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For a while now, I've been thinking about running the upgraded Ys Eternal games for the PC, otherwise known as Ys Complete (yes, I know there are differences between the two versions, but even when loading the games off Japanese DVDs that say "Ys Complete", in-game it is still called "Ys Eternal").

Anyway, I was wondering how much interest there would be for speedrunning these games.  Keep in mind that if me or anyone else runs these games for SDA, it won't be in English, and I would guess that a lot of people who have played these games played them with Nightwolve and Deuce's patches.

If there's enough interest, I'll get to work soon on finding out what exactly needs to be done, and what the optimal routes will be (Ys I probably has more leeway than Ys II).  I usually tend to talk to everyone ASAP, do things in the "right" order, and pretty much do as much as possible before moving on, so any help with route planning would be greatly appreciated.  I am also kind of worried whether or not leveling will make a significant impact during a speedrun of these games.  For instance, I'll probably try and avoid killing monsters as much as possible, unless gaining levels is needed (or faster) to advance.

UPDATE: Ys I is finished!  For anyone who wishes to view the videos right now, here are links to Youtube versions of the segments.  Enjoy!

UPDATE 2: I'm currently working on an improvement to the Ys I run, partially because I think ~1 minute or so can be shaved off of the current time (see latest post in this thread), and partially to help relieve stress from the Ys II run.  I'll update this post with new videos as they're available.  If you want better quality, it's probably better to download the files (if possible), just be warned that the files are big.  Enjoy!

Ys I Videos:

Single Segment run - 39:03 (38:07 SDA timing - beats the old segmented run)
Segment 1 (Old, New)
Segment 2 (Old, New)
Segment 3
Segment 4
Segment 5
Segment 6
Segment 7
Segment 8
Segment 9

Ys II Videos:

Single Segment run - 1:05:02
Segment 1 (Old, New - Download)
Segment 2 (Old, New - Download)
Segment 3 (Old, New - Download)
Segment 4 (Youtube, Download)
Segment 5 (Youtube, Download)
Segment 6 (Youtube, Download)
Thread title:  
100% runs=great to watch
Sounds badass.  I would look forward to a day when all the Ys games possible graced SDA in full force.
Well, I don't know about all of the Ys games, but at best, I could currently attempt runs for Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PC), and Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim (PS2).  I should probably leave those for someone more experienced though, as I'm not that good battle-wise at either of those games.  Besides that, other people that have tried to speedrun Ys VI say that you pretty much have to level up a fair amount pretty early in the game in order to do any damage during the Grana-Vallis Mountains (an early "dungeon").

I really hope leveling won't be much of a problem with the Ys Eternal games.  Ys I shouldn't be, since there's only 10 possible levels to gain, but Ys II has 55.  But then again, "Fire" magic will hopefully take care of most problems in Ys II.

Anyway, I'm going to try and do some testing with Ys I tomorrow.  I'm going to see whether or not I can acquire the Silver Sword early, and if so, see how feasible it is to tackle the Abandoned Mine first.  That should cut down on some potential leveling early in the game (if it's needed, which I should also look into), and hopefully also some backtracking.
Talk to the Hand
Quote from Korzic:
Besides that, other people that have tried to speedrun Ys VI say that you pretty much have to level up a fair amount pretty early in the game in order to do any damage during the Grana-Vallis Mountains (an early "dungeon").


That might have been me, though I'm sure I'm not the only one to make the observation. Yeah, the whole forced leveling thing put me off of even attempting to speedrun The Ark of Napishtim in any capacity. I've played various versions of Ys I & II (Ys I on Master System and a patched version of the NES ROM, plus Ys I & II on the Turbo CD), and how much of a problem the leveling system is in terms of speedrunning varies from version to version. Not sure what it's like on the PC versions, but I'd probably watch this anyway despite it being in Japanese.
Yeah, I believe that was you in regards to Ys VI, Emptyeye.  Too bad, I really would've liked to see that game beaten at lower levels.  Unfortunately, I think leveling is going to be forced in these games as well (definitely for Ys I, thanks to Vagullion; still unsure about Ys II).  Still, it's not nearly as difficult as it sounds like it would be for Ys VI, and not as long either.

