Vagrant Story run completed! 1:59 by RiskBreakerY

gmacd

Edit history:

gmacd: 2009-07-03 09:22:02 pm

2007-02-23 02:25:31 am

All segments are on his channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RiskBreakerY

Original Post:

Quote:

I just got this game and am playing through it now. On the speed FAQ on GameFAQs the guy says that it's possible to beat in a little over an hour. I'd love to see a run of this, but I won't be doing anything until I actually beat the game. Anybody want to give it a shot?

The general strategy would be to alternate between Heavy Shot and Raging Ache throughout the game while using Impact Guard and Absorb Magic for defense. Raging Ache would do good damage regardless of RISK and if someone could get Impact Guard and Absorb Magic 100% of the time they'd be invincible.

The runner would have to be able to get 16+ chains with Heavy Shot and Raging Ache consistently while being able to defend every attack. I'm not sure if my reflexes and timing are up to the task.

If anybody wants to check out the general strategy more, check out the First Play Speed Walkthrough at GameFAQs:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/914326/10115

Thread title:

All segments are on his channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RiskBreakerY

Original Post:
[quote]
I just got this game and am playing through it now. On the speed FAQ on GameFAQs the guy says that it's possible to beat in a little over an hour. I'd love to see a run of this, but I won't be doing anything until I actually beat the game. Anybody want to give it a shot?

The general strategy would be to alternate between Heavy Shot and Raging Ache throughout the game while using Impact Guard and Absorb Magic for defense. Raging Ache would do good damage regardless of RISK and if someone could get Impact Guard and Absorb Magic 100% of the time they'd be invincible.

The runner would have to be able to get 16+ chains with Heavy Shot and Raging Ache consistently while being able to defend every attack. I'm not sure if my reflexes and timing are up to the task.

If anybody wants to check out the general strategy more, check out the [B]First Play Speed Walkthrough[/B] at GameFAQs:
[url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/914326/10115]http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/914326/10115[/url][/quote]

Rainman7

2008-10-18 03:24:15 am

I think the main problem with doing a run in an hour for VS, along with getting massive chains together needed to get enemies down ASAP given limited attack values of Ashley Riot in a fresh run, the player would need to find all the items in the game which lowered risk as the higher the risk goes, the easier it is to miss that first strike... which is devastating if you want to take bosses down quickly. I've strung together a few 40+ chains and in many cases wasn't taking a boss out because the first blow was only taking away 1 damage. It all adds up, but it's still a pretty laborious and time consuming process.
Therefore it seems that the exploitation of all the vera roots/bulb/tonic/Potions would be necessary for a speed run of this game. As for Vagrant Story being beaten in an hour (give or take) I'll believe it when I see it!

Someday when I have a lot of money, I'd love to make a bounty on Vagrant Story single segment. The gaming environments and the mood would be so compelling to see in one smooth run through.

Quote from gmacd:

I just got this game and am playing through it now. On the speed FAQ on GameFAQs the guy says that it's possible to beat in a little over an hour. I'd love to see a run of this, but I won't be doing anything until I actually beat the game. Anybody want to give it a shot?

The general strategy would be to alternate between Heavy Shot and Raging Ache throughout the game while using Impact Guard and Absorb Magic for defense. Raging Ache would do good damage regardless of RISK and if someone could get Impact Guard and Absorb Magic 100% of the time they'd be invincible.

The runner would have to be able to get 16+ chains with Heavy Shot and Raging Ache consistently while being able to defend every attack. I'm not sure if my reflexes and timing are up to the task.

If anybody wants to check out the general strategy more, look for the First Play Speed Walkthrough at
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/game/914326.html

I think the main problem with doing a run in an hour for VS, along with getting massive chains together needed to get enemies down ASAP given limited attack values of Ashley Riot in a fresh run, the player would need to find all the items in the game which lowered risk as the higher the risk goes, the easier it is to miss that first strike... which is devastating if you want to take bosses down quickly.  I've strung together a few 40+  chains and in many cases wasn't taking a boss out because the first blow was only taking away 1 damage.  It all adds up, but it's still a pretty laborious and time consuming process.  
Therefore it seems that the exploitation of all the vera roots/bulb/tonic/Potions would be necessary for a speed run of this game.  As for Vagrant Story being beaten in an hour (give or take) I'll believe it when I see it!

Someday when I have a lot of money, I'd love to make a bounty on Vagrant Story single segment.  The gaming environments and the mood would be so compelling to see in one smooth run through.

