This run was done in a single, painful sitting. Besides the five hours shown here there were a couple of other failed runs I performed before this successful one. So there was definitely some fatigue towards the end. I especially remember my thumb killing me in the mine level with Vela. If I ever wobble while going in a straight line it's probably because I use my right hand to push forward so my left hand can rest!

The movie is almost five hours long but the game time is 3:21 -- blame the cinemas. There are a lot of cinemas that involve entering and leaving stages. These are annoying because they can not be skipped, although they allowed me to take much needed drink and restroom breaks.

Most of the speed of this run comes from knowing what I have to kill to open the doors (in the beginning I was surprised to see how little is required - i.e. just a green sniper drone or just this wave of fliers. Although, later in the game every room needs to be scoured before doors will open) and being able to nab the Tribals without hesitation. The Tribals in particular are pretty evil since if one dies then the run is pretty much over because you have to restart the level (this is why I do Lupus's underground level in Goldwood first after the first meeting with Mizar -- too many potentially dead Tribals!).

There is a fair amount of randomness in this game. Drones will run around all over the place and sometimes it seems like the last one or two required to open the door are hiding. Sometimes when you shoot them they don't really die, instead they lose all their appendages and suffer for about 20 seconds before giving up the ghost. This is bad because doors will not open until they fully expire. A single bullet will put them down but if you don't notice them suffering then the wait for the door can be painful.

Mistakes were made during this run. When the "speed run" is going to be over three hours no matter what then small mistakes can be overlooked. Thus, I will only list the worst offenders:

1. In Lupus's Mizar stage, the area with the night vision goggles - oh my! This is supposed to be easy. I wasn't paying attention, however. I thought it would be fun to switch my weapons to the music and jump up and down and rocket. Of course while I was doing this I missed my exit...20 seconds later I'm thinking, "This should be over by now." Wow, I felt like a jackass!
2. I fail Floyd's minigame in the Anubus. This wastes about a minute. I was never good with these on my first try because the controls seem dramatically more sensitive than the rest of the game.
3. Vela on the first stage of Rith Essa - I had low health but I thought I could make it to the end. Naturally, I die right before the final door. I would have made it if I didn't plow through the explosions of the dying, flying drones, which causes a lot of damage. Goodbye, 40 seconds!
4. Vela in the Thorax of Eschebone - I didn't have any explosives so I could not open the wooden door that would allow me into the brain of the worm. So I had to collect the dumb tokens, exit, repeat a couple times, etc. until I could buy full ammo from the robot vendor. What a rip-off!
5. After liberating the Tribal race I use Juno to meet up with King Jeff in Mizar's Palace. What I DID NOT know is that only Juno can go through his door, Vela through hers, etc. I could have SWORN I remember being able to go through any door with any character after the meeting with Mizar for the first time. This was pretty embarrassing...goodbye, 45 seconds.

Mistakes that really aren't:

1. I die twice besides the Vela incident - once as Lupus in his Goldwood stage and once as Juno in the final meteor level. I always die on Lupus's stage eventually because the level is quite long and I'm not very careful. It doesn't even take away that much time. As Juno I kill myself so I can have full health for the final battle with Mizar.
2. Sometimes when in long halls filled with drones Rare thought it would be comical to have drones "warp in" behind you (GoldenEye, anyone?). So no, I don't miss drones in a narrow, straight hallway, it's simply a conspiracy. This is most obvious in Eschebone and Cerulean.

Other observations:

1. I really DESPISED the item collection system in this game. Believe me, I learned a few things. Tribals only "count" towards the final total (for the spaceship part Jeff gives you at the end so you can reach Mizar's lair) if you "OFFICIALLY" exit the stage. This means reaching a door with the fancy lights, the dramatic music, and the screen that totals your Tribals, kills, accuracy, most used weapon, and time. This usually isn't too bad but there are several levels where either SEVERE backtracking or a lot of running ahead is needed to meet this requirement (i.e. Anubus passageway, Eschebone with Vela, Vela on Rith Essa in general, Ichor in general).
   Yet, the other items in the game (such as weapons, keys, space ship parts, and misc. quest items like the earplugs, magazine, Floyd parts, etc.) are saved permanently as soon as you touch them! I found this out when I cleared out the Thorax with Vela but didn't get to the end (this was before I started running, when I was testing things out). When I came back I appeared in the Thorax with ZERO Tribals but the magazine, blue key, and a gemini piece. It doesn't matter if you just quit or save and quit...Tribals are evil.
2. I'm fairly proud of the final Mizar battle. The trick of course is to kill him so he never uses his three main attacks (electricity of doom being the main concern, the laser eyes and minty breath being jokes). I almost pulled this off but I had a little bit of trouble with his second stage. Most people have trouble with him because they probably never realized you don't have to wait for him to turn around -- shooting him in the midsection hurts his wing apparatus just as well.
3. According to the inventory screen, I collected a total of 32 insect heads.
4. Juno is the disco King, baby!

Enjoy the run.