Well, the Silver Sword can't be obtained right away, since the chests containing the Roda Seed and the Silver Harmonica are locked, and the key that opens locked chests is found after Jenocres (first boss in the Shrine).  And, as mentioned, it looks like leveling up will be required.  On Easy mode, Jenocres takes about 25 hits to go down at levels 2 and 3 with the Long Sword equipped.  It's a pain, but I'm fairly certain that it's faster than getting to level 4, where I think he can be killed in 10 hits.  I haven't tested Nygtilger (second boss in the Shrine) yet, but I have tested Vagullion.  At level 10 in Easy mode, he goes down in 8 hits, whereas at lower levels (even level 9) I think he takes about 3, maybe even 4 or 5 times as much hits (I'm not for certain; all I know is that the battle would be way too long and frustrating).  Again, I'm not entirely certain that leveling would be faster, but it sure would be less frustrating.  There are a couple of spots in the Abandoned Mine that I can use to level fairly quickly, but one of them requires that I be level 7 (I think) beforehand, which isn't very difficult.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2008-12-23 03:45:43 pm
Looks like this is going to be a pretty straight-forward run, at least for Ys I.  Here's the route so far for it.  Let me know of any mistakes, or possible ways to do things faster:

- Exit Barbado; enter Minea
- Buy Wing and Mirror from Pim (300 G)
- Exit Minea
- Get Golden Pedestal, use Wing
- Buy Wing from Pim, sell Golden Pedestal (2100 G)
- Buy and equip Chain Mail, Small Shield, Short Sword (500 G)
- Talk to Sarah, receive Sarah's Crystal
- Exit Minea; enter Zeptic
- Talk to Jevah, receive Shrine Key
- Exit Zeptic; enter Shrine
- Kill Jenocres (auto-level to 3)
- Get Prison Key
- Help Feena (auto-level to 5); get Mask of Eyes
- Exit Shrine; enter Zeptic
- Exit Zeptic, re-enter and talk to Feena (I believe you need to do the events with Feena before Jevah will send you to Goban.  I could do this step later, but it's slightly faster to do it now instead of on the return trip through Zeptic before Darm Tower)
- Exit Zeptic; enter Shrine
- Get Treasure Box Key, Ivory Key, Marble Key, and Silver Shield
- Kill Nygtilger (auto-level to 7); get Book of Ys
- Use Wing; visit Sarah's house, receive Book of Ys
- Buy another Wing from Pim (gold should be irrelevant by this point)
- Exit Minea; enter Abandoned Mine
- Get Silver Armor, Silver Harmonica, and Roda Seed; eat Roda Seed
- Use Wing; buy another from Pim
- Return Silver Harmonica to Reah/Leah/Lair/whatever you want to call her
- Exit Minea
- Go to southern Roda Tree, receive Silver Sword; equip Silver equipment
- Enter Abandoned Mine; get Darm Key
- Level to 10
- Kill Vagullion; get Book of Ys
- Use Wing; exit Minea
- Enter Zeptic; talk to Feena on pier; ask Jevah to read the 3 current Books of Ys
- Exit Zeptic; re-enter (to load Feena inside Jevah's house) and talk to Feena in Jevah's house; talk to Jevah (she must have read the 3 current Books of Ys beforehand)
- Exit Zeptic; enter Thieves' Hideout; talk to Goban
- Enter Darm Tower
- Get Evil Ring
- Get sent to cell; examine bars (pretty sure that's required), talk to Luta, wait for Dogi; receive Idol from Dogi upon leaving
- Give Idol to Raba, receive and equip Blue Necklace
- Re-obtain and re-equip Silver Sword
- Kill Pictimos; get Book of Ys and Iron Hammer
- Equip Iron Hammer, break pillar outside
- Kill Khonsclard; get Book of Ys and Rod
- Mirror Maze 1; head to Rado's Annex
- Equip Blue Necklace and Evil Ring
- Talk to Lair, receive Monocle; un-equip Evil Ring, read Books of Ys from Pictimos and Khonsclard with Monocle
- Talk to Luta, receive Blue Amulet
- Use Mirror in narrow corridor
- Get and equip Flame Sword
- Mirror Maze 2; kill Yog & Omu, re-equip Silver Sword afterwards
- Kill Dark Fact; get Book of Ys, read it with Monocle

EDIT: Updated to include the Darm Tower route, plus added some things that need to be done before entering Darm Tower.
Talk to the Hand
Looks good for the most part. I do have a suggestion or two based on my playing the other versions of the game; if they don't apply to this particular version, feel free to tell me as much.

Quote from Korzic:
- Buy and equip Chain Mail, Small Shield, Short Sword (1000 G)

Is the Sapphire Ring in this version? How I would play the initial equipment sequence in the Turbo CD version was Buy Sapphire Ring for 1000G from Pim, return it to its owner in the bar (Nets you 1500 Gold), go grab the Golden Vase (Pedestal) and sell it for another 2000G (3500 Total). Then buy the Chain Mail, Small Shield and Long Sword, skipping the Short Sword entirely. Any reason you couldn't do that in this version?
Quote from Korzic:
- Get Prison Key and maybe Silver Bell (for the Power Ring, unsure if it's needed; seems ineffective against bosses)

All Rings are ineffective against bosses. That said, the boost in power may or may not make it worth picking up the Power Ring for regular enemies anyway (It was always my favorite 'general' Ring in Ys I), as I'm not sure how many you kill.
Quote from Korzic:
- Get Treasure Box Key, Ivory Key, and Marble Key (and Silver Shield, if required to enter Darm Tower)

If I remember right, you need to have and equip the entire set of Silver equipment to harm Dark Fact, not just the Sword. That said, I'm not sure it's technically required to have them to enter Darm Tower (Which would be a rather dickish move on the part of the game), since I've always grabbed the sword last.

