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puwexil: 2018-09-24 10:56:42 am
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Professional Second Banana
VOD Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8PZB25uZuZ5WfU5BJeqAdoClCb4PdRbA
French Restream: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdvf0XoufSOV2WFxSziu_6jI9KeJQ8Az
Japanese Restream: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdWd_QXQSKieopoa0a7SfnZbbl6K7F0e5

RPGLB 2018 Schedule (in MDT/GMT-6, autoconverting version will follow): https://goo.gl/Tf4bgA

RPGLB 2018 Games List: https://goo.gl/S3p3kK

SDA forum names were used on the games list for convenience - the final schedule and stream layouts will use the names that runners register for the event under.

Incentives:
Incentives in white text are approved - runners, please double-check for accuracy.
Incentives in blue text are also approved, but pending additional info from the runner(s).
Incentives in red text are still pending approval, due to more information needed from the runner, or the incentive will be added during the event if we get ahead of schedule (many 'watch/sing the ending' incentives fall under this).
Incentives for games on the backup list will be sorted out if the game is added to the schedule.

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden
None

Breath of Death VII: The Beginning
None

Breath of Fire (run will be a 2v2 relay race)
Name Ryu (4 characters max. May consist of: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, "!")
Chun Li Easter Egg (+2 min)
Debug Name showcase (+5 min)
Can you guys think of additional incentive ideas that’d work for a 2v2 race setting (like maybe some 2p1c stuff?)

Chrono Trigger (Glitchless 100%)
Name Crono, Marle, Lucca, Frog, Robo, Ayla, Epoch, Magus (5 character limit)
Sing Gato's Song
Fight the Nuuuuuus in Enhasa (+2 min)
Death Peak Hug (Marle vs. Lucca)
Epoch vs. Balloon Ending - requires watching full ending
Finish Off Lavos Core with the WonderShot - pending runner confirmation

Crusader of Centy
File/Player Name (10 character limit - A-Z, a-z, 0-9,,._!$;&'() )
Fight All Bosses (+0 min)

Custom Robo (Relay)
Name the Hero (8 character limit - special characters @, &, $, Heart, etc.)
Mini 1v1 Tournament between 4 players (+10 min)
Robo Color (Standard White for Ray 01 or Brown for Metal Ape, Red, Green, Blue, or Yellow)
Bad Ending Showcase (+1 min)

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Class Bid War (Amazon, Assassin, Druid, Paladin, Sorceress - may add longer classes if time permits)
Character Name (15 char max. A-Z, a-z, One "_" may be used but it cannot be the starting or ending character
Save Cain (Free Deckard Cain from Tristram. Incentive can be hit at any time. I can do this during or after the run. +0:05)
Secret Cow Level (Slay the Cow King. Incentive can be hit at any time. I will do this after the run.+0:10)
Free the Barbarians (Complete A5Q2. Incentive can be hit at any time. I can do this during or after the run +0:05)


Disgaea 5
Seraphina Bunny Costume
Name the 2 Prinnies used in the run. (20 character limit)
Obtain all special characters (+5 min)
Massive Damage Demonstration (+5 min)
Watch 30 seconds of the cutscene after defeating the story mode final boss - this can just be done
Defeat Baal as done in a speedrun setting (+5 min)

Dragon Quest I
Bring the Princess to the Dragonlord fight

Dragon Quest III (Race)
Select the Hero's gender (will not affect the run) - no bid war - 1 player will be male, other female
Singing "Soushite Densetsu e..."  - if met, pop/SUMdeaner will sing together after the 2nd player finishes

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Hero’s Name/Bid War - need character limit
Overworld character/Bid War
Have Don Play His Funky Tune - can we get more details and/or a video for this?
Have the Hero Kick/Pose in photos - can we get more details and/or a video for this?
Play through ending and have Hero Say No To Medea In The Ending - will depend on if we have time for the ending
Would appreciate some more incentive ideas for this run, due to its length

Etrian Odyssey II
Naming 7 of the characters

Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition
Name the four Light Warriors (6-character max)
Choose FF4 bosses fought in Hellfire Chasm (Scarmiglione or Cagnazzo, Barbariccia or Rubicante)

Final Fantasy IV: Interlude
Original FF4 music vs. remixed music

Final Fantasy VI (No Sketch Race)
Character names (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Setzer, Relm, Strago, Mog, Gogo - 6 letters each)
Menu Window Theme - no bidwar this time, players will set their own distinct window background/colors at the start and leave it
Train Suplex
Merchant Locke (leave South Figaro with merchant clothes, which permanently glitches Locke's color palette)
Save/Kill Cid
NG+ Showcase/Beat the game in 30s (+5 min) - if met, will be done post-run

Final Fantasy VIII
Naming Squall (7 character limit), Griever (9 character limit) and all Guardian Forces (Quetzal, Shiva, Ifrit, Siren, Diablos, Carbuncle and Pandemona [9 character limit]).
Defeat Omega Weapon (+8 min)
Blindfolded Esthar menu
Can Rinoa/Angelo be named (via not doing Rinoa cutscene skip)?

Final Fantasy XV
Final Picture Bid War [+5 mins across the entire game, must be locked in before Ifrit is finished] (picture that is displayed after finishing the game/final photo) - Cindy, Ignis, Gladio, Noctis, Ardyn, Iris, Cor
Party Outfits (Outside of Noctis) Bid War [0 mins] - Crownsguard, Crownsguard (No Jacket), Casual, Casual (No Jacket), Magitek Exosuit
Audio Language (Bid War) - Options include Japanese, English, German, French
No Ring - Defeat the final bosses without using the Ring of the Lucii [+15 mins]

Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance
Have Ike fight the Black Knight - 1 attempt at the fight, victory unfortunately cannot be guaranteed

Heroine's Quest
Class Bid War - Warrior, Sorceress, or Rogue.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
Character's Name (20 Characters)
Do the Heart of Winter expansion (either separately or in the middle of the run of the original) - if done in the middle of the run, when would the cutoff be?  Does it affect the routing if done together? (+7 min)

It's Our Revolution - Will be done on English version as offered (assuming no objectionable content)
None

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
Name the main 3 Dream Eater party members: Sudo Neku, Sora's Majik Lapin, Riku's Majik Lapin. [11 character limit].
Fighting the game's superboss, Julius, on a Level 1 Critical Mode file (+10 min)
Possibly something in real life related to balloons (such as the commentators/audience inflating them) - TBD depending on site logistics

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix HD (All Worlds)
Possible Critical difficulty incentive
Fight the 5 Absent Silhouettes and Sephiroth During the Run (+15 min)
Singing Disney Songs during early Gummi missions
Singing Along with 5 Atlantica songs

Legend of Legaia
Name the characters (Vahn & Noa, but NOT Gala, 8 character limit)
Choose the Ending (4 options) - will be added if time for ending
Fight Lapis w/ Jedo Glitch (+3.5 min)
Level 99 Master Course - will be added if time for extra post-game content (+5.5 min)
Fight / Skip Jette Bid War
Keep 'Vahnessa' in the party after Koru (+3.5 min)
View Mad Scientist Dialogue (+2.5 min)

Legend of Mana (All Stories)
Name player character (10 character limit)
Name Rabite pet (10 character limit)

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Customize the schemata (can choose from several (predetermined) color choices, and can also choose which adornment to wear, on each garb) - can you provide options for this?
Mid-run Aeronite battle - can you provide an estimate for this?
Post-run Ereshkigal battle - can you provide an estimate for this?
Post-run Hard Mode Bhunivelze+ battle - can you provide an estimate for this?

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Ancient Cave Race)
Name Maxim (5 character limit) - will use top 4 names
Capsule Monster Bid-War (7 total, Jelze, Zeppy, Gusto, Blaze, Darbi, Sully, Flash) - all 4 players will use winning monster
Name Capsule Monster (5 character limit) - will use top 4 names

Lunar: The Silver Star
Sing the opening song
Show "bad" ending (+2 min)
Visit the card dealer (+2 min)

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (All Bosses)
2p1c Prologue
Glitch Exhibition (NA and late-game exclusive glitches) (+10 min)
View the Fawful cutscene (+2 min)

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Name Mitey (10 character limit)
Name Lemur (10 character limit)
Name Sid (10 character limit)
Name Boggly (10 character limit)
Audio Language (English or Japanese)

NieR: Automata - Will this be played on PC or PS4?
Eat the Mackerel Ending
Fight Emil - time estimate for this?
Sing the Ending Song, “Weight of the World” - requires ending

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Flavio tags along
Glitch Exhibition (+7 min)

Phantasy Star II
Name Rudo/Amy (4 Characters)

Pokémon Crystal
Bidwar for Feraligatr vs Entei route
Totodile nickname (10 character limit, including ? ! / . ,)
Cut slave nickname (10 character limit, including ? ! / . ,)
Poliwag or Dratini nickname (10 character limit, including ? ! / . ,)
Possible Entei nickname (10 character limit, including ? ! / . ,)
Rival name (7 character limit, including ? ! / . ,)

Shadows of Adam
Suplex the final boss - Feel free to do if there’s time - won’t be incentivized.
King Slimian bonus boss (+3 min)
Play the opening dungeon in ASCII Mode

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Bidwar choice of party members used on final boss and various parts of the 2nd half of the game - Argilla, Heat, Gale and Cielo (top 2)
King Frost Fight (+15 min - will be added if time allows)

Soul Blazer
Name Blazer (8 Character limit) - will use top 2 names, if there’s a length difference the shorter can add characters to equalize

Swords and Serpents
Bid war on character names (4 party members, 4 character limit)

Tales of Phantasia - is there an English translation that can be used, and if so how would it affect the estimate?
Name Cress (Main Hero, Swordsman), Chester (Archer / Hunter), Mint (Healer / cleric), Klarth (Also: Clause || Summoner), Arche (Mage / Spellcaster on a broom) - all 6 characters, uppercase only, numbers and some symbols included (can be changed any time via menu)
Dog sings the main theme (+3 min)
Solo Chester vs. Final Boss (+3 min)

Tales of Symphonia
Flanoir/Heimdall cutscene character - Colette, Raine, Genis, Sheena or Kratos (+up to 5 min, cutoff at 4:00)
Enabling voices in combat - will be rolling incentive to turn on or off (assuming it’s possible) - will be added if time permits
Fighting the Sword Dancers (+5 min total, fights at 1:40, 4:00, endgame)
Post-run Proxy Spell Showcase (including the infamous Genis Tempest) (+5 min)

Tecmo Secret of the Stars
Name Main Character/Main Party Members/Name Town - 5 main party members, six letters max. All caps and small caps, explanation point, period, brackets, dash, question mark and &. Same with naming the town.

The Final Fantasy Legend
Name the 4 main party members (4 character limit).

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Chapter 2 Path (Instant Death vs. Non-Instant Death Route).  Need more details on this.

Virtual Hydlide
"101%" - ride a SECOND minecart to get the world's most fashionable shield

West of Loathing
Silly walking

Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Decide Rex’s Love (Pyra or Mythra)
English vs Japanese Voice Track (rolling bid war)
Cutscene Showcase - Scene 1 - "Burdened No Longer" 5:10 run time, Scene 2 - "Pyra, Mythra and ... ?" 6:15 run time - will be added if time allows
Post Run Blade Pull
Succeed at Tiger Tiger!

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Bid war between English or Japanese voice actors.


Please refer to the RPG Limit Break 2018 main thread for marathon dates, location, and other details - this thread is for game offers & discussion.  We are currently working on transitioning the game submission process to our website (similar to how GDQ currently does submissions); but as that was not ready in time for RPGLB 2018 submissions, we're going to do forum submissions 1 last time.

Submission Guidelines (will be used to choose runs for the schedule):
Length - This will be a 7-day marathon (running roughly from noon on 5/13 to midnight the night of 5/19, for about 156 total hours).  We want to have as much variety on the schedule as possible (both for games and runners), so 6+ hour runs will need to be very strong in the below areas.
Donation Incentives - What we're here for (along with having a fun week)!  Can you name characters?  Are there storyline branches/character choices/optional bosses that work in a speedrun route?  Are there in-jokes in the game that fans would donate to see (ie the Phantom Train Suplex)?  Strong donation incentives will be especially important for longer runs.
Entertainment - Does the run have interesting tricks/strats that make for engaging commentary?  Is there variety in the gameplay throughout the course of the run?  What is the cutscene to action ratio like?
Game Popularity - One of the purposes of this marathon will be giving some RPGs that aren't popular enough to make a GDQ schedule a chance in the spotlight; but at the same time we want to have games on the schedule that a decent chunk of our audience has heard of and will stick around for.  More obscure games also tend to have difficulty getting commentators besides the runner; and having strong run commentary throughout this marathon is a big focus for RPGLB.
Marathon Safety - How consistently can your run be finished within the estimate you give?  How big of an impact does randomness have on the run?  How likely would it have to be mercy killed to prevent going significantly over estimate?
Language - As our main audience is going to be English-speakers, English text is generally preferred over Japanese or other languages, especially for text-heavy games.  This will be much less of a concern for games with skippable cutscenes and/or where the speedrun is easy to follow through animations and other non-text means.  Voice acting in non-English languages is always fine, and if selectable can make for a good donation incentive.

Defining what is/isn't an RPG is something I'm not going to attempt - the RPGLB games committee will decide on a case-by-case basis if any offered games aren't appropriate for the marathon.

Limit is 5 games/10 total categories per runner - co-op runs will count towards each player’s limit, and all participants in co-op runs/races need to offer the game individually.  Please only offer games that you’d want to actually run at the marathon (possibly as your only game); but if you have a preference order among your games you can note that.  Deadline for submissions is January 28th at 11:59PM EST (GMT-5).  The list of accepted and backup runs for RPGLB 2018 is planned to be posted in February 2018.

