Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
This tweet was going around recently: twitter.com/krhmrr0921/status/992098734132510720
It includes Mario instantly going from a run into a down smash, which confused us in the KuroganeHammer discord, because you're not normally able to transition run directly into dsmash.
The hint was that the combo was performed on a platform. It is not particularly well-known, but you can cancel a platform drop directly into a down smash. "Platform drop" includes both falling through a platform you're standing on, as well as shield drops.
The issue then was that there was also no clear way to transition from run directly into platform drop either. The suspicion was that one could run, then shield, then shield drop, then down smash. I had my doubts on this at first, because the video showed no signs of the player shielding. Regardless, I tested this in a few different ways to figure out if it's possible.
And it is! I haven't ironed out the details yet, but this video clearly shows it's possible to buffer a shield drop out of a run on a platform, which could then be chained into a dsmash. Good luck doing this consistently though. Not shown in this video are like 40 failed attempts...
EDIT: Further details: to do this, you must, while running, tilt the analogue stick down far enough to reach the point where shield drops can register, but not so far down that your character skids to a halt (i.e. enters the run-brake animation). After the 3rd or 4th frame that you've tilted your analogue stick like this, you can press shield to instantly shield drop (without ever putting up shield).
This is fairly easy to do in 1/2 speed-hold L mode by running, releasing L, tilting the analogue forward and slightly down, tapping L quickly, then holding shield and pressing L again.
In real time, it's kinda hard, but not too bad. If you're run-braking, you're tilting your control stick too far down. If you're spotdodging, you're pressing shield too early. If you're just shielding, you're not tilting your control stick down far enough, or you're pressing shield too late.
Good luck!
This tweet was going around recently: twitter.com/krhmrr0921/status/992098734132510720
It includes Mario instantly going from a run into a down smash, which confused us in the KuroganeHammer discord, because you're not normally able to transition run directly into dsmash.
The hint was that the combo was performed on a platform. It is not particularly well-known, but you can cancel a platform drop directly into a down smash. "Platform drop" includes both falling through a platform you're standing on, as well as shield drops.
The issue then was that there was also no clear way to transition from run directly into platform drop either. The suspicion was that one could run, then shield, then shield drop, then down smash. I had my doubts on this at first, because the video showed no signs of the player shielding. Regardless, I tested this in a few different ways to figure out if it's possible.
And it is! I haven't ironed out the details yet, but this video clearly shows it's possible to buffer a shield drop out of a run on a platform, which could then be chained into a dsmash. Good luck doing this consistently though. Not shown in this video are like 40 failed attempts...
EDIT: Further details: to do this, you must, while running, tilt the analogue stick down far enough to reach the point where shield drops can register, but not so far down that your character skids to a halt (i.e. enters the run-brake animation). After the 3rd or 4th frame that you've tilted your analogue stick like this, you can press shield to instantly shield drop (without ever putting up shield).
This is fairly easy to do in 1/2 speed-hold L mode by running, releasing L, tilting the analogue forward and slightly down, tapping L quickly, then holding shield and pressing L again.
In real time, it's kinda hard, but not too bad. If you're run-braking, you're tilting your control stick too far down. If you're spotdodging, you're pressing shield too early. If you're just shielding, you're not tilting your control stick down far enough, or you're pressing shield too late.
Good luck!
![Okami All Brushes in 4:02:17 - New Game All Brushes Speedrun [Former World Record]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z1XmzHs6kyA/mqdefault.jpg "Okami All Brushes in 4:02:17 - New Game All Brushes Speedrun [Former World Record]
For those unfamiliar, the All Brushes category requires us to collect all brush techniques AND upgrades (e.g. Fireburst, Mist Warp, Cherry Bomb 2/3, etc.). This makes the run substantially slower than NG Any%, where most upgrades and 3 required brush powers can be skipped. Despite this, the category is still extremely interesting.
Because there are many more objectives to complete the run, there are also many more routing options and considerations. Stuff like when to get some upgrades to minimize detour. The main consideration is Yen (money).
Unlike NG Any%, NG AB requires us to collect a large amount of money, primarily for the Cherry Bomb and Power Slash 2 and 3 brush upgrades. In total, these techniques cost 840k. In a casual playthrough, these amounts arent terribly high, but in a speedrun, every minute we spend collecting money is another minute between us and the finish line.
To this end, we not only collect a large number of treasures throughout the run (each of which is chosen to be the most time-efficient of the treasures available), but we also use different strategies and many fights (especially boss fights) to reduce the amount of money spent on battle items. With careful planning, we never have to grind enemies for money in this route.
As a result, this route includes a lot of things which would normally be sub-optimal, but work out to save time here thanks to the unique requirements of the category.
Splits: https://splits.io/4u43
Leaderboard: https://www.speedrun.com/Okami/full_game#NG_All_Brushes
Route: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S3YurqMVx1Ce0LWRamboSsaQVAq4CE4khVJ1SA73HO0/edit?usp=sharing
Okami Speedrunning Discord: https://discord.gg/AQNKmMu")
