RPG Limit Break 2018 Games Thread

2018-01-28 05:41:53 pm

Game Name: Pokemon Red
System: GameBoy
Category: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00 (typically, this should be closer to 2 hours, but some padding is added for safety saves and bad luck)
Ending: 00:01:40

Pros:
+ Nostalgia - Pokemon Gen 1 has a special place in many hearts.
+ Unique game quirks - Gen 1 has a lot of mechanics that are not obvious which are cool to explain or show off, even if they don't always go in your favor!
+ RNG Manip - There are a few instances of RNG manipulation which make the run consistent. It's cool to show it off, but it doesn't dominate the run.
+ Beginner-friendly - The route I'm submitting is the "beginner" route, which is quite accessible. It's a bit slower than the riskiest RTA strategies, but it's a great way to interest new people in speedrunning.
+ No grinding - There are a few cases of "downtime" where encounters are simple or you're just focusing on movement that could be good for donations, but there are no long, boring grinds.
+ Length - At right around 2 hours, it's not too short and not too long!
+ Safety - The ability to save anywhere means that it's very easy to have a save file for risky fights. Furthermore, after the first half of the run, money is no longer a factor which means death isn't run-ending.

Cons:
- Not dynamic - The routing for this game, especially with RNG manip on the table, is pretty static. There isn't a whole lot of decision making to be made outside of some small risk/reward strategies, especially in a marathon setting.
- Lack of variety - Because this is the earliest generation of Pokemon game, there isn't a lot of variety with how battles are approached. This can lead things to get a bit stale as the run goes on.
- Not "WR-quality" - This is partially due to the route I'm submitting, and partially due to my own play. Pokemon has never been a main focus of my time speedrunning, and there are plenty of better times out there. That said, I would obviously put a focus on practicing for this game leading up to the event.

Donation incentives:
* Pokemon naming - Nidoran (primary). Squirtle, flyer, and Paras are also available, though less-seen.
* Character naming - The main character and rival can both be named.

Video:
1. Current PB - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/157897692
2. Very rusty run for submission, still under "estimate" time. Includes marathon-like commentary early on, though it jumps the shark a bit as the run goes on - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223449430

[b]Game Name:[/b] Pokemon Red
[b]System:[/b] GameBoy
[b]Category:[/b] Any% Glitchless
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 2:10:00 (typically, this should be closer to 2 hours, but some padding is added for safety saves and bad luck)
[b]Ending:[/b] 00:01:40

[b]Pros:[/b]
+ Nostalgia - Pokemon Gen 1 has a special place in many hearts.
+ Unique game quirks - Gen 1 has a lot of mechanics that are not obvious which are cool to explain or show off, even if they don't always go in your favor!
+ RNG Manip - There are a few instances of RNG manipulation which make the run consistent. It's cool to show it off, but it doesn't dominate the run.
+ Beginner-friendly - The route I'm submitting is the "beginner" route, which is quite accessible. It's a bit slower than the riskiest RTA strategies, but it's a great way to interest new people in speedrunning.
+ No grinding - There are a few cases of "downtime" where encounters are simple or you're just focusing on movement that could be good for donations, but there are no long, boring grinds.
+ Length - At right around 2 hours, it's not too short and not too long!
+ Safety - The ability to save anywhere means that it's very easy to have a save file for risky fights. Furthermore, after the first half of the run, money is no longer a factor which means death isn't run-ending.

[b]Cons[/b]:
- Not dynamic - The routing for this game, especially with RNG manip on the table, is pretty static. There isn't a whole lot of decision making to be made outside of some small risk/reward strategies, especially in a marathon setting.
- Lack of variety - Because this is the earliest generation of Pokemon game, there isn't a lot of variety with how battles are approached. This can lead things to get a bit stale as the run goes on.
- Not "WR-quality" - This is partially due to the route I'm submitting, and partially due to my own play. Pokemon has never been a main focus of my time speedrunning, and there are plenty of better times out there. That said, I would obviously put a focus on practicing for this game leading up to the event.

[b]Donation incentives:[/b]
* Pokemon naming - Nidoran (primary). Squirtle, flyer, and Paras are also available, though less-seen.
* Character naming - The main character and rival can both be named.

[b]Video:[/b]
1. Current PB - [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/157897692[/url]
2. Very rusty run for submission, still under "estimate" time. Includes marathon-like commentary early on, though it jumps the shark a bit as the run goes on - [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223449430[/url]

trojandude12

2018-01-28 06:16:42 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:50
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10
Pros/Cons:
*PROS:
-Every cutscene in the game is skippable so there in nonstop action between dodging encounters and fights
-The battle system (Paradigm Deck/Shifting) is incredibly dynamic and flexible, which allows us to pull off some sweet strategies throughout the mid & late game
-Being able to utilize shrouds (for buffs & cloaking) provides some added necessity and safety when fighting bosses and dodging encounters
-The use of each character's eidolons (Odin, Shiva, Hecaton, etc) is very essential to the success of the run so this adds another dimension to encounters that makes them interesting
-The OST is amazing and would provide a great ambiance for the run
-The vast majority of the run doesn't have RNG, especially in boss fights
-Every encounter and boss fight can be retried with no major penalty to inventory, so the run is incredibly marathon safe
*CONS:
-The enemy AI while dodging encounters can be really weird at times so failing dodges will definitely happen throughout the run
-This is not one of the more popular Final Fantasy games from a casual perspective, despite it being an amazing speedrun
-There are some sections where you are running for a while with no action, but that should provide time for donations during the run
-A few of the late game fights have some RNG in them that can cause difficulty and force some retries at the cost of a couple minutes each
Donation Incentive Offers: One or more of the following - Blindfolded Garuda (Chapter 3); Blindfolded Dahaka (Chapter 11)
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/178579089 Please note that I have been attempting runs recently and my SoB is down to 5:14 so my PB should be much better by the time RPGLB happens

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:50
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10
Pros/Cons:
     *PROS:
           -Every cutscene in the game is skippable so there in nonstop action between dodging encounters and fights
           -The battle system (Paradigm Deck/Shifting) is incredibly dynamic and flexible, which allows us to pull off some sweet strategies throughout the mid & late game
           -Being able to utilize shrouds (for buffs & cloaking) provides some added necessity and safety when fighting bosses and dodging encounters
           -The use of each character's eidolons (Odin, Shiva, Hecaton, etc) is very essential to the success of the run so this adds another dimension to encounters that makes them interesting
           -The OST is amazing and would provide a great ambiance for the run
           -The vast majority of the run doesn't have RNG, especially in boss fights
           -Every encounter and boss fight can be retried with no major penalty to inventory, so the run is incredibly marathon safe
    *CONS:
           -The enemy AI while dodging encounters can be really weird at times so failing dodges will definitely happen throughout the run
           -This is not one of the more popular Final Fantasy games from a casual perspective, despite it being an amazing speedrun
           -There are some sections where you are running for a while with no action, but that should provide time for donations during the run
           -A few of the late game fights have some RNG in them that can cause difficulty and force some retries at the cost of a couple minutes each
Donation Incentive Offers: One or more of the following - Blindfolded Garuda (Chapter 3); Blindfolded Dahaka (Chapter 11)
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/178579089  Please note that I have been attempting runs recently and my SoB is down to 5:14 so my PB should be much better by the time RPGLB happens

panzerdave

2018-01-28 06:21:06 pm

Game Name: Swords And Serpents
System: NES
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 45 minutes
Pros: A neat glitched run of this game. Much faster than the No Wrong Warp. Enemy encounters are random so its a sit on the edge of your seat thrilling dungeon crawl. AFAIK This hasnt been run at any marathon.
Cons: The RNG in this game is worse than Arkistas Ring. I may have to grind a couple of levels out to ensure I can finish the run. Random Encounters.
Donation Incentive: Bid war on character names
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.speedrun.com/run/yw1g3qnz Current PB Video, will be running a bit safer until past level 5.

AlecK47

2018-01-28 06:37:29 pm

Offers in order of preference

Game Name: Mass Effect
System: PC
Category: any% New Game+
Gameplay Estimate: 1:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 1:00
Pros/Cons: A different category than was shown at AGDQ, NG+ emphasizes a style of combat that is akin to a hot knife slicing through butter, as compared to the slower fights in a new game run. The game itself is a sci-fi third-person shooter and RPG beloved by many, featuring a nice balance of normal gameplay and glitches, including a new skip that makes the beginning of the game much more interesting than it was in the past.
Donation Incentive Offers: Male or Female Shepard, Save Ashley or Kaidan, choice of characters brought to final fight (requires extra stuff, but is still safe in this estimate)
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY3hXuQ8A_4

Game Name: The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
System: PC
Category: All Main Quests
Gameplay Estimate: 40:00 (may drop to 35)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons: One of the most highly regarded western RPGs of its time, Morrowind is nevertheless such a glitchy game that it can be beaten reliably in a few minutes, so this category completes every one of the main quests instead of rushing to the end. A great deal of time is spent out of bounds, quests are completed in an order that in no way resembles their normal sequence, often via methods that are quite silly, and all of it is done at super speed thanks to a speed-stacking glitch.
Donation Incentive Offers: any% run (7:00)
Sample run video: I will be learning this run for the 12 hour challenge on this coming weekend, but already have plenty of experience with the game. In the meantime, here is Firefly’s record: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/153028705?t=

Game Name: Mass Effect
System: PC
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 1:00
Pros/Cons: Arguably a more interesting category than NG+, this was just shown at AGDQ. The fights are slower and more dangerous, but the skips are the same.
Donation Incentive Offers: Male or Female Shepard, Save Ashley or Kaidan, (the bid war for which characters to bring to the final fight is not viable for this category)
Sample run video: https://youtu.be/h74T-DvUlZU

Game Name: Final Fantasy XII: the Zodiac Age
System: PS4 or PC (assuming nothing goes horribly wrong with this week's PC release)
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Pros/Cons: See other submissions for this one. I’m just offering it as a backup in case another runner has it accepted because I could learn the run in an afternoon and actually be good at it a couple days later.
Donation Incentive Offers: Sing the final credits song “Kiss Me Goodbye”

Offers in order of preference

Game Name: Mass Effect
System: PC
Category: any% New Game+
Gameplay Estimate: 1:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 1:00
Pros/Cons: A different category than was shown at AGDQ, NG+ emphasizes a style of combat that is akin to a hot knife slicing through butter, as compared to the slower fights in a new game run.  The game itself is a sci-fi third-person shooter and RPG beloved by many, featuring a nice balance of normal gameplay and glitches, including a new skip that makes the beginning of the game much more interesting than it was in the past.
Donation Incentive Offers: Male or Female Shepard, Save Ashley or Kaidan, choice of characters brought to final fight (requires extra stuff, but is still safe in this estimate)
Sample run video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY3hXuQ8A_4[/noembed]

