentially an hour longer than the previous for estimate purposes.
Difficulty – similar to ending, but must be locked in at the start of the run. Very Easy > Easy > Normal > Hard. I can’t quantify the difference in time, other than that in theory, Very Easy would be a much shorter but less interesting run.
Dub (English vs JP) – with the undub now being created, it’s possible to have a bidding war between English and Japanese dub. This would cost no time but would not be a rolling incentive.
Dancing All Night – This would take 10 minutes max – would involve booting up a copy of Persona 4 Dancing All Night and either playing a high difficulty song or having the whole couch do a dance along. Or both. Could also be used to fill time if the first half ends ahead of schedule. https://www.twitch.tv/ghoul02/v/40006132
MC Cosplay – Self explanatory. 
Gone Skiing – Can choose the party member that we go skiing with. Adds negligible time.
Sing the Junes theme– Every time the Junes theme plays, the runner and the couch has to sing along.
Attempt the Rainy Day Beef Bowl – A classic trip to the meat dimension. Normally not done in a speedrun, would maybe add a minute?
Play some animated cutscenes – Quite a variety to choose from. Normally skipped in a run, but some of them like the Concert would have an audience for sure. Add approximately 2-3 min per, depending on which. One of them is a song that the couch could sing along to. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R0vUAkEeZQ)
Yosuke’s weapon – Yosuke is supposed to use a pair of daggers, however, due to a few necessary quests for the run, we can have him choose between a pair of daggers, a pair of wrenches, a pair of fish, and two ears of corn. None of these would cost time to get or use, and he’s used for quite a few of the end game bosses.
SMT Nocturne Hard True Demon Ending boss showcase - during one of the longer areas of down time, it would be possible to put the game in a picture in picture mode and allow a boss showcase by PinkPajamas that shows why Nocturne is a crazy amazing game and speedrun. This would add no time to the estimate although the tech setup would likely need to be done before the run begins. PinkPajamas has recommended the final dungeon and the PIP would have to last about 30-50 minutes, depending on where it happens and if Persona 4 Golden is split into two segments or not. Depending on the segment chosen to insert, I can work with PPJ to make sure that nothing is missed on the Persona screen, or that anything important is explained before or after the run. This can also be done as a post run incentive, much like how KH2 has Data Org and would have similar amounts of appeal to SMT/Persona fans.[/hidden]

Extra Notes: Although my PB and the current route fuses Mara as a final "utility persona", he is decidedly... inappropriate for the marathon. There are multiple alternatives that do not involve his fusion and cost minimal amounts of time.
If there are any questions about logistics, the game's M rating or other details for the run that are not answered directly in the pitch, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Discord.

Sample Run Videos:
SMT Marathon: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/172859499 (Outdated route and run but showcases marathon style commentary)
PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222085639

Game Name: Tales of Symphonia
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Category: NG English
Gameplay Estimate: 7:25
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10 ending

Pro/Cons:

For a more detailed description of the run, see Jay's pitch. I'm only offering as a back up in case Jay cannot make the marathon, as my preference would be to run Persona and Jay has more than earned the right to do this run over myself.
I have no completed runs atm, but I've been working on it on and off for over a year and have completed runs of the first half on decent pace. I'd intended to finish my learning before submissions ended but due to other focuses and commitments, I don't have a personal video to use for the submission. I should have a video in the next week or so and will edit this post when I have one.

Edit 2/8/2018 - Added new incentives for boss showcases

Freddeh

2018-01-28 08:19:39 am

Game Name: Lost Sphear
System: PS4/PC (I can do either, not sure what the time difference is between the two yet, or if there is a major one)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00 (This is a very pessimistic estimate, I expect this to go down to at least 4:30:00 if not lower by the time the event rolls around, and as I wrote this, someone just got a 4:3X:XX, so yeah, might even go lower)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros/Cons:
Lost Sphear is a new Turn Based (ATB) JRPG by the same people who made I am Setsuna, Ran Last Year at RPGLB. It's fast paced, and much of the slowness and abuse from Setsuna is gone. Replaced with new mechanics Such as robot suits.

+ Newer game, so has the new game hype and all that
+ Action comes fast and heavy
+ 16x Cutscene skip speed, so never a long time sitting at cutscenes, always moving!
+ Familiar mechanics to anyone whos played Chrono Trigger or SNES FFs
+ Beautiful game

+/- Battle movement/animations are skipped so combat moves very fast, could be a negative due to having issues figuring out whats going on

- Game just released internationally, so not a very developed run yet!
- Bowie wants to couch.

Donation Incentive Offers:
- Character Names (10 Char Limit), 8 Characters in the game, use most of them at some point or another, Can limit to main players or all 8, and can be changed at any time (possible rolling incentive).
- Possible superboss kill/Cool Cutscene, honestly don't know atm.

Sample run video:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222884565?t=
Not completed by me, wasn't quite able to hammer down a full run before submissions ended but will be doing it soon (goal is to have one done before you guys finish the schedule xD).

Game Name: Lost Sphear
System: PS4/PC (I can do either, not sure what the time difference is between the two yet, or if there is a major one)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00 (This is a very pessimistic estimate, I expect this to go down to at least 4:30:00 if not lower by the time the event rolls around, and as I wrote this, someone just got a 4:3X:XX, so yeah, might even go lower)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros/Cons:
Lost Sphear is a new Turn Based (ATB) JRPG by the same people who made I am Setsuna, Ran Last Year at RPGLB. It's fast paced, and much of the slowness and abuse from Setsuna is gone. Replaced with new mechanics Such as robot suits.

+ Newer game, so has the new game hype and all that
+ Action comes fast and heavy
+ 16x Cutscene skip speed, so never a long time sitting at cutscenes, always moving!
+ Familiar mechanics to anyone whos played Chrono Trigger or SNES FFs
+ Beautiful game

+/- Battle movement/animations are skipped so combat moves very fast, could be a negative due to having issues figuring out whats going on

- Game just released internationally, so not a very developed run yet!
- Bowie wants to couch.

Donation Incentive Offers: 
- Character Names (10 Char Limit), 8 Characters in the game, use most of them at some point or another, Can limit to main players or all 8, and can be changed at any time (possible rolling incentive).
- Possible superboss kill/Cool Cutscene, honestly don't know atm.
                                
Sample run video:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222884565?t=
Not completed by me, wasn't quite able to hammer down a full run before submissions ended but will be doing it soon (goal is to have one done before you guys finish the schedule xD).

kariohki

Edit history:

kariohki: 2018-01-28 09:19:14 am

kariohki: 2018-01-28 09:09:26 am

kariohki: 2018-01-28 09:08:18 am

kariohki: 2018-01-28 09:07:41 am

2018-01-28 09:06:50 am

waifus are laifu

Game Name: Magic Knight Rayearth
System: Sega Saturn
Category: Any% Race with Shentok
Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:00
Ending: 2 minutes

Based on the popular 90s manga and anime series, this Working Designs localization is also the final officially released game for the Saturn in the US

Pros:
+ Bright and colorful graphics shows how the Saturn was a 2D powerhouse
+ Unique puzzle dungeon designs, and an interesting combat style change for the final bosses
+ Quite marathon safe
+ Speedrun skips an entire dungeon due to a glitch found last year

Cons:
- The game has a very slow start with about 20 minutes of voiced cutscenes in the beginning.
- Not really any incentives

Video: (the slightly rusty run I did for QFG) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjdI_3ltS14

Game Name: Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice
System: PS2
Category: Any% Bad Ending (incentive for good ending)
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15:00
Ending: 5 minutes

Part of the duo of games included in Growlanser Generations, this real-time strategy RPG is the final localization release by Working Designs.

Pros:
+ Wonderful spritework and music, and a different take on the strategy/tactics RPG sub-genre
+ Nature of how equipment works requires adapting the base speedrun route on the fly to account for changed stats and ability to equip items
+ Despite the above, the run is generally marathon safe, backup saves for two points would be available and saving in general doesn't take long and can be done mid-battle

Cons:
- Second half of the game is a bit less edge-of-your-seat exciting than the first
- Magic animations and voices are turned off for the speedrun

Incentives: Change category to Any% Good Ending (20 minutes), rescue or ignore the lost NPC bid war (5 minutes)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxVErEhc9O4

Game Name: Shepherd's Crossing
System: PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:30:00
Ending: 3 minutes

A Harvest Moon-like game where the goal is to run your farm and get sheep.