In general, though, it looks pretty good. I'm liking the various Wing uses (Except for that first one, as I mentioned); that's one of those details I wouldn't have thought of.

As an aside, believe me, I wanted to run Ys VI as much as you wanted to see it run, but I just wasn't going to deal with the whole forced leveling aspect. Maybe someone with more dedication than I will run it at some point.
Full route in the 6th post!  Again, let me know of errors or ways to do things faster.

Speaking of which, a YouTube buddy of mine that I've told about this run says that he remembers somehow skipping Lair/Leah/Reah in Darm Tower.  I don't see how it's possible, since I think you need to receive the Monocle from her, plus read the current two Darm Tower Books of Ys (Gemma and Messa) with it before Luta will give you the Blue Amulet.  Does anyone know anything more about this, or other potential glitches for that matter?

Quote from Emptyeye:
Quote from Korzic:
- Buy and equip Chain Mail, Small Shield, Short Sword (1000 G)

Is the Sapphire Ring in this version? How I would play the initial equipment sequence in the Turbo CD version was Buy Sapphire Ring for 1000G from Pim, return it to its owner in the bar (Nets you 1500 Gold), go grab the Golden Vase (Pedestal) and sell it for another 2000G (3500 Total). Then buy the Chain Mail, Small Shield and Long Sword, skipping the Short Sword entirely. Any reason you couldn't do that in this version?


That works, but it's faster to just obtain the Golden Pedestal (but only if you use the Wing afterwards) for two reasons.  One, until you reach level 4, the Long Sword does just as much damage to Jenocres as the Short Sword (same goes for the damage he deals with any of the 2nd set of armor equipped at that level).  Ideally, Jenocres should take around a minute and a half or so at levels 1-3, whereas leveling to 4 outside the Shrine takes longer.  And two, just returning the Sapphire Ring leaves you with 1500 gold, and you need 1600 to buy the first set of equipment (you could get a free Short Sword by talking to everyone in Barbado, then talking to Slaghf, but that is more than likely longer).  Going out after buying a sword and killing 10 of those blue demons (10 G each kill) takes slightly longer than getting the Golden Pedestal and warping.

Quote from Emptyeye:
Quote from Korzic:
- Get Prison Key and maybe Silver Bell (for the Power Ring, unsure if it's needed; seems ineffective against bosses)

All Rings are ineffective against bosses. That said, the boost in power may or may not make it worth picking up the Power Ring for regular enemies anyway (It was always my favorite 'general' Ring in Ys I), as I'm not sure how many you kill.


Yeah, I've determined that the Power Ring won't make much difference.  The only real use for it would be when leveling.  However, when testing with the Power Ring at level 7 in the Abandoned Mines, it only takes one hit less to kill the enemies that I use to level.  Overall, I just don't think it's worth it, as that is the only time that I plan to confront regular enemies (it's usually faster to just avoid them).

Quote from Emptyeye:
Quote from Korzic:
- Get Treasure Box Key, Ivory Key, and Marble Key (and Silver Shield, if required to enter Darm Tower)

If I remember right, you need to have and equip the entire set of Silver equipment to harm Dark Fact, not just the Sword. That said, I'm not sure it's technically required to have them to enter Darm Tower (Which would be a rather dickish move on the part of the game), since I've always grabbed the sword last.


Actually, they are required to enter Darm Tower, but only the Silver Sword is required to kill Dark Fact.  As such, I will only re-obtain the Silver Sword after getting sent to the cell in Darm Tower.  Pictimos (mantis) and Yog & Omu (masks/floating heads) will require some luck without armor, but it can be done.

Quote from Emptyeye:
As an aside, believe me, I wanted to run Ys VI as much as you wanted to see it run, but I just wasn't going to deal with the whole forced leveling aspect. Maybe someone with more dedication than I will run it at some point.


Truthfully, I wouldn't be dealing with forced leveling games either, but the leveling is thankfully going to be pretty short for at least Ys I.  Who knows, maybe finally getting some Ys runs up on the site will convince someone else to take a stab at the other games.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2008-12-19 11:04:00 am
Hmm, one thing I've noticed while recording is that the screen scrolling seems to go faster, giving the appearance that Adol is moving faster than what he is.  I've manually timed some things both while recording and not, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on the time it takes to get from point A to B.  Still, I'm concerned that the game might not be recording at the proper speed.  If it matters, I'm using Fraps, and am recording full screen at 30 fps (the game normally runs at 75 fps, but it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I record at that, or 30 fps).

