RPG Limit Break 2018 Games Thread

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-26 07:47:45 pm

2018-01-26 07:40:43 pm

Game Name: Pokemon Crystal
System: Gameboy Player
Category: Randomizer Cinco Bingo Race
Gameplay Estimate: 2:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
+ Shows off Pokemon in a new way
+ On the fly routing, strategies, and more general knowledge
+ Randomizer allows for some funny move and Pokemon combinations

- Setting up Bingo for the runners

Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/211840757

I'm submitting to be a backup for the race. It's easier to follow and best shown as a 1v1 race.

Game Name: Serious Sam The Random Encounter
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: N/A
Pros/Cons:
+ Short run
+ Constant, ridiculous action
+ It looks like an RPG

- Backup saves are needed, as the game has a tendency to crash

Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiRNY3xOcSY

BOWIEtheHERO

Edit history:

BOWIEtheHERO: 2018-01-31 12:50:49 pm

BOWIEtheHERO: 2018-01-27 01:04:03 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-26 08:23:55 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-26 08:23:24 pm

2018-01-26 08:18:17 pm

I have listed my games in order of preference! Smiley

Game Name: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
System: Nintendo Switch
Category: Any% No DLC
Gameplay Estimate: 7:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 16-21 Minutes
Pros/Cons:
+ The ‘not’ Sequel to XC1, which was at RPGLB 2017, it would be cool to have its follow up in the following year.
+ Brand New Game, so recent and strong interest in the run
+ Execution intensive for the genre of RPG it is.
+ Solid JRPG where detailed routing, pathing and equipment set-up is key to those faster times. Utilising a variety of accessory builds, weapon set ups, and damage ratio abuse we stretch the game’s fantastic battle system; Building layers upon themselves to make for exciting and flashy combat/combos and damage. Very intricate and exciting aspect of the game and run. Combining Driver and Blade combos, accurately building orb stocks to break in chain attacks for maximum damage and experience gain. Intelligent usage of the item pouch to always have an advantage in battle.
+ Soundtrack is absolutely incredible. Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE composing.
+ Plentiful fun donation incentives
+ There isn’t any major downtime in the run.
+ A game that actually makes use of all the cast, using a multitude of different set ups and approaches to get through all the game.
+ NOW MARATHON SAFE. A very exciting a cool clip has been found to remove a large chunk of the RNG in the game. Plenty of safety strats to ensure victory
+ CLIPS! Just like XC1, we are going through a door, without going through the door.
+ JUMPS! There is a good share of exciting platforming as well to make our way through areas quickly.
+ Skippable Cutscenes. YAY!
+ Cool Exp Management and bonuses to ensure we stay on Experience curve throughout the game
+ Fantastic sense of general progression. It’s a good flowing, and enjoyable feeling speedrun.

- On the lengthier side. 7:15 is a very generous offer though, as my PB is, as of time of writing, 6:33:03, and looking to be lower.
- Whilst combat is all about layers, the initial mechanics look visually slower than previous entries.
- A few areas of extended movement break up action from time to time. (although a good time for donations)
- Gacha mechanic for blade pulling. I can easily lose time to taking longer than normal to get the 3 elemental blades I need.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Decide Rex’s Love - BIDWAR: In Chapter 8, about 5 and a half hours into the run, we can pick who Rex *truly* falls in love with between the two halves of the Aegis. Pyra or Mythra. This affects gameplay and the ending visuals and narrative. Game is completable with either. Pyra is technically the harder of the two characters to align with.

English vs Japanese Voice Track - BIDWAR: Whichever is in the lead throughout the course of the run I will change audio track in game.

Cutscene Showcase - I have selected 2 Cutscenes that I think are not only lovely, but also important to the narrative, And as we skip pretty much all of the story, it would be nice to see a little of the quality from this game. I can either watch them mid-run or after I’ve finished in the event viewer. The Former would create a cut-off point in chapter 7 for the cutscenes.

Post Run Blade Pull - The game’s gacha mechanic of pulling elemental blades is a fun process. Currently, whenever a runner PBs, we like to pull blades on our remaining Core Crystals to see if we get any of the coveted Rare Blades. I will donate $25 to Nami for every Rare Blade pulled from core crystals during the run, and in the post run pull.

Succeed at Tiger Tiger! - There is a forced mini-game in Chapter 2 that we auto fail, but I can succeed at the mini-game instead. 8-bit treasure hunting good times!!! Adds ~1 minute

Sample Run Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFTAOCA4tSg
Time Stamp Information:
COMMENTARY - 0:00:00 to 0:50:00 :- The first three hours were more focused on commentary, but the first couple of chapters in particular were a little more focused
PLATFORMING - 4:50:00 : - A cool bit of platforming ... 4:24:50 - The descent from Theosoir to lower Tantal ... CLIP -5:57:55 : - The clip in Chapter 9, that removes the most of the RNG. I showed the full time it took me to get it (1 minute 20 seconds) to give you the idea of what attempts at it will look like, and what it does.

Game Name: Illusion of Gaia
System: SNES
Category: Any% / 100%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00 - 2:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00:00
Pros/Cons:
+ The only one from the Soul Blazer Trilogy yet to be run at RPGLB
+ Any% has never had a live marathon showing to this day.
+ Incredibly difficult and input intensive Action RPG on the SNES. Slick movement is dependent on intense and accurate double taps, and geometric precision. Really impressive watch.
+ Loads of tiny optimisations and mechanical abuses to create consistent skips
+ New strats and approaches to general routing since the last live marathon it was run at.
+ Any% is difficult as all hell.
+ Minimal downtime
+ Despite difficulty, very marathon safe, due to lack of major penalties on death. I am also incredibly practiced at the point, with an eye to add in the odd marathon safety healing.

- Not the largest amount of donation incentives for in-game fun.
- Mashing and double-tapping is hard Tongue

Donation Incentive Offers:
BIDWAR - Any% or 100%? - I’ll run the one that wins. Any% is the harder difficulty of the two, with less stats
Fight Dark Gaia Blindfolded - Yuuuup. I’ll take on the final boss without looking. Using audio cues for any defensive necessities, Dark Gaia will be defeated.

Sample Run Video:
https://youtu.be/4-VdyxZbvg8
This is my any% PB video. I’m the only other player besides the current WR holder to have a sub 2 hour run in any%. The skills here are transferable to 100%, my current PB being a 2:15:xx

Game Name: Final Fantasy Adventure
System: GameBoy (Played on an SGB2/SFC)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:43:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending - 3minutes
Pros/Cons:
+ Any% hasn't seen RPGLB just yet
+ Any% uses a variety of glitches to warp throughout the game, skipping about 80% of the narrative.
+ Loads of tiny, intricate technical skills on display in the game - Stutter slicing, cure cancelling, perfect pivoting and more.
+ SGB has loads of awesome, and just as many hideous colour filters... Return of demon chocobo style !?!?!?!?
+ Marathon safe despite the RNG factor thanks to the stat building system to ensure higher HP values, and the exp gain in late game to really level quickly. And time taken to get key drops earlier in the run, just goes towards exp total anyway.

- The game as a whole has been at RPGLB before
- RNG does play a factor in any%
- Lacking donation incentives

Donation Incentives:
Name Sumo and Fuji (4 characters each; Alphanumerics and symbols allowed)
Play Seiken Densetsu instead? - Just a left fielder really. I'll play the game in the Japanese version. Faster version, but the items have no stock images, so you get to watch me faff about with the menus trying to find the right item, with my aggressively mediocre command of the Japanese language.

Submission Video:
https://youtu.be/wobFrGo9Qmo
Just another PB video really. Marathon safety strats from bonus levels will add about 5-7 minutes on a bad day.

Game Name: Secret of Mana
System: SNES
Category: Glitchless any% 3p3c Co-op w/ StingerPA and Yagamoth
Gameplay Estimate: 4:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Ending = ~7min
Pros/Cons: I'm going to copy Yaga who has copied Stinger here: 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, only capital letters, no numbers), Demonstrate Peak SoM AI Movement (1 minute), Get the Moogle Belt and use it for denying damage \o/ (2 minutes)

Game Name: Shining the Holy Ark
System: Sega Saturn
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 9:30:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00:00
Pros/Cons:
+ Top quality dungeon crawling JRPG from the makers of Shining Force, and Golden Sun.
+ Intricate usage of the Pixie system to not only ease battle, but increase exp gain.
+ A variety of cool puzzles and interesting dungeon designs.
+ A no-nonsense kind of run. Whilst not the deepest run in terms of strategies employed, the off-the-cuff decision making and the runner awareness is what makes this game interesting as a speedrun.
+ Music is killer. The good kind of Motoi Sakuraba, not the tired kind.
+ Probably a good night shift run to fill the gaps.
+ Surprisingly marathon safe. Grinding in the second half of the game is pretty easy, and exp is plentiful, so gain bonus levels to ensure perfect end game.

- Enemy Death screams (I like them. Others may not)
- Grindy. 3 major grinds with a couple of smaller ones thrown into the mix totally almost 2 hours of the run.
- RNG is a thing that says hi from time to time - And I have terrible luck for the most part.
- Console is super slow for this game, due to Saturn’s lag.
- Minimal incentives at the current point of routing.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Name Arthur - 6 Letters, Alphanumerics only.
Sample Run Video:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222757885
This run is just my first completed run. I intend to get a lot better. Sub 9 at least being my initial goal with this. Submitting because, why not?

I have listed my games in order of preference! :)

[b]Game Name:[/b] Xenoblade Chronicles 2
[b]System:[/b] Nintendo Switch
[b]Category:[/b] Any% No DLC
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 7:00:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 16-21 Minutes
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
 + The ‘not’ Sequel to XC1, which was at RPGLB 2017, it would be cool to have its follow up in the following year. 
 + Brand New Game, so recent and strong interest in the run
 + Execution intensive for the genre of RPG it is.
 + Solid JRPG where detailed routing, pathing and equipment set-up is key to those faster times. Utilising a variety of accessory builds, weapon set ups, and damage ratio abuse we stretch the game’s fantastic battle system; Building layers upon themselves to make for exciting and flashy combat/combos and damage. Very intricate and exciting aspect of the game and run. Combining Driver and Blade combos, accurately building orb stocks to break in chain attacks for maximum damage and experience gain. Intelligent usage of the item pouch to always have an advantage in battle.
 + Soundtrack is absolutely incredible. Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE composing.
 + Plentiful fun donation incentives
 + There isn’t any major downtime in the run.
 + A game that actually makes use of all the cast, using a  multitude of different set ups and approaches to get through all the game.
 + NOW MARATHON SAFE. A very exciting a cool clip has been found to remove a large chunk of the RNG in the game. Plenty of safety strats to ensure victory
 + CLIPS! Just like XC1, we are going through a door, without going through the door.
 + JUMPS! There is a good share of exciting platforming as well to make our way through areas quickly.
 + Skippable Cutscenes. YAY!
 + Cool Exp Management and bonuses to ensure we stay on Experience curve throughout the game
 + Fantastic sense of general progression. It’s a good flowing, and enjoyable feeling speedrun.

- On the lengthier side. 7:15 is a very generous offer though, as my PB is, as of time of writing, 6:33:03, and looking to be lower.
 - Whilst combat is all about layers, the initial mechanics look visually slower than previous entries.
 - A few areas of extended movement break up action from time to time. (although a good time for donations)
 - Gacha mechanic for blade pulling. I can easily lose time to taking longer than normal to get the 3 elemental blades I need.

[b]Donation Incentive Offers:[/b]
Decide Rex’s Love - BIDWAR: In Chapter 8, about 5 and a half hours into the run, we can pick who Rex *truly* falls in love with between the two halves of the Aegis. Pyra or Mythra. This affects gameplay and the ending visuals and narrative. Game is completable with either. Pyra is technically the harder of the two characters to align with.

English vs Japanese Voice Track - BIDWAR: Whichever is in the lead throughout the course of the run I will change audio track in game.

Cutscene Showcase - I have selected 2 Cutscenes that I think are not only lovely, but also important to the narrative, And as we skip pretty much all of the story, it would be nice to see a little of the quality from this game. I can either watch them mid-run or after I’ve finished in the event viewer. The Former would create a cut-off point in chapter 7 for the cutscenes.

Post Run Blade Pull - The game’s gacha mechanic of pulling elemental blades is a fun process. Currently, whenever a runner PBs, we like to pull blades on our remaining Core Crystals to see if we get any of the coveted Rare Blades. I will donate $25 to Nami for every Rare Blade pulled from core crystals during the run, and in the post run pull.

Succeed at Tiger Tiger! - There is a forced mini-game in Chapter 2 that we auto fail, but I can succeed at the mini-game instead.  8-bit treasure hunting good times!!! Adds ~1 minute

[b]Sample Run Video:[/b]
[noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFTAOCA4tSg[/noembed]
Time Stamp Information:
COMMENTARY - 	0:00:00 to 0:50:00 :- The first three hours were more focused on commentary, but the first couple of chapters in particular were a little more focused
PLATFORMING - 4:50:00 : - A cool bit of platforming ... 4:24:50 - The descent from Theosoir to lower Tantal ... CLIP -5:57:55 : - The clip in Chapter 9, that removes the most of the RNG. I showed the full time it took me to get it (1 minute 20 seconds) to give you the idea of what attempts at it will look like, and what it does.

[b]Game Name:[/b] Illusion of Gaia
[b]System:[/b] SNES
[b]Category:[/b] Any% / 100%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 2:10:00 - 2:25:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:00:00
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
 + The only one from the Soul Blazer Trilogy yet to be run at RPGLB
 + Any% has never had a live marathon showing to this day.
 + Incredibly difficult and input intensive Action RPG on the SNES. Slick movement is dependent on intense and accurate double taps, and geometric precision. Really impressive watch.
 + Loads of tiny optimisations and mechanical abuses to create consistent skips
 + New strats and approaches to general routing since the last live marathon it was run at.
 + Any% is difficult as all hell.
 + Minimal downtime
 + Despite difficulty, very marathon safe, due to lack of major penalties on death. I am also incredibly practiced at the point, with an eye to add in the odd marathon safety healing.