Pros:
+ Extremely short game
+ Cute art

Cons:
- A LOT of waiting, especially in the second half of the run
- Not well known

Incentives: Name and nickname for the main character (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and ,.+-=' available)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF6I-frze4E

[b]Game Name:[/b] Magic Knight Rayearth
[b]System:[/b] Sega Saturn
[b]Category:[/b] Any% Race with Shentok
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 3:00:00
[b]Ending:[/b] 2 minutes

Based on the popular 90s manga and anime series, this Working Designs localization is also the final officially released game for the Saturn in the US

[b]Pros:[/b]
+ Bright and colorful graphics shows how the Saturn was a 2D powerhouse
+ Unique puzzle dungeon designs, and an interesting combat style change for the final bosses
+ Quite marathon safe
+ Speedrun skips an entire dungeon due to a glitch found last year

[b]Cons:[/b] 
- The game has a very slow start with about 20 minutes of voiced cutscenes in the beginning.
- Not really any incentives

[b]Video:[/b] (the slightly rusty run I did for QFG) [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjdI_3ltS14[/noembed]

[b]Game Name:[/b] Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice
[b]System:[/b] PS2
[b]Category:[/b] Any% Bad Ending (incentive for good ending)
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 3:15:00
[b]Ending:[/b] 5 minutes

Part of the duo of games included in Growlanser Generations, this real-time strategy RPG is the final localization release by Working Designs.

[b]Pros:[/b]
+ Wonderful spritework and music, and a different take on the strategy/tactics RPG sub-genre
+ Nature of how equipment works requires adapting the base speedrun route on the fly to account for changed stats and ability to equip items
+ Despite the above, the run is generally marathon safe, backup saves for two points would be available and saving in general doesn't take long and can be done mid-battle

[b]Cons:[/b] 
- Second half of the game is a bit less edge-of-your-seat exciting than the first
- Magic animations and voices are turned off for the speedrun

[b]Incentives:[/b] Change category to Any% Good Ending (20 minutes), rescue or ignore the lost NPC bid war (5 minutes)

[b]Video:[/b] [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxVErEhc9O4[/noembed]

[b]Game Name:[/b] Shepherd's Crossing
[b]System:[/b] PS2
[b]Category:[/b] Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 0:30:00
[b]Ending:[/b] 3 minutes

A Harvest Moon-like game where the goal is to run your farm and get sheep.

[b]Pros:[/b]
+ Extremely short game
+ Cute art

[b]Cons:[/b] 
- A LOT of waiting, especially in the second half of the run
- Not well known

[b]Incentives:[/b] Name and nickname for the main character (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and ,.+-=' available)

[b]Video:[/b] [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF6I-frze4E[/noembed]

Flobberworm4

Edit history:

Flobberworm4: 2018-01-28 12:02:34 pm

2018-01-28 10:15:47 am

Game Name: Final Fantasy X
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with CaracarnVI
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30 PC / 10:30 PS2
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00 (or +15 mins with Suteki Da Ne singing ending)

Pros:
+ Popular RPG and speedrun (over 100 runners across the versions)
+ Very marathon safe on PC (auto save capability), still pretty safe on PS2 with saves/safety strats
+ RNG not too heavy, can consistently finish below the estimated times posted above for this reason
+ Many interesting boss fights and various strategies employed, largely dependant on winning/losing the blitzball match that gives you a +4 strength sphere. Lots to discuss in these areas, as well as the history of the boss fights and how the run has evolved.
+ Myself and Caracarn are both top 2 in the PC and PS2 categories, so should be an interesting race!

Cons:
- The game is *long*. The cutscene/gameplay ratio is not too great. Some prolonged downtime in some cutscene heavy areas.
- PC does save an hour on PS2 due to faster loading times and skipping some FMVs, however there is a noticeable 'input lag' on the PC version which makes the battle menus less fluid and ultimately a bit less competitive for the race.
- PC version prone to softlocks/crashes, though the auto-save would prevent complete destruction of a run, it might ruin the competitiveness of the race.
- Do you even have the setup for two PC streams? Would have to be a PS2 race if not.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (Tidus + 5 Aeons), 'Date' scene on the snowmobile with Auron/Rikku/Lulu/Kimahri (up to +1 min), sing Suteki Da Ne with FF community (either during Macalania scene +0 mins/at the ending, +15 mins). PC can also pick between Remastered or Original score at the beginning.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179120170 - PS2 race for FFRelay IV with commentary (*just* missed out on sub 10:30!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game Name: Final Fantasy X-2
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with CaracarnVI
Gameplay Estimate: 2:50 PC / 4:00 PS2
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00 (or +10 mins with singing 1000 Words at ending)

Pros:
+ [PS2] Pretty interesting strategies employed for many of the boss fights
+ [PC] Also has auto save feature like FFX, so pretty marathon safe, less so for PS2 (explained in cons)
+ Shorter than most Final Fantasy's that don't utilise heavy skips, PC version even shorter with fast loading times and some FMV skips
+ Lots of cutscene skips, but not all of them so you can in theory follow the 'storyline', we can put English language on for PC
+ Myself and Caracarn are also top 2 in the PC category, so might be interesting again :p

Cons:
- [PC] A lot of the interesting battle strategies used for PS2 are removed for PC, because you essentially get fiends to do the fighting for you
- [PC] This can also have the potential to softlock/crash, less so compared to FFX however due to being a shorter game
- Pretty RNG heavy in both versions, some bosses can just kill you without being able to do much, so PS2 version is not hugely marathon safe, obviously we'll be saving as much as possible prior to these bosses
- Do you even have the setup for two PC streams? Would have to be a PS2 race if not.

Donation Incentive Offers: [PC] Naming up to 5 creatures that fight in battles, sing 1000 Words with FF community (either during game +0 mins, or at ending +10 mins)
Sample run video: Not much commentary I'm afraid, but PB vods - PS2 - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/59406086 PC - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/138092387

Game Name: Final Fantasy X
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with CaracarnVI
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30 PC / 10:30 PS2
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00 (or +15 mins with Suteki Da Ne singing ending)

Pros:
+ Popular RPG and speedrun (over 100 runners across the versions)
+ Very marathon safe on PC (auto save capability), still pretty safe on PS2 with saves/safety strats
+ RNG not too heavy, can consistently finish below the estimated times posted above for this reason
+ Many interesting boss fights and various strategies employed, largely dependant on winning/losing the blitzball match that gives you a +4 strength sphere. Lots to discuss in these areas, as well as the history of the boss fights and how the run has evolved.
+ Myself and Caracarn are both top 2 in the PC and PS2 categories, so should be an interesting race!

Cons:
- The game is *long*. The cutscene/gameplay ratio is not too great. Some prolonged downtime in some cutscene heavy areas.
- PC does save an hour on PS2 due to faster loading times and skipping some FMVs, however there is a noticeable 'input lag' on the PC version which makes the battle menus less fluid and ultimately a bit less competitive for the race.
- PC version prone to softlocks/crashes, though the auto-save would prevent complete destruction of a run, it might ruin the competitiveness of the race.
- Do you even have the setup for two PC streams? Would have to be a PS2 race if not.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (Tidus + 5 Aeons), 'Date' scene on the snowmobile with Auron/Rikku/Lulu/Kimahri (up to +1 min), sing Suteki Da Ne with FF community (either during Macalania scene +0 mins/at the ending, +15 mins). PC can also pick between Remastered or Original score at the beginning.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179120170 - PS2 race for FFRelay IV with commentary (*just* missed out on sub 10:30!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game Name: Final Fantasy X-2
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with CaracarnVI
Gameplay Estimate: 2:50 PC / 4:00 PS2
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00 (or +10 mins with singing 1000 Words at ending)

Pros:
+ [PS2] Pretty interesting strategies employed for many of the boss fights
+ [PC] Also has auto save feature like FFX, so pretty marathon safe, less so for PS2 (explained in cons)
+ Shorter than most Final Fantasy's that don't utilise heavy skips, PC version even shorter with fast loading times and some FMV skips
+ Lots of cutscene skips, but not all of them so you can in theory follow the 'storyline', we can put English language on for PC
+ Myself and Caracarn are also top 2 in the PC category, so might be interesting again :p

Cons:
- [PC] A lot of the interesting battle strategies used for PS2 are removed for PC, because you essentially get fiends to do the fighting for you
- [PC] This can also have the potential to softlock/crash, less so compared to FFX however due to being a shorter game
- Pretty RNG heavy in both versions, some bosses can just kill you without being able to do much, so PS2 version is not hugely marathon safe, obviously we'll be saving as much as possible prior to these bosses
- Do you even have the setup for two PC streams? Would have to be a PS2 race if not.

