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aarin: 2011-01-13 04:40:53 am
aarin: 2011-01-12 06:39:00 am
aarin: 2011-01-12 06:18:52 am
aarin: 2011-01-12 06:18:13 am
aarin: 2011-01-12 06:14:57 am
<3
Soul Blazer and I have a from-launch relationship, and its long been a yearly Thanksgiving Day tradition (for almost 2 decades) to beat it start to finish, single session, but without any speed. As an RPG gamer, I read everything and kill everything, and am happy with a 4+ hour time, whenever I get around to finishing it.

Now noticing there’s no runs on SDA, and this is the single game I‘ve beat the most, SNES or otherwise, I’m giving this my full gaming-attention for the month of January. I did a site search and this only came up on request lists, and a few research topics from 5 years ago. I’m new to this speed-run mindset, so let’s see if I’m getting off on the right foot:

1. I’m not interested in a Segmented run whatsoever, so am practicing for a “highest quality” Single Session run worthy of being hosted, recorded from the console.

2. I have no idea what the playing time will be (there’s no in-game counter--I have a 24-hour digital egg-timer now) but does 3 hours or under sound about right for an early 90’s adventure-RPG? I dunno, I’ll update my trial time tomorrow or whenever I complete my first lazy-paced practice run to refresh myself and take notes.

3. There’s plenty of non-mandatory battles to avoid, but no glitches I’m aware of, nor chunks of time to skip. It seems like this sort of run will be all about what micro I can take away from the time, which suits me fine since I’m total crap at pulling off frame-exploits.

4. It seems like I can skip a few weapons/armors/souls = trips to town, and it also seems like being under-leveled is no real problem since it’s ‘skill’ based combat where simply avoiding getting hit can make up for a lack of attk/def/HP.

5. This is a semi-classic nostalgia-game from a notable developer with great music and ambiance, and I think there would be an interest in seeing it speed-run.

6. I’ll have to figure out how to record it by Valentine’s Day (my goal date to begin recording SS’s) but it seems like there’s no lack of resources and DIY instructions here and elsewhere. Even with a limited budget USB interfaces for the PC have to be like 20$ and any video compressors/etc can be found as freeware(?) I think I can find a DVD recorder Tongue

7. My lazy pace matched this fine fellow’s test times, http://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/soul_blazer_ever_heard_of_it.html so apparently I can pick up where he left off and whittle those times down to something even more interesting and elaborate through the rest of the game.

If there’s any interest or advice in this project, I’ll be more than gracious with comments and criticism, and I’ll try to keep my questions locked into this and other existing threads. I promise if you take me seriously, I'll deliver the best Soul Blazer SS speed-run I'm capable of <3

Thanks!
Thread title:  
I love this game!  Be sure to pilfer some strategies: http://tasvideos.org/1005S.html It seems you can deathwarp quite a bit to save time.
Edit history:
aarin: 2011-01-12 07:57:37 am
<3
Hell yes, thanks for the link! It confirms most of my 'intuitive' plans, but with a far more refined strategy. Great tool to diminish the trial and error about specifics.

Except for a question:

Is deathwarping allowed in SS runs? I've read debates here about the legitimacy of savewarping (this game has none) but am I allowed to die/deathwarp in this case, single-segment? I seem to recall death being a big no-no in Final Fantasy and RPG type games.
Deathwarping would be a-ok in this game, since you immediately come back when you die. No main menu, reload game type stuff.
Edit history:
aarin: 2011-01-12 10:02:18 am
<3
Ahhhhhh, ok, that makes sense as far as the difference/why.

TYVM, that helps my strategy/path a lot. I figured I'd be forced to do a no-death run.

Much better.
Edit history:
Warepire: 2011-01-12 10:52:08 am
Heavy Metal Powered
Some strategy tips that is probably totally useless in your case but I am going to give it anyway just to be on the safe side.
Skip the Lucky Blade, the Critical Sword works 100 times better on Poseidon when not TASing.
Use a lot magic, specially the Light Arrow.
Skip the soul of seeing, learn where all the catapults and helepolis are in the models of town.
Skip the soul of secrets, learn the paths of the castle.
Skip all the emblems.
Skip clearing unneeded lairs.
Prepare for a long and vary Deathtoll fight.