Game Name: The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
System: PC
Category: All Main Quests
Gameplay Estimate: 40:00 (may drop to 35)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons: One of the most highly regarded western RPGs of its time, Morrowind is nevertheless such a glitchy game that it can be beaten reliably in a few minutes, so this category completes every one of the main quests instead of rushing to the end.  A great deal of time is spent out of bounds, quests are completed in an order that in no way resembles their normal sequence, often via methods that are quite silly, and all of it is done at super speed thanks to a speed-stacking glitch.
Donation Incentive Offers: any% run (7:00)
Sample run video: I will be learning this run for the 12 hour challenge on this coming weekend, but already have plenty of experience with the game.  In the meantime, here is Firefly’s record: [noembed]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/153028705?t=[/noembed]

Game Name: Mass Effect
System: PC
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 1:00
Pros/Cons: Arguably a more interesting category than NG+, this was just shown at AGDQ.  The fights are slower and more dangerous, but the skips are the same.
Donation Incentive Offers: Male or Female Shepard, Save Ashley or Kaidan, (the bid war for which characters to bring to the final fight is not viable for this category)
Sample run video: [noembed]https://youtu.be/h74T-DvUlZU[/noembed]

Game Name: Final Fantasy XII: the Zodiac Age
System: PS4 or PC (assuming nothing goes horribly wrong with this week's PC release)
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Pros/Cons: See other submissions for this one.  I’m just offering it as a backup in case another runner has it accepted because I could learn the run in an afternoon and actually be good at it a couple days later.
Donation Incentive Offers: Sing the final credits song “Kiss Me Goodbye”

Bertin

2018-01-28 06:38:51 pm

Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones

Game Name: Tales of Destiny
System: PS1 (Played on a PS2)
Category: Any% (Glitchless)
Gameplay Estimate: 3:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:11:00 (11 minute ending)
Pros:
+ One of the shortest Tales of games to speedrun as well as a short run for an RPG.
+ Dialogue wraps extremely fast making most cutscenes seem near nonexistant.
+ Has interesting powerleveling strategies that involve abusing the in-game "Combo EXP" mechanic
+ A surprisingly fast paced game for an RPG

Cons:
- It's an early Tales of game so it has a really high encounter rate which can make the beginning feel a bit sluggish.
- Albeit the first Tales of game released in the USA not as popular as the later titles.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Stahn, Mary, Rutee, Chelsea, Leon, Philia, Garr, Karyl - 7 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/172697747?t=01m10s

Game Name: Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut
System: PS2
Category: Leon's Side
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:02:30 (2:30 for the ending cinematic)
Pros:
+ The shortest Tales of speedrun in the entire series (Not counting New Game+)
+ Dialogue wraps extremely fast making most cutscenes seem near nonexistant. (With all cinematic cutscenes being skippable)
+ Abuses in-game's "Combo EXP" mechanic by using juggling strategies which can be very interesting to see.
+ Holy Bottles while in effect can 100% prevent "random battles"
+ Has a much faster flowing battle system than previous Tales of titles.

Cons:
- It was only released in Japan.
- Very beginning's money source is random but I have a safety save in case I recieve too little.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Stahn, Mary, Rutee, Chelsea, Leon, Philia, Bruiser, Garr, Karyl - 6 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221529441

Game Name: Tales of Phantasia (PS1)
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Category: New Game (Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00 (Ending)
Pros:
+ The Tales of game that started it all remade with an enhanced battle system
+ Has unique strats and approaches in comparison to the SNES version.
+ Uses Holy Bottles at precise moments in order to reset the game's "stepcounter" to prevent all optional encounters.

Cons:
- Only released in Japan.
- No possible way to skip cutscenes.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Cress, Chester, Mint, Arche, Claus - 6 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/5275891 (Not my PB, but Twitch gives errors on my current PB which is here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/5695315)

Game Name: Tales of Eternia/Tales of Destiny II
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Category: New Game (Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00 (Ending)
Pros:
+ The most popular Tales of game of the "classic trio"
+ Uses the "Jump Spell Glitch" which allows you to rapidly fire spells ignoring cooldown time in between casts.
+ Uses Holy Bottles at precise moments in order to reset the game's "stepcounter" to prevent all optional encounters.

Cons:
- No possible way to skip cutscenes.

Donation Incentive Offers: N/A
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGr3fdZerA

Game Name: Tales of Destiny
System: PS1 (Played on a PS2)
Category: Any% (Glitchless)
Gameplay Estimate: 3:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:11:00 (11 minute ending)
Pros:
+ One of the shortest Tales of games to speedrun as well as a short run for an RPG.
+ Dialogue wraps extremely fast making most cutscenes seem near nonexistant.
+ Has interesting powerleveling strategies that involve abusing the in-game "Combo EXP" mechanic
+ A surprisingly fast paced game for an RPG

Cons:
- It's an early Tales of game so it has a really high encounter rate which can make the beginning feel a bit sluggish.
- Albeit the first Tales of game released in the USA not as popular as the later titles.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Stahn, Mary, Rutee, Chelsea, Leon, Philia, Garr, Karyl - 7 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/172697747?t=01m10s

Game Name: Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut
System: PS2
Category: Leon's Side
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:02:30 (2:30 for the ending cinematic)
Pros:
+ The shortest Tales of speedrun in the entire series (Not counting New Game+)
+ Dialogue wraps extremely fast making most cutscenes seem near nonexistant. (With all cinematic cutscenes being skippable)
+ Abuses in-game's "Combo EXP" mechanic by using juggling strategies which can be very interesting to see.
+ Holy Bottles while in effect can 100% prevent "random battles"
+ Has a much faster flowing battle system than previous Tales of titles.

Cons:
- It was only released in Japan.
- Very beginning's money source is random but I have a safety save in case I recieve too little.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Stahn, Mary, Rutee, Chelsea, Leon, Philia, Bruiser, Garr, Karyl - 6 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221529441

Game Name: Tales of Phantasia (PS1)
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Category: New Game (Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00 (Ending)
Pros:
+ The Tales of game that started it all remade with an enhanced battle system
+ Has unique strats and approaches in comparison to the SNES version.
+ Uses Holy Bottles at precise moments in order to reset the game's "stepcounter" to prevent all optional encounters.

Cons:
- Only released in Japan.
- No possible way to skip cutscenes.

Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (for Cress, Chester, Mint, Arche, Claus - 6 character limit for all)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/5275891 (Not my PB, but Twitch gives errors on my current PB which is here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/5695315)

Game Name: Tales of Eternia/Tales of Destiny II
System: PS1 (Played on PS2)
Category: New Game (Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:10:00 (Ending)
Pros:
+ The most popular Tales of game of the "classic trio"
+ Uses the "Jump Spell Glitch" which allows you to rapidly fire spells ignoring cooldown time in between casts.
+ Uses Holy Bottles at precise moments in order to reset the game's "stepcounter" to prevent all optional encounters.

Cons:
- No possible way to skip cutscenes.

Donation Incentive Offers: N/A
Sample run video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGr3fdZerA[/noembed]

theRPGchick

Edit history:

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 08:04:48 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 07:59:53 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 07:57:51 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 07:56:52 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 07:56:34 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-02-05 07:54:18 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-01-29 03:00:00 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-01-29 02:59:42 pm

theRPGchick: 2018-01-29 02:58:17 pm

2018-01-28 06:56:36 pm

Game Name: Lunar Legend
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15:00 for bonus 5:00 for ending
Availability: May 13-morning of May 15 (not sure of being able to stay longer)
Donation Incentives: Showing the hidden Bromide pictures, completing the bonus dungeon and boss
Video: https://tinyurl.com/yacpzvad
Lunar Legend is a GBA port of the PSX version, Lunar Silver Star Story with some variations in the story, and dungeons to make the game shorter. The battle mechanics are a little different than they are on the playstation version, including the addition of "limit breaks" for each character and having to run away as a group rather than individually. There are still beautiful cut scenes, even though they aren't animated, and the sprites have also gotten a lovely upgrade from the PSX version. The run includes the use of a duplication glitch that allows us to get as much money as we need, and major end game equipment early on.

Pros/Cons:
+This run is extremely safe, and even if you die during a battle, you can just restart it. (like in Mystic Quest)
+Game is very fast paced without the need to mash buttons
+There is very little grinding for levels or money thanks to the duplication glitch
+Lots of cut scenes and battles to read donations
-Double inputs sometimes mean having to redo little things or take an extra round in a fight
-There is some RNG early on in getting good experience fast for levels and in keeping alex's limit break gauge full
-The boss fights are repetitive and follow the same pattern for fighting each boss
-No lengthy anime cut scenes like the PSX version had
-Game is pretty linear

Game Name: Lunar Legend
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15:00 for bonus 5:00 for ending
Availability: May 13-morning of May 15 (not sure of being able to stay longer)
Donation Incentives: Showing the hidden Bromide pictures, completing the bonus dungeon and boss
Video: https://tinyurl.com/yacpzvad
Lunar Legend is a GBA port of the PSX version, Lunar Silver Star Story with some variations in the story, and dungeons to make the game shorter. The battle mechanics are a little different than they are on the playstation version, including the addition of "limit breaks" for each character and having to run away as a group rather than individually. There are still beautiful cut scenes, even though they aren't animated, and the sprites have also gotten a lovely upgrade from the PSX version. The run includes the use of a duplication glitch that allows us to get as much money as we need, and major end game equipment early on.

Pros/Cons:
+This run is extremely safe, and even if you die during a battle, you can just restart it. (like in Mystic Quest)
+Game is very fast paced without the need to mash buttons
+There is very little grinding for levels or money thanks to the duplication glitch
+Lots of cut scenes and battles to read donations
-Double inputs sometimes mean having to redo little things or take an extra round in a fight
-There is some RNG early on in getting good experience fast for levels and in keeping alex's limit break gauge full
-The boss fights are repetitive and follow the same pattern for fighting each boss
-No lengthy anime cut scenes like the PSX version had
-Game is pretty linear

Dragondarch

Edit history:

Dragondarch: 2018-01-28 07:28:43 pm

2018-01-28 07:26:43 pm

Pudding%

In order of preference.

Game Name: Final Fantasy
System: GBA (Played on GBP)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (8 mins), WarMECH (hopefully not more than 10 mins)

It's the original Final Fantasy, but modernized.
The major incentive I'll be adding is for the donators to decide what 3 out of 4 of my party members will be. There will always be a White Mage, since otherwise the run wouldn't be terribly safe without them, and the other 3 would be decided by donations. Top 3 classes would be chosen, that way there wouldn't be any duplicate classes.
The estimate is 15 minutes longer than Gyre's estimate from 2016 to account for slower parties.