Donation Incentive Offers: [PC] Naming up to 5 creatures that fight in battles, sing 1000 Words with FF community (either during game +0 mins, or at ending +10 mins)
Sample run video: Not much commentary I'm afraid, but PB vods  - PS2 - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/59406086 PC - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/138092387

Fitaurus

2018-01-28 10:16:49 am

Game Name: Legend of Mana
System: PSX (played on PS2)
Category: Dragon %
Gameplay Estimate: 1:42:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 Ending / Credits

Description: Legend of Mana is the 4th title from the Mana series, though it's very overlooked compared to the popular Secret of Mana. Like its predecessors LoM is an action-RPG, combat is similar to Seiken Densetsu 3, but the ring menu system has been dropped in favor of a more traditional menu system. The Dragon % run takes the shortest path to LoM's ending, completing one of the game's three main story arcs and other necessary quests to reach the final area, the Tree of Mana.

Pros: Marathon safe, even if a fight goes really wrong it's possible to restart right before the fight for minimal time loss. The game features many of the same enemies and some bosses found in previous Mana titles, so while different it would feel familiar to viewers as well. LoM features very bright and beautiful artwork, easily comparable with the best looking 2D JRPGs the Playstation has to offer. The soundtrack is stellar, always accompanying the game-play well. The Dragon % run is long enough to give a great taste of the depth that LoM offers, but short enough to appeal to more causal viewers. Would work great as part of a large Mana block.

Cons: This run does depend on getting good item drop RNG in a couple of places. Bad RNG will add time to the run, though that is accounted for in my estimate. Along the same lines, some bosses can be trolly, entering phases of long invulnerability. Combat is basically the same throughout the run, giving the fights a bit of a repetitive feel.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name player character (10 character max)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223225092

Thank you for your consideration.

Game Name: Legend of Mana
System: PSX (played on PS2) 
Category: Dragon %
Gameplay Estimate: 1:42:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 Ending / Credits

Description: Legend of Mana is the 4th title from the Mana series, though it's very overlooked compared to the popular Secret of Mana. Like its predecessors LoM is an action-RPG, combat is similar to Seiken Densetsu 3, but the ring menu system has been dropped in favor of a more traditional menu system. The Dragon % run takes the shortest path to LoM's ending, completing one of the game's three main story arcs and other necessary quests to reach the final area, the Tree of Mana.

Pros: Marathon safe, even if a fight goes really wrong it's possible to restart right before the fight for minimal time loss. The game features many of the same enemies and some bosses found in previous Mana titles, so while different it would feel familiar to viewers as well. LoM features very bright and beautiful artwork, easily comparable with the best looking 2D JRPGs the Playstation has to offer. The soundtrack is stellar, always accompanying the game-play well. The Dragon % run is long enough to give a great taste of the depth that LoM offers, but short enough to appeal to more causal viewers. Would work great as part of a large Mana block.

Cons: This run does depend on getting good item drop RNG in a couple of places. Bad RNG will add time to the run, though that is accounted for in my estimate. Along the same lines, some bosses can be trolly, entering phases of long invulnerability. Combat is basically the same throughout the run, giving the fights a bit of a repetitive feel.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name player character (10 character max)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223225092

Thank you for your consideration.

Hawkeye_77o4

Edit history:

Hawkeye_77o4: 2018-01-28 11:03:34 am

Hawkeye_77o4: 2018-01-28 11:01:51 am

2018-01-28 11:01:32 am

A Hawkeye draws near!

Game: Dragon Quest Builders
System: PlayStation 4
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 7:00:00

Pros:
- Heavy action content. Player is constantly moving, battling, or building with little time to rest.
- Game text is very light and easily skippable which adds to the heavy action content with minimal cutscenes.
- Game is very unique. Combines Action RPG elements with Minecraft-like building which creates a very unique gaming experience.
- Marathon safe. To my knowledge, there is only one way to softlock the game which is to use a healing item inbetween boss phases in chapter 3, but I have never and will never have any need to even think of using that item then.
- Runner is aslo highly dedicated to practicing narration and lore during run to provide the most entertaining run as possible Wink

Cons:
- Run is RNG dependent in several moments. i.e.) Enemy spawns and enemy item drops. And the fishing... Oh the fishing...
- Minimal neat tech/glitches. Outside of some very difficult to achieve boss strats for quick kills, there is little to "show off" outside of how the run is built around advance preparation for all quests and builds and is dependent on the runners crisp and clean execution of the strategies.

Donation Incentives:
- Name the Hero - Male or Female. Occurs at beginning of the run.
- 8-bit Music - In the end of chapter 3, you can build an item which turns the orchestrated soundtrack into the 8-bit style versions from the original NES Dragon Quest games.

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223325076

Thank you very much for your consideration!

[b]Game[/b]: Dragon Quest Builders
[b]System[/b]: PlayStation 4
[b]Category[/b]: Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate[/b]: 7:00:00

[b]Pros[/b]:
- Heavy action content. Player is constantly moving, battling, or building with little time to rest.
- Game text is very light and easily skippable which adds to the heavy action content with minimal cutscenes.
- Game is very unique. Combines Action RPG elements with Minecraft-like building which creates a very unique gaming experience.
- Marathon safe. To my knowledge, there is only one way to softlock the game which is to use a healing item inbetween boss phases in chapter 3, but I have never and will never have any need to even think of using that item then.
- Runner is aslo highly dedicated to practicing narration and lore during run to provide the most entertaining run as possible ;)
[b]Cons:[/b]
- Run is RNG dependent in several moments. i.e.) Enemy spawns and enemy item drops. And the fishing... Oh the fishing...
- Minimal neat tech/glitches. Outside of some very difficult to achieve boss strats for quick kills, there is little to "show off" outside of how the run is built around advance preparation for all quests and builds and is dependent on the runners crisp and clean execution of the strategies.

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b]
- Name the Hero - Male or Female. Occurs at beginning of the run.
- 8-bit Music - In the end of chapter 3, you can build an item which turns the orchestrated soundtrack into the 8-bit style versions from the original NES Dragon Quest games.

[b]Sample Run Video:[/b] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223325076

Thank you very much for your consideration!

LCC

2018-01-28 11:07:24 am

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% No Sketch
Gameplay Estimate: 4:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 28:00 (23 min ending, 4m NG+ Glitch)

Pros: Brand new glitches makes this run faster and safer than ever. There is a never ending list of things to talk about in this game, despite its periods of downtime. Every boss is handled in its own unique way, making the run more varied and interesting to watch stratwise. Also this game has amazing music, seriously.

Cons: Slow mid game spanning about 50 minutes.

Donation Incentive Offers: Returner's Hideout DLC Content, Merchant Locke, Menu Window Theme, NG+ Showcase, Train Suplex, Character Names

Sample run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179133994
---

Game Name: Shadow Hearts: From the New World
System: PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15:00 (15m ending)

Pros: Fast paced with cutscene skips. Very intense battles requiring both a timing element (2f windows on most actions, and the strike zone to hit is often invisible) and analysing turn order & stock to determine the best course of action to take. Managing stock as a resource is very important since it is what allows you to jump turns ahead of bosses to kill them before they're able to kill you. This game also features Frank, the American Ninja who studied the Ninja arts in rural Brazil.

Cons:

Possible Donation Incentives: I'VE GOT NONE!

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/60260637

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% No Sketch
Gameplay Estimate: 4:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 28:00 (23 min ending, 4m NG+ Glitch)

Pros: Brand new glitches makes this run faster and safer than ever. There is a never ending list of things to talk about in this game, despite its periods of downtime. Every boss is handled in its own unique way, making the run more varied and interesting to watch stratwise. Also this game has amazing music, seriously.

Cons: Slow mid game spanning about 50 minutes.

Donation Incentive Offers: Returner's Hideout DLC Content, Merchant Locke, Menu Window Theme, NG+ Showcase, Train Suplex, Character Names

Sample run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179133994
---

Game Name: Shadow Hearts: From the New World
System: PS2
Category: Any% 
Gameplay Estimate: 4:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15:00 (15m ending)

Pros: Fast paced with cutscene skips. Very intense battles requiring both a timing element (2f windows on most actions, and the strike zone to hit is often invisible) and analysing turn order & stock to determine the best course of action to take. Managing stock as a resource is very important since it is what allows you to jump turns ahead of bosses to kill them before they're able to kill you. This game also features Frank, the American Ninja who studied the Ninja arts in rural Brazil.

Cons:

Possible Donation Incentives: I'VE GOT NONE!