As an example, here's my best first segment so far, which stops just before Jenocres.  I don't know if the problem is noticeable while viewing the video on the page, but it seems to be while viewing the raw file in Winamp (this is a compressed version, as the file is otherwise too big to upload):

LINK REMOVED

I'm still trying to see whether I can cut the time down some more or not.  If it can be, it's probably no more than a couple of seconds, but I'll see what I can do.
Talk to the Hand
Looks good so far. The diagonal running is something I'm not used to (IE it wasn't in any of the versions of Ys I I played), but I can see that making things faster as well. Good job!
Thanks!

I managed to improve the first segment by a couple of seconds, mostly due to faster menu work.  It could probably be improved by a second or two more if some of those townsfolk didn't get in the way, but I can't seem to manage anything better.  I'll upload the improved version whenever I manage to get the second segment done.

That might be a while though, as Jenocres is proving to be very frustrating at level 1 (4 hits and you're dead).  Plus, there are a couple of spots further in the Shrine where you can get killed very easily if you're not careful.  I was originally planning to end segment 2 just before Nygtilger, but perhaps I should save after killing Jenocres instead...  But, I really don't want to do that, as the segment would feel too short in an already short game (only other short segment I'm considering is the leveling portion).  Not only that, but Jenocres would very likely be the only boss that I'd consider doing this for (most of the other bosses are also difficult, but with the exception of Vagullion, they're pretty much done and over with).  And Jenocres is the first boss, so that probably wouldn't look too good from a verifier's perspective...
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-03-19 01:42:08 pm
Finally, I have a pretty good segment 2 recorded.  I think the worst of this run is behind me, although segment 3 might pose some problems.  To give you an idea of how hard this segment was, the version below is my third successful attempt at this segment, in large part because of how difficult Jenocres can be.  Also, some of the earlier enemies in the Shrine have a tendency to get in your path, and you can die pretty quickly without armor if you're not careful.  In any case, I'll try and work on it a little more, but I don't know how that will work out.  I'm guessing that the time in this attempt could be improved by about 5-6 seconds, which is pretty remarkable seeing as how the enemies didn't clog some of those narrow corridors this time (they love to do that).

Anyway, here are the improved versions of the segments:

LINKS IN FIRST POST

Segment 3 shouldn't be nearly as bad, although I'll need to refresh my memory in certain parts of the Abandoned Mine.  I'm not entirely sure yet, but I may end the segment before Vagullion, or before I start to level; it depends mostly on how well the leveling enemies cooperate.  Still, some of the earlier enemies in the mine kill you pretty easily if you're not careful, at least until you equip the Silver equipment.  So, there may be some trouble with this next segment, but at least Nygtilger should be much easier to deal with than Jenocres.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-01-11 08:48:59 pm
Sorry for the delay.  Some days, I simply don't have the motivation to play this game.  The days that I do play, things have a tendency to go wrong, whether it be stupid mistakes on my part, or Fraps constantly changing the recording frame rate for no apparent reason, which generally messes up whatever rhythm I may have had.

Anyway, below is my best segment 3 attempt so far.  I probably won't stick with this attempt, though, not unless I can't manage anything better.  I decided to stop the segment after getting the Darm Key in B3 of the Abandoned Mine, as the enemies I use to level can be kind of difficult to get in the positions I want them.  Plus, Nygtilger gave me more trouble than I thought he would.  Not as bad as Jenocres, but he can kill me in two hits at level 5, three with the Silver Shield equipped.  And since I usually aim my hits close to his head (should be the fastest way, if you can keep up with him), he can kill me fairly easily.  Here's my best attempt so far:

LINK REMOVED

One very important thing to note about this segment is that I intentionally talked to the Roda Tree twice - once before eating the Roda Seed, and once right afterwards.  The reason I did this is because I found out that the Roda Tree's special text can be skipped faster (scene normally takes 45-50 seconds, now takes 30-35 seconds) because the game is apparently fooled into thinking that the Roda Tree cutscene has already been activated, although that's just a guess on my part.  However, I do know that if you talk to and understand the Roda Trees (either one would work) before returning the Silver Harmonica to Lair, they'll say some stuff, and talking to them a second time will trigger the cutscene again, only this time you can skip their text faster than before.  After returning the Silver Harmonica, the Trees will only show their respective scenes once, and then they'll stop talking to Adol, which means that those scenes' special text cannot ordinarily be sped up.  So, I guess the way I did the Silver Sword cutscene might be considered a glitch, but it is not me being forgetful to eat the Roda Seed beforehand.
everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music
Wow, I've never seen this version, and it's like I almost don't even recognize this game anymore.
Aside from this version, the only other version I played was the Famicom version with an unofficial patch applied to it, and yes, this version is a bit different from it.  Although, I think most of that comes from the graphical enhancements, plus the story is fleshed out a bit more.  Overall, I like the Eternal/Complete versions better, but if I owned the Famicom versions, I'd probably run those instead, as they're probably closer to the original.