- Not the largest amount of donation incentives for in-game fun.
 - Mashing and double-tapping is hard :P

[b]Donation Incentive Offers:[/b]
BIDWAR - Any% or 100%? - I’ll run the one that wins. Any% is the harder difficulty of the two, with less stats
Fight Dark Gaia Blindfolded - Yuuuup. I’ll take on the final boss without looking. Using audio cues for any defensive necessities, Dark Gaia will be defeated.

[b]Sample Run Video:[/b]
[noembed]https://youtu.be/4-VdyxZbvg8[/noembed]
This is my any% PB video. I’m the only other player besides the current WR holder to have a sub 2 hour run in any%. The skills here are transferable to 100%, my current PB being a 2:15:xx

[b]Game Name:[/b] Final Fantasy Adventure
[b]System:[/b] GameBoy (Played on an SGB2/SFC)
[b]Category:[/b] Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 0:43:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] Ending - 3minutes
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
 + Any% hasn't seen RPGLB just yet
 + Any% uses a variety of glitches to warp throughout the game, skipping about 80% of the narrative.
 + Loads of tiny, intricate technical skills on display in the game - Stutter slicing, cure cancelling, perfect pivoting and more.
 + SGB has loads of awesome, and just as many hideous colour filters... Return of demon chocobo style !?!?!?!?
 + Marathon safe despite the RNG factor thanks to the stat building system to ensure higher HP values, and the exp gain in late game to really level quickly. And time taken to get key drops earlier in the run, just goes towards exp total anyway.

- The game as a whole has been at RPGLB before
 - RNG does play a factor in any%
 - Lacking donation incentives

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b]
Name Sumo and Fuji (4 characters each; Alphanumerics and symbols allowed)
Play Seiken Densetsu instead? - Just a left fielder really. I'll play the game in the Japanese version. Faster version, but the items have no stock images, so you get to watch me faff about with the menus trying to find the right item, with my aggressively mediocre command of the Japanese language.

[b]Submission Video:[/b]
[noembed]https://youtu.be/wobFrGo9Qmo[/noembed]
Just another PB video really. Marathon safety strats from bonus levels will add about 5-7 minutes on a bad day.

[b]Game Name:[/b] Secret of Mana
[b]System:[/b] SNES
[b]Category:[/b] Glitchless any% 3p3c Co-op w/ StingerPA and Yagamoth
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 4:20:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] Ending = ~7min
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b] I'm going to copy Yaga who has copied Stinger here: 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, only capital letters, no numbers), Demonstrate Peak SoM AI Movement (1 minute), Get the Moogle Belt and use it for denying damage \o/ (2 minutes)

[b]Game Name:[/b] Shining the Holy Ark
[b]System:[/b] Sega Saturn
[b]Category:[/b] Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 9:30:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:00:00
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
 + Top quality dungeon crawling JRPG from the makers of Shining Force, and Golden Sun.
 + Intricate usage of the Pixie system to not only ease battle, but increase exp gain.
 + A variety of cool puzzles and interesting dungeon designs.
 + A no-nonsense kind of run. Whilst not the deepest run in terms of strategies employed, the off-the-cuff decision making and the runner awareness is what makes this game interesting as a speedrun.
 + Music is killer. The good kind of Motoi Sakuraba, not the tired kind.
 + Probably a good night shift run to fill the gaps.
 + Surprisingly marathon safe. Grinding in the second half of the game is pretty easy, and exp is plentiful, so gain bonus levels to ensure perfect end game.

- Enemy Death screams (I like them. Others may not)
 - Grindy. 3 major grinds with a couple of smaller ones thrown into the mix totally almost 2 hours of the run.
 - RNG is a thing that says hi from time to time - And I have terrible luck for the most part.
 - Console is super slow for this game, due to Saturn’s lag.
 - Minimal incentives at the current point of routing.

[b]Donation Incentive Offers:[/b]
Name Arthur - 6 Letters, Alphanumerics only.
[b]Sample Run Video:[/b]
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222757885
This run is just my first completed run. I intend to get a lot better. Sub 9 at least being my initial goal with this. Submitting because, why not?

Diamond

Edit history:

Diamond: 2018-01-26 09:16:49 pm

Diamond: 2018-01-26 09:16:42 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-26 09:15:40 pm

2018-01-26 09:10:19 pm

Game Name: Pokemon Ranger
System: Nintendo DS
Category: Beat The Game
Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate:N/A
Pros:
+ Fast Gameplay and CIRCLES
+ Has a lot of on the fly management in regards to luck and EXP
+ Progression is really quick
+ Uses a bunch of interesting AI manipulation
+ Nice change of pace in regards to the rest of the marathon
Cons:
- Beginning of the game is slow but things start getting more interesting after mission 1
- Luck can be a bit bad at times (Particularly the worst mission in the game, the Gyarados mission)

In regards to marathon safety, I will be saving slightly more often or collecting more charging pokemon, especially before the Mission 9 boss rush (which is the scariest part of the run). This game in general is solid as a marathon run despite the large luck factor because of the aformentioned mitigation possibilities.

Donation Incentives: Choose the gender of the Protagonist. (Girl is superior but we can let the people decide)

Sample Run Videos:
Marathon run I did for PSR Marathon 2016:
https://youtu.be/ptFTtDaW7l4
Current Record:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/81660462

Game Name: Pokemon Ranger
System: Nintendo DS
Category: Beat The Game
Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate:N/A
Pros:
+ Fast Gameplay and CIRCLES
+ Has a lot of on the fly management in regards to luck and EXP 
+ Progression is really quick
+ Uses a bunch of interesting AI manipulation
+ Nice change of pace in regards to the rest of the marathon
Cons: 
- Beginning of the game is slow but things start getting more interesting after mission 1
- Luck can be a bit bad at times (Particularly the worst mission in the game, the Gyarados mission)

In regards to marathon safety, I will be saving slightly more often or collecting more charging pokemon, especially before the Mission 9 boss rush (which is the scariest part of the run). This game in general is solid as a marathon run despite the large luck factor because of the aformentioned mitigation possibilities.

Donation Incentives: Choose the gender of the Protagonist. (Girl is superior but we can let the people decide)

Sample Run Videos:
Marathon run I did for PSR Marathon 2016:
[noembed]https://youtu.be/ptFTtDaW7l4[/noembed]
Current Record:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/81660462

Damo578

Edit history:

Damo578: 2018-01-27 06:31:13 am

Damo578: 2018-01-27 06:22:59 am

2018-01-26 10:12:14 pm

Game Name: Ar Tonelico Qoga
System: Playstation 3
Category: New Game Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 4:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:00:00
Pros/Cons:
+ Purge Movie cutscenes can be turned off in battle and can be skipped during dialog cutscenes
+ Can run away from every non-boss fight with no chance of death
+ Only 2 'hard' boss fights, but still easy to manage (there are save points extremely close by for these 2)
+ Music is great
+ Pretty marathon safe since you get tons of items and they have no cool down between their use
+ Physics are a bit wonky in this game in terms of slopes and platforms

- Boss fights do not give you EXP, money or DP (used for Dives and Synth)
- A few cutscenes can't be skipped
- Lots of dialog (which is skipped without mashing)

Donation Incentives: English/Japanese Voices, Bid war between Saki or Finnel ending

Sample Run Video:
https://youtu.be/wImUQPgbBnU PB Video (with no game sound delay)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221832389 (Commentary w/ some game sound delay)

[b]Game Name:[/b] Ar Tonelico Qoga
[b]System:[/b] Playstation 3
[b]Category:[/b] New Game Any%
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 4:40:00
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:00:00
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
+ Purge Movie cutscenes can be turned off in battle and can be skipped during dialog cutscenes
+ Can run away from every non-boss fight with no chance of death
+ Only 2 'hard' boss fights, but still easy to manage (there are save points extremely close by for these 2)
+ Music is great
+ Pretty marathon safe since you get tons of items and they have no cool down between their use
+ Physics are a bit wonky in this game in terms of slopes and platforms

- Boss fights do not give you EXP, money or DP (used for Dives and Synth)
- A few cutscenes can't be skipped
- Lots of dialog (which is skipped without mashing)

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b] English/Japanese Voices, Bid war between Saki or Finnel ending

[b]Sample Run Video:[/b] 
[noembed]https://youtu.be/wImUQPgbBnU[/noembed] PB Video (with no game sound delay)
[url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221832389[/url] (Commentary w/ some game sound delay)

Wyrmtalon

Edit history:

Wyrmtalon: 2018-01-28 02:48:38 pm

2018-01-27 12:33:14 am

I am a koala

Game Name: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
System: Original PSX, run on PC version
Category: Glitchless Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:55:00 (2:00:00 with voice acting)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~ 0:01:00
Pros/Cons:
First of the Legacy of Kain series. While later entries to the series would be easily categorized as action platformers, this entry is a top down action rpg, similar to games such as Diablo. While Diablo games are known for their randomness this game has very little rng involved, being mainly in the movements of some enemies. The game's design had a playstation controller in mind so only one spell or item can be active at a time, quick menus in game are used to switch between active spells and items with minimal downtime. Magic is used throughout the run to increase movement speed, however it is also needed to solve puzzles, combined with picking up as few upgrades as possible often leads to having 'just enough' magic for what needs to be done.

+ Cult classic series; - Least well known of the series
+ Marathon safety strats ensure run completion and only cost a few seconds
+ Built in quick menus make for very little downtime
+ All cutscenes skippable
+ Excellent voice acting and storytelling (only applicable if left on)
+ Careful magic management throughout

- Toward the late game deaths can happen very quickly and easily; + But only cost a few seconds each
-(+?) Knockback with no iframes can lead to lots of damage being taken very quickly, especially in trap heavy areas

Donation Incentive Offers: Leave Voice Acting on; Ending Choice bidwar (World Domination or Restore Balance)
Sample run videos:
https://youtu.be/3fwfZwMayFE (post commentary of my PB)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222830337 (a live run with the voice acting turned on)

Game Name: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
System: Original PSX, run on PC version
Category: Glitchless Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:55:00 (2:00:00 with voice acting)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~ 0:01:00
Pros/Cons:
First of the Legacy of Kain series. While later entries to the series would be easily categorized as action platformers, this entry is a top down action rpg, similar to games such as Diablo. While Diablo games are known for their randomness this game has very little rng involved, being mainly in the movements of some enemies. The game's design had a playstation controller in mind so only one spell or item can be active at a time, quick menus in game are used to switch between active spells and items with minimal downtime. Magic is used throughout the run to increase movement speed, however it is also needed to solve puzzles, combined with picking up as few upgrades as possible often leads to having 'just enough' magic for what needs to be done.

+ Cult classic series; - Least well known of the series
+ Marathon safety strats ensure run completion and only cost a few seconds
+ Built in quick menus make for very little downtime
+ All cutscenes skippable
+ Excellent voice acting and storytelling (only applicable if left on)
+ Careful magic management throughout

- Toward the late game deaths can happen very quickly and easily; + But only cost a few seconds each
-(+?) Knockback with no iframes can lead to lots of damage being taken very quickly, especially in trap heavy areas

Donation Incentive Offers: Leave Voice Acting on; Ending Choice bidwar (World Domination or Restore Balance)
Sample run videos:
[noembed]https://youtu.be/3fwfZwMayFE[/noembed] (post commentary of my PB)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222830337 (a live run with the voice acting turned on)

pm920

2018-01-27 12:37:49 am

Game Name: Dragon Quest VIII
System: 3DS
Category:Any% Co-op CreativeEly and PurpleMario920
Gameplay Estimate: 8:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros:
Vastly Popular DQ released in the west and ported on the 3DS, which shaves about 4 hours of the PS2 run due to updated mechanics.
Incredibly marathon safe by using the quick save option before bosses.
Showcases a true co-op of a route developed by Ely and PM together over the past year both in finding an ideal money/equipment route and in boss strats.
Utilizes unique/different strats that are also exclusive to the 3DS (Using Red, Taking Photos, 3DS exclusive skills and equipment).
3DS version emphasizes more on execution (due to on-screen monsters) and less on luck.
Game has not been in an on-site marathon yet.
Incredibly lovable (and notoriously not-so-lovable) characters (CorBlimey).

Cons:
Couple RNG Heavy Segments in the beginning including a metal slime grind segment (15-25 minutes), and %based boss fight
Run has its fair share of walking segments
With the length of the story, its one of the longer DQ speedruns, expect cutscenes throughout

Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Overworld character/Bid War (similar to demon chocobo, this can change through the run so that whichever character has the current highest amount will be in the lead).
Have Don Play His Funky Tune
Have the Hero Kick/Pose in photos
Play through ending and have Hero Say No To Medea In The Ending

PB Vods:
Ely https://www.twitch.tv/videos/164820248
PM920 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/129036518

—————————————————————————————————————

Game Name: Dragon Quest V
System: DS
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00

Pros:
One of the best stories in one of the most famous rpg franchises.
Manipulation includes a metal slime, apple, and slime knight recruitment, and 2 metal grinds- because of the manipulations the run is pretty consistent.
We can marry Deb (the SFC version does not allow this choice)
We can safely manipulate kill a few extra Liquid metal slimes to make the final bosses marathon safe (I did this in my Scrub run).
Iconic bosses including the Behemoose Bjorn and evil Ladja.
Variety of stategy for bosses as you progress through the game with different parties.
While it is a longer run, it moves very quickly through the entire game.
DS remakes of the DQ games have not been represented at a major marathon.

Cons:
Some sketchy early bosses-quicksaves make it safer (I did this in the scrubathon run).
While the story is incredible, it is fairly sad.
A few long cutscenes and some slow moving text before the final boss.

Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Son’s Name/Bid War
Daughter’s Name/Bid War
Wife to marry/Bid war (3 options)

Scrubathon VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/106708363 (for metal slime recruitment and metal grind see 1:30:00-1:37:00 in the VOD)

Game Name: Dragon Quest VIII
System: 3DS
Category:Any% Co-op CreativeEly and PurpleMario920
Gameplay Estimate: 8:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros:
Vastly Popular DQ released in the west and ported on the 3DS, which shaves about 4 hours of the PS2 run due to updated mechanics.
Incredibly marathon safe by using the quick save option before bosses.
Showcases a true co-op of a route developed by Ely and PM together over the past year both in finding an ideal money/equipment route and in boss strats.
Utilizes unique/different strats that are also exclusive to the 3DS (Using Red, Taking Photos, 3DS exclusive skills and equipment).
3DS version emphasizes more on execution (due to on-screen monsters) and less on luck.
Game has not been in an on-site marathon yet.
Incredibly lovable (and notoriously not-so-lovable) characters (CorBlimey).

Cons:
Couple RNG Heavy Segments in the beginning including a metal slime grind segment (15-25 minutes), and %based boss fight
Run has its fair share of walking segments 
With the length of the story, its one of the longer DQ speedruns, expect cutscenes throughout

Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Overworld character/Bid War (similar to demon chocobo, this can change through the run so that whichever character has the current highest amount will be in the lead).
Have Don Play His Funky Tune 
Have the Hero Kick/Pose in photos
Play through ending and have Hero Say No To Medea In The Ending

PB Vods: 
Ely https://www.twitch.tv/videos/164820248
PM920 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/129036518

—————————————————————————————————————

Game Name: Dragon Quest V
System: DS  
Category: Any% 
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00 
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00

Pros: 
One of the best stories in one of the most famous rpg franchises.
Manipulation includes a metal slime, apple, and slime knight recruitment, and 2 metal grinds- because of the manipulations the run is pretty consistent.
We can marry Deb (the SFC version does not allow this choice)
We can safely manipulate kill a few extra Liquid metal slimes to make the final bosses marathon safe (I did this in my Scrub run).
Iconic bosses including the Behemoose Bjorn and evil Ladja.
Variety of stategy for bosses as you progress through the game with different parties.
While it is a longer run, it moves very quickly through the entire game. 
DS remakes of the DQ games have not been represented at a major marathon.

Cons:
Some sketchy early bosses-quicksaves make it safer (I did this in the scrubathon run).
While the story is incredible, it is fairly sad. 
A few long cutscenes and some slow moving text before the final boss.
  
Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Son’s Name/Bid War
Daughter’s Name/Bid War
Wife to marry/Bid war (3 options)

Scrubathon VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/106708363 (for metal slime recruitment and metal grind see 1:30:00-1:37:00 in the VOD)

CreativeEly

2018-01-27 12:41:20 am

FF,DQ speedrunner

Game Name: Dragon Quest VIII
System: 3DS
Category:Any% Co-op CreativeEly and PurpleMario920
Gameplay Estimate: 8:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros:
Vastly Popular DQ released in the west and ported on the 3DS, which shaves about 4 hours of the PS2 run due to updated mechanics.
Incredibly marathon safe by using the quick save option before bosses.
Showcases a true co-op of a route developed by Ely and PM together over the past year both in finding an ideal money/equipment route and in boss strats.
Utilizes unique/different strats that are also exclusive to the 3DS (Using Red, Taking Photos, 3DS exclusive skills and equipment).
3DS version emphasizes more on execution (due to on-screen monsters) and less on luck.
Game has not been in an on-site marathon yet.
Incredibly lovable (and notoriously not-so-lovable) characters (CorBlimey).

Cons:
Couple RNG Heavy Segments in the beginning including a metal slime grind segment (15-25 minutes), and %based boss fight
Run has its fair share of walking segments
With the length of the story, its one of the longer DQ speedruns, expect cutscenes throughout

Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Overworld character/Bid War (similar to demon chocobo, this can change through the run so that whichever character has the current highest amount will be in the lead).
Have Don Play His Funky Tune
Have the Hero Kick/Pose in photos
Play through ending and have Hero Say No To Medea In The Ending

PB Vods:
Ely https://www.twitch.tv/videos/164820248
PM920 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/129036518

Game Name: Dragon Quest VIII
System: 3DS
Category:Any% Co-op CreativeEly and PurpleMario920
Gameplay Estimate: 8:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros:
Vastly Popular DQ released in the west and ported on the 3DS, which shaves about 4 hours of the PS2 run due to updated mechanics.
Incredibly marathon safe by using the quick save option before bosses.
Showcases a true co-op of a route developed by Ely and PM together over the past year both in finding an ideal money/equipment route and in boss strats.
Utilizes unique/different strats that are also exclusive to the 3DS (Using Red, Taking Photos, 3DS exclusive skills and equipment).
3DS version emphasizes more on execution (due to on-screen monsters) and less on luck.
Game has not been in an on-site marathon yet.
Incredibly lovable (and notoriously not-so-lovable) characters (CorBlimey).

Cons:
Couple RNG Heavy Segments in the beginning including a metal slime grind segment (15-25 minutes), and %based boss fight
Run has its fair share of walking segments 
With the length of the story, its one of the longer DQ speedruns, expect cutscenes throughout

Donation Incentive Offers:
Hero’s Name/Bid War
Overworld character/Bid War (similar to demon chocobo, this can change through the run so that whichever character has the current highest amount will be in the lead).
Have Don Play His Funky Tune 
Have the Hero Kick/Pose in photos
Play through ending and have Hero Say No To Medea In The Ending

PB Vods: 
Ely https://www.twitch.tv/videos/164820248
PM920 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/129036518

caeshura

Edit history:

caeshura: 2018-01-28 03:58:33 am

puwexil: 2018-01-27 01:10:21 am

caeshura: 2018-01-27 01:07:35 am

2018-01-27 01:06:41 am

Why be good, when you can be lucky?

Game Name: Battle Chef Brigade
System: PC -- Steam
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:25:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05:00
Pros:
+ Very safe marathon routing
+ Fast paced
+ Interesting story

- A lot of things to explain
- Being action packed sometimes makes it very difficult to focus and talk at the same time

Donation Incentive Offers: Speed vs Vegetarian route (some time difference between the two)
Sample run video : https://youtu.be/n16ak769LZw

Adamtimothy0

Edit history:

Adamtimothy0: 2018-01-28 01:56:39 pm

Adamtimothy0: 2018-01-28 01:56:09 pm

2018-01-27 05:16:22 am

Games are listed in order of preference.

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% NG+
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 16min for ending credits + cutscenes (necessary for certain incentives)

Pros/Cons: The remastered Kingdom Hearts 3DS game. This run takes advantage of one family of spells that is over-tuned compared to other commands to efficiently, albiet somewhat repetitively, rush through the game. As this title introduced the Flowmotion mechanic to the series, the movement can be surprisingly flashy, particularly with Riku. The run contains a small amount of randomness in the form of weather, which can force worlds to be faster or slower due to damage changes. With New Game+, we spend a short 5 minutes of mini games/grinding at the beginning of the game to cut out all grinding from elsewhere in the run. The only major downtime past the initial grind can be attributed to Dives (this game's version of Gummi Missions). However, the dives are still important to the run as my performance in the dives is directly tied to unlocking the strongest keyblade that I can get in the run. Almost all cutscenes can be skipped, the exception being the ending credits.

Possible Donation Incentives: Name the main 3 Dream Eater party members [11 character limit]. Fighting the game's superboss, Julius, on a Level 1 Critical Mode file [10min]. Optional story boss refights [5min per fight, requires watching the ending credits]. Possibly something in real life related to balloons (such as the commentators/audience inflating them), this would require coordination with LB staff to determine something acceptable.

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/126883030

Game: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: All Stories Level 1 Critical Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0min ending; it can be entirely skipped to the final results screen.

Pros/Cons: Rather than splitting the run into 1 of 3 parts as has been done in previous marathons, this category shows the full gambit of Birth By Sleep by going through all 3 character stories along with the bonus Final and Secret episodes. This run features many different mechanics at use between the three characters rather than the somewhat monotonous style that each character tends to stick to. All cutscenes can be skipped and, as this is a level 1 run, very little time is spent performing non-essential tasks.

Possible Donation Incentives: Optional boss fights: Mysterious Figure, No Heart, Armor of Eraqus, Monstro [2-10mins depending on the boss]

Sample run video: https://youtu.be/tLLLNa81YtY

Game: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% Level 1 Critical Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 1:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0min ending; it can be entirely skipped to the final results screen.

Pros/Cons: Rather than running the longer category, this option focuses on a single character's story. This run is fairly quick and showcases some general quirkiness with how the EXP Zero ability scales damage on the console versions of Birth By Sleep though either command styles, D-Links, or both. All cutscenes can be skipped and, as this is a level 1 run, very little time is spent performing non-essential tasks.

Possible Donation Incentives: Bid war for charater choice: Terra, Ventus, or Aqua; optional boss fights: Mysterious Figure, No Heart, Armor of Eraqus, Monstro [2-10mins depending on the boss]; including the Final/Secret episodes (this would be especially useful for Aqua as it's a continuation of her story and her run is decently quicker than Ven or Terra) [15mins].

Sample run video:
Terra - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/141155432
Ven - https://youtu.be/YF36un2Xx58
Aqua - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/203355606

Games are listed in order of preference.

Game Name: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% NG+
Gameplay Estimate: 2:10:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 16min for ending credits + cutscenes (necessary for certain incentives)

Pros/Cons: The remastered Kingdom Hearts 3DS game. This run takes advantage of one family of spells that is over-tuned compared to other commands to efficiently, albiet somewhat repetitively, rush through the game. As this title introduced the Flowmotion mechanic to the series, the movement can be surprisingly flashy, particularly with Riku. The run contains a small amount of randomness in the form of weather, which can force worlds to be faster or slower due to damage changes. With New Game+, we spend a short 5 minutes of mini games/grinding at the beginning of the game to cut out all grinding from elsewhere in the run. The only major downtime past the initial grind can be attributed to Dives (this game's version of Gummi Missions).  However, the dives are still important to the run as my performance in the dives is directly tied to unlocking the strongest keyblade that I can get in the run. Almost all cutscenes can be skipped, the exception being the ending credits.

Possible Donation Incentives: Name the main 3 Dream Eater party members [11 character limit]. Fighting the game's superboss, Julius, on a Level 1 Critical Mode file [10min]. Optional story boss refights [5min per fight, requires watching the ending credits]. Possibly something in real life related to balloons (such as the commentators/audience inflating them), this would require coordination with LB staff to determine something acceptable.

Sample Run Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/126883030

Game: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: All Stories Level 1 Critical Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0min ending; it can be entirely skipped to the final results screen.

Pros/Cons: Rather than splitting the run into 1 of 3 parts as has been done in previous marathons, this category shows the full gambit of Birth By Sleep by going through all 3 character stories along with the bonus Final and Secret episodes. This run features many different mechanics at use between the three characters rather than the somewhat monotonous style that each character tends to stick to. All cutscenes can be skipped and, as this is a level 1 run, very little time is spent performing non-essential tasks.

Possible Donation Incentives: Optional boss fights: Mysterious Figure, No Heart, Armor of Eraqus, Monstro [2-10mins depending on the boss]

Sample run video: [noembed]https://youtu.be/tLLLNa81YtY[/noembed]

Game: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix HD
System: PS4
Category: Any% Level 1 Critical Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 1:05:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0min ending; it can be entirely skipped to the final results screen.

Pros/Cons: Rather than running the longer category, this option focuses on a single character's story. This run is fairly quick and showcases some general quirkiness with how the EXP Zero ability scales damage on the console versions of Birth By Sleep though either command styles, D-Links, or both. All cutscenes can be skipped and, as this is a level 1 run, very little time is spent performing non-essential tasks.

Possible Donation Incentives: Bid war for charater choice: Terra, Ventus, or Aqua; optional boss fights: Mysterious Figure, No Heart, Armor of Eraqus, Monstro [2-10mins depending on the boss]; including the Final/Secret episodes (this would be especially useful for Aqua as it's a continuation of her story and her run is decently quicker than Ven or Terra) [15mins].

Sample run video: 
Terra - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/141155432
Ven - [noembed]https://youtu.be/YF36un2Xx58[/noembed]
Aqua - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/203355606

Luzbelheim

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-27 11:20:40 am

Luzbelheim: 2018-01-27 06:37:47 am

2018-01-27 06:32:40 am

Okay? Okay!

Game Name: Final Fantasy VII.
System: PS1 played on PS2.
Category: Any% (Slots) Co-op by Luzbelheim and Meesbaker.
Gameplay Estimate: 7:43.
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:17 (Ending cutscene).
Pros/Cons:
One of the most popular Final Fantasy games.
The game is highly executional with difficult stuff (stepcount, skips, glitches and Slots).
It has been routed very thoroughly and the route has improved a lot since the last time it was ran in a marathon. For example, now we do considerably less extra fights in order to learn the Slots limit break.
With good execution, the run is safe for a marathon.

Donation Incentives:
- Naming characters (Cloud, Batter, Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid [9 character limit for all]).
- Date scene in Gold Saucer: Aeris, Tifa or Barret.
- Defeat Emerald/Ultima/Ruby Weapon (and get the Master Materias) [around 10 minutes].

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpyA-yOe8S8

-------

Game Name: Final Fantasy VIII.
System: PS1 played on PS2.
Category: Any% Co-op by Luzbelheim and Cordellium.
Gameplay Estimate: 8:36.
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:24 (Eyes On Me sing-a-long + final cutscene).
Pros/Cons:
This speedrun features new manipulations and routing that have been discovered in past year and a half that allow for the fastest route possible and eliminates frustration older routes of this game had to deal with.
The fights and setups for fights throughout the course of the run have good variance, but sometimes do amount to just spamming Limit Breaks. Execution in fights reacting to differing RNG, menu execution, and the valve mini-game (requiring 137 inputs/~11 seconds) are standout exciting parts of the run.
The run itself is very marathon safe, with most of the variance in final times coming due to RNG in fights and overall execution.