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/60260637

Lumophile

2018-01-28 12:15:45 pm

Game Name: Animal Crossing (2001)
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Category: Golden Rod
Gameplay Estimate: 1:50:00 (perhaps this is a bit conservative, but I'd rather ask for too much time than not enough)
Pros/Cons: Very heavy in RNG. Town layout, villager locations/deliveries, fish spawns, rain, etc. are all random. This could lead to a run anywhere from under 1:30:00 to over 2:00:00, regardless of skill. The biggest time losses come from not getting the fish you need, however there are a few backup strats to get some fish at different times when they are more common.
Donation Incentive Offers: Bid war for male versus female character (no time difference)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223349742 PB from last night. I intend to keep running this game and improving my time.

Rikuplayer

2018-01-28 12:19:31 pm

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% All Stories Beginner
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0 minutes

Pros:
+lots of fun movement and bosses to show off
+Beginner hasn't been in a marathon in a long time
+lots of good chances for donations to be read during grinding and mini games
+different tech that is used in the intro run (beginner) vs the crit run
+This really stands out compared to other Kingdom Hearts games
+Gets to show off every run to maybe spark interest in new runners.

Cons:
-Grinding sessions in each run (about 15-20 minutes over the entire run)
-RNG can play a factor usually only by a few seconds
-Some bosses are still dangerous even on the beginner run with bad RNG

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223363807

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% Beginner
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00-1:10
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0 minutes

Pros:
+lots of fun movement and bosses to show off
+Beginner hasn't been in a marathon in a long time
+lots of good chances for donations to be read during grinding and mini games
+different tech that is used in the intro run (beginner) vs the crit run
+This really stands out compared to other Kingdom Hearts games
+Gets to show off a choice run to maybe spark interest in new runners.

Cons:
-Grinding sessions in each run (about 5 minutes per run)
-RNG can play a factor usually only by a few seconds
-Some bosses are still dangerous even on the beginner run with bad RNG

Donation Incentive Offers: Bid War for which story and a bonus incentive to just show off the final episode (about 5-10 minutes depending on how the bosses go)

Sample Run Video: the same one as above as it shows off all 3 runs.

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% All Stories Beginner
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0 minutes

Pros: 
+lots of fun movement and bosses to show off
+Beginner hasn't been in a marathon in a long time
+lots of good chances for donations to be read during grinding and mini games
+different tech that is used in the intro run (beginner) vs the crit run
+This really stands out compared to other Kingdom Hearts games
+Gets to show off every run to maybe spark interest in new runners.

Cons:
-Grinding sessions in each run (about 15-20 minutes over the entire run)
-RNG can play a factor usually only by a few seconds
-Some bosses are still dangerous even on the beginner run with bad RNG

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223363807

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% Beginner
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00-1:10
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0 minutes

Pros:
+lots of fun movement and bosses to show off
+Beginner hasn't been in a marathon in a long time
+lots of good chances for donations to be read during grinding and mini games
+different tech that is used in the intro run (beginner) vs the crit run
+This really stands out compared to other Kingdom Hearts games
+Gets to show off a choice run to maybe spark interest in new runners.

Cons:
-Grinding sessions in each run (about 5 minutes per run)
-RNG can play a factor usually only by a few seconds
-Some bosses are still dangerous even on the beginner run with bad RNG

Donation Incentive Offers: Bid War for which story and a bonus incentive to just show off the final episode (about 5-10 minutes depending on how the bosses go)

Sample Run Video: the same one as above as it shows off all 3 runs.

MyOhMyke

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-28 02:22:51 pm

MyOhMyke: 2018-01-28 01:41:30 pm

MyOhMyke: 2018-01-28 01:38:08 pm

2018-01-28 01:37:06 pm

Game Name: EarthBound
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): SNES
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Sans Ness% (Beat the game without Ness in the party)

Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 2h 15m
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): ~10m to show off what happens if you try to take Paula home without Ness. There's a glitch after the credits roll too, I haven't timed how long the credits are but they're pretty long and not timed like in SM:RPG, so I imagine interest would be low.

Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Pros:
-Given estimate is very marathon safe, and includes 3-4 grind fights for safety
-I haven't yet incorporated some newer shortcuts that have been found into the route yet, so the estimate will be lower by RPG:LB
-No Ness also means No Jeff, which is a pretty significant handicap and makes boss fights last longer than 1-2 rounds (thus taking a grind fight).
-This run totally accounts for That One Undertale Fan Theory that connects the two games.

Cons:
-Pajama% doesn't take optional grind fights but Sans Ness% has to to make the run consistent.
-There's a good chance to see a game over screen at two particular parts of the run. Neither are run-killing, both have save points nearby, but it still stinks. These two spots account for most of the gap between PB and Estimate.
-This run totally accounts for That One Undertale Fan Theory That Everyone Apparently Mutually Hates But Won't Go Away.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
-Bid Wars for the 4 kids (5 letters each), Dog/Food (6 each), Favorite Thing (6), and Player Name (20+ characters). Ness leaves the game ~20m in roughly, and Jeff doesn't appear until the very end, which is unique to this category, I think.
-Paula Goes Home Alone Glitch (same thing listed under Bonus content)

Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required):
PB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c20S3Q480bI -- Run had the best ever Poo RNG, then I forgot a few tweaks I made to the run after taking a break for a few weeks, and gave away some free time later. Easily a 2-3m time save with same RNG but the correct route.
Old PB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaTPjsfSbbY -- Much more closer to average RNG throughout the run, then I didn't mess up the end. This run was done a few weeks earlier than the YouTube date. This is a good "average" run with the current route.

--------------------

Game Name: Industrial Spy: Operation Espionage
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): Dreamcast
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Any% or Any% NG+
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 2h 10m
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): Credits are about 5m and would have IGT for each mission. I'd like to have this on record, in case I get a good time, but it isn't necessary.

Pros:
-Most people probably haven't seen this game!
-Some pretty fantastic(ally bad) voice acting.
-EXTREMELY consistent, nearly impossible to end up in a no-win, can't-continue state. Very hard to lose more than 5m versus PB outside of the last stage.
-RNG is pretty much nonexistent.
-Even people who have seen this game probably haven't beaten it.
-I really, really want to like this game.

Cons:
-Most people probably haven't seen this game.
-Any witty dialogue that isn't voice acted will get mashed over
-I managed to totally wreck my own marathon run of this, by leveling up the wrong stat on a character. Instead of going back to a save, I decided to try to press forward with it. That turned what would have been a 5-10m mistake into a 25+ minute mistake, and it ended up softlocking the mission later and I didn't know at the time. If I made the same mistake, it would only cost me five minutes today -- but just in case someone remembers that one ill-fated marathon run, I wanted to explain.
-There's about a 5m stretch in the last stage where I'd really need to focus on my notes. If it's just me commentating, I can read out my notes and make a few comments besides, but I'd really need to read the notes and not hear, for example, donation comments in my head. If my mic could be muted, and donation comments could be read as I take my headset off, that would work for me, too, and probably be better for the audience.
-Missing a step in that section is a total mission reset -- but is accounted for in the estimate. It assumes doing the entire final mission twice, even if that particular spot is only halfway through the level.
-I...really WANT to like this game, but if it was in a bad game block I couldn't make a great case against it.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
NG versus NG+ (estimate assumes NG, NG+ is same exact route with less leveling)
Castle Mondstein: Estimate+25m, an optional mission that unlocks an extra character. I have no VOD of this, however.

Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol6d_mWh3vo

Game Name: EarthBound
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): SNES
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Sans Ness% (Beat the game without Ness in the party)

Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 2h 15m
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): ~10m to show off what happens if you try to take Paula home without Ness.  There's a glitch after the credits roll too, I haven't timed how long the credits are but they're pretty long and not timed like in SM:RPG, so I imagine interest would be low.

Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Pros:
-Given estimate is very marathon safe, and includes 3-4 grind fights for safety
-I haven't yet incorporated some newer shortcuts that have been found into the route yet, so the estimate will be lower by RPG:LB
-No Ness also means No Jeff, which is a pretty significant handicap and makes boss fights last longer than 1-2 rounds (thus taking a grind fight).
-This run totally accounts for That One Undertale Fan Theory that connects the two games.

Cons:
-Pajama% doesn't take optional grind fights but Sans Ness% has to to make the run consistent.
-There's a good chance to see a game over screen at two particular parts of the run. Neither are run-killing, both have save points nearby, but it still stinks. These two spots account for most of the gap between PB and Estimate.
-This run totally accounts for That One Undertale Fan Theory That Everyone Apparently Mutually Hates But Won't Go Away.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
-Bid Wars for the 4 kids (5 letters each), Dog/Food (6 each), Favorite Thing (6), and Player Name (20+ characters).  Ness leaves the game ~20m in roughly, and Jeff doesn't appear until the very end, which is unique to this category, I think.
-Paula Goes Home Alone Glitch (same thing listed under Bonus content)

Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required):
PB: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c20S3Q480bI[/noembed] -- Run had the best ever Poo RNG, then I forgot a few tweaks I made to the run after taking a break for a few weeks, and gave away some free time later. Easily a 2-3m time save with same RNG but the correct route.
Old PB: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaTPjsfSbbY[/noembed] -- Much more closer to average RNG throughout the run, then I didn't mess up the end. This run was done a few weeks earlier than the YouTube date.  This is a good "average" run with the current route.