By the way, suppose someone did a run of one of the older versions of these two games (they appear on a bunch of systems, mostly with the older looking graphics).  Would it be considered a separate run, or would there be any chance of it obsoleting a run of these versions?
everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music
They'd be separate categories.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-03-19 01:43:31 pm
Good to know.  I was just kind of concerned since the main route and such would likely be largely unchanged (the Eternal/Complete versions are remakes, after all) for the older versions, with a couple of exceptions.

Anyway, lately I've been trying to get a better segment 3 attempt, but the one I posted previously is pretty good.  I only managed to improve it by a second, but I think it can be improved by about 2-3 more seconds.  I've tried quite a lot to get a better attempt than what's posted below, but this is the best I can manage.  Actually, one of my earlier attempts beat this one by 1 second, but it had less EXP, which means I'd have to kill a couple of extra monsters while leveling.  That wouldn't be so bad, except the main enemies I use to level (mantis-looking things) take several hits to go down at level 7, so I want to get to level 8 as quickly as possible.  I even had one very nice attempt go bad at the very end while trying to open the Darm Key chest (you need to run into the chests just right, or else the game treats them like a wall) - I ended up wasting several seconds just trying to get the blasted thing open.

Here's the updated segment 3 if anyone cares to watch it, plus a beta version of segment 4 (leveling segment):

LINKS IN FIRST POST

The main reason I'm uploading a segment 4 attempt right now is to hopefully get some feedback on my method of leveling.  Does anyone know of possibly a better way to do it?  The next best method would probably be to use those knight-like enemies (510 EXP each), instead of the mantis creatures (480 EXP each).  However, I cannot seem to get them to respawn fast enough, or in a favorable position like the mantises.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-03-19 01:44:24 pm
Sorry for the delay.  Segment 4 was more difficult than what I expected, although part of that is due to issues with Fraps.  The other major problem is getting good positioning of the enemies; a lot of the times, my attempts go bad just trying to evade those knights in the beginning in a timely manner, or the main mantises I use are off wandering somewhere else.  I know it probably looks simple enough, but most of the time it isn't.

Anyway, my best attempt is noticeably choppy near the beginning (within the first 10-15 seconds), so for the time being, I'm going to go with my next best attempt, which is about 4 seconds slower.  I really hate to do it, but I don't want to risk re-doing half the game because the video quality for this segment doesn't pass verification.  Besides, I'm pretty mentally worn out from attempting this segment, but I'll still try and improve it for a little while longer before continuing.  Having said that, here are the attempts in question:

LINKS IN FIRST POST

EDIT: Well, well.  I didn't think it would happen, but I managed to beat my best attempt by a little over 3 seconds, which means a 7 second improvement over the one I was going to use.  Thankfully, this time the attempt was recorded properly, so I'll get to work soon on segment 5 (ends after entering Darm Tower).  The old attempts are removed, and the new attempt is uploaded above for those who wish to view it.
everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music
Well I'm glad you beat it in the end, but when faced with this situation in the future, take the faster segment. Your run isn't going to be rejected just because of a little choppiness. If you're extremely paranoid about it though, you could post the clip of the choppiness (the 10-15 secs in question) in tech support. Basically I'm just telling you this so you don't have to place additional unnecessary worry upon yourself.
I did ask Nate about it, but I misunderstood part of his response as being that the decision would be up to the verifiers.  I should've read the response a bit more carefully, as he was just saying (I think) that they just determine the amount of frames dropped.  Oops.  Sad

In any case, I'll definitely keep your suggestion in mind for future segments.  Still, I'm glad a faster attempt came out of all this, as it likely wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-03-19 01:44:47 pm
Does anyone know of any semi-reliable way to get Vagullion to appear faster?  So far, it seems random as to when he will appear, and I've no idea if there's any way to manipulate him to do so.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Having said that, here's my best segment 5 attempt so far:

LINK IN FIRST POST

I'm a bit hesitant to use this, due to the mistake when trying to talk to Jevah the second time, plus there's a couple spots where the menu work could've been a little faster.  While the Vagullion battle is the best I've had so far, it is very hard to reproduce similar results, especially after the 3rd hit.  It's only about 3-4 seconds lost (plus whatever could be gained from a possibly faster Vagullion fight), but I'd still like to improve it if at all possible.