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

We'll have basic NTSC-U consoles (NES, SNES, PS2, Wii, etc) and a gaming PC on hand - if you need any other equipment provided please note that.  For newer consoles that require installing the game, it is encouraged for you to bring your own console to ensure no installation/patching issues.  It is expected that all console-based games will be run on original console or a console-based emulator (ie Wii VC/PSN/flash cart).  It is okay to use PC-based emulators (BizHawk, SNES9X, ePSXe, etc) for submission videos, as long as you will be prepared to run the game on console at the marathon (including making any needed arrangements for a controller & cartridge/disc).

To offer games, fill out the below form for each game and post in this thread - you are free to edit your post up until the submission deadline.  As with last year's event, donation incentive offers are formally combined with with game submissions, so please be serious & thorough when filling out the incentives section (including specifying character limits for character/file names and options for bid wars).

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

Sample Submission:
Game Name: Final Fantasy IX
System: PS1 played on PS2
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:35 (32 min ending/Melodies of Life sing-a-long + 3 min Blackjack card game)
Pros/Cons: One of the least glitchy Final Fantasy games, so the speedrun route is all about using the equipment/abilities that the game gives you in creative ways.  Battle strats vary considerably over the course of the run due to frequent party changes.  Game has some heavy RNG factors like the # of random encounters, enemy AI, and card tournament; but is completely marathon safe (poor luck generally just means a slower run, and there are save points close to the most dangerous sections).
Donation Incentive Offers: Naming characters (Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger, Freya, Quina, Eiko, Amarant - 7 character limit for all), showing Vivi/Quina wedding cutscene (+2 min)
Sample run video: <link to Twitch VOD or Youtube video of a completed run with commentary> - [noembed] [/noembed] tags can be used to prevent Youtube videos embeds.
Thread title:  
Edit history:
StingerPA: 2018-01-21 02:05:30 am
Game Name: Secret of Mana
System: Super Nintendo
Category: Any% "Glitchless" 3 Player Co-op with StingerPA, Yagamoth and BOWIEtheHERO
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00 (May drop if/when the route is made more marathon safe)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:07:00

Pros/Cons: Execution heavy action-RPG, plus intense teamwork between 3 runners.  Well paced with only a bit of downtime during cutscenes. The 3 of us did an excellent job working together on Secret of Mana at RPGLB 2017, and completed a very well received run during that marathon. However, this is a brutal category, no questions asked. Glitches are not allowed to get money, armor, or even items some of the time, and there's not much room for error due to those factors. We are unable to practice together being continents apart, but we are working together to create the most marathon safe route possible, and will be doing solo runs to make sure we're on the same page as much as possible. Given our previous experience together, we're confident that we can quickly work together and make this a great showing.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the Boy, Name the Sprite, Name the Girl (6 letter limit, letters only) Save/Kill the Resistance, Demonstrate Peak SoM AI Movement (1 minute), Get the Moogle Belt (2 minutes)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/166746605 - 1 Player run of Any% "Glitchless".  I'm hoping to have an updated video with a superior route by the end of submissions


Game Name: Custom Robo (GCN)
System: Gamecube, but will be run on Wii for smaller chance of disk read errors
Category: NG New Journey Relay Race with CR Community
Gameplay Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros: Features quick decision making as the opponents make unpredictable maneuvers, forcing the runner to adjust on the fly every second during the battles, showing off runner skill as robos are defeated one after another. There's zero risk of anything run ending occurring due to the fact that even if you fail a battle, you just start that battle over again.
Cons: Not getting new parts after the 4th day does make the run a bit stale towards the end since you're seeing very similar strats used for the latter fights in the game.
Possible Donation Incentives: Mini 1v1 Tournament between 4 players (Estimate 10 minutes)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/119043215


Game Name: Soul Blazer
System: Super Nintendo
Category: Any% (US or JP Version) Race with eLmaGus
Gameplay Estimate: 1:45:00 for US version, 1:35:00 for the JP Version
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:13:00
Pros/Cons: First of the Enix SNES Action RPG trilogy. Fast paced gameplay with tight execution.  Main sources of RNG come from gem drops and an rpgJerkBird boss near the end of the game.  Text and cutscenes are longer in the US version, but still not too bad, and the speedrun shows off the high skill ceiling very well with manipulating enemy movements to keep them in specific locations for quick kills.  A race would be a great new way to show off the run as it has already been in RPGLB previously.
Possible Donation Incentives: File Name (US Version Only)
Sample run video: https://youtu.be/byFWOu48U_I (RPGLB 2016 Marathon Run)
Edit history:
Z-Saber: 2018-01-26 09:15:22 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-22 10:14:47 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-21 11:07:29 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:53:45 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:53:00 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:41:51 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:38:19 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:37:08 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:36:07 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:35:25 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:34:36 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:28:50 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:26:41 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:18:20 pm
Z-Saber: 2018-01-19 11:16:27 pm
My preference is for 'Unlock Carnage Dimension' to be accepted initially, but add a HUGE donation incentive for upgrading the category to 'Defeat Baal'. If this is not possible, I would prefer 'Defeat Baal' be accepted over 'Unlock Carnage Dimension' for category.

I'm going to elaborate on the categories submitted because this isn't your typical Any% or 100% submission. Lots of text ahead.

Game Name: Disgaea 5
System : Switch (PS4 came out in 2015, and Switch version released in 2017)

Game Overview:

The main difference between Switch and PS4 is Switch version being slightly faster by about 2-3 minutes and comes pre-packaged with all the DLC, accessible through an NPC.
Even though I'll be playing on the Switch version, I will not be using any DLC content for any of the submitted categories to appeal to all players of the game.

I ran Any% of this game at the Questing for Glory marathon which was featured on the RPGLB channel, and anyone who saw that run can agree how ridiculously fast the game plays, with the story being beatable in a mere 90 minutes.
Because of this, it would be better to go a different route for this game which features something barely explored in this series as far as speedruns go: postgame content.

In recent Disgaea games, the typical gameplay progression is divided into 3 phases:

1. Beat Story
2. Unlock Carnage (Carnage is a postgame area that requires fulfilling various requirements to access. Once unlocked, you can access the best items, grinding areas, and the most powerful enemies, usually with over 1,000,000 stats)
3. Endgame (You will power up your units through the Carnage area's special features and defeat the strongest bosses once your units are strong enough)

My goal is to showcase a speedrun for this game that takes the viewer through the complete Disgaea experience, which for most people, usually comes after beating the main story.
--------------------------------------------
Category : Unlock Carnage Dimension
Gameplay Estimate : 2:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate : 1:20:00 (See other category below)

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/216202481

Run Description:
This run does phase 1 and 2 of the gameplay progression.

The Carnage Dimension speedrun starts off as an Any% run with a few minor tweaks, but continues after beating the story's final boss and dives straight into the postgame.
A lot of things unlock once you enter the postgame, such as new features, new grind areas, and powerful bosses that could one-shot the story mode's final boss.
This opens new strategies and techniques to power up our units even faster than what the Any% run does, and we'll be using them to unlock the Carnage Dimension, which involves beating new powerful bosses, and high level enemies.

To give you an idea of what we'll be getting into, the Any% run finishes at around lvl 300 and stats around 5000-10000, but after we're done unlocking the Carnage Dimension, we'll be around lvl 2000 and have stats over 90,000. Nearly ten times the power for one hour longer!


Pros

+ One of the first Switch RPGs released, so a lot more people are aware of the game now compared to its original release on PS4.
+ This is a series where most of the playtime comes after you beat the main story, and we'll actually get to experience it in this run.
+ Big numbers. We'll be able to defeat multiple enemies with over 1 million HP in one turn by the time the run is over.
+ This is an RPG that was designed for going fast, with a lot of gameplay features that are meant to be used together to get stronger quicker and clear maps faster.
+ Interesting routing. This is a run where I have to worry about saving seconds, since we'll be going through a lot of stages (over 200) over the course of the run, the time losses add up. Each stage has to be carefully routed in a very particular way to beat it optimally.
+ Very safe run. Any mistakes in a stage can be reverted by simply retrying the stage, which puts the stage's state back to how it was at the start. Saving is very fast and safety saves can be made without losing too much time.
+ Downtime is minimal. Anything that doesn't involve direct gameplay like cutscenes is completely skippable. Longest break the run has is probably at most 10 seconds.
+ Lots of possibilities for donation incentives. The game is varied and diverse enough to allow for other interesting incentives besides the usual naming ones.
+ Very consistent speedrun and route. The run isn't heavily reliant on random drops or events to continue. RNG will only account for 5-10 minutes at worst. Most time losses that occur during the run will be primarily due to subpar execution or improper setups.
+ Lots of variety. There's rarely a time where we'll be doing the same things for more than 5 minutes.
+ Casual friendly. No glitches, RNG manipulation, or major sequence breaks are used. It's basically the purest essence of an RPG speedrun, where we are utilizing the game's features and mechanics to go fast and requires heavy execution.
+ Lets you see 90% of the game's features and mechanics, as well as how to use them for a faster and better experience. The game has a lot of mechanics, meaning a lot of things to talk about in the run.
+ Surprisingly short run length for a series notorious for being very grindy and time-consuming.

Cons
- The gameplay goes by so fast and there's a lot of stuff that's happening and lot of minor details that go into the run, it might be hard to fit it all in. I'll make sure to structure commentary to emphasize the most important points, so this shouldn't be a big concern by the time the event nears.
- This run is mostly a transition into the Endgame, and doesn't have a proper sense of closure. Final boss we fight in this run is an interesting fight but fairly anticlimactic.

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

Category: Defeat Baal
Gameplay Estimate : 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate : 15-20 minutes

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/219706397 (Unlock Carnage Dimension run would normally end at around the 2:06:00 mark in the video. Baal fight starts around 3:03:20 in the video. There is bad RNG in the fight in the video, but a little extra grinding can make this a non-issue.)

Run Description:

In the Disgaea games, Baal is one of the most powerful Overlords ever and is either the hardest or 2nd hardest fight in the game. Defeating Baal will usually give some powerful item or unlock a very good feature. Much of the Disgaea Endgame focuses on building up your characters to defeat Baal.

This run picks up where the 'Unlock Carnage Dimension' run ends and explores the final phase of Disgaea gameplay: the Endgame. We'll get to actually make use of the Carnage Dimension's features to power up our characters quickly so they can defeat Baal. Baal will have around 50 million stats, but once Carnage Dimension is unlocked, the method to power up goes by so quickly that it will only take around 70 extra minutes to get strong enough to defeat him.

This image will give you a comparison on the power level of the toughest bosses we fight in the different categories. https://i.imgur.com/lrI3FV0.png

I'm going to mention the Pros and Cons that pertain to the things done after Carnage Dimension is unlocked, as lot of the Pros/Cons of the other category will apply here as well.

Pros
+ This run offers the complete Disgaea experience, and gets to showcase how far the series has evolved since the first game.
+ We get to see the fruits of our labor for unlocking the Carnage Dimension. The game will fully open up at this point and we'll be free to abuse the new features to exponentially power up our characters.
+ We will get to experience all 3 phases of Disgaea gameplay progression, something that was extremely time-consuming to do in the previous games.
+ We can actually get to see units reach level 9999 before our eyes in this run.
+ Big numbers get even bigger at a faster pace! If you thought 100,000 stats was absurd by the time we unlock the Carnage Dimension, we'll be reaching over 10 MILLION stats and be capable of doing over 1 BILLION damage at the end of this run!
+ Length is very short for beating a very tough superboss in a series with such an expansive postgame. Lots of content for the time spent.
+ Baal is a very intimidating and difficult boss, and you really get a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from seeing him go down.
+ Postgame content and superbosses are not normally seen in most RPGLB runs, and this run is short enough that we can get to experience both.
+ It's not very often we see a run where we can go from doing double-digit damage to 10-digit damage in under 4 hours.

Cons
- A large amount of the time after unlocking the Carnage Dimension (30-40 minutes) will be primarily spent on grinding and powering up our characters (Kinda necessary when you need to go from 90,000 --> 9,000,000 stats), although the methods of grinding are rather unique and allow us to elaborate on further mechanics. Grind is not as repetitive as it sounds due to spending most of it in randomized map layouts (also requires quick thinking on the fly to do this quickly), however. Donations can also be read en masse during this time.



Incentives


NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, all listed incentives apply to both categories
For naming incentives, there are several symbols that the game has as an option (fire, heart, male/female symbol, infinity, etc), so I'll probably provide a screenshot of the naming screen if this is accepted as an incentive.
Naming limits in this game are different from most games. The limit is basically the amount of space in the character name box, but each character takes up a different amount of space in the naming box, so the character limit can be anywhere from 10-43, depending on what characters/symbols are used.

* Defeat Baal - This is a category upgrade from 'Unlock Carnage Dimension'. If accepted, this should be a large incentive, as I'm sure many people would rather see the Baal run, especially with how short the estimate is.

* Seraphina's bunny outfit - Seraphina is a character that follows the main character around the base and is an available party member. At the very start of the game, I can opt to turn her outfit into a bunny costume which will alter her appearance for the remainder of the run. Should take about 5 seconds.

* More Prinnies, Dood!
Prinnies are units that say a funny line in this game. If met, I will create up to 8 extra Prinnies (I start the game with 2 Prinnies and I normally don't create any more) at the start of the game and will actively use them throughout the run, so we'll be hearing the line a lot more. This can be set up so that people can donate X amount to unlock each extra Prinny. Should take no more than 1 minute to create all 8 Prinnies.