--------------------

Game Name: Industrial Spy: Operation Espionage
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): Dreamcast
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Any% or Any% NG+
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 2h 10m
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): Credits are about 5m and would have IGT for each mission.  I'd like to have this on record, in case I get a good time, but it isn't necessary.

Pros:
-Most people probably haven't seen this game!
-Some pretty fantastic(ally bad) voice acting.
-EXTREMELY consistent, nearly impossible to end up in a no-win, can't-continue state.  Very hard to lose more than 5m versus PB outside of the last stage.
-RNG is pretty much nonexistent.
-Even people who have seen this game probably haven't beaten it.
-I really, really want to like this game.

Cons:
-Most people probably haven't seen this game.
-Any witty dialogue that isn't voice acted will get mashed over
-I managed to totally wreck my own marathon run of this, by leveling up the wrong stat on a character. Instead of going back to a save, I decided to try to press forward with it.  That turned what would have been a 5-10m mistake into a 25+ minute mistake, and it ended up softlocking the mission later and I didn't know at the time. If I made the same mistake, it would only cost me five minutes today -- but just in case someone remembers that one ill-fated marathon run, I wanted to explain.
-There's about a 5m stretch in the last stage where I'd really need to focus on my notes.  If it's just me commentating, I can read out my notes and make a few comments besides, but I'd really need to read the notes and not hear, for example, donation comments in my head.  If my mic could be muted, and donation comments could be read as I take my headset off, that would work for me, too, and probably be better for the audience.
-Missing a step in that section is a total mission reset -- but is accounted for in the estimate.  It assumes doing the entire final mission twice, even if that particular spot is only halfway through the level.
-I...really WANT to like this game, but if it was in a bad game block I couldn't make a great case against it.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
NG versus NG+ (estimate assumes NG, NG+ is same exact route with less leveling)
Castle Mondstein: Estimate+25m, an optional mission that unlocks an extra character.  I have no VOD of this, however.

Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol6d_mWh3vo[/noembed]

bichphuongballz

2018-01-28 02:07:30 pm

bichGOAL

Game name: Phantasy Star IV
System: Sega Genesis (although may use PC/Steam if I don't get my hands on hardware, and Tyler doesn't attend for some reason)
Category: any%
Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/bonus: 10:00
***I would like to offer this run as either a race with Tyler, or a co-op run with him.
Pros/Cons: The best game of the fairly popular phantasy star series. The game looks great, sounds great, and has a number of unique features. Many folks are familiar with the game, but probably not with how it gets navigated via speedrun. Both route and player quality has increased since the last time this game was run, so it might be time to show off again. The game, unfortunately, comes with a handful of gate keepers where RNG plays a significant role, thus estimates are hard to pin down and are extremely safe. This is buffered with extra safety grinding, which makes the run safer but slower. That being said, shockingly, I have also never gotten a run above 4 hours.
Donation Incentives: I'll follow Tyler's lead on this one, but can add getting Megid for the final boss.
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/203600831
Marathon run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/187755859

Game name: Final Fantasy 1
System: NES and played on an AV Famicom.
Category: any%
Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/bonus: roughly 6 minutes
Pros/Cons: FF1 is the classic that started the series. Its marathon route has improved multiple times over since year 1 and would be a good watch again. The route is interesting, there's plenty to explain, and I'm sure people will tell puns or something. Still, FF1 has seen plenty of love over the years, and there is still a lot of killing of ogres and agamas, so there's that.
Donation Incentives: name the 4 main characters (4 character limit)
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161001661
The route from here is out of date, and I would be learning the newer one before the event.

Game name: (The) Final Fantasy Legend
System: Gameboy. Single Segment would be played on GC/GBI, while "RTA" would be on SGB2.
Category: any%
Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/bonus: roughly 3 minutes
Pros/Cons: Alright, the good stuff first. Nice, chill run and music. Tons of routing intricacies, and I actually understand all of the mechanics at a pretty deep level for once. It is nice and short, and fun to see how someone can get through the game efficiently. Ok, now for the bad. A single mistake kills the run. This can be mitigated with tons of practice, and then destroyed by a rogue guard or squid. That can be mitigated with safe movement, but sometimes you never know. All of that can be completely eliminated if you'd like for me to use the RTA safer route vs. the single segment route, which I am willing to pick up. That route is way less interesting, but it won't die.
Donation Incentives: name the 4 main party members (4 character limit). There may be a differing amount of possible names with RTA route.
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/158475983

Game name: SaGa Frontier
System: PS1, to be played on PS2 Slim
Category: Emelia
Estimate: 55:00
Ending/bonus: n/a
Pros/Cons: SaGa Frontier did get some love last year already, but we would enjoy being able to continue to slowly show off what the speedrun has to offer. Emelia's scenario does offer some differences from last year's Asellus run. There is less running around for story triggers, which gives the run more focus on good encounter dodging. Then, there is one glorious final boss that history shows I am the master of. The good news from there, is that while Diva is volatile, it's definitely not as bad as Orlouge from last year. The story is something else as well. I am happy to race any other SF runner who'd like to join, and if other runners offer other scenarios, we could also run them back to back!
Donation Incentives: file name (honestly don't remember how many characters, but I think it's around 8)
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210167622

Game name: Phantasy Star IV
System: Sega Genesis (although may use PC/Steam if I don't get my hands on hardware, and Tyler doesn't attend for some reason)
Category: any%
Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/bonus: 10:00
***I would like to offer this run as either a race with Tyler, or a co-op run with him.
Pros/Cons: The best game of the fairly popular phantasy star series. The game looks great, sounds great, and has a number of unique features. Many folks are familiar with the game, but probably not with how it gets navigated via speedrun. Both route and player quality has increased since the last time this game was run, so it might be time to show off again. The game, unfortunately, comes with a handful of gate keepers where RNG plays a significant role, thus estimates are hard to pin down and are extremely safe. This is buffered with extra safety grinding, which makes the run safer but slower. That being said, shockingly, I have also never gotten a run above 4 hours. 
Donation Incentives: I'll follow Tyler's lead on this one, but can add getting Megid for the final boss.
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/203600831
Marathon run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/187755859

Game name: Final Fantasy 1
System: NES and played on an AV Famicom.
Category: any% 
Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/bonus: roughly 6 minutes
Pros/Cons: FF1 is the classic that started the series. Its marathon route has improved multiple times over since year 1 and would be a good watch again. The route is interesting, there's plenty to explain, and I'm sure people will tell puns or something. Still, FF1 has seen plenty of love over the years, and there is still a lot of killing of ogres and agamas, so there's that. 
Donation Incentives: name the 4 main characters (4 character limit) 
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161001661
The route from here is out of date, and I would be learning the newer one before the event.

Game name: (The) Final Fantasy Legend
System: Gameboy. Single Segment would be played on GC/GBI, while "RTA" would be on SGB2.
Category: any%
Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/bonus: roughly 3 minutes
Pros/Cons: Alright, the good stuff first. Nice, chill run and music. Tons of routing intricacies, and I actually understand all of the mechanics at a pretty deep level for once. It is nice and short, and fun to see how someone can get through the game efficiently. Ok, now for the bad. A single mistake kills the run. This can be mitigated with tons of practice, and then destroyed by a rogue guard or squid. That can be mitigated with safe movement, but sometimes you never know. All of that can be completely eliminated if you'd like for me to use the RTA safer route vs. the single segment route, which I am willing to pick up. That route is way less interesting, but it won't die.
Donation Incentives: name the 4 main party members (4 character limit). There may be a differing amount of possible names with RTA route.
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/158475983

Game name: SaGa Frontier
System: PS1, to be played on PS2 Slim
Category: Emelia
Estimate: 55:00
Ending/bonus: n/a
Pros/Cons: SaGa Frontier did get some love last year already, but we would enjoy being able to continue to slowly show off what the speedrun has to offer. Emelia's scenario does offer some differences from last year's Asellus run. There is less running around for story triggers, which gives the run more focus on good encounter dodging. Then, there is one glorious final boss that history shows I am the master of. The good news from there, is that while Diva is volatile, it's definitely not as bad as Orlouge from last year. The story is something else as well. I am happy to race any other SF runner who'd like to join, and if other runners offer other scenarios, we could also run them back to back! 
Donation Incentives: file name (honestly don't remember how many characters, but I think it's around 8)
Video: PB: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/210167622