[quote="gmacd"]
I just got this game and am playing through it now. On the speed FAQ on GameFAQs the guy says that it's possible to beat in a little over an hour. I'd love to see a run of this, but I won't be doing anything until I actually beat the game. Anybody want to give it a shot?

The general strategy would be to alternate between Heavy Shot and Raging Ache throughout the game while using Impact Guard and Absorb Magic for defense. Raging Ache would do good damage regardless of RISK and if someone could get Impact Guard and Absorb Magic 100% of the time they'd be invincible.

The runner would have to be able to get 16+ chains with Heavy Shot and Raging Ache consistently while being able to defend every attack. I'm not sure if my reflexes and timing are up to the task.

If anybody wants to check out the general strategy more, look for the [B]First Play Speed Walkthrough[/B] at 
[url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/game/914326.html]http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/game/914326.html[/url]
[/quote]

moooh

2008-10-18 03:41:45 am

Exoray

Well, 1 hour totally depends on if it's real time or only counts time when the game is not paused (i.e. not in the menu, not with the combat sphere open, not during casting animation or chaining). Given the amount of times you have to wait for things like enemies casting herakles from the other side of the screen etc. I seriously doubt they meant 1 hour real time.

Waef

2008-10-18 03:51:11 am

Having a high chance to miss a boss isn't really too much of a factor, considering if you segment the run, you can just redo it until you get a run where you keep misses to a minimum.

It's been a LONG time since I've played this game, but how would the changing of weapons factor in? It seems like you only stick with 1 weapon in the walkthrough you posted? Might it be worth it to get a stronger weapon (of the same weapon type)?

Lag.Com

2008-10-18 06:37:47 am

sda loyalist

I made a lot of noise about this game a while ago and nothing came out of it. I'd still love to see a run of this excellent and speedy RPG.

Rainman7

2008-10-24 01:25:04 am

Well, let's make some tsunami sized waves and hope one of the fat cats notice. 8)

Quote from Waef:

Having a high chance to miss a boss isn't really too much of a factor, considering if you segment the run, you can just redo it until you get a run where you keep misses to a minimum.

It's been a LONG time since I've played this game, but how would the changing of weapons factor in? It seems like you only stick with 1 weapon in the walkthrough you posted? Might it be worth it to get a stronger weapon (of the same weapon type)?

Yes but I had a hope's prayer that someone would attempt a run without segmenting it. Smiley

For weapons, I am not sure if strength is more necessary than affinity. True the weapon should be moderately strong, but strength by itself is kind of secondary. Certain enemies in the game have resistance to certain types of damage. Therefore, it's always pretty important to make a degree of weapons for every occasion and enemy type with weapons that exploit certain weaknesses. Inserting the gems potentially increases destructive power. Finding a weapon with 3 gem slots can give you a variety of options against different creatures. So yea.

That Large Nail you get early in the game is capable of being jeweled. (Why am I talking about this like Vagrant Story is actually Diablo 2 in disguise???)

Anyways, early in the game, I usually put a dragon gem in the Large Nail so I can take dragons out quickly and efficiently. I can't remember how many slots it has.

Well, let's make some tsunami sized waves and hope one of the fat cats notice.   8)

[quote="Waef"]
Having a high chance to miss a boss isn't really too much of a factor, considering if you segment the run, you can just redo it until you get a run where you keep misses to a minimum.

It's been a LONG time since I've played this game, but how would the changing of weapons factor in? It seems like you only stick with 1 weapon in the walkthrough you posted? Might it be worth it to get a stronger weapon (of the same weapon type)?
[/quote]

Yes but I had a hope's prayer that someone would attempt a run without segmenting it.  :)

For weapons, I am not sure if strength is more necessary than affinity.  True the weapon should be moderately strong, but strength by itself is kind of secondary.  Certain enemies in the game have resistance to certain types of damage.  Therefore, it's always pretty important to make a degree of weapons for every occasion and enemy type with weapons that exploit certain weaknesses.  Inserting the gems potentially increases destructive power.  Finding a weapon with 3 gem slots can give you a variety of options against different creatures.  So yea.

That Large Nail you get early in the game is capable of being jeweled.  (Why am I talking about this like Vagrant Story is actually Diablo 2 in disguise???)

Anyways, early in the game, I usually put a dragon gem in the Large Nail so I can take dragons out quickly and efficiently.  I can't remember how many slots it has.

