PR2 Speedrunning Guide

[Master Raiden]

Optimizing Movement - Essentials

Optimized movement is what separates great speedrunners from truly outstanding speedrunners. It can be surprising to see how much time you can lose with a few minor imperfections. In this section, I am going to share some simple tips and things you should aim to do in your speedruns.

Conserving Speed
Finding ways to retain as much speed as possible will help you shave off quite a lot of time.
In an ideal world, you would run non-stop to the finish at top speed. 

But since there are blocks in the way, they can slow you down. Running into blocks instantly brings you to a standstill and you will have to accelerate from zero again. If you have high speed and low acceleration, this can cost you a lot of time. 
Try to jump and land on blocks that allow you to clear other blocks without needing to slow down, and if you must slow down, slow down as little as you can get away with. Any speed you maintain is speed you will not have to spend time regaining.

Try to also carry as much speed into crawl spaces as you can. Head glitching into them or giving yourself a run-up will allow you to get through crawl spaces much more quickly.

Conserving Speed in Crawling - Examples

1. Deception by skulljunn10 (6371452)
I perform a series of jumps to head glitch past the hanging blocks, maximizing my speed and getting through the section with only a very brief moment of crawling.

2. Maze race by Firefight (2663352)
The player stops for a brief moment to perform a low jump, allowing them to carry speed into the crawl space as they head glitch through multiple blocks. If the surface were Ice Blocks, this would have been even more effective.

 

Acting Early
Doing things to allow yourself to begin moving as early as possible will help you shave off little bits of time. The opportunities for this are abundant in almost all levels, and when executed consistently, the results can be quite significant.

Accelerating – Accelerating early means you can build up speed sooner and carry that speed until the next obstacle. This is particularly powerful if you have high speed and low acceleration.
To begin accelerating early, you need to position yourself so that you can begin moving as soon as possible.
This will be as far from the clipping point as possible.

The clipping point (red dot) is the inside of the corner that you are going around and is the point you should aim to pass closest to. Start from the outside, then begin moving in as soon as you can, with as much speed as you can.

Early Acceleration - Examples

1. Orion by TRUC (6217028)
I move over to the left to give myself as much space to accelerate as possible. While the timing of this is difficult to get right, I managed to accelerate for about 1 second before reaching the clipping point which means I would reach top speed about 1 second earlier than if I had just stuck to the wall on the right.

2. Toast by Beta Tester (6286003)
I jump as high as possible to distance myself from the clipping point before beginning a high speed fall. The speed I build up before reaching the clipping point allows me to fall all the way to the bottom without needing to slow down to avoid bumping into the wall on the right, saving me some time.

 

Bumping Blocks – Blocks are 30 pixels wide which means you can gain or lose a bit of time depending on where you hit blocks. Bumping dynamic and destructible blocks such as Vanish Blocks, Push Blocks, Crumble Blocks and Bricks as early as possible can save you a little bit of time. 

You will also benefit from boosting yourself on Arrow Blocks as early as possible.

Bumping Blocks Early - Example

Mission: Disappearance by cooldude90 (5760221)
Instead of bumping the Vanish Block directly above the block I land on, I bump the one to the left of it. Not only does this mean I can make it begin vanishing slightly earlier, but I can also start moving left a bit earlier after it has vanished which will save me some time.

Using Items – Items that boost your speed and acceleration such as Swords, Laser Guns and Speed Bursts should be used as early as possible so that their benefits are realized sooner and carried for longer. Like accelerating early, this is particularly important if you have low acceleration, or are using a speed ending in 5.

Reducing to a Single Motion
Doing things with one motion instead of multiple motions can save you time. This often pertains to jumping where fewer jumps are performed to achieve a result.

This can be in scenarios where a Vanish Block or Brick is removed with a single jump instead of with two or more jumps.

Single Motion - Example

Mario Bros Speed by zerostar(oO) (4976738)
Instead of making a jump to the higher brick platform prior to bumping the Item Block, the player collects the item with a single jump from the lower platform.

This allows them to do two things with their jump: 
1. Cover some distance and clear the higher brick platform
2. Obtain another Speed Burst item

They also forgo the need to slow down when bumping the Item Block which saves them even more time. 
This was a key technique to achieving sub-34 second times on Mario Bros Speed.

Multiple Motions - Example

From the lower platform, the player makes a total of 3 jumps compared to the single jump in the above example.
Their jump from the lower platform only achieved one thing - covering distance and getting on top of the higher platform
Their second jump also achieved one thing - collecting the Speed Burst
Their third jump also achieved one thing - covering more distance