Bingchang

Edit history:

Bingchang: 2018-01-28 02:24:30 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-28 02:23:33 pm

2018-01-28 02:21:23 pm

Game Name: Quest 64
System: N64
Category: All Spirits (race with Driftingskies)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:10:00 to show off a soft lock and hard lock and death dupe assuming any% doesn't get run

Pros: Relatively short run, and there are several glitches that get used including OOB and spirit cloning that are interesting. This is a very different run from when it was last run at SGDQ 2013. Although it is RNG heavy, we will have multiple safety items that we will grab as well as making safety saves, and a memory card full of saves if we absolutely need to reload.
Cons: Not the most loved game, and is very RNG heavy.
Donation incentives: Skipping fargo - There is a slight route change that exists that would allow us to skip fargo (which we would fight him normally). Could make the soft lock, hard lock and death dupe donation incentives but they would be done after the run. 200 spirits could be an incentive if not accepted itself.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3lOZBGySfY&t=

Game Name: Quest 64
System: N64
Category: 200 spirits
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:10:00 soft lock/ hard lock and shouldn't have to show off death dupe since it will happen in this category

Pros: Anyone who has played this game will know it is basically impossible to grind to get to 200 spirits as the exp curve is silly. This will take advantage of cloning and oob (and will essentially be any% but with more spirits). Will have safety saves made during the run as well as a memory card full of saves if needed.
Cons: as always Quest isn't a well loved game and is rather RNG heavy (although everything we do is to mitigate the rng)
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/170877091

Game Name: Quest RPG: Brian's Journey
System: GBC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending stuff: 0 nothing to really show off

Pros: This is the gameboy color demake of Quest 64 which allows you to save everywhere, and reload in an instant. Deaths don't lose a huge amount of time and can be worked around
Cons: It's a gameboy version of a game that already isn't well liked, and unfortunately as much as I enjoy this run there isn't a whole lot to it.
Donation incentive: Could do the JP version instead which is faster over all
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-70LGcrU0

Game Name: Caster
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay estimate: 0:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:04:00 to show off the other weapons

Pros: A fun game of interesting movement and combat, game is not the prettiest but the movement and everything is visually appealing.
Cons: Incredibly unknown
Incentives: Man vs Woman, Name of character
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ruXfxxr-Y&t=

Game Name: Quest 64
System: N64
Category: All Spirits (race with Driftingskies)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:10:00 to show off a soft lock and hard lock and death dupe assuming any% doesn't get run

Pros: Relatively short  run, and there are several glitches that get used including OOB and spirit cloning that are interesting. This is a very different run from when it was last run at SGDQ 2013. Although it is RNG heavy, we will have multiple safety items that we will grab as well as making safety saves, and a memory card full of saves if we absolutely need to reload.
Cons: Not the most loved game, and is very RNG heavy.
Donation incentives: Skipping fargo - There is a slight route change that exists that would allow us to skip fargo (which we would fight him normally). Could make the soft lock, hard lock and death dupe donation incentives but they would be done after the run. 200 spirits could be an incentive if not accepted itself.
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3lOZBGySfY&t=[/noembed]

Game Name: Quest 64
System: N64
Category: 200 spirits
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:10:00 soft lock/ hard lock and shouldn't have to show off death dupe since it will happen in this category

Pros: Anyone who has played this game will know it is basically impossible to grind to get to 200 spirits as the exp curve is silly. This will take advantage of cloning and oob (and will essentially be any% but with more spirits). Will have safety saves made during the run as well as a memory card full of saves if needed.
Cons: as always Quest isn't a well loved game and is rather RNG heavy (although everything we do is to mitigate the rng)
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/170877091

Game Name: Quest RPG: Brian's Journey
System: GBC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending stuff: 0 nothing to really show off

Pros: This is the gameboy color demake of Quest 64 which allows you to save everywhere, and reload in an instant. Deaths don't lose a huge amount of time and can be worked around
Cons: It's a gameboy version of a game that already isn't well liked, and unfortunately as much as I enjoy this run there isn't a whole lot to it.
Donation incentive: Could do the JP version instead which is faster over all
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-70LGcrU0[/noembed]

Game Name: Caster
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay estimate: 0:20:00
Ending stuff: 0:04:00 to show off the other weapons

Pros: A fun game of interesting movement and combat, game is not the prettiest but the movement and everything is visually appealing.
Cons: Incredibly unknown
Incentives: Man vs Woman, Name of character
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ruXfxxr-Y&t=[/noembed]

Poorscythe

Edit history:

Poorscythe: 2018-01-28 02:35:07 pm

2018-01-28 02:29:48 pm

Game: Final Fantasy
System: PSP (will be investigating PSTV compatibility in the near future)
Category: Any% Race vs. Dubldrop
Gameplay Estimate: 1:40
Ending: 0:15 (ending cutscene + credits, cutscene is 8 minutes long and skippable)
Bonus Estimate: 0:10 (a single run-through of Hellfire Chasm bonus dungeon during the run – see incentives)
Incentives: Name the four Light Warriors (6-character max), Choose FF4 bosses fought in Hellfire Chasm – Hellfire Chasm is a 10-floor bonus dungeon featured in the PSP version, with boss fights on the 5th floor (Scarmiglione and Cagnazzo) and 10th floor (Barbariccia and Rubicante). Only one boss can be fought on either floor in any single dungeon run. So incentives will be for Scarmiglione vs. Cagnazzo, and Barbariccia vs. Rubicante.

Pros:
+ The definitive presentation of the game you know and love, with gorgeous sprite artwork, remixed music tracks, and a host of quality-of-life improvements over other versions.
+ Has not been featured in either a GDQ or RPGLB marathon to my knowledge.
+ Save anywhere
+ Short for an RPG because of...
+ PSP-exclusive equipment glitch! Allows for unintended comical situations (Thief casting Flare, wearing Vests as a Helmet, using Ribbons for Shields)
+ Almost no grinding necessary due to the equipment glitch (1.5 - 2 minutes vs. Evil Eyes and that's it)
+ Fantastic game for racing, as the RNG swings often allow for dramatic comebacks and lead changes

Cons:
- There's still a lot of random encounters, and the majority of them are uninteresting
- Standard race caveats: No guarantee of a close race if one player gets significantly worse RNG than the other, or makes a huge mistake. Evenly-matched opponents and safety saves can mitigate this to some degree.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223385684 (features bonus technical failure as an example of something that could go horribly wrong and still finishes well under estimate)

Game: Final Fantasy II
System: PSP (will be investigating PSTV compatibility in the near future)
Category: Any% Race vs. Dubldrop (if a solo run is desired, it should go to Dubldrop)
Gameplay Estimate: 3:10 (will probably lower this with more practice)
Ending: 0:10 (entirely skippable)
Incentives: Name the four warriors (6-character max)

Pros:
+ The definitive presentation of the game you probably don't know or love; FF2 has been greatly overlooked and ignored since it wasn't officially released outside Japan until 2003
+ Has not been featured in either a GDQ or RPGLB marathon to my knowledge
+ Save anywhere
+ Features a skill proficiency system unique among main-series FF games. Skill grinding is manipulated carefully over the early portion of the run, and only takes a handful of fights to setup.
+ Clever abuse of game mechanics such as manipulating front/back formations with dead characters creates interesting combat situations and saves significant time.

Cons:
- Extreme encounter variance – This run spams Teleport tomes to defeat many enemy encounters, and it can take anywhere from 1-10+ uses to defeat an encounter. The final boss can also be a pushover or an incredible pain.
- Save scumming - The party isn't equipped to handle certain enemies if encountered, necessitating frequent saves and resets to get more favorable encounters. This is especially common in later dungeons.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223181863

Game: Final Fantasy
System: PSP (will be investigating PSTV compatibility in the near future)
Category: Any% Race vs. Dubldrop
Gameplay Estimate: 1:40
Ending: 0:15 (ending cutscene + credits, cutscene is 8 minutes long and skippable)
Bonus Estimate: 0:10 (a single run-through of Hellfire Chasm bonus dungeon during the run – see incentives)
Incentives: Name the four Light Warriors (6-character max), Choose FF4 bosses fought in Hellfire Chasm – Hellfire Chasm is a 10-floor bonus dungeon featured in the PSP version, with boss fights on the 5th floor (Scarmiglione and Cagnazzo) and 10th floor (Barbariccia and Rubicante). Only one boss can be fought on either floor in any single dungeon run. So incentives will be for Scarmiglione vs. Cagnazzo, and Barbariccia vs. Rubicante.