Donation Incentives:
- 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 (around 8 minutes).
- Blindfolded Esthar menu.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/200129618

[b]Game Name:[/b] Final Fantasy VII.
[b]System:[/b] PS1 played on PS2.
[b]Category:[/b] Any% (Slots) Co-op by Luzbelheim and Meesbaker.
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 7:43.
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:17 (Ending cutscene).
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
One of the most popular Final Fantasy games.
The game is highly executional with difficult stuff (stepcount, skips, glitches and Slots).
It has been routed very thoroughly and the route has improved a lot since the last time it was ran in a marathon. For example, now we do considerably less extra fights in order to learn the Slots limit break.
With good execution, the run is safe for a marathon.

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b]
- Naming characters (Cloud, Batter, Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid [9 character limit for all]).
- Date scene in Gold Saucer: Aeris, Tifa or Barret.
- Defeat Emerald/Ultima/Ruby Weapon (and get the Master Materias) [around 10 minutes].

[b]Video:[/b] [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpyA-yOe8S8[/noembed]

-------

[b]Game Name:[/b] Final Fantasy VIII.
[b]System:[/b] PS1 played on PS2.
[b]Category:[/b] Any% Co-op by Luzbelheim and Cordellium.
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 8:36.
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:24 (Eyes On Me sing-a-long + final cutscene).
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
This speedrun features new manipulations and routing that have been discovered in past year and a half that allow for the fastest route possible and eliminates frustration older routes of this game had to deal with.
The fights and setups for fights throughout the course of the run have good variance, but sometimes do amount to just spamming Limit Breaks. Execution in fights reacting to differing RNG, menu execution, and the valve mini-game (requiring 137 inputs/~11 seconds) are standout exciting parts of the run.
The run itself is very marathon safe, with most of the variance in final times coming due to RNG in fights and overall execution.

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b]
- 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 (around 8 minutes).
- Blindfolded Esthar menu.

[b]Video:[/b] [url]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/200129618[/url]

Cordellium

Edit history:

Cordellium: 2018-01-27 06:37:27 am

2018-01-27 06:34:35 am

Game Name: Final Fantasy VIII.
System: PS1 played on PS2.
Category: Any% Co-op by Luzbelheim and Cordellium.
Gameplay Estimate: 8:36.
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:24 (Eyes On Me sing-a-long + final cutscene).
Pros/Cons:
This speedrun features new manipulations and routing that have been discovered in past year and a half that allow for the fastest route possible and eliminates frustration older routes of this game had to deal with.
The fights and setups for fights throughout the course of the run have good variance, but sometimes do amount to just spamming Limit Breaks. Execution in fights reacting to differing RNG, menu execution, and the valve mini-game (requiring 137 inputs/~11 seconds) are standout exciting parts of the run.
The run itself is very marathon safe, with most of the variance in final times coming due to RNG in fights and overall execution.

Donation Incentives:
- 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 (around 8 minutes).
- Blindfolded Esthar menu.

Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/219733570?t=

[b]Game Name:[/b] Final Fantasy VIII.
[b]System:[/b] PS1 played on PS2.
[b]Category:[/b] Any% Co-op by Luzbelheim and Cordellium.
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 8:36.
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:24 (Eyes On Me sing-a-long + final cutscene).
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
This speedrun features new manipulations and routing that have been discovered in past year and a half that allow for the fastest route possible and eliminates frustration older routes of this game had to deal with.
The fights and setups for fights throughout the course of the run have good variance, but sometimes do amount to just spamming Limit Breaks. Execution in fights reacting to differing RNG, menu execution, and the valve mini-game (requiring 137 inputs/~11 seconds) are standout exciting parts of the run.
The run itself is very marathon safe, with most of the variance in final times coming due to RNG in fights and overall execution.

[b]Donation Incentives:[/b]
- 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 (around 8 minutes).
- Blindfolded Esthar menu.

[b]Video:[/b] https://www.twitch.tv/videos/219733570?t=

AllTheHighwinds

Edit history:

AllTheHighwinds: 2018-02-01 03:39:24 pm

AllTheHighwinds: 2018-01-31 06:37:51 pm

AllTheHighwinds: 2018-01-31 03:47:01 am

AllTheHighwinds: 2018-01-27 04:43:18 pm

2018-01-27 07:58:14 am

Game Name: Ragnarok Battle Offline

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 1:30:00 to 2:00:00 Depending on character chosen

Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros: What do you get when you mix fighting game inputs, committed attacks and jumps like Ghouls n Ghosts, a very popular MMORPG from the early 2000's, and 2d side-scrolling beat em' up action? This game. It was made by a Japanese game studio called French Bread (who brought us such fine fighting games as Melty Blood and Under night In-Birth) and in part with Gravity the creator of Ragnarok Online. It features numerous classes to play as in an action packed setting while keeping the stat and skill allocation system from Ragnarok Online allowing for many different styles of play. It has a really good soundtrack, cute art style, is challenging yet satisfying and very fun to play. It also supports up to 3 players for local co-op play. The game has 8 stages and you are given 2 lives to get through each stage. Lots of flavorful commentary in regards to explaining the lore of the world that the game takes place in and the events that occur in the MMORPG. RNG is to a minimum during boss fights. They always follow a set pattern. Not really much in the way of cutscenes.

Cons: If you do happen to eat through all your lives, you will have to restart the stage from the very beginning. Normal enemies have some RNG to what they choose to attack you with leading to some unfortunate deaths due to infinite juggles because the game is very unforgiving with recovery frames. Some sections are prone to repetition but they allow for room for donation reading and commentary. Game difficulty despite the route being very safe, the game is still very challenging. PETA might not like this game (is that a con?).

Donation Incentive Offers: Characters can be named up to 8 characters long and can be done in english, numbers, symbols, katakana, and hiragana. There are seven different classes to choose from and within them a male and female variant that affects their style of play. If possible I will hopefully have all classes and characters fully learned and routed by RPGLB. Also if possible that other runners of this game are available, there is an option for 2 and 3 player co-op. I feel confident that a co-op run is able to be put together at RPGLB if the other runners happen to attend. Since I play this on an arcade stick, a controller cam incentive might be a good draw as well.

If having the time variance is too great among the classes/genders, then narrowing the donation incentive down between female swordsman vs female thief would be ideal.

Sample Run Video: As stated earlier, I'm still in the process of learning and routing all the classes but as of now I do have solid runs of 3 of them.

Female Swordsman with commentary: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222902107 This is probably the safest and fastest of all the classes.
Female Thief: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222523227 This is the 2nd fastest character currently and also relatively safe. The VoD is of my current PB.
Male Merchant: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/214980087 Not very fast but still working on it. Also relatively dangerous as the character is slow moving and does not have much in the way of survival skills. Can heal with potion drinking at least and can parry attacks but the ability seems to not always negate damage. Coins raining down looks pretty cool though.

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

Game Name: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

System: Originally on PS2, speedrun performed on PS3 version

Category: Any% Normal Difficulty

Gameplay Estimate: 1:10:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00

Pros: Super high action fast paced mecha game with lots of visual appeal. Constantly active, no downtime. Can skip cutscenes. Game made by Hideo Kojima. Lots of cool tricks that have been developed to defeat bosses and clear enemies quickly. You might think this isn't an RPG, but there is an exp system and the level ups do matter and is routed in.

Cons: No downtime leaves for only a few sections open for donation reading. Game made by Hideo Kojima. Cockpit of the mech is done in a literal sense (could be a pro).

Possible Donation Incentives: I want to offer this game up as a bonus game. Though, if there is room in the marathon's main line-up for it then great! I can also offer several categories as well between easy, easy New Game+, normal, and normal New Game+, including which type of mech to play as - Normal Jehuty is for normal any%, Jehuty 2.0, Damaged Jehuty, and Naked Jehuty are New Game+ categories.

Controller cam would be a good incentive for this as well due to the high amounts of inputs going into the game.

Sample Run Video:
Any% Normal - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/111078735 Submission VoD with commentary
Any% Easy - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/188363895 Current PB VoD
Any% Normal NG+ - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/47500060 Current PB VoD
Any% Easy NG+ - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/44075185 Current PB VoD

Game Name: Ragnarok Battle Offline

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate:  1:30:00 to 2:00:00 Depending on character chosen

Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros:  What do you get when you mix fighting game inputs, committed attacks and jumps like Ghouls n Ghosts, a very popular MMORPG from the early 2000's, and 2d side-scrolling beat em' up action?  This game.  It was made by a Japanese game studio called French Bread (who brought us such fine fighting games as Melty Blood and Under night In-Birth) and in part with Gravity the creator of Ragnarok Online.  It features numerous classes to play as in an action packed setting while keeping the stat and skill allocation system from Ragnarok Online allowing for many different styles of play.  It has a really good soundtrack, cute art style, is challenging yet satisfying and very fun to play.  It also supports up to 3 players for local co-op play.  The game has 8 stages and you are given 2 lives to get through each stage.  Lots of flavorful commentary in regards to explaining the lore of the world that the game takes place in and the events that occur in the MMORPG.  RNG is to a minimum during boss fights.  They always follow a set pattern.  Not really much in the way of cutscenes.

Cons:  If you do happen to eat through all your lives, you will have to restart the stage from the very beginning.  Normal enemies have some RNG to what they choose to attack you with leading to some unfortunate deaths due to infinite juggles because the game is very unforgiving with recovery frames.  Some sections are prone to repetition but they allow for room for donation reading and commentary.  Game difficulty despite the route being very safe, the game is still very challenging.  PETA might not like this game (is that a con?).

Donation Incentive Offers:  Characters can be named up to 8 characters long and can be done in english, numbers, symbols, katakana, and hiragana.  There are seven different classes to choose from and within them a male and female variant that affects their style of play.  If possible I will hopefully have all classes and characters fully learned and routed by RPGLB.  Also if possible that other runners of this game are available, there is an option for 2 and 3 player co-op.  I feel confident that a co-op run is able to be put together at RPGLB if the other runners happen to attend.  Since I play this on an arcade stick, a controller cam incentive might be a good draw as well.

If having the time variance is too great among the classes/genders, then narrowing the donation incentive down between female swordsman vs female thief would be ideal.

Sample Run Video:  As stated earlier, I'm still in the process of learning and routing all the classes but as of now I do have solid runs of 3 of them.

Female Swordsman with commentary: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222902107 This is probably the safest and fastest of all the classes.
Female Thief: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222523227 This is the 2nd fastest character currently and also relatively safe.  The VoD is of my current PB.
Male Merchant: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/214980087 Not very fast but still working on it.  Also relatively dangerous as the character is slow moving and does not have much in the way of survival skills.  Can heal with potion drinking at least and can parry attacks but the ability seems to not always negate damage.  Coins raining down looks pretty cool though.

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

Game Name:  Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

System:  Originally on PS2, speedrun performed on PS3 version

Category:  Any% Normal Difficulty

Gameplay Estimate:  1:10:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate:  20:00

Pros:  Super high action fast paced mecha game with lots of visual appeal.  Constantly active, no downtime.  Can skip cutscenes.  Game made by Hideo Kojima.  Lots of cool tricks that have been developed to defeat bosses and clear enemies quickly.  You might think this isn't an RPG, but there is an exp system and the level ups do matter and is routed in.

Cons:  No downtime leaves for only a few sections open for donation reading.  Game made by Hideo Kojima.  Cockpit of the mech is done in a literal sense (could be a pro).

Possible Donation Incentives:  I want to offer this game up as a bonus game.  Though, if there is room in the marathon's main line-up for it then great!  I can also offer several categories as well between easy, easy New Game+, normal, and normal New Game+, including which type of mech to play as - Normal Jehuty is for normal any%, Jehuty 2.0, Damaged Jehuty, and Naked Jehuty are New Game+ categories.

Controller cam would be a good incentive for this as well due to the high amounts of inputs going into the game.

Sample Run Video:
Any% Normal - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/111078735 Submission VoD with commentary
Any% Easy - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/188363895 Current PB VoD
Any% Normal NG+ - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/47500060 Current PB VoD
Any% Easy NG+ - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/44075185 Current PB VoD

Meesbaker

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-27 11:20:57 am

Meesbaker: 2018-01-27 08:21:52 am

2018-01-27 08:15:42 am

The VOD provided in this post is JP while luz and I are submitting NA but the runs are almost identical I just dont have an NA VOD at hand. Its also no longer WR Kappa but well lets go:
Game Name: Final Fantasy VII.
System: PS1 played on PS2.
Category: Any% (Slots) Co-op by Luzbelheim and Meesbaker.
Gameplay Estimate: 7:43.
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:17 (Ending cutscene).
Pros/Cons:
One of the most popular Final Fantasy games.
The game is highly executional with difficult stuff (stepcount, skips, glitches and Slots).
It has been routed very thoroughly and the route has improved a lot since the last time it was ran in a marathon. For example, now we do considerably less extra fights in order to learn the Slots limit break.
With good execution, the run is safe for a marathon.

Donation Incentive:
- Naming characters (Cloud, Batter, Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid [9 character limit for all]).
- Date scene in Gold Saucer: Aeris, Tifa or Barret.
- Defeat Emerald/Ultima/Ruby Weapon (and get the Master Materias) [around 10 minutes].

Video: https://youtu.be/-sQZ8cA0Kb8

The VOD provided in this post is JP while luz and I are submitting NA but the runs are almost identical I just dont have an NA VOD at hand. Its also no longer WR Kappa but well lets go:
[b]Game Name:[/b] Final Fantasy VII.
[b]System:[/b] PS1 played on PS2.
[b]Category:[/b] Any% (Slots) Co-op by Luzbelheim and Meesbaker.
[b]Gameplay Estimate:[/b] 7:43.
[b]Ending/Bonus Estimate:[/b] 0:17 (Ending cutscene).
[b]Pros/Cons:[/b]
One of the most popular Final Fantasy games.
The game is highly executional with difficult stuff (stepcount, skips, glitches and Slots).
It has been routed very thoroughly and the route has improved a lot since the last time it was ran in a marathon. For example, now we do considerably less extra fights in order to learn the Slots limit break.
With good execution, the run is safe for a marathon.