* Name your own Prinny!
Related to the above incentive. As Prinnies for the above incentive are unlocked, an option to name them can open up. Can take 3-5 minutes to create and name all 8 Prinnies depending on the name length and whether I get a written list before naming them.

* Name the final party members!
If Defeat Baal is accepted, I'll need to create 4 additional party members to fight Baal. These can be named.

I'll be creating:
1 human
3 monsters
Specifics are mostly hidden to prevent spoilers, but they are all female characters.


* Obtain all special characters
During the run, I will obtain every unique character in the game, including DLC characters. Most of them will not be used, however. This will be done before I fight the run's final boss. Should take about 5 minutes.

* Defeat final boss of 'Unlock the Carnage Dimension' run with only level 1 characters and no equipment.
It is actually possible to defeat the boss with very weak characters, and if met, I'll demonstrate how. Takes about 1 minute to create the level 1 chraacters.

* Defeat final boss of 'Unlock the Carnage Dimension' run at max difficulty.
Related to the incentive above, I can also make the boss level 9999 instead of 1500, which requires a different setup to defeat. Should take about 10 extra seconds.

* Unlock Money Maps
I will do an optional Carnage Dimension map with very difficult enemies that have 99 million stats and over 4 billion HP. This is needed to unlock a game feature but is not normally done in the speedrun. If met, I will do this optional stage at the maximum difficulty. Should take about 2-3 minutes.

* Obtain a trophy for hitting allies
There is an in-game trophy for hitting a unit in the base 100 times. I will obtain this trophy if met. Adds some humor during the run and takes about 90 seconds.

* Check gameplay stats
There is an NPC that gives you an overview of your gameplay stats (game time, enemies killed, etc). I can check the stats through this NPC at the end of the run.  Takes about 2-3 minutes to view and elaborate on the stats.

* Massive Damage Demonstration
Requires loading a pre-made save and will be using DLC characters. I'll be showing a setup that will allow one to get an absurdly high damage amount. This number will be well over the TRILLIONS! Should take about 5 minutes.

* Watch 30 seconds of the cutscene after defeating the story mode final boss
After the main story's final boss is defeated, there will be a cutscene that follows almost akin to DBZ where they get FALCON PUNCHED into oblivion. Watching the first 30 seconds of the scene will show that happening. Cutscene will be skipped after the scene plays out as nothing else of note happens.
Edit history:
Pa-Sama: 2018-02-24 12:09:59 pm
Pa-Sama: 2018-02-23 03:56:27 pm
Pa-Sama: 2018-02-11 10:03:38 pm
Pa-Sama: 2018-01-25 10:43:45 am
Pa-Sama: 2018-01-25 10:39:27 am
Pa-Sama: 2018-01-20 01:01:07 pm
Pa-Sama: 2018-01-19 11:49:07 pm
Oh hai Cheesy Yea submission hype!!!

Game Name: Tecmo Secret of the Stars
System: Super Nintendo
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4h15min (The time is high in case certain bosses are meanies)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending, credits and end credit scene is about 9 min long

Pros:

+One of Tecmo’s RPG!! - yes, they did make an RPG on the Snes...no there is no football
+Fantastic Translations! - Makes this game have a compelling storyline
+Obscure RPG - People who have played this have never beaten it, and many people have no idea this existed
+Amazing glitches - I use three glitches in the game, one that takes the grinding of this game and tosses it out the window, another where we get all the money and an MP glitch...did I mention this game is broken??
+Lots of downtime - A lot of dungeons with hallways and not much happening, the perfect time to mention donations, talk about the game etc.
+Tacos - Wait what??

Cons:

- A lot of downtimes - There is a lot...A LOT of walking in hallways in dungeons, this can be a good or a bad thing
- Terrible Translations - yes, this is here as well, let's just leave it at that
- Fast Combat - For speedrun purposes, we turn off the battle animations and make the text speed fast and during certain fights in the middle and until the end of the run I have to concentrate. There is stuff
happening, but it is hard to keep up. I am hoping for the couch to explain the battle.
- Some terrible RNG with bosses - I will be using safety saves during the run, but certain bosses can wipe out the party quickly if I am not careful. The final boss is RNG dependent, I hope that he does not cast a particular spell early and if he does it is a reset and try again.

Donation Incentive Offers: Nothing too fancy here, Name the Main Character and the other main party members, Name the town
((There are five main party members, six letters max. All caps and small caps, explanation point, period, brackets, dash, question mark and &. Same with naming the town.))

((Name Cut off points:
Main Character: As soon as we hit new game Cheesy
Tina: Once we enter Beegees (8:55-9 min mark)
Cody: After defeating Garados (46 - 47 min mark)
Leona: After we fall in the bed at Decatas in the rich district (50 min mark)
Dan: After defeating Dram in the Ancient Well (1 hour 10 min mark)

Naming the Town: Same time as Cody's name cut off (46 - 47 min ))

Video Reference:
I have two. The first link is my submission run for RPG Limit break, and the second one is my current PB/World Record.

First Link:https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220538919
Second Link: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/208518258
Edit history:
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:10:10 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-20 12:07:39 am
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-20 12:05:20 am
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:59:14 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:58:52 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:54:13 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:52:02 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:51:21 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:50:58 pm
DJSALTYNUTZ: 2018-01-19 11:50:21 pm
Game Name: Kingdom Hearts (English)

System: Playstation 2 (RTA will be done on Playstation 3 CECH-A01)

Category: Any% (Normal)

Gameplay Estimate: 5:30:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending in total is roughly 20mins

Pros:  Great for donation reading throughout the run, along with the nostalgia that started the series!
          This is a different game compare to the Final Mix version.
          The boss AI are not the same, in addition to the abilities of Sora and his party members. (Diverse strategies when it comes to these factors!)
         
Cons: Cannot skip cut scenes.
          If the character dies at a segment, (especially a boss fight!) the player will have to see the cut scene again!

Donation Incentive Offer: Run will be done on Expert Mode (add 15mins to the estimate due to difficulty)

https://youtu.be/BBL8Qb5_i_4
Edit history:
Keizaron: 2018-01-20 12:37:50 am
Game Name: Mega Man Battle Network 2
System: GBA played on a GBP
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A

Pros:

+ Entire game is under my control due to RNG manipulation

Cons:

- Because of RNG manipulation, fights may feel repetitive or stale

Donation Incentive Offers: Bidwar between English and Japanese Any% (runs are similar until the halfway point, then change)

Video: https://youtu.be/CtrpG26OHY8

==========

Game Name: Pokemon Ultra Moon
System: 3DS
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 6:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A

Pros:

+ Shows off the latest in the Pokemon series
+ Potential for donation incentives via Pokemon nicknames
+ Interesting strategies throughout

Cons:

- Lengthy cutscenes throughout the game

Donation Incentive Offers: Popplio nickname, Zorua nickname, Poipole nickname

Video: https://youtu.be/2qej0l7vq2M - Note: this was done on an older 3DS model; time is ~10+ minutes faster on the newer model I'm planning to use

==========

Game Name: Pokemon Crystal
System: GBC played on a GBP
Category #1: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 3:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00:05 (Bug Catching Contest?)

Pros:

+ Considered the quintessential generation of Pokemon games, so good nostalgia trip
+ Has two viable routes for bidwar potential

Cons:

- Some parts drag on in places

Donation Incentive Offers: Bidwar for Feraligatr vs Entei route; Totodile nickname, possible cut slave nickname, possible Poliwag nickname, possible Entei nickname, possible Dratini nickname

Video: https://youtu.be/o7hQrCwiWC4

Category #2: Randomizer Cinco Bingo Race
Gameplay Estimate 2:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A

Pros:

+ Shows off Pokemon in a whole new way
+ Multiple on-the-fly routing and strategies
+ Races are hecking cool

Cons:

- Legality?

Donation Incentive Offers: Starter nicknames, nicknames in general

Video: https://youtu.be/wJrptMmfTTM - This only shows my perspective, obviously

==========

Game Name: Pokemon Red
System: GB played on a GBP
Category #1: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00:10 (Catch Mewtwo)

Pros:

+ Can RNG manipulate a perfect Nidoran and a perfect Mt. Moon
+ Shows off quirky mechanics gen 1 is known for

Cons:

- A bit dated

Donation Incentive Offers: Squirtle nickname (maybe), Nidoran nickname, flyer nickname, Paras nickname

Video: https://youtu.be/oCyzw_popNI

==========

Game Name: Animorphs
System: GBC played on a GBP
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00

Pros:

+ None

Cons:

- Everything

Donation Incentive Offers: Upgrade from Any% to 125%; destroy cart after finishing run; play a different game

Video: https://youtu.be/F0gTZVwDndw - Any% | https://youtu.be/z5dhElQ9RLg - 125%
Edit history:
kirbymastah: 2018-02-05 11:33:05 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-28 01:48:05 pm
kirbymastah: 2018-01-22 03:13:08 pm
kirbymastah: 2018-01-22 03:12:03 pm
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:38:24 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:34:08 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:26:03 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:23:44 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:17:47 am
kirbymastah: 2018-01-20 12:13:23 am
<(^_^)>
TL;DR:
-FE6 is RNG-manipulated, the most challenging, and has some warp skips (not as silly/repetitive like FE11/12).
-FE9 is my most preferred submission. No manipulation but still marathon-safe, and has some of the coolest/varied strategies, though also a longer run.
-FE10 is also another strong submission, with more character variety than FE9. However, this is my longest submission, and I've already ran this game once (easy mode) at RPGLB15.
-FE11 is my short bonus / filler / silly / backup submission, and cheeses most maps with Warp.
-FE12 is the least known game and is similar to FE11 but is more varied with its "cheese", is also pretty short, and has better potential for incentives than all of my other submissions

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


Fire Emblem 6: Binding Blade
System: GBA on Gamecube's GBA Player
Category: All Chapters
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Description: This is the first FE released on GBA, only released in Japan. This game features ROY OUR BOY, and is the 6th overall FE game in the series. The all chapters category aims to clear all gaiden chapters in one playthrough, and to beat the true final boss. If this gets in, I plan on improving the route but the video should still look mostly similar.

Pros / Cons:

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

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

Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance
System: Gamecube (will use Wii)
Category: Normal Mode (Japanese)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
English Version: +0:10:00
Description: This is the first FE to go 3D, and is released on the gamecube, starring Ike that we like.

Pros / Cons:
+ WE LIKE IKE
+ Not RNG-manipulated, so there's more variety, improvisation, and a lot to commentate on
+ Fixed growths mode makes it so it's impossible to lose a run to bad level-ups because they're fixed, making this more marathon safe
+ Features the crit underflow glitch, which gives a 255% crit rate to some forged weapons. This is very useful but also cannot be used on all weapons, adding strategy to weapon management. The first time this is used is in 28:07
+ Features skills and mechanics (like shoving) which isn't prominent in my other submissions, adding depth to strategy and a lot to commentate on
+/- Cannot turn off map animations, making the game significantly slower-paced. On the other hand, this adds depth in strategy to try to cut out attack animations, such as going out of my way to avoid encounters, going for more critical hits, and getting the vantage scroll.
- 2nd longest of my submissions
- 3 long boring chapters about 7-8 minutes each
- Ran on japanese, which is required for the crit underflow glitch and other version differences. I can also run this on english version but it's a riskier run and I would increase my estimate to 2:20:00.
- The strategy with the last boss isn't really safe. There's overall a ~50% chance to lose at least a minute, and the worst-case scenario is a game over. Unfortunately there's no safety for it besides retrying it. My estimate has a significant buffer because of this.

Donation Incentives: Attempt to have Ike fight the Black Knight. This is a notorious and popular fight in the FE franchise. However, I have a ~70% chance to win, so I can't guarantee winning.

My PB/WR Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXUagxGgDvo
My PB/WR Video on the english version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKDy-L6mkC8
A marathon run by gwimpage, with me helping commentate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5v5AtbO-3s

Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn
System: Wii
Category: Normal Mode with Transfers
Gameplay Estimate: 3:35:00
Glitch/Silly Showcase: +0:05:00
Description: This is the direct sequel to FE9. This game is notable for giving you different teams and units during different parts of the game (as opposed to sticking to the same one the entire game). I opened RPGLB15 with this same game on easy mode. Normal mode changes several objectives and enemy placement & stats, drastically changing the strategy for most of the run.