Pros/Cons:
+Deaths cost very little time since saves are frequent and can be done anywhere.
+Combat is relatively quick paced.
+Every party member has something to contribute, regardless of what party is chosen.
+Minimal cutscenes.
+WarMECH, hopefully.
+/-The biggest time loss for slower parties is mostly in the beginning of the game, where some parties don't have access to some/any buffs.
-Most bosses use exactly the same strategy.
-Most parties won't have a large amount of group targeted spells, which means leveling options are limited
-Was done at RPGLB16.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the 4 heroes (6 character limit), choose the party (white mage + top 3), fight WarMECH (if I can find reasonable manipulation to get it to show up easily)
Sample Run Video:
PB (2:51:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv7h0NQWL2s
Slowest Party: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221883001

Game Name: Convoy
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5 mins)

Pros/Cons:
Convoy is a tactical roguelike, in a similar vein as FTL. Combat is a mix of TRPG and RTS, and is generally fairly fast paced. While the game is vary random in nature, runs generally do not have any issues finishing under the 45 minute estimate.
Some main objectives are better than others, so while setup is happening I'd be cycling through them to find a good set. 2 are much better than others since they give a decent chance at really good vehicles to join my team. The other 2 don't matter as much since anything is workable, just may be a bit slower.
Whether this qualifies as an RPG is debatable, but I feel it has enough RPG elements to warrant a submission.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the MCV and initial 2 support vehicles.
Sample Run Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNabkrZUkFw

Game Name: Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
System: NDS
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5-10 minutes, usually skipped so unsure of exact length)

TRPG of the Valkyrie Profile series. Utilizes the same "timed hits" system used in previous installments, but also requires positioning. Also features a Plume system which kills a character permanently, but makes them massively overpowered for one map, while also giving the main character a powerful special ability. Route revolves around abusing this feature to significantly speed up maps, and make later maps easier with the abilties gained. In addition, the sin mechanic grants good items for meeting or exceeding the requirements.

Pros/Cons:
+Only a few maps are on the long side. Most maps are relatively quick, especially when a plume is used.
+More emphasis on execution than standard TRPGs, since maximizing damage on a combo requires a specific order of attacks and timing them properly.
+Sin mechanic prevents some "Rush the Boss" strats, since not meeting the sin requirements adds 1 or 2 very powerful enemies to the next map.
+All cutscenes and Soul Crush animations are skippable.
+Not a lot of RNG, and only a few places where it can cost any significant amount of time.
+Battle party changes multiple times, adding a bit of variety to the strats used.
+2 possible routes, depending on what paths is chosen in chapter 2. Chapter 3 onward will be the same maps regardless of chapter 2 path, but strats will vary heavily due to having different characters.
-The longer maps tend to drag a bit.
-Maps where a plume is used are a bit less interesting since one character can completely clear a map on their own.
-Instant death route uses almost the exact same strat for the latter half of the maps.
-Few options for donation incentives.

Donation Incentive Offers: Chapter 2 Path (Instant Death vs. Non-Instant Death Route). Both routes still need routing done, but my initial estimates put them within a few minutes of each other. Likely no more than 10 minutes at most. Estimate accounts for both routes. Affects later maps due to having different abilities.
Sample Run Videos:
Instant Death Route:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZatEcyRKFU
Non-Instant Death Route (Heavily Improvised):
https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/75587357 (Part 1)
https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/75587618 (Part 2)

Game Name: Ys Origin
System: PC
Category: Any% Hugo
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5 mins)

Pros/Cons:
Ys Origin was run at RPGLB '16 using Toal as the character. While the game world itself is the same, Hugo plays much differently, being primarily a ranged character. Aside from his standard attack, his main source of damage are his bombs, which provide nice "fire and forget" damage.
While there is a bit of leveling in the run, EXP gained is higher when killing higher level enemies, so no grind takes that long, and most of the EXP is earned on the way.
Hugo may not have as many skips as Toal, but has a few of his own that are unique to him.
Probably the biggest downside of this game is the lack of any real donation incentives.

Donation Incentive Offers: None that I can think of, unfortunately.
Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/95054536

Game Name: Crystalis
System: NES
Category: Any% No Wild Warp
Gameplay Estimate: 1:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (2 mins)

Crystalis is a top-down action RPG with a heavy focus on experience acquisition, as almost the entire route revolves around not overgrinding in any one area.

Pros/Cons:
+Fast-paced, with almost no downtime. There's very few spots where there's nothing going on.
+A couple neat glitches, and all are easily explainable.
+Not a lot of RNG outside of a couple specific points.
+Amazing soundtrack.
-Requires grinding in order to progress. Enemies have a minimum level requirement to be damaged. The current route minimizes this as much as possible, but there's no way around the points where it happens.
-Most bosses are just stab-fests, and late game bosses die without getting to do very much.
-Poison is lethal in the early game. I carry safety antidotes to counter this, but even those are sometimes not enough.
-Mt. Sabre South can cost a few minutes from a death, since there's no checkpoints, and poison exists / spider hitboxes are a thing...
-I'll need a decent set of commentators to help with this one, as this game demands a large amount of focus.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the hero (6 character limit)
Sample Run Video:
PB Video (58:14): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/68487749
Marathon (1:00:36): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/187271279

In order of preference.

Game Name: Final Fantasy
System: GBA (Played on GBP)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (8 mins), WarMECH (hopefully not more than 10 mins)

It's the original Final Fantasy, but modernized.
The major incentive I'll be adding is for the donators to decide what 3 out of 4 of my party members will be. There will always be a White Mage, since otherwise the run wouldn't be terribly safe without them, and the other 3 would be decided by donations. Top 3 classes would be chosen, that way there wouldn't be any duplicate classes.
The estimate is 15 minutes longer than Gyre's estimate from 2016 to account for slower parties.

Pros/Cons:
+Deaths cost very little time since saves are frequent and can be done anywhere.
+Combat is relatively quick paced.
+Every party member has something to contribute, regardless of what party is chosen.
+Minimal cutscenes.
+WarMECH, hopefully.
+/-The biggest time loss for slower parties is mostly in the beginning of the game, where some parties don't have access to some/any buffs.
-Most bosses use exactly the same strategy.
-Most parties won't have a large amount of group targeted spells, which means leveling options are limited
-Was done at RPGLB16.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the 4 heroes (6 character limit), choose the party (white mage + top 3), fight WarMECH (if I can find reasonable manipulation to get it to show up easily)
Sample Run Video:
     PB (2:51:00): [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv7h0NQWL2s[/noembed]
     Slowest Party: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221883001

Game Name: Convoy
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5 mins)

Pros/Cons:
Convoy is a tactical roguelike, in a similar vein as FTL. Combat is a mix of TRPG and RTS, and is generally fairly fast paced. While the game is vary random in nature, runs generally do not have any issues finishing under the 45 minute estimate.
Some main objectives are better than others, so while setup is happening I'd be cycling through them to find a good set. 2 are much better than others since they give a decent chance at really good vehicles to join my team. The other 2 don't matter as much since anything is workable, just may be a bit slower.
Whether this qualifies as an RPG is debatable, but I feel it has enough RPG elements to warrant a submission.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the MCV and initial 2 support vehicles.
Sample Run Video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNabkrZUkFw[/noembed]

Game Name: Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
System: NDS
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5-10 minutes, usually skipped so unsure of exact length)

TRPG of the Valkyrie Profile series. Utilizes the same "timed hits" system used in previous installments, but also requires positioning. Also features a Plume system which kills a character permanently, but makes them massively overpowered for one map, while also giving the main character a powerful special ability. Route revolves around abusing this feature to significantly speed up maps, and make later maps easier with the abilties gained. In addition, the sin mechanic grants good items for meeting or exceeding the requirements.

Pros/Cons:
+Only a few maps are on the long side. Most maps are relatively quick, especially when a plume is used.
+More emphasis on execution than standard TRPGs, since maximizing damage on a combo requires a specific order of attacks and timing them properly.
+Sin mechanic prevents some "Rush the Boss" strats, since not meeting the sin requirements adds 1 or 2 very powerful enemies to the next map.
+All cutscenes and Soul Crush animations are skippable.
+Not a lot of RNG, and only a few places where it can cost any significant amount of time.
+Battle party changes multiple times, adding a bit of variety to the strats used.
+2 possible routes, depending on what paths is chosen in chapter 2. Chapter 3 onward will be the same maps regardless of chapter 2 path, but strats will vary heavily due to having different characters.
-The longer maps tend to drag a bit.
-Maps where a plume is used are a bit less interesting since one character can completely clear a map on their own.
-Instant death route uses almost the exact same strat for the latter half of the maps.
-Few options for donation incentives.

Donation Incentive Offers: Chapter 2 Path (Instant Death vs. Non-Instant Death Route). Both routes still need routing done, but my initial estimates put them within a few minutes of each other. Likely no more than 10 minutes at most. Estimate accounts for both routes. Affects later maps due to having different abilities.
Sample Run Videos:
     Instant Death Route: 
          [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZatEcyRKFU[/noembed]
     Non-Instant Death Route (Heavily Improvised): 
          https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/75587357 (Part 1)
          https://www.twitch.tv/elmagus/v/75587618 (Part 2)

Game Name: Ys Origin
System: PC
Category: Any% Hugo
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5 mins)

Pros/Cons:
Ys Origin was run at RPGLB '16 using Toal as the character. While the game world itself is the same, Hugo plays much differently, being primarily a ranged character. Aside from his standard attack, his main source of damage are his bombs, which provide nice "fire and forget" damage.
While there is a bit of leveling in the run, EXP gained is higher when killing higher level enemies, so no grind takes that long, and most of the EXP is earned on the way.
Hugo may not have as many skips as Toal, but has a few of his own that are unique to him.
Probably the biggest downside of this game is the lack of any real donation incentives.

Donation Incentive Offers: None that I can think of, unfortunately.
Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/95054536

Game Name: Crystalis
System: NES
Category: Any% No Wild Warp
Gameplay Estimate: 1:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (2 mins)

Crystalis is a top-down action RPG with a heavy focus on experience acquisition, as almost the entire route revolves around not overgrinding in any one area.

Pros/Cons:
+Fast-paced, with almost no downtime. There's very few spots where there's nothing going on.
+A couple neat glitches, and all are easily explainable.
+Not a lot of RNG outside of a couple specific points.
+Amazing soundtrack.
-Requires grinding in order to progress. Enemies have a minimum level requirement to be damaged. The current route minimizes this as much as possible, but there's no way around the points where it happens.
-Most bosses are just stab-fests, and late game bosses die without getting to do very much.
-Poison is lethal in the early game. I carry safety antidotes to counter this, but even those are sometimes not enough.
-Mt. Sabre South can cost a few minutes from a death, since there's no checkpoints, and poison exists / spider hitboxes are a thing...
-I'll need a decent set of commentators to help with this one, as this game demands a large amount of focus.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the hero (6 character limit)
Sample Run Video:
     PB Video (58:14): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/68487749
     Marathon (1:00:36): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/187271279

TehRizzle

Edit history:

TehRizzle: 2018-01-28 07:51:04 pm

2018-01-28 07:28:53 pm

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: All Worlds
Gameplay Estimate 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate 0:20:00

- Pros: It's Kingdom Hearts 2, lots of flashy action and varied strategy so you know its gonna be good. Plus, we get to see all the extra worlds we'd normally skip such as Atlantica and 100 Acre Wood!
- Cons: More gummi missions add to the already considerable down time between worlds, and we have to see extra worlds we'd normally skip such as Atlantica and 100 Acre Wood.