Waef

2008-10-24 03:42:33 pm

I think you're right that affinity is what really matters as opposed to strength (although obviously one with more strength would still be better). However, constantly switching weapons would probably slow you down since even if something is weak to a type of weapon, your accuracy/damage is going to be horrible.

But still, might it be worth it to stick to 1 weapon type but go and collect stronger weapons of that type?

RaneofSOTN

2008-10-24 05:21:48 pm

I want off the ride....

I have vagrant story, but i haven't beaten it cause i've had a few mem card problems.

But I'd like to see this run none the less...

Squirrelfanatic

2008-10-26 05:13:34 am

If it makes anybody feel better: I would love to see this. Played it years ago, but wasn`t able to beat it (just lent it from a friend). Tongue

getter77

2008-10-26 07:06:18 am

100% runs=great to watch

I'd also like to see this run done....heard lots of good things about it. Thematically, it'd be especially cool to see since the Hybrid Heaven N64 run seems to have faded away---go go unusual system gaming!

Waef

2008-11-04 08:46:48 pm

This thread needs more attention! I'm gonna start playing this game again tomorrow to see if I can find anything useful for a potential runner.

rundxdi

2008-11-13 09:22:57 am

I haven't played this things in years - thing had issues for me back in the day, but I remember spending forever and ever on this game.

Therefore, I too would like to see a speedrun of this - segmented or otherwise. I don't really have a lot of experience speedrunning or I might try it myself

Zugzwang

2008-11-13 12:42:08 pm

Now there is no excuse for this run not being submitted

My new bounty is here. http://speeddemosarchive.com/forum/index.php/topic,8815.75.html

rundxdi

2008-11-13 10:07:53 pm

Okay, at the very least I am going to play through this again a couple times. I'm going to need some practice to get used to this and try to remember what's going on. There's a good chance I'll start tomorrow so I was wondering if people had advice in general about going through this quickly (less concerned with path right now)?

Looking at the gamefaqs guide, and trying to remember what I can about the game:

1) Shouldn't DP be a concern at some point?

2) Is it really best to never change/upgrade anything? I don't remember it taking that long to do, and it seems like it could save a lot of time/frustration...

3) What affinities would be most worthwhile to tack onto a single weapon? Would having 2/3 weapons speed anything up?

Any additional thoughts?

Atominsk

2009-02-21 04:39:43 pm

"A strong man doesn't need to read the future..."

- Forget the upgrades in workshops, use normal weapons found in the game.

- Never let your risk above 25, use instantly Vera Root.

- Magic Ward (Spell), Impact guard end Absorb magic (Chain Abilities) are your best friends.

- And save few times in the game, it's consume very time.

It's the basis for a Vagrant Story Speedrun. Wink

Rainman7

2009-02-24 07:53:38 pm

Quote from Atominsk:

- Forget the upgrades in workshops, use normal weapons found in the game.

- Never let your risk above 25, use instantly Vera Root.

- Magic Ward (Spell), Impact guard end Absorb magic (Chain Abilities) are your best friends.

- And save few times in the game, it's consume very time.

It's the basis for a Vagrant Story Speedrun. Wink

You sound like just the right man for the job!

Bananamatic

2009-02-28 05:44:40 am

Actually, you would screw Risk and survive on Impact Guard/Absorb Magic.
Low HP + Heavy Shot/Raging Ache = boss dead.
As for equipment, use the initial stuff, maybe change into a weapon type you find it easier to chain with.

Misses wouldn't matter much, as the Raging Ache damage is dependant on your lost HP and the chain hit probability is fixed for each monster and it's body part and isn't dependant on Risk. Heavy Shot has the same animation as Raging Ache I think, so it would be easier to keep the chain going + the chains would be faster.

Trying to SS this would be extremely annoying, as 1 bad guard and start all over. Could try this someday, but I can't guard/combo too well.

Atominsk

2009-02-28 06:08:53 am

"A strong man doesn't need to read the future..."

Quote from Bananamatic:

Actually, you would screw Risk and survive on Impact Guard/Absorb Magic.
Low HP + Heavy Shot/Raging Ache = boss dead.
As for equipment, use the initial stuff, maybe change into a weapon type you find it easier to chain with.

Misses wouldn't matter much, as the Raging Ache damage is dependant on your lost HP and the chain hit probability is fixed for each monster and it's body part and isn't dependant on Risk. Heavy Shot has the same animation as Raging Ache I think, so it would be easier to keep the chain going + the chains would be faster.