Pros / Cons:
+ This game easily has the most varied character usage out of all of my FE submissions. While a few characters (Jill/Haar/Titania) are more prominent, several others contribute throughout the run, providing a lot of character diversity.
+ Actually optimal run this in English!
+ The bonus experience (BEXP) system guarantees exactly 3 stats per level. This means while level-ups are random, key characters won't get screwed over long-term, making it realistically unlikely to not finish marathon run due to levels.
+ There are a lot of important stat thresholds I have to explain and memorize (much more than easy mode), but the run is reliable enough that I can finish regardless of what typically happens thanks to the BEXP. This provides room for more commentary and improv.
+ Battle Saves let me save in the middle of a chapter. If there's something risky coming up, and I'm forced to reset, I can just reload the battle save and try again.
- Starting halfway through part 3, chapters start dragging out where we're waiting around for enemy phase to end. This can become a massive slog at times with a few minutes of downtime for almost each and every late game chapter (especially part 4)
- This is my longest submission by a significant margin

My PB/WR Video - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/202539827
A marathon run with me being sleep deprived - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFpBPLhw8r8

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

Pros / Cons:
+ Has Marth, THE iconic Fire Emblem character
+ Incredibly short. It's flexible to fit around as a bonus/replacement/filler game, which is not common in many RPG speedruns
+ Actually in English! Though to be fair, that matters a LOT less in this kind of run than my other submissions...
+ Features one use of a glitch where you warp Marth across the map, then warp a nearby invisible clone of him to warp him twice in the same turn (see 12:37)
+/- Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp!!!! SO FAST!!!! But repetitive...
+/- Every chapter is a seize chapter, so the core strategy is almost always "get/warp marth to the throne and kill boss". This is very repetitive, but it also means there aren't any repetitive defend chapters or dragged-out "kill all enemies" chapters
+/- The prologue chapters of the run (about the first 1/5) is RNG manipulated, which lets me explain more about how the RNG works in this game. However, the rest of the run cannot be reliably manipulated. This gives a nice mix of some manipulation and non-manipulated routes.
- ...You're staring at a black screen half the time because enemy phase is always skipped. This is why the run is so fast, but also detracts significantly from viewer experience
- There isn't much character variety, since the speedrun consists of moving/warping Marth repeatedly with some staff user
- Not a popular / well-received fire emblem game, despite featuring Marth
- Past the prologue, there's no solid fallback on bad luck with Marth's level-ups. However, I can prepare a Wii-U Restore State before starting a run on a RNG seed that ensures Marth gets good levels early on, and have other backup save files if he still ends up bad with that, which is a huge buffer and makes this significantly more marathon safe.
- DS game emulated on Wii-U VC with two screens means a very specific layout would have to be created for this run

My PB/WR Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS5fsdDKf9k

Fire Emblem 12: New Mystery of the Emblem
System: Nintendo DS (Actual DS)
Category: All Chapters
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00:00
Description: This is the second FE released on the DS, and a remake of book 2 of FE3. In other words, it's basically a direct sequel to FE11. This game has never been released outside of Japan.

Pros / Cons:
+ Has Marth, THE iconic Fire Emblem character
+ One of my shorter submissions
+ "My Unit" is a customizable character new to this game, which opens up a variety of incentives
+ Category requires True Ending, i.e. getting all 12 starsphere shards and all 5 Binding Shield spheres. This adds more strategy with side objectives (kill units that drop them, or open certain chests) as opposed to just rushing to the end all the time.
+ This game has some really overpowered staves like Warp, Rescue (teleport a far unit to the staff user), Thief (open any chest on the map), and Again (let any unit on the map move again). The speedrun is very cheesy like FE11, but the cheese is a lot more varied.
+ Has significantly more character variety than FE11, relying on training Marth, the avatar, and Palla to be the main MVPs of the run, and a handful of other units to support them
+ Some strategic reclassing for some units (especially Palla). This mechanic also exists in FE11 but it isn't used in the FE11 speedrun at all.
+/- There is no RNG manipulation at all for this game whatsoever
+/- Most chapter objectives are seize. However, there are a handful of chapters with other objectives (kill boss, and defeat all enemies).
- ...You're staring at a black screen half the time because enemy phase is always skipped. This is why the run is so fast, but also detracts significantly from viewer experience
- This game is not very well known at all, because it has never been released outside of Japan due to FE11's poor reception. However, this game has very positive reception among the few that have played this.
- No 100% fallback on bad luck with Marth's nor My Unit's nor Palla's level-ups. However, I have several backup strats to alleviate this significantly, and worst-case scenario, I can prepare backup saves with good stats. The downside to backup saves is that the avatar's name/gender would already be set, potentially limiting donation incentive potential.
- Only Japanese, no english release. It's worth noting that there exists a translation patch and the route is exactly the same, and I can run it on that with a flashcart.
- DS game with two screens (one very important, one that should always be there but is less important) means a very specific layout would have to be created for this run

Donation Incentives:
-My Unit's gender (male/female, set at start)
-My Unit's headgear (headband, bald, bishop hat, masquerade ball mask, tiara) - throughout the run some character will ask if the avatar would like to try/wear the headgear. There's one more I haven't listed but it's near the end of the run that I didn't include it.
-My Unit's name (5 characters, set at start); note that the JP cartridge only lets me use japanese characters. Allowing this as an incentive with english characters means I have to use the fan translation.

My PB/WR Video (currently on fantranslation):https://www.twitch.tv/videos/209659720
A Marathon Video (fantranslation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xVw_nSY2yk
Edit history:
Deuceler: 2018-01-26 08:17:04 am
Deuceler: 2018-01-20 07:42:13 am
Deuceler: 2018-01-20 04:57:59 am
Deuceler: 2018-01-20 04:57:35 am
Deuceler: 2018-01-20 12:58:01 am
SPEEDruns not SAFEruns
Game Name: Brave Fencer Musashi
System: Playstation (played on PS2 Slim)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10 minutes

Due to work I will be arriving Wednesday the 16th around 11pm and staying until the end of the event

Pros:
- The game has gone over some major route improvements within the last year and the route has little down time between objectives which progress the run
- Never before featured in a live marathon setting
- No random elements which can interrupt gameplay
- Some of the best voice acting featured in a ps1 game

Cons:
- Smaller community, so not a huge money draw
- A few of the mandatory glitches for the run could take multiple attempts
- An Action RPG as opposed to a more traditional RPG

Donation Incentive Offers:

- Shoeless: A faster strat used in current WR attempts. We would skip grabbing the L-Goggles which allow us to appraise an item in the Frost Palace. In order to do this a precise jump is required in two spots - one of which could softlock the game. A fairly new strat which shows off the manipulation of some intended game mechanics.

- Blindfolded mine cart: Prior to the ant queen Musashi hops into a rusty old mine cart for the game's only auto scroller featured in the run. Dodging flying ants and sliding gates is the name of the game. You are also allowed to take up to four hits prior to falling off the cart.

- Dance or Die!: This is a stupid idea. Everyone's favorite dancer Topo challenges Musashi to a dance off which is a combination of sequential button presses that never change. I've discovered you can pause the game and plug in a DDR dancepad to bust a move.

Sample run video:
This run was the previous WR before the extremely new route change, which saves 20+ minutes. I will be doing the new route with this submission.
Fanny pack cam hype


Game Name: Brave Fencer Musashi
System: Playstation (played on PS2 Slim)
Category: 100%
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00 (This could be 5:00:00 very soon)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10 minutes


Pros:
- 100% collects everything the game has to offer while still showing off glitches and tricks
- Loads more opportunity for top notch voice acting
- The community is collectively optimizing and re-routing this entire category to showcase this run.

Cons:
- Smaller community, so not a huge money draw
- The run is much longer than Any%
- There has been one run completed by a Japanese runner to provide proof of concept

Donation Incentive Offers:

- Glitch Showcase: I will show off the tricks which don't get used in the 100% category but do in the Any% category. There is also a few variations of strats during the run which could be shown.

- Blindfolded mine cart: Prior to the ant queen Musashi hops into a rusty old mine cart for the game's only auto scroller featured in the run. Dodging flying ants and sliding gates is the name of the game. You are also allowed to take up to four hits prior to falling off the cart.

- Dance or Die!: This is a stupid idea. Everyone's favorite dancer Topo challenges Musashi to a dance off which is a combination of sequential button presses that never change. I've discovered you can pause the game and plug in a DDR dancepad to bust a move.

Sample run video:
EDIT !!!!!!!!!!! The new route has been done by Canadian runner zacharylawerence in a time of 5:31:02 ! Here's an example of what the run would actually look like!
Zach's Run
Edit history:
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-29 07:44:06 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-28 06:56:48 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-28 06:56:21 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-28 06:53:28 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-28 01:10:19 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-27 10:16:35 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-27 05:06:29 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-27 04:32:48 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-26 06:26:51 pm
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:11:24 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-22 07:56:08 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-22 12:32:34 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-22 12:26:45 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-21 12:56:20 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-21 12:50:41 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 09:40:41 pm
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 10:24:44 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 10:22:29 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 07:44:04 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 01:54:14 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 01:12:11 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 01:07:50 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 01:02:30 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 12:59:22 am
Kyoslilmonster: 2018-01-20 12:58:32 am
Availability: 13th (around 2pm on) - End
I will also be bringing backups of each system/SSD just in case anything happens.


Runs are listed in order of preference:


Game Name
: Final Fantasy XV
System: PS4 Pro (SSD)
Category: Any%, Normal
Gameplay Estimate: 4:34:00 (This time accounts for my WORST RNG run and missing all skips, most runs are ~4:30 or less)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 1:00:00 + Huh?
15 Mins of ending and singing, up to 10 mins to get additional music, 30 mins for Normal Ch 13 Route. Costelmark% ?? mins this needs to be rerouted, estimate can be given at a later time
Pros/Cons:
+ This game is 100% Marathon Safe™. It has also seen MASSIVE improvement since release in 2017. I have spent well over 300 hours running this game over the past 4 months, learning it, crafting and perfecting it and it’s basically become my child and it would fit well into the marathon, as it is always able to be finished.
+ I’ll be running on the PS4 Pro so increased frame rate and better graphics make the game pop so much more.
+ The game is very fast paced, technical movement, has many skips, sequence breaks, abuse of damage mechanics through the magic crafting system as well as stat bonuses provided by equipment allowing us to finish the run at a seriously low level (about 1/2 of what is suggested)
+ A great story along the way, with a merry batch of adventurers who are definitely experiencing the WORST bachelor party of all time. This game is a wonderful example of a modern, open-world, action RPG; amazing graphics, great characters, and a BIG ole world.
+ As the writer of the notes for speedrun.com I’m pretty confident in my knowledge of the game as well as the commentary needed to support it, having run it for so long I would be able to provide commentary on the evolution of the run over it’s history as well as the newest strats we employ during any down times in the run.
+ It has a very active and growing community, adding new runners and fielding more strategy and competition as the months have passed. Especially with the PC version launching soon we’ve already got an auto-splitter/load remover in the works.
+ I can run this game solo and commentate it at the same time if need be. I am 100% confident than no matter what happens I will not go over time and be able to keep chat engaged with the game unless I encounter ungodly bad luck (more than 50 total ring casts).
+ The faster this game is pushed, the more strange things happen, so weird glitches that aren’t game breaking are always fun.
+ I have run this in 2 previous marathons to positive reception and finished under estimate both times and was very well received by hosts and the audience. I believe it is still the most viewed run on YouTube from Questing For Glory, and the run has changed quite a lot since then (also 15 mins of saves and optimizations). I'm currently also pursuing the World Record, so the estimate may drop another 2-5 mins in the near future.
+ With the PC release slated for this year, as well as the continuing updates and new releases (Royal Edition) announced, this game is sure to garner attention and continue to be very runnable in the future. I really want to showcase this game and get more people into running it, as it’s a speedrun you can ALWAYS finish.
+/- Something that goes both ways is there are a good decent bit of breaks (Yay for snacks and bathroom breaks) which is basically a somewhat long car ride in Ch 3 (around 3-4 minutes) and another in Chapter 6 (around 6 minutes total). This however gives a chance to discuss the evolution of this game as a speedrun since release, and the people who have put lots of time into the speedrun and strats involved. This time can also obviously be used to fill in the story from skipping cutscenes, which there are a few of. Most of the breaks are contained to the first two hours of the run. There is a 3 minute cutscene as well before entering the final chapter.
- RNG plays a factor only in the last handful of minutes of the run and aren’t a big deal. The cons are that the ending might seem a little lack-luster due to ring strats, but it does build the hype for the timer and final battle, which is a lot more technical. Despite this, it’s still a very engaging ~5 hour run for the amount of breaks you can take.
- The game opens rather slow and kind of linear, but has a lot of action as the game continues on. The first Chapter is kinda slow, but contains singing, as well as a good bit of time to introduce the audience to our cast of characters and backstory to fill the void in direct action.
+ The game also has a lot of options and potential bid wars/donation incentives which will be listed below.
Basically, I really want to run this and I think it’ll be a massive draw and an overall fun run to watch.
Donation Incentives (hang onto your hats):
- Final Picture Bid War [~5 mins across the entire game] (picture that is displayed after finishing the game/final photo)
- Soundtrack Choice Bid War [up to 10 minutes through the entire game. Will have to go out of the way to grab some soundtracks] (in game music can be changed by purchasing soundtracks at outposts along the way (and sometimes out of the way, which adds time to the run) However, with the use of the MP3 Player item we can have the music play while outside of the car as well, or leave the game soundtrack as it is intended. Audience choice on that one.
- Party Outfits (Outside of Noctis) Bid War [0 mins] (This is basically the outfits our other party members will be wearing)
- Audio Language (Bid War) - I've run it enough, the audio language doesn't really bother me. Simple bid war, might add around 30 seconds if it's not JP. I'm not bothered by the time loss. Options include Japanese, English, German, French
- Prompto Cosplay during run Donation Incentive [0 mins] (Been working on it for months)
- Costelmark Dungeon % Donation Incentive (An optional 60 Floor Dungeon that has no item usage, I would load a separate save for this)
- Chapter 13 Normal Route Donation Incentive [~20 mins] (This is the “old” chapter 13 route which requires a lot of skill and timing and is about 20 mins longer)
- Input Viewer [0 mins] A lot of the XV runners use input viewers to display what we’re doing. Nothing special, just kinda cool.
- DLC % Speedrun [Donation Incentive] (1:30:00) Exactly as it sounds this would include Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto Episode DLCs
VOD Link With Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAkP7ugNsFg&index=33&list=PL8PZB25uZuZ4zHYTsWhBL-trhK1ww1z4D (5:xx something, on old PS4)
VOD Link for PB (a better time estimate with newer patch and PS4 Pro graphics, pardon the language, which is WAY different from my marathon vocabulary): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223077701 (4:27:01)