Donation Incentive Offers: Fight the 5 Absent Silhouettes and Sephiroth During the Run, Singing Disney Songs during gummis, Singing Along with Atlantica
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223480375 (Note: This sample run includes the Absent Silhouette and Sephiroth incentive, also I played on Beginner mode, but I'm totally fine with bumping up the difficulty for added excitement if need be)

Game Name: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
System: Original is GBA, I play on GB Player on Gamecube
Category: Famfrit (ideally a race)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A

- Pros: Difficult run with no grinding; have to react to a cavalcade of RNG, resulting in an interesting look behind the thought processes of an RPG runner; race would show just how volatile the run can be and how both runners have to think quickly on the fly in order to minimize timeloss; fan-favorite childhood game with great pixel art
- Cons: Possibility of large disparity between runners simply due to atrocious luck (though not super likely); long opening cutscene+tutorial (~10 minutes)

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Could name main character and clan (~8 second time cost)
Sample run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR6s9QHs9HY

Game Name: Custom Robo
System: Gamecube
Category: Any% New Journey (or potential race or relay race with others of the Custom Robo community that would be there.)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00

Pros:
+ All the battles in the game have a level of randomness making the runner have to react to pretty much every battle on the fly and act to everything potentially going right or very wrong very quickly.
+ Dying in a battle doesn't lose to much time unless its the end boss.
+ Pretty Short run compared to other games.
+ There is a great run since it showcases off a lot of enemy variety and on how the runner has to deal with it.

Cons:
- The Run itself can get repetitive after day 4 when we have our optimal set up for the rest of the game.
- It was never released in Europe, so might not appeal to that crowd well.
- Can be cluttered on screen on the 2v2 fights (commentary can help deal with this though)

Possible Donation Incentives: Name the Hero (8 character limit), Bad Ending Showcase (+1 minute) Showcasing the NG+ Rahu III Battle (+2 minutes), 1v1 or 2v2 runner multiplayer battles among the other Custom Robo runners

Sample run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/105897956 (Note: I unfortunately do not have a properly commentated run due to time constraints, so apologies for anything I may have said in that video)

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix HD 
System: PS4
Category: All Worlds
Gameplay Estimate 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate 0:20:00

- Pros: It's Kingdom Hearts 2, lots of flashy action and varied strategy so you know its gonna be good. Plus, we get to see all the extra worlds we'd normally skip such as Atlantica and 100 Acre Wood!
 - Cons: More gummi missions add to the already considerable down time between worlds, and we have to see extra worlds we'd normally skip such as Atlantica and 100 Acre Wood.

Donation Incentive Offers: Fight the 5 Absent Silhouettes and Sephiroth During the Run, Singing Disney Songs during gummis, Singing Along with Atlantica
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223480375 (Note: This sample run includes the Absent Silhouette and Sephiroth incentive, also I played on Beginner mode, but I'm totally fine with bumping up the difficulty for added excitement if need be)

Game Name: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
System: Original is GBA, I play on GB Player on Gamecube
Category: Famfrit (ideally a race)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A

- Pros: Difficult run with no grinding; have to react to a cavalcade of RNG, resulting in an interesting look behind the thought processes of an RPG runner; race would show just how volatile the run can be and how both runners have to think quickly on the fly in order to minimize timeloss; fan-favorite childhood game with great pixel art
 - Cons: Possibility of large disparity between runners simply due to atrocious luck (though not super likely); long opening cutscene+tutorial (~10 minutes)

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Could name main character and clan (~8 second time cost)
Sample run: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR6s9QHs9HY[/noembed]

Game Name: Custom Robo
System: Gamecube
Category: Any% New Journey (or potential race or relay race with others of the Custom Robo community that would be there.)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00

Pros:
+ All the battles in the game have a level of randomness making the runner have to react to pretty much every battle on the fly and act to everything potentially going right or very wrong very quickly.
+ Dying in a battle doesn't lose to much time unless its the end boss.
+ Pretty Short run compared to other games.
+ There is a great run since it showcases off a lot of enemy variety and on how the runner has to deal with it.

Cons: 
- The Run itself can get repetitive after day 4 when we have our optimal set up for the rest of the game.
- It was never released in Europe, so might not appeal to that crowd well.
- Can be cluttered on screen on the 2v2 fights (commentary can help deal with this though)

Possible Donation Incentives: Name the Hero (8 character limit), Bad Ending Showcase (+1 minute) Showcasing the NG+ Rahu III Battle (+2 minutes), 1v1 or 2v2 runner multiplayer battles among the other Custom Robo runners

Sample run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/105897956 (Note: I unfortunately do not have a properly commentated run due to time constraints, so apologies for anything I may have said in that video)

takaze

2018-01-28 07:33:18 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Glitchless Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:45 w/ incentives
EndingEstimate: 0:25
Donation Incentives:
Name: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Setzer, Strago, Relm, Mog, and Gogo
Suplex Train
Opera Singing
GoodTaste/Demon Choco (if it isn't getting old)
Save/Kill Cid
WoR Routes: Something I wanted to think about as an incentive but it would require extra work. There are different routes to take in WoR. We usually see Celes as being the main powerhouse, but there's also routes which use Edgar for damage, Locke+ValientKnife, or using more rods. I haven't routed any of these out but if it sounds interesting I'd be willing to put in the effort. (Not sure how much it really affects the estimate, but they're all kinda close to each other)

Pros: Puwexil touched on good selling points of this category.
Cons: See above.

I also agree with puwexil, that if FFVI does get in, probably should go to another category/runner. But wanted to put this in regardless.

Vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223489630 <- I'm still salty about this run.

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Glitchless Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:45 w/ incentives
EndingEstimate: 0:25
Donation Incentives: 
Name: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Setzer, Strago, Relm, Mog, and Gogo
Suplex Train
Opera Singing
GoodTaste/Demon Choco (if it isn't getting old)
Save/Kill Cid
WoR Routes: Something I wanted to think about as an incentive but it would require extra work. There are different routes to take in WoR. We usually see Celes as being the main powerhouse, but there's also routes which use Edgar for damage, Locke+ValientKnife, or using more rods. I haven't routed any of these out but if it sounds interesting I'd be willing to put in the effort. (Not sure how much it really affects the estimate, but they're all kinda close to each other)

Pros: Puwexil touched on good selling points of this category. 
Cons: See above.

I also agree with puwexil, that if FFVI does get in, probably should go to another category/runner. But wanted to put this in regardless.

Vod: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223489630 <- I'm still salty about this run.

TheCowness

2018-01-28 07:33:59 pm

Nice avatar on the main thread, by the way.

Game Name: Dragon Warrior IV (NES)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 8:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate:
- 5-10 min for ending + credits (Five for ending, five more for credits, but the ending theme is worth it)
- 20 minutes to do a glitch exhibition including Famicom-exclusive glitches (Donation incentive, see below)

Pros:
- This game is very popular among fans of the Dragon Quest series and of NES games in general. Many people even consider it their favorite game on the NES. DW4 was a very late NES release, and you can tell it from the quality of the graphics, music, and story, relative to earlier NES titles. It's one of the very few NES games to have crescendos in its music!
- This run has some minor glitches we use, but there are no sequence breaks, so we'll be getting the full story.
- This run has a good, steady pace, in regards to how fast we're progressing through the story. It doesn't require too much grinding, and it's spread out over the run. Most of the grind segments will only last a few minutes, and then we continue moving.
- The worst RNG segment (chapter 2 metal grind) has a slower-on-average-but-more-consistent backup that I can do if I get there and I'm already a little behind.
Cons:
- The run length can be a little unstable because of a couple of "RNG walls" that can each eat a good chunk of time, but my estimate accounts for pretty bad luck.
- Parts of the run, specifically the later dungeons, amount to "Run from every random encounter and heal between fights" due to how much experience you get from metal slimes/metal babbles, so there isn't as much encounter handling as some other games in the series.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Each of these incentives add a negligible amount of time to the run, unless noted.

Rename the Hero:
- Name the Hero/Heroine, Eight characters
- Select Hero's Gender, M/F

Rename Everyone Else:
Normally you can only rename the hero, but I'm willing to put a hacked rom on my flashcart that has all of the other characters in the run renamed instead of running on an actual cart. We would obviously have to cut off these incentives before the run starts.
- Name Ragnar, Eight characters
- Name Healie, Eight characters
- Name Alena, Eight characters
- Name Cristo, Eight characters
- Name Brey, Eight characters
- Name Taloon, Eight characters
- Name Nara, Eight characters
- Name Mara, Eight characters
- Name Orin, Eight characters
- Name Hector, Eight characters
- Name Panon, Eight characters
- Name Lucia, Eight characters

Steal vs Return the Dog Bid War:
- In chapter three, we can borrow Tom's son's dog after we help him break out of prison... but there's no reason why we have to return the dog to him in the speedrun. Should we be nice people and return the dog? Or does Tom's son owe us for helping him break out, and this dog is ours now? He's a good dog!!

Famicom Glitch Exhibiton: (20 minutes tops)
- Inside Gardenbur at Night
- Treasure Map/Castle Door glitch (spawn doors all over Endor to get the Multiedge Sword early)
- Casino coin overflow
- Early Balloon/Invisible Balloon glitch
- Run glitch (in boss fights, makes all attacks into excellent moves)

Sample run video:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223201991 Pt1
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223201570 Pt2
Please ignore the salt at the end of chapter two; going forward I'm going to consider the more consistent backup grind if my run starts off badly enough that a metal grind that bad isn't okay.

Nice avatar on the main thread, by the way.

Game Name: Dragon Warrior IV (NES)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 8:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate:
    - 5-10 min for ending + credits (Five for ending, five more for credits, but the ending theme is worth it)
    - 20 minutes to do a glitch exhibition including Famicom-exclusive glitches (Donation incentive, see below)

Pros:
    - This game is very popular among fans of the Dragon Quest series and of NES games in general.  Many people even consider it their favorite game on the NES.  DW4 was a very late NES release, and you can tell it from the quality of the graphics, music, and story, relative to earlier NES titles.  It's one of the very few NES games to have crescendos in its music!
    - This run has some minor glitches we use, but there are no sequence breaks, so we'll be getting the full story.
    - This run has a good, steady pace, in regards to how fast we're progressing through the story.  It doesn't require too much grinding, and it's spread out over the run.  Most of the grind segments will only last a few minutes, and then we continue moving.
    - The worst RNG segment (chapter 2 metal grind) has a slower-on-average-but-more-consistent backup that I can do if I get there and I'm already a little behind.
Cons:
    - The run length can be a little unstable because of a couple of "RNG walls" that can each eat a good chunk of time, but my estimate accounts for pretty bad luck.
    - Parts of the run, specifically the later dungeons, amount to "Run from every random encounter and heal between fights" due to how much experience you get from metal slimes/metal babbles, so there isn't as much encounter handling as some other games in the series.

Donation Incentive Offers:
      Each of these incentives add a negligible amount of time to the run, unless noted.