Trying to SS this would be extremely annoying, as 1 bad guard and start all over. Could try this someday, but I can't guard/combo too well.

I like very much this combination, and I wiil add Crimson Pain for this combination.
I think if Soul Kiss is needed, Magnolia Frau is better and the player gain in a Boss battle, saving your time.
Another good idea, counts your battle points! This is very good! And you acquires Chain Abilities in the right moment. The formula for gained Battle Points is:

(# of successful combos in chain) – 1 = battle points

SS is the best way, but the minor error is bad!
I will think in the best moments for save the game, I was actually playing this game, but my Memory Card corrupted, my save was at Limestone Quarry. Undecided

I wiil buy a new Memory card and will try this run.

[quote="Bananamatic"]
Actually, you would screw Risk and survive on Impact Guard/Absorb Magic.
Low HP + Heavy Shot/Raging Ache = boss dead.
As for equipment, use the initial stuff, maybe change into a weapon type you find it easier to chain with.

Misses wouldn't matter much, as the Raging Ache damage is dependant on your lost HP and the chain hit probability is fixed for each monster and it's body part and isn't dependant on Risk. Heavy Shot has the same animation as Raging Ache I think, so it would be easier to keep the chain going + the chains would be faster.

Trying to SS this would be extremely annoying, as 1 bad guard and start all over. Could try this someday, but I can't guard/combo too well.
[/quote]

I like very much this combination, and I wiil add Crimson Pain for this combination.
I think if Soul Kiss is needed, Magnolia Frau is better and the player gain in a Boss battle, saving your time.
Another good idea, counts your battle points! This is very good! And you acquires Chain Abilities in the right moment. The formula for gained Battle Points is:

(# of successful combos in chain) – 1 = battle points

SS is the best way, but the minor error is bad!
I will think in the best moments for save the game, I was actually playing this game, but my Memory Card corrupted, my save was at Limestone Quarry.  :-\
I wiil buy a new Memory card and will try this run.

gmacd

2009-04-21 10:37:56 am

Any updates Atominsk? Did you start the run?

Riskbreaker Y

2009-04-23 04:27:09 pm

berserker status

So i'm new to the forums but have been lurking around for quite some time. This is one of the few games i would be interested in speedrunning as it's my fav game of all time. I'm also strangely good at Jackal for the NES but that's another story....

Well, for a SS run, this game would be extremely difficult to complete. Although you can jump and avoid most battles and stay out of reach, more likely than not you're going to eat random damage (resulting in death). Yes there's impact guard and absorb magic but some of the boss fights come to mind. A good SS run would be nothing short of god-like IMO. The last Cathedral alone would be tough as nails. You'd have to hope to land the first hit most of the time and complete the chain.

This run also requires good memory and good camera handling skills. I suppose the optimal way would be to NEVER alter the camera but this to me sounds unrealistic. You can lose a few minutes in total if you run into a wall or even fall off a ledge (run killer probably). You would have to memorize the correct solutions for the time trial attacks and also pick up a few Fairie Wings so that you can actually skip a few steps (the last puzzle in the cathedral and the temple of kiltia puzzles come to mind). Whether this saves more time than simply avoiding those bird-things that drop them in the Snowfly Forest is to be determined. Also, even though most of the run will be done with having high RISK the whole time, I'd say using some vera bulbs in some key situations with certain bosses can cut down some time depending on how high the Boss HP is and its ability to dodge chains. Of course this would only be done using the quick command instead of going through the menu.

I can land 15+ chains consistently but have a 50/50 rate on impact guard and even less for absorb magic. I made it up to the lizards in the catacombs before getting killed by a hellhound (tried to avoid it) in about twenty minutes in a casual run. According to the speedyrun on gamefaqs you can get through the whole sanctum in under thirty minutes. I'm going to aim for something below this today to see where i stand. Sorry for the long post guys Undecided

So i'm new to the forums but have been lurking around for quite some time.  This is one of the few games i would be interested in speedrunning as it's my fav game of all time.  I'm also strangely good at Jackal for the NES but that's another story....

Well, for a SS run, this game would be extremely difficult to complete.  Although you can jump and avoid most battles and stay out of reach, more likely than not you're going to eat random damage (resulting in death).  Yes there's impact guard and absorb magic but some of the boss fights come to mind.  A good SS run would be nothing short of god-like IMO.  The last Cathedral alone would be tough as nails.  You'd have to hope to land the first hit most of the time and complete the chain.