EDIT: Updated the link to the segment 5 attempt (you might need to download it, though - it's currently not streaming like it normally does at first), which is about 3-4 seconds faster. Vagullion went down about 1 second faster than before (I'd still appreciate tips for him if anyone has any), but it's largely the same battle. Still have a couple really minor mistakes with Jevah (probably no more than a second or so lost), but I'm satisfied with this attempt. Time to work on Darm Tower!
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-03-19 01:45:12 pm
Segments 6 and 7 uploaded, though I'm still undecided whether or not to keep the segment 7 attempt or not.  Here are the links:

LINKS IN FIRST POST

Segment 6 was a bit harder than I thought, mostly because the enemies in the corridor where Raba's hiding gave me trouble, especially when I needed to don the Mask of Eyes.  Also, there is a brief movement hiccup after re-obtaining the Silver Sword, but it's very minor.  Basically, that happens as a result of switching from the mouse back to the arrow keys (faster to use the mouse to equip the Silver Sword).  Since I'm right-handed for using both the mouse and arrow keys, movement is always stalled briefly in such cases, so I doubt I could omit that mistake.

Segment 7 went pretty well, although I'm not sure whether or not I should try for a better battle damage-wise against Pictimos.  It wouldn't save any time, plus it rarely happens, so I may just stick with this attempt.

Next is segment 8, which I'm planning to end before Yog & Omu.  That means there's a fair deal of running around, as well as a bit of menu-work, so this may be a troublesome segment to get through.  Once that's out of the way, segment 9 (final segment) shouldn't be too hard, except for maybe the Yog & Omu battle.

EDIT: Uploaded a slightly faster segment 7.  It's only a one second improvement over the last one, plus there's another slight movement error (only cost me 5 frames), but Pictimos went down even quicker than before.  It's hard to kill him that quickly, as well as have the rest of the segment go that smoothly, so I'll probably stick with this attempt.
And, the run is finished!

I decided to go back and re-do segment 7 to remove the movement error, as the more I tried segment 8, the more I felt it would be pretty much impossible to get a perfect segment.  I figured if there's going to be a stupid mistake, then it's better for it to occur in a long and difficult segment, as opposed to a pretty short one.  So, as much as I don't want to, I decided to keep the current segment 8 attempt, even though it contains a stupid mistake, which is about the equivalent to receiving full enemy knockback after getting hit (something that was very difficult to avoid in this segment).

I moved all the compressed video links to the first post, including the final segments, for those that might wish to watch the run now.
Edit history:
Korzic: 2009-09-27 12:42:47 pm
It's been a while since I last posted in this topic, so it's probably time I give an update.

The Ys I run passed verification, so I'll be getting to work on Ys II pretty soon (although if anyone else wants to, you're more than welcome to try a run of your own).  Actually, I already started a couple of months ago, but due to a lot of mental stress (partially from the Ys I run, as well as other issues), I'm going to need to hold off at least a little while longer before resuming work on Ys II.  I'm mostly recovered right now, but it'll probably be at least a week or two more before resuming work, just to be on the safe side.  We'll see, though.

Regarding Ys II, it looks like leveling for bosses will be faster than doing them under-leveled ; in fact, it seems that getting to level 6 will be a necessity before I can obtain the Staff of Divinity (needed to use magic).  It's kind of unfortunate, but what can you do...?  Still, the leveling periods won't be that bad; if I'm not mistaken, the longest pure leveling period will be when I level before Druegar (should take around ~2:15 or so)

Anyway, here's the route.  Any help anyone may be able to provide would be appreciated, particularly for finding the best leveling spots in the areas:

- Talk to Banoa, receive Banoa's Letter
- Enter clinic to learn of Dr. Ralle's predicament (300 G)
- Buy Wing from Jade, and Short Sword from Guido (0 G)
- Talk to Karnell, exit Rance Village
- Head to Ruins of Moondoria; get Roda Fruit
- Level to 6; get Staff of Divinity, and receive ability to use magic
- Talk to Astal; enter Sanctuary of Toal; return Volume Hadal
- Enter Rasteenie Mine; return Volume Toba
- Get Mattock; save Dr. Ralle (not required to speak to him in the Mine, I think)
- Return Volume Dabbie; get "Fire" Magic; return Volumes Messa and Gemma
- Kill Velagunder (Level 12)
- Get Iron Ore, Celceta Flower, Evil Bell, and "Light" Magic; warp to Rance via Wing (~2000 G)
- Sell Iron Ore to Guido; buy Talwar (~0 G)
- Receive Lilia's Medicine from Dr. Ralle, and give to Banoa; receive "Warp" magic
- Investigate Jira's basement; ring Evil Bell; kill all monsters
- Return Volume Fact, and receive Scroll of Guidance
- Warp to Rance; head to Ice Ridge of Noltia
- Get Misty Ice Drops, and use in first cave
- Get and equip Hawk Idol; get "Alter" magic; ;get Marl Flower; get and equip Stone Shoes
- Warp to Rance; head back to Ice Ridge of Noltia
- Get Illusion Mirror, and use on fake boss door
- Kill Tyalmath (Level 19); get hidden 1000 G chest; head to Moat of Burnedbless
- Ring Evil Bell and enter Roos' Nest; get and equip Roda Leaf (and maybe the Roda Fruit for later use, if needed)
- Head to Lava Village; talk to Ruba as a Roo, and again normally; receive Whisper Earrings
- Warp to Roos' Nest; get Black Pearl; equip Whisper Earrings, and rescue Tarf/Keith
- Head back to Lava Village, and cross bridge
- Kill Gelaldy (Level 26/~10,000 G); head to Ramia Village
- Buy Hyper Cutter from Zalem (gold no longer needed)
- Warp to Roos' Nest, and get Roda Fruit; warp to Ramia Village
- Talk to Gorto; talk to Hadat and receive Voca Shell; talk to Gorto again
- Enter Solomon Shrine via "Alter" magic, and head east
- Get Pass, and talk to gate guard; overhear "tierra" password
- Warp to Ramia Village; re-enter Shrine, and head west; state password to guard
- Equip Light magic, and obtain Sacred Cup; head to Subterranean Canal (West), and get transformed into a demon; head to Runaways' Hideout (to add it to the "Warp" list)
- Warp to Ramia Village, and talk to Rheg to return to normal
- Warp to Runaways' Hideout, and talk to Lilia to receive Shrine Key
- Warp to Ramia Village; re-enter Shrine, and head to Subterranean Canal (East); get Silver Pendant
- Warp to Ramia Village; re-enter Shrine, and kill Druegar (Level 38)
- Use Silver Pendant on Goddesses' statue, and make way to Subterranean Canal (Central); talk to Keith to receive Canal Key
- Warp to Runaways' Hideout; head to canal control room, and pull lever to drain canal
- Make way to Subterranean Canal (Central); get and equip Battle Sword/Falcon Idol
- Head to Goddesses' Palace (to add it to the "Warp" list); head to Bell Tower
- Kill Zava (Level 44; note to self - should be at ~41,350 EXP beforehand)
- Climb Bell Tower, and confront Dalles; get and equip Dreaming Stone Idol
- Warp to Goddesses' Palace, and talk to Goddesses
- Warp to Ramia Village; talk to Tarf; re-enter Shrine, and head east; re-obtain Black Pearl
- Warp to Goddesses' Palace, and talk to Goddesses again; re-climb Bell Tower, and use the Dreaming Stone Idol at the top
- Warp to Goddesses' Palace; head back to Subterranean Canal (Central); make way to Sada (Western portion), and receive Cleria Sword
- Warp to Runaways' Hideout; talk to runaways, and receive Golden Pendant
- Warp to Ramia Village; re-enter Shrine; use Golden Pendant on Goddesses' statue; make way to Dalles' lair
- Kill Dalles (Level 47); head to Ancient Ys Core (maybe get "Shield" magic?)
- Find Lilia, and receive/equip Goddesses' Ring; head to Goddesses/Darm; get and use Silver Harmonica from Goban; talk to Goddesses
- Kill Darm (Level 50)

And now, some comments regarding certain route choices.

- I'm aware that you can get a free Short Sword from Legth in the Ruins of Moondoria, but it should be faster to purchase it instead.

- To kill the rock golems guarding the Staff of Divinity, you need to be at least level 6 (level 4 with the Long Sword, but I believe that's a waste of time to get). As far as I can tell, it's best to get to level 4 using the enemies in the upper-left corner of the Ruins (I think that's the best group of enemies), and then to use the ones in the first room of the Sanctuary of Toal to get to level 6.

- I was originally going to fight Velagunder at level 11, but it turns out that I'd be short 150 G or so (provided the Short Sword is bought). I did a bit of testing, and it seems like leveling to 12 before Velagunder should get me the necessary gold. The other option is to just get the Short Sword from Legth in the Ruins, and just fight Velagunder at level 11 as originally planned. I don't remember the exact details, but I believe buying the Short Sword/leveling to 12 should be the faster method, but only by a mere ~3 seconds. In regards to EXP, the two methods are very, very close, no matter what level I kill Velagunder; killing him at level 12 instead of 11 puts me at about 75-100 extra EXP going into the Ice Ridge of Noltia. I'm honestly not 100% sure killing him at level 12 is truly faster. At the very least, it will make the Velagunder battle a little easier to manage, and the extra EXP may save a couple of seconds later on, so that's the option I'm going with.