Rename the Hero:
          - Name the Hero/Heroine, Eight characters
          - Select Hero's Gender, M/F

Rename Everyone Else:
             Normally you can only rename the hero, but I'm willing to put a hacked rom on my flashcart that has all of the other characters in the run renamed instead of running on an actual cart.  We would obviously have to cut off these incentives before the run starts.
          - Name Ragnar, Eight characters
          - Name Healie, Eight characters
          - Name Alena, Eight characters
          - Name Cristo, Eight characters
          - Name Brey, Eight characters
          - Name Taloon, Eight characters
          - Name Nara, Eight characters
          - Name Mara, Eight characters
          - Name Orin, Eight characters
          - Name Hector, Eight characters
          - Name Panon, Eight characters
          - Name Lucia, Eight characters

Steal vs Return the Dog Bid War:
          - In chapter three, we can borrow Tom's son's dog after we help him break out of prison... but there's no reason why we have to return the dog to him in the speedrun.  Should we be nice people and return the dog?  Or does Tom's son owe us for helping him break out, and this dog is ours now?  He's a good dog!!
      
      Famicom Glitch Exhibiton: (20 minutes tops)
          - Inside Gardenbur at Night
          - Treasure Map/Castle Door glitch (spawn doors all over Endor to get the Multiedge Sword early)
          - Casino coin overflow
          - Early Balloon/Invisible Balloon glitch
          - Run glitch (in boss fights, makes all attacks into excellent moves)

Sample run video:
      https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223201991 Pt1
      https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223201570 Pt2
      Please ignore the salt at the end of chapter two; going forward I'm going to consider the more consistent backup grind if my run starts off badly enough that a metal grind that bad isn't okay.

JHobz

Edit history:

JHobz: 2018-01-28 08:15:57 pm

2018-01-28 07:40:26 pm

Professional Race Slut

Game Name: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
System: Original is GBA, I play on Wii-U VC
Category: Famfrit (ideally a race)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
- Pros: Difficult run with no grinding; have to react to a cavalcade of RNG, resulting in an interesting look behind the thought processes of an RPG runner; race would show just how volatile the run can be and how both runners have to think quickly on the fly in order to minimize timeloss; fan-favorite childhood game with great pixel art
- Cons: Possibility of large disparity between runners simply due to atrocious luck (though not super likely); long opening cutscene+tutorial (~10 minutes)
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Could name main character and clan (~8 second time cost)
Sample run video: https://youtu.be/i4weYWDKOhI
- Note that this run is over the estimated time because it is a bit old and I was very rusty at the time of recording. I kept it because we were able to record a commentated race, which I think best shows off the category. If accepted, enough practice would be put in to make 1:20 an easy estimate to beat consistently.

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
System: Original is PS2, I play on PS4
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
- Pros: Very fast boss strategies; unique gameplay style (real-time card-based 3D Action RPG); room layouts are based on random cards, which leads to on-the-fly decision-making, routing, and adaptations; RNG manipulation has been introduced since I recorded the video which makes the attack decks consistent, resulting in reduced grind time
- Cons: Long grind section at the beginning of the run (although much shorter than in video); the same strategy is used for many of the bosses; map cards are completely random, so a fair amount of timeloss can come directly from RNG
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/134053752
- Note that this run does not contain the RNG manipulation that would shorten the grind section (due to time constraints, I am using my PB video). If accepted, I plan to learn and implement it into my run. If this were to reduce the estimate, I'd let you know ASAP. Also, as this run is a PB video and not a commentated run, I apologize for any foul language.

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts
System: PS2
Category: Any% (Expert)
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00, 10:00
Pros/Cons:
- Pros: Kingdom Hearts exactly as people remember it; cutscenes add to the nostalgia factor of FF + Disney; strategies are varied from the final mix versions, lending to a run most haven't seen before; Expert mode adds a LOT of difficulty and suspense
- Cons: Unskippable cutscenes; some fights straight up just suck; high risk of dying, which can lead to repeating cutscenes (though with practice this would not be a large issue); the length
Donation Incentive Offers: Sephiroth, Kurt Zisa
Sample run video: Apparently my PB video expired; sorry about that

[b][u]Game Name[/u]: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance[/b]
System: Original is GBA, I play on Wii-U VC
Category: Famfrit (ideally a race)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
 - Pros: Difficult run with no grinding; have to react to a cavalcade of RNG, resulting in an interesting look behind the thought processes of an RPG runner; race would show just how volatile the run can be and how both runners have to think quickly on the fly in order to minimize timeloss; fan-favorite childhood game with great pixel art
 - Cons: Possibility of large disparity between runners simply due to atrocious luck (though not super likely); long opening cutscene+tutorial (~10 minutes)
Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Could name main character and clan (~8 second time cost)
Sample run video: [noembed]https://youtu.be/i4weYWDKOhI[/noembed]
 - Note that this run is over the estimated time because it is a bit old and I was very rusty at the time of recording. I kept it because we were able to record a commentated race, which I think best shows off the category. If accepted, enough practice would be put in to make 1:20 an easy estimate to beat consistently.

[b][u]Game Name[/u]: Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories[/b]
System: Original is PS2, I play on PS4
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
 - Pros: Very fast boss strategies; unique gameplay style (real-time card-based 3D Action RPG); room layouts are based on random cards, which leads to on-the-fly decision-making, routing, and adaptations; RNG manipulation has been introduced since I recorded the video which makes the attack decks consistent, resulting in reduced grind time
 - Cons: Long grind section at the beginning of the run (although much shorter than in video); the same strategy is used for many of the bosses; map cards are completely random, so a fair amount of timeloss can come directly from RNG
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/134053752
 - Note that this run does not contain the RNG manipulation that would shorten the grind section (due to time constraints, I am using my PB video). If accepted, I plan to learn and implement it into my run. If this were to reduce the estimate, I'd let you know ASAP. Also, as this run is a PB video and not a commentated run, I apologize for any foul language.

[b][u]Game Name[/u]: Kingdom Hearts[/b]
System: PS2
Category: Any% (Expert)
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00, 10:00
Pros/Cons:
 - Pros: Kingdom Hearts exactly as people remember it; cutscenes add to the nostalgia factor of FF + Disney; strategies are varied from the final mix versions, lending to a run most haven't seen before; Expert mode adds a LOT of difficulty and suspense
 - Cons: Unskippable cutscenes; some fights straight up just suck; high risk of dying, which can lead to repeating cutscenes (though with practice this would not be a large issue); the length
Donation Incentive Offers: Sephiroth, Kurt Zisa
Sample run video: Apparently my PB video expired; sorry about that

gyre

2018-01-28 07:49:49 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy
System: PSX
Category: Any% Easy or Any% Normal
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00 (Easy) or 4:00:00 (Normal)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00 (Ending)
One of the most faithful remakes of the original Final Fantasy.
Pros:
+ Retains the classic elements of Final Fantasy (spell slots, limited access to recovery) while fixing the bugs in the original version
+ Has memo save to prevent major time loss in any area
+ There are a lot of AGAMAs
Cons:
- I've run 3 other versions of Final Fantasy at RGPLB in the past
- There are a lot of AGAMAs
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (4 party members - 6 character limit for all), I'd consider making the 4th character class a bid war if more incentives desired
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160013499 (Easy) or https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159430608 (Normal)

Game Name: Virtual Hydlide
System: Sega Saturn
Category: 100%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00 (Ending)
A remake of the NES classic Hydlide, but worse. Much worse.
Pros:
+ Despite being in Japanese, does not impact experience as there is no dialog or anyone to talk to
+ Makes remaining games in the marathon look better in comparison
+ Mercifully short
+ A warning to others
Cons:
- Low framerate can cause motion sickness
- Gameplay can cause general sickness
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video: http://www.twitch.tv/gyre_/v/31696266

[u]Game Name: Final Fantasy[/u]
System: PSX
Category: Any% Easy or Any% Normal
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00 (Easy) or 4:00:00 (Normal)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00 (Ending)
One of the most faithful remakes of the original Final Fantasy.
Pros:
+ Retains the classic elements of Final Fantasy (spell slots, limited access to recovery) while fixing the bugs in the original version
+ Has memo save to prevent major time loss in any area
+ There are a lot of AGAMAs
Cons:
- I've run 3 other versions of Final Fantasy at RGPLB in the past
- There are a lot of AGAMAs
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (4 party members - 6 character limit for all), I'd consider making the 4th character class a bid war if more incentives desired
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160013499 (Easy) or https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159430608 (Normal)

[u]Game Name: Virtual Hydlide[/u]
System: Sega Saturn
Category: 100%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00 (Ending)
A remake of the NES classic Hydlide, but worse. Much worse.
Pros:
+ Despite being in Japanese, does not impact experience as there is no dialog or anyone to talk to
+ Makes remaining games in the marathon look better in comparison
+ Mercifully short
+ A warning to others
Cons:
- Low framerate can cause motion sickness
- Gameplay can cause general sickness
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video: http://www.twitch.tv/gyre_/v/31696266

Caracarn

2018-01-28 08:02:04 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy X
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with Flobberworm4 (Gonzo_seal also submitted this game)
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 Flobberworm4 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/206794766 - This is on JP version, but it is the only version I have done the new strats on so far.

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

Category: Any% Race with Flobberworm4 (TranceQuina also submitted this game)
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 Flobberworm4 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 videos: PS2 PB/WR https://www.twitch.tv/videos/34669673 PC PB/WR https://www.twitch.tv/videos/135919717

Game Name: Final Fantasy X
System: PS2 or PC

Category: Any% Race with Flobberworm4 (Gonzo_seal also submitted this game)
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 Flobberworm4 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/206794766 - This is on JP version, but it is the only version I have done the new strats on so far.

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

Category: Any% Race with Flobberworm4 (TranceQuina also submitted this game)
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 Flobberworm4 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 videos: PS2 PB/WR https://www.twitch.tv/videos/34669673  PC PB/WR https://www.twitch.tv/videos/135919717

cha0sSDA

2018-01-28 08:05:03 pm

Game Name: Wild Arms
System: PS1 running on PS3 (PSN Version)
Category: Any% Cursed Hollow (AKA Any% No ACE PS3)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15 minute ending (too long)
Pros:
- Run uses several glitches that are simple enough that a first-time viewer can understand, including a ps3 exclusive glitch that is visually appealing.
- Run has very little rng other than running away during prologues. Jack and Cecilia are together for the end-game, so boomerang and zeik tuvai are no longer a threat.
- No Randomizer
- Specific route has never been featured, and diverges fairly significantly from No ACE post belselk-skip.
- Last time Wild Arms was featured was a very different version of the game (Trial Version), so viewers only familiar with that will have a new experience.
Cons:
- It's Wild Arms, so the first 30 minutes are the same and glitch-free.
- Use of goat dolls may make the end-game less suspenseful.
- Relatively-obscure series.
Donation Incentives:
- Name Rudy, Jack, Cecilia (8 Character Limit)
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223490186

Game Name: Saga Frontier
System: PS1 running on PS2

(Categories ordered by preference)

Category: Emelia's Scenario (Potential Race with Bich and HD)
Gameplay Estimate: 50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (which is only a couple minutes long).
Pros:
- One of the most skill-based scenarios, the majority of the scenario is menuing, enemy dodges, and battles with consistent strategies.
- Fast-paced, with only a few prolonged cutscenes.
- Best category for a race, due to the final boss being the main deciding factor for who wins.
Cons:
- Final boss isn't as bad as Orlouge, but is still a big source of RNG. While this'd makes the run/race exciting, hard to make this submission without listing it as a con.
- Only one potential donation incentive without making some sort of scenario bid-war
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Emelia's Name (8 Character Limit)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/57494268
Note: For this run I'd be willing to commentate or be a back-up if a 2-way race is preferred.