This run also requires good memory and good camera handling skills.  I suppose the optimal way would be to NEVER alter the camera but this to me sounds unrealistic.  You can lose a few minutes in total if you run into a wall or even fall off a ledge (run killer probably).  You would have to memorize the correct solutions for the time trial attacks and also pick up a few Fairie Wings so that you can actually skip a few steps (the last puzzle in the cathedral and the temple of kiltia puzzles come to mind).  Whether this saves more time than simply avoiding those bird-things that drop them in the Snowfly Forest is to be determined.  Also, even though most of the run will be done with having high RISK the whole time, I'd say using some vera bulbs in some key situations with certain bosses can cut down some time depending on how high the Boss HP is and its ability to dodge chains.  Of course this would only be done using the quick command instead of going through the menu.

I can land 15+ chains consistently but have a 50/50 rate on impact guard and even less for absorb magic.  I made it up to the lizards in the catacombs before getting killed by a hellhound (tried to avoid it) in about twenty minutes in a casual run.  According to the speedyrun on gamefaqs you can get through the whole sanctum in under thirty minutes.  I'm going to aim for something below this today to see where i stand.  Sorry for the long post guys  :-\

Enhasa

2009-04-23 10:36:33 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Vagrant Story + Jackal, what good taste

Sorry for VS off-topic, but since you brought up Jackal, do you know we had a speedrunning tourney week for Jackal? Look here, and also in that thread you can find Breakdown's 8:52.

y

2009-04-23 10:42:49 pm

Quote from Enhasa:

Vagrant Story + Jackal, what good taste

Sorry for VS off-topic, but since you brought up Jackal, do you know we had a speedrunning tourney week for Jackal? Look here, and also in that thread you can find Breakdown's 8:52.

I didn't know about the tourney but i've seen Breakdown's run on youtube before. Pretty damn good if you ask me. He pretty much has it down if he incorporated the Level 3 strategy of sticking to the left side and shooting the last boss with the machine gun as well as with missles.

ZenicReverie

2009-04-23 10:53:33 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

That looks fun, when's the next tourney? You can PM me if you're the one setting it up, or I can contact AquaTiger if he's setting up another one.

Back on topic. I played a demo of this game and meant to grab a copy when it was still new, but that fell through. If there isn't a run by the end of May or so, I am pick this game up to see how well I can do with it.

Riskbreaker Y

2009-04-23 11:28:02 pm

berserker status

OK---So i played the hell out of this game for a few hours and died quite a lot of times. Sometimes i can't tell whether the Buckler reduces damage or not but it's probably worth keeping to randomly parry attacks i guess. I didn't get through the sanctum but it certainly can be beaten in sub 30 mins. and quite possibly sub 25 mins. i'll list some relevant info for the beginning.

*Reaching the first cloudstone in time can save you almost 30 sec. since those crimson blades are pesky. There are other minor animations you can skip involving enemies and boxes if you're quick enough but it won't save you more than five seconds
*You can seriously skip many fights/animations if you time your jumps correctly (not just jump randomly but time it so that there's no recovery when he lands; tap jump as soon as you land)
*The Minotaur can be beaten before he takes a second swing at you if you're lucky enough to land a critical, otherwise don't let him hit you more than twice
*I skipped fighting the first zombie as well as the next group of three and just learned my first tech from the Dullahan (on that note, strike his right or left hand to chain consistently, everything else is just random). It took an 18 hit chain and a 9 hit chain to fell him.
*The Ghost can be quite annoying because if you don't land first he casts solid shock (impact guard it) or something else. If he's too far away to hit maybe it's best to move away a little so that he can teleport right next to you
*After fighting the lizards, you have to face a hellhound, a skeleton with a sword, and either a slime or an unarmed skeleton. Killing the hellhound is necessary but the other two aren't (although I killed them and racked up more chain points)
*I learned Raging Ache right before the golem fight with the slime

My time was 18:3X or so when i saved before the entrance of the sanctum, but i didn't skip the Crimson Blades confrontation and i could've killed A LOT less enemies. I have a bitch of time getting out of that room right after the golem fight with the hellhound, skeleton with the spear, and the skeleton with the crossbow. The crossbow is tough to impact guard and it has range so you HAVE to defend against it otherwise you'll need enough HP to survive the hit. I had about 21:XX when i died. I won't get a chance to play this again until Sunday probably and next time i'm hoping that i'll get to the snowfly forest but most likely will get to Undercity West.