[b]Donation Incentive:[/b]
- Naming characters (Cloud, Batter, Tifa, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid [9 character limit for all]).
- Date scene in Gold Saucer: Aeris, Tifa or Barret.
- Defeat Emerald/Ultima/Ruby Weapon (and get the Master Materias) [around 10 minutes].

Video: [noembed]https://youtu.be/-sQZ8cA0Kb8[/noembed]

rinimt

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2018-01-27 11:21:36 am

2018-01-27 10:35:55 am

Kupo!

Okay, I'll submit.

Game Name: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
System: PSP
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 6:10:00
Ending/Bonus: 37:00 (Ending), 35:00 for another category (incentives)

Pros:
+Gameplay is highly action based. Some fights require well timed dodging, and leveling periods are controlled to reduce time losses.
+Hasn't been in a major marathon since C4L 2013 and strategies have seen improvements since then
+One of the best PSP games visually
+No strategy overstays it's welcome. Three main ones are used during the run - one for ~3 hours, one for ~2 1/2 hours, and the last for ~25 minutes

Cons:
-It is long because of long loading times and unskippable cutscenes. This can be used for reading and other explanations.
-PSP capture is annoying. I have the setup pieces for it, but the PSP output resolution is small, resizing it causes some blurring, and I need to be close enough (about 6-7 feet) to wherever the input is.
-The DMW can vary a lot, making my final level not guaranteed. However, it is only actually going for a few fights.

Donation Incentives:
-any% No Cursed Ring (adds 35:00 to the run). This run forgoes the Cursed Ring item, allowing the DMW to always run. This results in a higher overall level but there's a lot more animations happening. Each one takes about 30 or so seconds. Near the end of the run the time can vary wildly as either the game will let me use the move that deals 9999 damage or it will block me off by keeping my HP too high.

Videos:
Any%: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xr2NLkt09HU
Any% No Cursed Ring: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rmOjlIDn5-w

Okay, I'll submit.

Game Name: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
System: PSP
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 6:10:00
Ending/Bonus: 37:00 (Ending), 35:00 for another category (incentives)

Pros:
+Gameplay is highly action based. Some fights require well timed dodging, and leveling periods are controlled to reduce time losses.
+Hasn't been in a major marathon since C4L 2013 and strategies have seen improvements since then
+One of the best PSP games visually
+No strategy overstays it's welcome. Three main ones are used during the run - one for ~3 hours, one for ~2 1/2 hours, and the last for ~25 minutes

Cons:
-It is long because of long loading times and unskippable cutscenes. This can be used for reading and other explanations.
-PSP capture is annoying. I have the setup pieces for it, but the PSP output resolution is small, resizing it causes some blurring, and I need to be close enough (about 6-7 feet) to wherever the input is.
-The DMW can vary a lot, making my final level not guaranteed. However, it is only actually going for a few fights.

Donation Incentives:
-any% No Cursed Ring (adds 35:00 to the run). This run forgoes the Cursed Ring item, allowing the  DMW to always run. This results in a higher overall level but there's a lot more animations happening. Each one takes about 30 or so seconds. Near the end of the run the time can vary wildly as either the game will let me use the move that deals 9999 damage or it will block me off by keeping my HP too high.

Videos:
Any%: [noembed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=xr2NLkt09HU[/noembed]
Any% No Cursed Ring: [noembed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=rmOjlIDn5-w[/noembed]

UltimoIce

2018-01-27 03:15:42 pm

Game Name: Bully: Scholarship Edition
System: XBOX360 (Originally PS2 and has PC/XBOX1 Ports)
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00 (RTA)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros:
- Hilarious, engaging, and unique in story and character development
- The most RPG-like Rockstar game on the market, everyone has a name/story
- A good change of pace from traditional RPGs
- Awesome soundtrack
- Worst case you fail a mission and lose a minute...impossible to game over
Cons:
- Prone to soft/hard locking on certain missions...I would prepare safety saves
- Some may argue not a true RPG since it's open world instead of JRPG-styling
- Even though Jimmy (protagonist) is an anti-bully, still some controversial topics
Donation Incentive Offers:
- The Big Prank (after Halloween: special mission)
- Boop the pirate on the hidden island
- Smash all lawn gnomes (Shows off collectibles)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221436178

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

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category : Pajama%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 (Mainly Glitch Showcase)
Pros:
- Super consistent and save since you save often and turn off spawns
- No manipulation or other factors that could stone-wall the run
- Shows off all of EarthBound's major speed tricks in a short run
- VERY SILLY...the graphical/sound glitches are hilarious
- Lots of breaks for donations being read
- I will totally wear Ness pajamas during
Cons:
- EarthBound has saturated RPGLB recently
- There are a lot of technical glitches to explain very quickly
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo (5 Characters)
- Dog's Name (6 Characters)
- Favorite "Thing" (6 Characters)
- "Player" Name (24 Characters)
- Window Color (Plain, Mint, Strawberry, Banana, or Peanut)
- Glitch/Softlock Showcase (There are tons, I would pick some spicy ones)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223043024

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

Game Name: Robotrek
System: SNES
Category : Any% (Race w/ GinTatsu2)
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros:
- A fantastic twist on classic jrpg's w/ fantasticly over the top music.
- Has never been raced before in a live setting.
- Plenty of fun donation incentives.
Cons:
- Was ran recently in RPGLB '16
- Not as well known of a game
- How do you top PJ's commentary?
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Name the Player, Robot 1, Robot 2 ~ A-Z, a-z, 0-9, Punctuation inc. &!:+-/.
- Choose Robots 1 and 2's colours
- Build Robot 3
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/131023807

Game Name: Bully: Scholarship Edition
System: XBOX360 (Originally PS2 and has PC/XBOX1 Ports)
Category : Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20:00 (RTA)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros:
- Hilarious, engaging, and unique in story and character development
- The most RPG-like Rockstar game on the market, everyone has a name/story
- A good change of pace from traditional RPGs
- Awesome soundtrack
- Worst case you fail a mission and lose a minute...impossible to game over
Cons:
- Prone to soft/hard locking on certain missions...I would prepare safety saves
- Some may argue not a true RPG since it's open world instead of JRPG-styling
- Even though Jimmy (protagonist) is an anti-bully, still some controversial topics
Donation Incentive Offers:
- The Big Prank (after Halloween: special mission)
- Boop the pirate on the hidden island
- Smash all lawn gnomes (Shows off collectibles)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221436178

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

Game Name: EarthBound
System: SNES
Category : Pajama%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00 (Mainly Glitch Showcase)
Pros:
- Super consistent and save since you save often and turn off spawns
- No manipulation or other factors that could stone-wall the run
- Shows off all of EarthBound's major speed tricks in a short run
- VERY SILLY...the graphical/sound glitches are hilarious
- Lots of breaks for donations being read
- I will totally wear Ness pajamas during
Cons:
- EarthBound has saturated RPGLB recently
- There are a lot of technical glitches to explain very quickly
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo (5 Characters)
- Dog's Name (6 Characters)
- Favorite "Thing" (6 Characters)
- "Player" Name (24 Characters)
- Window Color (Plain, Mint, Strawberry, Banana, or Peanut)
- Glitch/Softlock Showcase (There are tons, I would pick some spicy ones)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223043024

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

Game Name: Robotrek
System: SNES
Category : Any% (Race w/ GinTatsu2)
Gameplay Estimate: 4:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 10:00
Pros:
- A fantastic twist on classic jrpg's w/ fantasticly over the top music.
- Has never been raced before in a live setting.
- Plenty of fun donation incentives.
Cons:
- Was ran recently in RPGLB '16
- Not as well known of a game
- How do you top PJ's commentary?
Donation Incentive Offers:
- Name the Player, Robot 1, Robot 2 ~ A-Z, a-z, 0-9, Punctuation inc. &!:+-/.
- Choose Robots 1 and 2's colours
- Build Robot 3  
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/131023807

Couch_23

Edit history:

Couch_23: 2018-01-27 04:07:06 pm

Couch_23: 2018-01-27 04:06:13 pm

2018-01-27 04:04:38 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV Unprecedented Crisis
System: SNES
Category: Any%(Mist Clip%) (race with riversmccown)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 21:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Relatively short for an RPG speedrun
+ Takes what is supposed to be a punishment for using a glitch and uses that to beat the game faster.
+ Fun and exciting final boss fight
+ Plenty of time for donations to be read off due to grinding
+ Unique credits to the romhack
- Quite a bit of grinding
- A couple slow paced boss fights
- Chace for multiple deaths early on due to low level
Donation Incentive Offers:
Name characters(Cecil, Kain)
Leveling up Cecil too(saving time vs easier fights)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221663938

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00 (Time could be lowered as I am still getting better at this category)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Well known and liked Final Fantasy
+ Many safety strategies for somewhat unsafe fights
+ Downtime in lengthy cutscenes for donations to be read
+ Easy to setup/follow seed manipulation
- Quite a few cutscenes and lengthy lulls in gameplay
- Longer category
Donation Incentive Offers:
Name Characters (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Setzer, Relm, Strago, Mog, Gogo)
Running incentive for Good Taste/Demon Chocobo
Suplex Phantom Train
Sing along with Celes(Maria), Draco and Ralse at the opera
Sample run video:https://www.twitch.tv/videos/215494809

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% 52 deaths
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Short category
+ Hasn't been part of a marathon before
- Dying 52 times causes a lull in gameplay
- Relatively slow paced
Donation Incentive Offers:
Name characters (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin)
Recruit Banon and have him die instead
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223070699 (PB with 4 window setup) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/212801223 (PB with 2 window setup which is less safe)

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV Unprecedented Crisis
System: SNES
Category: Any%(Mist Clip%) (race with riversmccown)
Gameplay Estimate: 1:15:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 21:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Relatively short for an RPG speedrun
+ Takes what is supposed to be a punishment for using a glitch and uses that to beat the game faster.
+ Fun and exciting final boss fight
+ Plenty of time for donations to be read off due to grinding
+ Unique credits to the romhack
- Quite a bit of grinding
- A couple slow paced boss fights
- Chace for multiple deaths early on due to low level
Donation Incentive Offers: 
Name characters(Cecil, Kain)
Leveling up Cecil too(saving time vs easier fights)
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221663938

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% Glitchless
Gameplay Estimate: 6:00:00 (Time could be lowered as I am still getting better at this category)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Well known and liked Final Fantasy
+ Many safety strategies for somewhat unsafe fights
+ Downtime in lengthy cutscenes for donations to be read
+ Easy to setup/follow seed manipulation
- Quite a few cutscenes and lengthy lulls in gameplay
- Longer category
Donation Incentive Offers:
Name Characters (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Setzer, Relm, Strago, Mog, Gogo)
Running incentive for Good Taste/Demon Chocobo
Suplex Phantom Train
Sing along with Celes(Maria), Draco and Ralse at the opera
Sample run video:https://www.twitch.tv/videos/215494809

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Any% 52 deaths
Gameplay Estimate: 1:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23:00 - credits
Pros/Cons:
+ Short category
+ Hasn't been part of a marathon before
- Dying 52 times causes a lull in gameplay
- Relatively slow paced
Donation Incentive Offers:
Name characters (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin)
Recruit Banon and have him die instead
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223070699 (PB with 4 window setup) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/212801223 (PB with 2 window setup which is less safe)

Rosael

Edit history:

Rosael: 2018-01-27 04:31:15 pm

2018-01-27 04:30:50 pm

Menu Faster!

Game Name: Etrian Odyseey 2
System: Nintendo DS
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 1:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 7:00 for ending
Pros/Cons:
+ Short
+ RNG manip
+ Epitome of a 1st person dungeon crawler

- Japanese
- RNG manip

Donation Incentive:
Naming 7 of the characters.

Sample Run:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/223065606

Molotov

Edit history:

Molotov: 2018-02-05 05:03:33 pm

Molotov: 2018-02-05 06:36:28 am

2018-01-27 05:35:04 pm

Game Name: Super Robot Wars V
System: Playstation 4
Categories: Chitose Any% Normal Ending (Standard Mode/DLC) or Chitose all characters/maps True Ending (Standard Mode/DLC)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15:00

Pros:
+ Luck is almost irrelevant (through routing, not manipulation).
+ Game overs are darn near impossible (I’ve never seen one).
+ After the first 1/3 of the game or so, the run is incredibly player phase execution-heavy to 1 or 2-turn most maps.
+ Asian version of the game, so the text is in English.
+ Surprisingly straightforward action, so no need to bore people with tons of formulas and what-not.
+ Plenty of time in the slower early game to explain most mechanics before things pick up.
+ Cutscene/action ratio heavily favors action since all scenes can be skipped (including battle animations).
+ Easy to include some of the cooler attack animations in the route to minimize the monotony at the cost of some time.
+ Despite being a little obscure, I’m pretty sure viewers will recognize at least some of the mecha anime featured in this game (Gundam/Evangelion).

Cons:
- Honestly, the series is still a little obscure because the main series has been Japan-only for so long.
- Repetition is a little bit of a problem because I primarily use two units out of the whole cast to sweep maps (think Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and what Haar does to maps and apply it to 95% of the game).
- Commentary will probably be difficult solo because of the focus necessary, so I will need help.

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Protagonist’s first/last name (both 8-character limits)
2. Protagonist’s nickname (10-character limit) (This is the primary name shown in-game)
3. Fleet name (18-character limit)
4. All characters/maps True Ending (must be together) (Purely theory for now, but highly likely and I’m guessing +15 minutes for it)
5. Final boss cherry tapping (Bonta-kun the carnival mascot, or possibly viewers' choice for favorite character)

Run video: A bit shameful to put up a really rough run, but you can still get the idea from this. Note that it's in the 2:30 range, but I'm adding 15 minutes to the base estimate to account for entertainment trade-offs not shown here. (True Ending would be +15 from that.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zcELLH7XMU

[Edit]: Updated the video link to a much cleaner personal best for the Any% category. Still has a costly mistake in the middle though. Estimate is rock solid.