Category: Lute's Scenario (Potential Race with HD)
Gameplay Estimate: 50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (which is only a couple minutes long).
Pros:
- Scenario has an interesting gimmick of letting you fight the final boss from the start.
- Half the run is the final boss, which has several mechanics and phases to keep things interesting. The other half is acquiring what we need to finish.
- Only rng is in the first three turns of the boss, so don't need to worry about being twenty minutes in and dying.
Cons:
- As a race it is weaker than Emelia, since the winner would be mostly determined after the first three turns of the final boss.
- Also only one potential donation incentive
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Lute's Name (8 Character Limit)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/58106979

Category: Blue's Scenario
Gameplay Estimate: 35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (ideally the ending is skipped entirely).
Pros:
- The fastest scenario, even with the consistent route.
- Consistent route has nearly no RNG outside of Junk Shop.
Cons:
- Cannot rename Blue for story reasons, so cannot offer as an incentive.
Donation Incentive Offers:
- No incentives, but could be used as a bonus run for one of the above scenarios.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/63796950

Game Name: Wild Arms
System: PS1 running on PS3 (PSN Version)
Category: Any% Cursed Hollow (AKA Any% No ACE PS3)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15 minute ending (too long)
Pros:
	- Run uses several glitches that are simple enough that a first-time viewer can understand, including a ps3 exclusive glitch that is visually appealing.
	- Run has very little rng other than running away during prologues. Jack and Cecilia are together for the end-game, so boomerang and zeik tuvai are no longer a threat.
	- No Randomizer
	- Specific route has never been featured, and diverges fairly significantly from No ACE post belselk-skip.
	- Last time Wild Arms was featured was a very different version of the game (Trial Version), so viewers only familiar with that will have a new experience.
Cons:
	- It's Wild Arms, so the first 30 minutes are the same and glitch-free.
	- Use of goat dolls may make the end-game less suspenseful.
	- Relatively-obscure series.
Donation Incentives:
	- Name Rudy, Jack, Cecilia (8 Character Limit)
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223490186

Game Name: Saga Frontier
System: PS1 running on PS2

(Categories ordered by preference)

Category: Emelia's Scenario (Potential Race with Bich and HD)
Gameplay Estimate: 50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (which is only a couple minutes long).
Pros:
	- One of the most skill-based scenarios, the majority of the scenario is menuing, enemy dodges, and battles with consistent strategies.
	- Fast-paced, with only a few prolonged cutscenes.
	- Best category for a race, due to the final boss being the main deciding factor for who wins.
Cons:
	- Final boss isn't as bad as Orlouge, but is still a big source of RNG. While this'd makes the run/race exciting, hard to make this submission without listing it as a con.
	- Only one potential donation incentive without making some sort of scenario bid-war
Donation Incentive Offers:
	- Emelia's Name (8 Character Limit)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/57494268
Note: For this run I'd be willing to commentate or be a back-up if a 2-way race is preferred.

Category: Lute's Scenario (Potential Race with HD)
Gameplay Estimate: 50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (which is only a couple minutes long).
Pros:
	- Scenario has an interesting gimmick of letting you fight the final boss from the start.
	- Half the run is the final boss, which has several mechanics and phases to keep things interesting. The other half is acquiring what we need to finish.
	- Only rng is in the first three turns of the boss, so don't need to worry about being twenty minutes in and dying.
Cons:
	- As a race it is weaker than Emelia, since the winner would be mostly determined after the first three turns of the final boss.
	- Also only one potential donation incentive
Donation Incentive Offers:
	- Lute's Name (8 Character Limit)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/58106979

Category: Blue's Scenario
Gameplay Estimate: 35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Time ends after ending (ideally the ending is skipped entirely).
Pros:
	- The fastest scenario, even with the consistent route.
	- Consistent route has nearly no RNG outside of Junk Shop.
Cons:
	- Cannot rename Blue for story reasons, so cannot offer as an incentive.
Donation Incentive Offers:
	- No incentives, but could be used as a bonus run for one of the above scenarios.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/63796950

Mageius

Edit history:

Mageius: 2018-02-10 09:19:05 pm

Mageius: 2018-02-10 08:48:26 pm

Mageius: 2018-02-07 01:24:12 pm

Mageius: 2018-02-07 12:40:49 pm

Mageius: 2018-02-07 09:18:27 am

Mageius: 2018-02-07 09:13:41 am

Mageius: 2018-02-07 08:57:45 am

Mageius: 2018-02-07 08:31:54 am

Mageius: 2018-02-07 08:13:17 am

Mageius: 2018-02-06 09:48:14 am

2018-01-28 08:26:24 pm

Game Name: WWE Day of Reckoning
System: Game Cube
Category: Story mode (Raw)/Story Mode (Smackdown)
Estimate: 4:15 (This is based on the type of RNG gotten on the more heavy RNG matches and does allow some extra time just in case).
Ending: 7-10 mins (I'm willing to allow for the ending to skipped if needed due to time).
Bonus incentive (entrences) estimate 15 mins avg. 2-3 mins per entrence shown. (this is based on showing 5 of entrences)
Total estimate of run if entrence incentive is met: 4:30
Notes: With the discovery of new strats a lot has changed. It's possible to gain more exp. faster as well as minimize more of the RNG. The drawback however comes at the cost on not taking any points in durability until the middle of the run making bit more of a glass cannon if the RNG doesn't go our way.
Pros:
+It is a very interesting and fun Action RPG
+All text is able to be skipped
+There's lot of action
+Unlike most RPG's this game strikes a balance between being an action game and an RPG. With an interesting (though we skip all of it story)
+The game has a lot of chances for good commentary
+Despite how it may seam the game is very creative on its uses of the RPG elements in it.
+It's a WWE game so there are lots of fans of wrestling in the world so we could pull in some of the views from that.
+Due to its nature there are a lot of places where donations can be read. As well as lots of incentives that can be done.
+I'm willing to try my best to make sure this run can be a great (If I am chosen I play to actually start working on it even more)
+I can change how hard the game is so I could do it on easy mode if needed

Cons:
-Its very execution based like other games like other action RPGs
-At present its a little RNG heavy (I'm working on cutting that down but as of now there are exactly 2 matches that are RNG hell)
-Its a bit more realistic then most RPGs (its based in reality as its based off a sport so its just how it is)
-Its still a work in progress so the time is still a little in flux (sorry I did the best I could within the week I had to work on it so far)
-I'm at present the only person running the game but getting commentary shouldn't be that hard
-The 2nd to last match is a mixed tag match (if you know what I mean there)

Donation Incentive Offers:

Incentive involving character creation:
-Naming character (name, nickname, short name) max 20 letters or characters for each. Most of these could be done as the top 3 names would get the spots.

-Appearance Bid war between what the character will look like for some examples of fan created builds please see the following links for ideas:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/920076-wwe-day-of-reckoning/faqs/32353
https://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/920076-wwe-day-of-reckoning/faqs/32981

I was thinking we could pick a few of the builds say 4-6 and allow for the bidding of which will be used as far as appearance goes. Please let me know on this 1 if you would like more clarification and explantation of it. (All the choices shall be created a couple days before hand as to save time as I can just load whichever wins before the start of the run and make the final edits just before the start of run when I will enter in the winners of the other creation incentives) this doesn't affect gameplay or the run at all..

-special moves (aka finishing moves) I have a total of 8 move slot's available so could offer up maybe 5 of them as incentives. Again we would need to figure out what the best # of slots to be offered and how best to determine how to allow for the donations for certain moves (I know this 1 will need to be discussed more and I'm willing to work with the staff here to figure out the best way to incorporate this 1). Sone examples of moves in regards to this incentive include: Stone Cold Stunner, Rock Bottom and The Tombstone Pile-driver.

Non character creation incentives:
-Chose the route Raw or SmackDown (Bid war) I would probably would want to know which route about 1 chapter before the choice

-Watch entrences for popular and fan favorite Superstars (probably could only do a handful of them and only once per superstar) there are different opponents on each route so only the 1s on the route chosen would be shown during the run and only where it's worth it. (Not every match) Also I will try to have something special planned in regards to the player character's entrence for the last match. As that would most likely also be the best time to show that if this incentive is met. (I would need to know if this is met 1 chapter before the end WWE development section of the run. About 20 mins into the run )

-Camera Angles on or off for the special matches like TLC, Ladder, Cage and more. (Normally would want to have them off later in the run as it does become a little dull when used for every match and it doesn't really cost time in the matches that are 1v1. Plus it looks cool. (This balances out some entertaining highlights with how quick some matches are).
Sample videos:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/226666200 (SmackDown route shows off how important the new strats are.). Current WR for what it's worth.
http://www.twitch.tv/mageius1/v/227869481?sr=a&t=4972s Current WR for Raw route (Also even more interesting strats).

I would just like to say thank you for your time and consideration for reading this and hope I am chosen to help.

Game Name: WWE Day of Reckoning
System: Game Cube
Category: Story mode (Raw)/Story Mode (Smackdown)
Estimate: 4:15 (This is based on the type of RNG gotten on the more heavy RNG matches and does allow some extra time just in case).
Ending: 7-10 mins (I'm willing to allow for the ending to skipped if needed due to time).
Bonus incentive (entrences) estimate 15 mins  avg. 2-3 mins  per entrence shown. (this is based on showing 5 of entrences)
Total estimate of run if entrence incentive is met: 4:30
Notes: With the discovery of new strats a lot has changed.  It's possible to gain more exp. faster as well as minimize more of the RNG.  The drawback however comes at the cost on not taking any points in durability until the middle of the run making bit more of a glass cannon if the RNG doesn't go our way.
Pros:
+It is a very interesting and fun Action RPG
+All text is able to be skipped
+There's lot of action
+Unlike most RPG's this game strikes a balance between being an action game and an RPG.  With an interesting (though we skip all of it story)
+The game has a lot of chances for good commentary
+Despite how it may seam the game is very creative on its uses of the RPG elements in it.
+It's a WWE game so there are lots of fans of wrestling in the world so we could pull in some of the views from that.
+Due to its nature there are a lot of places where donations can be read.  As well as lots of incentives that can be done.
+I'm willing to try my best to make sure this run can be a great (If I am chosen I play to actually start working on it even more)
+I can change how hard the game is so I could do it on easy mode if needed

Cons:
-Its very execution based like other games like other action RPGs
-At present its a little RNG heavy (I'm working on cutting that down but as of now there are exactly 2 matches that are RNG hell)
-Its a bit more realistic then most RPGs (its based in reality as its based off a sport so its just how it is)
-Its still a work in progress so the time is still a little in flux (sorry I did the best I could within the week I had to work on it so far)
-I'm at present the only person running the game but getting commentary shouldn't be that hard
-The 2nd to last match is a mixed tag match (if you know what I mean there)

Donation Incentive Offers:

Incentive involving character creation:
-Naming character (name, nickname, short name) max 20 letters or characters for each. Most of these could be done as the top 3 names would get the spots.