Questions: Is it REALLY necessary to equip Buckler? Also, should any items that increase your stats be used? Elixir of Queens comes to mind but i'm realizing more and more that there's no real point. Finally, does agility determine the probability of landing/dodging attacks? Again, it seems like Raging Ache fixes this problem but if it's possible to pick up the agility spell en route then maybe there's something there. The more i think about it the more I realize this speedrun is going to take serious planning and serious timing skills. The 1:17 time that is supposedly the record that the guy mentions on gamefaqs sounds ridiculous to me. Getting through the snowfly forest in sub 1:00 sounds like an amazing feat. For now i'm just going to say that an 1:30 to 2:00 time is possible with strong execution and minor errors. Segmented alltheway (the FAQ saves about twelve times but it's definitely possible to do under ten, with five or six being the goal).

OK---So i played the hell out of this game for a few hours and died quite a lot of times.  Sometimes i can't tell whether the Buckler reduces damage or not but it's probably worth keeping to randomly parry attacks i guess.  I didn't get through the sanctum but it certainly can be beaten in sub 30 mins. and quite possibly sub 25 mins.  i'll list some relevant info for the beginning.

*Reaching the first cloudstone in time can save you almost 30 sec. since those crimson blades are pesky.  There are other minor animations you can skip involving enemies and boxes if you're quick enough but it won't save you more than five seconds
*You can seriously skip many fights/animations if you time your jumps correctly (not just jump randomly but time it so that there's no recovery when he lands; tap jump as soon as you land)
*The Minotaur can be beaten before he takes a second swing at you if you're lucky enough to land a critical, otherwise don't let him hit you more than twice
*I skipped fighting the first zombie as well as the next group of three and just learned my first tech from the Dullahan (on that note, strike his right or left hand to chain consistently, everything else is just random).  It took an 18 hit chain and a 9 hit chain to fell him.
*The Ghost can be quite annoying because if you don't land first he casts solid shock (impact guard it) or something else.  If he's too far away to hit maybe it's best to move away a little so that he can teleport right next to you
*After fighting the lizards, you have to face a hellhound, a skeleton with a sword, and either a slime or an unarmed skeleton.  Killing the hellhound is necessary but the other two aren't (although I killed them and racked up more chain points)
*I learned Raging Ache right before the golem fight with the slime

My time was 18:3X or so when i saved before the entrance of the sanctum, but i didn't skip the Crimson Blades confrontation and i could've killed A LOT less enemies.  I have a bitch of time getting out of that room right after the golem fight with the hellhound, skeleton with the spear, and the skeleton with the crossbow.  The crossbow is tough to impact guard and it has range so you HAVE to defend against it otherwise you'll need enough HP to survive the hit. I had about 21:XX when i died.  I won't get a chance to play this again until Sunday probably and next time i'm hoping that i'll get to the snowfly forest but most likely will get to Undercity West.

Questions:  Is it REALLY necessary to equip Buckler?  Also, should any items that increase your stats be used?  Elixir of Queens comes to mind but i'm realizing more and more that there's no real point.  Finally, does agility determine the probability of landing/dodging attacks?  Again, it seems like Raging Ache fixes this problem but if it's possible to pick up the agility spell en route then maybe there's something there.  The more i think about it the more I realize this speedrun is going to take serious planning and serious timing skills.  The 1:17 time that is supposedly the record that the guy mentions on gamefaqs sounds ridiculous to me.  Getting through the snowfly forest in sub 1:00 sounds like an amazing feat.  For now i'm just going to say that an 1:30 to 2:00 time is possible with strong execution and minor errors.  Segmented alltheway (the FAQ saves about twelve times but it's definitely possible to do under ten, with five or six being the goal).

gmacd

2009-04-24 08:58:58 pm

Going by the speed walkthrough's pace, you're doing pretty well, especially considering that you've been killing more enemies than him. I don't know how useful the buckler is since I haven't played this game in such a long time. I agree that elixirs would be kind of pointless with the way damage is calculated with Raging Ache.

Planning-wise, I think that most of the hard work is done for you in the walkthrough. The main issue (and the one that led to my abandoning the run) is reflexes on combos and defensive skills. I don't know about the 1:17 claim; email the author of the FAQ and see what he says about it.

Shoot for sub-2:30 since that's what the author's best time was.