[Edit 2]: Here's a Pastebin that explains some of the basic mechanics you might want to know to understand the run. Nothing ultra technical, but you should be able to get enough from this to understand most of what happens. https://pastebin.com/jRT30Y17

Game Name: Super Robot Wars V
System: Playstation 4
Categories: Chitose Any% Normal Ending (Standard Mode/DLC) or Chitose all characters/maps True Ending (Standard Mode/DLC)
Gameplay Estimate: 2:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:15:00

Pros: 
+ Luck is almost irrelevant (through routing, not manipulation).
+ Game overs are darn near impossible (I’ve never seen one).
+ After the first 1/3 of the game or so, the run is incredibly player phase execution-heavy to 1 or 2-turn most maps.
+ Asian version of the game, so the text is in English.
+ Surprisingly straightforward action, so no need to bore people with tons of formulas and what-not.
+ Plenty of time in the slower early game to explain most mechanics before things pick up.
+ Cutscene/action ratio heavily favors action since all scenes can be skipped (including battle animations).
+ Easy to include some of the cooler attack animations in the route to minimize the monotony at the cost of some time.
+ Despite being a little obscure, I’m pretty sure viewers will recognize at least some of the mecha anime featured in this game (Gundam/Evangelion).

Cons:
- Honestly, the series is still a little obscure because the main series has been Japan-only for so long.
- Repetition is a little bit of a problem because I primarily use two units out of the whole cast to sweep maps (think Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and what Haar does to maps and apply it to 95% of the game).
- Commentary will probably be difficult solo because of the focus necessary, so I will need help.

Donation Incentive Offers:
1.	Protagonist’s first/last name (both 8-character limits)
2.	Protagonist’s nickname (10-character limit) (This is the primary name shown in-game)
3.	Fleet name (18-character limit)
4.	All characters/maps True Ending (must be together) (Purely theory for now, but highly likely and I’m guessing +15 minutes for it)
5.	Final boss cherry tapping (Bonta-kun the carnival mascot, or possibly viewers' choice for favorite character)

Run video: A bit shameful to put up a really rough run, but you can still get the idea from this. Note that it's in the 2:30 range, but I'm adding 15 minutes to the base estimate to account for entertainment trade-offs not shown here. (True Ending would be +15 from that.)

[noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zcELLH7XMU[/noembed]

[Edit]: Updated the video link to a much cleaner personal best for the Any% category. Still has a costly mistake in the middle though. Estimate is rock solid.

[Edit 2]: Here's a Pastebin that explains some of the basic mechanics you might want to know to understand the run. Nothing ultra technical, but you should be able to get enough from this to understand most of what happens. https://pastebin.com/jRT30Y17

Darkwing Duck

2018-01-27 05:41:25 pm

Highly Evolved

Game Name: Dokapon Kingdom
System: Wii
Category: Story Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40 (dependent on incentives)
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): 0:15 max
Pros/Cons: This game will be done in 3 hour maximum. During this period I can talk about the mechanics and strategies for this game the entire time. The game is goofy, which displays well in a marathon setting. It's designed to be cruel to the player(s), a mechanic in a marathon setting I perform well at. Cut scenes are quick and minimal. There really isn't much grinding. There are two sections where I need to be at a certain job level that if I'm not at, I have to get there. There are an extreme amount of incentives for this game. This game is unique. There really isn't another RPG board game style game out there that I'm aware of.

There is a chance of mercy killing here. However, this would be turned into a positive. The game is safe until the end game, so time will be filled, and there will be dramatics near the end with the threat of a mercy kill. I will have a save at the final boss in case of a mercy kill to show off the ending. Final boss is about 90 seconds, so little time is added, there.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Character name is huge, like 20+characters. Bid war on player and AI's color out of 6 options. Bid war on player and AI's sex. Bid war on player's and AI's disposition (4 options based on sex). Running game option on voice acting. If voice acting is on for an entire run, 10-15 minutes will need to be added to estimate.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/150575335

Game Name: Little King's Story
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): Wii
Category: Beat the game
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 3:00 to 5:00 dependent on tricks
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): :05
Pros/Cons: New stuff has been found since I last ran this game. 5 hours is really, REALLY high based on my old record of the game and 3 hours is maybe with all new speedrunning content on NTSC version of game. One new trick is easy and may trivialize the gameplay of this game, so for purposes of entertainment, I may leave it out or use sparingly. The other new trick is a lot of out of bounds stuff that'll probably be exciting to see. Another unique game that is goofy and colorful with a real dark side underneath the sometimes literal treacle that is a guide your subjects to do stuff kind of game, in a similar vein as Pikmin.

Not sure if RPG.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Which princess do I take to final area (6 options)? No time cost.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/106967453 (My old record last year)

Game Name: Aidyn Chronicles
System: N64
Category: Beat the game
Gameplay Estimate: 10:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05
Pros/Cons: Do you want an N64 traditional RPG that isn't Quest 64 or not? This is your only real option. There has been a good deal of work done on this game in 2017. The time has been driven down to under 9 hours. The game is slow, has a long grinding session, is graphically dark and buggy, but does have a decent leveling system and a worthwhile story.
Donation Incentive Offers: Could do some character options, but would add to length of game significantly
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/176124040 My record run before it was beaten.

Game Name: [b]Dokapon Kingdom[/b]
System: Wii
Category: Story Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 2:40 (dependent on incentives)
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): 0:15 max
Pros/Cons:  This game will be done in 3 hour maximum.  During this period I can talk about the mechanics and strategies for this game the entire time.  The game is goofy, which displays well in a marathon setting. It's designed to be cruel to the player(s), a mechanic in a marathon setting I perform well at.  Cut scenes are quick and minimal.  There really isn't much grinding.  There are two sections where I need to be at a certain job level that if I'm not at, I have to get there. There are an extreme amount of incentives for this game.  This game is unique.  There really isn't another RPG board game style game out there that I'm aware of.

There is a chance of mercy killing here.  However, this would be turned into a positive.  The game is safe until the end game, so time will be filled, and there will be dramatics near the end with the threat of a mercy kill.  I will have a save at the final boss in case of a mercy kill to show off the ending.  Final boss is about 90 seconds, so little time is added, there.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Character name is huge, like 20+characters. Bid war on player and AI's color out of 6 options. Bid war on player and AI's sex.  Bid war on player's and AI's disposition (4 options based on sex).  Running game option on voice acting. If voice acting is on for an entire run, 10-15 minutes will need to be added to estimate.
Sample run video:  https://www.twitch.tv/videos/150575335

Game Name: [b]Little King's Story[/b]
System (Include both original system and system you plan to play on, if different): Wii
Category: Beat the game
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 3:00 to 5:00 dependent on tricks
Ending/Bonus Estimate (ending + any glitches/other bonus content you'd like to show post-run): :05
Pros/Cons: New stuff has been found since I last ran this game.  5 hours is really, REALLY high based on my old record of the game and 3 hours is maybe with all new speedrunning content on NTSC version of game.  One new trick is easy and may trivialize the gameplay of this game, so for purposes of entertainment, I may leave it out or use sparingly.  The other new trick is a lot of out of bounds stuff that'll probably be exciting to see.  Another unique game that is goofy and colorful with a real dark side underneath the sometimes literal treacle that is a guide your subjects to do stuff kind of game, in a similar vein as Pikmin.

Not sure if RPG.

Donation Incentive Offers (including character limits/bid war options & time costs): Which princess do I take to final area (6 options)? No time cost.
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/106967453 (My old record last year)

Game Name: [b]Aidyn Chronicles[/b]
System: N64
Category: Beat the game
Gameplay Estimate: 10:30
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 0:05
Pros/Cons:  Do you want an N64 traditional RPG that isn't Quest 64 or not?  This is your only real option.  There has been a good deal of work done on this game in 2017.  The time has been driven down to under 9 hours.  The game is slow, has a long grinding session, is graphically dark and buggy, but does have a decent leveling system and a worthwhile story.  
Donation Incentive Offers: Could do some character options, but would add to length of game significantly
Sample run video (very strongly encouraged, but not required): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/176124040 My record run before it was beaten.

mrprmiller

Edit history:

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:45:09 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:42:20 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:41:52 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:39:56 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:39:28 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:36:35 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:35:03 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:34:13 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:31:42 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:31:10 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:30:02 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-28 06:28:52 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-27 06:06:50 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-27 05:58:47 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-27 05:55:41 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-27 05:53:50 pm

mrprmiller: 2018-01-27 05:53:26 pm

2018-01-27 05:52:35 pm

Everyday is puppies and sunshine...

As a bonus, I'm actually "regularly" streaming now. Cheesy

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV (2US v.1.1)
System: SNES or PC (emu)
Category: The Lunarian Shuffle Randomizer Any%
Gameplay Estimate: Depends on length we decide. Worst case should be about 5:30:00 (it's a rando!)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Could be trolly or generous - +/- an hour or seven
Pros/Cons:
+ The Lunarian Shuffle randomizes all characters and treasures by default, making for lots of laughs and plenty of on the fly strategy.
+ Doesn't change the plot at all in terms of gameplay, so people know what to "expect" next in terms of what the plot SHOULD throw in the way of characters. The fun is here.
+ Those expecting to save Rydia may end up saving Edge! Tellah could end up being called a "Spoony Bard" by Edward, as a twist! Yang may replace Golbez!
+ Paladin Cecil could be the captain of the Red Wings, and after a soul search Child Rydia could emerge from Mt. Ordeals!! The fun is in the guessing and the laughs are in the reveals.
+ Items are balanced, so you're not going to find a Crystal Sword in Baron. Dummied items are restored to the line-up, however, for added depth.
+ Randos are very, very popular these days, and this one is well programmed by one of our SDA community members.
+ Version 1.1, which means less glitches, which means almost none of the plot will be missed or need to be explained. Just laughs.
+ I have no doubt that Crow!, the programmer of the randomizer, would love to be at least on call to commentate during the race.
- It's Final Fantasy IV; what cons could there be?
- Okay, seriously now, if we end up with a final five of all Edwards, the time estimate MIGHT be a problem. But this is very, very, very, very unlikely. Unless we put incentives to make this happen. If the run is a Golbez%, though, this isn't likely to really hurt the estimate, as there are a LOT of dummied items re-added that can help.
Donation Incentives:
1. We can use the ROM generator to change the odds of characters for incentives. As an example, for every $500, another instance of Edward or DK Cecil could appear somewhere to troll me.
2. We can have incentives to guarantee particular instances. As an example, if we hit $500 for a particular character choice, we can guarantee a Kain or a FuSoYa or ANYONE will appear somewhere. Or if we hit $1,000, we can guarantee FOUR Kains, or whomever they want. The sky (well, 13 characters, because even GOLBEZ is randomized) is the limit!
3. RACE! Anyone who knows the game slightly well can participate in this race, because this is basically a "glitchless" run, and we can put the seed number and settings out there for people to play along! I would love to have people jump into the race.
4. Length! Start it as a Ordeals%, or as a Golbez%, and if the incentive limit is met, move it up to a full game run! Golbez% is consistently well under 3:00:00.

Sample Run:

Game Name: Heroine's Quest
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 30:00 to 40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~30:00
Pro/Cons:
+ The game is a love-letter to Quest for Glory, which was run at RPGLB2016, featuring a stat-gain engine in the same vein.
+ Completely FREE on Steam, with full achievement system and FULL voice acting. The developer is very active in the forums (and may be available).
+ Lesser known RPG (I consider it a plus; some may wonder, "Wha?...")
+ A wonderful story, filled with all sorts of Norse mythology.
+/- None of the story will really be shown.
- No major skips per say, just a knowledge of what is the fastest way through the game.
Donation Incentive: Class - Warrior, Sorceress, or Rogue. All three have different requirements in their routes.
Sample Run:

Game Name: Quest for Glory
System: PC
Category: Any% Individual Games, Any% Import Run
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00 Any%
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Anywhere from 10:00 to 4:00:00
Pro/Cons:
+ The game's route is a lot different thanks to new skips (4 out of the 5 games, depending on route, we really don't save anyone).
+ VGA/EGA choice for first two games makes for a natural incentive (old RPGs need love, too).
+ Five games, with the importing system being the main draw.
+ Lots of incentive possibilities that make for a donation-created run.
+ Expanded speedrun community in the last two years, with two new TASes that have helped increase our understanding.
- The obvious: this was shown in RPGLB2016 (it was a surprise hit, though).
- Not your traditional RPG, so lesser known (but growing).

Donation Incentives: Here we go!
1. Name - Carries between games.
2. Class - Fighter, Wizard, Thief, Paladin. Only Any%/Thief was available at RPGLB2016. (adds max ~20 minutes)
3. Donation War - VGA or EGA, two different engines/gameplay styles - point&click versus text-parser (VGA was shown at RPGLB2016, but it's totally up for grabs, and some glitches exist in EGA that don't in VGA)
4. 100% (this can add about 4:00:00 depending on class selection and RNG, but shows off TONS of stuff we skip in Any%)
5. Glitchless (doesn't add much for 100% if anything, but for Any%, this adds ~60 minutes)
6. The import run itself! All five games can be run individually to show off differences in classes/add incentives, or as an Imported, multi-game gauntlet like RPGLB2016.

Sample Run:

(This shows a race against RPGLB2016 where I beat the time, but I've also beaten THIS time by about 10 minutes with new strats/glitches.)