-Appearance Bid war between what the character will look like  for some examples of fan created builds please see the following links for ideas:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/920076-wwe-day-of-reckoning/faqs/32353
https://www.gamefaqs.com/gamecube/920076-wwe-day-of-reckoning/faqs/32981

I was thinking we could pick a few of the builds say 4-6 and allow for the bidding of which will be used as far as appearance goes.  Please let me know on this 1 if you would like more clarification and explantation of it. (All the choices shall be created a couple days before hand as to save time as I can just load whichever wins before the start of the run and make the final edits just before the start of run when I will enter in the winners of the other creation incentives) this doesn't affect gameplay or the run at all..

-special moves (aka finishing moves) I have a total of 8 move slot's available so could offer up maybe 5 of them as incentives.  Again we would need to figure out what the best # of slots to be offered and how best to determine how to allow for the donations for certain moves  (I know this 1 will need to be discussed more and I'm willing to work with the staff here to figure out the best way to incorporate this 1). Sone examples of moves in regards to this incentive include: Stone Cold Stunner, Rock Bottom and The Tombstone Pile-driver.

Non character creation incentives:
-Chose the route Raw or SmackDown (Bid war) I would probably would want to know which route about 1 chapter before the choice

-Watch entrences for popular and fan favorite Superstars (probably could only do a handful of them and only once per superstar)  there are different opponents on each route so only the 1s on the route chosen would be shown during the run and only where it's worth it. (Not every match) Also I will try to have something special planned in regards to the player character's entrence for the last match.  As that would most likely also be the best time to show that if this incentive is met. (I would need to know if this is met 1 chapter before the end WWE development section of the run. About 20 mins into the run )

-Camera Angles on or off for the special matches like TLC, Ladder, Cage and more.  (Normally would want to have them off later in the run as it does become a little dull when used for every match and it doesn't really cost time in the matches that are 1v1. Plus it looks cool.  (This balances out some entertaining highlights with how quick some matches are).
Sample videos:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/226666200 (SmackDown route shows off how important the new strats are.). Current WR for what it's worth. 
http://www.twitch.tv/mageius1/v/227869481?sr=a&t=4972s Current WR for Raw route (Also even more interesting strats).

I would just like to say thank you for your time and consideration for reading this and hope I am chosen to help.

DarkLordDracula

2018-01-28 08:32:18 pm

Game Name: Custom Robo: Battle Revolution
System: Nintendo Gamecube (run a backwards compatible wii)
Category: New Journey New Game (effectively Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:18:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 2:00 - 20:00 (depending on incentive)
Pros/Cons: This run features a lot of AI prediction and fast execution based on reactions. As a result, every run can be different due to the rng nature of the game, yet still ran at a consistent level. Myself and the other runners were interested in making this run a race for that reason. While the AI is generally really basic, it occasionally does something really smart by accident which would even the playing field between runners. Plus, the final boss is notoriously inconsistent, which would make for a hype ending to a race. Cons for this game are that progression requires a lot of dialogue skip and button mashing and the action can be chaotic and confusing to those that have never seen the game before.
Donation Incentive Offers: The name of the main character and the color of the robo could both be bid wars leading up to the run. Additionally, there is a alternate ending to the game, a secret where the main character accidentally leaves a key item at home which causes a backtrack that is relatively unknown, and the potential of having a competitive battle between the runners as donation incentives.
Sample run video: This is an older run, but it accurately shows off worst case scenario for marathon luck (even though it was good at the time. We've come a long way) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/86914293

Game Name: Custom Robo: Battle Revolution
System: Nintendo Gamecube (run a backwards compatible wii)
Category: New Journey New Game (effectively Any%)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:18:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 2:00 - 20:00 (depending on incentive)
Pros/Cons: This run features a lot of AI prediction and fast execution based on reactions. As a result, every run can be different due to the rng nature of the game, yet still ran at a consistent level. Myself and the other runners were interested in making this run a race for that reason. While the AI is generally really basic, it occasionally does something really smart by accident which would even the playing field between runners. Plus, the final boss is notoriously inconsistent, which would make for a hype ending to a race. Cons for this game are that progression requires a lot of dialogue skip and button mashing and the action can be chaotic and confusing to those that have never seen the game before. 
Donation Incentive Offers: The name of the main character and the color of the robo could both be bid wars leading up to the run. Additionally, there is a alternate ending to the game, a secret where the main character accidentally leaves a key item at home which causes a backtrack that is relatively unknown, and the potential of having a competitive battle between the runners as donation incentives.
Sample run video: This is an older run, but it accurately shows off worst case scenario for marathon luck (even though it was good at the time. We've come a long way) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/86914293

Mr_Shasta

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-28 09:07:43 pm

Mr_Shasta: 2018-01-28 09:01:16 pm

2018-01-28 08:58:11 pm

Game Name: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
System: Gameboy Advance
Category: Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 3:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: This game OOZES charm from everything within. The dialogue, animations, every single battle and boss fight, EVERYTHING. It's amazing. This game requires very fast mashing to do the proper route, which thankfully I can achieve, and that's astounded quite a few people whenever I streamed this run. Also each text box advances frame by frame, so mashing super fast throughout the game speeds it up a ton more! Each boss strategy, while similar, is still fun to watch, and since we get super OP in this run thanks to the use of Chopper Bros and a ton of Mushrooms, we steam roll a lot, but not all of the bosses. The route for this game is tight for coins and any item that isn't mushroom based, so if I mess up it can be pretty intense.
Cons: Since we steam roll a lot of the bosses, it can get a bit same-y. There's also some portions of the game where we're just going through dialogue and watching the animations of the characters, which is charming but it can get a little boring. Also one of the minigames is an autoscroller we have to wait probably around 2 minutes to be finished once we complete the objective in it.
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/173937144

Category 2: Completionist/"100%"
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: This is a 100% completion category I routed out for a game without a percentage or a completion counter, so it's pretty much arbitrary, but it shows off a TON of the game not seen at all in the Glitchless run. All Sidequests, more items, the last version of each minigame, and even 2 new Bros. moves are shown off in this run! The route is a variation of the Glitchless route that gets everything extra we need for the sidequests in the game, mostly the beans. Here's a full list of everything required for this run: https://pastebin.com/44igr9te
Cons: Since this route is a variation of the Glitchless route and the category goes more places in general, we actually get more Mushrooms than the Glitchless run does, so none of the bosses are even a problem. It does show us one shotting the final bsos with Chopper Bros though, which is pretty cool! Also Harhall's quest has us doing essentially the same thing for about 20 minutes to get all 28 shirt combinations to complete it, so that can be a bit boring.
Donation Incentives: Team Left, Middle, and Right for the 1 in 3 chance Thwomp minigame we play to unlock the 2 extra Bros. Moves in this run. Whichever one gets the most donated for it is the side I will choose. It's random which side is correct, so this is alright.
Sample Run: https://youtu.be/Y0ql2twEWHI

Game Name: Mario Tennis: Power Tour
System: Gameboy Advance
Category: Any% Doubles
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: The tennis matches are very fast paced and exciting the whole time! Each of them have their own strategies to make them end faster, and they're pretty consistent for the most part, no matter who we're facing. The game itself is very charming throughout, even when the cutscenes are running a bit long. It's made by Camelot, who made Golden Sun, so it has that same feeling to it, which is nothing but great!
Cons: We mostly upgrade the first 2 stats because they're the best and fastest to upgrade, but unfortunately in doing so it makes the run not have as much variety in taking out each opponent as it could.
Donation Incentives:
Name our main character (5 character limit).
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223504342

Game Name: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
System: Gameboy Advance
Category: Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 3:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: This game OOZES charm from everything within. The dialogue, animations, every single battle and boss fight, EVERYTHING. It's amazing. This game requires very fast mashing to do the proper route, which thankfully I can achieve, and that's astounded quite a few people whenever I streamed this run. Also each text box advances frame by frame, so mashing super fast throughout the game speeds it up a ton more! Each boss strategy, while similar, is still fun to watch, and since we get super OP in this run thanks to the use of Chopper Bros and a ton of Mushrooms, we steam roll a lot, but not all of the bosses. The route for this game is tight for coins and any item that isn't mushroom based, so if I mess up it can be pretty intense. 
Cons: Since we steam roll a lot of the bosses, it can get a bit same-y. There's also some portions of the game where we're just going through dialogue and watching the animations of the characters, which is charming but it can get a little boring. Also one of the minigames is an autoscroller we have to wait probably around 2 minutes to be finished once we complete the objective in it.
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/173937144

Category 2: Completionist/"100%"
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: This is a 100% completion category I routed out for a game without a percentage or a completion counter, so it's pretty much arbitrary, but it shows off a TON of the game not seen at all in the Glitchless run. All Sidequests, more items, the last version of each minigame, and even 2 new Bros. moves are shown off in this run! The route is a variation of the Glitchless route that gets everything extra we need for the sidequests in the game, mostly the beans. Here's a full list of everything required for this run: https://pastebin.com/44igr9te
Cons: Since this route is a variation of the Glitchless route and the category goes more places in general, we actually get more Mushrooms than the Glitchless run does, so none of the bosses are even a problem. It does show us one shotting the final bsos with Chopper Bros though, which is pretty cool! Also Harhall's quest has us doing essentially the same thing for about 20 minutes to get all 28 shirt combinations to complete it, so that can be a bit boring.
Donation Incentives: Team Left, Middle, and Right for the 1 in 3 chance Thwomp minigame we play to unlock the 2 extra Bros. Moves in this run. Whichever one gets the most donated for it is the side I will choose. It's random which side is correct, so this is alright. 
Sample Run: [noembed]https://youtu.be/Y0ql2twEWHI[/noembed]

Game Name: Mario Tennis: Power Tour
System: Gameboy Advance
Category: Any% Doubles
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: The tennis matches are very fast paced and exciting the whole time! Each of them have their own strategies to make them end faster, and they're pretty consistent for the most part, no matter who we're facing. The game itself is very charming throughout, even when the cutscenes are running a bit long. It's made by Camelot, who made Golden Sun, so it has that same feeling to it, which is nothing but great!
Cons: We mostly upgrade the first 2 stats because they're the best and fastest to upgrade, but unfortunately in doing so it makes the run not have as much variety in taking out each opponent as it could. 
Donation Incentives:
Name our main character (5 character limit). 
Sample Run: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223504342

Komrade

Edit history:

Komrade: 2018-01-30 11:41:05 am

puwexil: 2018-01-28 09:07:17 pm

2018-01-28 09:05:56 pm

Game Name: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
System: PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending (5mins-ish)
Pros: Wrong warps skip most of the first two acts, some what heavy menuing, and some precise tricks.
Cons: RNG is a killer, but I'll use safer strats. Act 3 is short, but warps are slower, so it's just boring overall, but it's over quick.
Donation Incentive Offers: None
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/224002689

Game Name: Way of the Samurai
System: PS2
Category: Ending 4
Gameplay Estimate: 0:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Any% (1min)
Pros: A short, weird game with sequence breaks and new strats being discovered as we speak :0!
Cons: Enemy AI can be wacky sometimes.
Donation Incentive Offers: Filename (15 characters), Outfit choice?
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qeFy3M0PBE

Falexxx1

Edit history:

Falexxx1: 2018-01-28 09:17:39 pm

Falexxx1: 2018-01-28 09:15:24 pm

2018-01-28 09:15:00 pm

Game Name: Earthbound
System: SNES
Category: Any% No OoB
Gameplay Estimate: 3:40
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15
Pros/Cons: This is a route that was originally made for AGDQ 2013 as a "marathon safe" route. In 2014 I broke it open with more modernized routing and finding many new skips. The bulk of the run utilizes cliff skips and a global despawn to eliminate random encounters for the last stretch of the run. Aside from the opening town, there is little worry for RNG causing a large time loss as the main run killer are bad spawns, which as I just mentioned are not present. There has been more modern forms of this route made now, and it is quite possible the run be done well before 3:35, but some room is given for any unfortunate mishaps.