Game Name: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
System: PS4 Pro (SSD)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 + 45:00
Pros/Cons:
+ The NEW (okay, well, not so new) version of FFXII based off of the International Zodiac Job System (IJZS) release of the game, makes FFXII come with a new set of challenges and benefits, the job system now limits the license board and makes your choices a bit more difficult, yet gameplay overall play easier and much faster due to framerate uncapping.
-/+ The sheer pace of this game makes it a challenging run, but to some is also a huge drawback due to the almost comical nature of the game.
+ There are some really awesome aspects of the run including real time RNG manipulation in order to get our weapons for the run, the use of ATB clogging to skip animations and some fights, as well as the just incredibly fast game play.
+ This is another fairly easy speed game to get into and should be a crowd pleaser, due to it’s ridiculous pace and how quickly the run proceeds.
+ Commentary for this run is fairly easy to do as it’s pretty rinse repeat and not many of the fights take much focus. Thus giving a really easy run, with ample time for donation readings, game backstory, and the development of the run.
+ PC release for this game means it will be in the lime light, and will more than likely be run as soon as it releases.
+ Autosaves are also a huge plus, so you can’t really lose a run per se. So it is Marathon Safe™ 
+ I have run this in a marathon before (#Zanathon) and am extremely comfortable with it.
- The 4x speed up does make the game comical to some degree to some
- Combat is kind of repetitive once you get the Seitengrats. Although the continual grunting might be a plus for some people?
Donation Incentives:
- Yiazmat! - 10:00 [Donation Incentive] (Will use the old Plat% strats before Yiazmat was sadly routed out of the game)
- Last 10 floors of Trial Mode - 40:00 [Donation Incentive] (Will use old Plat% save to show off how technical the game can truly get)
VOD Link (Some Commentary, older route and slow time, currently working on updating notes and can save an easy 5 minutes): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/168033926


Game Name: Parasite Eve
System: PS1 run on PS2 (90k)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 15:00
Pros/Cons:
-/+ This run has seen some time at RPGLB in the past, but with a new updated route making it consistent and MOSTLY safe breathes some new life into the run (no more 50/50 chest deciding if you finish the run).
+The run is still super streamlined and has a little bit of risk but is basically 99% Execution. It employs a lot of mashing and smart use of upgrades to quickly overpower and subdue your enemies along the course of the run, avoiding as many fight triggers as possible to make it to the appropriate level before the run.
+ Mashing is still really cool right?
- Mashing really hurts
- This is a fun run, but is definitely on the riskier side and there is A LOT of mashing. I’m still confident I could finish a run, but the time is not going to be anywhere near as fast as a PB paced run.
-/+ It might also be a little boring of a run without SOLID commentary, but the OST is absolutely amazing and more than makes up for it. Commentating this run while performing it is very easy however as it’s not very mentally challenging.
Would rather do commentary for this run if Professor_Palmer’s run is accepted.
Donation Incentives:
- Name Aya [Bid War]: Typical and Cheesy
- Sing the Credits [Donation Incentive]: It’s in Spanish, and oddly paced. Would take practice
- Show off New Game+: The Chrysler Building, where things get super neato and ridiculously overpowered. Would use a different save.
VOD Link (Some Commentary): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/201638940


Game Name: Xenosaga Episode 1 - Der Wille zur Macht
System: PS2 (90k)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 45:00
Pros/Cons:
+ What to say about this game? A wonderful intro into the trilogy of the Xenosaga series, this game has turn based combat, many ways to level your character and their abilities and GIANT BATTLE ROBOTS.
+ The battle system forces you to actively dodge enemy encounters, fight strategically and focus on reading enemy movement and turn order.
+ The lack of cutscenes forces this game to have a solid commentary, which I am capable of providing. This is actually pretty neat as it allows the runner to explain the backstory that’s provided during some of the long chunks of down time during the run that would normally be silent.
+ You use a calculator (Zwanzig and ChuckProud).
- It has literally no music for the first 25-30 mins, and the fights can be fairly repetitive in nature, but overall it’d be great exposure for an awesome series of games that never really shown, as this game series is a very engaging and philosophic in nature. The run itself would be fun but definitely needs solid commentary.
- There are a few bosses that could troll, but most of them have a save point just before and soft resetting the game doesn’t take too much time. Otherwise this game is relatively safe.
+ Would love to see this game finally get some attention (especially amidst the swirling rumors that the series might see an HD remaster for the Switch)
Donation Incentives:
- Sing the Ending SONGS [Donation Incentive]: That’s right, 2 for the price of 1, baby. Also I could bust out a wicked recorder solo from one of the songs (or at least hilariously try to play it, bonus points for cringe?)
- Erde Kaiser/All Bosses [Donation Incentive] - 30:00 : This goes towards gathering the parts for Erde Kaiser (Ultimate Weapon) and fighting the super boss in Kukai Foundation City Sector 26&27)
VOD Link (Some Commentary): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/181126109 Part 2: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/181125748
Edit history:
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:11:44 pm
shrimpboy: 2018-01-20 01:18:00 am
shrimpboy: 2018-01-20 01:15:30 am
shrimpboy: 2018-01-20 01:13:27 am
shrimpboy: 2018-01-20 01:11:27 am
shrimpboy: 2018-01-20 01:07:41 am
Game Name: Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% Level 1
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 (estimate for the chosen boss from the bid war)

Pros: Level 1 is a category that revolves around the mixture of luck and a massive amount of skill and concentration with the surroundings of mob fights and boss battles. This is also a category that is not ran by many due to its difficulty. Lots of time to read donations during gummi missions and platforming segments. The run can go a lot faster than the estimated time if played well (i'd say around 2:43-2:44 for the fastest and 2:50-2:55 as a decent no-reset run time).

Cons: The game can rarely crash at times when interacting with doors or enemies, most notably during the search ghost's attacks. Deaths from difficult parts adding up to the estimated run time

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Bid War of Level 1 post-run
superbosses (Sephiroth, Ice Titan, Kurt Zisa, Unknown, Phantom)

Sample run video: https://youtu.be/yqYfmMLe_do this is my PB of 2:47:05
Edit history:
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:38:49 pm
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:35:31 pm
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:32:16 pm
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:33:19 am
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:32:33 am
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:25:45 am
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:17:29 am
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 03:09:49 am
Yoshi_Zilla: 2018-01-20 01:33:18 am
Game Name: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
System: GameCube played on Nintendo Wii
Category: All Crystal Stars
Gameplay Estimate: 4:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits - 5 Minutes, Glitch Exhibition - 7 Minutes


Pros/Cons: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a fan favorite game and has come a long way in the last few years. Many glitches have been found which have utterly broken this game. In 2016, Palace Skip (the biggest theorized skip in the game) was discovered, along with numerous other shortcuts and skips, bringing TTYD down from 7+ hours in 2013 to under 3 hours in 2016 for any%, and led to the creation of the All Crystal Stars category. While it does not beat the game as fast as any%, it still is fun and entertaining to watch as it showcases this game's full potential. This category has the most glitches by far and requires you to use them to collect every Crystal Star in the game. Some tricks are very easy and some tricks are frame perfect. This run would be a great showcase for people who have not seen a TTYD run as well, as it has never been featured at RPG Limit Break. Note that this game will have to be ran on the Japanese version due to the significant difference with glitches being Japanese exclusive.  (Timing has been changed and the sample run I used was before that so it is 5 minutes slower then it actually is now)

Donation Incentive Offers: Flavio tags along (The NPC Flavio who is supposed to tag along with Mario for a short amount of time can actually tag along forever!), Glitch Exhibition (Showing off some fun glitches you can do in the game that aren't included in the speedrun). 
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/174402190


Game Name: Paper Mario
System: Nintendo 64 played on Wii U
Category: All Bosses
Gameplay Estimate: 3:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits - 8 Minutes, Glitch Exhibition - 7 Minutes


Pros/Cons: Paper Mario also has many amazing glitches which were not shown during the run done at RPGLB2017. All Bosses is a category where you get to experience more of the game than the sequence-broken any% category by killing every boss in the game (including chapter bosses and all optional bosses). This run also gets to showcase a massive amount of neat glitches to break the game, including some exciting frame-perfect skips. While this may not be beating the game as fast as any%, you still get to see nearly the whole game, and many neat glitches and tricks along the way. While this game was featured in RPG Limit Break last year, it's still a very popular game which can definitely be great to showcase again, but with many glitches and tricks not shown last time. Like TTYD, it would be ran on the Japanese version do to exclusive glitches patched on the English version.

Donation Incentive Offers: Save Stanley or Kill Stanley, Mario's Secret Love: Kooper or Sushie, Bring Luigi to the Party or Luigi Stays home (All are bidwars), Glitch Exhibition (Showing off some fun glitches you can do in the game that aren't included in the speedrun).
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/175627406
Edit history:
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:12:04 pm
Submission Form:
Game Name: Soul Nomad & The World Eaters
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): PS2
Category (Any%, 100%, Glitchless, etc): Any% Normal Ending
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 04:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): 0:15:00
Pros/Cons (honest assessment based on above submission guidelines):
Pro:
Unique game by well known developer (disgaea series)
Very few cutscenes
Involves breaking the game system without glitches
Outside the grind it is a very safe run
Cons:
Contains a roughly 1 hour RNG grind
Combat is repetitive
I'm the only runner

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs):
Main Character Gender
Main Character Name
Archer Squad Leader Name
Mage Squad Leader Name
Bonus mission with cameo from Grim Grimoire

Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjN7Swa9TuY

Roughly the 18 minute to 1 hour 20 minute mark is a grind from lvl 6ish-100ish in this games version of the item world, I have practiced this section alot and it's pretty consistently around 1 hour long though if it takes too long a safety save can be used set after the grind, and the game has a rename function so we can keep the incentivized names. the rest of the run is extremely safe and only requires tactical movement. This run is currently glitchless which may be seen as a pro to some.
Edit history:
maple: 2018-01-20 05:12:49 am
maple: 2018-01-20 05:00:52 am
maple: 2018-01-20 04:47:45 am
maple: 2018-01-20 04:40:31 am
Game Name: Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team Protoman
System: GBA (Played on GCN Gameboy Player)
Category: Any% (Also willing to do Any% co-op with Branch)
Gameplay Estimate: 03:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 00:15:00

Pros:
-Extreme amount of variety, incorporates elements from across the entirety of Battle Network speedrunning.
-Skippable cutscenes and no text mashing in the entire run. Pure gameplay.
-Very heavy glitch abuse to play the game in a heavily unintended way.
-Very consistent while also being very demanding and skill intensive for execution in battles.
-Shows off a ton of content not seen by American fans from exclusive extras in the Japanese version.
-Easy to follow for somebody who both knows little about Battle Network as well as for people who don't know Japanese since all battle chips and menus have unique icons that clearly depict what they do.
-Gets to show off fun peripherals that can create a more engaging and lively dynamic with runners/commentators on the couch.
-A respected game from Battle Network fans due to catering difficulty towards players who are already very familiar with how to actually play the game.
-Varied gameplay types. While this has the core unique card based Battle Network combat system, almost half of the game is a turn based tactics strategy RPG. The SRPG sections feature very tight routing that relies on very solid execution during the action RPG battle segments that happen inbetween.

Cons:
Must be run on the Japanese version. Regular chip glitch, Twin Liberation glitch, wrong warping, out of bounds, kaizou cards, progress chip gate, and several other glitches/mechanics are only available on the Japanese version. The Japanese version also provides more content in many extra battles and dungeon areas which are exclusive to the version. This con I think is slightly negated by the game being very easy to follow through it's predominately visual nature. There's never any walls of text or text based menus, all of them feature bold icons clearly illustrating their function as well as in depth commentary to ease viewers along.

Description:
Battle Network 5 is basically the BN fan's BN game. It heavily caters towards longtime fans in both difficulty and length while extending this philosophy to the speedrun. BN5 has heavy game breaking glitch abuse for things unheard of in most BN games such as wrong warping and out of bounds techniques for actual sequence breaks. This game also features tons of ways to control and influence RNG to display a complete mastery of the game through raw execution in consistent strats coming from a huge pool of knowledge about all the potential encounters in the game and enemy AI. There's a ton of variety in the strats and glitches, as well as unique peripherals being used such as the GBA wireless adapter, ereader, and progress chip gate all being used in combination to make this the melting pot of BN speedrunning. All these things on top of the extra content included in the Japanese version make for what I consider to be not just the best Mega Man RPG speedrun but my all time favorite RPG speedrun.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Operation Battle speedrun - there's an alternate game mode that removes all player control of the in game character, and the player acts as their operator, only proving general commands and providing certain commands. One of these commands is to use the progress chip gate peripheral to insert physical battle chips into it to have the in game character use that attack. It's basically putting the player IRL in the shoes of Lan in game during combat instead of Mega Man.

Operation Battle can be played as any character from your versions team so there can be a donation incentive for which character to play as. I can play any character from either version for this. Operation Battle itself takes a little under 10 minutes to perform but I listed the estimate as 15 for bonus so extra stuff can be shown off and explained. The peripherals to play operation battle were never released in America, but the games did not remove the mode in their localization. This means that most Battle Network fans are familiar with the mode/peripheral and curious about it but have never had the chance to play or see it. This also means that Operation Battle can be done on an English version of the game.

I guess Operation Battle could also be done as a short category by itself, but I like it more personally as an addendum to the traditional Battle Network gameplay instead of the exclusive focus for a Battle Network speedrun.