As a bonus, I'm actually "regularly" streaming now.  :D
[b]Game Name: Final Fantasy IV (2US v.1.1)[/b]
System: SNES or PC (emu)
Category: [b]The Lunarian Shuffle Randomizer Any%[/b]
Gameplay Estimate: Depends on length we decide.  Worst case should be about 5:30:00 (it's a rando!)
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Could be trolly or generous - +/- an hour or seven
Pros/Cons:
+ The Lunarian Shuffle randomizes all characters and treasures by default, making for lots of laughs and plenty of on the fly strategy.
+ Doesn't change the plot at all in terms of gameplay, so people know what to "expect" next in terms of what the plot SHOULD throw in the way of characters.  The fun is here.
+ Those expecting to save Rydia may end up saving Edge!  Tellah could end up being called a "Spoony Bard" by Edward, as a twist!  Yang may replace Golbez!
+ Paladin Cecil could be the captain of the Red Wings, and after a soul search Child Rydia could emerge from Mt. Ordeals!!  The fun is in the guessing and the laughs are in the reveals.
+ Items are balanced, so you're not going to find a Crystal Sword in Baron.  Dummied items are restored to the line-up, however, for added depth.
+ Randos are very, very popular these days, and this one is well programmed by one of our SDA community members.
+ Version 1.1, which means less glitches, which means almost none of the plot will be missed or need to be explained.  Just laughs.
+ I have no doubt that Crow!, the programmer of the randomizer, would love to be at least on call to commentate during the race.
- It's Final Fantasy IV; what cons could there be?
- Okay, seriously now, if we end up with a final five of all Edwards, the time estimate MIGHT be a problem.  But this is very, very, very, very unlikely.  Unless we put incentives to make this happen.  If the run is a Golbez%, though, this isn't likely to really hurt the estimate, as there are a LOT of dummied items re-added that can help.
Donation Incentives:
1. We can use the ROM generator to change the odds of characters for incentives.  As an example, for every $500, another instance of Edward or DK Cecil could appear somewhere to troll me.
2. We can have incentives to guarantee particular instances.  As an example, if we hit $500 for a particular character choice, we can guarantee a Kain or a FuSoYa or ANYONE will appear somewhere.  Or if we hit $1,000, we can guarantee FOUR Kains, or whomever they want.  The sky (well, 13 characters, because even GOLBEZ is randomized) is the limit!
3. RACE!  Anyone who knows the game slightly well can participate in this race, because this is basically a "glitchless" run, and we can put the seed number and settings out there for people to play along!  I would love to have people jump into the race.
4. Length!  Start it as a Ordeals%, or as a Golbez%, and if the incentive limit is met, move it up to a full game run!  Golbez% is consistently well under 3:00:00.

Sample Run: [hidden]https://youtu.be/1Kj3HmZGQew[/hidden]

[b]Game Name: Heroine's Quest[/b]
System: PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 30:00 to 40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: ~30:00
Pro/Cons:
+ The game is a love-letter to Quest for Glory, which was run at RPGLB2016, featuring a stat-gain engine in the same vein.
+ Completely FREE on Steam, with full achievement system and FULL voice acting.  The developer is very active in the forums (and may be available).
+ Lesser known RPG (I consider it a plus; some may wonder, "Wha?...")
+ A wonderful story, filled with all sorts of Norse mythology.
+/- None of the story will really be shown.
- No major skips per say, just a knowledge of what is the fastest way through the game.
Donation Incentive: Class - Warrior, Sorceress, or Rogue.  All three have different requirements in their routes.
Sample Run: [hidden][url]https://youtu.be/dAwkGdR4RBM?t=1h45m50s[/url][/hidden]

[b]Game Name: Quest for Glory[/b]
System: PC
Category: Any% Individual Games, Any% Import Run
Gameplay Estimate: 1:20:00 Any%
Ending/Bonus Estimate: Anywhere from 10:00 to 4:00:00
Pro/Cons:
+ The game's route is a lot different thanks to new skips (4 out of the 5 games, depending on route, we really don't save anyone).
+ VGA/EGA choice for first two games makes for a natural incentive (old RPGs need love, too).
+ Five games, with the importing system being the main draw.
[b]+ Lots of incentive possibilities that make for a donation-created run.[/b]
+ Expanded speedrun community in the last two years, with two new TASes that have helped increase our understanding.
- The obvious: this was shown in RPGLB2016 (it was a surprise hit, though).
- Not your traditional RPG, so lesser known (but growing).

Donation Incentives: Here we go!
1. Name - Carries between games.
2. Class - Fighter, Wizard, Thief, Paladin.  Only Any%/Thief was available at RPGLB2016. (adds max ~20 minutes)
3. Donation War - VGA or EGA, two different engines/gameplay styles - point&click versus text-parser (VGA was shown at RPGLB2016, but it's totally up for grabs, and some glitches exist in EGA that don't in VGA)
4. 100% (this can add about 4:00:00 depending on class selection and RNG, but shows off [i]TONS[/i] of stuff we skip in Any%)
5. Glitchless (doesn't add much for 100% if anything, but for Any%, this adds ~60 minutes)
6. The import run itself!  All five games can be run individually to show off differences in classes/add incentives, or as an Imported, multi-game gauntlet like RPGLB2016.

Sample Run: [hidden][url]https://youtu.be/1Hgqd6SPxyo[/url][/hidden] (This shows a race against RPGLB2016 where I beat the time, but I've also beaten THIS time by about 10 minutes with new strats/glitches.)

Highspirits

2018-01-27 06:18:08 pm

Game Name: Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00 (15:00 if bad ending, but should be below estimate)
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222910145

The Lunar that started it all. Its a fast paced game with almost no grinding (maybe 2-3 fights). Lunar
hasn't been in shown since the 1st RPGLB and wanted to show off the first game (mostly because the
PSX version is far from marathon safe). There is 1 minor glitch we use through the game called the
AI glitch that allows us to get extra attacks, otherwise we just abuse the magic system.

Pros:
-First Lunar game, its filled with a lot of charm and beautiful Sega sounds
-Only a couple of RNG bosses that can cost a few minutes, can easily stay under estimate
-Fast paced game, almost always doing something and moving forward

Cons:
-Very linear, the first game didn't offer a lot of extra incentives
-Late game is a bit repitive, but the final bosses have a rare tendincy to troll

Donation Incentive: Sing the opening song, show "bad" ending (This would add 10 minutes, trying to see
if I can lower it still)

Game Name: Lunar Legend (GBA)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221461669

This is a Lunar 1 PSX remake for the GBA. It has very adorable sprites and a lot of humor. They
basically took the PSX version and made it less dark and more whimsical. The speedrun abuses a
duplication glitch in order to get an overpowered item early that you aren't suppose to get. We abuse an
in game item late to make most of the final bosses safe, although the final boss can still cause issues.

Pros:
-Fast paced game, only a small bit of grinding at the beginning involved
-Very safe run, the only real RNG is a few minutes of grinding early
-Probably the biggest glitch in all of Lunar (lol duplication)

Cons:
-Not much for donation incentives, the game is straight forward with 1 bonus dungeon that leads to nothing
-Late game does get a little repitive, but the last boss does add some excitement

Game Name: Lunar: Dragon Song (DS)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/175192037

Welcome to the most hilariously bad Lunar game ever made. The developers decided to try and reinvent
the wheel with this game, and it turned it into a mess of mechanics that you never want to see in a
game ever again. But thanks to those horrible mechanics, it makes for an entertaining run trying to
explain everything. To top it off, the game also comes with the most unsatisfying ending ever.

Pros:
-Beautiful sprites and music, by far the highlights of the game
-Mechanics are so hilariously bad, you can't stop laughing over it
-Safe and mostly consistant route, only a few small bits of RNG grinding (my PB is 4:37)

Cons:
-Can lose up to 15-20 minutes during the RNG grinds. Most of them are beginning of game, but I can
spend most of that time explaining the horrible mechanics during it.
-Very linear game, not a lot of extra exploration

Donation Incentive: Fight final boss blindfolded

Game Name: Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:20
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00 (15:00 if bad ending, but should be below estimate)
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222910145

The Lunar that started it all.  Its a fast paced game with almost no grinding (maybe 2-3 fights). Lunar
hasn't been in shown since the 1st RPGLB and wanted to show off the first game (mostly because the
PSX version is far from marathon safe).  There is 1 minor glitch we use through the game called the
AI glitch that allows us to get extra attacks, otherwise we just abuse the magic system.

Pros:
-First Lunar game, its filled with a lot of charm and beautiful Sega sounds
-Only a couple of RNG bosses that can cost a few minutes, can easily stay under estimate
-Fast paced game, almost always doing something and moving forward

Cons:
-Very linear, the first game didn't offer a lot of extra incentives
-Late game is a bit repitive, but the final bosses have a rare tendincy to troll

Donation Incentive:  Sing the opening song, show "bad" ending (This would add 10 minutes, trying to see
if I can lower it still)

Game Name: Lunar Legend (GBA)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 3:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/221461669

This is a Lunar 1 PSX remake for the GBA.  It has very adorable sprites and a lot of humor.  They 
basically took the PSX version and made it less dark and more whimsical.  The speedrun abuses a
duplication glitch in order to get an overpowered item early that you aren't suppose to get.  We abuse an
in game item late to make most of the final bosses safe, although the final boss can still cause issues.

Pros: 
-Fast paced game, only a small bit of grinding at the beginning involved
-Very safe run, the only real RNG is a few minutes of grinding early
-Probably the biggest glitch in all of Lunar (lol duplication)

Cons:
-Not much for donation incentives, the game is straight forward with 1 bonus dungeon that leads to nothing
-Late game does get a little repitive, but the last boss does add some excitement

Game Name: Lunar: Dragon Song (DS)
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 5:00:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 5:00
Sample Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/175192037

Welcome to the most hilariously bad Lunar game ever made.  The developers decided to try and reinvent
the wheel with this game, and it turned it into a mess of mechanics that you never want to see in a
game ever again.  But thanks to those horrible mechanics, it makes for an entertaining run trying to
explain everything.  To top it off, the game also comes with the most unsatisfying ending ever.

Pros:
-Beautiful sprites and music, by far the highlights of the game
-Mechanics are so hilariously bad, you can't stop laughing over it
-Safe and mostly consistant route, only a few small bits of RNG grinding (my PB is 4:37)

Cons:
-Can lose up to 15-20 minutes during the RNG grinds.  Most of them are beginning of game, but I can
spend most of that time explaining the horrible mechanics during it.
-Very linear game, not a lot of extra exploration

Donation Incentive: Fight final boss blindfolded

PX_

Edit history:

PX_: 2018-01-27 08:00:50 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:36:26 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:10:05 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:09:56 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:09:04 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:08:58 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:08:46 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:07:24 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:07:07 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:06:48 pm

PX_: 2018-01-27 07:00:54 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-27 06:57:37 pm

2018-01-27 06:55:20 pm

twitch.tv/pxmacaiah

Game Name: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
System: PS3, Played on PC
Category: Any% Normal Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20 minutes ending in 6 different skippable cutscenes
Pros:
+The finale of the FFXIII trilogy that have been shown the last 2 years, the game makes a drastic chance in gameplay into an open world action RPG, featuring real time combat instead of the strategy based combats of the other 2 games in the series.
+Combat is fast and exciting and generally praised. Cutscenes are skippable and most dialogue as well. Enemies constantly spawn during open world movement so I still have to pay attention
+Last showing in a live marathon was Crystals 4 Life 2014, and the run has evolved quite a bit since then
+RNG doesn't factor too much with 1 exception
Cons:
-Combat is far and few between, with most battles lasting <30 seconds, and the final boss becomes very passive with a bug
-The first half of the run is really tight so that a mistake could end the run without safety saves (I will have back up saves)
-One major point where RNG can waste a ton of time. A back up save will be prepared in case this takes over 5 minutes
-Long stretches of running around and/or passing time, lots of cutscene skipping and loads
Donation Incentive Offers:
- English vs Japanese voice acting
- Color of Lightning's Dress
- Blindfolded Caius Fight
- Choosing silly accessories to put on Lightning
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222417829

Game Name: Valkyria Chronicles
System: PS3, played on PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00 ending/credits that do not have to be played, 5 minute incentives
Pros:
+Unique mix of Real Time Strategy and 3rd Person shooter, the series experience a major revival with the PC release in 2014 and hasn't looked back with a new entry coming this year
+The run has had a few changes since the run was done at RPGLB 2015
+Saving and loading is near instant on PC allowing for riskier/flashier strategies to be done without costing much time
+Loads of rng though the entire run but none of it is run ending
+Strategies are varied enough so that the run doesn't get too stale
Cons:
-Scout Rushing for half the run
-Quite a bit of cutscene skipping
-One late chapter is about 6 minutes of doing nothing
-Lack of incentives
Donation Incentive Offers:
- English vs Japanese voices
- Singing "A Love Passed On" (3 minutes)
- Showing off falling through the world (1 minute)
Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiRwWd10He8

Game Name: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
System: PS3, Played on PC
Category: Any% Normal Mode
Gameplay Estimate: 2:35:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20 minutes ending in 6 different skippable cutscenes
Pros:
+The finale of the FFXIII trilogy that have been shown the last 2 years, the game makes a drastic chance in gameplay into an open world action RPG, featuring real time combat instead of the strategy based combats of the other 2 games in the series.
+Combat is fast and exciting and generally praised. Cutscenes are skippable and most dialogue as well. Enemies constantly spawn during open world movement so I still have to pay attention
+Last showing in a live marathon was Crystals 4 Life 2014, and the run has evolved quite a bit since then
+RNG doesn't factor too much with 1 exception
Cons:
-Combat is far and few between, with most battles lasting <30 seconds, and the final boss becomes very passive with a bug
-The first half of the run is really tight so that a mistake could end the run without safety saves (I will have back up saves)
-One major point where RNG can waste a ton of time. A back up save will be prepared in case this takes over 5 minutes
-Long stretches of running around and/or passing time, lots of cutscene skipping and loads
Donation Incentive Offers:
- English vs Japanese voice acting
- Color of Lightning's Dress
- Blindfolded Caius Fight
- Choosing silly accessories to put on Lightning
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222417829

Game Name: Valkyria Chronicles
System: PS3, played on PC
Category: Any%
Gameplay Estimate: 2:15
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20:00 ending/credits that do not have to be played, 5 minute incentives
Pros:
+Unique mix of Real Time Strategy and 3rd Person shooter, the series experience a major revival with the PC release in 2014 and hasn't looked back with a new entry coming this year
+The run has had a few changes since the run was done at RPGLB 2015
+Saving and loading is near instant on PC allowing for riskier/flashier strategies to be done without costing much time
+Loads of rng though the entire run but none of it is run ending
+Strategies are varied enough so that the run doesn't get too stale
Cons:
-Scout Rushing for half the run
-Quite a bit of cutscene skipping
-One late chapter is about 6 minutes of doing nothing
-Lack of incentives
Donation Incentive Offers:
- English vs Japanese voices
- Singing "A Love Passed On" (3 minutes)
- Showing off falling through the world (1 minute)
Sample run video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiRwWd10He8[/noembed]

LewdDolphin21

Edit history:

LewdDolphin21: 2018-01-27 07:06:32 pm

puwexil: 2018-01-27 06:57:19 pm

2018-01-27 06:55:48 pm

I just like stuff.

