Shenmue 70 Man Battle speedrun in

**** SUB 2:40 IS HERE! ****

After months of attempts and having lost too many runs for me to even remember, I was finally able to beat my previous time on March 27th: 2:37.90 is the new World Record for the 70 Man Battle time trial mode, an improvement of almost 3 seconds and a half!
Just a year ago I thought there was no way I could sub 2:50, yet alone 2:40... and then I discovered the Wall Glitch, a trick that has single-handedly killed hundreds of runs, but that has also allowed me to do the impossible and finally break the 2:40 wall.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I've started running the game on Dreamcast for a while now (emulated on Flycast), mainly in order to benefit from extra combat options and more consistent, actual working hitboxes. While this meant I had to constantly deal with input delay and tougher AI, the switch to DC felt like a huge upgrade and something I should have done from the beginning. I really can't see myself going back to the remasters any time soon...

Now that sub 2:40 has happened, I believe we've reached a point where achieving an even faster run is going to be an almost maddening task. Don't get me wrong, SUB 2:35 is definitely possible, and SUB 2:30 might also be possible with very good RNG and execution, but the reality is that there are just too many variables that can go wrong and kill the run, starting from enemy behavior and ending with the aforementioned Wall Glitch - you have no idea how many times I've lost the run to Pedro dodging Tiger Storm 5-6 times in a row! I guess we'll just have to see what happens next!

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** RUN SPLITS AND COMMENTARY **

||||| SPLITS: New WR VS Former WR |||||

・0:33.90 VS 0:37.53 [20 defeated]
・0:45.60 VS 0:49.33 [BOSS 1 defeated]
・1:22.43 VS 1:19.43 [40 defeated]
・1:33.40 VS 1:23.07 [BOSS 2 defeated]
・1:51.90 VS 1:47.43 [53 defeated]
・2:16.43 VS 2:12.03 [66 defeated]
・0:21.47 VS 0:29.14 [VS Pedro]
・2:37.90 VS 2:41.17 [Final Time]
・0:03.27 [Time saved]

- The beginning phase is incredibly clean: I'm lucky enough to defeat the first 20 opponents in only 34 seconds, which is even faster than my official PB! BOSS 1 doesn't go too bad either, as I'm able to use one of my backup strategies to quickly take him out (Roll counter + Demon Drop X2 + Dark Moon), and I proceed to work my way through the other 19 Mad Angels without too much of a problem.
- Now, BOSS 2’s segment is where the first major time loss takes place: I wasn’t able to position Ryo exactly where he needs to be for the Wall Glitch to work correctly, being just a little too far from the wall. Luckily, I put my combo skills to use - which only work on Dreamcast! - and still manage to execute the glitch on the wall further ahead, keeping the run alive by the skin of my teeth. Having lost about 7 seconds on BOSS 2, I couldn't afford to waste any more time, and indeed I play pretty well after that all things considered, although I do end up losing a couple of seconds here and there during the very last section (from 53 to 66 defeated), eventually reaching Pedro at 2:16.43; at this point only a successful Wall Glitch can turn this run into a World Record.
- I decide to risk it all by going for a super aggressive play style: I anticipate Pedro’s Drop Kick with the Elbow Assault and send him flying far away, and I couldn’t have been more lucky, because Pedro is now just where I want him to be. To make the best out of this scenario and dish out more damage, I take another risk and go for a double Dark Moon: luck is on my side again, as Pedro launches a very slow attack and gets hit by both kicks (dealing 14 damage points... he has 85 in total).
- If you’ve been reading all my video descriptions and pastebin documents, you’ll know that you can squeeze in a throw right after Dark Moon (doesn’t matter if the move connects or not), and that’s exactly what I try to do; and guess what? The Wall Glitch decides to not betray me this time (which you can tell because Pedro doesn’t get stunned on the wall).
- One last effort and it's all over... I play it very safe and again resort to the Dark Moon strategy in order to safely initiate the Demon Drop spam strategy, but something goes wrong: the game executes Tengu Drop instead and Pedro dodges! No problem, I still manage to do the strategy just a few seconds later, ending the run just in time to achieve SUB 2:40! Hurray!

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I could write an essay on the 70 Man Battle speedrun and the choices I make during the run, but I think I've bothered you enough for today. If you’re curious about some of the tricks I perform in the run, please don’t hesitate to message me on Twitter or ask me in the comments section. I suggest you also check the description of my other videos - there’s plenty of little tricks, mechanics and, in general, interesting stuff I talk about there!

Thanks for watching!
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