Pros:
- Most of the game is seen.
- Most marathon safe route
- Glitches found in the last year have most likely never been seen before for people.
- Still allows for 8 naming incentives at the start, player name bid war, and silly things like the shattered man glitch and buying the house post game.

Cons:
- Onett
- No random encounters in the last half can be seen as less interesting to some people, but we can alleviate that with our always witty banter.
- Ness's Nightmare can be a major time loss in the last 20 minutes of the run. Plenty of safety items will be bought in the unlikely scenario that this fight goes south. At worst, with proper planning, it only eats 5-7 minutes.

Sample video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/135972574

Game Name: Earthbound
System: SNES
Category: Any% No OoB
Gameplay Estimate: 3:40
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15
Pros/Cons: This is a route that was originally made for AGDQ 2013 as a "marathon safe" route. In 2014 I broke it open with more modernized routing and finding many new skips. The bulk of the run utilizes cliff skips and a global despawn to eliminate random encounters for the last stretch of the run. Aside from the opening town, there is little worry for RNG causing a large time loss as the main run killer are bad spawns, which as I just mentioned are not present. There has been more modern forms of this route made now, and it is quite possible the run be done well before 3:35, but some room is given for any unfortunate mishaps.

Pros:
- Most of the game is seen.
- Most marathon safe route
- Glitches found in the last year have most likely never been seen before for people.
- Still allows for 8 naming incentives at the start, player name bid war, and silly things like the shattered man glitch and buying the house post game.

Cons:
- Onett
- No random encounters in the last half can be seen as less interesting to some people, but we can alleviate that with our always witty banter.
- Ness's Nightmare can be a major time loss in the last 20 minutes of the run. Plenty of safety items will be bought in the unlikely scenario that this fight goes south. At worst, with proper planning, it only eats 5-7 minutes.

Sample video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/135972574

ClassicJames

2018-01-28 09:43:33 pm

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category: Any% All Photos
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 11 minutes for credits that include photo slideshow
Pros: This category shows off almost every major glitch as well as a good amount of RNG manipulation that people seem to be interested in
All Photos is the least random category in my opinion and has very little chance of going badly if I execute properly
Many EB runners will be attending so there will be a lot of great potential for couch commentary
The route is completely different from the last time Photo% was in RPGLB
Cons: EB has been in every RPGLB so far
Donation incentives aren't as much fun in manipulated runs because they are mostly limited to 1 character
Donation Incentive Offers: Character names (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo) 1 character limit; Player name 24 character limit; Favorite food, favorite thing, and dog's name 1 character limit
Sample run video: <https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223517103>

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 4:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 16 minutes for credits or potential glitch showcase
Pros: Glitchless runs have been historically well received in marathons.
Has fun donation incentives including the player name which has 2 chances for entry allowing for mid run bid wars
Many EB runners will be attending so there will be a lot of great potential for couch commentary
Cons: EB has been in every RPGLB so far including 2 glitchless runs
While you can play things very safe, RNG is quite heavy in this run and can sometimes cause costly deaths that are out of your control
Donation Incentive Offers: Character names (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo) 5 character limit; Player name 24 character limit; Favorite food, favorite thing, and dog's name 6 character limit
Sample run video: <https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223519565>
Note: If a race would make a glitchless run more likely to get in, I would be happy to race with anyone else that submits

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category: Any% All Photos
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 11 minutes for credits that include photo slideshow
Pros: This category shows off almost every major glitch as well as a good amount of RNG manipulation that people seem to be interested in
All Photos is the least random category in my opinion and has very little chance of going badly if I execute properly
Many EB runners will be attending so there will be a lot of great potential for couch commentary
The route is completely different from the last time Photo% was in RPGLB
Cons: EB has been in every RPGLB so far 
Donation incentives aren't as much fun in manipulated runs because they are mostly limited to 1 character
Donation Incentive Offers: Character names (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo) 1 character limit; Player name 24 character limit; Favorite food, favorite thing, and dog's name 1 character limit
Sample run video: <https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223517103>

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 4:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 16 minutes for credits or potential glitch showcase
Pros: Glitchless runs have been historically well received in marathons.
Has fun donation incentives including the player name which has 2 chances for entry allowing for mid run bid wars
Many EB runners will be attending so there will be a lot of great potential for couch commentary
Cons: EB has been in every RPGLB so far including 2 glitchless runs
While you can play things very safe, RNG is quite heavy in this run and can sometimes cause costly deaths that are out of your control
Donation Incentive Offers: Character names (Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo) 5 character limit; Player name 24 character limit; Favorite food, favorite thing, and dog's name 6 character limit
Sample run video: <https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223519565>
Note: If a race would make a glitchless run more likely to get in, I would be happy to race with anyone else that submits

CrystalS1n

2018-01-28 09:59:22 pm

Game: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
System: PC, Originally released on PS2
Gameplay Estimate: 10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~0:20 (Ending Cutscenes and Credits)

Pros/Cons: One of the major pros of this game as a speedrun is that it is one of the most marathon safe games out of the Final Fantasy franchise. This game follows a very linear story and has plenty of cutscenes to go along with it. RNG would not be a major factor either, in fact the rng in this game is extremely minimal compared to most of the other Final Fantasy speedruns. Allowing the audience/viewers to enjoy the game and be able to follow the story fairly well, and most importantly, allow for plenty of donations to be read aloud as well. This game also relies heavily on menuing at key moments as well as having a specific amount amount of sphere grid nodes activated for each character. There will also be plenty of saves that will be made which we can utilize in case a mistake is made. There is nothing that can kill the run rng-wise since there are plenty of back-up strats, so if the runner were to get unlucky it would only result in a slower run. However FFX has optimized this game has been completely optimized for this run so the likeliness of bad rng is minimal at the most.
Unlike its PS2 counterpart, the HD remaster has an auto save feature which comes in extremely handy in case there are mistakes made or if bad rng were to occur. Since this game were to be speedrun on PC this would allow us to utilize multiple FMV skips and have faster load times.

Incentives: Naming Tidus & the Aeons (8 Char. Limit), showing the Yuna/Tidus Macalania Cutscene, showing Yuna's Sending cutscene in Kilika, Singing Suteke de ne at the credits, Bid war for us to get Jecht Shot, Save or Kill the Chocobos when we encounter the Chobobo Eater fight.

This game has a massive amount of of potential to be a wonderful game to be in the marathon, the incentives would also help showcase this. I'd like to present this run as a 2v2. Two teams of two runners and we would switch off near or at the middle of the run, which would bring a hype run not only for the audience but also the runners.

Sample run and my pb: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222072790 - Contains commentary throughout almost all of the run.

Game: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
System: PC, Originally released on PS2
Gameplay Estimate: 10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~0:20 (Ending Cutscenes and Credits)

Pros/Cons: One of the major pros of this game as a speedrun is that it is one of the most marathon safe games out of the Final Fantasy franchise. This game follows a very linear story and has plenty of cutscenes to go along with it. RNG would not be a major factor either, in fact the rng in this game is extremely minimal compared to most of the other Final Fantasy speedruns. Allowing the audience/viewers to enjoy the game and be able to follow the story fairly well, and most importantly, allow for plenty of donations to be read aloud as well. This game also relies heavily on menuing at key moments as well as having a specific amount amount of sphere grid nodes activated for each character. There will also be plenty of saves that will be made which we can utilize in case a mistake is made. There is nothing that can kill the run rng-wise since there are plenty of back-up strats, so if the runner were to get unlucky it would only result in a slower run. However FFX has optimized this game has been completely optimized for this run so the likeliness of bad rng is minimal at the most. 
Unlike its PS2 counterpart, the HD remaster has an auto save feature which comes in extremely handy in case there are mistakes made or if bad rng were to occur. Since this game were to be speedrun on PC this would allow us to utilize multiple FMV skips and have faster load times.

Incentives: Naming Tidus & the Aeons (8 Char. Limit), showing the Yuna/Tidus Macalania Cutscene, showing Yuna's Sending cutscene in Kilika, Singing Suteke de ne at the credits, Bid war for us to get Jecht Shot, Save or Kill the Chocobos when we encounter the Chobobo Eater fight.

This game has a massive amount of of potential to be a wonderful game to be in the marathon, the incentives would also help showcase this. I'd like to present this run as a 2v2. Two teams of two runners and we would switch off near or at the middle of the run, which would bring a hype run not only for the audience but also the runners.

Sample run and my pb: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222072790 - Contains commentary throughout almost all of the run.

puwexil

2018-01-28 11:08:30 pm

Professional Second Banana

And that's it for RPGLB2018 submissions - final totals were 333 submissions (co-op/relay offers were combined, race offers were not) and 1209 total hours! As always, RPGLB Staff is humbled by the interest in the event, and we'll be targeting to release the games list in mid-February.

Runners are free to edit videos/incentives/estimates on submissions (please make a post here or notify a committee member on Discord/Twitter if you do so, since we won't be actively checking the thread for updates), but any additional games/categories added to posts will not be considered.

PinkPajamas

2018-01-29 06:44:24 am

I just beat my PB in Digital Devil Saga by 30 minutes with a new route. I've changed my estimate to reflect that.

Drifting Skies

2018-02-01 05:19:01 pm

steak Steak STEAK!!!

I am adjusting my estimate further from 6:15:00 to 6:00:00 for Legaia NG+ after finishing a mistake-heavy run with a 5:44:04; a new incentive was added and one was removed as well.

puwexil

2018-02-01 05:30:18 pm

Professional Second Banana

Quote from Drifting Skies:

I am adjusting my estimate further from 6:15:00 to 6:00:00 for Legaia NG+ after finishing a mistake-heavy run with a 5:44:04; a new incentive was added and one was removed as well.

Wow - I almost feel sorry for this game.