Looking forward to the run, I love this game.
Edit history:
aarin: 2011-01-12 11:17:56 am
<3
No way, Ware, that's great advice!

Trying to mirror the TAS is an awesome starting point, but for an SS I need to be slightly more conservative in-play and knowledgeable about what I'm doing.

I can certainly take you up on the sword tip, and the souls.

I might have been tempted to take the time to collect emblems as they came.

I'm not used to relying on magic, so this will be a fun learning-challenge.

Since this isn't a TAS run, nor a segmented, I'll have to take all this advice into account. I appreciate the insight. It probably saved me some future frustration already <3
i think doing a nodeath run would be even better for the run
i think doing a nodeath run would be even better for the run
Waiting hurts my soul...
deathwarping will most likely put it into a different category.
You can't skip the Lucky Blade, there's someone you have to talk to who only helps if you've collected it. That's why the guy who did the TAS says he grabbed it.
That Guy
Soul Blazer holds a special place in my heart, too - I think it was the first game I ever rented multiple times from a video game store.  I definitely don't have a lot of experience in it, but if there's anything I can do to help, let me know!

If you've never tested out the spells or relied on them much, do some testing.  I remember barely using it at all my first time through; on a more recent one though I definitely remember getting a lot of use out of the fireball.  You might find some surprising results, or methods to speed up killing enemies by using spells at the right time.
<3
Quote from ZenicReverie:
deathwarping will most likely put it into a different category.

If true, this is certainly relevant, so I sort of need to know Cheesy

Who should I contact to debate/get confirmation from.

I assume deaths are allowed in action games (Final Fight, Bandicoots, DKC etc..) and this isn't much different as far as what Nihilus said with no Mainscreen/save/reload. So I can see both sides to whether deathwarping could be allowed in this case for a SS run.

I can do a no-death run, but the time wont even be as close to the TAS (30min+ extra, estimated) as I'll also have to plan for more safety-net herbs and whatnot.

I just need to know what to plan for. Thanks again!
Edit history:
Tranquilite: 2011-01-12 10:38:43 pm
Well death warping is absolutely allowed, there should be no argument about that. Whether or not it gets its own category is what is still up for debate. Having its own category is not realy a problem, as that means that theoretically, you could have both a death-abusing run, and a no-death run on the site. I'm pretty sure that some other games on the site have different categories for this. I'm in favor of making death-warping be a separate category, as a significant amount of time can be saved by doing so.
Waiting hurts my soul...
Usually deathwarping runs would read SS any% w/ deaths. If it's deathless, then it'll say SS any%. If an SS any% is faster than an SS any% w/ deaths, then the SS any% w/ deaths will be removed. (any% may be replaced with "Best time" I'm not sure what the current standard is.)
Edit history:
aarin: 2011-01-13 06:32:16 am
aarin: 2011-01-13 06:09:17 am
aarin: 2011-01-13 04:39:10 am
aarin: 2011-01-13 04:22:29 am
aarin: 2011-01-13 02:10:38 am
aarin: 2011-01-13 02:03:40 am
<3
Sweet, understood. And both are doable. So TYVM for the prompt answers! Good to know it's just a category distinction and not a deal-breaker either way.

------------
(For my own progress report)
S1 - GrassValley: 18:00 (no-death) | Deathwarp: 00:00 | 100% no-death: 29:30 | Kaz' TAS: 12:00
S2 - Greenwood: 00:00 (no-death) | Deathwarp: 00:00 | 100% no-death: 37:30 | Kaz' TAS: 13:00
S3 -  Saint Elles : 00:00 (no-death) | Deathwarp: 00:00 | 100% no-death: 00:00 | Kaz' TAS: 17:00

*The plan is to 100% each stage via memory, then watch that awesome TAS, make maps/notes, then redo the stage in quick-mode until I get a decent no-death time. I can always include deathwarping later, but for now I just want to play it well.
Heavy Metal Powered
Quote from Nihilus:
You can't skip the Lucky Blade, there's someone you have to talk to who only helps if you've collected it. That's why the guy who did the TAS says he grabbed it.