Sample run video:
Twitch restream of my 3:40:45 WR run of the game with commentary with Branch.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220477032 (part 1)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220477169 (part 2)
Edit history:
Branch: 2018-01-20 05:14:55 am
Branch: 2018-01-20 04:48:17 am
Game Name: Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team Protoman
System: GBA (Played on GCN Gameboy Player)
Category: Any% co-op with Maple
Gameplay Estimate: 03:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 00:15:00

Pros:
-Extreme amount of variety, incorporates elements from across the entirety of Battle Network speedrunning.
-Skippable cutscenes and no text mashing in the entire run. Pure gameplay.
-Very heavy glitch abuse to play the game in a heavily unintended way.
-Very consistent while also being very demanding and skill intensive for execution in battles.
-Shows off a ton of content not seen by American fans from exclusive extras in the Japanese version.
-Easy to follow for somebody who both knows little about Battle Network as well as for people who don't know Japanese since all battle chips and menus have unique icons that clearly depict what they do.
-Gets to show off fun peripherals that can create a more engaging and lively dynamic with runners/commentators on the couch.
-A respected game from Battle Network fans due to catering difficulty towards players who are already very familiar with how to actually play the game.
-Varied gameplay types. While this has the core unique card based Battle Network combat system, almost half of the game is a turn based tactics strategy RPG. The SRPG sections feature very tight routing that relies on very solid execution during the action RPG battle segments that happen inbetween.

Cons:
Must be run on the Japanese version. Regular chip glitch, Twin Liberation glitch, wrong warping, out of bounds, kaizou cards, progress chip gate, and several other glitches/mechanics are only available on the Japanese version. The Japanese version also provides more content in many extra battles and dungeon areas which are exclusive to the version. This con I think is slightly negated by the game being very easy to follow through many icons clearly illustrated what's happening as well as in depth commentary.

Description:
Battle Network 5 is basically the BN fan's BN game. It heavily caters towards longtime fans in both difficulty and length while extending this philosophy to the speedrun. BN5 has heavy game breaking glitch abuse for things unheard of in most BN games such as wrong warping and out of bounds techniques for actual sequence breaks. This game also features tons of ways to control and influence RNG to display a complete mastery of the game through raw execution in consistent strats coming from a huge pool of knowledge about all the potential encounters in the game and enemy AI. There's a ton of variety in the strats and glitches, as well as unique peripherals being used such as the GBA wireless adapter, ereader, and progress chip gate all being used in combination to make this the melting pot of BN speedrunning. All these things on top of the extra content included in the Japanese version make for what I consider to be not just the best Mega Man RPG speedrun but my all time favorite RPG speedrun.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Operation Battle speedrun - there's an alternate game mode that removes all player control of the in game character, and the player acts as their operator, only proving general commands and providing certain commands. One of these commands is to use the progress chip gate peripheral to insert physical battle chips into it to have the in game character use that attack. It's basically putting the player IRL in the shoes of Lan in game during combat instead of Mega Man.

Operation Battle can be played as any character from your versions team so there can be a donation incentive for which character to play as. I can play any character from either version for this. Operation Battle itself takes a little under 10 minutes to perform but I listed the estimate as 15 for bonus so extra stuff can be shown off and explained. The peripherals to play operation battle were never released in America, but the games did not remove the mode in their localization. This means that most Battle Network fans are familiar with the mode/peripheral and curious about it but have never had the chance to play or see it. This also means that Operation Battle can be done on an English version of the game.

I guess Operation Battle could also be done as a short category by itself, but I like it more personally as an addendum to the traditional Battle Network gameplay instead of the exclusive focus for a Battle Network speedrun.

Sample run video:
Twitch restream of Maple's wr video with commentary from both of us
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220477032 (part 1)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220477169 (part 2)
Edit history:
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-28 09:24:08 pm
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-28 05:40:01 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-28 05:21:58 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-26 05:54:32 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-24 01:28:16 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-23 02:33:38 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 03:37:23 pm
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 03:36:40 pm
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 03:25:18 pm
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 03:24:39 pm
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 07:48:24 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 06:20:26 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 06:19:49 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 06:15:23 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 05:37:43 am
GhostKingG1: 2018-01-20 05:37:00 am
Why Hello it is Me
My second favorite time of year, just behind RPGLB itself!

Game Name: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
System: Nintendo DS
Category 1: All Bosses
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~3 min (Credits), +12 min (Incentives if met)

Description: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the first Mario RPG for a multi-screen handheld, which I have run for over a year now. Although this game is sort-of sandwiched between Superstar Saga and fan-favorite Bowser's Inside Story, this game offers a very interesting and versatile route, which makes it one of the best RPG speedruns to feature the red-hatted plumber. This game has also been a hit at many speedrun marathons in the last year, including Handheld Heroes, Calfire Relief, as well as the Mario RPG showcase and Questing for Glory on RPGLB's channel itself.

Co-op submission with Snoion, who has the best known time in this category. Should the run be accepted, I have the European (English) version, which is faster and safer than the North American version, and equal length to the Japanese version while having English text. The DS is region-free (and the 3DS can run DS games from any region) so capture will not be an issue.

Pros:

+This game has seen a lot of development in the last year, with a lot of neat glitches and tricks to shave off time, hence my estimate is nearly a full hour shorter than it was for last year. Despite the glitches, this category shows off this game mostly in full.
+This run shows off runner skill in a big way due to the battle system expanding on the ideas laid by Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Every attack in the game is dodge-able with a timely dodge, enabling it to be beaten at very low levels, but also increasing the risk and tension. It has several difficult-but-exciting tricks, The Bros. Attacks are exciting to watch when played at a high level, such as Copy Flowers, an attack which depends on pressing the corresponding face button at a high speed.
+Boss fights use a wide variety of strategies to defeat, and 9 of this game's 10 different Bros. Attacks are utilized, each with their own unique methods which only get better and more dynamic as the run goes on. In addition, our equipment strategies alter significant portions of the game. For around an hour of the game, we employ the Dire-POW badge which forces the player to keep Mario & Luigi at 1 HP. The endgame for All Bosses specifically also uses the Risk Badge, which increases damage based on how few Mushrooms we have in our inventory. Despite this, the game has a built in safety mechanism with the baby bros. taking over for the adults whenever one of the latter is KO'd, making total party wipes rare and keeping this game marathon safe.
+This run is a bit more varied and consistent than any% is, with a shorter final boss fight due to having more levels.
+It's a Mario game, it's a popular character in a much beloved series, and you have Yoko Shimomura composing the soundtrack, giving it a lot of appeal.
+This game was a childhood favorite for many, who often also remember it being the hardest Mario RPG, so there is also a crowd who will enjoy seeing several tough bosses get torn to shreds.
+It's also a genuinely funny game, with numerous cutscenes that are just downright amusing, such as the cutscene at the start of Gritzy Desert.

Cons:

-The first 20m to this game is at a slower pace than the remaining 3 1/2 hours of the game.
-An hour longer than any%, as All Bosses does not use the biggest skip available to runners.

Possible Donation Incentives:

-Glitch exhibition (5-10 minutes, there are a number of...peculiar glitches (linked image to give you an idea) you can do in the North American version of this game that we'd like to showcase.)
-View the Fawful cutscene (takes 2 minutes, it's pretty hilarious, and Fawful is the fan favorite character of this series)


Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220463599

Category 2: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~3 min (Ending), +12 min (Incentives if met)

Description: The alternative to All Bosses, Any% just requires completion of the game. I am submitting this as a backup to Snoion if any% is preferred over all bosses, as there aren't many good ways to potentially split this across 2 runners, due to it only fighting 4 of the 12 bosses, as well as cutting out a huge portion of the second half of the game. (He is also much better at this category's endgame than I am, which is why my estimate for this category is longer than his).

Pros:

+See many of the pros above regarding the game itself
+Shorter than All Bosses, and gets to show off the game's biggest skip during the run in addition to a couple other category-exclusive glitches.

Cons:

-The final boss is more punishing and takes longer than in All Bosses, and relies on Pocket Chomps, leading to the pacing of the run being a bit slower in parts than All Bosses.
-The intro is still the most deterministic and un-broken part of the run.
-This category skips a large chunk of the meat of this game, for better and for worse.

Possible Donation Incentives: (Same as All Bosses)

Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/176312560 (Run uses an outdated route, I do not have a VOD of an any% run on the current, faster route. See Snoions submission for that)

Game Name: Custom Robo
System: Gamecube
Category : Any% New Journey
Gameplay Estimate: 2:12:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~3 minutes (Credits), +12 minutes (incentives if chosen, depends on which incentives get taken)

Description: Also known by its Japanese name Custom Robo Battle Revolution (as it is the 4th installment but the first released outside of Japan), Custom Robo is a childhood favorite of many Gamecube owners. This action RPG/Mech Brawler hybrid is set in a charming and goofy world where all the world's problems are solved with robo battles (similar to card games and monster battles in other games). The Robo community has grown and developed quite a lot in the last year and a half, with WR coming down several minutes due to improved runner skill and strategies. In addition, we also had our first community showcase on the RPGLimitBreak channel back in October, which was met with positive reception and fared rather well. Submitting this along with the rest of the Custom Robo speedrunning community as potentially either a race or a relay race, as races are a big part of our community. We plan to co-ordinate commentary accordingly. All together now: We Love Robo Battles!

Pros:

+The run features a showcase of runner skill, depending on reaction, runner ability and game knowledge to play the game fast.
+The vast majority of this game is spent in combat, so cutscenes are relatively short-lived. Deaths in the run are a very real possibility, allowing for swings in races, while not risking the run entirely as any losses take you back to just before the fight started for a do-over.
+Run is relatively shorter than many RPGs.
+Game features a wide array of hilarious interesting weapons to deal with, including guns that literally shoot hornets, dragons, drills, and fists.

Cons:

-Game was never released in Europe, so doesn't quite hit that market well.
-Run can come off as repetitive as the final parts pick-up happens about 30% of the way into the run. This is mitigated by the additional hype of a potential race as well as different types of battles in the game, but it is still something to consider.
-Can be a bit hard to tell what is going on in some 2v2 fights.

Possible Donation Incentives:

-Name the Hero (8 character limit), Robo Color (Standard, Red, Green, Blue, or Yellow), Bad Ending Showcase (+1 minute roughly), 1v1 or 2v2 runner multiplayer battles among runners (shouldnt take more than 10 minutes) can also be a fun way to close the run, showing what player battles are like, similar to what KH:CoM did last year. We would be organizing a quick 1v1 tourney among 4 runners, and co-ordinate to get energetic commentary to match. This allows the possibility of showing off cool weapons not seen in the run, especially as many people have nostalgia for the different weapons found in this game.

Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223251171 (Note that this is run on an old Gamecube which I am in the process of replacing, as it loses ~3-15 frames per loading screen; I will have a Wii ready for any potential race)

Game Name: Breath of Death VII: The Beginning
System: PC
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 37:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~1 min

Description: Breath of Death VII is the first RPG by Zeboyd Games, who made Cthulhu Saves the World, which was shown off last year. It's a 2D RPG made to parody the RPGs of old (notably Dragon Quest), while also trimming a ton of the fat found on a lot of old-school games. It was a fairly substantial hit on the Xbox 360's indie marketplace upon release, and has done very well on Steam since being ported. Due to its short length, I am submitting this mainly as a backup/bonus/filler submission.

Pros:
-Everything in this game goes super fast, and it shows. Dungeons take minutes, battles take seconds. The menus in this game are incredibly responsive, which means good run largely comes down to runner skill in menuing and knowing what to do to handle each situation, creating an interesting watch.
-The routing of each dungeon, as well as money and item choice, is a bit more versatile than Cthulhu is, as this game is more scarce on certain resources. This forces the runner to adapt more, while also leading to more diversity between each dungeon as strats regularly change up. Despite the simple look of this game, there is a lot that goes into running it to keep it interesting.
-This game is chock full of references to other games (I mean just look at the title), and has an upbeat, humorous tone.

Cons:
-Lack of meaningful incentives.
-The game is simpler in scope and not as vibrant as Cthulhu or many other 2D RPGs.

Possible Donation Incentives: None that I can think of.

Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/204940758
Edit history:
Professor_Palmer: 2018-02-13 05:58:38 pm
Professor_Palmer: 2018-02-13 05:46:48 pm
Professor_Palmer: 2018-02-13 05:22:18 pm
Professor_Palmer: 2018-02-02 08:24:22 am
Professor_Palmer: 2018-01-27 09:09:05 pm
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:13:17 pm
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:12:48 pm
Professor_Palmer: 2018-01-20 05:54:09 am
Game Name: Parasite Eve
System: Originally PS1, will be played on PSP3000
Category: New Game (Also, willing to do a Parasite Eve race with the other runners who have submitted the game)
Gameplay Estimate): 3:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 30 seconds
Pros:
- 100% marathon safe with no resets (I'm probably the only runner who can guarantee this at this time estimate)
- This run has been featured at RPGLB before but has seen drastic time improvements due to runner ability and routing.
- This game is a unique RPG with a twist of survival/horror/action that has never been seen elsewhere, not even from the other games in the series.
- This game is a Square game, has tons of nostalgia value, and has a very interesting creation and development history that can be explained during the run.
- Parasite Eve has some very cool fights that are extremely skill and strategy dependent. Variation in top times come from pure execution as opposed to glitches, skips, or tricks.
- I am the World Record holder for this game and my PB is extremely optimized and I'm very proud of it, remaining untouched for over half a year (and longer by anyone other than myself)
- I am the only runner of this game who has ever pulled off an insanely difficult strategy that I created resulting in huge time save. (121 Worms)
- I have run this game in over 20 other marathons online. I even ran this on the RPGLB channel during the "Questing For Glory" marathon.
- With so much experience running this in marathons, I feel I am the most equipped to not only complete runs but to also provide the commentary that is most advantageous to a marathon setting. I have done so many, many times already.

