Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Not an official category and a pretty lousy run, but a decent proof of concept to show what the routing and gameplan for this would look like from a fresh file for a SA2 180 run that uses the tails chao from PSO specifically. This does take a bit longer than I expected; ideally a runner of this category would be using the bits of downtime during level results screens and to slowly chip away at this. If I ever do a 180 run, it will be if GC emulator is legalized for the category, and it will be to implement this, running two instances of dolphin with two separate controllers to be able to generate the transfer data.
Some notes:
-timing starts from game boot but could just as easily just start from character creation like a conventional pso category, this was just to show the time investment it'd take to actively swap over to PSO mid-run to do this instead of having multiple instances open.
-This run is pretty bad, lots of combat fumbles, I miss the glitch at the start (press Y as you gain control but before the principal begins speaking to save about 10 seconds), I route poorly and fail to pick up items to sell for 350 meseta causing me to have to reroute to get telepipes, and I don't telepipe after the last capsule in Claiming a Stake, losing more time. This is probably reflective of a more normal run though, but ideally I think this run could be a 22, maybe a 21.
-FOnewearl is chosen because she gains a 30% damage boost on simple techniques (the only techniques we use in this run), and Forces are by far the strongest class for Normal Mode, as techniques do not miss and their damage potential is significantly higher than physical classes early on. FOnewm could be worth considering as he casts significantly faster barehanded, but misses out on multiple key OHKOs and 2HKOs that I believe would make him slower. The name "A" is chosen because it quickly gives us Pinkal, which should have the highest chance to give us technique disks for barta or zonde if we whiff on getting them in the shop. Zonde is largely irrelevant after Battle Training and saves minimal time there, but Barta is critical timesave on double booma waves and is essential to have by The Fake in Yellow, where not having it probably loses over 30 seconds. It could be faster to ignore the shop at the start though to not get any monofluids or zonde/barta, but I'm unsure as it reduces your odds of getting barta by then.
-This category is already fundamentally obsolete. It's just a fun novelty and I'd like to work on it even more, maybe drop a more focused commentated run explaining this and every other bit of decision-making along the way.
Not an official category and a pretty lousy run, but a decent proof of concept to show what the routing and gameplan for this would look like from a fresh file for a SA2 180 run that uses the tails chao from PSO specifically. This does take a bit longer than I expected; ideally a runner of this category would be using the bits of downtime during level results screens and to slowly chip away at this. If I ever do a 180 run, it will be if GC emulator is legalized for the category, and it will be to implement this, running two instances of dolphin with two separate controllers to be able to generate the transfer data.
Some notes:
-timing starts from game boot but could just as easily just start from character creation like a conventional pso category, this was just to show the time investment it'd take to actively swap over to PSO mid-run to do this instead of having multiple instances open.
-This run is pretty bad, lots of combat fumbles, I miss the glitch at the start (press Y as you gain control but before the principal begins speaking to save about 10 seconds), I route poorly and fail to pick up items to sell for 350 meseta causing me to have to reroute to get telepipes, and I don't telepipe after the last capsule in Claiming a Stake, losing more time. This is probably reflective of a more normal run though, but ideally I think this run could be a 22, maybe a 21.
-FOnewearl is chosen because she gains a 30% damage boost on simple techniques (the only techniques we use in this run), and Forces are by far the strongest class for Normal Mode, as techniques do not miss and their damage potential is significantly higher than physical classes early on. FOnewm could be worth considering as he casts significantly faster barehanded, but misses out on multiple key OHKOs and 2HKOs that I believe would make him slower. The name "A" is chosen because it quickly gives us Pinkal, which should have the highest chance to give us technique disks for barta or zonde if we whiff on getting them in the shop. Zonde is largely irrelevant after Battle Training and saves minimal time there, but Barta is critical timesave on double booma waves and is essential to have by The Fake in Yellow, where not having it probably loses over 30 seconds. It could be faster to ignore the shop at the start though to not get any monofluids or zonde/barta, but I'm unsure as it reduces your odds of getting barta by then.
-This category is already fundamentally obsolete. It's just a fun novelty and I'd like to work on it even more, maybe drop a more focused commentated run explaining this and every other bit of decision-making along the way.