My usual trio of submissions:

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

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 5:10:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: see donation incentive offers

Pros:
+ A very technically demanding but visually impressive run
+ Very little RNG, most of the run is skill-based
+ Can make the category Shroudless Any% (making the run significantly longer) for the sake of showing a different run than Any%
+ I think Trojandude12 was expressing interest in submitting this, so there can be a fun race and/or alternating runner run or something

Cons:
- Not many, if any, Any% route changes since the 2016 RPGLB run
- Not many incentives that we can really do during the run, but there are some cool things we can do post-run!

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Blindfolded Proudclad 2 fight (the final boss of chapter 12--the sequel to the blindfolded fight from RPGLB '15) -- at worst probably 10-15 minutes of failed attempts, actual fight might be a minute slower than average
2. Post-run Long Gui fight (to showcase COM-buffered Death shenanigans) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
3. Post-run Vercingetorix fight (the last mission out of 64 missions) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
4. Make the run Shroudless--no shrouds may be used or sold during the run -- currently an extra hour, but that could be reduced a bit if I practiced this category a bit more ;-)

Sample run video
Any%: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauQSJT2jqc
Shroudless Any%: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbCr9AuCuo8 (very crude and would need to be worked on)

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

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII-2

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: see donation incentive offers

Pros:
+ A shorter game than FF13 but still demonstrates much of the skill-based execution in the speedrun
+ Can make the category No Friendly Monsters to make for a different category than last year's Any%
+ ItsKasa submitted this too, and I would be open to coordinating a race or combination effort of sorts

Cons:
- Any% was ran last year, and there are no real changes since then
- A number of RNG factors can add minutes to the run--namely, collecting the Nekton and Gahongas crystals

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Name the monsters (a bidwar between 5-8 possible names--limited to what is available from the list in-game (custom names cannot be entered))
2. Post-run coliseum fights (e.g., Gilgamesh, Valfodr Lv. 99, Snow, Ultros & Typhoon, Nabaat)--last year we did a bid war between these, which still works -- 5-10 minutes to load a save and fight
3. Post-run Yomi fight (one of the main-game superbosses) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
4. Make the run No Friendly Monsters--monsters may not be used in fights, so the party is limited to Serah and Noel -- add about 20-30 minutes to the estimate

Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8gkBgICxk

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

Game Name: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate:

Pros:
+ The conclusion to the Lewd trilogy--FF13 2016, FF13-2 2017, LR 2018???
+ Gameplay is rather actiony but the game still incorporates a lot of elements from its predecessors
+ Lots of potential commentary discussion about the routing in this game--due to its open nature, there are a vast number of possible routes to get through the 5 main quests, and so there are several current routes, none of which are decidedly superior
+ The final boss fight is quite epic and is the absolute highlight of the run
+ The garbs Lightning wears can be customized via color and adornment choice--easy donation bid war

Cons:
- Lots of running around
- Most fights have repetitive cheese strategies
- Many load screens

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Customize the schemata (can choose from several (predetermined) color choices, and can also choose which adornment to wear, on each garb)
2. Mid-run Aeronite battle
3. Post-run Ereshkigal battle
4. Post-run Hard Mode Bhunivelze+ battle (a harder variant of the final boss)

Sample run video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rek3D5uwFq0

My usual trio of submissions:

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

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 5:10:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: see donation incentive offers

Pros:
+ A very technically demanding but visually impressive run
+ Very little RNG, most of the run is skill-based
+ Can make the category Shroudless Any% (making the run significantly longer) for the sake of showing a different run than Any%
+ I think Trojandude12 was expressing interest in submitting this, so there can be a fun race and/or alternating runner run or something

Cons:
- Not many, if any, Any% route changes since the 2016 RPGLB run
- Not many incentives that we can really do during the run, but there are some cool things we can do post-run!

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Blindfolded Proudclad 2 fight (the final boss of chapter 12--the sequel to the blindfolded fight from RPGLB '15) -- at worst probably 10-15 minutes of failed attempts, actual fight might be a minute slower than average
2. Post-run Long Gui fight (to showcase COM-buffered Death shenanigans) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
3. Post-run Vercingetorix fight (the last mission out of 64 missions) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
4. Make the run Shroudless--no shrouds may be used or sold during the run -- currently an extra hour, but that could be reduced a bit if I practiced this category a bit more ;-)

Sample run video
Any%: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauQSJT2jqc[/noembed]
Shroudless Any%: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbCr9AuCuo8[/noembed] (very crude and would need to be worked on)

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

Game Name: Final Fantasy XIII-2

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 3:00:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate: see donation incentive offers

Pros:
+ A shorter game than FF13 but still demonstrates much of the skill-based execution in the speedrun
+ Can make the category No Friendly Monsters to make for a different category than last year's Any%
+ ItsKasa submitted this too, and I would be open to coordinating a race or combination effort of sorts

Cons:
- Any% was ran last year, and there are no real changes since then
- A number of RNG factors can add minutes to the run--namely, collecting the Nekton and Gahongas crystals

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Name the monsters (a bidwar between 5-8 possible names--limited to what is available from the list in-game (custom names cannot be entered))
2. Post-run coliseum fights (e.g., Gilgamesh, Valfodr Lv. 99, Snow, Ultros & Typhoon, Nabaat)--last year we did a bid war between these, which still works -- 5-10 minutes to load a save and fight
3. Post-run Yomi fight (one of the main-game superbosses) -- 5-8 minutes to load a save and fight
4. Make the run No Friendly Monsters--monsters may not be used in fights, so the party is limited to Serah and Noel -- add about 20-30 minutes to the estimate

Sample run video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8gkBgICxk[/noembed]

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

Game Name: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

System: PC

Category: Any%

Gameplay Estimate: 2:30:00

Ending/Bonus Estimate:

Pros:
+ The conclusion to the Lewd trilogy--FF13 2016, FF13-2 2017, LR 2018???
+ Gameplay is rather actiony but the game still incorporates a lot of elements from its predecessors
+ Lots of potential commentary discussion about the routing in this game--due to its open nature, there are a vast number of possible routes to get through the 5 main quests, and so there are several current routes, none of which are decidedly superior
+ The final boss fight is quite epic and is the absolute highlight of the run
+ The garbs Lightning wears can be customized via color and adornment choice--easy donation bid war

Cons:
- Lots of running around
- Most fights have repetitive cheese strategies
- Many load screens

Donation Incentive Offers:
1. Customize the schemata (can choose from several (predetermined) color choices, and can also choose which adornment to wear, on each garb)
2. Mid-run Aeronite battle
3. Post-run Ereshkigal battle
4. Post-run Hard Mode Bhunivelze+ battle (a harder variant of the final boss)

Sample run video: [noembed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rek3D5uwFq0[/noembed]

SloaTheDemon

2018-01-27 07:47:48 pm

Game Name: Final Fantasy Tactics
System: PS, Played on PSTV
Category: Glitchless/no math
Gameplay Estimate: 6:45:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 20 minutes ending in 6 different skippable cutscenes
Pros:
-doesn't use any glitches
-uses one of the coolest classes in the game, ninja
-alot of donation incentives
Cons:
-Very long grind at the beginning, grinds for atleast hour and half to two hours
-it doesn't use any glitches
-doesn't take Agrias

donation incentives:
-Ramza's name
-Generics names (1 male generic which is the ninja, and 2 female spell casters)
-reading the germonik scriptures
-to save or don't save boco
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222141866

Essentia

2018-01-27 07:55:04 pm

Everything's better with Magitek

Game Name: Final Fantasy IV ~Interlude~
System: PSP
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:36:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 2 minutes for ending

Pros/Cons:
+ Weird story with silly dialogue
+ Lots of FF4 nostalgia
+/- WORLD'S FASTEST AIRSHIP
- Lots of use of auto-battle
- Why does this game exist??

Donation Incentive Offers: Original FF4 music vs. remixed music
Sample run video: https://youtu.be/IHtZtmLHrWY This is my run from the Big Bad Game-a-thon.

Game Name: Final Fantasy VI
System: SNES
Category: Japanese any% no sketch
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 4:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23 minutes for ending, 5 minutes for bonus stuff

Pros:
+ There is a Japanese-only glitch that allows characters to equip anything (for example, an autocrossbow as a helmet to max out magic defense), which makes for very different strats that haven't been seen in a marathon before.
+ There are also some silly graphical glitches that can happen when using the equip-anything glitch, which could be shown off.
+ The opera music fits with the Japanese text much better than the English text. Wink

Cons:
- Text will be in Japanese, which eliminates a lot of the fun quotes from the English version.
- Characters' names are also in Japanese, which would complicate naming incentives.
- Because of the equip-anything glitch, characters will be pretty much invincible most of the time, which takes away some of the excitement.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters (would have to be in Japanese, though), show off some Japanese-only glitches, suplex Phantom Train, Opera singing, save/kill Cid, use or not use the warp glitch in Kefka's Tower
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/45736196 This is an old video, but I've recently been working on lots of route improvements. Due to feeling sick lately, though, I haven't been able to record a new full run.

Game Name: Chrono Trigger
System: SNES
Category: 100% glitchless, No RNG Manipulation
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 12 minutes for ending
Pros/Cons: puwexil went over these pretty well.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters, Marle vs. Lucca Death Peak hug, Epoch vs. balloon ending
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/6035064 This is also an old video, for the same reasons as my FFVI video. puwexil has worked on a lot of route improvements to this; I'd be willing to do a co-op run with him or just let him run it on his own.

Game Name: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
System: 3DS
Category: Ultimate difficulty
Gameplay Estimate: Depends on how many songs are played; most songs are 3-4 minutes long
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 6 minutes for ending

Pros/Cons: This wouldn't actually be a speedrun. Instead, it would be a playthrough of some of the most popular FF songs on the hardest difficulty. Also, this game isn't technically an RPG; it's a rhythm game with RPG elements. I don't have a 3DS modded for video output, so I'd need to borrow one from someone.

Donation Incentive Offers: Choose songs to be played; choose party leader and/or summon; 2-player vs. battles; complete a song blindfolded (I'm currently learning Battle with the Four Fiends)
Sample run video: Unfortunately no video, due to not having a way to capture 3DS.

[b]Game Name: Final Fantasy IV ~Interlude~[/b]
System: PSP
Category: any%
Gameplay Estimate: 0:36:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 2 minutes for ending

Pros/Cons:
+ Weird story with silly dialogue
+ Lots of FF4 nostalgia
+/- WORLD'S FASTEST AIRSHIP
- Lots of use of auto-battle
- Why does this game exist??

Donation Incentive Offers: Original FF4 music vs. remixed music
Sample run video: [noembed]https://youtu.be/IHtZtmLHrWY[/noembed] This is my run from the Big Bad Game-a-thon.

[b]Game Name: Final Fantasy VI[/b]
System: SNES
Category: Japanese any% no sketch
Gameplay Estimate (excluding ending and bonus content): 4:40:00
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 23 minutes for ending, 5 minutes for bonus stuff

Pros:
+ There is a Japanese-only glitch that allows characters to equip anything (for example, an autocrossbow as a helmet to max out magic defense), which makes for very different strats that haven't been seen in a marathon before.
+ There are also some silly graphical glitches that can happen when using the equip-anything glitch, which could be shown off.
+ The opera music fits with the Japanese text much better than the English text. ;)

Cons:
- Text will be in Japanese, which eliminates a lot of the fun quotes from the English version.
- Characters' names are also in Japanese, which would complicate naming incentives.
- Because of the equip-anything glitch, characters will be pretty much invincible most of the time, which takes away some of the excitement.

Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters (would have to be in Japanese, though), show off some Japanese-only glitches, suplex Phantom Train, Opera singing, save/kill Cid, use or not use the warp glitch in Kefka's Tower
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/45736196 This is an old video, but I've recently been working on lots of route improvements. Due to feeling sick lately, though, I haven't been able to record a new full run.

[b]Game Name: Chrono Trigger[/b]
System: SNES
Category: 100% glitchless, No RNG Manipulation
Gameplay Estimate: 4:50
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 12 minutes for ending
Pros/Cons: puwexil went over these pretty well.
Donation Incentive Offers: Name the characters, Marle vs. Lucca Death Peak hug, Epoch vs. balloon ending
Sample run video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/6035064 This is also an old video, for the same reasons as my FFVI video. puwexil has worked on a lot of route improvements to this; I'd be willing to do a co-op run with him or just let him run it on his own.

[b]Game Name: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call[/b]
System: 3DS
Category: Ultimate difficulty
Gameplay Estimate: Depends on how many songs are played; most songs are 3-4 minutes long
Ending/Bonus Estimate: 6 minutes for ending

Pros/Cons: This wouldn't actually be a speedrun. Instead, it would be a playthrough of some of the most popular FF songs on the hardest difficulty. Also, this game isn't technically an RPG; it's a rhythm game with RPG elements. I don't have a 3DS modded for video output, so I'd need to borrow one from someone.

Donation Incentive Offers: Choose songs to be played; choose party leader and/or summon; 2-player vs. battles; complete a song blindfolded (I'm currently learning Battle with the Four Fiends)
Sample run video: Unfortunately no video, due to not having a way to capture 3DS.