Pros:
+ The definitive presentation of the game you know and love, with gorgeous sprite artwork, remixed music tracks, and a host of quality-of-life improvements over other versions.
+ Has not been featured in either a GDQ or RPGLB marathon to my knowledge.
+ Save anywhere
+ Short for an RPG because of...
+ PSP-exclusive equipment glitch! Allows for unintended comical situations (Thief casting Flare, wearing Vests as a Helmet, using Ribbons for Shields)
+ Almost no grinding necessary due to the equipment glitch (1.5 - 2 minutes vs. Evil Eyes and that's it)
+ Fantastic game for racing, as the RNG swings often allow for dramatic comebacks and lead changes

Cons:
- There's still a lot of random encounters, and the majority of them are uninteresting
- Standard race caveats: No guarantee of a close race if one player gets significantly worse RNG than the other, or makes a huge mistake. Evenly-matched opponents and safety saves can mitigate this to some degree.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223385684 (features bonus technical failure as an example of something that could go horribly wrong and still finishes well under estimate)

Game: Final Fantasy II
System: PSP (will be investigating PSTV compatibility in the near future)
Category: Any% Race vs. Dubldrop (if a solo run is desired, it should go to Dubldrop)
Gameplay Estimate: 3:10 (will probably lower this with more practice)
Ending: 0:10 (entirely skippable)
Incentives: Name the four warriors (6-character max)

Pros:
+ The definitive presentation of the game you probably don't know or love; FF2 has been greatly overlooked and ignored since it wasn't officially released outside Japan until 2003
+ Has not been featured in either a GDQ or RPGLB marathon to my knowledge
+ Save anywhere
+ Features a skill proficiency system unique among main-series FF games. Skill grinding is manipulated carefully over the early portion of the run, and only takes a handful of fights to setup.
+ Clever abuse of game mechanics such as manipulating front/back formations with dead characters creates interesting combat situations and saves significant time.

Cons:
- Extreme encounter variance – This run spams Teleport tomes to defeat many enemy encounters, and it can take anywhere from 1-10+ uses to defeat an encounter. The final boss can also be a pushover or an incredible pain.
- Save scumming - The party isn't equipped to handle certain enemies if encountered, necessitating frequent saves and resets to get more favorable encounters. This is especially common in later dungeons.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223181863

penguin8r

Edit history:

penguin8r: 2018-01-28 03:44:40 pm

2018-01-28 03:38:05 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV
System: SNES
Category: Any% No64
Gameplay Estimate: 3:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 35:00 (copying this from Riversmccown's post, glitch showcase would likely be just him)

The No64 category has had a number of small to medium route improvements over the past year, resulting in both a few minutes being shaved off the run and making the run overall safer. Rosa route (the current fastest) while once viewed as risky is now quite safe. While there are several places where bad RNG can cause significant time loss (on the order of a minute), the only point where the run can really die is the final fight against Zeromus, in the event of very unfortunate damage rolls. I would estimate this as at most a 1/50 chance. With a safety save, this is up to 15 minutes of time loss, which I factor into my estimate.

I am happy to do this either as a race with Riversmccown or as a solo run.

Pros:
+ Relatively short for a Final Fantasy run not using any major warps/skips.
+ Safe run (explained in more detail above)
+ Final boss is fought in a climatic ending.
+ One of the more popular Final Fantasies.
+ Catchy fight songs.
+ Fan favorite lines such as "You spoony bard!" and "Was it flame?"
+ I expect a team of excellent commentators.
+ Grinding is kept to a single, short, action-packed fight.
+ Strategies develop over the run, introducing new tropes as the game progresses. An overview of the main ideas: Initially we glitch our way into overpowered equipment to make short work of the first few bosses. Then we rely on an MP underflow glitch to unlock the power of Tellah. As Tellah leaves, we shift to relying on strong characters (mostly Kain) who are powered up via specific boss experience manipulation. As we approach the end of the game, we use several tricks to quickly power level a single character (choice of character is a potential donation incentive) and then rely on their particular qualities to carry us through the end of the game.

Cons:
- Text mashing heavy. No cutscene skips nor voice acting.
- Also a decent amount of uneventful walking time, which can be used for donations.
- Not the shortest run in the world.
- Potential for RNG based time loss (as mentioned above). Timing errors can also result in time loss on a few of the harder tricks. The most notable being carrot (Milon fight) where mistakes can cost a minute or two. Other instances are less punishing.
- Has had decent exposure recently (AGDQ (different category), HRDQ).

Possible Donation Incentives: Character names (Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Kain, Edward, Tellah, Yang, Palom, Porom, Cid, Edge, FuSoYa - 6 letters each)
End game character bidwar (Rosa, Edge, or Rydia) (if racing with Rivers)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/154849913?t=
(This run was on emulator, but I run on console now. Not a good example for commentary, just a PB video.)

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV
System: SNES
Category: Any% No64
Gameplay Estimate: 3:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 35:00 (copying this from Riversmccown's post, glitch showcase would likely be just him)

The No64 category has had a number of small to medium route improvements over the past year, resulting in both a few minutes being shaved off the run and making the run overall safer. Rosa route (the current fastest) while once viewed as risky is now quite safe. While there are several places where bad RNG can cause significant time loss (on the order of a minute), the only point where the run can really die is the final fight against Zeromus, in the event of very unfortunate damage rolls. I would estimate this as at most a 1/50 chance. With a safety save, this is up to 15 minutes of time loss, which I factor into my estimate.

I am happy to do this either as a race with Riversmccown or as a solo run.

Pros: 
+ Relatively short for a Final Fantasy run not using any major warps/skips.
+ Safe run (explained in more detail above)
+ Final boss is fought in a climatic ending.
+ One of the more popular Final Fantasies.
+ Catchy fight songs.
+ Fan favorite lines such as "You spoony bard!" and "Was it flame?"
+ I expect a team of excellent commentators.
+ Grinding is kept to a single, short, action-packed fight.
+ Strategies develop over the run, introducing new tropes as the game progresses. An overview of the main ideas: Initially we glitch our way into overpowered equipment to make short work of the first few bosses. Then we rely on an MP underflow glitch to unlock the power of Tellah. As Tellah leaves, we shift to relying on strong characters (mostly Kain) who are powered up via specific boss experience manipulation. As we approach the end of the game, we use several tricks to quickly power level a single character (choice of character is a potential donation incentive) and then rely on their particular qualities to carry us through the end of the game.

Cons:
- Text mashing heavy. No cutscene skips nor voice acting.
- Also a decent amount of uneventful walking time, which can be used for donations.
- Not the shortest run in the world.
- Potential for RNG based time loss (as mentioned above). Timing errors can also result in time loss on a few of the harder tricks. The most notable being carrot (Milon fight) where mistakes can cost a minute or two. Other instances are less punishing.
- Has had decent exposure recently (AGDQ (different category), HRDQ).

Possible Donation Incentives: Character names (Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Kain, Edward, Tellah, Yang, Palom, Porom, Cid, Edge, FuSoYa - 6 letters each)
End game character bidwar (Rosa, Edge, or Rydia) (if racing with Rivers)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/154849913?t=
(This run was on emulator, but I run on console now. Not a good example for commentary, just a PB video.)

TheHDElder

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-28 04:12:24 pm

2018-01-28 04:00:15 pm

Game Name: Saga Frontier
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any% Emelia Story
Estimate: 54:00
Donation Incentive:Naming Emelia at least an 8 Character Name
Pros/Cons: Not really many Cons overall saga frontier is a fast paste game with heavy enemy dodging and good/average execution also it did really well last year. Would be willing to race with the other SaGa Boys.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-WqW6KdNw8

Game Name:Arc the Lad
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Estimate: 3:30:00
Pros/Cons: Arc the Lad is a tactical RPG with very fast battles high execution little to no draw back to being punished since your over powered the only threat is the final area but will be playing that fight safe
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/125986626

Game Name: Suikoden 4
System: PS2
Category:Any% New Game
Estimate: 10:45:00
Pros: Suikoden 4 has really amazing music and most of the characters are enjoyable also fast paste battles
Cons : unskipable cutscenes
Donation Incentive:I think the character name limit is like 8 or may be 7 characters and another would be to Save Snow! or behead Him!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9KB8_vLHAg
This Route is Out dated and will be using the newer route shorter before the event if it gets in

Game Name: Saga Frontier 2
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Estimate: 4:50:00
Pros/Cons: Lots of heavy enemy dodging but even if I run into enemies there are no draw backs because this game has no battle rank I will be doing the safest strats possible for the Egg Fight so should go smoothly. Also ran this at Saga 2016 and the run went extremely well
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/42272307