Cons:
- Mashing can be tedious to viewers
- The game has unskippable cutscenes that, while very visually striking, can result in a couple of slow patches.
- The game stops time after the credits. This creates a (roughly) 8 minute period of downtime before the final split.
- Parasite Eve is a very underrated title so it isn't as recognizable as some other RPG titles.
- Bad RNG can result in some minor time frustrations but my estimate takes that into account.


Donation Incentive Offers :
- Name Aya Brea, the main character.
- Electrocute Aya in Hospital (loses 20 seconds but is quite funny to showcase)

Sample run video:
Here is my current PB and the current World Record :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/154660056
Here is me running in an RPGLB marathon with commentary :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFcAvttUsjI


Game Name: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
System: PS3, played on PS3
Category: Any% Easy
Gameplay Estimate): 5:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros:
- Great donation incentives
- One of the most entertaining RPG speedruns ever, viewer wise. This game is nonstop high-level boss fights. All of which requiring different tech, strategy, and incredibly fast paced execution.
- Because of the nature of the game world record strategies can be used in marathon settings at no risk whatsoever. A world record on stream is extremely possible.
- 100% marathon safe and no resets
- This is one of the most visually striking games of the PS3 era. Created by Level 5 alongside world-renowned anime producer Studio Ghibli
- Ni No Kuni combines breathtaking visuals with the incredible story telling of Studio Ghibli. The game plays like a better Kingdom Hearts with a touch of Pokemon.
- There are a lot of really cool tech and glitches that we use to dodge encounters, duplicate items, and abuse fights. Very interesting for viewers.
- I am the current WR holder of this game and have run it marathons. I commentate it exceptionally well and have a lot of love and passion for this game.
- Interesting, unexpected stuff can happen every now and then but none of it capable of losing any time not covered in the estimate.
- My PB is insanely strong for this game. Second place is 40 minutes behind my current PB and a lot of work and effort went into making this game the speedrun it is now.
- All cutscenes are skippable.

Cons:
- There is some mashing that can be tedious to viewers
- The game flew under the radar for some and is medium-long in length for a game that isn't a AAA title.
- Some fights can go south resulting in minor time loss but the estimate covers that scenario.
- Very small runners mean solo commentary would be more than likely, but extremely doable as I've done it before.
- The game has a few softlocks which are 100% avoidable, but exist none the less. Back up saves at these exact spots are kept for marathon purposes. (never been used, thankfully)

Donation Incentive Offers :
- Name Mitey
- Name Lemur
- Name Sid
- Name Boggly
(all a max of 10 characters)
- Choose voice acted/spoken language
(English, Japanese)


Sample run video:
Here is my PB and current WR :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/214646674

Here is a marathon run (Really, Really Longathon) of the game (route was far less optimized, ignore the difference in estimate) with commentary :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glkQ4S_HfnU&t=127s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku384Qaw3Vs


Game Name: White Knight Chronicles International Edition
System: PS3, played on PS3
Category: New Game
Gameplay Estimate): 5:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: No time loss
Pros:
- 100% safe, no resets
- This game is extremely interesting in the way it plays and for it being so underrated
- The run features very cool visuals and musical scenes. Giant mechs fight giant ancient creatures. Cool stuff.
- The run is very similar to FF12 in the style that it is executed
- I am the WR holder and sole optimizer of the current route used in the speedrun.

Cons:
- Rather unknown title for its length
- Some fights are completely out of your hands due to team AI interaction. Estimate takes this into account.
- The game can get slow at points due to large amounts of running and kiting through enemies.
- Some strategies are quite 'cheese'

Donation Incentive Offers :
- Name the Avatar
- Choose the Avatar's face (18 pre-made choices, some hilarious)
- Determine my healer (Eldore or Yulie. Requires custom routing I have prepared based on which is chosen)
- Team in underwear for the final cutscenes (hilarious, no nudity involved)

Sample run video:
My current PB and the current WR :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/219697771



Game Name: Petz: Catz 2
System: PS3, played on PS3
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate): 2:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 30 seconds - 1 minute.
Pros:
- 100% marathon safe, no resets
- Great donation incentives
- Hilarious game about cats with some funny boss fights at the end.
- Lots of meowing, silly cats doing silly quests for absolutely ridiculous reasons.
- Meme potential off the charts
- Quick run in an RPG/FetchQuest setting.
- I am the current WR holder for this game and have run it and commentated it in other marathons.

Cons
- Lots of meowing
- Some slow parts, lacking skips or tech
- Some mashing.
- Not the most visually striking game.

Donation Incentive Offers :
- Choose Cat Breed (40 breeds! Great bid war potential)
- Choose Cat Name
- Choose Cat Gender
- Glitch the final boss (makes him go OOB and do hilarious, unpredictable stuff.)

Sample run video:
My PB and current WR :
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/215567974
Edit history:
pidgezero_one: 2018-02-04 09:02:57 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 03:04:31 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:50:37 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:50:08 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:15:24 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:10:37 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:04:42 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-28 02:01:48 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 08:31:26 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 12:14:05 pm
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 08:04:30 am
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 07:59:17 am
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 07:46:39 am
pidgezero_one: 2018-01-20 07:43:16 am
Game Name: Super Mario RPG

System: Super Nintendo

Category: Most of the Stuff™ (100%)

Gameplay Estimate: 4:45:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: up to 25 mins depending on which incentives are chosen

Pros:
  • This game is super popular and draws in a lot of viewers.
  • Great combination of RPG and platformer with a variety of tech skill required. The gameplay is fun to watch!
  • This category has never been done at an IRL marathon before, and had never been in a marathon at all until QFG late last year, and would be exciting to showcase at an event of this caliber. LackAttack24 did an excellent job pioneering and routing this category and I have put significant work into optimizing the route as well. My PB (technically world record, we have no leaderboard for it) currently stands at 4:31 and will likely be much lower by the time RPGLB rolls around. We've had lots of discussions this year and made massive changes to the route to the point where this category stands well on its own and is different enough to not simply be "any% with more fights". There are a lot of complexities going on in this run that are not obvious without explanation, and I know this category inside out and am already very experienced in commentating my own runs live.
  • This category is awesome for viewers with a lot of nostalgia for the game, of which there will likely be many, as it showcases lots of bonus content (including the 2 most difficult boss battles in the game, missed in any%) not seen in other categories.
  • It'd be riding on the heels of my any% run at last RPGLB, and my run of this category at QFG, which were both very well received.
  • Chances of needing to be mercy killed are extremely low. The category has more RNG than any%, but an estimate 15 minutes over my PB is way more than enough to account for that.
  • This is by far my favourite game+category to speedrun and I'm confident I can do a good job being enthusiastic and engaging the audience!

Cons:
  • Most obvious one: SMRPG, although a different category, was already at RPGLB 2017.
  • Getting the Star Egg takes 15-20 minutes and is pretty boring, it's just pressing left or right with a 50% chance to win and you need to win 100 times total. I usually use this time to interact with the chat/audience and make it fun for them, and try to make it more interesting by explaining the deceptively well-routed menuing that needs to be done during this segment. I tried to build a Twitch Plays arduino device to have chat control which direction I choose for each attempt, but I haven't been able to get it to work yet.
  • I've never run this category in English before. I technically could as it's no different gameplay wise, but I have no idea how much longer I'd need to add to the estimate for the slower text speed.
  • Mack Skip is an impressive glitch and is not done in this category. However the Mack fight is therefore not seen in any other category and would be something new to show off.
  • I'd have to do the majority of commentary even if others familiar with SMRPG as a game are present due to there not being many runners of this category or people even very familiar with the route.


Donation Incentive Offers:
  • Glitch Exhibition - will probably take up to 20 mins max. Would include showing off Mack Skip (not done in this category), HP underflow, a character turning into Geno for the duration of the fight, getting Yoshis stuck, a glitched item tutorial, and the Out of Bounds glitch if I don't get it during the run, "Debug Menu" (japanese version only, doesnt exist in US). Possibly turbo star extension but not sure if that one's worth showing, possibly a glitch with Yoshi that deactivates all of your controls to finish (messes up your game and takes a few minutes to set up). Will probably think of some other small ones as well.
  • Filename - 8 characters. probably only relevant if I end up running it in English, although I can write out the katakana of whatever name is chosen if I run it in Japanese (i know enough Japanese that I can do this on the fly with user-added name suggestions if needed). Adds a few seconds.
  • Explode Peach - does a silly glitch where peach's sprite goes haywire after the Mushroom Kingdom cutscene. Looks funny as heck, but I already did this in my any% run last year so eh.
  • Visit Link and Samus - adds only a couple minutes as I can do this during a massive backtracking segment in the lategame, but I also already did this in last year's run.
  • 8-bit Mario - do the 8 bit mario cameo in booster's tower. Takes about 45-60 seconds
  • Bowser x Booster x Mario fanfic cutscene - Depending how fast you do the item retrieval in Marrymore, one of 4 things happen: Peach kisses Mario, Bowser kisses Mario, Booster kisses Mario, or Bowser and Booster kiss Mario at the same time. The latter 3 are pretty hilarious. Peach kiss is the default as it's an easy segment, but waiting for about 30 seconds will make the Bowser+Booster one happen. Can do this if audience wants it.
  • Race Boshi - I get asked about this all the time. Yoshi races are not included in the definition of 100% as they do not produce a unique item to collect. However everyone loves Yoshi's Island and I'm exceptionally good at the yoshi races casually (i always do them with my eyes closed but can use a blindfold to make it more hype), so I could do this sidequest if the viewers want to see it. Would add about 5 minutes, but probably a lot less.
  • Do the 3D Maze - same as above, I get asked about this puzzle in the sunken ship a lot but completing it doesnt meet the category definition. Besides 100 super jumps, this is the other "I could never do this as a kid" thing in the game.
  • If chat gets frustrated at my bad RNG during the Star Egg grind I guess they can donate to have me change the direction I use (by default I always press left).


Sample run video: My current PB is contained in this video. (updated Feb 5! Got a huge PB after lots of practice, this is more what a live run would look like!!) I'm not very professional on my stream, so for an example of what kind of commentary and engagement I can offer in a marathon, please refer to my run from RPGLB 2017. I also created a submission video a few months ago, but it is for an outdated route and is from an old PB 16 minutes worse than my current one.
Edit history:
Drifting Skies: 2018-02-01 05:12:01 pm
Drifting Skies: 2018-01-28 08:58:22 pm
Drifting Skies: 2018-01-26 03:35:41 pm
Drifting Skies: 2018-01-26 03:33:45 pm
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:14:52 pm
Drifting Skies: 2018-01-20 08:36:45 am
steak Steak STEAK!!!
4 games to submit this year, listed in rough order of preference

Game: Legend of Legaia
System: PS1 (Played on slim PS2 with fast disc speed)
Category: Any% 'NG+' (I'm not planning to submit any% NG; if there's a huge clamoring from the selection committee for me to do NG instead or to make that a donation incentive, the estimate for that is 7:55:00)
Estimate: 7:05:00 6:15:00 6:00:00
Ending / Bonus: 0:19:00 (10 minutes for ending, 9 for some post-game incentives)
Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/224756586

Incentives: Name the characters (Vahn & Noa, but NOT Gala, 8 character limit), Choose the Ending (4 options), Fight Lapis w/ Jedo Glitch (0:03:30, post-run), Level 99 Master Course (0:05:30, post-run), Fight / Skip Jette Bid War (fighting him costs ~3 extra minutes.), Keep 'Vahnessa' in the party after Koru (adds ~2 minutes)

Pros: After three years of submitting this run, I've finally gotten the time down to a much more reasonable ask of 7 hours vs. the 9-10 hours this run was when previously submitted.  NG+ takes virtually all of the random battles out of the run by use of improper sanitizing of system memory, and skips the hardest / most RNG-reliant boss fight in the game.  All of the remaining fights are pretty safe, and safety saves before the ones that aren't consistent will be taken; this run is very safe outside of the first boss and the last two, and even then, I'm fairly confident.  I know there's been a clamoring for this to get in for a couple of years.  Oh, and the 22 minute cutscene slog has been cut down by 9 minutes thanks to new skips.  Despite the skips, the story is still more-or-less intact, though the astute will wonder how Gala gets a Ra-Seru randomly after Berserker.

Cons: This category is a bit arbitrary and purists might balk at the use of pre-made save files as part of the run.  Bosses are a bit stale, and they go down pretty fast, so the game is a lot of running through the story and mashing through cutscenes as quickly as possible.  And there's still the slot grind an hour and forty-five minutes into the run.

Game: Legaia 2: Duel Saga
System: PS2
Category: any%
Estimate: 6:05:00 6:10:00 (after my run yesterday, I feel like a bit more buffer room is warranted.)
Ending: 12 minutes? (Honestly, I don't know how long the ending is, and there's not much value in watching it.)
Incentives: Name the characters (Lang / Maya / Kazan / Sharon / Ayne, 6 character limit)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGCq7LKWERI (1/2), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9x58ZlVUGc (2/2; split in half due to OBS disconnect).

Pros: The run is naturally fairly safe, with the notable exception of Mt. Gabel (and I will be taking a couple safety saves there).  No glitches known in the run, so it's all optimization / menuing / routing to clear through bosses in a minimum amount of time; even the final boss's third and most powerful phase can be one-shot with the right speedrun setup.
Cons: The game wasn't particularly well-received; many don't know of the game, and those who do generally consider it inferior to the first game.  With that said, it's arguably a better speedrun watch and an hour shorter if Legaia 1 doesn't fit into the schedule.  A few bosses can be real butts and cost a fair bit of time if they attack the wrong character over and over again.  Like the above, it's a lot of cutsenes.

