Elevator Action Returns any% Speedrun - Jad

No commentary version: • Elevator Action Return...
After two weeks of grinding and studying Ryyudo's excellent speedrun guide for Elevator Action Returns (docs.google.co..., I have now claimed the world record any% of 13:30. My sum of best segments is 13:16, which I'm sure will only be attainable with RNG and better execution on the last three stages.
New techniques I discovered that are not in the guide include:
Play on player 2 side: Player 2 starts slightly further to the right on stages 2 and 3. This makes catching the first elevator cycles on these stages slightly easier. There are no other differences between player sides.
Hold the start button down: As you lose your last life, holding the start button down while mashing the fire button will ensure that you start your next credit on the first possible frame. It is not necessary to mash the start button.
Stage 2:
Use bombs in the outdoor arena section, but save 3. Inside the plane, count 20 enemies on the left side, after which the red man spawns. Use 3 bombs in rapid succession to kill the red man. This is slightly faster than my old method of jumping on him three times, and the shrapnel from these bombs should eliminate any leftover enemies on the right.
After he drops his bomb, walk into the left edge of the screen. This guarantees the correct position for the story drop afterward. Start running the moment the scroll speed increases.
Stage 3:
Another death warp is possible after the second red door. The elevator to the right will move downward if a player isn't in it. To time this, I take three steps after exiting and then run to it, which will push the player down out of the screen and death warp in front of the next elevator. This will only result in a time save if random enemy movement manipulates the elevators on this screen in a certain way, which did not happen here. If it does work, you will need to jump to the next elevator immediately, which means you will not have time to collect the machine gun and will therefore have to play the rest of the stage without a special weapon if one doesn't randomly drop.
At the boss screen, break the pile of rubble on the bottom-right before the fight begins, as it may randomly contain health.
Stage 4:
To destroy the three black drones in the subway car, stop before each one and run into them with a single step. Continue running after destroying the third drone.
Stage 5: After the third red door when the music stops, take the elevator to the story below the first wall turret. Wait for the elevator above to move up, wait 1 second, then go up. Wait for the turret on the story above to take 2 shots to help time this. Run to the elevator, then the next elevators will all wait long enough for you to move at maximum speed. Ensure the screen does not scroll prematurely at any point in this segment by taking care not to touch any elevators before they touch the ground or the cycles will be disrupted.
Stage 6:
After the second red door, simply run to the right without stopping. The three armored gunners will take aim but their shots will miss. Jump to the next elevator using the rightmost barrel position as a visual cue.
When the countdown begins, it would be theoretically possible to take a shot from an enemy on the top floor and use the I-frames to drop down a floor or two on the rightmost elevator, but I didn't do it here because I had 0 lives left, and continuing would mean losing the rocket launcher, which I didn't want to risk.
7 bombs are required to kill Red Suit. After throwing a bomb, throw the next the moment the 2000 point bonus indicator disappears from the screen. After the door breaks, throw one more bomb and then run into the electrical panel to destroy it using Jad's natural run hitbox.
Achieved on MAME 0.254 on July 6, 2023.
Chapters:
Stage 2: 1:07
Stage 3: 3:39
Stage 4: 6:57
Stage 5: 8:25
Stage 6: 10:51

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GG!