Game Name: Saga Frontier
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Lute's Story
Estimate: 52:00
Donation Incentive: Naming Lute at least an 8 Character Name
Pros/Cons: Will be using the Safer route for this one. Not really many Cons overall saga frontier is a fast paste game with heavy enemy dodging and good/average execution also it did really well last year. Would be willing to race with the other SaGa Boys.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MX7L8GeEyA

Game Name: Saga Frontier 
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any% Emelia Story 
Estimate: 54:00
Donation Incentive:Naming Emelia at least an 8 Character Name
Pros/Cons: Not really many Cons overall saga frontier is a fast paste game with heavy enemy dodging and good/average execution also it did really well last year. Would be willing to race with the other SaGa Boys.
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-WqW6KdNw8[/noembed]

Game Name:Arc the Lad
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Estimate: 3:30:00
Pros/Cons: Arc the Lad is a tactical RPG with very fast battles high execution little to no draw back to being punished since your over powered the only threat is the final area but will be playing that fight safe  
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/125986626

Game Name: Suikoden 4
System: PS2
Category:Any% New Game
Estimate: 10:45:00
Pros: Suikoden 4 has really amazing music and most of the characters are enjoyable also fast paste battles  
Cons : unskipable cutscenes 
Donation Incentive:I think the character name limit is like 8 or may be 7 characters and another would be to Save Snow! or behead Him!
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9KB8_vLHAg[/noembed]
This Route is Out dated and will be using the newer route shorter before the event if it gets in

Game Name: Saga Frontier 2
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Estimate: 4:50:00
Pros/Cons: Lots of heavy enemy dodging but even if I run into enemies there are no draw backs because this game has no battle rank I will be doing the safest strats possible for the Egg Fight so should go smoothly. Also ran this at Saga 2016 and the run went extremely well
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/42272307

Game Name: Saga Frontier 
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Lute's Story 
Estimate: 52:00
Donation Incentive: Naming Lute at least an 8 Character Name
Pros/Cons: Will be using the Safer route for this one. Not really many Cons overall saga frontier is a fast paste game with heavy enemy dodging and good/average execution also it did really well last year. Would be willing to race with the other SaGa Boys.
Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MX7L8GeEyA[/noembed]

Jiseed

2018-01-28 05:16:54 pm

Game name: Phantasy Star 2
System: Steam/PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 45:00
Ending/bonus: 30 second ending
Pros/Cons: Given the improvements over the past 3 years we have a huge degree of control over the run now. All problems are mitigated right at the start, and the visiphone is obtained early on for safety saves just in case things go south. Dark Force is sometimes an issue, but the chance of dying is extremely low now. No encounters in post bio-monster dungeons create long periods of walking.
Donation Incentives: Amy's Name (4 Characters)
Video:

Game name: Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
System: Steam/PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 28:00 + 7:00 if Heart of Winter is added
Pros/Cons: Great example of an Infinity Engine speedrun, utilizing the tricks many people are already familiar with, in addition to bringing back a glitch that's a blast from the past with the inclusion of dimension door in this game. However, Icewind Dale is not quite as popular as the Baldur's Gate series which both works in its favor and against it. Very safe in a marathon setting.
Donation Incentives: Character's Name (20 Characters), do the Heart of Winter expansion (either separately or in the middle of the run of the original).
Videos:

IWD

HoW

Game name: Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition (Shadows of Amn + Throne of Bhaal)
System: PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 40:00
Pros/Cons: While BG2:SoA has shown up in marathons recently, this run does both parts of the game and utilizes a different route that uses a sorcerer for the entire game. Usage of the sorcerer gives us additional safety and revises some strategies in various parts of the game. There is a short period near the start of the game where we level up our sorcerer in order to get enough xp to successfully complete Throne of Bhaal.
Donation Incentives: Main Character's Name, Kill Shadow Dragon (in Suldanessellar)
Videos:

(Shadows of Amn done as an Invoker/Thief, route is almost identical with some small changes due to the additional spellpower)

(Throne of Bhaal)

Game name: Breath of Fire
System: SNES
Category: Any%
Estimate: 6:00:00
Ending/bonus: 10 Min ending/5 Mins for Debug Name showcase
Pros/Cons: No random encounters, and overall fairly safe once you're past the first part of the game. With no encounters comes long periods of walking, and with a game of this length you can run out of things to talk about.
Donation Incentives: Ryu's Name (4 Characters), Chun Li Cameos (In Bleak and Ending), Puka vs. No Puka Mote, Debug Name showcase
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/51768866

Game name: Phantasy Star 2
System: Steam/PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 45:00
Ending/bonus: 30 second ending
Pros/Cons: Given the improvements over the past 3 years we have a huge degree of control over the run now. All problems are mitigated right at the start, and the visiphone is obtained early on for safety saves just in case things go south. Dark Force is sometimes an issue, but the chance of dying is extremely low now. No encounters in post bio-monster dungeons create long periods of walking.
Donation Incentives: Amy's Name (4 Characters)
Video: [hidden]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KcNtJAwFPY[/hidden]

Game name: Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
System: Steam/PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 28:00 + 7:00 if Heart of Winter is added
Pros/Cons: Great example of an Infinity Engine speedrun, utilizing the tricks many people are already familiar with, in addition to bringing back a glitch that's a blast from the past with the inclusion of dimension door in this game. However, Icewind Dale is not quite as popular as the Baldur's Gate series which both works in its favor and against it. Very safe in a marathon setting.
Donation Incentives: Character's Name (20 Characters), do the Heart of Winter expansion (either separately or in the middle of the run of the original).
Videos: [hidden]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiRSXbbltZo[/hidden] IWD
[hidden]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=529kZkuUXgg[/hidden] HoW

Game name: Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition (Shadows of Amn + Throne of Bhaal)
System: PC
Category: Any%
Estimate: 40:00
Pros/Cons: While BG2:SoA has shown up in marathons recently, this run does both parts of the game and utilizes a different route that uses a sorcerer for the entire game. Usage of the sorcerer gives us additional safety and revises some strategies in various parts of the game. There is a short period near the start of the game where we level up our sorcerer in order to get enough xp to successfully complete Throne of Bhaal.
Donation Incentives: Main Character's Name, Kill Shadow Dragon (in Suldanessellar)
Videos: [hidden]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kfBOWax2yk[/hidden] (Shadows of Amn done as an Invoker/Thief, route is almost identical with some small changes due to the additional spellpower)
[hidden]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSGSz9cFS0[/hidden] (Throne of Bhaal)

Game name: Breath of Fire
System: SNES
Category: Any%
Estimate: 6:00:00
Ending/bonus: 10 Min ending/5 Mins for Debug Name showcase
Pros/Cons: No random encounters, and overall fairly safe once you're past the first part of the game. With no encounters comes long periods of walking, and with a game of this length you can run out of things to talk about.
Donation Incentives: Ryu's Name (4 Characters), Chun Li Cameos (In Bleak and Ending), Puka vs. No Puka Mote, Debug Name showcase
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/51768866

IndDragPack

2018-01-28 05:28:49 pm

Game Name: Dissidia Final Fantasy
System: PSP (will be played on my softmodded PSP with composite cable, used the same setup for a different PSP run at ESA)
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00 ( may go a bit lower closer to the event)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 00:05 (Final Cutscene - not nessesary but cool to watch)

Pros:
+ great soundtrack
+ mutiple FF characters in one game aswell as arenas based on places in the original games
+ has never been showcased on the big stage
+ fights are almost completly save once I get the right abilities (small grinding in the run makes it more save)

Cons:
- underrated game
- some fights look very similiar

Donation Incentive:
- Filename (12 characters)
- Costume Bidwar (For the Character I'm going to play with are 2 costumes available
- Prologue Blindfolded (takes 2 minutes longer than usual, if even)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/216291390

Ppotdot1

2018-01-28 05:32:02 pm

Game Name: Mario Tennis (GBC)
System: GBC, played on a GBA/GBP
Category: any% Singles
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits are approximately 7 minutes. Possible short bonus exhibition match estimate 5 minutes.
Pros: Run is very fast paced with very little downtime, matches are unique and require different reactions based on opponent. Mario tennis is a well known series, with the newest game on switch being announced for this spring.
Cons: Although there's a lot going on in matches, each match is fairly long and the general strategies of each match are similar. The hardest parts of the run come at the very start with leveling up on training walls, and near the end in the final tournament, so a lot of the middle is just optimizing speed of victory. The titular character doesn't make an appearance until the very last match.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name the girl (7 characters), name the partner (7 characters, could instead use 2nd place name of the girl)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/201604849 (Bring 'Em Over marathon run)