Game: Quest 64
System: Nintendo 64 (as though the game name didn't give it away)
Category: US All Spirits
Estimate: 2:20:00
Ending: 0:01:00 (there's nothing of note; if people want to see the ending scroll through, it takes a minute)
Incentives: I am very open to a race of this category with Bingchang if he decides to submit (and I expect he will), but this is the only category I am submitting.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YksOUXMBLMA

Pros: Not cutscene-heavy, a fair number of glitches to save a lot of time and get very overpowered very quickly.  If your only exposure to the game is from the 2013 SGDQ run, you're in for a very different time than that nearly five-year-old route.  New AGL cheesing glitch makes enemy encounters and bosses considerably safer and faster.  Playing on the U.S. version makes us much more of a glass cannon than in the JP version, but the run ends up being faster as a result; safety saves will be used before the bosses, so at least one of us should be able to finish.  Almost no cutscenes or dialogue, so the run stays fast-paced throughout.

Cons: This is, to put it lightly, not a particularly-well-received game, and there aren't any donation incentives available.  It's a short enough run that I don't think it will matter too much.

Star Ocean: The Second Story
System: PS1 (Played on slim PS2)
Category: any% Claude route (if requested, I could learn Rena route to do a bid-war donation incentive, but I'd need a backup save since there's only a 75% chance or so that Claude makes it to Dias, leading to a run-over event if he does not)
Estimate: 5:20:00
Ending: 0:10:00
Incentives: Name the characters (Claude, Rena, Bowman, and Leon [Dias in Rena story], 6 letters)
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_AIeaUMZAU

Pros: Probably the best-received Star Ocean game.  Encounter glitch ensures that we get no random battles throughout the game barring a player mistake.  Most fights go very quickly thanks to overpowered item creation.

Cons: Lots of cutscenes and dialogue, and some of the bosses (Harfainxes, Vesper/Decus in particular) can just decide to be royal butts and cause a lot of resets.  There's not much that can be done besides safety saving and trying to mitigate bad RNG when it happens.  Also, there's a lot of save scumming for Bunny Shoes and crafting the Eternal Sphere about 3 hours and change in.  I think this might have been in a previous RPGLB?  I know the other three games I'm submitting have not.

Finally, I may need to reload a pre-made save file ~3 minutes into the run if I don't have an acceptable talent set on Claude.  It shouldn't be a big deal, but it does need to be said.
Game Name: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

System: Playstation 4

Category: Any% Easy

Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00 just to let the credits theme play a bit while giving some closing comments.

Pros:

-A very diverse, fast-paced run that spreads its glitches, tech, and fights evenly throughout the run. There's always something new happening.
-**Almost entirely marathon safe by default, with one exception that will be covered in the cons.
-Almost all cutscenes are fully skippable, and the rest take only a handful of seconds to fastforward through, making the speedrun pretty much all action all the time.
-A large handful of glitches lead to some unexpected and amusing results. "Teehee moments" as I like to call them.
-A spankin' good OST for viewers to fall in love with.
-I feel that this run is very easy to sit down and take in even if you've never seen the game. It's easy to follow but still full of surprises.

Cons:

-A lot of glitches result in obtaining unnatural elevation to get over a lot of things, which may be seen as repetitive even if the execution is different.
-As another side effect of above point, there will be sections of SFX & voice overlap spam in order to make it happen. Has the potential to be annoying to some even if they are only for 5 to 10 seconds at a time.
-**There is one unfixable soft lock in the run that is caused by skipping a particular cutscene. A back up save file will need to be prepared just in case I forget to not skip the cutscene.


Donation Incentive Offers: Bid war between English or Japanese voice actors. I feel this will have a bit more gravity than normal due to Falcom pushing NISA to revise the localization. The revised English will be available before RPGLB occurs.

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/218051448
Edit history:
philosoraptor42: 2018-02-08 06:57:58 pm
philosoraptor42: 2018-01-26 10:15:10 am
Dapper as fuck.
Game Name: Dragon Quest
System: SFC
Category: Dragonloop (Race)
Gameplay Estimate (-ending): 1:55:00 (an average run is ~1:40)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:03:00

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

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

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

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

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/224169946
Sample race video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkNx7W6EAA
Game Name: Fable: The Lost Chapters
System: Xbox, played on PC
Category: Any%, 100%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:30:00,4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00
Pros/Cons: Classic RPG from the Xbox era, the speedrun follows the intended storyline to almost a T, there is one sequence break that is done in the any% route, but not done in the 100% route. Fable: TLC utilizes movement mechanics throughout the run with the use of upgrades and spells, and we utilize specific gameplay mechanics to dispatch many of the bosses in this game. The route that I use for any% slightly differs from most other runners, in which I obtain an end-game weapon 15 minutes into the run, it is roughly as fast as the other route but it is flashy and it's what I've ran for most of the time I've run Fable. The run does have a fair bit of RNG, in how enemies in areas can spawn which can adversely affect the rate in which we can travel through areas, but it's not enough to cause a run to go over estimate in a marathon setting. The game also constantly autosaves so if any crashes were to occur, there would be very little backtracking.
Donation Incentive Offer: Save/Kill Whisper bid war, glitch exhibition, Marriage% run, listen to the Prison Warden's poetry, save/abandon the prisoners
Sample run video:(any%) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMMoemewVio&t=3s (Marriage%) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/129460889?t= (100%) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/166278012?t=

Game Name: Saints Row: The Third
System: PC
Category: Any% Co-Op with M_tt
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 30:00
Pros/Cons: Long run, but has a strong soundtrack to boot. The co-op run does provide more of a divide and conquer play style where the both of us are dealing with our own tasks to complete objectives as fast as possible, there is a few autoscroller-esque sections but there is ways to optimize them. We play without DLC, so the only parts of the game in which we play are vanilla.
Donation Incentive Offers: Complete the alternate ending, voice bid war (Can customize characters, they can have normal male/female voices or a zombie voice), TF2 giant head bid war (All the classes from TF2 can have their head worn, or no head at all), easter egg/glitch exhibition
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvVZUREgC5k M_tt's perspective of the run, the only VOD we have of the run due to me forgetting to highlight my perspective

Game Name: Stick RPG 2
System: PC
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons: It's a relatively short game, but there is a fair amount of RNG in the run via gambling and potential gains from working in the game, if I were in a position where I could not get the necessary funds in the run I could load a backup save.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name the main character (12 Characters), become a socially awkward interpretive dancer (Moonwalk everywhere)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/163827592?t=
Edit history:
ItsKasa: 2018-03-15 10:25:20 pm
ItsKasa: 2018-01-21 07:44:40 pm
ItsKasa: 2018-01-21 07:25:55 pm
Game Name: NieR: Automata
System: PS4 or PC
Category: Any% Ending A Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros: Fast action and decision making on top of showing off cool jump and movement tech.
Cons: There's a 10 minute downtime session in the middle of the run which can be easily used for donation reading.

Donation Incentive Offer: Eat the Mackerel Ending (Joke Ending that can be obtained during the run.) Fight Emil (5 Minutes for an average fight.) (Super Boss. Will have to load a file for this one.), Sing the Ending (Weight of the World in English. The song is pretty popular among the many fans of the game and if you want I have sample of my voice singing the song in both ENG and JP.)
Sample run video:https://www.twitch.tv/videos/220577317
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Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII-2
System: PS3, PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros: Exhibits a lot of quick actions, damage exploits and fast paced ATB combat.
Cons: There are two parts of RNG in the run that could cost time which is out of user control. If this is the case, I can create save files and move on with the run if it seems like I will run well over estimate.

Donation Incentives: Costumes for Characters, Coliseum Battles.
Sample Video:  https://www.twitch.tv/videos/179411391
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Edit history:
Matt: 2018-01-22 08:56:27 am
Game Name: Saints Row: The Third
System: PC
Category: Any% Co-Op with Biglaw
Gameplay Estimate: 4:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 30:00
Pros/Cons: As Biglaw mentioned, it's a long run, but a good pro is it's soundtrack. We both separate to beat missions as fast as possible, there's some special things co-op does that single player can't do in regards to beating missions such as hitting load triggers faster. Some auto-scrollers, as mentioned, but we can optimize them. No DLC.
Donation Incentive Offers: Complete the alternate ending, voice bid war (Can customize characters, they can have normal male/female voices or a zombie voice), TF2 giant head bid war (All the classes from TF2 can have their head worn, or no head at all), easter egg/glitch exhibition, radio station bid war including the following: GenX (Modern Rock), KRhyme (Hip Hop and Rap), K12 (Electronic), Klassic 102.4 (Classical), Adult Swim WDDTCPDG (Adult Swim and Cartoon Network music), Kabron (Urban Latin and Raeggaeton), 106.66 The Blood (Hard Rock), and The Mix (80s and 90s Pop and Rock)
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvVZUREgC5k My perspective of the run, Biggie forgot to highlight his own Tongue
Edit history:
Snoion: 2018-02-05 05:46:01 pm
Snoion: 2018-01-28 08:11:19 pm
Snoion: 2018-01-28 05:41:54 pm
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:16:06 pm
Snoion: 2018-01-20 03:02:40 pm
Game Name: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
System: Nintendo DS, played on Nintendo 3DS (with Capture Card)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:55:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits - 3 Minutes, Glitch Exhibition - 10 Minutes

Pros: With it's crazy skips, infinite Bros. items, and notoriously hard Final Boss, this run is sure to not only impress the viewer, but keep them on the edge of their seat as well. Many glitches have recently been found that have cut over an hour and a half off the run. One skip in particular results in a series of under leveled final boss fights that is sure to entertain both RPG enthusiasts and newcomers alike. This run is a great showcase of what this game has to offer while also being this game's first debut at a live speedrunning event.

Cons: When the game starts there are around 20 minutes of slow paced tutorials, which is not comparable to the fast paced movement during the rest of the run. It's always possible to die to any boss, but with easy access to infinite 1-ups this should never be a problem.

Donation Incentive Offers: European vs. Japanese Version, Glitch Exhibition - Incentive to show off glitches exclusive to the NA version of the game + Glitches exclusive to late game

Run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qbEQPUl6d4&t=8213s (Commentated run explaining all the tricks/boss fights)

Category 2: All Bosses (Co-op)
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits - 3 Minutes, Glitch Exhibition - 10 Minutes, Fawful Cutscene - 2 Minutes

Pros: With this category you get to see more of the game, adding more skips and bosses to the run. With a co-op submission you get to see two different strategies/skill levels from two different runners. This is sure to be a delightfully entertaining run for anyone who loves RPG runs!

Cons: 20 Minutes of tutorials, and it's still possible to die to any boss. This category is also around an hour longer when compared to Any%.

Run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/224081035

Category 3: All Bosses
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Credits - 3 Minutes, Glitch Exhibition - 10 Minutes

Pros/cons/video: Same as All Bosses just a solo run.
Edit history:
puwexil: 2018-01-25 07:17:03 pm
Game Name: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
System: PC - Steam

Category: Prologue + Chapter 1%, Gentle OR New Game any%, Gentle
Gameplay Estimate: 0:50:00 OR 4:30:00, respectively
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Cutscenes/Credits 3 minutes for Prologue+Ch1%, 6 minutes for NG any%

Pros/Cons:
Danganronpa is a popular title among visual novels, getting a PC release in English, and having 3 sequels on PC and Vita. This game is mainly a visual novel, but includes elements of RPGs, rhythm games, psychological horror/murder mystery, ace attorney style games, and more. Entertainment wise, this game has a lot of downtime of text-skipping, with the main action draw being the class trials at the end of every chapter. These downtimes give a lot of opportunity for commentary on the plot, speedrun strategy, and also for announcing donations etc. The skill system, which we utilize in the speedrun, affects the main character’s effectiveness in the class trials. The Prologue+Ch1% category follows the same path as NG any%, but it stops at the end of Chapter 1. This gives a small taste of the game’s main mechanics, but takes up less time and spoils less for those who have not played it. Both categories are glitchless, 100% marathon safe, and provide a unique and under represented experience in speedrun marathons.

+ marathon safe
+ unique speedrun
+ audience and chat interaction possibilities
+ PB live at event is definitely possible
+ no RNG
+rockin soundtrack
+ anime is real
+/- many places of downtime for donation reads etc
- most of the run is spent text skipping
- game is pretty linear
- speedrun skips through the super cool cutscenes and most of the voice acting

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Choose one extra character to spend free time with. Only one slot is available for Prologue+Ch1%, but we can do top 3 for NG any%. Would add 2 minutes per character. Available Bidwar choices: Junko, Kyoko, Chihiro, Byakuya, Aoi, Toko, Celeste, Sayaka, Kiyotaka, Sakura, Yasuhiro, Leon, Mondo, Hifumi. I really like the idea of this bidwar because as the game goes on, less and less characters are available to spend time with, because more and more characters die. It makes it an interesting gamble; if you bid for a character and they get the third place spot, they might die before it’s their turn for free time.
2. Not skip the Punishment Time Cutscenes. One of these plays after the end of every class trial, and shows how a character dies. I would suggest doing one single incentive to show all cutscenes. Would add 3 minutes to Prologue+Ch1%, would add 12 minutes to NG any%. These are really cool to watch and add a lot more flavour to the game. They also add more context to the plot progression, which in the speedrun can seem a bit confusing and quick.

Sample run video:
https://youtu.be/C5xYvPHyiSI
https://youtu.be/jgR-mZeAQzs (done for Jon Snow a Thon with commentary)