- Clearing Jira's basement is something I'll do to help level up for Tyalmath/the beginning of the Moat of Burnedbless. If I'm calculating things right, clearing the basement should get me to level 17, and then I'll go through the Ice Ridge of Noltia, killing whatever enemies pop up on the way, which should get me to level 20 for Tyalmath. I'll probably be low on MP, so that's why the Marl Flower is picked up (should save a couple of seconds in the Tyalmath fight). Lower than level 20 is doable, but it leaves me under-leveled for the beginning of the Moat of Burnedbless.

- The Hawk Idol isn't necessary, but it helps in killing out-of-the-way enemies for extra EXP. It also helps greatly in doing good damage to Gelaldy when he releases the worm; it's not necessary for damaging him then (diagonal fireballs would be the other, more difficult option), but it sure helps out a lot.

- For Gelaldy, level 26 (7500 EXP) is probably best (can kill him on fourth "worm-in" (~1:40), maybe fourth "worm-out" (~1:28)). Actually, I'd prefer to be at least level 27 (should be able to kill him at third "worm-out" (~1:05), maybe second "worm-in" (~0:53)), but I don't think I can gain the needed EXP fast enough to make up the time an extra level could save. Anyway, aside from killing the enemies in my path, I'm going to need to do a little bit of extra grinding to reach level 24 (6100 EXP) before rescuing Tarf, but it shouldn't take long at all. Then, there's the 900 EXP for returning Tarf to Ruba, and the rest should be acquired just killing the enemies along the way to Gelaldy.

- The reason I pick up the hidden 1,000 G chest after Tyalmath is so I'll have enough to buy the Hyper Cutter (10,000 G) from Zalem in Ramia Village. There's also the 2,000 G chest in the Moat of Burnedbless, but that's probably not needed.

- After buying the Hyper Cutter, there's two reasons I make a brief stop at the Roos' Nest. One, to pick up a Roda Fruit to replenish my MP before fighting Druegar. And two, it's actually about a second or so faster to get to Gorto via warping (can't warp to a location you're already in, barring a minor bug), although granted, that test was done without obtaining the Roda Fruit (will be using the item/warp glitch). Still, I figure the extra warping should be worth it to have full MP before Druegar.

- For Druegar, I plan to level to 38 before facing him, using the Diphtheloyds in the eastern portion of the Subterranean Canal. That may seem like overkill, and for Druegar alone, it is. However, there's some leveling that needs to be done shortly afterwards outside the Bell Tower, and I believe this is the fastest method of getting to level 38. Plus, Druegar's fixed 1,500 EXP is more useful at level 38, as opposed to level 34/35 (when I was originally planning to kill him).

- The Falcon Idol is obtained to help out during Zava. Not only is it a means of helping me evade the bats (can "stun" multiple bats easier), but it also seems to be faster than just using the Hawk Idol, probably thanks to the multi-hit charged shots.

- As mentioned above, I need to level some outside the Bell Tower. Not just for Zava, but also for Dalles and Darm. For Zava, the fastest I've killed her at level 44 is 1:40 (should be about ~1:20 to get to level 44, making the process about 3 minutes total). At level 43, my best attempt is 3:07, so thankfully doing that fight under-leveled is out of the question (should be ~1:05 to get to level 43, taking over 4 minutes total). Level 42 and below... well, I lasted about ~4:30 shortly after starting the 3rd wave of Zavaaz. Fighting Zava at level 45+ isn't worth it, as it took me about ~30-35 seconds to get from level 44 to 45, and the battle itself is only 15-20 seconds faster.

So, that leaves the question of getting that extra 1,350 EXP before Zava (level 44 takes 40,000 total EXP). It takes an extra ~15 seconds to gather, so why bother? The reason for that is so I can be at level 50 for Darm, instead of level 49 (should be about 30 seconds faster at level 50). Dalles doesn't matter, as I'll be level 47 for him with or without that extra EXP. There's a fixed 2,500 EXP for killing Zava, 2,700 EXP for undoing the petrification spell, 3,500 EXP for killing Dalles, and 2,000 EXP for freeing the Goddesses (and oddly, 5,000 EXP for killing Darm >_>). That alone isn't enough to get me to level 50, but killing the enemies on the way back to the Bell Tower, as well as the ones on the way to Sada, should do the trick.

- I'm not sure whether or not to get the "Shield" magic for Darm. Of course, I should be evading his attacks to avoid knockback and hit him quicker, but it's possible for him to deal a fair bit of damage, even when he's stunned. Opinions?

Well, let me know what you think.
Finally got around to testing Ys II again the past couple of days; spent the majority of today just trying to work out the best leveling methods in the Moat of Burnedbless. Sad

The above post is updated to include the route up to Ramia Village.  Any comments so far? Errors? Ways to do things faster?