I am pretty certain I skipped that sword and still completed the game... I will have to test that.
Yes, a worthless avatar riding my posts.
I've played a fair bit of Soul Blazer since I was a kid too, but not enough to be intimately familiar with it. I've wanted to see this game on SDA for some time. Basically you just copy the TAS route and the only places where you can really lose time would be on the boss fights. Since you've been playing this game for years (impressive!) I think you're a great candidate for slaying the bosses effectively.

As you can see in the TAS, there are no clipping glitches or serious skips, so just use the skill you've accumulated.

Regarding emblems: since you'll be losing all your gems to deaths a lot, you won't have a huge stash to work with versus Deathtoll. I suggest you work on two save files to use for testing: gather the emblems as you go on one file, and time how long it takes. Then see how long it takes to beat Deathtoll in each of the no-Magic Bell versus Magic Bell save files. See if the time it takes to travel the world gathering the emblems pays off. (I imagine it won't)

What's that one optional sword in Grass Land? IIRC it's not that hard to get, it just has a high Required Level to swing around.
Heavy Metal Powered
Quote from ShinerCCC:
I've played a fair bit of Soul Blazer since I was a kid too, but not enough to be intimately familiar with it. I've wanted to see this game on SDA for some time. Basically you just copy the TAS route and the only places where you can really lose time would be on the boss fights. Since you've been playing this game for years (impressive!) I think you're a great candidate for slaying the bosses effectively.

As you can see in the TAS, there are no clipping glitches or serious skips, so just use the skill you've accumulated.

Regarding emblems: since you'll be losing all your gems to deaths a lot, you won't have a huge stash to work with versus Deathtoll. I suggest you work on two save files to use for testing: gather the emblems as you go on one file, and time how long it takes. Then see how long it takes to beat Deathtoll in each of the no-Magic Bell versus Magic Bell save files. See if the time it takes to travel the world gathering the emblems pays off. (I imagine it won't)

What's that one optional sword in Grass Land? IIRC it's not that hard to get, it just has a high Required Level to swing around.

The pillars that Deathtoll puts on the ground always give Medium Gems, he should be fine ignoring the emblems.

The optional sword in Grassland heals you 1 hp per kill, the time it takes to get does not justify the gain the sword gives, it's a waste of time to get it even when playing casually in my book.
Haven't played this game in a long time, but remember loving it. Good luck with the run, I look forward to watching it Smiley
Edit history:
aarin: 2011-01-15 11:32:23 am
<3
Quote from ShinerCCC:
Basically you just copy the TAS route and the only places where you can really lose time would be on the boss fights. Since you've been playing this game for years (impressive!) I think you're a great candidate for slaying the bosses effectively.

Not to say my standards aren't as high, but you can tell where the TAS guy gets some sweet breaks with his magic, so in a SS run I'll just have to take what I can get and accept the compounded seconds turn to minutes.

I haven't even been collecting times with deathwarps yet, but no-death should still look good though~

The only 'problem' I'm having is optimizing bosses, which isn't really a problem, I just need to practice/practice/practice. For example, the Greenwood statue bosses are still kicking my ass most of the time (I left a save file just for them) since I'm trying to perfect that pattern, and twitching one step wrong is BAD. With no armor and the first sword, it's pretty much "don't get hit for 45 seconds." If it's too much for me, I can cheese it with safe spots, but I'm working with it, in any case.

I'll probably move on now (been a busy week) and post the rest of my starter times and notes soon. I also need to order a capture-card so It'll get here in a week or so.

TY for the encouragement Shiner & Dilute.
any progress on this?
<3
Not so much. Had to travel for work (without the SNES ) so I don't have my notebook with me either. No reason I should miss my Valentine's Goal though.

I'll update as soon as I get home.
just wantign to keep this alive as i am really interested in seeing this run. i really need to play this again but all i have is an emulator version of it.
I bought this game from the video game rental store as SNES was phasing out.. definitely a favorite.. hope you've been making progress Wink